Diksha Sundriyal
The third season of AMC’s ‘Dark Winds’ taps into the deep-seated trauma and guilt of Lt. Joe Leaphorn. These complex emotions seem to manifest in the form of Ye’iitsoh, a La Llorona-type monster who seems to be a suspect behind the killings of a young boy named Ernesto Cata. The second season moves the investigation forward, especially since the discovery of Ernesto’s dead body and the mysterious arrowhead found in his mouth. Most focus, however, remains on Leaphorn’s internal battle laced with grief and guilt. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Joe Leaphorn’s Nightmare Gets Worse as the Investigation Unfolds
Seeing the dead body of the young Ernesto digs up old wounds for Leaphorn. It reminds him of the loss of his young son, and Emma can see the toll that the case is already taking on him. While she advises him to take a step back and delegate such tasks to other people, he doesn’t heed her as much as he should. At the morgue, when he lifts the sheet off Ernesto’s face, he sees BJ Vines’ frozen body instead, followed by the shadow of the Ye’iitsoh. However, it turns out to be a hallucination as Gordo walks into the room and tells Leaphorn to take a break, seeing how visibly distressed he is.
Leaphorn’s next stop is at the dig site, where he finally meets the archaeologist, Mr. Reynolds. He tells him and his assistant, Teddi, that Ernesto was found dead not far from the site and had an arrowhead in his mouth. Teddi is so upset with the news that she immediately drives away in tears. Leaphorn notes her emotions, but he has other matters to attend to. Reynolds quickly looks at the arrowhead and confirms that it is not the real deal but something that can be bought in the market in bulk for a few dimes.
Back at the station, Leaphorn finds Emma talking with Sylvia. It seems that not only has she befriended the FBI agent, but she has also invited her to dinner. This disconcerts Leaphorn, but he decides not to discuss it further. Later, Sylvia seeks him out to find out why, when there was damning evidence against Vines, he was allowed to walk free. Moreover, where did he go without all the money that he had spent his life accumulating? She also mentions Vines’ wife, which means that Rosemary Vines might return in the next episode or so. For now, Sylvia only tells Leaphorn that she will not rest until she has found the bottom of the truth.
Bernadette’s Investigation Brings New Suspects to the Fore
Bernadette Manuelito continues her investigation into the white van. The symbol that the little girl left for her in the last episode makes sense when we find Bernadette spying on a company with the same logo. It turns out that the company belongs to a man named Tom Spenser. On the surface, it seems to be all about drilling oil, but Bernadette is convinced that there is more to business than they let on. Her suspicions get more weight when she finds the white van within the premises of Spenser’s property, who shows her around. Later, however, her boss gets a phone call from Spenser, which is supposed to be a warning call for her, but she doesn’t heed it.
Bernadette discovers that Spenser is not just some rich guy that no one wants to mess with. He also seems to be a key source of information to the Border Patrol, meaning they wouldn’t want to mess up their relationship with him. Sensing that she may be out of her depth, she calls Leaphorn for advice but finds Chee instead. They have a brief conversation where it becomes clear that both of them are yearning for each other in some way. As Bernadette leaves the station, she discovers she has a flat tire. Fortunately, Ivan Muños is there to help her.
The duo go to a bar and play pool. Ivan tries to get Bernadette to talk about herself, but she only seems interested in discovering more about Spenser. Eventually, she lets her hair down and shares a dance with her colleague. Later that night, she crosses paths with a truck belonging to Spenser’s company. She senses something untoward and decides to check the truck. But she has a highly unsettling feeling, which is shared by the audience because one of the people in the truck is a man we saw killing another man at the beginning of the episode. This mysterious man buried a person alive in their car, so we can only imagine what he would do to Bernadette. Luckily, we don’t have to find out. The truck seems to have nothing but oil and Bernadette sends it on its way, though she has a feeling that she just evaded something or someone terrible.
Joe Leaphorn Comes Face to Face With the Monster
While Bernadette has her brush with a monster and comes out unscathed, Leaphorn is not so lucky. Chee’s investigation leads him to look into Shorty Bowlegs’ alibi, only to discover he doesn’t have one. Shorty is arrested, and the cops turn over his house, looking for any evidence that may point toward the fact that he has something to do with Ernesto’s death. The only thing they find is a knife with some blood on it, which later turns out to be that of a horse. More disappointment comes Chee’s way when he is told that they can’t hold Shorty because there is no evidence against him, and he will not confess. Gordo also reminds Leaphorn of his theory that the murderer cannot be a Navajo because no Navajo person would commit the act of defiling someone by putting an arrowhead in their mouth.
While Chee is not convinced, he has no option but to let Shorty go. Later that night, he shows up at Shorty’s house to find him prepping his horse. It’s clear that he is going somewhere, and Chee suspects it might be to find his son, George. Setting aside their differences, Chee convinces Shorty to trust him and let him join the search with Leaphorn. He clarifies that he will not allow their past grievances to affect George and endanger him. Shorty heeds his words and goes to the cabin, where he believes George may be hiding, with the two cops in tow.
Shorty decides to go in first when they reach the cabin because he doesn’t want to spook George by entering with two police officers. However, seconds after his entry, Leaphorn hears him being attacked, and when he goes in, Shorty is already down. While the cop looks for the attacker, he himself is attacked by something. To his horror, he sees the Ye’iitsoh standing in front of him. Leaphorn is sure enough to know that this is not a hallucination and that the dark hooded figure is actually in front of him. But by the time Chee arrives, the monster disappears. Notably, there is also a change in the weather. When it was only Leaphorn, there was a lot of wind, but when Chee shows up, the wind is gone, much like the monster. This suggests that Leaphorn needs to figure out what’s going on with him before things get worse.
Read More: Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 Recap: Ye’iitsoh (Big Monster)
