Dark Winds (Season 2) Episode 5 ‘Black Hole Sun’: The previous episode of Dark Winds largely dealt with Joe Leaphorn bringing the dangerous killer out from the desert. After tireless attempts at finding the person, Joe and Bernie finally found his van. Joe followed the killer despite realizing the danger he was putting himself into. He was so tired of letting this man off the hook, who was potentially behind his son’s death in the Drumco explosion. After he lost contact with the outside world, Bernie helped him bring the killer back to the station. Now the 5th episode shows him trying to figure out why the killer committed the crimes. Chee stumbles upon something strange related to the Vines family.
Spoilers ahead.
Dark Winds (Season 2) Episode 5 ‘Black Hole Sun’ Recap:
The episode begins in black-and-white with just a few objects visible in red – like the trick that Spielberg used in Schindler’s List. A young boy rides his bicycle back home to find something strange inside. The television is on, but he cannot see his mother or his sister Jenny. He walks to the other room to find Jenny shot dead, lying on her piano. Then, in the bedroom, he sees his mother with a gun in her hand. She apologizes to him, but that does not negate the trauma he is already in. This boy is the same killer threatening the lives of the Navajo tribespeople.
The Killer’s Purpose
Sheriff Sena (A Martinez) informs Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) that Scarborough County wants the killer behind their bars. Joe tries to convince Sena to prolong the man’s stay in his jail so that he can interrogate him. But he already has many cases lined up against him. So, Sena cannot accept that since he has enough evidence to imprison the killer for a long, long time. But Joe wants to know ‘why’ he committed all these horrific crimes. He wants to find out who the killer is working for, how he is related to the Drumco explosion, and why he returned to their land. Somehow, he manages to convince Sena to give him six more hours. Then, he asks his subordinates to find something that connects the heinous man to the Drumco explosion.
Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) keeps surveillance on Rosemary (Jeri Ryan) for B.J. (John Diehl). He keeps it a secret from her. After learning that the killer is behind bars, he heads straight to the station. Over there, he speaks with Bernadette (Jessica Matten) about her plan to join the Border Patrol. She sees her current job as a dead end and finds the new opportunity as a way to level up. He tries to make her consider staying back. But it seems unlikely that she will. After Joe’s return, Chee goes back to his work. Joe brings the killer for investigation and asks for his name. This man keeps giving one name after another but Joe quickly understands that he is lying. The killer does not reveal who hired him but hints that ‘he might just hate Indians (Native Americans).’
A still from Dark Winds (Season 2) Episode 5Bernie finds out about Delloyd Webster, the detective that the killer hired to find details about Linda Maddox. So, they bring Delloyd to the station. He says that the killer is called Linda – his mother. But the woman Delloyd found was not that old. The dangerous man kept asking him for different, strange leads that led to nowhere. After this conversation, Joe asks Delloyd to speak with the killer to find some details for them. Delloyd tells the killer that if he gave the cops some details about his crimes, they would help him find his mother. The killer tells Delloyd that he was hired by someone named Carl Lubeck. Joe looks through his records and gets connected to Carl’s sister. But she reveals that Carl is dead. Meanwhile, a Navajo resident says that the killer himself is Lubeck.
Dean Bitsuie (Zakota Shade), who is notorious for always getting into some kind of trouble, is brought again to the station. Bernie talks with him to learn that he got picked for the draft against his will. So, he thought being locked up could keep him safe. He assumes that the army would not want criminals. Dean opens up about his struggle to accept fighting for America. Bernie feels bad for him and lets him return home. Then she goes back to her trailer to stay safe from that day’s eclipse. Chee goes there and leaves a gift on her doorstep as an apology. Since the eclipse will begin in a short time, she invites him in. They have a heart-to-heart about her plan to move.
The Grief
Back home, Joe speaks with Emma (Deanna Allison) about the killer. He wishes finding answers would help them put their son’s untimely death behind them. Emma opens up about what Sally (Elva Guerra) said to her earlier. She acknowledges that she brought Sally home so that she can take care of a child again. Emma considered it a way to fill the hole in her heart left by Joe Jr’s death. ‘There’s no behind, there is only ‘through,’ there is only grief,’ she says. But Joe cannot find peace until he finds who was behind the explosion. Later, Emma hosts a meeting of local women that includes Sally. Emma’s friend brings Mary Landon (Jacqueline Byers) to join them. Sally also wants Mary to be part of it. So, Emma lets her stay on condition that she won’t write or publish anything in the LA Times about their discussion without her permission. Mary agrees that she is only there to listen to how the new act affects their community.
Dark Winds (Season 2) Episode 5 ‘Black Hole Sun’ Ending Explained:
Does Joe learn why the killer murdered innocent Native Americans?
Joe figures that the dangerous man killed Lubeck, assumed his identity, and then killed six men in the Drumco explosion. The killer provokes him by asking if one of them is his son. That makes Joe furious to the point he tries to hurt him. Afterward, Bernie tells Joe that Sena wants to get the man to the FBI at the earliest. Joe tells her to get Vines to his office. Meanwhile, Chee follows Rosemary to an event on the outskirts. He finds several white folks pretending to be Native Americans. B. J. stands at the center and pretends to be their Messiah. Suddenly, Rosemary walks upon the stage and asks him to heal her.
While seeing this strange event unfold, Chee notices a native woman walk away in another direction. He follows her. In the middle of their conversation, two White men approach him. Chee fights back and runs away with her. She throws her bag down, and he gets a hold of it. Back at the station, Sena arrives with his men and takes the killer away. Bernie meets Dean to see him going away for his duty. He asks her to take care of his family in his absence. She hands him a keepsake for protection. Joe returns home and tells Emma that he, unfortunately, could not find the purpose behind the killer’s crimes. That’s when he receives a call. Then, he heads straight to Sena’s car to find it toppled. He sees Sena and his subordinates injured, but the killer gets away.
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Dark Winds (Season 2), Episode 5 Links: Rotten Tomatoes
Dark Winds (Season 2), Episode 5 Cast: Zahn McClarnon, Jessica Matten, Kiowa Gordon, Deanna Allison
Where to watch Dark Winds
