The writers, cast, and craftspeople of Dark Winds have such a gift with pacing. Take this 43-minute episode, which easily feels only half that length. It hums and moves from plot point to plot point, while also taking the time to settle into character beats, especially in the episode’s best scene: a reunion between Joe Leaphorn and his wife Emma (Deanna Allison).
Let’s start there because it’s such a great two-hander, one of the best in the history of the show. The investigation into what the hell is going on with Billie Tsosie has brought the trio of Navajo cops Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito to Los Angeles. It has also afforded Joe a much-needed reunion with his wife, who left at the end of season three after she discovered the role her husband played in the death of B.J. Vines.
Joe claims to be bringing Emma her stir sticks, which are common Navajo items that you can learn more about here, and a nice personal, cultural touch for a show built on that kind of detail. Emma tells Joe that she feels appreciated in L.A. And she looks truly great, happier and healthier than arguably ever before, although there are many subtle clues that she’s willing to open a door to a reunion, including the prominent placement of her nametag with the word Leaphorn and how she doesn’t pull away when Joe gently grabs her hands. The way he nervously takes them and holds them to his mouth is such a graceful note by Zahn McClarnon, as is the way he watches her as she takes a phone call. She’s gotta go because of an accident on the 101, but the pre-commercial tag to the scene is the waitress asking, “So you know what you want?” He does. To be with Emma again.
“Ni’ Ániidí (The New World)” also reveals more about Franka Potente’s Irene Vaggan. She’s an assassin, murdering a wealthy man who lives in the shadow of the Hollywood sign in the episode’s prologue. She resides in what looks like a bunker with her dementia-addled grandfather (played by the legendary Udo Kier, who died in November). Finally, she works for a man behind bars named Dominic McNair (Titus Welliver, an always-welcome presence). Dominic needs Irene to clean up the loose end that is Billie Tsosie before an imminent trial. Has Irene been hired to kill witnesses? What did Leroy know that a crime lord wants to kill him over? Did he tell Albert? Did Albert tell Billie? One other thing about Irene: She’s still obsessed with Joe Leaphorn, putting a photo of him on her mirror like a teenage girl with a new crush.
Of course, the main focus of this episode is Jim Chee, who leads the investigation into Billie’s return to Los Angeles from a place of body-shaking trauma. He continues to bleed from the nose and now a wound on his torso. He’s an emotional and physical mess, torn down to the bone by both the return to a city he once fled to with his mother and the news that Joe passed him over for promotion in favor of Bernadette.
Chee pushes through all of this intense “ghost sickness” to connect with a mysterious figure named Sonny (Chaske Spencer of Twilight) outside the Indian Center. Chee pretends to be a Vietnam vet named Mike to get a deeper meeting with Sonny, who seems to be a low-level crime dude, someone who looks at Polaroids of likely stolen cars and talks tough about the cool parties he hosts. He invites Chee to one of those, and our Three Musketeers hope that Billie might show up, too, and maybe even Leroy.
The bulk of the second half of the episode takes place at this party with Joe watching from a window across the street and Bernadette in a car outside as Jim goes in. As Jim gets truly messed up even further with drugs and drink amplifying his already nightmarish condition, Bernadette spots Billie going in the back door. She follows and takes a seat at the bar while Billie does her own investigative work to find Leroy. She’s warned to get the hell out of the City Of Angels.
That’s about when everything goes very wrong. Inside, Jim hits the wall, going into the bathroom just in time to puke and bleed everywhere from his nose, torso, and gut. Or does he? When Bern goes in to save him, it’s revealed that much of what Chee has been seeing has been hallucinations. There isn’t any blood on the floor or his face. He’s covered in puke, but it’s a reminder that the “sickness” that has been haunting Chee is in his head as much as his body. Sonny notices Jim going off with Bernadette.
It’s worse outside, where Joe notices a sniper rifle in another window, entering that building to investigate. Who else is targeting the party? Leroy? Irene? Suddenly, Joe is overtaken by two men who beat him badly, knocking him to the ground. Cut to black. We’ll have to wait a week to see how he gets out of this one.
Stray observations
- • Love the marquee nod to the late producer of this show: Jeremiah Johnson starring Robert Redford.
- • For some reason, Jim’s line about being a Navajo tour guide made me laugh: “White people like their rocks, man.”
- • I’ve talked about the way this show uses music, but this episode is one of the best examples. It opens with Irene set to “End Of The Night” by The Doors, a foreboding track by a famous L.A. band, hinting where we’re even before the Hollywood Sign reveal. The team uses ’70s rock throughout the episode, including tunes by Led Zeppelin (“Black Dog”) and The Rolling Stones (“All Down The Line”), but they switch to something more befitting a Navajo bar when Jim and Sonny meet: “Red Dirt Boogie, Brother” by Jesse Ed Davis. Chef’s kiss.
- • Emma asks Joe to meet at a place called The Source, a major vegetarian restaurant on Sunset that led to a cult. There’s even a documentary about it called The Source Family. Go down this rabbit hole. It’s worth it.
- • We’re halfway through this excellent season. The MVP is likely still the Zahn McClarnon, but Kiowa Gordon is doing well with the complicated journey of Jim Chee, one that’s clearly not reached rock bottom yet.
Brian Tallerico is a contributor to The A.V. Club.
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