It seems like yesterday Dark Winds season two premiered, but with Dark Winds it’s all about quality, not quantity. The series went leaps and bounds over the first season and brought AMC and AMC Plus numbers that more than doubled its rookie season. This Sunday we must say goodbye to New Mexico, but just for a little while we hope.
In the sneak peek of Dark Winds finale, there is an argument between white man justice vs Indian justice. Joe Leaporn’s father is convinced that B.J. Vines the wealthy white man will get off and not face the consequences for the part he played in his grandson's death. Though Bernie tries to tell him the law can prevail, he’s too seasoned to know any different. Vines’ money will work the system from the judge all the way down to his lawyer and the charges will be dropped. “White justice and Indian justice are two different things,” Henry tells his son and Bernadette.
"The Charley’s deserve a little Indian justice. So does my grandson. That don’t mean they’ll get it."Henry Leaphorn
Joe Leaphorn tries to tell his father that times have changed. But Henry only replies that times have changed but things haven’t, before leaving the office.
We left off in the previous episode with Colton slipping out of the law's hand yet again. Gordo was found with his vehicle flipped over during Colton’s transfer to the federal penitentiary. Episode 5 became more clear that there was more of a connection than we know with Colton and B.J. Vines. In the finale, it’s safe to see we will have a kind of resolution between Colton and Joe Leaphorn. There must be some justice finally served and some questions answered before it’s all said and done for season two.
What fans would like to see in the Dark Winds
There remains a lot of mystery behind the emergence of B.J. Vines. We have seen him performing sacred ceremonies and exploiting the Navajo culture. There have been far too many coincidences to explain away Vines’ part in connection with Colton the “blond man” Leaphorn and Chee have had an instinct from the start that Vines was in on this but now they have the evidence that leads right to him.
Can Rosemary be an ally? In episode 5, we saw Rosemary distraught over the loss of Tomas. If he was Rosemary’s lover could this be the last straw for Mrs. Vines? She plays the role of the bored innocent housewife but she could be privy to information that could bury her husband. While I don’t think she is a villain in this story she’s not all innocent and in order to save herself she could carry the key to her freedom. Or maybe she will do the right thing out of the goodness of her heart. And give the Navajo Nation back what her husband took.
The blond man has got to be put away once and for all right? This man has slipped out of their hands more times than a football in Terrell Owens’s hands. If season three does come about, they will have to be chasing after another serial killer in another one of Tony Hillerman’s books so the story with Colton must conclude.
And what about the story of Linda Maddox and his mother? We now know Linda Maddox is not his mother because she is too young. In Colton’s flashback, we only heard a gunshot and it was assumed that Colton murdered his mother out of mercy for killing his family but we didn’t see her dead. There seems like a ton of story left to be told and such a short time to do it in. It may have to carry over into the next season but I greedily hope fans can get the answers they have been watching all season for.
It is still too soon for Mary Landon to make a difference in exposing the American government to the inhumane practices against Native American women utilizing sterilization. But I think Mary has made headway with some of the women like Suzy in gained some trust. Hopefully, by next season's end, she will make a difference and change the future for these innocent indigenous women.
I would love to see Emma put down her walls and talk about her son more. Maybe she could find a friend in Mary. Mary has shown that she has a heart for these women, even helping Suzy with the rough time she was going through as a mother. There are a lot of things Emma has yet to battle. Much of that surrounds the heartache of losing her son and not knowing how to heal from that healthily. It has been spectacular to see Emma Leaphorn more this season and to witness the beautiful relationship she and Joe have, even with all their pain.
There has been no confirmation for a season three of Dark Winds yet but there’s a high possibility of getting a season three with the success season two has had. On AMC Plus Dark Winds has more than doubled its numbers from the opening season. Content creation will not be a problem with many Tony Hillerman books to choose from. We still may not be done with the People of Darkness yet. If it does wrap up in the season finale then that leaves the door open to start season three with a brand new story for Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee to tackle.
The season finale of Dark Winds airs this Sunday at 9 PM ET and on AMC Plus this Thursday.