“Cowboys and Trains Kind of Go Together”: ‘Dark Winds’ Showrunner Explains That Season 3 Finale Shootout

Dark Windsrode the rails in its third-season finale, as Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) chased down a murderer making his way out of town on a train. In a newHollywood Reporterinterview withDark WindsshowrunnerJohn Wirthand directorChris Eyre, they revealed the reasoning behind the Wild West-style showdown. Not only did it tie in with the show’s Western themes, but one of the show’s executive producers happened to own a locomotive.

The series finale is titled “Béésh Łį́į́ (Iron Horse),” a reference to the nickname for the steam engines that “tamed” the West. Says Wirth, who previously worked on AMC’s Western seriesHell on Wheels, “You know, cowboys and trains kind of go together, and in a neo-Western like this one, it felt like there would be a train.” And where did they get the train?George R. R. Martin, who is one of the show’s executive producers and cameoed in the season premiere, owns a locomotive, and was happy to lend it to the production. As Eyre says, “How many people can say they have a friend who owns a train?” He adds that it was a thrill to work with the machine, saying “It was a blast to shoot on the train and do drone shots and see the West. Just to play with the iron horse and the idea with Native characters.”

What Happened in the Season 3 Finale of ‘Dark Winds’?

In the penultimate episode of season three, Navajo police officers Leaphorn and Chee finally discover that the culprit behind a local boy’s death was not the legendary monster known asYe’iitsoh, but archaeologist Dr. Reynolds (Christopher Heyerdahl). In the finale, they pursue him to a train station where he’s trying to eliminate the case’s last loose end; after a railway showdown, Chee shoots and kills the crooked researcher. However, it’s a bittersweet resolution for Leaphorn, whose beloved wife Emma (Deanna Allison) has separated from him for leaving their son’s killer to die in the desert; before leaving, however, she helped Jim evade an investigation from FBI agent Sylvia Washington (Jenna Elfman). Meanwhile, Bernadette (Jessica Matten) was almost buried alive after uncovering a drug-smuggling ring among her new colleagues in the Border Patrol; she escaped that deathtrap and exposed the conspiracy before returning to the Navajo reservation and, perhaps,rekindling her romancewith Jim Chee.

Dark Windshas beenrenewed for a fourth seasonon AMC. The upcoming season will featureRun Lola RunandThe Bourne IdentitystarFranka Potentein a pivotal role.