Dark Winds Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Black Hole Sun

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

We’ve reached the penultimate episode of Dark Winds Season 2 with Dark Winds Season 2 Episode 5, “Black Hole Sun.” The Episode was written by Graham Roland and directed by Billy Luther.

As one would expect on a penultimate episode, a lot happens on “Black Hole Sun.”

The Blonde Man’s Backstory

First, we finally get some real background on the blonde man. We learn that his mother killed his father and sister when he was a child. Not only that, he is the one who discovers the bodies and his distraught mother holding a gun.

By the end of the episode, it is heavily implied that he shoots his mother after she surrenders her gun to him.

That type of tragic backstory isn’t surprising. There was obviously some sort of trauma with his mother to be revealed. It was more a question of whether that trauma was something his mother did or something that was done to her. Now we know it’s kind of both. 

The reveal about the blonde man’s mother doesn’t change how I feel about him. I don’t have more sympathy for him now than I did before. I’m not sure the new information is meant to change viewers’ opinions about him, anyway. 

Mainly, it is meant to show the moment he embraces the darkness inside him. There is a look on his face when he takes his mother’s gun, and you see something shifts in him.

This is when he becomes the sociopathic killer we’ve been following. It’s his origin story, and while traumatic, it is not done in a way that evokes genuine sympathy for him.

The most surprising thing about the blonde man’s backstory is the implication he shoots his mother, the person he has been trying to track down all season.

If the implication is correct and he did shoot her, are we to assume that she survived? Why else would he be looking for her? If she did survive, did he always know that? If not, perhaps that’s why there is an urgency to find her after all these years.

This twist is admittedly a bit confusing, and given how close we are to the end of the season, I’m not sure how much attention to give it when there are so many more immediate things to puzzle out.

Another Connection to the Explosion 

More relevant to the case, Joe learns the blonde man killed a man named Carl Lebeck. Lebeck was connected to the mine Joe Jr. worked at. The blonde man uses his identity to plant the explosives that killed Joe Jr. and five other men. 

The choice of the blonde man to give Joe the name Lebeck is interesting and — similar to the reveal about his mother — a little confounding. He must have given that name intentionally, knowing that Joe would connect all the dots.

I’m not sure what his angle is. Is he just trying to mess with Joe, or is there some agenda behind his choice to give Joe such a big clue?

He seems too methodical to just be messing with Joe. Still, for the life of me, I can’t figure out what he gets out of letting Joe connect him further to the explosion. 

A Cult Leader

The other big revelation on “Black Hole Sun” is that BJ Vine is the leader of The People of Darkness. What we see of The People of Darkness when Chee crashes a meeting is a cult that appropriates and twists native culture. It appears to manipulate people into believing that Vine has special healing powers.

It’s a scam, plain and simple. One made worse by the gross misappropriation of indigenous culture. Whether it’s a scam to make Vine money, feed his ego, or if Vine is a true believer with a god complex remains to be seen. My money is on a combination of all three.

Despite this significant plot progression, it’s hard to see how the season will wrap things up with only one episode left. There are still so many threads to address. 

Like how is any of the People of Darkness stuff related to the mine explosion, for example? I’m not sure how they can tie up so many loose ends in a satisfying way on the finale. Still, that is a worry for another review.

Character Development

The place where “Black Hole Sun” is most successful is on the character development front. Whatever concerns come up on this episode about how the plot will wrap up are mitigated by that, at least for now. 

There are great character moments for all the characters on this episode. My favorites are the scene with Emma and Joe talking about grief and the scene between Bernadette and Chee during the eclipse. 

Both scenes offer great insight into our main characters, and all the actors are superb. Deanna Allison, as Emma, is particularly touching in her scene with Joe.

It is also lovely to have a quiet moment between Chee and Bernadette. Chee is the only one with the insight to talk about what Bernadette might lose by leaving and how hard it is to return.

The conversation is as much about Chee as it is about Bernadette, and it’s done with a subtle poignancy that weaves both of their stories together seamlessly.

History and Politics

The scenes with Dean and Bernadette about the Vietnam War and the draft are also excellent. 

They thoughtfully bring political and historical elements into the story through Bernadette’s character arc. At the same time, those themes develop Bernadette’s character in interesting ways. It feels organic to the story while still exploring larger issues.

I wish they had done the same with the storyline about the Family Planning Act. The actress who plays the reporter is lovely, but I can’t get invested in her. What I would have loved to see instead of a random white reporter inserted into the mix is for this story to be told through Emma’s arc. 

It would have been a much more compelling political story with a character we already care about driving it. It also would have allowed viewers to see parts of Emma not defined by Joe or Joe Jr.

It’s a missed opportunity, but I’m still glad they tackled the Family Planning Act at all. I didn’t know about it before this season, but I am curious to learn more about it now. That is always something worth applauding historical dramas like this for.

Overall Impressions

On its own merits, “Black Hole Sun” is another strong episode with excellent character work. As the penultimate episode and part of the larger story, though, I’m concerned.

There is so much story to cover during the finale, and I fear we aren’t going to get the payoff we want for a lot of it. 

Stray Thoughts

• If there is another season, I’d love to see more of that PI character working with the blonde man. He could be a fun foil for Joe.
• It looks like I had it wrong. Emma and Sally’s scene on Dark Winds Season 2 Episode 4, “The March,” isn’t setting up Sally to her baby with Joe and Emma. It prompted Emma to step back so that Sally could bond with the baby. Sally may still leave, but she will take her son with her if she does.
• If viewers weren’t already sure the blonde man would escape, the minute Gordo couldn’t find his pen confirmed it.
• Sheep have been a constant theme throughout the season. I am admittedly not very knowledgeable about Navajo culture. Still, some basic Googling did inform me that sheep, particularly the Navajo-Churro sheep, have been an important part of Navajo culture and history. They were also almost driven to extinction by the US government twice. At least one of those times was with the express purpose of hurting Navajo communities. I’ll defer to others with a fuller knowledge of Navajo culture to speculate on any specific symbolism, but it is clearly not an arbitrary choice and one that I hope others write more about.

What did you think of this episode of Dark Winds? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Dark Winds airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC, with early access for AMC+ subscribers on Thursdays.

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