Dark Winds season 2 review: The Western noir makes a creepy, edge-of-your-seat return
In the AMC show's stronger second outing, Zahn McClarnon proves yet again that he's a force to be reckoned with
TV Reviews Dark Winds
Dark Winds contains some beautiful parallels, with its balmy Southwest landscape, full of sunshine and vastness, contradicting its characters’ internal and restrictive gloom. In season two, which premieres July 30 on AMC, the show also focuses on cosmic events, like a solar eclipse and the moon landing, the latter a monumental sign of progress for humanity that’s antithetical to the discrimination and close-mindedness in the Navajo Nation during the late ’60s and early ’70s. Dark Winds expertly handles these dualities, and these six new episodes, while more sinister and heavy than the show’s first season, are also somehow hopeful, pieced together by sensational actors, writers, and crew members. This time, everything clicks into place better.
The psychological thriller made a riveting, under-the-radar debut last year, sure, but it returns with a fearless approach here. It’s more straightforward, dutifully focusing on the protagonists instead of getting distracted by meandering subplots. (Mainly, there are no FBI foes or corrupt, funny car dealers in sight.) Based on Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee novels, specifically People Of Darkness, the show puts its own twists on the source material. The result is a tightly wound, emotional, and action-packed second season. The parallels continue because, despite the breakneck pace, Dark Winds still gives everyone room to breathe and process the events, including the audience. It’s easily one of the most effective noir Westerns of recent times.
The season premiere wastes no time establishing an intriguing suspense, opening with a black-and-white scene of police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and officer Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) facing off against their Terminator-like enemy in the dark. Dark Winds turns back time to a few days before, untangling the complex web that led them to a barren piece of land in a shoot-out. The show wisely teams up Joe and Bernadette instead of only spotlighting Joe’s mentor-mentee bond with Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon). It allows McClarnon, a masterful performer, and Matten, the breakout star, to be subtle and affecting.
This doesn’t mean ex-cop Chee is gone for long. He returns as a private investigator, taking on a wealthy client who tasks him with recovering her husband’s missing safe. Of course, nothing is as simple as just retrieving a box. His case collides fairly quickly with the bombing and deaths his former colleagues are investigating in their Navajo county town of Kayenta. The trio finds themselves in a larger conspiracy involving an age-old cult, selfish rich white folks, potential mystical elements, and an active murderer. Like any inspired Western, the themes of revenge and destruction loom large, along with an unkillable villain. The show’s layered dramatic beats are never forced or, worse, boring.
Joe is resolved to get to the bottom of the mystery because it connects to the seemingly accidental death of his son years ago. On the surface, he and his wife, Emma (Deanna Allison), have moved on. They’ve taken teen mom Sally (Elva Guerra) under their roof along with Sally’s newborn. As a doctor, Emma goes on her own pivotal journey to continue saving Native women against mass sterilization. Joe even adopts a lighter personality. When Chee reunites with him, he tells his former boss, “You borrowed a sense of humor since I saw you last.” It’s a nice tip of the hat to Hillerman’s version of Leaphorn. (If McClarnon’s moments of levity feel brief, we recommend Reservation Dogs.)
McClarnon’s acting elevates everything here—to the point where we can’t comprehend how he isn’t a serious awards-season contender. (Hopefully, that changes with the next round of Emmy noms.) Dark Winds also finds success with its direction, production design, and cinematography. Chris Eyre, Billy Luther, and Michael Nankin do a stellar job helming the episodes. Nankin’s work in episode three with a hospital duel is particularly rousing, as is Eyre’s ability to capture the reservation.
Actually, one of the primary reasons Dark Winds hits differently is its determination to let Native Americans take the wheel. The community isn’t presented as a side or extra character to white heroes. Instead, they’re prominent in front of and behind the camera. Since most of the writers, actors, and directors are Indigenous, it adds credibility to the show’s frequent use of the Diné Bizaad language and a seamless depiction of tribal customs and traditions. It all intertwines with a gripping central mystery that’s creepy as hell, totally immersive, and appropriately sentimental. There’s nothing quite like it on TV right now.
Dark Winds season two premieres July 30 on AMC
18 Comments
I really wanted to like the first season. But I was bored enough not to finish it. I had also picked up the book, which I subsequently tried to read, and I found that very boring as well. I’m not sure what the problem was. On paper it is a very alluring premise, but neither incarnation of the story grabbed me.
