At the end of January, Kali Reis began to get back to reality. Two episodes of HBO's True Detective: Night Country have been released worldwide, with critics calling it the best season since the first season in 2014, and fans are already buzzing with theories about the killer. Meanwhile, Reis has returned home to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When she spoke to Bustle via Zoom, she sat in her stepdaughter's bedroom with stuffed animals in the background. This is in stark contrast to the portrayal of the stern state trooper Evangeline Navarro, played by Reis on the show.
Over the course of "Land of Darkness," the six-episode season finale aired on February 18, viewers began to see something beyond Navarro's hard shell—thanks to Reis, who worked with Showrunner Issa López collaborated to bring a softer touch to her character. Major ending spoilers.
"Navarro's power and her true magic is her vulnerability and the way she emotionally connects to things on a deep, intuitive level. So there are some scenes that end up being different than they are on paper," former Pro Boxer Reis said. “Navarro’s performance was different from the way I read, the way I acted, and the way I viewed it.”
This weakness is her saving grace in the finale. After succumbing to her visions (the same visions that continue to haunt her sister Julia), Navarro finally solves the murder of Anne K. and the death of the scientist.
Together with detective Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster), she finds the missing scientist Clark, who admits that he and other scientists killed Annie, who discovers that their laboratory deliberately contaminated the land and poisoned Ennis of indigenous communities for scientific evidence. get.
"It's truly amazing to see Aboriginal women not portrayed as helpless victims, but taking power into their own hands and working with nature and the other side to bring justice."
The two detectives then visit the lab's cleaning staff - both female members of the Inuit community - who reveal they enacted their own form of justice against the murderous scientist. (They stormed the laboratory, took the scientists hostage, dumped them naked in the middle of the Alaskan tundra, and asked nature to decide their fate.)
The women stand firm in their actions, and Navarro and Danvers decide to close the case, concocting a cover story for the workers and reporting that, as previously established in episode five, the men died in a slab avalanche.
"As First Nations, we are a very matriarchal society. Our women are strong and our decision-makers," says the Resconk Wampanoag and Cape Verdean. "It's truly amazing to see Aboriginal women not portrayed as helpless victims, but taking power into their own hands and working with nature and the other side to bring justice."
Below, Reis answers burning questions about the finale, from Annie's tongue to Navarro's fate.
What was your first reaction when you read the script for the finale?
I was pleasantly surprised by the ending because it stuck to the theme: you'll get the practical, you'll get the scientific, but you'll also get the supernatural, it's your choice (which one to listen to). I'm excited to see Navarro's journey. She finally knew her name. This is what she's been looking for.
How was the process of filming this big reveal with the lab cleaning crew?
It's exciting because you see the strength of women in the community and how they come together, and you see the respect the community has for Navarro. They came forward with what happened and trusted her [with the truth], which was huge.
At the end of the scene, Navarro asks Annie how her tongue got into the lab, and she doesn't get a straight answer. How do you explain that?
I like this answer because it implies, but doesn't state. You can come up with your own theory. Did Hank actually cut it out and put it somewhere, or is it beyond the scope of the 3D world? Some of the best stories don’t have clear answers. They keep you talking about it.
This got me thinking about one of the themes of this season, knowing how to ask the right questions. Was Navarro right to ask the question about the tongue?
This is the right question at this moment. I think the right question - the question I'm asking Navarro now - is: Who cut out her tongue?
Navarro struggles with his vision throughout the show. At what point would she stop hindering them?
When her sister died. Her sister Julia is Navarro's only connection between the two worlds she walks in. She has to be pragmatic and take care of her sister. She had to make sure she performed well, even though the voices pulling Julia (away) also pulled Navarro. But now that her sister is gone, she says, there are no limits. I hear these things. I will be taken away soon too. I will solve this problem.
You told The Hollywood Reporter that Navarro is as much a conflicted person as she is a badass with a big heart. How does her situation change by the end?
We see her journey, but I don't think she's turned over a whole new leaf, or that she's just a whole new spiritual person (at the end). She was at peace with everything that happened. Will she have all the answers? No one has really done this.
The final shot of her and Danvers on the porch is powerful. What was your takeaway from that moment?
Viewers can decide whether she walks on ice like Julia, or goes somewhere else and leaves. Maybe Navarro needs to get some stuff sorted and then she'll come back. No matter what you want to believe, the person she sees when she comes back, whether in the spiritual or physical world, is going to be Danvers.
Why do you think this is?
Because they have a deep history. Just like having a sister, no matter how much good or bad the two of you go through, you still have a soul bond. They have that. Navarro helped Danvers finally get over it and say what she needed to say about the loss of her son. Danvers keeps ignoring this and just burying himself in work and being mean to everyone. Navarro allowed her to see and believe a little bit of the spiritual world because she was so in denial about it.
What do you think of some of the callbacks to season one in this issue? Clark has a line in the finale: "Time is a flat circle."
People were so obsessed with the first season, and rightfully so. Issa isn't trying to replicate it. I think it's more of a love letter. Issa tries to recall the feeling we had in season one and how we felt as viewers watching this crazy story.
Fans have had a lot of reactions to the mention of Rust Cole's father this season .
I was especially happy when the second episode aired and [people realized] that Travis was Rust's dad. As much as all these die-hard fans want to say "this isn't Season 1," you have to realize that this is a great connection. Since Rust's father lives in Alaska, this makes sense. I think [this season] provides a purpose for the spiral in a spiritual sense, which is cool. The supernatural part has to do with the indigenous people of the land and their creation stories. So what we loved about season one is reflected in this season in its own way.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
