'Dark Winds' Season 4 Episode 1 Recap & Ending Explained: Who Is The Killer?

So if you have been following the previous seasons of AMC’s Dark Winds, then you may already be aware that the crime thriller show investigates a new case every season. This means you can still watch the show even if you’re not completely caught up on it. However, there are few character arcs that are ongoing from the beginning of the show, and you may need to know a little bit about these characters’ backgrounds to understand those subplots better. So this is what I am here to help you with. While breaking down the events of Season 4, Episode 1, I’ll try to give you some information about these characters so you can enjoy the show to the fullest. With that said, let’s jump straight into the recap.

Spoiler Alert

Joe Wants To Retire

So, meet our main protagonist, Joe Leaphorn, who works as a lieutenant in the Kayenta tribal police station. Back in the day, Joe and his wife, Emma, had a son named Joe Jr. (or JJ), who lost his life in a mining accident. After some investigation, Joe Sr. came to the conclusion that the owner of the mine, B.J. Vines, was responsible for his son’s death. If you want more details about that, you can read my detailed recap on season 1 and season 2. Anyway, Joe tried to arrest Mr. Vines through lawful means, but he was a well-connected White man who had his ways of handling the law. This left Joe with no other option but to take the law into his own hands and serve Indian Justice to Mr. Vines to make him pay for JJ’s death. Yes, Joe killed B.J. Vines. Now, in Season 3, Agent Sylvia Washington arrived from Washington to investigate Mr. Vines’ disappearance, and even though she figured out that Joe was behind his murder, she couldn’t gather any evidence to support her claims. However, after Sylvia arrived in town, Joe was forced to confess his crimes to Emma, as he needed her to lie for his alibi. Emma did what she could to protect her husband, but she couldn’t live with him anymore. She couldn’t stand the person he had become, because by killing a man, Joe had become the same monster he had once sworn to defeat. He was no longer himself. This was why Emma parted ways with Joe and left for her sister’s place in Fillmore.

Now, in Season 4, Episode 1, Joe had been spending his days alone, trying to find himself again, so Emma would one day be able to forgive him and come back. This was why Joe wanted to retire and spend some time in the mountains, so the gods or nature would show him a clear purpose in life. When Joe told his mother he was planning to retire, she requested her son not to go on this spiritual journey only for Emma, but for himself.  A similar thing had happened with Joe’s father, Henry, who turned into a completely different man after he returned from war. Joe’s mother spent decades trying to fix what was broken inside him, but she couldn’t, because Henry didn’t want to fix himself to begin with. Joe’s mother could have left, but she stuck around for the sake of her kid. In the present time, Joe was going through the same predicament. By killing a man, he had lost his humanity, and he needed to get it back to become a better son, a better husband, and, more importantly, a better human being. And if he did it the right way, Emma would definitely come back into his life. In short, whatever Joe is going to do, and wherever he is going, he needs to do it for himself. Something his old man failed to understand.

Now this one is going to sound a bit repetitive, but that’s how TV narratives are. They try to explore the same theme through different characters. On his way to the station, Joe came across Lawrence “Gordo” Sena, the sheriff of Scarborough County, and his wife. Their car had gotten a flat tire, and Joe decided to help his friend out. Through their conversation, it was revealed that Gordo’s wife was slowly losing her memory. Things had gotten worse after the kids left, and Gordo had been trying his best to look after her. So Joe had a piece of advice for his longtime collaborator. He told Gordo not to give up on her. Well, the way I see it. He was actually saying this to himself. Before leaving Kayenta, Sylvia had handed over Emma’s recorded interrogation to Joe, in which Emma told Sylvia, “I hope one day I can forgive him.” After Emma left, Joe had been listening to this tape obsessively, telling his inner self not to give up on her, because if you lose the only hope you are left with, then what else is there to live for?

Joe Wants Bern to Take His Place

From the very beginning of the show, Joe had seen Bernadette Manuelito, aka Bern, as his worthy successor. After JJ’s death, Joe and Emma had gotten quite close to Bern. They always saw her as their own child, and this was the reason why Joe was quite heartbroken when Bern decided to leave the reservation to look for better opportunities. But now that Bern was back, Joe wanted her to take up his mantle so he could retire peacefully. However, the thing is, Bern had been struggling with her own issues. In Season 3, she had joined the US Border Patrol to protect her country, but during her time there, she found out that her own department had been tied up in corruption. Her senior officer was on payroll for a smuggler, and Bern refused to become party to their crimes. After getting these officers arrested, Bern resigned from her post and burned her uniform, as she couldn’t be a part of something so evil. Now, in episode 1, Bern had been confused about joining the tribal police again. It wasn’t just about the things she had gone through in Season 3, she didn’t want to ruin her equation with Sergeant Jim Chee. She knew that if they were investigating the same case, there was going to be some sort of conflict or argument between them, and it might take a toll on their romantic relationship. Additionally, Joe wanted Bern to take his place, which would make her Chee’s senior. So, would Chee be comfortable with that? I mean, obviously Bern had been thinking a lot and keeping things to herself, and this confusion might settle down a bit if she would just talk to Chee about it. But until she does, Joe’s there to look after both of them. The main problem will arise once Joe leaves, which I believe is going to happen sooner or later.

