Raymond Clark repeats a season 1 quote — “Time is a flat circle” — to explain how Annie was around as Goddess Sedna even before she was born as human. This offers a loose explanation for how Otis experienced the same perils as the Tsalal scientists. However, why the researchers and Otis had ruptured eardrums and burnt corneas remains unknown. If something supernatural was at play, True Detective: Night Country also does not answer how Otis managed to survive in 1998 while the rest of his men perished.

Speaking of survival, one of the Tsalal researchers, Anders Lund, was also mysteriously alive despite being frozen like the other researchers for days. The significance of the Tuttle connection between Tsalal and Silver Sky also remains unanswered, establishing that it was merely used as a plot device. Travis Cohle’s appearance in episode 1 is another season 1 connection that led nowhere, given how True Detective: Night Country never explained why he appeared to Rose and pointed her towards the frozen researchers. It is also hard not to wonder why he only appeared once.

True Detective: Night Country‘s ending offers answers to several other underlying questions but a few of them feel unsatisfying. For instance, even though Danvers was last seen with Otis Heiss, it seems strange that her seniors do not suspect her, especially when officers like Ted Connelly are aware of what she and Navarro did during the Wheeler case. Whether Navarro is still alive in True Detective: Night Country‘s ending also remains shrouded.