Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Dark Winds Season 3
In this season of AMC’s critically-acclaimed neo-Western dramaDark Winds,Kiowa Gordon’s Jim Chee has returned to the Navajo Tribal Police Force to work alongside Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), and has begun to re-insert himself within the Navajo community. For years, Chee ran away from his upbringing and sought to make a name for himself apart from his Navajo identity. However, as fate would have it, Chee is not only back on the Rez, but it seems that the series is taking additional cuesfrom theTony Hillermannovelsthat inspired it, aiming to revive the character’s more traditional worldview heading into Season 4 — and it’s about time.
‘Dark Winds’ Season 3 Puts Chee Back in Touch With His Navajo Roots
When Chee decided to stay in Navajoland at the end of the first season, it was with a heavy heart. Feeling betrayed by the FBI and unsure of his future career path,Chee spent the next season as a private eyebefore finally accepting Leaphorn’s offer to join the Tribal Police Force for real. So,by the time Season 3 starts, Chee has been forced to deal with his messy past, often embodied in his fractured relationship with Shorty Bowlegs (Derek Hinkey). In many ways, Chee’s entire focus throughout Season 3 — aside from finding Shorty’s son, George (Bodhi Okuma Linton) —has been to fix what has been broken within his own soul. His outlook on the Rez and the people on it has evolved since the first season, and as he continues to protect and serve, we can see that he has pushed past his own bias (though sometimes with great difficulty) and allowed himself to see people like Shorty with new eyes.
Chee’s commitment to protecting the reservation is seen in other ways too. When Joe Leaphorn is accused of murdering B.J. Vines (John Diehl)by Agent Sylvia Washington(Jenna Elfman), he keeps quiet about the whole thing. While Chee doesn’t know for sure what Joe may or may not have done, he certainly suspects. Still, he understands the way Vines has hurt the Navajo people (especiallyafter the events of Season 2involvingNicholas Logan’s Colton Wolf), and he’s willing to further protect them bynotaiding Washington in her investigation. Given his previous work with the FBI and his track record as a capable detective, there’s no doubt that he could’ve found a way to prove Joe’s guilt in a court of law, butinstead he chooses to look the other way entirely, just as Joe did with him before. However, all of this leads to something much deeper…
How Is ‘Dark Winds’ Chee Portrayed in the Crime Novels?
In the Tony HillermanLeaphorn & Cheenovels, Chee first appears in the fourth installment,People of Darkness. This is the same story that would serve as the basis for much of Season 2. From the get-go,we see that Jim Chee is a man of principle, and a firm believer in traditional Navajo spirituality and tradition. As a result, he is closely connected with his community and the land. Indeed, his Navajo name is “Long Thinker,” a reflection of not only his education but also his impressive memory. Hillerman paints Jim Chee as a man who takes his heritage quite seriously. Though he’s a bit greener than Leaphorn at the start of the books, he develops into a capable law officer himself, and eventually he and his wife Bernadette Manuelito (played byJessica Mattenon the show)make quite a formidable pair. While it’s taken a few years to build towards this, it appears thatDark Windsis finally open to exploring these aspects of Chee on the screen.
‘Dark Winds’ Season 3 Ending Explained: How Do Leaphorn and Chee Stop a Monstrous Killer?
These characters will never be the same.
WhenDark Windsstarted, Chee’s only real connection to the spiritual was through Bernadette, who is a traditionalist herself when it comes to Navajo culture and beliefs. Chee had spent much of his life running from those traditions, but had only begun to show interest in them upon moving back to the Navajo Nation. WithBern’s return at the end of Season 3,it seems likely now that Season 4 will enhance that story even further. Beyond their long-awaited love story, we may finally get to the heart of who Jim Chee is as originally written. It may be thatDark Windsis prepping us for a spiritual journey that will transform Chee’s entire outlook on his life and service to the community — not unlikeJoe’s own mind-bendingTwin Peaks-like visionthis season.
How Might ‘Dark Winds’ Season 4 Push Chee Deeper Into His Spirituality?
If we’re going to see a real romance between Chee and Bernadette in Season 4, it’s highly likely that Bern will rub off a little on Chee. In many ways, she already has. From the small medicine bag he made for himself in Season 2 to the way he trusts Joe, some of Bern’s best qualities have found their way into Chee’s revived Navajo identity. There’s no doubt that, as they continue to pursue each other,Chee will become more open to the traditions of his ancestors and lean into the more spiritual aspects of the world around him. After all, there was a witch in Season 1 andplenty of “monsters” in Season 3. Considering that showrunnerJohn Wirthhas revealed that Hillerman’sThe Ghostwayis to be the inspiration for Season 4 (read our full interview with him here), we can assume that more superstition will factor in.
Of course, we’re not saying thatDark Windsshould venturetoodeep into the supernatural. The show is first and foremost a neo-Western crime drama, and we want it to stay true to that. But to ignore the cultural elements of Navajo spirituality —particularly those that Chee is coming to believe in himself—would be a mistake as well. Given that Season 3 pushed those boundaries as far as possible this year, it’s safe to say that John Wirth,Chris Eyre, andthe creatives behindDark Windsare going to continue to develop these important aspects going further. If the show can dive into these elements that make Jim Chee such a compelling character on the page, he will be an even more valuable asset to the show as it continues.
Dark Winds
Set in the 1970s on a remote Navajo reservation, this crime thriller follows tribal police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee as they investigate a series of brutal crimes that challenge their spiritual beliefs and personal lives. The show blends mystery, culture, and the harsh realities of life in the Southwest.
