After her great storyline in season 2, it's been really disappointing to see Emma Leaphorn's Dark Winds season 3's story appears ready to undermine it, with Joe regressing as a partner and keeping Emma at a distance.

It's a real shame, too, considering how great Emma's storyline in Dark Winds season 2 was. Dark Winds has always done an excellent job of weaving real history into its fictional story, and it doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of how the United States has treated Native American people, especially those on reservations. The forced sterilization of Navajo women storyline was a shameful reality, and Dark Winds season 2 incorporated it skillfully into the story, giving Emma an interesting arc. It's why her lack of screen time in Dark Winds season 3 so far is such a letdown.

Emma Leaphorn Has Been Sidelined In Dark Winds Season 3

She's Been Reduced To A Few Scenes So Far

Though it's only two episodes in, thus far, Emma has been completely sidelined in Dark Winds season 3. The only scenes she's had have been of her gently prying into what's been bothering Joe and appearing troubled by his short, terse answers and the fact he's clearly keeping something from her. Emma was upset by the coyote story in Dark Winds season 3, episode 1, because of what the symbolism means in her Navajo spirituality she holds so dear. She knows it portends an ill omen of trouble heading their way. Outside of that, though, Deanna Allison simply hasn't had much to do this season as Emma, which is unfortunate.

Emma has always come across as gentle and caring, but Dark Winds season 2 showed that she is tougher than she appears and more than willing to do the right thing, speaking truth to power at the expense of her own peace.

Emma has always come across as gentle and caring, but Dark Winds season 2 showed that she is tougher than she appears and more than willing to do the right thing, speaking truth to power at the expense of her own peace. At the end of the season, the reporter breaking the story about forced sterilization warned Emma that going public with her testimony would have consequences, but so far, that story has remained dormant in season 3 in favor of juggling the dual Bernadette and Leaphorn and Chee storylines.

Joe's Marriage To Emma Is The Backbone Of Dark Winds

She Is His Balance And His Foundation

Sadly, the focus on the dual cases and on Joe's fracturing mental state is also cutting into the number of scenes of Emma and Joe together, which is a problem. Joe's marriage to Emma and their relationship have always quietly been the backbone of the show. Their scenes together are what ground it in sincerity so that it's not just a thriller series, but a show that provides deep character work wrapped in the trappings of a procedural thriller. With so much of the focus on Joe Leaphorn's emotional landscape, it can be easy to forget that Emma lost a son, too, but Allison has done an excellent job of allowing Emma's quiet grief to appear in bits and pieces.

Emma is also the reason why Joe is able to do the things he does and still survive the darkness he sees. She's always been more of a Navajo traditionalist than her husband, firmly grounded in her Diné culture, customs, and spiritual practice in a way Joe isn't. While Joe practices his faith, Emma lives it. Her spirituality provides her with a stable foundation, which, in turn, enables her to provide Joe with a stable foundation.

Emma is emotionally resilient in a way Joe hasn't been, with her traditional practice allowing her to feel and process her emotions, particularly her grief, while Joe suppresses his. Joe's inability to deal with that grief and rage came to a head last season, but its reverberations have yet to be felt. Now, his decision to leave BJ Vines to die in the desert in Dark Winds season 2 and his subsequent guilt over it is poised to destroy his marriage to Emma, and without her, he would be utterly lost.

Emma Leaphorn Deserves To Have A Different Story In Dark Winds Than She Does In The Books

She Appears To Have Dodged That Fate In The Show

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Hopefully, Emma will have more of a prominent role to play in Dark Winds season 3 as the season progresses. There are six episodes left, so it's certainly possible for her to be brought more firmly into the story, particularly as Joe's decisions and the secrets he's keeping come to light. Emma deserves more screen time and a stronger arc than merely being Joe Leaphorn's quietly ive wife, especially after last season showed she has agency and a rich life all her own.

Emma deserves more screen time and a stronger arc than merely being Joe Leaphorn's quietly ive wife, especially after last season showed she has agency and a rich life all her own.

That said, it would be a mistake for Dark Winds to give Emma Leaphorn the story she has in the books. Emma sadly dies in A Thief of Time, the eighth book in Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn/Chee series, of a staph infection after surgery on a brain tumor. If Dark Winds were to do that, it would rip Joe's foundations out from underneath him and kill the soul of the series. Instead, it appears that Emma and Joe's son, Joe Jr., who does not exist in the books, is the character whose death turns Joe's world on its axis. It's a more elegant solution, as killing Emma off would be a waste of a character that has so much potential.