True Detective: Night Country Reveals a Major Clue About the Spiral

Time is a flat circle, and so is True Detective. 10 years ago, fans of the HBO crime series spent hours upon hours rewatching episodes of the show and searching through Reddit to figure out the meaning of the eerie spiral symbol that seemed to be at the center of the mystery in Season 1. The same thing is now happening with the fourth installment, True Detective: Night Country. The spiral has once again found itself popping up all throughout the show, leading fans to wonder what it could mean in the grande scheme of the story. 

We may never get any concrete answers about the spiral, but the latest episode of True Detective: Night Country did reveal something about the illustration that fans didn't expect. WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of True Detective: Night Country! Continue reading at your own risk...

The spiral took on a massive role in True Detective: Night Country when it was revealed that Annie K. and Raymond Clark both had it tattooed on their bodies. Annie had it first, began a secret relationship with Ray, and he put the same mark on his body shortly after she was murdered. In Episode 3, we learn that there was a reason for Annie's tattoo, and that it apparently helped her significantly.

Photos from Ray's RV led Danvers and Navarro to the home of a local hairdresser named Susan, who was friends with Annie and dyed her hair. Navarro questioned Susan about Ray, which led to a very interesting exchange about the spiral tattoos.

"Annie and Ray hit it off. They talked all night. She showed him her tattoo, he was, like, fixated on it," Susan said of the night she and Annie went up to TSALAL to cut hair. "She dreamt it, when we were in high school. A bunch of times. She got a tattoo, the dreams stopped."

Terrifying dreams and visions have been a recurring theme of True Detective: Night Country. Some people hear voices. Others see ghosts. It only makes sense that there is a belief that the spiral is somehow connected to a similar spiritual realm. Annie getting the tattoo apparently caused her to stop having whatever visions were plaguing her, visions that centered around the spiral itself.

That story leads to more questions about Raymond Clark. He was instantly enamored with the tattoo, according to Susan's story. That could mean it somehow connects to the mysterious research they were conducting up at TSALAL. Even more interesting, however, is that Raymond got the same tattoo after Annie's death.

Could whatever was plaguing Annie before the tattoo been plaguing Ray as well? Could whatever it was have potentially started focusing in on Ray after Annie was gone, causing him to get the tattoo for himself? After all, he never went and got it while the two of them were together.

There are now more questions surrounding the spiral than ever before. Unfortunately, based on the track record of True Detective over the years, it doesn't feel like we're going to get too many answers.

What part do you think the spiral has to play in True Detective: Night Country? Let us know in the comments!