Topics
I Changed My Mind, I Don't Think Ivan Is Guilty In Dark Winds Season 3 – Here's Who I Believe Used Bernadette’s Border Patrol Picture
Last week, I wrote about how I was convinced that Bernadette’s new romance, Ivan Muños, is a traitor in Dark Winds season 3. After the latest episode of Dark Winds, however, I’m not so sure, and another character who has been quietly raising my alarm bells is now my prime suspect: Agent Eleanda Garza. It was always between her and Ivan being the rat in the Border Patrol office, and it seems the show is happy to set up misdirection in both cases.
In the previous episode of Dark Winds season 3, the “chili farmers” were confirmed to be in on Spenser’s scheme as the link that ties together the case Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are working on and the unofficial case that Bernadette Manuelito is working on her own. It all appears to connect back to Tom Spenser in Dark Winds season 3, but what he’s doing and who’s involved remains a question. Still, it’s certain that at least one person in Bernadette’s Border Patrol office has to be corrupt and on the take, and now it’s a toss-up between Ivan and Garza.
Dark Winds Season 3 Might Have Been Misdirecting Us With Ivan’s Storyline
But Even The Misdirection Could Be A Misdirection
All signs were pointing to Ivan being a shady character in Dark Winds season 3, and quite possibly set up to spy on Bernadette and betray her by the end. He’s attempted to deter her from investigating Tom Spenser’s operation every time she brings it up, deflecting and downplaying her suspicions that he’s potentially behind a human trafficking ring. His eagerness to change the subject and get to know Bernie every time has come across as a little too inauthentic, and the nighttime parking lot jumpscare in Dark Winds season 3, episode 3 was framed as though he had been stalking her, and potentially even the one to flatten her tire.
But tonight’s episode suddenly seemed to reverse that framing, and now it seems as though he genuinely might be innocent of any corruption and just a genuinely good guy interested in Bernadette. Of course, Dark Winds is a twisty show, and it’s possible that the reversal of the misdirect is in and of itself a misdirect, and Ivan will still end up being the guilty party. It’s also possible that he did sabotage Bernadette at times, not because he is working for Spenser, but trying to protect her from Spenser. Still, there’s one other prime suspect, who, to be fair, was always as much a potential villain hiding in plain sight as Ivan.
Garza & Ivan Were Always The Biggest Suspects – And Now It Looks Like Garza Betrayed Bernadette
Garza Is Acting Suspicious
That second suspect would be Eleanda Garza, and to be fair, the only reason she wasn’t at the top of my initial list is simply because she hasn’t had as much screen time as Ivan Muños. But looking at it objectively, she’s treated Bernadette’s suspicions about Spenser with the same dismissive attitude and attempts to dissuade that Ivan has. She’s also well-positioned as Bernadette’s roommate to have snagged her official Border Patrol photo, as well as any other personal info to pass to Dark Winds season 3’s farmers, Budge de Baca, or even Tom Spenser.
Related
A Peace Offering Or Warning? Why Budge Returns Bernadette’s Gun In Dark Winds Season 3
Budge returned Bernadette Manuelito’s gun to her in Dark Winds season 3, episode 3, but the mystery show didn’t explain what he wanted out of it.
There was also the very deliberate shot in Dark Winds season 3, episode 4 of Garza watching Bernadette as she spoke to Chee outside, suspicion all over Garza’s face. A few scenes before, when Bernadette confided that the farmers had had her photo and that she suspected their boss, Ed Henry, of leaking it, Garza told her not to go to Henry with her suspicions. Garza couched it in the framing that they would only get “one shot” at Henry, but it felt like a flimsy excuse. Suddenly, she seems very nervous about what Bernadette knows and who she’s talking to about it. Whether it’s Garza or Ivan, the snake in the operation will be revealed in the final two episodes.
