Warning: spoilers ahead for True Detective season 4's episode 5.

Summary

• Season 4 of True Detective seems to misdirect viewers with references to the season 1 villains, the Tuttles.
• It is unlikely that the Tuttles will have a larger role in the season's finale, suggesting that their references were red herrings.

Although Travis Cohle as Rust's father to featuring the spiral motifs, True Detective season 4 did it all to intrigue audiences.

However, in the episodes that followed, the season seemingly took a step back from all the referencing and nodding to present a standalone narrative with little to no links with previous seasons. Despite focusing less on its potential season 1 connection in recent episodes, True Detective: Night Country has featured a subtle callback to the Tuttles in episode 5. Since True Detective: Night Country already seems to have a self-contained storyline, it is hard not to wonder whether the Tuttle nod is a red herring or will eventually mean something more in season 4's finale.

The Tuttles Aren't Directly Involved In True Detective Season 4's Story (Despite Being Referenced)

True Detective season 4 dropped its first reference to the Tuttles in an early episode where Peter Prior mentioned that the Tsalal research facility was indirectly funded by Tuttle United. The second reference to the season 1 family comes in episode 5, where Peter claims that Tuttle United was the founding partner of the Silver Sky mine, which is responsible for polluting Ennis' water. Since Tuttle United links the Tsalal research facility and the Silver Sky mine, Danvers deduces that Silver Sky may be paying Tsalal to publish fake pollution numbers for them.

Considering how True Detective season 4 avoids delving into other details surrounding the Tuttle family and only references the name to draw a minor connection between its central antagonistic organizations, it seems unlikely that the Tuttles will have a larger role to play in the season's finale. There is no suggestion of greater involvement from the family, and none of the investigators seem to be looking deeper into the family's past. This suggests that the Tuttle nods were mere red herrings, carefully placed to entice viewers and prompt them to draw connections between seasons 1 and 4.

Why It's Better If True Detective: Night Country Avoids The Tuttles

Although the Tuttles' return in True Detective: Night Country would have been fascinating in some ways, season 4 would have had to retcon several season 1 story elements to include them in its storyline as primary villains. True Detective season 1 had established that the Tuttle cult was defunct because most of its had died. Errol Childress was the last link in the family's complex lineage, and he, too, was killed in season 1's finale. Owing to this, it would not have made sense for the Tuttles to be responsible for everything that happened in Ennis in True Detective: Night Country.

Since each season of the HBO series has a distinct identity, True Detective season 4 would have also risked diluting the impact of its own unique storyline by having strong connections with season 1. While the Tuttle connection between Tsalal and Silver Sky also seems a little forced and unnecessary, it at least does not compromise the integrity of season 1's lore. At the same time, it also allows True Detective: Night Country to have a well-rounded narrative that does not live in the shadow of season 1's legacy.

True Detective season 4's finale drops next Sunday on HBO Max.