You’d think that life would let Joe Leaphorn catch a break at some point. But that wouldn’t make for a very tense new season of AMC’s Dark Winds. Since Leaphorn is practically the sentinel of the Navajo reservation, it’s yet again fallen on him to protect his people from a nefarious threat. After witches and humans and some more witches again, there’s now a monster of sorts terrorizing the rez.
Spoiler Alert
Wait, Did Joe Leaphorn Just See An Actual Monster?
You know Leaphorn. Even when it looks like the worst has happened and he’s on his last legs, he’ll not only get right back up, he’ll face the big bad responsible for that situation. But this time around, even Leaphorn seems pretty out of it when he plucks an arrow out of his neck and picks his very feeble self off the ground. His call to Natalie and the subsequent request for the maximum amount of backup don’t sound too good either. And when we see what he’s up against–that skull-faced, terrifying beast who shows up when you hear the creepy whistles–we know why someone as heroic as Leaphorn is scared for his life. Getting to the root of this peculiar circumstance will require a trip back seven days. All wasn’t well. Leaphorn certainly wasn’t doing well with BJ Vines’ morbid fate looming over his mind.
Leaphorn’s initiation into this season’s mystery happened in the most expected way. But when he and Gordo Sena went over to check out a place connected to the missing case of a local kid, I don’t think Leaphorn could imagine the labyrinthian mess he was walking into; not that he had the option to avoid it. The missing kid, Ernesto Cata, had spent the night before with his buddy, George Bowlegs. Judging by their interaction with Jim Chee, it seems like George Bowlegs’ dad, Shorty’s got a pretty bad rep in the rez. And because George was found safe and sound at the school that morning, the suspicion was bound to fall on him. The spot Leaphorn and co checked out didn’t have very hopeful things to say about the missing kid. They’d found a bicycle that had blood stains and marks that looked like something strong had struck it. Since when has that ever been a hopeful sign for anything? What’s worse, George’s flown the coop before Leaphorn and Chee could question him. All that talk about how the Mexican legend of La Llorona could’ve been behind Ernesto’s disappearance give the case that very unavoidable push into the world of the supernatural. That’s not a shocking experience in Dark Winds. But it’s still a shock to hear Leaphorn mention the Navajo equivalent of La Llorona, someone they know as Ye’iitsoh. From the little I’ve read up on the Navajo mythological creature Ye’iitsoh, I don’t really see the immediate resemblance between him and La Llorona, the creature from Mexican folklore who drowns children. So as of now, I’m chalking that up to the fact that there’s a missing kid in the mix.
The Grass Isn’t Greener On The US-Mexico Border
I bet Bernadette Manuelito had a roundabout idea of what she was getting into when she signed up for the border patrol job. A Navajo woman having any say whatsoever while she works under a middle-aged White man? That’s the kinda stuff that dreams are made of. And it’s not a dream that Bernadette is living in. In the cold brutal reality, Bern has to chase down a mother and daughter and physically overpower them because they’re immigrants, and that too with a gun. Bern’s too swift for that terrified Mexican woman just trying to protect herself and her little kid. And while Bern feels terrible doing it, she’s got no choice but to bring them in. But things are a lot more ominous than Bern’s boss would have his agents believe. There was this creepy white van that Bern saw. That’s actually why she’d stopped in the first place. Just the fact that someone had stolen her gun and driven off in that van by the time she got back to her belt is enough to know that there’s something big going on. Bern’s of the idea that the immigrant mother and daughter were on the run from someone, and that they were actually trying to hop over to Mexico. And considering there was someone who’d stolen the gun and driven away, I think Bern’s right on the money. However much Bern’s boss might want to deport them and wash his hands of the case, there’s got to be a lot to follow through here.
The language barrier stands in the way of Bern figuring anything out from what they’re saying. But there’s a pretty big possibility that Bern’s right about them having been caught up in a trafficking ring. There was no way Bern would’ve just let it go, even with her very frightening superior being vehemently against her pursuing the case any further. That’s not the kind of person Bern is. Turning a blind eye to people’s pain isn’t something that Bern can ever get herself to do. So it’s obvious that she wouldn’t follow the direct orders. But the only thing she could get out of her strange conversation with the mother and daughter is a doodle of something the kid says is a pig. That doesn’t get her any close to figuring this whole thing out yet. And with the mother and daughter set to be deported the next day, Bern’s got no way to talk to them again. But something tells me that Bern’s not going to stop looking into it. Her colleagues might massively underestimate her instincts because she’s a woman, but Bern comes from a place where women run the clan.
What Does Gordo Find In The Dead Kid’s Mouth?
