How ‘Dark Winds’ Honors David Lynch in a Visually Stunning Tribute

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David Lynch, who sadly passed away in January 2025, is deeply missed by the moviegoing community. In the third season of AMC’s popular crime series Dark Winds, a poignant tribute to Lynch’s unique surrealism was beautifully portrayed in Season 3, Episode 6, titled “Abidoo’biidee” (What We Had Been Told). Unlike a mere visual trick, this heartfelt homage is subtly woven into Joe Leaphorn’s hallucinations brought on by drugs. These hallucinations compel him to face past traumas and gain a harsh self-awareness.

In the episode, Director Erica Tremblay mentioned David Lynch as one of her inspirations, and it’s clear that his style of storytelling delving into the unconscious mind is echoed in the way Leaphorn confronts his inner struggles. The series Dark Winds’ recent episode has a strong link to David Lynch‘s perspective on humanity through its focus on nature, spirituality, and mysticism.

David Lynch Perfected the Art of Dream Sequences

In “Abidoo’biidee,” Detectives Leaphorn and Chee are working on a case involving several missing boys. Yet, Leaphorn unexpectedly becomes incapacitated when Chee Chee-Lee administers a ketamine injection, causing Leaphorn to embark on a surreal journey deep into his subconscious. This voyage leads him through a vivid mix of feverish dreams, fleeting recollections, haunting visions, and distressing hallucinations.

Rooted deeply within nature, the enigmatic shamanism of the sequence feels profoundly personal to Leaphorn and culturally significant to Navajo folklore, prompting him to grapple with past pain. To pay homage to the late, revered filmmaker whose work resonated so closely with the realm of dreams, Tremblay and the writers skillfully employed David Lynch’s signature surreal aesthetics when moving from one scene to another.

Speaking with Variety, Tremblay said:

In Joe’s mental landscape, the dreamlike scenery of deserts and skies differs in hue compared to his nocturnal adventures with George in reality. These color choices were intentional.

In this project, I drew significant inspiration from David Lynch, particularly in creating unique transitions between scenes, much like in the anime “Perfect Blue” that I frequently watched. To perfect these transitions, I repeatedly rewatched films such as “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” learning from masters of the craft to infuse a touch of their magic into this episode.

What Leaphorn’s Dream Means

In my imagination, I find myself handcuffed to a pipe, symbolizing my inescapable sense of being cornered and trapped beyond hope. Emma makes her entrance, expressing her disapproval towards me for neglecting to erect a barrier around her precious garden – an allegory for not safeguarding my family’s well-being and fostering their development.

The memory that haunts Leaphorn the most is one he has buried deep within himself: a priest, in the guise of trust, taking advantage of his 12-year-old cousin George and friend Will while they were at boarding school – an unspeakable act that left lasting scars on their young souls.

The priest tells Leaphorn that he needs to solve the murder to avoid having the dreams. In one of his dreams, Leaphorn’s father, Henry, appears and reveals that he had attempted to get the priest arrested many years ago. Unfortunately, no one allowed a Native American to file charges against a white priest. Consequently, Leaphorn’s dream-father confesses to having taken the law into his own hands and killing the priest himself.

Despite being plagued by recurring visions of the priest throughout the season, his father’s confession eases his guilt and worry. Upon waking from the dream, he recognizes that the priest symbolizes the Big Monster, linking his fevered vision to the real world.

David Lynch Said We Live Inside A Dream

I wholeheartedly believe that no filmmaker has managed to capture dreams on the silver screen quite like David Lynch. In his 1992 masterpiece, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, he penned the powerful line “We live inside a dream,” a recurring theme that resonates throughout all of his films, from Eraserhead and The Elephant Man to more prominently featured works like Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire.

In 2015, journalist David Stratton asked about the famous quote, to which Lynch responded:

Indeed, it’s not exactly what transpires in reality, but more like an unfolding revelation. And someday, we might awaken to find that the scenario was merely a dream, and in that moment, we gain clarity about our true selves. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful day when such self-discovery occurs.

In essence, while Dark Winds doesn’t directly reference any dream sequence from David Lynch’s films, Twin Peaks stands out as a significant comparison. Both series share a setting in rural Washington with a substantial Native American population and an intriguing connection through doorways serving as portals to alternate dimensions. This commonality ties the two series together, mirroring their dreamscapes. For instance, when Leaphorn encounters a doorway in the midst of the desert, the sequence unfolds according to similar surrealistic dream logic, reminiscent of Twin Peaks’ Red Room, with its eerie atmosphere.

Instead of simply duplicating a single dream scene, Dark Winds reflects Lynch’s talent for portraying the subconscious visually. Leaphorn’s hallucinatory fever dream enables him to gaze at himself truthfully, confront the most terrifying aspects of his mind, and heal by comprehending what fuels his deepest fears, and moving towards them rather than away. By existing within a dream, Leaphorn discovered the wisdom that escapes many in everyday life. Somewhere up above, Lynch likely is smiling approvingly.

Dark Winds is available to stream on AMC+

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2025-04-21 02:34