I will say, season 2 has a better suspense/story in general and you don’t need to have s1 (although I recommend!) necessarily.
Sounds like I have a new binge-watch coming up!
I’d read all the books, some of them multiple times, and that proved more than a bit of an obstacle to enjoying Season 1 enough to stick with it. After one episode of the PBS adaptations several years ago, they aired an interview with Tony Hillerman, who said that “you have to kill the book” to make a film version. Despite a name-brand cast and the behind-the-scenes presence of Robert Redford, I’d say thet succeeded in killing the book, and not in a good way. Didn’t finish watching those either. Guess I should try Season 2 and maybe give the rest of Season 1 another chance, with the proper mindset, i.e., approaching it as a new entity rather than an adaptation of the books.
Just finished watching the latest episode. Boy did the writers screwup big time. It is set in 1969, moon landing and the female sgt gets a letter of acceptance to the Border Patrol with heading on the letter, Customs & Border Protection. That Agency was not created until 2003 and the first females in the Border Patrol did not enter on duty until 1974. This error reflects the age of writers and the poor research in a day of movie and television making of more authenticity and accuracy.
Oh, wow. Didn’t even know this was getting a second season. I liked the first one for the most part but it felt like no one was watching it because I didn’t see anyone talking about it anywhere. I thought the first season was decent but it wrapped things up a little too quickly and conveniently in its final episodes. I’d probably rate it as a B- show. Enjoyable if you’ve got the time but nothing special. It’s nice to see this is coming back with a stronger offering
I really enjoyed this show. I read the books a long time ago and enjoyed them. Seems like they did a good job in keeping with the spirit of the books while still making changes to adapt it for TV. Plus, anything with McClarnon is worth watching.
Enjoyed the first season a ton. The third episode
& its feature of the kinaaldá was one of my favorite hours of TV in the year. A truly unique slice of TV.
McClarnon’s switching from comedy to drama between Res Dogs and this is organtic.
“Zahn McClarnon” is also the greatest Western name ever.
Need more Jessica Matten, please.
I’ve read all the books, by both Tony Hillerman and his daughter Anne, and I HATED the first season. They got the characters all wrong, especially Jim Chee, who in the books was studying to become a medicine man. To have him be an uncover FBI agent, not traditional Navaho AT ALL just made me mad.
It would be like making Frodo the tall, good looking action hero in LOTR. It just doesn’t work.
…and although we can’t go into specifics without spoilers for those who haven’t read the books, there’s also the timeline. The books were written over a long period (1970-2006 for the Tony Hillerman originals and 2013- for Anne Hillerman) and not all the characters come onstage at the same time to say the least!
Let’s also say that you can tell when Anne started helping Tony as an uncredited co-writer late in his life. Hint: it coincides with the introduction of Manuelito. That’s Anne’s character, I would bet a not insignificant sum of money on that.
I enjoyed the first season, but I had to get used to the massive changes in the characters. They basically gave Leaphorn all of Chee’s characteristics from the books, plus Leaphorn’s legendary grumpyness. That left them turning Chee into kind of a callow douche. Then, there is adding in Manuelito decades before she appears in the books, where she is Chee’s mentee(and later his wife), and quite a bit younger than him. Her being the same age and more “indian” than him kinda rubbed me the wrong way. The way I see the timeline in the books, in the latest book I would put Leaphorn in his mid-70’s, Chee in his mid-40’s, and Manuelito in her late 20’s, maybe early 30’s.I don’t love the guy portraying Chee, but I think it is mostly a writing problem…and honestly, Chee has never been portrayed well. Adam Beach was godawful. I always contended that he used to get all the Native American parts because he was the whitest actor they could get and still call Native American. Same with Irene Bedard in that time period…she was legitimately NA, but she also fit Eurocentric beauty standards better than anyone else.
I didn’t mind them compressing the timeline so much – although the change in Bernie’s status didn’t sit really well with me.
Did you see the movie ‘Dark Wind’ with Lou Diamond Phillips? I liked that portrayal of Chee quite a lot.
Right, right, I forgot about the Lou Diamond Phillips movie. That was good.If you like LDP, check out Longmire. Both him and Zahn McClarnon were excellent, especially Zahn as the rez sheriff who spends the first couple of seasons busting Longmire’s balls before they grow closer.
The AV Club loves this show because it’s not about White people.