Dark Winds Is Finally Getting a Little Weird With It

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Spoilers ahead for the first three episodes of Dark Winds season four.

Throughout each season of Dark Winds, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) is deeply disturbed by the cruelty, insularity, and violence he witnesses from white people, and he makes a point of resolving to be different. While this theme has always been present, the fourth season takes a new approach. This time, Joe is confronted by a strange and obsessive German assassin who is fascinated by him and Navajo culture, and her bizarre behavior genuinely throws him off balance. McClarnon delivers a fantastic range of reactions – shock, disgust, confusion – to her antics, culminating in a particularly absurd moment in the third episode, “Ahááldláádígíí (That Which Has Been Torn Apart),” when she holds him at gunpoint… and kisses him! It’s a wonderfully unexpected turn, and both McClarnon and Franka Potente deliver captivating performances in a thoroughly engaging season.

Zahn McClarnon brings a powerful and confident presence to his role as Joe, elevating the entire series. Dark Winds has consistently portrayed white characters as the antagonists and the Navajo people as deeply spiritual and principled, a dynamic that works well. However, early on, this didn’t give McClarnon much chance to showcase the quirky, unconventional side he demonstrated in Reservation Dogs. While Joe has previously been shown as both a man of action – even taking the law into his own hands – and a vulnerable romantic, this season allows him to explore a more complex range of emotions. He’s now pitted against the assassin Irene in a tense game of cat and mouse, letting him shed his usual composure and reveal anxiety, fear, and even a hint of arrogance. Actress Marlene Potente matches McClarnon’s intensity, portraying a character who maintains tight control but occasionally bursts with emotion. The season’s suspense largely comes from the clashes and interactions between these two characters.

The fourth season of Dark Winds picks up several months after the previous one, following some big changes for Joe Leaphorn. His wife, Emma, has moved to Los Angeles to start a new life, and Bernadette Manuelito has returned to the Navajo Nation after a brief and unsatisfying time with the Border Patrol. Joe has been focusing on his Navajo heritage and thinking about retirement, but he needs to find someone to take over his work. The possibilities are Bern, who is deeply involved in Navajo traditions but isn’t currently with the police force, and Jim Chee, a former FBI agent who, like Joe, has a complex connection to his native roots. Both Bern and Chee have their own skills and challenges, and Joe must evaluate them as they begin investigating a new, intricate case.

The season kicked off on February 15th with an episode titled “Kǫ’Tsiitáá’ Álnééh (Baptism by Fire),” which opened with a stylish and intense shootout at a classic diner. The episode established the central mystery: teenage Billie (Isabel DeRoy-Olson) has run away from a harmful Catholic boarding school and gone missing. Before disappearing, she was seen with her cousin, Albert Gorman (Avery Hale), as they searched the reservation for Albert’s brother, Leroy, who was trying to escape trouble in California. (The show doesn’t fully explain what happened in California, which is a minor weakness, but it’s great to see Titus Welliver – known for his role in Bosch – playing a tough crime boss and showing off his own tattoos.) As Joe and Chee investigate Billie’s disappearance, they discover she’s connected to a much bigger case and is being pursued by a dangerous woman named Irene, who is calm, calculating, and deadly.

As usual for Dark Winds, the story takes many unexpected turns. Joe, Chee, and Bern frequently argue over how to approach the case, while the plot consistently highlights the historical mistreatment of Native American communities. There’s also a subtle supernatural element at play – last season it involved Joe’s fear of a Navajo monster, and this season Chee is affected after an injury in a death hogan, causing him to see a terrifying, breathing figure that others can’t. The sound design is particularly chilling. The show has always directly addressed cultural differences between Native traditions and mainstream American society, and it continues to do so. However, this season feels more dynamic and expansive, demonstrating a strong confidence in its storytelling and allowing for changes in both locations and character relationships.

It’s enjoyable watching the three main characters investigate crimes in Los Angeles while dressed casually, almost as if they’re acting in a Columbo episode. The season also does a good job of showing Joe and Chee moving from feeling deserted by their partners to understanding those women deserve better. A particularly powerful scene features Bern and Chee having a heated argument about who is better suited to lead the Navajo Police, showcasing some of the most vulnerable and honest performances from both actors so far. This season is especially strong for Gordon’s character, Chee, who finally gets a storyline that addresses his complicated past – growing up away from the reservation, and then choosing to build his life and career there. Dark Winds consistently explores what it means to be native, and this season, by focusing on Chee, gives him the same depth and development that Bern experienced when she investigated the U.S.-Mexico border.

The most compelling part of the season is Irene’s character, and how she embodies the problematic idea of a white person adopting Native culture – doing so cheerfully and with a persistent desire to belong. Actress Lily Potente brilliantly portrays Irene’s increasing instability, escalating her obsession with Joe to unsettling levels reminiscent of Fatal Attraction. Some of the most disturbing yet captivating scenes involve Irene silently intruding on Joe’s life – like breaking into his home to smell his clothes, secretly watching him from afar, or sneaking up on him while he’s changing. By the time she confronts Joe at his sweat lodge in the episode “Ahááldláádígíí (That Which Has Been Torn Apart),” she’s already invaded his personal space and taken something of his, and now she’s disrespecting his culture as well.

Irene’s past is currently unknown, but her intense admiration for Joe – she praised his hands-on work as rare and exceptional – suggests a strong fascination that will likely drive the plot forward and challenge Joe. Her actions, like forcing a kiss after touching his hair, feel aggressive, and her claim that they’re “two opposing forces in a spiritual union” implies she’s created a one-sided fantasy. Honestly, it was a pretty shocking moment, and that’s saying something!

While Dark Winds is consistently engaging, Irene is its most surprisingly complex character. She serves as a powerful commentary on outsiders attempting to understand and adopt Native culture, and her actions – like using Joe’s toothbrush – are both hilarious and unsettling, eliciting a rare strong reaction from the show. The tension between Irene’s intense desires and Joe’s shifting responses is the most daring thing the series has attempted. It’s a bold move you’d typically see towards the end of a show’s run, which makes it even more exciting that Dark Winds has already been renewed for another season. Hopefully, this season’s creative energy and confidence will continue.

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2026-03-02 21:55