Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dark Winds season 3, episode 7.The penultimate episode ofDark Windsseason 3 revealed that it has been tricking us about two key parts of the investigations all season long.Dark Windsseason 3, episode 7had some major developments for both Bernadette Manuelito’s (Jessica Matten) investigation and Joe Leaphorn’s (Zahn McClarnon) and Jim Chee’s (Kiowa Gordon). Bernadette has been investigatingTom Spenser’s (Bruce Greenwood) trafficking ring, while Leaphorn and Chee have been trying to find Ernesto Cata’s murderer. After several weeks of painstaking investigation, Bernadette, Leaphorn, and Chee all made significant progress in finding justice for their victims.
Though there were a lot of reveals inDark Windsseason 3, episode 7, they weren’t exactly what everyone was expecting. For instance, Dr. Reynolds (Christopher Heyerdahl) was revealed asthe Ye’iitsoh inDark Winds, and Leaphorn figured out exactly how and why he killed Ernesto and is hunting George Bowlegs. Likewise, Bernadette figured out what thepig drawing means inDark Winds, but she also discovered that Spenser isn’t just smuggling drugs, he’s also trafficking people as she’s expected all along. Those were big reveals, but there were two other misdirectionsDark Windshas been using all season long that came as absolute shocks.
Dark Winds Season 3, Episode 7 Revealed The Cases Aren’t Connected At All
Ernesto Cata’s Murder Has Nothing To Do With Tom Spenser’s Trafficking Ring
Perhaps the biggest reveal ofDark Windsseason 3, episode 7 was about the very structure of the season.When Leaphorn and Chee found out that Reynolds was the Ye’iitsoh and had killed Ernesto Cata, they also subtly confirmed that their case isn’t related to Bernadette’s at all. Reynolds was acting on his own when he killed Ernesto, as the boys had discovered he was “seeding” his archaeological dig site. Tom Spenser’s human trafficking ring didn’t factor into Leaphorn and Chee’s case at all, and the same was true in reverse for Bernadette’s case.
The only thing that provided any connective tissue to Leaphorn and Chee’s investigation and Bernadette’s wasHalsey (Phil Burke) and the weird farmers. However,Halsey was proven right when he said he had nothing to do with Ernesto’s death, and the farmers turned out to be a massive red herring. Chee’s entire trip down to New Mexico was, evidently, just a chance for him to continue his slow-burn romance with Bernadette, and had no real impact on his investigation at all. Many viewers were expecting Leaphorn and Chee to work directly with Bernadette in some fashion, butDark Windsseason 3 obviously never planned for that to happen.
Both Ivan And Garza Are Working For Tom Spenser In Dark Winds Season 3
The other big surprise out ofDark Windsseason 3, episode 7 came from Bernadette’s side of the story. We knew thatIvan Muños (Alex Meraz) was a dirty copfor several episodes, butDark Windsrevealed that Eleanda Garza (Tonantzin Carmelo) was also on Tom Spenser’s payroll. Many viewers were likely wondering who Bernadette could trust at Border Patrol, and that may have caused us to forget to consider that there might not be anyone she could lean on in New Mexico. Ivan’s reveal as a villain also lulled us into a false sense of security that Bernadette had successfully outed all the cops on Spenser’s payroll.
Dark Winds Has Been Clever With Its Misdirection All Season
Dark Winds Season 3 Flipped Traditional Crime Thriller Twists & Its Own History On Its Head
Surprise twists are a facet of the crime thriller genre, butDark Windshas managed to make some truly shocking reveals nonetheless, and it did so in a very smart way. Even though viewers were expecting some kind of surprise, the cases not being connected and both Ivan and Eleanda being on Spenser’s payroll weren’t the surprises many of us were anticipating.Dark Windsaccomplished that by subverting expectations of the police procedural genre as a whole and ofDark Windsitself. It’s not easy to instill genuine surprise in a genre as saturated as the police procedural, butDark Windsmade some masterful moves to make its misdirections work.
“Ye’iitsoh (Big Monster)”
“Náá’tsoh (Big Eyes)”
“Ch’į́į́dii (Ghosts)”
“T’áá Áłts’íísígo (Just a Small Piece)”
“Béésh Łį́į́ (Iron Horse)”
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Many viewers likely knew that Ivan was going to be a villain. Betrayals are fairly common tropes in the mystery genre. However, far fewer expectedbothof Bernadette’s friends in New Mexico to be dirty cops. Likewise,manyDark Windsfans expected the cases to connect in some convenient way, just as Chee’s investigation inDark Windsseason 2 conveniently had him working with Leaphorn again. By using the audience’s preconceived notions of what kinds of twists to expect out of a crime thriller likeDark Winds, it was able to craft truly shocking surprises.
