True Detective season 5 would be better off telling a completely separate standalone story rather than linking back to Night Country – despite the possibility of a connection being teased by showrunner Issa López. Although it received generally positive reviews, Night Country is regarded as a somewhat divisive entry into the anthology series by many fans. While the show’s story certainly played a part in creating this reputation, another key reason was the show’s explicit connection to Matthew McConaughey’s character from season 1 – a twist that never fully paid off.

Despite True Detective season 4’s mixed reception, Issa López is already confirmed to be reprising her role as showrunner. However, while her previous foray into True Detective demonstrated that she is acutely aware of the show’s history and characters, it is unclear whether she will take a similar approach to True Detective season 5. When asked whether season 5 would connect back to season 4, López responded (via Deadline): “It might, or not, be connected to Ennis. We will see.” While such a response is deliberately non-committal, season 4 made it clear that one direction is clearly better than the other.

True Detective: Night Country Didn’t Build On Its Connections To Season 1 & McConaughey’s Rust Cohle

Despite being the first True Detective season to have characters and stories explicitly crossover from earlier series, True Detective: Night Country never built on its connections to season 1. Early on in the narrative, it was established that Travis Cohle, Rose Aguineau’s erstwhile partner, was Rust’s father, while the Alaskan setting matched up with what was already known about the character’s biography. This, combined with the recurring spiral motif, mentions of the villainous Tuttle family, and other tantalizing Easter eggs, made it clear that Night Country and True Detective season 1 were part of the same story.

However, while this premise opened up plenty of interesting narrative opportunities, Night Country left almost all of its season 1 plot threads completely open-ended. Rust Cohle’s connection to Ennis and potentially some of the story’s protagonists was never fully addressed, and López herself confirmed that the details were only included to make clear that the two stories are set in the same universe (via The Independent). Whatever the intention, the consequence was that audiences were reminded of Rust Cohle’s story, teased a potential appendix to True Detective’s beloved first season, and then disappointed when nothing substantive came of the promise.

True Detective: Night Country’s Rust Cohle Connections Became A Distraction

Establishing that True Detective season 4 and season 1 are part of the same universe is not inherently a bad idea. Given how True Detective delves into dark, existential themes that are almost impossible to fully address over a single story, establishing a shared universe could be a great way to revisit complicated ideas. However, instead of acting as a conduit to return to True Detective‘s biggest thematic questions, Night Country‘s Rust Cohle link became an unwelcome distraction, obfuscating the show’s real message.

Instead of concentrating on Navarro and Danvers’ story, viewers were inevitably left wondering whether Cohle himself would make an appearance, or whether what was happening in Ennis would enhance the audience’s understanding of events in Louisiana. In hindsight, it’s clear that the legacy of True Detective season 1 is such that any mention of its stories and characters won’t be taken as a simple reference. Instead, it just reminds viewers of unanswered questions about the show’s charismatic and mysterious original leads. When trying to tell a separate unrelated story, such a looming presence is a problem best avoided.

True Detective Season 5 (& Other Seasons) Would Be Better Standing Alone

The reaction to True Detective: Night Country’s Rust Cohle link not only highlights the season’s mistake but also proves that future True Detective seasons should probably avoid similar references. Unless season 5 and subsequent follow-ups plan on explicitly addressing season 1’s story, beyond oblique references that don’t go anywhere, including further unexplained Easter eggs would just repeat the problems experienced by Night Country. In many ways, the issue would be even worse, since Night Country already proved that the device doesn’t work.

Beyond connections to season 1, however, True Detective season 5 would also be better off distancing itself from Night Country’s own plot and characters. The template provided by Night Country’s misguided season 1 links also proves that True Detective’s stories generally work better in isolation, without the audience worrying about whether the story corresponds with everything else that has happened in the anthology. It’s also true that the power of Night Country was in the ambiguity of its ending and in deliberately unanswered questions. Revisiting and resolving these in True Detective season 5 would risk undermining what worked about the show.