"Dark Winds "recap: Leaphorn&x27;s attempt to ambush the assassin doesn&x27;t go as planned Jordan HoffmanMon, March 23, 2026 at 2:05 AM UTC 0 Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn on 'Dark Winds'Credit: Michael Moriatis/AMCKey Points Jim Chee admits to Sonny that he is not Mike Garcia. Joe Leaphorn convinces Sonny to let him and the FBI use him to capture Irene Vaggan, and it doesn't go so well. Chee is going to have to head back to the rez if he wants to get cured.
"Dark Winds "recap: Leaphorn's attempt to ambush the assassin doesn't go as planned
Jordan HoffmanMon, March 23, 2026 at 2:05 AM UTC
0
Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn on 'Dark Winds'Credit: Michael Moriatis/AMCKey Points -
Jim Chee admits to Sonny that he is not Mike Garcia.
Joe Leaphorn convinces Sonny to let him and the FBI use him to capture Irene Vaggan, and it doesn't go so well.
Chee is going to have to head back to the rez if he wants to get cured.
The sixth episode of the fourth season of Dark Winds, "Shíká Nidanitáhą́ą́ (Those Who Were Searching for Me)," picks up with Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) headed back to their motel, half expecting Irene the German assassin (Franka Potente) to be waiting for them. Once they declare the place "clear," Joe walks to a table and starts looking at a file labeled Navajo Tribal Police. With some twisty editing, though, we see that Irene was there not long ago, looking at the same materials.
He continues to poke around, until he finally discovers a bug under a lamp.
"Pack now," he says to Manuelito.
After the opening credits, we are back in the apartment where the Diné runaway Billie is staying (with her cousin Leroy's on-and-off girlfriend). Inside, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) has awakened from a ghost sickness stupor with the underworld figure Sonny lording over him. If you recall, the previous episode ended with Sonny waving a gun in his snout and demanding to know who he was (and using some profanity, to boot!).
Sonny roughs Chee up some more, but our NTP hero continues to claim he is "Mike Garcia."
Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee on 'Dark Winds'Credit: Michael Moriatis/AMC
Sonny was always suspicious of Chee, but remember during the last episode, when Sonny was knocked out after getting shot and Chee stitched him up? Chee decided to call and leave a message for Leaphorn from Sonny's phone within earshot of Sonny. And it turns out Sonny was conscious and heard the whole thing. I'm beginning to think that sometimes Chee can be a bit of a dunce. (I know, I know, he's got the ghost sickness, but he really has been messing up a lot lately.)
Sonny calls Chee's motel and asks for "Mike Garcia's room," and when he's told there's no Garcia he flips out. He cranks the radio (cue Jackson Browne's "Doctor, My Eyes") and starts screaming.
When Sonny shouts something to the tune of "just wait until Albert hears...," Chee says that Albert is dead. This is news to Sonny. There's a moment of pause, and Chee finally explains that he's NTP and he doesn't really care what nefarious things Sonny is into. He only wants to find Leroy and Billie before they end up dead, too.
After more yelling, there's a knock at the door. It's Leaphorn and Manuelito.
Leaphorn sees a drop of blood on the ground and everyone springs to action. Guns are drawn on both sides of the door. Manuelito heads to the back, but somehow Sonny is there (not quite sure how that happened) and he gets the jump on her. Meanwhile, Chee is tied up inside and starts having visions from his childhood again. (Arrgh, not now!)
When Sonny brings in Manuelito at gun point, Chee is less than pleased. Sonny ties her up but then... Leaphorn pops up out of nowhere and puts a gun to Sonny's head. Ayyyy, the good guys are on top!
Manuelito sees that Chee is in bad shape, with blood coming out of his side. She takes him to the hospital. Joe goes through Sonny's wallet and finds a business card in German.
After a break, we find ourselves in the office of a realtor who is giving a pitch for an all-inclusive senior living facility. Irene is there with her demented Nazi father (Udo Kier!) and he seems displeased, though he mellows when he sees a cat. Irene says she didn't know he liked cats. He replies that they are superior beings, and natural killers, as they are. Luckily, he is saying this in German, so the salesman is oblivious. They sign papers.
Back at Billie's spot, Leaphorn calls in his new FBI pal Shaw, who recognizes Sonny as a McNair associate. Leaphorn gives him the German business card and suggests they have Sonny call it to lay a trap. He tells Shaw that Irene is obsessed with him (true!) and obsession makes someone careless (also true!).
