HozhooNaashaa – As the Dark Winds finale begins, Whitover (Noah Emmerich) meets with Hoski five weeks before the armored car heist at the American Indian Coalition for Community Action meeting. He asks Hoski (Jeremiah Bitsui) if he has something against the white man. Whitover mentions the First National Credit Union in Stockton, California on August 23 only for Hoski to say he has never been to Stockton. Whitover asks for his real name since his partner wouldn’t give it up. He admits he wants in on the next robbery they have planned in Gallup. When Hoski doesn’t cooperate, Whitover tells him that his getaway driver and pilot is a degenerate who had pictures of young boys. He warns Hoski that he could squeal on him and an all-white jury will believe whatever is said about an Indian.

Hoski has two choices. He can spend time in a fed pen or cut Whitover in. Whitover intends to set him up with a new pilot called Chip Woods. He knows Hoski is good at robbing banks and he is good at making sure he doesn’t get caught. When Hoski says he doesn’t trust white men, Whitover says he doesn’t either and that is why they’re going to be friends. After the intro, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) arrives at the police station to look for Bernadette, but she isn’t there. He learns that she went with Whitover to Canyon de Chelly. Jim contacts Bernadette (Jessica Matten) using the radio. He speaks in Dine to warn her that Whitover is in on it to avoid tipping him off. She tells him that they’re heading to the place where she found the helmet.

Frank Nakai (Eugene Brave Rock) finishes setting up the explosives in the cave. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) watches him from a distance while Jim rushes to the scene. Whitover learns they’re at the place where they found the helicopter. When he steps away to use the bathroom, Bern manages to disappear. He begins searching for her. Hoski tells Frank that there is likely an APB out for them by now. They also believe they’ll have checkpoints set up on the reservations. Hoski thinks they can use the Mormon hostages to get out. Wilson (Julian Bonfiglio) is forced to climb out of the hole. As he walks with them outside, Hoski tells him to drive to Flagstaff and ask Devoted Dan for a van. Once Wilson gets back with the van, he is expected to drive Hoski, Frank, and his family out of there.

Wilson asks what happens if he doesn’t make it back. Hoski says some of them will live happily ever after. As he leaves, Frank worries that he could just go to his second wife. Bernadette watches Wilson drive away. Back inside the cave, Hoski and Frank plan to blow up the explosives to create a diversion when he gets back. Once they make their way to the border, they will pay for their brothers at the mine. When they notice Joe sneaking around, they begin shooting at him but miss. Then, they try to seal him in using rocks. Wilson crashes the car causing it to roll over the hill. Whitover runs into Jim Chee. He says he lost Bern and he came up here to pick up half-face after he got busted out. Jim came after Joe’s wife called and said he was in trouble.

Whitover tells him he picked him over Springer because he needed someone who’d put himself over everything else and could speak a little Navajo. Both reach for their guns. Whitover gets to his first and shoots Jim in the arm causing him to fall down the hill. He puts his gun in its holster and leaves Jim. Frank argues that they should just get out of here because more cops are likely coming. They create a fire causing smoke to smother Joe. Guy (Ryan Begay) and a friend notice the wrecked vehicle nearby and decide to see what is going on. Bern heads into the cave while Whitover notices the smoke nearby. Wilson tells Guy where they are and that they have his family. Guy tells his friend to get Wilson to a doctor while he heads toward the cave.

Bernadette notices the explosives throughout the cave before finding the family in the hole. Joe takes bullets out of his gun and throws them down into the fire below to make them explode. One of them explodes and hits Hoski in the leg. Once they run from the fire, Joe jumps down and lands safely. Frank tells Hoski they should get out of here now. They want to get the Mormons just in case they need them, but they’re already gone. Frank also learns that his rifle is missing. Joe makes it outside where he slashes the tire on a car there.

While Frank and Hoski put the money into bags, Bern leads the Mormon family outside to safety. She tells them to take the kids to the beach at the bottom of the quarry and wait there for help. Karen (Kate Bergeron) and the others are frightened when Jim appears and joins Bern. Jim tells Bern he is going to need a weapon since Whitover is on the loose. He knows he didn’t have to come back, but he did because she is here. Joe sneaks around the corner and sees Frank and Hoski with the money. He checks his gun and realizes he only has three bullets left. Once Whitover arrives, Joe feels comfortable enough to come out of hiding since he thinks Whitover is on his side. Whitover puts his gun to his head and takes Joe’s gun. Frank is surprised to learn that Whitover is in on their deal and wants his share of the money. Hoski claims he did it for the cause. Joe asks if he killed his grandfather for the cause too.

Hoski tells Frank not to listen to him since he sells out their people every day. Whitover reveals they found James’s fingerprints at the motel even though he couldn’t tell Joe. Whitover doesn’t feel good about this, but he is in it deep now. Frank tries to go for his weapon only to be shot by Whitover. He begins choking Hoski until he passes away. Whitover says he isn’t greedy so he tells Hoski to take half of the money and get out of here. When Hoski asks how he knows he won’t shoot him in the back, Whitover admits he doesn’t know. Once Whitover hears Joe go for his knife, he turns around and shoots him. Joe falls down into a hole and pops his shoulder out of place. Whitover knows he might not want to hear it right now, but he always respected Joe.

