Hózhó náhásdlii (Beauty Is Restored) – As the finale of Dark Winds begins, Colton Wolf (Nicholas Logan) makes it to Vines residence. BJ (John Diehl) comes out with a shotgun and threatens him. Once BJ realizes he knows Colton, he invites him inside and gives him water. BJ asks Colton how bad it is. Colton tells him that Leaphorn thinks he works for him and it is tied to the Drumco explosion although he can’t prove it. When BJ asks if he is sure, Colton says yes because the proof was in the box and he took care of that. BJ argues they’ll be expecting him to go to Old Mexico so he should go east toward Durango instead.

BJ gives him roughly $5,000 before taking him outside and showing him the path. He gives Colton the keys to his Jeep as well. As Colton walks away, BJ shoots him in the back. He takes the money and something else from Colton. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) goes to the hospital to see Gordo Sena (A Martinez) who says the guy was on him before he had time to react. Joe explains that he found a pen in the backseat so it was likely used to pick the handcuffs. Gordo asks him if he has ever killed anyone. Joe says no. Gordo tells him about the domestic incident in 1957 when he found a guy lying under a tree with a noose dangling above him.

He admits he had to shoot the guy who ended up dying as the ambulance pulled up. Gordo says whoever you kill is bound to you. Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) goes looking for Gabriella. He is approached by BJ who wants to know if he has confirmed his suspicions. Jim says no. He confirmed Tomas Charley’s though because he told Jim that BJ is a witch. BJ insists his spiritual adventures are none of Jim’s business. Jim advises him not to mess with what he doesn’t understand. He asks BJ where his wife is. BJ offers to pay him for nothing since Jim didn’t come up with anything. He tells Jim not to worry about Rosemary because she has dug her own grave.

Joe picks up his dad, Henry (Joseph Runningfox), to ask him about BJ hiring the blond man to blow up the Drumco well. Henry warns him he better be ready before he goes after a man like BJ Vines. Joe tells him about the geology report he found up on the Malpais. He believes Dillon Charley had to give the report to Vines. Joe goes on to say Dillon worked for Drumco, was close to Vines, and BJ supported his church. Joe believes the killings started now because Emerson Charley found out he was dying from cancer. He didn’t want to die with his brother’s stain on his conscience so he asked Tomas to get the report from BJ’s safe. If Joe is going to tie Vines to this, he’ll first need to prove that the blond man blew up the well.

Joe takes Henry to the site so he can look at the structures. Henry believes he wanted it to look like an accident. Once a bomb maker creates a bomb that works, he tends to stick with it. Joe realizes he would’ve used the same blue wire, same clock, and same Semtex he used on the doll and the bomb that killed Emerson Charley. Henry says they need to check every penetrable surface within 100 years of the derrick. If they find anything, that’s where it’ll be. A bit later, Henry finds something. After giving it to Joe, he says he knows how although he isn’t sure what good it’ll do him. Jim looks at Tomas Charley’s passport. He wonders what he isn’t getting. Jim opens the camera and finds film. Henry tells Joe that the white judge Vines put in office will release him on bail after he is arrested.

Henry argues that the Charleys deserve a little Indian justice and his grandson does as well. Later, Jim Chee joins Joe and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten). They look at the pictures from the camera and learn that Tomas was having an affair with Rosemary Vines. Jim thinks he saw the document inside the lockbox and took a picture of it. Joe looks at it and says BJ Vines doctored the report that was filed with the state. Tomas took a picture of the original one and it shows that there is uranium on the property. The one Dillon filed with the state claims there is no uranium. Joe tells Natalie to find Gordo Sena and tell him they need a warrant for BJ Vines. They find Vines naked and tell him he is being charged with conspiracy to commit homicide.

