Joe Leaphorn may have just risked it all for justice in Dark Winds

In Dark Winds Season 3 we see a side of Joe Leaphorn we’ve never seen before. Yes, we’ve seen him distraught and heartbroken but we have never seen this Joe on the cusp of losing everything. Joe believed justice for his son outweighed any risk of what could follow.

White justice vs. Indian justice

There has always been a big disparity between how white men are convicted for their crimes vs. how Indians are convicted for theirs. Not only have Native Americans been forced to give up their land, but their children were subjected to boarding schools to erase their culture and reform them into white culture. There has been forced sterilization that Indian women have been a party to. And in every season of Dark Winds, there has been a white villain who has come to the Navajo Nation to take what they want knowing most likely they would get away with it.

How does Joe Leaphorn fit into this cold hard truth from the past?

Back in season one we learned Joe Leaphorn’s son died from an explosion at the Drumco oil site, three years before the events of the show. Last season it was discovered that BJ Vines was the mastermind behind the Drumco bombing. It may have been Colton Wolf who committed the actual act, but he was hired by BJ Vines to do it. It was because there was untapped uranium beneath the drill site so Colton was ordered to demolish it so the value of the site would plummet, and the wealthy business could buy it at a next-to-nothing price.

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This feels familiar

White justice allowed Vines to get away with the unforgivable. He had enough money to bail himself out of jail. Joe knew there was a high chance he could get away with it all. Being a wealthy white man in this world was a key to freedom no matter how atrocious of a man he may be. In return, Leaphorn kidnapped Vines and took him out into the desert. He was going to kill him but Joe’s morals got the better of him. Then he let the wilderness do what the wilderness does and left BJ Vines to freeze to death. Indian justice.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Are Joe’s actions going to come back to bite him?

The FBI sent an agent by the name of Sylvia Washington to the Kayenta Police Department in the Navajo Nation. She was dispatched to wrap up some cases within the department, mainly BJ Vines. The fact that Washington gets to come in to button up cases the tribal police can’t show you the difference between white justice and Indian justice. They may have their tribal laws, but white justice can come in any time and take over.

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Jenna Elfman as Sylvia Washington – Dark Winds _ Season 3 – Photo Credit: Michael Moriatis/AMC

When Sylvia begins to question the lieutenant Joe attempts to play it as cool as possible. He’s stoic and keeps his answers short but it’s as if Sylvia can see right through him. She asks if Leaphorn knows him and if he is a well-liked man. Joe has no qualms about saying he wasn’t. But I doubt that’s new information to Washington. The agent knows much more than she’s letting on, but she’s feeling Leaphorn out. It takes no genius to see that a wealthy businessman doesn’t vanish without a trace. She thinks there’s more to the story. Of course, there is.

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The walls could be closing in on Joe Leaphorn faster than he thinks. Gordo Sena tries to calm his fears and tells him not to worry about something until there’s something to worry about. But this is an FBI agent, and Joe’s fearful that Washington may find something he missed. BJ Vines paid for his crimes but Leaphorn may now be facing that same road.

Can Emma and Joe survive this?

Emma and Joe Leaphorn were night and day in the first episode. In the opening, they seemed happy having breakfast and being the adoring loving couple we know and love. Later on, they have dinner and Joe tells her about a coyote he saw going north. Whatever the spiritual meaning behind this, it isn’t a good omen.

The lies are eating at Joe’s soul

Joe hasn’t been sleeping well and Emma has some deep suspicions why. But Joe has still not told her about taking justice into his own hands. He feels like it’s his job as a husband to hide her from that. It may be unclear what secrets Joe is withholding, but Emma feels like her husband is slipping further and further away. The partnership she once felt is faltering. And she seems unsure if she even wants to grasp onto it anymore.

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The way Sylvia is already eying Joe like he’s a guilty man walking makes you wonder if everything in Leaphorn’s life will come crumbling down. He’s a respected lawman, but I can’t see the FBI letting the real facts of the case slip through the cracks.

What have we learned in the first two episodes?

• George Bowlegs is on the run and Shortly refuses to be much help.
• Jim Chee has a sorted history with Shorty from the times he bullied him in school.
• Jim Chee was once a talented cross-country runner who went toe to toe with a champion.
• Bernadette is at the border in New Mexico and wreaking havoc already.
• Sylvia Washington isn’t street smarts but she’s an intelligence agent.
• Bernie thinks she is close to uncovering a human trafficking ring at the border.
• Sylvia Washington is onto Joe Leaphorn.
• The reason Jim Chee and Shorty Bowlegs hate each other is that Jim’s mom once dated Shorty’s dad. He beat his mother and then tried to kill Chee before his mother stopped him.
• Producers Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin make a fun appearance in the jail cell playing chess.
• Bernadette may be biting off more than she can chew, but she may have found a new beau.
• Bernie is a hero off the bat. She saved a Mexican mother and child who fled from the white van.
• There is a monster but it’s unclear if it’s Joe’s or if there’s another villain to take down.
• When Bernie questions the mother and daughter about who is responsible for their kidnapping the little girl draws a pig. Dirty cops could be in play at the border patrol.
• There is some kind of connection between the Folsom people to the Navajo people.
• Joe studied anthropology at Arizona State.
• Teddi Issacs the dig site manager seemed to be keen on the boys but Dr. Reynolds told them to leave and never come back. Reynolds could be a future suspect.
• There’s something very shifty about Senior Chief Ed Henry. Bernadette is determined to get to the bottom of it.
• Joe and Gordo find the body of Ernesto Cata.
• There is an arrowhead in Cata’s mouth which leads you to believe the murder wasn’t done by any native.
• The death of Cata brings back memories of losing Joe Jr.
• Emma sees her husband drifting further and further apart, but she thinks it’s because of the case of the missing boys.
• There’s something shady about Dr. Reynolds. He lets Joe know the arrowhead found in Ernesto’s mouth was a fake. But if true, why did he try and throw the evidence away?
• Even when things are shaky between Emma and Joe, she still comes to give her husband lunch and comforts him lovingly.
• A friendship is starting to form between Sylvia and Emma. Much to Joe’s dismay.
• Bernie meets Tom Spencer and continues asking too many questions. She is eventually demoted to weigh station duty.
• Shorty is not Cata’s killer. The blood from the knife belonged to a horse.
• The awkwardness between Chee and Manuelito is intense. And so is the chemistry between Berndette and Ivan.
• Shorty and Jim come to an understanding and together with Joe they go to the family cabin to find George, but they find the monster instead. Shorty is knocked out by the force of it and Joe is massively clawed on his forearm.
• The monster is real..or is it?

Episode 3 of season 3 airs Sunday, March 23 at 9 PM ET on AMC and AMC Plus.

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About the author: Shay has been writing as a journalist professionally for years. Her most common topics to cover are drama and horror but she looks forward to getting her feet wet with new and exciting genres and projects. @ShaySleighs