Is it all connected? True Detective: Night Country Theory

The Enigmatic Travis

True Detective: Night Country tells a new story unconnected from the previous three seasons of the show, but one theory reveals that the father of Rust Cohle appears in the show. True Detective season 4 is a fresh start in some ways. The show’s first run of new episodes in five years, it has a new showrunner (Issa López in place of Nic Pizzolatto), and even a subtitle to show that this isn’t exactly the same thing as before, while the setting swaps the sweltering sun of places like Louisiana and California for the endless dark and cold of Alaska.

Travis tearing his shirt open and screaming at the sky in True Detective Night Country

For all the changes, though, Night Country is still recognizably True Detective. In particular, it harks back to season 1 with the juxtaposition between its two co-leads, and the hints of a mystery that sits somewhere between the worst of humanity and the supernatural. Travis (played by Erling Eliasson), who appears to Fiona Shaw’s Rose Aguineau, is a key part of that puzzle. He’s immediately enigmatic, and there’s certainly more than meets the eye… but does that include him being related to Rust Cohle?

Fiona Shaw as Rose wearing an orange-brown coat with fur hat in True Detective Night Country

Season 4 has some compelling clues and connections. Travis is quickly established as one of the most mysterious figures among True Detective: Night Country’s cast of characters. That would’ve been true based on his strange actions, movements, and apparent knowledge of events even before it was confirmed that, well, he is dead. The way his oddness and otherness stands out, clashing with the likes of Jodie Foster's straight-laced Liz Danvers, definitely evokes memories of Rust Cohle. There’s something of a resemblance too, with his tall, skinny frame and long, dirty blonde hair calling to mind Matthew McConaughey’s appearance in True Detective season 1.

Matthew McConaghey with long hair and a mustache as Rust Cohle in True Detective season 1

Then there’s the fact that True Detective season 1, episode 4, “Who Goes There?” confirmed two pertinent details about Cohle’s father: he’s called Travis, and he lived in Alaska. Now, sure, over 700,000 people live in Alaska, so odds are there’s more than one Travis. But is there more than one Travis who would make sense to be so connected to a murder mystery, who looks like he could be related to Rust, and who may even be something supernatural? In True Detective season 1’s ending, Rust noted that he felt his dad while unconscious. Could that be a hint his father, apparently dead (and Travis is dead here), is able to make contact with the mortal world?

Jodie Foster's Liz Danvers kneels in the middle of a large spiral made of photographs of people in True Detective season 4

True Detective: Night Country episode 1 has other connections to season 1 too. Tellingly, Lone Star beer, the favored brand of Rust, appears in the research output. Then there are recurring symbols and motifs of apparent importance, such as antlers and spirals, which were heavily used in season 1. Are they just part of world building, or a clue to something greater? It’s all circumstantial, but it’s also compelling evidence that Night Country’s Travis is indeed Travis Cohle.

Matthew McConaughey's Rust Cohle from behind looking at a spiral patter in the sky in True Detective season 1

The Possibility of Rust Cohle's Father

Could Night Country benefit from connecting back to True Detective season 1? True Detective season 4’s connections to season 1 were already teased long ago, and it’s something the show has done previously too. True Detective season 3 used photos of McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, linking back to their own case, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility. While each season stands alone, there’s also a sense of wanting this to be a shared universe, so Night Country doing the same thing would make sense. It could give the show a ratings boost, too, if there were such a tangible connection to what remains its best and most popular season.

Kali Reis as Navarro and Jodie Foster as Danvers staring into the ice in a True Detective season 4 promo

True Detective: Night Country episode 1 does suggest that Travis is going to be of particular importance, regardless of whether he’s a vision, a ghost, or something else entirely. If that’s to be the case, then connecting him to Rust Cohle would have some logic. Time is a flat circle, after all, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if it were to loop back around to McConaughey’s character.

Matthew McConaughey drinking beers in True Detective

The Problems with the Theory

As fun as the theory that True Detective: Night Country’s Travis is Rust Cohle’s father is, there are a couple of issues with it. The first comes from season 1 itself, which mentioned that no one in Alaska had heard from Travis Cohle in 30 years. Night Country is even further on in the timeline, and while it’s not impossible that he either resurfaced or was just hidden away in the small town of Ennis, it is certainly a counterargument against the idea.

Then there’s also the issue of McConaughey himself. Unless HBO has managed to keep an almighty secret, he won’t be back in season 4. Introducing Rust Cohle’s father could be a cool connection, but also risks overshadowing the show’s central mystery, and being a disappointment when the man himself doesn’t appear. That’s not something True Detective: Night Country needs, especially with the focus of Travis seemingly his connection to Rose, but time will tell if it’s something the show is intent on doing.