The Tsalal men’s case is at the center of True Detective: Night Country‘s plot. It’s a strange case that reeks of something supernatural around it.
Elizabeth Danvers and her team of cops are investigating the mysterious disappearance of the scientists who were working at the Tsalal Arctic Research Station in Ennis.
The scientists disappearing without a trace and the presence of a tongue that could be linked to another case hint at something supernatural that might have transpired here.
About Tsalal
Founded by Anders Lund, the Tsalal Arctic Research Station has been operating for 18 years, researching arctic geology, biology, and the impacts of climate change.
The crew that disappeared consisted of scientists Ralph Emerson, Anton Kotov, Li Jie, Raymond Clark, Lucas Merens, Facundo Molina, Veer Mehta, and Anders Lund.
After talking to Professor Bryce, Liz learns that these men were very reclusive. They didn’t come into town and didn’t receive any visitors from the town.
Other Arctic stations rotate crews, but not Tsalal. Bryce explains that Tsalal spent decades trying to sequence the DNA of an extinct microorganism that could potentially stop cellular decay.
The work Tsalal scientists were doing could have ended up curing cancer, autoimmune diseases, and genetic disorders. However, Bryce thinks their efforts would have never worked here.
The supernatural and connections to Annie’s case
Liz is convinced that the cold case of Annie K from six years ago may have some connection to the Tsalal men’s case when she sees a picture of a scientist wearing Annie’s coat.
In the meantime, Rose Aguineau discovers the bodies of Tsalal men with the help of the ghost of Travis, her lover.
The bodies are found frozen to death. All men are naked and look like they are climbing on each other. Lund, among them, has a spiral sign on his head and is the only one somewhat alive.
Lund is immediately sent to the hospital. Aguineau claims that the sign on Lund’s head is ancient, older than Ennis and the ice itself.
A video on one of the scientists’ phones reveals that Raymond Clark started acting strange before whatever happened at Tsalal transpired. He said, “She’s awake”.
Further investigation reveals that Clark was always weird. Most importantly, he had a tattoo of the spiral on his chest and was dating Annie secretly.
Clark’s trailer reveals that he was into voodoo stuff, while Peter also comes to find out that Clark is missing among the bodies they have recovered; he is still alive and out there somewhere.
Meanwhile, Lund communicates and hints that they awoke someone. He also acts as if someone has possessed him during a conversation with Navarro, suggesting that something supernatural is at play here.
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