Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dark Winds season 3, episode 6.Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) had a very confusing hallucination in the Ye'iitsoh in Dark Winds isn't actually a monster.

One of the more confusing parts of Joe's visions was the broken plate he ate stew off of. Early on in his dreams, Joe found himself back at his childhood home with his father, mother, and younger versions of himself and his cousin. They all sat down to eat together, but when Joe's mother came to give him some stew, Joe realized his plate was broken. Joe's mother, however, didn't even seem to see the problem. There was certainly a deeper meaning to that moment, and it says a lot about what Joe has to do next in Dark Winds season 3.

Joe's Broken Plate In Dark Winds' Hallucination Sequence Calls Back To An Earlier Season 3 Moment

Joe Broke A Plate While Handing It To Emma In Dark Winds Season 3's Premiere, Symbolizing Their Cracking Marriage

The broken plate in Joe's dream was actually a reference to another moment from earlier on in Dark Winds season 3. In the premiere, Joe accidentally broke a plate while handing it to Emma (Deanna Allison), and the plate he saw in his dream was the same one. It seems minor, but Joe had seen that plate several times after breaking it: he hallucinated ants crawling all over it, and the plate had been a big sign of his deteriorating mental health, both literally and figuratively. The plate also serves as a sign of how another part of Joe's life is falling apart: his marriage to Emma.

All season long, we've seen Emma and Joe's relationship fall apart over Joe's decision to kill BJ Vines. Joe's marriage to Emma is cracking for the same reason the plate broke: he won't let Emma help him. Joe has constantly expressed his need to keep Emma safe from what he did to Vines, yet Emma is mad specifically because Joe didn't include her in a massive decision that affected both her and her son, Joe Jr. If Joe had just let Emma in on the decision to kill Vines, and if he had just let her take the plate, his whole world wouldn't be crumbling.

What Joe's Broken Plate Could Represent In Dark Winds Season 3

Joe's Mother Putting Stew On A Broken Plate Symbolizes How Joe Has Been Ignoring The Problems In His Personal Life

There's even more symbolism tied to the broken plate, however. During his dream, Joe's mother ladled some stew onto his plate, despite being able to see that the plate had a massive crack in it. The stew then seeped through the plate and onto the table, creating a big mess. The plate, then, seems to be a metaphor for how Joe has been ignoring the problems, or "cracks," growing in his personal life. Like his mother, Joe knows that shoveling more and more onto his broken marriage will only cause a bigger mess, but he does it anyway, pretending the "plate" isn't cracked at all.

It's also worth noting that Emma herself also appeared in Joe's hallucinations and espoused basically the same idea. As she alluded to, Joe has been wrapping himself up in his work and his duty to protect the Navajo people to the detriment of his relationship with Emma. She mentioned how he didn't build a fence like he promised, but it runs deeper than that: Joe isn't noticing the cracks in the "plate" because he's not even looking at them. Instead of trying to fix his marriage with Emma or fight Washington's investigation into Vines, Joe dove headfirst into the investigation to find George Bowlegs.

Joe's visions weren't entirely bad news, however. All of Joe's dreams in Dark Winds season 3, episode 6 basically served as a spiritual wake-up call for him. Hopefully, he now realizes just how close to the edge he was, and he can start to do the work necessary to fix his marriage and his career. Now that Joe knows the plate is broken and knows that ignoring it won't solve anything, he might actually start to let Emma in and atone for his sins. Joe's still not in a great position in Dark Winds season 3, but he's at least back on the Pollen Path towards balance.