True Detective Season 4 finale breaks disappointing series record

The True Detective Season 4 finale aired over the weekend, and it’s broken a disappointing record for the HBO crime anthology series. 

Nic Pizzolatto set a new standard in prestige TV with his debut season of True Detective, with its intricate narrative, atmospheric cinematography, fascinating mystery, and philosophical musings – not to mention standout performances from leads Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

What followed failed to capture the same magic and thematic depth as the first. Even Pizzolatto himself acknowledged Season 2’s shortcomings, while the third chapter was just okay. Season 4, subtitled Night Country, tried something different – alongside a female-fronted cast headed by Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, Issa López took over from Pizzolatto.

The finale, which aired on Sunday, February 18, has drawn criticism – even from Pizzolatto himself, who’s since been called “pathetic” for how he handled the situation. But the writing’s on the wall, with the last episode breaking a disappointing record. 

True Detective Season 4 finale breaks disappointing series record

The finale of True Detective Season 4 has earned 5.6 stars out of 10 on IMDb, making it the lowest-rated episode in the series. To put this in perspective, here are the IMDb ratings for all True Detective episodes so far: 

• Season 1 Episode 1 – 8.9
• Season 1 Episode 2 – 8.8
• Season 1 Episode 3 – 9.1
• Season 1 Episode 4 – 9.6
• Season 1 Episode 5 – 9.5
• Season 1 Episode 6 – 9.2
• Season 1 Episode 7 – 9.2
• Season 1 Episode 8 – 9.5
• Season 2 Episode 1 – 7.6
• Season 2 Episode 2 – 7.7
• Season 2 Episode 3 – 7.3
• Season 2 Episode 4 – 8.2
• Season 2 Episode 5 – 7.6
• Season 2 Episode 6 – 8.2
• Season 2 Episode 7 – 8.6
• Season 2 Episode 8 – 8.0
• Season 3 Episode 1 – 8.5
• Season 3 Episode 2 – 8.1
• Season 3 Episode 3 – 7.8
• Season 3 Episode 4 – 8.0
• Season 3 Episode 5 – 8.4
• Season 3 Episode 6 – 8.4
• Season 3 Episode 7 – 8.5
• Season 3 Episode 8 – 8.0
• Season 4 Episode 1 – 7.3
• Season 4 Episode 2 – 7.1
• Season 4 Episode 3 – 6.5
• Season 4 Episode 4 – 6.3
• Season 4 Episode 5 – 7.3
• Season 4 Episode 6 – 5.6

It appears there’s an audience/critics divide, as evidenced by the Rotten Tomatoes scores – the experts gave Night Country 92% (surprisingly, 1% higher than Season 1), while viewers at home rated it 60%, against the first chapter’s 88%. 

As for why the finale in particular has made a bad impression, a number of True Detective fans weren’t happy with the writing, and felt like they had been baited with Season 1 teases and plot threads that ultimately went nowhere. 

Taking to Reddit, one shared a “list of plot holes,” ranging from the Tuttle Corp and the Travis/Rose Cohle name drops to Raymond Clark’s trailer and Annie K’s death footage. 

Alongside the list, they wrote: “Girlfriend and I can’t even comprehend what a sh*t-show we just watched. I don’t think I’ve ever been this upset at a show… because at the end of the day, it’s a damn show, but it straight up feels disrespectful from Issa Lopez to bait viewers in with the s1 call backs and references knowing that this would drive viewership up and keep them coming back, hoping for a payoff, only for it to not even matter.”

Numerous other unresolved plotlines were highlighted in the thread, including the baby crying in Wheeler’s house, how Annie K’s tongue ended up at Tsalal, Navarro’s flashbacks, and what happened to Leah’s father. There are so many, it’s spawned a new verb: “Night Countried.”

“Looks like somebody just got Night Countried,” said one Redditor, while another commented, “That’s a good one… it probably got Night Countried.”

Whatever your take on the True Detective Season 4 finale, the series did break a more positive record – it’s the most viewed chapter yet, averaging 12.7 million views per episode. 

If you want to form your own opinion, True Detective: Night Country is available to stream on Max now, which you can sign up for here.

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