Although True Detective: Night Country was a long wait, avid fans were pleased with how the show's going. It is even referred to as the best season next to Season 1. With the mention of Tuttle United in True Detective Season 4 Episode 2, viewers can't help but point out the easter eggs with the first season.
In this explainer guide, we'll talk about these easter eggs and how they're connected with the first season. If you haven't watched the episode, make sure to skip this article for now.
True Detective: Night Country Episode 2 Easter Eggs
The first episode of True Detective: Night Country came out on January 14, 2024. Despite having only released one episode, avid fans of the franchise pointed out their observations about the show.
More importantly, they feel like True Detective Season 4 is "tapping back into that cosmic horror vein" that the first season exhibited.
With the release of the second episode, fans are getting all giddy with how the show is "looping back to solve the crazy murder cult case of season 1."
To point out, season 4 has shown some easter eggs that connect it with the first season. Here are the season 1 easter eggs we've seen so far:
The Ghost
Chief Liz Danvers (played by Jodie Foster) and her team found the dead bodies in True Detective: Night Country, thanks to a ghost. The ghost turned out to be Travis Cohle, who is the deceased father of Rust Cohle (played by Matthew McConaughey) from the first season.
The Crooked Spiral
This is the most obvious easter egg that connects the two shows. This symbol is what was tattooed on the forehead of one of the frozen Tsalal victims in Season 4.
Going back to the first season, this symbol appeared extensively and referenced The Yellow King, a Louisiana-based sex cult that Hart and Rust were investigating.
Tuttle United
In the second episode, Chief Danvers asked who funds the Tsalal Arctic Research Station. She is told that the station gets its funds from an NGO with links to several shell companies connected to Tuttle United.
If you watched the first season, this name will definitely ring a bell.
Was Tuttle United in True Detective Season 1?
Since True Detective is an anthology series, the seasons are not supposed to overlap each other. But with the fourth season, the showrunner has paid homage to True Detective Season 1 through a series of easter eggs and clapbacks.
So what was Tuttle United in True Detective? The name, Tuttle, belonged to the rich and powerful family behind the insidious cult. Yes, the very cult behind the abuse and murder of women and children.
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Are True Detective Season 1 and 4 Connected?
With the mention of Tuttle United in True Detective: Night Country, does this mean both seasons are connected? Does this mean that the Tuttle family is connected with the murder of the Tsalal scientists?
Right now, it seems like the mention of the family name is simply a throwback to the first season. It doesn't look like the Tuttles from True Detective Season 1 are behind this season's atrocities.
In the first season, it was revealed that the cult was already defunct in 2012. The only remaining member, Errol Childress (played by Glenn Fleshler), had been killed by Rust (played by Woody Harrelson) in the season finale.
But who knows, it's possible that the murderer in True Detective: Night Country could be associated with the Tuttle family, the cult, or just some fanatic who's carrying on the same twisted teachings and rituals.
We still have four episodes to look out for.
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