Warning! Contains major spoilers for True Detective season 4.

Summary

• Many clues in True Detective: Night Country suggest the return of season 1's big villains, connecting its mysteries to the infamous Yellow King cult.
• Episode 2 reveals a crucial piece of the puzzle, linking Night Country to season 1 through the Tuttle family and their involvement in the Tsalal incident.
• While the identity of the killer and their motives remain unknown, the supernatural connotations in Night Country hint that the malicious rituals of the Yellow King cult may still be at play.

Many clues in True Detective: Night Country suggest that it will mark the return of season 1's big villains. In its opening episodes, True Detective: Night Country leaves viewers with more questions than answers after revealing that the deaths of a few Arctic researchers somehow connect to the six-year-old murder of an Alaskan indigenous woman, Annie. While at it, it also introduces metaphysical underpinnings that not only tie into Alaska mythology but also connect it with True Detective season 1.

The first two episodes of True Detective: Night Country have dropped enough clues for viewers to theorize who the primary perpetrators of the two central crimes could be. For instance, many revelations in episode 2 suggest that Raymond Clark might have had something to do with the deaths of the Tsalal scientists. Despite this, the identity of the killer and his motives largely remain unknown. However, one True Detective: Night Country easter egg might have hinted at how season 1's big villains might have played a role in its overarching mysteries.

True Detective: Night Country's "Tuttle" Reference Explained

In a scene from True Detective: Night Country's episode 2, Peter tells Danvers that he did a background check on the Tsalal research facility. He reveals he discovered that Tsalal was being funded by an NGO. After tracing the NGO's taxes, he found that it was linked to a shell company called NC Global, which was owned by a conglomerate called Tuttle United. Although Danvers dismisses his research by implying that it solves nothing, it seems like a crucial piece in the show's overarching puzzle because it connects True Detective: Night Country to season 1.

True Detective season 1 portrayed Billy Lee Tuttle, a Louisiana-based reverend and entrepreneur, as one of its antagonists. He and his family were the leading forces behind the evil Yellow King/Tuttle cult, who performed twisted rituals and worshiped a cosmic entity named Hastur. Season 1 established that the cult was nearly defunct by 2012 after the demise of most of the Tuttle family. However, Errol Childress, a distant relative within the Tuttle family lineage, took over the cult and abducted and tortured women and children in the name of rituals for the Yellow King.

Could The Tuttles Still Be Behind Things In True Detective: Night Country?

Although Rust and Marty kill Errol Childress in True Detective season 1's finale, season 4's reference to the Tuttle family and its spiral motifs suggests that the roots of the Yellow King cult still exist and have even spread to Ennis, Alaska. The show still has not confirmed whether it will bring back the Tuttle family and their cult as its big villains. However, Night Country's supernatural connotations could mean that its central mysteries will eventually tie into the malicious rituals of the Yellow King cult. It is also possible that a missing link from the Tuttle family is still alive somewhere, continuing the Yellow King cult's twisted traditions in True Detective: Night Country.

True Detective season 4 drops new episodes every Sunday on HBO Max.