Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dark Winds season 3’s finale.The ending of Dark Winds season 3 provided a lot of context into what BJ Vines (John Diehl) would have done if Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) hadn’t given him “Indian Justice.” The ending of Dark Winds season 3 saw a lot of people get what they deserved, both good and bad. For example, Leaphorn and Chee (Kiowa Gordon) saved George Bowlegs and killed Dr. Reynolds (Christopher Heyerdahl), who turned out to be Dark Winds season 3’s Ye’iitsoh. Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) also exposed Border Patrol’s corruption, killed Budge de Baca (Raoul Max Trujillo), and saved the victims of the human trafficking ring.
Though many of the characters in Dark Winds got what they deserved, there was one very notable figure who escaped all the consequences of his actions: Tom Spenser (Bruce Greenwood). Though he was the leader of the drug and human trafficking ring, Spenser explained that he covered his tracks well enough to avoid any connection to the various crimes he orchestrated. What’s more, Dark Winds season 3’s finale even showed that Spenser was living in some sort of Mediterranean paradise while his collaborators were either dead or in prison. Through Spenser, Dark Winds showed us exactly what Leaphorn prevented by killing BJ Vines.
Tom Spenser’s Fate In Dark Winds Season 3 Is Exactly What Would Have Happened To BJ Vines
Spenser Fled The Country & Avoided Facing Justice, Which Is Exactly What BJ Vines Would Have Done
As previously mentioned, Tom Spenser didn’t have to pay for any of his various crimes or sins in Dark Winds season 3. Though he ran a massive drug and human trafficking ring that was responsible for killing at least two people, Spenser got to retire to a scenic villa. He never had to pay for the lives he indirectly ended or ruined, and there’s no sense of the word “justice” that would apply to his fate in Dark Winds season 3. A big reason Spenser was able to escape without being arrested is because he benefited from the same “white justice” that BJ Vines would have taken advantage of.
Spenser did mention that he covered his tracks and didn’t leave a paper trail, but his situation still has a lot of similarities to BJ Vines. As Vines was indirectly responsible for Joe Jr.’s death, Spenser was indirectly involved in multiple deaths and crimes. The only major difference in their stories is that Leaphorn intervened and gave Vines what he deserved, while no one stopped Spenser. If Leaphorn hadn’t killed BJ Vines, he would have done the same thing Spenser did: slip through the cracks of a legal system designed to benefit him and avoid any responsibility for his actions.
Was Joe Right To Kill BJ Vines In Dark Winds Season 2?
Joe Did Give Vines Justice He Wouldn’t Have Received, But It Cost Him Far Too Much
Now that we know just how easily BJ Vines could have avoided any sort of repercussions from the Drumco explosion, it makes Joe’s decision to kill him seem a lot more justified. The only way Leaphorn was ever going to get “real” justice for his son’s murder was by killing Vines. After all, if Joe hadn’t killed Vines, he would be sipping a martini on a beach, content in the knowledge that he outwitted the legal system. Meanwhile, Joe and Emma, along with all the other people who lost loved ones in the explosion, would have been left to wallow in grief. That’s certainly not my definition of justice.
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Joe’s decision is a moral dilemma for a reason, though, and it was a lot more complicated than a simple matter of justice. Killing Vines came with a heavy price: it racked Joe with grief, causing him to be haunted by the Ye’iitsoh, and it seriously damaged his marriage with Emma (Deanna Allison). It’s hard to claim he made the right decision when the consequences were so dire. Plus, Joe had fully exposed Vines’ culpability in the Drumco explosion whereas Spenser covered his tracks, meaning Vines would have had a less comfortable life on the run. It’s a tough question, and Dark Winds didn’t provide a straightforward answer.
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