Billie Runs Away From School

If you have seen Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel, 1923, then you might remember the Missionary Boarding School, which treated the Native American Indian girls in the most inhumane way possible. Almost every student tried to figure out a way to run away from these boarding schools where these so-called Christians used harsh treatment to make civilians out of savages. I mean, that’s what they believed. Well, the situation in Dark Winds is no different. This was the reason the entire Kayenta police department cheered when they found out that a 16-year-old girl named Billie Tsosie had run away from St. Catherine. Billie had been missing for three days. According to headmaster Sister Anna Regina, Billie was a “wild one” who would often escape from school to go to her granddad’s house in Sheep Springs, but this time, even he hadn’t heard from her, which made Regina really worried. She wrote a letter to the tribal police asking them to look for Billie. After questioning Billie’s mates, Joe and Chee figured out that Billie wasn’t lost. She might be with someone, and they needed to figure out who.

The first episode of Season 4 further pointed out that Bern had once been a student of the same school, which means she was well aware of Sister Regina’s methods and how she starved the kids to discipline them. I think Bern’s return to the school isn’t just about finding Billie. Maybe Bern will investigate Sister Regina to make sure her people won’t have to suffer these punishments anymore. Sister Regina obviously doesn’t want anyone to talk to the police, but Bern already knows her inside-out, and maybe in the upcoming episodes, she will teach Regina the lesson she deserves.

Billie Is With Her Cousin

At first, Joe and Chee believed that Billie ran away with her boyfriend, as Roger, the guy at the Trading Post, had seen Billie with an Indian guy in his early twenties driving a red two-tone sedan with California plates. However, Billie’s grandad, Ashie Begay, shed more light on this mysterious guy Billie had been travelling with. His name was Albert Gorman, and he was the son of Mr. Begay’s other daughter, who left for Los Angeles a long time ago. Mr. Begay was really upset with the fact that Billie ran away with Albert because the lad was bad news. He was a criminal who got himself mixed in all kinds of shady business, and Mr. Begay didn’t want his granddaughter to get hurt. However, the question here is, why was Billie travelling with Albert, and what were they actually looking for?

Albert had sent Billie to buy a map of the Navajo Nation from the Trading Post, and from their brief conversation at the Redhouse Diner, it was revealed that they were looking for someone named Leroy. I believe Leroy was Albert’s brother, who might have returned to the reservation and made contact with Billie, or planned to meet her, and when she didn’t hear from him, she called Albert, informing him about his missing brother. Remember how Joe brought up the information that the students of St. Catherine had phone privileges? It’s likely that Billie might have contacted Leroy and Albert from the phone, and as soon as Albert arrived in town, he asked Billie to ride along with him in search of his brother. Leroy had been missing for three days, which further hints that Billie and Albert had been looking for Leroy for that long, but with no luck. So the question here is, why did Leroy come to the rez from California? And where is he right now? I think Leroy has gotten mixed up with some really bad people, and Albert knows he is in trouble, which is why he’s so worried about his brother. But yes, that’s just my theory, and the upcoming episodes will definitely help us understand the situation better. However, if you have any thoughts or theories, feel free to share in the comments.

A Nazi Hitman Arrives in Town

Throughout episode 1, a blonde hitman, Irene Vaggan, played by German actress Franka Potente, had been following Joe and Chee while they were looking for Billie and Albert. She even visited the Trading Post, where she was quite intrigued by the “swastika” sign on a rug. Well, if that still set off any alarm bells, then you might have noticed the gun she had been loading in the first scene of the first episode. It was a Luger P08 pistol, most commonly used by the Nazi German Army, which makes me believe that our trained killer might have ties with the Third Reich, but we will find out about it in the upcoming episodes. I think Irene had been keeping an eye on the officers, as she believed that they would lead her to the person she had been looking for, that is, Albert Gorman. I don’t think it was a mere coincidence that the moment Bern informed Chee that Billie was in Redhouse Diner enjoying her favorite milkshake, Irene showed up at the same place, and that too even before the cops. How?

Additionally, her brief conversation with Albert suggested that they both knew each other. Irene wanted him to come with her, but Albert refused, and they started firing at each other. Meanwhile, Billie ran out the back door of the diner and started the car. Albert, trying to dodge the bullets, tried to escape the diner too, but he got shot. He was bleeding badly, yet managed to leave with Billie in the car. Okay, so I don’t think Albert’s going to make it. He’s hurt, and there’s no way he will be going to the hospital. But he may survive the wound if he asks Billie to drive him all the way to Los Angeles, where he can get some medical attention. The problem here is that Irene has seen Billie. She knows that Albert is traveling with a girl who knows a lot, which means she isn’t going to spare Billie’s life either, and is going to hunt her down by any means possible. Joe, Bern, and Irene have seen the bloody mess at the diner. Irene had killed the owners of the diner, and the bullet casings at the crime scene will give Joe and his team a pretty clear idea with whom they are dealing with. They know that Albert came from California, so Joe might send Chee and Bern to the big city to locate the girl and bring her back to the rez. And through their journey, the show will shed more light on the mess these brothers have created for themselves. So these were my thoughts on the episode, but if you have anything else to add, feel free to share in the comments.

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