Dark Winds Season 4 Review: Leaphorn's Greatest Adversary To Date Brings Out The Best In The Main Cast

The fourth season of Dark Winds is one of the show's best to date, and it's largely because of the impeccable acting and characters on display. Dark Winds season 4 once again features Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) working together after spending most of season 3 separated. The trio has to investigate the disappearance of Billie Tsosie (Isabel Deroy-Olson), a runaway from a reservation school.

As with every season of Dark Winds, the mystery Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito stumble upon is only the tip of the iceberg. Loosely based on Tony Hillerman's novel "The Ghostway," Dark Winds season 4 pits the Tribal Police detectives against a dangerous killer-for-hire and a sprawling criminal conspiracy. It also takes a field trip off the reservation to Los Angeles in a much-appreciated change of pace.

Dark Winds season 4 once again features the series' trademark focus on Navajo culture mixed with dark supernatural elements. Most of the beloved formula has carried over from the ending of Dark Winds season 3, from the well-established characters to the brilliant way it examines how white and Navajo America interact. Dark Winds season 4 also adds enough to the formula to make for a refreshing and great new installment.

Dark Winds Season 4 Is Carried By Some Great Acting Performances

The greatest strength of Dark Winds season 4 is its cast, and it would be impossible to review the season without giving Kiowa Gordon his flowers. As Jim Chee, Gordon puts on an absolute acting tour de force and makes a strong case for an Emmy Award. Chee faces a number of challenges in season 4, ranging from his dark past to his rekindled relationship with Bernadette, and Gordon handles it all in stride.

Dark Winds season 4 sees Chee handle stress, injury, tragedy, love, and reckon with his Navajo heritage. He seemingly goes through the entire range of human emotion this season, and Gordon delivers a breathtaking performance in every scene. Zahn McClarnon and Jessica Matten are once again superb as Leaphorn and Manuelito, but Gordon manages to blow them out of the water anyway.

The only problem I had with the acting in Dark Winds season 4 was with the on-screen chemistry between Chee and Bernadette. The slow-burn couple has been long in the making, but there isn't as much fire between them as I would like to see. Gordon and Matten work much better as a smoldering pair denying their feelings for one another than they do as a starstruck couple. Luckily, a problem quickly arises to put a new obstacle between them.

Gordon isn't the only acting powerhouse in Dark Winds season 4, however. Guest star Franka Potente takes on the role of Irene, a German contract killer who immediately cements herself as Dark Winds' greatest antagonist to date. She's very similar to season 2's Colton Wolf, but Potente brings a nuanced blend of cold professionalism and red-hot insanity to the role that makes her character more entertaining to watch and fit better into Dark Winds' themes.

Dark Winds Season 4's Main Mystery Is Lacking, But Its Character Stories Are Exceptional

Great characters alone do not make a mystery show, and Dark Winds' excellent cast can't carry it all the way. I found the central mystery of Dark Winds season 4, of the trio searching for Billie Tsosie, wanting. There are twists and turns aplenty, and the show is expertly paced to keep viewers on edge from episode to episode. However, Dark Winds quickly loses sight of Billie herself, and the conspiracy surrounding Titus Welliver's shady new antagonist is underdeveloped.

The many twists and turns of Dark Winds have, historically, helped turn each season into an utterly fascinating mystery story. In season 4, however, they end up giving the show a sense of not knowing where it's going. Welliver's character feels like a half-baked imitation of both B.J. Vines and Tom Spenser from Dark Winds seasons past. Much of the mystery also hinges on a twist that I was able to spot long before it was revealed.

While Dark Winds season 4's central mystery may be lacking, its side plots and character stories more than pick up the slack. Chee's story is once again a highlight of the season, and it's the main vehicle for season 4's deep dive into Navajo culture and the darker supernatural elements of the show, both of which are in top form. Joe's ongoing relationship troubles with Emma (Deanna Allison) work in tandem with Chee's story to form a strong emotional backbone.

The story of Franka Potente's Irene was perhaps my favorite part of Dark Winds season 4. Potente has an unbelievable chemistry with Zahn McClarnon, and their relationship spawns a brilliant game of cat and mouse. Irene also has her own side plot that never fully intersects with Leaphorn, but it adds devilishly complex layers to her character and helps make her a nearly perfect villain.

While not perfect as a whole, the mystery of Dark Winds season 4 is still enough to keep viewers engaged for eight episodes. With some superb deep-dives into beloved characters bolstered by phenomenal acting performances, it's safe to say that Dark Winds season 4 is yet another excellent installment in one of the best mystery shows on television.