What happens in Dark Winds season 2 episode 1?

Dark Winds is about to get even darker this season as Chee and Leaphorn join forces again to take down a killer in Navajo Country. After coming off a highly rated and critically acclaimed season one of Dark Winds the boys are back in the habit and ready to tackle their next villain to make a safer home for the reservation. Season two starts off with a leading moment that sets the tone for how the episode unfolds.

Before we dive into the episode, let's tThe synopsis for season 2 of Dark Winds:

“Lt. Joe Leaphorn reunites with Jim Chee, his former deputy turned private eye, when their separate cases bring them together in pursuit of the same suspect. They find themselves in the high desert of Navajo Country chasing a killer who’s turned his sights on them to protect a secret that rips open old wounds and challenges Leaphorn’s moral and professional code. With the help of Sgt. Manuelito and Valencia County Sheriff Gordo Sena, Leaphorn and Chee must thwart their would-be assassin and restore balance not only to their own lives, but to the reservation that depends on them.”

Joe and Bernadette track a suspect to a trailer park. They think they him subdued inside the trailer but little do they know they are the ones about to be trapped. The perp blasts outs some rounds up and down the trailer as it’s shot into oblivion when they're inside. Luckily Leaphorn was smart enough to get them down and covered just in time.

Dark Winds: One More Silver Dollar

Right off the bat in the first episode, the music won me over with "Midnight Rider" by the Allman Brothers playing in the background as Joe rides his horse. Which was six days prior to the opening events of the episode. Joe is tending to his animals and getting ready to work on his bike while his wife Emma is at work.

After dealing with one of her patients with a severed finger, she takes him to the hospital and ends up becoming a patient herself. A Navajo victim getting cancer treatment went to his truck and was bombed. He only had a couple of months to live so his abrupt death was very suspicious. Emma gets caught in the crossfire, unfortunately.

Joe investigates the site of the explosion with Gordo, but unlike Gordo, he doesn’t believe it’s an explosion from a gas line. He had already found a piece of wire attached to his wife’s hair. Upon even further investigation Joe finds a timer sprint within the door of the truck further validating his bomb theory.

Luckily, her stay in the hospital wasn’t extended and she was able to go home soon. Emma wants her husband to follow the way of the Diné. Knowing that they have been around far too much death, and it’s not normal. She wants to have a ceremony to restore some balance to their family’s life. It has been a real treat to see Deanna Allison get some well-deserved screen time this season.

Dark Winds: Why would you kill a man on his last legs?

The bombing victim, Emerson Charley, may have only had a few months to live but there are too many strange questions surrounding why someone would want to kill a man who was going to die anyway. Joe Leaphorn knows it doesn’t add up. But now the person he loves most in this world has been endangered by this madness and he’ll stop at nothing to figure out why this happened.

Colton Wolf searches out a woman named Linda Maddox from a private eye. The man is close to finding her but isn’t there yet. He is given a large sum of money in an envelope and then soon murdered after he excuses himself to go the bathroom. Why he was murdered so abruptly when the villain needed his help remains to be seen.

Dark Winds: Looks can be very deceiving

Jim Chee meets Rosemary Vines (Jeri Ryan). Rosemary exudes flirtatious energy to the young and handsome P.I. She had a burglar break into her home and stole a valuable box and wants Chee to get back before her husband returns home from a hunting expedition.

Worlds collide between both Joe’s and Chee’s cases. Mrs. Vines tells Chee Tomas Charley was outside during the time the safe was opened and the box was stolen. His father Emerson introduced the woman’s husband to the people of darkness. He gave them money for a while then lost the passion for it. She believes this was some kind of way to get back at her husband. But whatever sits inside the box could tell the story of everything about what her husband is really up to. Rosemary doesn’t want anyone in trouble for the theft she just wants the box back. In order to do that Chee has to go find Tomas the same man that Joe is looking for to do some questioning on his father’s death.

Steve is quite the Navajo hippie character and is a nice comic relief in between the serious murder mystery the show offers. He is definitely your typical stoner with delusional theories but this is also the 70s. If we didn’t have characters like him it wouldn’t be authentic.

When Chee catches up to Tomas he tells him that her husband is a witch. Emerson told his son that BJ Vines cursed him. Emerson took the box to a secret place only they know, there is something in the box that can reverse the curse on the elder. Tomas draws him a map to the box’s location just as they are being watched the entire time by Colton.

Dark Winds: Oh how we meet again

Chee and Leaphorn have their first reunion as their paths cross. Quickly realizing they are both there to see the same man. The information that they both share for each case is starting to come together to figure out the mystery of Emerson’s death and the connection of the Vines. By the time both of them walk back to see Tomas he is long gone.

Joe and Chee find the box in the desert and inside Joe finds a buckle that belonged to his deceased son. It was one that he wore on the day he died. Before they even have a minute to figure anything they are shot at, and Chee takes a bullet to the upper body. Both sides keep releasing fire against each other.

Leaphorn has to go to his truck to get his shotgun part of his truck is already on fire. He has to run as it’s about to blow. Colton Wolf gets away but he seems to be the one behind the murder of Emerson Charley. However, you never know with this suspenseful thriller, there are new events that could unfold at any moment.