Last week in Dark Winds, we were left with an ominous feeling in the air between Joe Leaphorn and FBI agent Sylvia Washington. Her words do not reveal what her eyes are saying: this man is guilty. Guilty of what? She’s not sure yet but vows to get to the bottom of the increasingly odd circumstances that surround the death of BJ Vines.
Emma Leaphorn is teetering on the edge while Bernadette Manuelito is enjoying being on the edge. A react first and worry about the repercussions later kind of gal. But soon, she may be in over her head at the border. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Who stole Bernadette’s gun?
"Náá'tsoh" instantly reveals the mystery behind Bernadette’s missing gun. Budge is in the truck sleeping by the man who attempted the kidnapping of the young girl and Mexican mother. When he finds out he stole the border patrol agent’s gun Budge knows he’s become a liability. And he sure didn’t appreciate getting tobacco spit on his leg. Because of his actions, Bernadette is now onto them, and Budge puts a bag over his head to suffocate the incompetent worker. If that wasn’t a statement enough, he then kicks the truck over a cliff and gets in the bulldozer to bury him alive.
Joe finally meets up with Dr. Reynolds at the dig site. They seem to be civil but there’s something shifty about the doctor. When they tell them that Cato has been found dead, Teddi Issacs is visibly upset. He steps inside the trailer on site to show Dr. Reynolds the arrow they found in Ernesto’s mouth. Upon further inspection under a microscope, Dr. Reynolds tells him it’s a fake. And then proceeds to toss the evidence like it’s trash. Now why did he want to demolish the evidence so swiftly?
Bernadette continues living life on the edge for answers
Bernie comes across the Spencer ranch that she tracked the white van to. As she is taking some professional shots and scouting the place out a ram nearly implodes her. In comes Tom Spencer of Spencer Industries to save the day. Or at least cover his tracks. Bernie may have played right into the hand of the fool.
Reluctantly, Tom brings her down to his ranch to let her get a closer look. He reveals that his great-grandfather started the ranch and they’d been there since the land was owned by Mexico. Spencer Oil is a multi-million dollar corporation. Oil is a lucrative business and it appears Tom has done very well for himself. However, it looks like he’s got his hand dipped in much more than oil.
Upon a deeper inspection of the van, Bernadette wants to take a look inside. She can already tell the van has been changed. The license plate is different and the inside of the vehicle looks nearly immaculate holding supplies. When she asks who was driving the van two days ago, Spencer brushes it off like he is a far too busy man to keep track of that sort of thing.
Before leaving, Bernie notices another building there that looks oddly suspicious. Tom tells her it’s a vapor barrier and something she doesn’t want to breathe in. Or it’s a way to get her to leave before she uncovers something deadly about his operation. The oil baron tried to give Manuelito just enough to calm her fears, but it only opened up her mind to further suspicion.
All signs point to Shorty
Shorty Bowlegs is packing for a hunting trip until Joe spots the murder weapon in the barn. Shorty may be happily arrested by Chee, but he’s not carrying himself like he’s a guilty man. Unfortunately, for Shorty, his alibi doesn’t check out and the murder weapon identified at the coroner's office has been found with blood on it. When Chee and Leaphorn interrogate him and shove images of Cato’s wounds, emotions hit Shorty pretty hard. It was soon revealed the blood on the hook knife was from a horse, not a human. With no evidence connecting Bowlegs, they had to let him go.
When Bernie calls the station to talk to Joe about the situation she’s found herself in, Jim answers the phone. It was quite an awkward conversation between exes. Bernie is at a stage where she’s ready to move on. After a flat tire, she and Ivan strike up an even more flirtatious fun evening at the bar playing pool. They open up about their people back home, he asks if there’s anyone Bernie is missing and she replies with nobody right now. Ouch. Sorry, Jim. It is nice to see Bernie letting her guard down and having some fun. In this world, you take it where you can get it.
Jim Chee comes up behind Shorty Bowlegs before he leaves again. At this stage, he knows that Shorty is going to his son. Shorty reveals that George is at the family cabin. Bowlegs doesn’t trust him, and for good reason. Chee is not seeing the bigger picture. But it is vital that Chee and Leaphorn question George, so he offers his help. George shouldn’t have to suffer because of their bad blood.
The three men get to the cabin to track down George and Shorty is furiously knocked out and attacked by the monster. Leaphorn is left with a big gash on his arm from whatever form of life or death attacked Shorty. Now the lieutenant knows the monster is real.
Thoughts on the episode:
The guilt Leaphorn has over the secrets he’s withholding from Emma is starting to consume him. Emma feels more distant from him than ever, and it’s taking a toll on their marriage.
Washington is still a thorn in Leaphorn’s side. She knows a man like Vines wouldn’t vanish into the wind without his money, and pokes and prods Leaphorn for answers. Testing his willingness to divulge anything.
Dark Winds releases new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC Plus.