The season takes place in Ennis, Alaska, and follows detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro as they investigate the disappearance of eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station and vanish without a trace.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.678 million household viewers and gained a 0.09 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
As authorities check on the corpses, Danvers (Jodie Foster) discovers that the bodies were stripped naked with burnt eyes, self-inflicted bite marks, ruptured ear drums, and other strange injuries.
He states that they were reserved and were trying to sequence the DNA of an extinct micro-organism that could stop cellular deterioration and find a cure for many diseases.
Peter tells Danvers that a non-governmental organization funds Tsalal, and the investors point to a shell corporation named NC Global Strategies, which is owned by Tuttle United.
[a] She assigns him to retrieve Clark's credit records, although Peter is struck and scolded by Hank (John Hawkes) over stealing Anne's file from their house.
Leah (Isabella Star LaBlanc) runs away from the house and joins Peter in watching over the thawing bodies, where they talk about their parents.
"[3] For the sex scene between Danvers and Connelly, Christopher Eccleston explained that it became easier to shoot it after he "leant on a rehearsal table and it smashed in two and I fell on my back which made Issa and Jodie hysterical with laughter."
"[7] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote, "Developments this week, like the tongue on the Tsalal floor being Annie's, forces Danvers and Navarro to reluctantly team up again.
"[10] Coleman Spilde of The Daily Beast wrote, "It seems like an easy lead suspect, but given all of the surreal, occult-like twists and turns in just the first two episodes alone, nothing about what comes next will be simple.
"[11] Amanda Whiting of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Night Country's second chapter is just as much about establishing the series' thematic fault lines as it is about the scattered search for leads.
There's Liz, the small-town police chief, versus Connelly, the captain who wants big-city cops in Anchorage to take over the case from here.
"[12] Melody McCune of Telltale TV gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "True Detective: Night Country chugs forward in 'Part 2,' for better or worse.
It's a character-driven drama that, when it leans into its innate genre aspects, digs deep into how trauma reshapes us and how the darkest parts of ourselves can't stay hidden, even in semi-permanent night.
"[13] Scott Tobias of The New York Times wrote, "What's clear now, after the dreamlike abstractions of the premiere, is that “Night Country” has an investigative path forward.
"[14] Tyler Johnson of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Thus far, True Detective Season 4 has kept us entertained - and a smidge mystified - but we're growing a little skeptical of this show's ability to close this case.