By the tip of the surreal third season of AMC’s “Darkish Winds,” it felt as if the inspiration of the sequence had seen an irreversible shift. After battling private demons, Lt. Joe Leaphorn’s (Zahn McClarnon) previous selections compelled his spouse, Emma (Deanna Allison), to stroll away from their marriage, leaving Joe alone for the primary time in a long time. With Emma now residing in Los Angeles, Joe’s life has taken on a surprisingly languid tempo, till his peace is fractured by an ominous determine who seems in season 4’s thrilling opening sequence.
Wearing black tactical gear and harnessing numerous weapons, we watch as Irene Vaggan (Franka Potente) slinks right into a diner, earlier than murdering its homeowners and chasing down the 2 sole prospects. Considered one of these patrons is Billie Tsosie (Isabel DeRoy-Olsen), whose disappearance garners the eye of the Navajo Tribal Police. It rapidly turns into clear that she shouldn’t be a typical runaway, and her disappearance is tied to this new villain and a prison plot that shapes as much as be Joe’s largest and most complex case but.
Whereas this season’s central thriller is without doubt one of the present’s most partaking, the character work is what actually shines. With Emma gone, Joe finds himself at a standstill that forces him to reckon with the person he’s outdoors his work. He tends to his backyard, eats meals alone, and surprisingly, thinks about retirement. He ponders making Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) his successor, which slowly strains her growing romantic relationship with Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon). The non-public strife of those characters slowly begins to chip away at their bond, forcing them and the performers who inhabit them to tackle a few of the sequence’ most stirring materials.
Final season, Joe was compelled on an odyssey of recollection, and now, it’s Chee’s flip. Right here is the place “Darkish Winds” ups the ante as soon as once more, with a few of the most charming horror visuals within the present’s historical past manifesting by means of his eyes. Just like the Lynchian “Ábidoo’niidę́ę́ (What We Had Been Informed)” from final season, season 4 delves deep into the recesses of Chee’s mind, the place cataclysmic visions from his childhood fester just like the mysterious lower on his facet that pulsates with each uncovered reminiscence. These flashes of his previous get extra intense because the season progresses, colliding along with his current actuality and forcing his thoughts to unfold in a manner that he was by no means ready for.
Gordon performs this with a staggering levity, giving himself absolutely to the efficiency. One other standout flip comes from Potente, who’s essentially the most fascinating villain the sequence has crafted. Every time she’s on display, Irene barely speaks, slinking round with the diligence of somebody who’s navy skilled, whereas additionally holding a captivating curiosity for the group she has infiltrated. Early on within the season, when she kills a revered elder in the neighborhood, she leaves his physique in a trend that elders are sometimes honored by. For a second, it seems that she harbors a respect for the Navajo nation, however that rapidly disassembles right into a sick obsession not solely with Joe, however with the Navajo’s lifestyle.
Each her presence and Billie’s disappearance are linked to an even bigger scheme with roots in LA that has unfold and are available again to hang-out our crew in Arizona. For the primary time within the sequence, this forces the present’s trio to enterprise past the boundaries they’re normally confined to, widening the scope of this already expansive story. Whereas the mysteries on the heart of “Darkish Winds” have at all times been partaking, there’s an exciting sense of urgency right here that permeates all through every episode and forces the present to unravel at a dizzying tempo.
The detective work Joe, Chee, and Bernadette do narratively blends with their intimate journeys, permitting their wishes and regrets to take heart stage. The rating, crafted by Kevin, Sean, and Deana Kiner, accompanies their turmoil with devices that whine and shake, just like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ work in David Fincher’s “The Woman with the Dragon Tattoo.” Paired with this sweeping soundscape, the crimson gleam of police lights and neon indicators illuminates darkish and desolate exteriors, cloaking every nighttime sequence in a haunting glow that threatens to overhaul the digital camera’s lens.
“Darkish Winds” has at all times been a sequence about reminiscence and reconciliation. The shootouts could have intensified, however so have the stakes for the characters and the group they reside in, forcing every of them to look at how their work threatens not solely their psyches however their relationships. Season 4 permits every of its performers to ship affecting and career-best work, proving that so long as the present’s writers proceed to seek out significant circumstances that push its characters near the brink, this sequence will proceed to be a defining touchstone that withstands the check of time.
All episodes had been screened for overview. The fourth season premieres on Sunday, February fifteenth.