Leaphorn sits down with Sonny and tries to convince him that McNair is another bilagáana who doesn't care about him — and that by working with Joe he can save Leroy and Billie. He seems to be getting through to him, especially when he tells Sonny he will work with the FBI to reduce he charges against him. Sonny picks up the phone and leaves a coded message.
Chee wakes up in an infirmary and — who didn't see this one coming? — Emma is tending to his wounds. In the corridor outside, Emma and Bern chat a bit. When Bernadette says she's worried that she may not be able to fill Joe's shoes, Emma shares a story about how she originally wanted to be a doctor, but it was so hard for women back then. She regrets not pursuing her passion, and suggests that if she decides to pass on the opportunity for Chee's sake, that relationship is doomed.
"Don't let other people decide what you deserve," says Emma.
Bernadette ends the convo by letting Emma know that Joe's making different choices these days, he's been "going to sweat" more, retiring.
Emma doesn't let on how she feels about that: "I'm happy for him."
Back at Billie's place, the FBI is set up to trace Irene's call. The phone rings.
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Sonny tells Irene that he has a job, but she's not interested. He says he needs a specialist, because he found a cop snooping around. She's still not interested. When he says it's a Navajo cop named Joseph Leaphorn — that sure gets her attention!
"I'll be there in an hour," she says.
After a commercial break, we see Irene readying to head out (which means, you know, packing up lethal arms) when Udo Kier appears and starts choking her. He's easily confused, if you recall. And a vicious Nazi.
Franka Potente as Irene Vaggan on 'Dark Winds'Credit: Michael Moriatis/AMC
She calms him down and says she's headed out to get his medicine. Then she heads to a payphone and gives Sonny a location where they can meet. The FBI rolls out, but Leaphorn knows Irene will spot them.
Sonny and Leaphorn get in a car, where Sonny pretends to have Joe in custody. (I guess the cover idea is that he will bring him to Irene and she will dispose of him?) They head to the green van, but she's not inside.
Naturally, she's up on a nearby rooftop, with a rifle pointed at them. And then she spots the FBI on a different roof. Not good! Leaphorn senses what's up, shouts "Down!" and ducks.
Unfortunately, Sonny does not duck. Like a putz, Sonny says "What?" and gets shot in the neck. Bye, Sonny. You were not a righteous man.
The FBI guys start shooting, but they are no help. Leaphorn is pinned down, then runs into traffic (honk!) and into the building that Irene is atop. When he reaches the roof, she's gone, like a Teutonic Batman.
Meanwhile, Chee is having nightmares in bed. In his dream, he walks out of the clinic and sees that blanket again in the street. He finally pulls it back to see a woman coughing up blood. (Is this a vision of his mother?)
Wait, it turns out he really is in the middle of the street, but luckily, Bernadette pulls him away before he is hit by a car.
The next day, Leaphorn and the FBI are searching through Irene's green van. A nearby payphone rings. Irene wants to talk to Joe. He tells her she's getting sloppy. She says she's honoring his customs the best she can, to "keep the balance." He says that he will find her, and she says "I hope so."
Back at the clinic, Emma tells Chee that he's looking better, but needs another day of antibiotics. He says he's ready to leave now, but she knows about how he was having visions the night before, and how he entered Albert's death hogan. She also knows that he was there when his mother died when he was a young man. This sublimated trauma has now emerged to the forefront thanks to the ghost sickness. Jim Chee is going to have to face his demons, and seek a medicine person on the rez.
Later, when Emma heads to her truck, Irene comes up to her from behind.
"What does he see in you?" the nasty German asks.
Emma hits her in the face with her keys.
Bleeding, Irene says, "You abandoned him, you deserve to die."
Leaphorn runs to the truck. He finds Emma, who weeps and embraces him, with Irene nowhere to be seen.
Tracks:
Now that Irene has threatened Emma, it's all over for her. Joe is going to find her and destroy her. Unless he, too, becomes "obsessed," and therefore careless. Will he be wise enough to follow his own advice?
Jim Chee needs Indian medicine to get healed, but I don't see him leaving Los Angeles until Billie is secure. But he can't help her if he's dead! Will he have the insight to put on his own oxygen mask before that of the child's?
Clearly, this is all building to Bernadette ascending to her rightful place on the Iron Throne, and steering these two men toward safety. It's only a matter of time.
Do you think they actually cast anyone as Leroy, or is he like the Diné Godot?
New episodes of Dark Winds air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and AMC+.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: March 23, 2026 at 01:45AM on Source: PRIME TIME
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