Emma Leaphorn (Deanna Allison) tells Mary Landon (Jacqueline Byers) that she read her story. Mary says it is her story and she just wrote it down. Emma says they may not have had any more children, but that was her decision to make. She complains about the government treating a whole race of people like cattle and just culling the herd. Emma tells her to publish the article. Rosemary Vines (Jeri Ryan) approaches Jim and says she doesn’t need the oxygen anymore. Jim believes she hired him because she was worried Tomas would tell her husband about their relationship. Rosemary claims she hired Jim to try to protect her husband. Jim suspects she wants her husband to sit in a jail cell for the rest of his life. She wanted him to find the geological report which she knew was in her husband’s lockbox.

Rosemary gets upset so she has to go outside to get her oxygen. She tells Jim why he reminds her of herself. Rosemary suggests he can come with her to Acapulco, but Jim is good where he is. She mentions his theory. Rosemary questions who’d believe a frail thing like herself would be capable of that. Joe hangs out with Sally (Elva Guerra) and others at home. While holding the baby, it laughs. Emma says that means it is finally a person. They talk about getting things back in balance around there. As Joe walks away, he sees a report about BJ Vines on television and learns he is free on bond. BJ Vines finds Joe in his house later. Joe shows him what he found in his desk. He asks BJ why he didn’t blow up the well at night when no one was around.

BJ remains adamant that it was an accident, but Joe ends up attacking him anyway. Joe handcuffs him and takes him away in his vehicle. As Joe continues driving, he asks BJ if he knows about the Long Walk. He explains that over 200 of his ancestors were forced to walk across the desert barefoot without food or water so they died. Joe forces him to get out of the car and walk while he points a gun at him. BJ offers to give him money, but Joe tells him to get on his knees. Joe ends up leaving him in the desert barefoot. Joe goes home and creates an ornament of sorts out of his son’s belt buckle. He goes to bed with Emma while BJ is shown cuddled up in the desert. The following day, Gordo visits Joe when he is hanging out with family.

Gordo explains that he has decided to call it quits at the end of the month. On Monday, the judge is going to issue a warrant for BJ Vines because he skipped bail. Gordo recommends Joe run for his office in the fall, but Joe reminds him he isn’t much of a politician. Once Gordo leaves, Joe asks Henry how long he has been standing there. Henry says his entire life. Joe hangs out with family while Jim sits next to Bern. Later, Bernadette tells Joe that she is taking the job with Border Patrol. Seeing a monster like BJ Vines walk away and not being able to do anything about it helped her make up her mind. Bernadette believes there are two sets of rules. There is one for people like them and one for people like BJ Vines. Sally leaves an envelope for Joe and Emma as well as keys.

Then, she leaves with the baby. Jim shows up at Bern’s place in a police uniform. He explains he thought he’d stick around and help out Leaphorn. Jim thought she might want her medicine back. They end up kissing. Bern wishes he’d come sooner. They say goodbye before driving away. Bernadette has the feather ornament Joe made using his son’s buckle.

 

Dark Winds Review

Dark Winds really has everything going for it, including a great setting, a reliable leading cast, proven stories, and an excellent soundtrack. The characters are easy to like, especially Joe, Jim, and Bernadette. However, there has been something missing from the second season that causes the story to lack genuine intrigue. The story wasn’t as strong as the first and the villains were pretty weak. Unfortunately, the finale didn’t do enough to make up for either of those issues although it had some great moments in the end.

If it weren’t for the last five minutes or so, the finale would’ve probably been the weakest episode of the series. In fact, this probably could’ve ended an episode earlier with the blond man just going to prison and death row. The finale quickly flipped the villain from the blond man to BJ Vines without really going into any detail about the blond man or who he was. The plot ended up being filled with holes that just didn’t make any sense as a result.

If the intention was to make BJ Vines the ultimate villain this season, more time should’ve been dedicated to his character. On the flip side, the episode had some great emotional moments with Sally and Bernadette going away. Truthfully, the last five minutes would be a suitable conclusion to Dark Winds period. Bernadette leaves for another job, Sally says goodbye, and Jim ends up working with Joe long-term.

Those five minutes made the finale and even the season worthwhile, but everything going on with the blond man and BJ Vines was really disappointing overall. The finale scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Dark Winds are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.