Healing is a major theme throughout Dark Winds‘ third season. Is it possible for the show’s characters to move past their traumas even as new problems are frequently dumped on them? This question has loomed over Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and his wife, Emma (Deanna Allison). Their marriage suffers in the aftermath of Joe’s decision to seek revenge on the man who killed their son, a “weak act” that a principled and spiritual Emma finds difficult to absolve. Meanwhile, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) helps investigate the disappearance of a teenager who happens to be the son of his high-school bully. The case forces him to confront his own past in the process. Then there’s Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), who moves 500 miles away, hoping a new job and city will help sort out an identity crisis. Instead, she gets entangled in conspiracies and corruption at the Border Patrol.
Dark Winds‘ solid finale doesn’t provide easy answers for anyone, but the episode ends on a poignant idea that it is, in fact, possible for all four of them to get a fresh start. The journey ahead is going to be challenging, particularly for the Leaphorns, but Dark Winds leaves us on a hopeful note anyway. And hope is a sentiment that has now become the main one on AMC’s crime drama. The show depicts how, against all odds, the Native protagonists will survive and thrive together. Being rooted so deeply in culture, community, and history, as reflected in the Indigenous representation on- and off-camera, makes Dark Winds rise above its counterparts on TV right now. It’s too bad the show is still so darn underrated when it should be a top Emmys contender.
Another reason Dark Winds feels incredibly immersive is the cinematography and production design. The team delivers a singular, sunny snapshot of the Southwest in the ’70s. Picturesque locations and well-designed sets come into play in a big way in “Béésh Łį́į́ (Iron Horse).” The episode’s first half is spent almost entirely at the Reno train station. Joe, Jim, Gordo (Al Martinez), and the rest of the Navajo Tribal Police officers are combing the area to capture a scared George Bowlegs, who has run off to see his mother. The cops want to get to the kid before his former boss, archaeologist Dr. Reynolds (Christopher Heyerdahl), does. As a refresher, Joe figured out in episode seven that Reynolds killed Ernesto Cata for interrupting his plans to falsify data on his dig site. The man now wants to ensure George, the only witness to his crime, also dies.
Joe and Jim are determined to stop Reynolds, but the stakes are far more personal for them than just doing their jobs. In Joe’s case, he sees in George a glimpse of his son whom he could not save. The least he can do now is protect other young boys from any type of violence in his jurisdiction. Jim has a deeper investment as well, now that he’s bonded with George’s father, Shorty (Derek Hinkey). The two have buried the hatchet, in another sign from Dark Winds that people can evolve and heal. So now Jim wants to bring Shorty’s son safely back to him. DW has developed these storylines intricately, making it easy to invest in the outcome beyond “Can they catch the culprit and solve this case?”
As everyone converges on the platform, a chase ensues that goes on a tad longer than necessary, with Joe and Jim leaping onto the moving train where they suspect George is hiding. They’re right. And eventually, the three of them and Reynolds, who followed George aboard, end up at the back of the train, where Joe convinces the doctor not to kill an unarmed, innocent kid. Their intense conversation is a highlight of the episode, thanks to McClarnon’s committed delivery of his character’s pleas.
While all this goes down in Reno, Bern suffers a life-or-death emergency at the Border Patrol concerning her investigation into Spenser’s (Bruce Greenwood) drug smuggling business. She was stabbed in the back by her coworker/roommate, Eleanda (Tonantzin Carmelo), who basically gifted her to the notorious Budge. This betrayal hurts way worse than finding out Ivan Munos (Alex Meraz) took bribes from Spenser to look the other way. Budge tries to kill—emphasis on tries—Bern, and she almost gives up. Her spirit is only reinvigorated when her eyes land on a feather hanging inside her car. A feather symbolizes power and freedom in Native culture, and that’s all the motivation she needs to fight back.
Bern frees herself from the handcuffs and rushes to stab Budge. This confrontation is impressively straightforward—there are no big speeches, fist fights, or gunshots between them. Bern shoves a weapon into his throat so fast that he can barely process that he’s dying. All he can do is muster a laugh and the words, “This shouldn’t be happening.” Oh, but it is. I love that a no-nonsense and tenacious Bern brings this maniac down and that she proves (to herself more than anyone else) that she’s a capable officer. Bern gets some help from a guilt-ridden Officer Munos to nab the drugs being driven out in Spenser’s oil trucks. Once they finish their duty and rescue the family Budge had captured, Munos declares his love for Bern. But she’s not falling for it. She’s got other plans.
“Béésh Łį́į́ (Iron Horse)” ends with a somber montage to reveal where everyone ends up after a tough day. Joe gets some face time with F.B.I. agent Sylvia (Jenna Elfman), who announces she’s heading back to Washington because she can’t prove he killed B.J. Vines. She leaves him with a parting gift: a tape of Emma’s official interview, when she told Sylvia that she hopes to forgive Joe one day. Her words, if not her physical presence, are all Joe needs right now to stay centered in the present instead of dwelling solely on the past. Bern also drives back home in a more confident state than she was in when she left. She heads straight to Jim’s trailer, the two exchanging pleasant smiles, a promising sign of the relationship they’re finally ready to start building.
Stray observations
- • Jim wasn’t exactly undercover during the whole Reno operation, so I would love to know why the man is dressed to the nines for the occasion instead of his usual uniform. This is not a complaint, though, because he rocked that suit.
- • I missed Deanna Allison tonight. The episode-seven moment in which Emma tearfully discusses how Joe’s decision has left her isolated and angry is one of season three’s best scenes.
- • On that note, we got some backstory on how Joe and Emma met: on their college campus, where Emma started a Native club that Joe sought out after his return from the war.
- • There better be a wholesome rom-com subplot with Jim and Bern in season four. Kiowa Gordon and Jessica Matten share such a warm chemistry, as witnessed in their final scene of the finale, that they deserve a meatier storyline when it comes to their budding romance. Enough of the will-they/won’t-they.
- • Season three has been terrific overall, but the sixth episode (featuring Joe Leaphorn in a ketamine-induced fever dream) gets my vote as the series’ finest outing yet.
- • Which Tony Hillerman book do you think Dark Winds should adapt for its fourth season?