Whitover makes it outside and contemplates blowing up the explosives in the cave. Jim and Bernadette approach him and tell him to step away. After Whitover says they shot Leaphorn, Bern goes inside to check on him. Whitover tells Jim that Leaphorn is dead so it wouldn’t matter if he just buried him in the cave. Bernadette finds Joe and climbs down into the hole with him. Back outside, Whitover calls the money evidence while Jim calls it his early retirement. Whitover says the Bureau will think it is Jim’s part of the take since he’ll tell everyone he is a member of the Buffalo Society. As for the file, Whitover claims Springer will say that Jim took it to cover up the crimes of his Indian friends. Joe’s shoulder is popped back inside as he learns about Jim being with Whitover right now.

Whiteover tries to convince Jim to let this slide so he can get the promotion. He tells him he has been taking his money for years so a little more isn’t going to hurt. Jim asks how much is in there while Bern helps Joe climb out of the hole. Joe says he is going after the priest. Jim tells Whitover that it could be 10 to 15 years in Leavenworth for the robbery and murders. Whitover says he had high hopes for him, but he threw it all away to solve the murder of a dying old Indian and some two-bit hoe. Guy shoots and kills him before approaching and saying nobody talks about his baby like that. Jim tells Guy to give him the gun and leave as Bernadette arrives and sees what is happening. Once Guy leaves, Jim asks Bern to help him get Whitover’s body into the cave.

Once they get the body inside, Jim puts the rifle in Frank’s hands to make it look like he killed Whitover. Bern warns Jim that Leaphorn will know the truth. When he sees the explosives in the cave, he thinks it might be a good idea to blow it up. Joe makes it to the Tso shack and begins looking for Hoski. However, Hoski sneaks up behind him, takes his gun, and forces him to go inside. Joe asks him what his plan is. Hoski argues that he was trying to help their people and avenge the death of his son, but Joe says his son’s death was an accident. Joe says they could’ve been allies, but his methods have put them at odds. James talks about the feeling of being able to do whatever you want whenever you want.

When Joe says it must make you feel powerful, James says it does. Joe apologizes for what happened to him since he knows what happened to the kids who were taken from their families and abused. James ran away once and came here because he thought his grandpa would protect him, but he sent him back. Joe doesn’t blame him for trying to burn the school down. It didn’t give him the right to violate that girl and kill his grandfather though. James thinks guilt is a wasted emotion although Joe says it means he has a conscience. James removes his glasses before saying he is going to be a father. Joe argues that depends on his definition. James puts the shotgun under his neck as Joe tries to talk him out of it. Joe tells him he is fighting with ghosts. James argues he is the champion of ghosts and they compel him to fight for a righteous world.

Joe tells him there are small moments of beauty. He thinks James could still carry a strong message from behind bars, but James thinks no message is more righteous than a martyr. He makes Joe leave before he kills himself. Jim and Bernadette blow up the cave. Later, Emma (Denna Allison), Guy, Joe, and others gather to have a ceremony for Joe Jr. and burn his jacket. Three months later, Joe watches up with Jim at his childhood home. Jim reveals he left the bureau and staying around had crossed his mind. He is keeping his options open. Joe thinks he can wrap his head around having Jim back. They talk about the world getting bigger. Joe wants to know what happened at the cave. Jim says he had to protect a friend of a friend. He and Bern were just trying to protect Joe and keep him out of it. Joe says they excavate the cave.

They go over what Jim said and the fact that Pete Samuels might’ve pressed the detonator. Jim admits he did it before Joe asks about the missing money. Jim says he didn’t take it, but Joe already knows that. Joe says they didn’t find the money and only found one body. Frank Nakai has gone missing and the FBI is tightlipped about it. It is Jim’s word against him although Frank likely won’t be talking anytime soon. Joe should get back home since Emma, Sally (Elva Guerra), and the baby are waiting for him. They shake hands before Joe leaves. When Jim tries to say something, Joe says he knows and tips his hat.

 

Dark Winds Review

The finale of Dark Winds was a pretty straightforward episode that was action-packed from start to finish. There weren’t any big revelations or anything out of the ordinary, but it was still a mostly enjoyable way to end the season. Certain scenes were a little too dark making it hard to see what exactly was going on although it wasn’t nearly as bad as other recent shows.

The believability of some stuff could be debated, but those things are easy to ignore. I am not sure what they’re implying about Frank Nakai unless we’re supposed to believe he somehow escaped the cave after being shot and laying there for a long time. It is understandable why that character would be saved since Frank wasn’t on the same level as James, but that curveball at the end doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Despite this, the finale was a good way to end the season since most of the storylines were covered and we can see that Jim is staying put. The six-episode count was the sweet spot since the series never dragged. It is also nice to see American productions being filmed somewhere besides Georgia and Canada. Now, we can just wait patiently for the next season of Dark Winds. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Dark Winds can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support our work by following this link.