True Detective Season 4: What does Mrs Robinson mean?

The name ‘Mrs. Robinson’ was said during a key scene in Episode 3 of True Detective Night Country this week, but what is it referencing?

True Detective Night Country – which is Season 4 of the acclaimed series – is the best installment since the first. But it’s also pretty heavy stuff, dealing with big themes and dark crimes.

The central story concerns two mysteries – one involving a research team that disappears, then reappears frozen to death in the Alaskan wilderness. The other revolving around a Native American woman who was murdered and mutilated.

But between the serious scenes, showrunner Issa López has managed to feature some black humor, including a funny reference to movie character Mrs Robinson.

True Detective Season 4: What does Mrs Robinson mean?

During an argument between Alaskan Police Officers Hank Prior (John Hawkes), and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis), Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) steps in to break things up.

Danvers tells Prior he’s getting a negligence report for his mishandling of a case. To which Hank responds: “Maybe I outta file a report on you for playing Mrs Robinson with my kid.” In reference to Danvers’ close working relationship with his son Peter (Finn Bennett). Prompting Danvers to throw a drink in his face.

Peter looks confused in the background. And a little later asks “Who is Mrs Robinson?” A question that Danvers ignores, but we’ll answer here.

Mrs. Robinson is the character played by Anne Bancroft in 1967 comedy classic The Graduate. Robinson is unhappily married in the movie, and seduces the 21-year-old son of her friends – Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman.

The movie was such a monumental hit that Mrs Robinson entered the lexicon – a by-word for an older lady who is interested in younger men. So the inference is pretty offensive in the True Detective scene, with Hank Prior suggesting that Liz Danvers is sleeping with his son, who also happens to be her subordinate. But it’s also pretty funny that Pete doesn’t know who Mrs Robinson is, though to be fair, 1967 was a long time ago.

When asked about the dark humor that underpins Night Country, writer-director Lopez tells Vanity Fair: “As a Mexican, our survival tool in the face of horror is both beauty and laughter. That’s how we cope with it…. The most salient feature of Mexican culture is how we laugh and celebrate death and bones.”

True Detective Night Country airs on HBO/Max in the US on Sundays, and Sky/NOW in the UK on Mondays.