True Detective: Night Country Kills Off Major Character in Heartbreaking New Episode

Death is all around the people of Ennis, Alaska in True Detective: Night Country. This entire season of the acclaimed anthology series centers around not only the suspicious and gruesome deaths of several scientists, but it also focuses on the cold case of Annie K. Not to mention the fact that several Ennis residents see the dead on a semi-regular basis. Death is nothing new for Ennis, but the fourth episode of HBO's thriller brings that death to the doorstep of one of its main characters, in what is easily the most heartbreaking sequence of the season to-date.

WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the latest episode of True Detective: Night Country! Continue reading at your own risk...

Julia, Navarro's sister, has been having a tough time throughout the entire series. She has seen visions and had episodes that have gotten her several medical diagnoses, but she believes it's something more complex and sinister. Both she and Navarro have talked about the same thing happening to their mother, who died as a result. Unfortunately, the same fate has befallen Julia.

After she was found wondering around outside in the cold, Julia finally agreed to go stay at the Lighthouse, a facility where they help and house the mentally ill. While in her room on Christmas eve, Julia saw an orange roll on her floor and stop between her feet — the same thing that happened to Navarro earlier in the season before she had a strange vision. Julia's orange came from under her bed. When she looked beneath it, she saw the dead body of a woman.

The next time we see Julia, she calls Navarro to tell her everything is going well and that she's safe at the Lighthouse. That isn't the case, however. She heads out into the ice and takes her clothes off, folding them in a similar way to the clothes of the TSALAL scientists that were found dead a week earlier. Naked, she walks out onto the sea. 

Navarro gets a call to confirm Julia's death, learning that she walked out until she hit water and eventually drowned. Her body was found by the Coastguard, who informed her sister.

Julia's death raises a ton of questions, especially when it comes to the dead woman that she saw and the similarities to the deaths of the researchers. Could that woman be the same "She" that Raymond Clark and Anders Lund claim is now awake? It seems we will find out more about that woman over the final two episodes of the season, considering she appears to be the same entity now haunting Navarro's visions.

Do you have any theories about the latest episode of True Detective: Night Country? Let us know in the comments!