You know what makes Leaphorn so good at his job? He approaches every case and every person he encounters on his path with empathy and the kind of depth that’s unusual in people in his line of work. Shorty and Chee’s childhood feud stood in the way of anything fruitful coming out of Leaphorn’s meeting with Shorty. But Leaphorn knew that Shorty wasn’t the way that’d lead him to George. Unlike the convenient conclusion most people have jumped to about George, he might not be like his father at all. Leaphorn can see that Shorty’s a hothead. And you know what happens when you’ve got a hothead for a dad? You confide in your sibling. That’s the route that Leaphorn takes when he talks to Cecil, Shorty’s younger son. Now, Leaphorn doesn’t have to pretend to care about him when he talks to him. He’s a truly loving man who can make a kid feel safe opening up to him. And when Cecil feels comfortable with Leaphorn, he feels safe telling him about his brother and Ernesto’s usual haunt. They’ve been working and hanging out at the local dig site of late. That information may not seem like much at this point. But it’s better than having nowhere to look.
The thing about Dark Winds is that it’s absolutely proud of its supernatural, spiritual side. So if you’re looking for subtle suggestions, this isn’t a show that likes to stay quiet. So bold assertions of concerning omens are what’s for dinner at the Leaphorn house. Emma is quick to grow anxious about that fact that Leaphorn saw a coyote going North. As far as bad omens go, that one ranks high in the Navajo culture. Even Leaphorn’s reasonably bothered when his dinner plate breaks in half almost spontaneously. And then come the ants–countless waves of them. I can’t help but wonder if the ants are a thematic arrow pointing right at the ground Leaphorn’s standing on. Maybe whatever he’s looking for has its roots under the dirt of the vast and grand rez. He does feel a little better giving his son’s old ant colony to Cecil, who’s clearly a major ant enthusiast. And let’s face it, the kid needs as much kindness as he can get growing up in that household with an abusive dad. The man who’d been a bully to Chee came from a father who’d abused Chee’s mother. George and Cecil must be the first generation of boys in that family who haven’t carried on with that tradition of abuse. As for the bad omens, I don’t think it gets much worse than seeing a glimpse of the big bad himself. An inexplicable gust of winds and his frantic animals alert Leaphorn to the presence of something sinister. Is the monster he sees Ye’iitsoh himself? I think we’re gonna have to wait a little longer to find out.
No matter how bad life tends to get for Leaphorn, it never feels like it can’t get worse still. And our paranoia is basically justified when FBI Special Agent Sylvia Washington drives into town. Leaphorn must’ve known that the White supremacist system wouldn’t sit on their hands if a White millionaire went missing. Sylvia’s gotten herself comfortable right at the station. And with a very cheeky energy that’s too on the nose, she’s also let Leaphorn know that she knows something bad has happened to BJ Vines. It’s only a matter of time before she looks into Leaphorn and his fear comes true. But that’s not something Leaphorn can be preoccupied with now. He doesn’t find George or Ernesto at the archeological dig site, but something that might be pertinent to the case does come up in his chat with Teddi, an archeologist working there. They’re apparently looking for a link between the Navajo and the Folsom people, the people of a Paleo-Indian culture who might’ve been influenced by the Navajo culture.
A quick trip to the land of information tells me that there might not be any actual connection between the Folsom people and the much more modern Navajo people. So I guess that part’s fictionalized for this season’s mystery. Teddi and her boss Dr. Reynolds might not have found the link yet, but in the ending of the 1st episode of Dark Winds season 3, there’s a link that’s too obvious to miss. The mailman’s usual path puts him in the way of the red pickup truck that was reportedly seen at the location of the bicycle. When Gordo and Leaphorn look through the area, the haywire tracks lead to some blood on the ground, the most obvious sign that something bad has happened around here. A quick look around shows them the opening to a very creepy metal tunnel. Inside, they’re met with nightmare fuel with a kid’s bloody corpse hanging before them. We might not have seen him yet, but I think that the dead kid is Ernesto. The first crumb of a clue about the case is rather creepy as well. Gordo picks out a lance from the kid’s mouth. That’s an immediate connection to the Folsom people and their special lance. If we’re to believe that Ye’iitsoh is behind Ernesto’s death, he could be a warning sent by nature. Because it’s believed that Ye’iitsoh’s bones are scattered across the native land, the creature might be trying to keep people from digging the wrong things up. The world’s hunger for uranium has majorly affected the Navajo land and people.
And even in Dark Winds, people have lost lives to satiate that hunger. So Ye’iitsoh’s might not be a selfish act. He might just be trying to protect the land and its people from the power hungry crowd who’ve overstayed their welcome. While that still doesn’t explain Ernesto’s death, we’ve barely gotten familiar with the surface of the mystery yet. Something tells me Ye’iitsoh isn’t the real antagonist of the season. There’s no reason to point the finger at Teddi yet. But what if Dr. Reynolds is digging the Navajo ground for more than the Folsom lance? It’ll also be interesting to see who Ye’iitsoh points his wrath at. In the first season of Dark Winds, the antagonist hurt the people he claimed to protect. Ye’iitsoh might be just as ruthless given its a force of spirit and nature. He’s gotta be protective of his home.
