Joe Leaphorn can become a bit obsessed, can’t he, especially when he was chasing the man who he had been told staged the explosion that killed his son J.J. on Dark Winds Season 2 Episode 4.
This has been the central metaphysical mystery in Joe’s life for the past few years.
Why was his son taken from him at such a young age?
When young Benny relayed to him that the blond man he had been pursuing was also the person who caused the drill-site explosion that claimed J.J., catching the killer took on greater urgency for Leaphorn.
You could question why Joe would invest so much faith in the memory of a young boy. But he’s got blinders on when it comes to J.J., his and Emma’s only child.
Understanding Leaphorn’s psyche explains most of his foolhardy moves while tracking Wolf.
Let’s begin with the exciting scene, which started off the whole season on Dark Winds Season 2 Episode 1.
Joe and Bern had finally found the hideout of the blond man, although they didn’t yet know his name, Colton Wolf. After learning that backup was hours away, Leaphorn decided to forge on.
Which explained why he and Bern ended up pinned down by Wolf’s semiautomatic fire. Fortunately, he just sought to distract them long enough to steal their vehicle (why does no one take their keys with them?).
You would think that Wolf would know the roads to his trailer. Yet, somehow, he lost control of the police car and ended up off the road and on foot in the dark. Before long, he was out of ammo as well.
Joe and Bern caught up to him, seemingly trapped on the ledge. He jumped into the fog below, and Leaphorn stupidly followed against Bern’s advice. He was too locked into the pursuit.
Joe got the worse of that maneuver, with his face bloodied and wrist broken, to the point he had to splint it. It sure appeared he had a concussion as well. But back then, it was called a bump on the head and wasn’t considered serious. Wolf suffered a sprained ankle.
And yet, Leaphorn used his excellent tracking skills and knowledge of the area to get the drop on the younger, fitter Wolf. Yes, that was a stretch, but it could happen — the element of surprise and all.
Joe did what he could with handcuffs and a noose-like rope, attempting to keep Wolf in check for the few-mile walk to town through the mountains.
Meanwhile, Bern and Gordo were getting to know each other better, whether they liked it or not. The age gap was an evident problem. Fortunately, they had the common goal of saving Leaphorn, mostly from himself.
Gordo and Joe get each other as both are older and cynical. Joe remains a little bit philosophical, unlike Gordo.
While equally cynical, Bern takes crap from nobody. Since Gordo let her search with his men, you would think she would follow his orders, but no. She always knew better.
In the end, it turned out she was right, as she managed to arrive just when the man she described as like a father to her needed her to.
The interplay between Leaphorn and Wolf was riveting. Throughout their long march, Wolf had no idea why Joe was so hellbent on bringing him in.
Wolf kept trying to get into Joe’s head, but he was concentrating so hard on staying upright and alert that the prisoner’s words weren’t registering with him.
It took Wolf way too long to piece together that Leaphorn wasn’t just doing his job but that bringing him in was personal to Joe. He still never got to why it was personal.
Wolf never stopped trying to escape, but Leaphorn was too determined to bring him in. He was the only connection to those behind J.J.’s death.
Speaking of B.J. (Ben) Vines, he and Rosemary both resurfaced in Jim Chee’s world, whether he wanted them or not.
Rosemary showed up first to pay Jim and offer that lamest of apologies for putting him in peril. He pointed out that other Indians ended up in worse shape.
Her reaction to Tomas’s murder made it seem like they had some relationship. If that was the case, why did she sic Chee on him to start with?
After Rosemary left, an armed B.J. burst in on Jim, accusing him of having an affair with her. Chee quickly disarmed him and set him straight on their relationship.
B.J. then attempted to hire Jim to find out who Rosemary’s lover was but was rebuffed. Apparently, that’s not the kind of private eye Chee wants to be.
Later, B.J. menaced Rosemary about knowing her place, topping that off with that message-laden necklace. Maybe Rosemary is a victim, not the schemer she appears to be.
Jim should rethink his refusal of B.J.’s offer. B.J. is up to his neck in this case as the new owner of the former oil-drilling site. And where does the People of Darkness cult, with which B.J. has been involved, have to do with this?
Will Wolf flip now that he’s been captured?
How have you changed your mind about Rosemary?
What is B.J. up to with the former oil-drilling site?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.