*Warning! This article contains minor spoilers for True Detective season 4*
With just two episodes of True Detective Night Country to go, those who have been tuning into the crime drama's fourth season are itching to find out who's behind the deaths of Annie K and the Tsalal research scientists. So much so, in fact, that a few of 'em are coming up with wild theories to try and explain away the mystery...
Taking to Reddit recently, one fan even cast suspicion on Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis), one of the show's titular sleuths, using an ancient Inuit myth to bolster their argument. In the thread, u/4rustybrain suggested that Navarro has an alter ego or split personality that goes by the name 'Sedna', and that she might be responsible for the scientists' grisly demise. What's more, they present the idea that she might have killed them "in revenge" for the murder of Annie.
In Inuit culture, 'Sedna' is believed to be a sea goddess who can communicate with and control marine animals. In one specific version of Sedna's tale, it is said that her father cut her fingers off as she clung to the side of his kayak before she sunk into the ocean and became ruler of the deep. She is also thought to be vengeful, and worshipped by hunters. She's also explicitly referenced in the pilot, when Pete Prior's son shows him a drawing of a woman with her fingers cut off; a moment showrunner Issa López previously confirmed was a nod to Sedna.
As u/4rustybrain points out, when Navarro is introduced in Night Country, her first on-screen conversation is about how Ennis's crab population is dwindling. It also sees her arresting a fisherman for assaulting his girlfriend, who just so happens to be missing two fingers on her right hand. The user also highlights the fact that several characters remark on how Navarro's mother never told her her Iñupiat name before she was killed. Might it be 'Sedna'?
Elsewhere, the Redditor draws attention to Navarro's mother and sister both having mental health struggles; her emotional attachment to the Annie K case, and her sexual relationship with Qavvik (Joel D. Montgrand), which is a Inupiaq word for 'wolverine'. According to legend, Sedna was dissatisfied with the men chosen for her and ends up being forced to marry a dog.
For now, u/4rustybrain's theory is pure speculation, but we'd be lying if we said they didn't make some interesting connections between the myth and the ongoing series. If Navarro does turn out to be the killer, though, we'd be a little confused as to why she seems so hellbent on solving Annie K's murder. If she was so adamant that the researchers were responsible for her death, why would she be pretending to be in the dark? Wouldn't she have said something to Ennis police chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) sooner?
True Detective: Night Country airs on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday in the US, and on Sky Atlantic and NOW every Monday in the UK. Ensure you don't miss an episode with our handy guide to the True Detective: Night Country release schedule.
