True Detective: Night Country's Huge Rust Cohle Connection Officially Confirmed
"True Detective" may be an anthology series, but "True Detective: Night Country" showrunner Issa López confirmed a significant connection to the show's beginnings. Some fans have theorized the character of Travis (Erling Eliasson) is the father of Rust Cohle, Matthew McConaughey's character from Season 1. And on X, formerly known as Twitter, someone asked López point-blank if that was true, to which she simply responded, "Yes."
The seeds were planted long ago, as Rust mentions in Season 1 he spent time with his father, Travis, in Alaska. Additionally, he talks about how his father had leukemia. On Episode 2 of "True Detective: Night Country," Navarro (Kali Reis) speaks with Rose Aguineau (Fiona Shaw), Travis' lover, and Rose relates how she still sees visions of him. She also talks about how Travis had leukemia, and instead of waiting for the disease to take him, he wandered into the ice to accept death. However, anyone who watched the episode with subtitles could probably piece it together because Travis' last name is brought up, and it's spelled "Cohle."
This could merely be a fun Easter egg for "True Detective" fans to pick up on. However, it could also set the stage for a substantial development later in the season.
Could Matthew McConaughey's Rust Cohle appear on True Detective: Night Country?
Getting an update on Rust's father may not be the only way "True Detective: Night Country" ties back to Season 1. News of this revelation will undoubtedly make fans wonder if there's a chance Rust himself would venture back to Alaska, and there's evidence to suggest this season could build up toward that (or at least something else huge).
Matthew McConaughey appeared on "The Rich Eisen Show" in 2016 and discussed "True Detective." When asked if he'd return to the character, the actor said, "Yeah, I would. I miss Rust Cohle, man ... It would have to be the right context." As "True Detective: Night Country" has earned stellar reviews from critics, with many comparing it favorably to Season 1, this could be the story to bring Rust back. And fans would be enthusiastic about that development, as YouTuber @lanlodger commented, "Would pay for good money to see Rust on my television screen again."
Issa López has also hinted at some big revelations to come. At an HBO event (via Entertainment Weekly), she revealed, "There are Easter eggs throughout that you will find, and there's a big, big thing in Episode 6 that you will discover in time." The Rust-Travis connection is surely one of the Easter eggs she was talking about, but there's something even more massive to come. This is complete speculation, but maybe Episode 6 of "Night Country" will see Rust in the flesh. The character says time is a flat circle, so McConaughey's return to "True Detective" would fit within the ethos of how everything must repeat itself.