True Detective Ending explained: Who killed the scientists, who killed Annie K, and what did the spiral symbol mean?

Here's what you need to know about the True Detective ending as season four of the explosive season comes to an end.

True Detective: Night Country premiered on Sunday, February 18th and had fans' jaws on the floor. Viewers have been gripped by this season that had them questioning; who is Travis Cohle? and where was True Detective filmed? And what on earth was the meaning of the spiral symbol? Now the season has concluded we finally have all the answers! Here's everything you need to know about the True Detective season four ending...

Who killed Annie K in True Detective?

It was revealed that Annie K - or Annie Masu Kowtok - was murdered by all of the TSALAL scientists. In earlier episodes, Danvers and Navarro discovered that Annie was in a relationship with Raymond Clark, one of the TSALAL scientists. When Annie discovered what the scientists were up to she tried to gather evidence in the ice caves.

A flashback showed Annie being stabbed to death by Anders Lund in the ice cave with a star-shaped tool 32 times. Clark then dragged him off her and he went to help Annie who quickly attacked him. The scientists then all cornered Annie and began beating her and killing her, for destroying their work and putting their research at risk.

Clark loved her but just watched as they murdered her, telling Annie's body, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me." When she suddenly gasped for air, revealing she was still alive, he then smothered her to death with the shirt he had just used to wipe her eyes. 

 Who killed the scientists in True Detective?

Annie K's death was the reason for the TSALAL scientist's death. In the final moments of the show, Navarro and Danvers found a handprint on the trap in the TSALAL research base of a hand with only two fingers - pointing to one of the characters we met earlier in the season, Blair, one of the cleaning ladies.

It is revealed that the women in the cleaning crew, including Beatrice Malee and Blair Hartman were the ones who killed the seven scientists, as revenge for killing Annie K. The women 'tell a story' as their confession as Beatrice reveals they knew that the men killed Annie years ago and they decided to take their revenge. 

While cleaning in the lab, Beatrice found the secret hatch to the ice caves and found the tool that killed Annie and the women put the truth together. Rather than telling the police, the women decided to take matters into their own hands. They ambushed the labs with guns, and forced the men into the back of the truck, they left Clark who was the hatch to the caves, but Blair left her handprint on the hatch as she tried to open it.

The women then took the men out into the ice, ordered them to strip and leave their clothes and venture out into the ice. "If she wanted them she would take them, and if not, their clothes were there for them, they'd be half frozen but they'd survive. But they didn't though, I guess she wanted to take them," said Beatrice about the ice as the flashback showed her drawing a spiral on Lund's head.

The women then left the men on the ice, "But it's just a story," said Beatrice as she denied any confession or responsibility for the men's deaths. The rest of the crew then surrounded Beatrice in support, showing that their actions were justified against the cruel men who believed their work more important that a woman's life.

Danvers then confirmed that the cause of death was an avalanche and the case is officially closed, they were just letting them all know as the TSALAL scientists were their employers, meaning the women would not be charged or convicted.

What did the spiral symbol mean in True Detective?

The spiral symbol was a confusing part of True Detective season four which had a lot of fans in a tizzy. When Danvers and Navarro finally made their way into the ice caves of Ennis, they found a huge whale skeleton locked into the ice that formed a spiral shape. It was this skeleton that the TSALAL scientists were researching, and it was this research with huge machinery which was causing catastrophic pollution and harm to the townspeople.

Rose said in another episode that the spiral is an ancient symbol, "It’s old, missy. Older than Ennis. It's older than the ice, probably." Although the symbol is linked to the skeleton in the caves, as the skeleton has been there for such a long time the symbol has lost its proper meaning. 

In episode five, Qavvik's friend tells Navarro about the spiral, "My grandpa, he told me to walk away when I saw those. People would leave them as a warning for hunters," he says. "Places where the ice would swallow them whole." This is clearly a symbol denoting the skeleton's location which is accessible in the caves where the ice is thin on the surface, but it has lost meaning over time and just become a symbol of danger.

The skeleton is the key to the season as it is its presence that causes all the deaths in the series. This is why the symbol is so key to the series as it is the image of the spiritual and scientific parts of Ennis' history coming together.