Warning: This contains spoilers for Dark Winds season 3, episode 3, "Ch'į́į́dii (Ghosts)"

In Emma has been sidelined in Dark Winds season 3 after a great storyline last year. But the third episode of the third season might finally see her getting a larger chunk of the story, as she deserves.

Emma has always kept Joe on the right side of the Navajo spiritual path and guides him accordingly, such as when Dark Winds season 3 shows him pulling away from her and closing himself off. His reveal that he was the one who put BJ Vines in the desert is the first real fight we've ever seen them have, and it remains to be seen if their marriage will survive his betrayal.

Emma's Reaction To Joe itting That He Was The One Who Left BJ Vines Out In The Desert To Die Explained

Her Feelings Of Betrayal Have Multiple Levels

Emma's emotional reaction seems obvious, at first, but it's layered. She was understandably horrified and infuriated when Joe confirmed her suspicions: he had something to do with BJ Vines' death. Joe doesn't explain to her that he didn't actually murder Vines, and just left in the desert, but it doesn't really matter. Anyone would be beyond upset if they learned their spouse had been involved in a murder, much less if it involved the person who had murdered their child. It's especially upsetting now that Jenna Elfman's Agent Washington is investigating BJ Vines' appearance in Dark Winds.

Beyond that, though, Emma feels rightly betrayed that Joe would make a decision involving that person without her. When Joe reminds her that Vines murdered their son, Emma snaps back, "our son." JJ was Emma's son, too, not just Joe's, and Joe's decision took away Emma's ability to grieve her son and the reveal of his murderer on her own . Emma is strong-willed, but peaceful and comionate, and now, because of Joe, she has a new form of grief to contend with. Through his actions, Joe has stained the memory of their son in blood, disrespecting both JJ and Emma in the process.

Why Joe Stands By His BJ Vines Decision

It's Born From Desperation, Not Conviction

Joe may be standing by his decision to leave BJ Vines in the desert to die, but Dark Winds season 3 sure makes it seem like he is simply because he doesn't know what else to do. Joe gets angry and defends himself in the face of Emma's wrath, but it reads like a "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" situation. When he snaps, "I did what I had to do," after her, it's in the defensive tone of someone who knows he's in the wrong. When he repeats it to himself, more softly, it's clear that the only person he's trying to convince that he did the right thing is himself – and even he doesn't really believe his words.

In reality, it's not that Joe is standing by his decision so much as desperately clinging to it to avoid having a complete mental breakdown.

Through the first three episodes of Dark Winds season 3, Joe has been haunted by his decision and mentally spiraling. It all indicates that, deep down, Joe knows he was wrong to do it and isn't handling that knowledge well, so he's desperately trying to convince himself that he had no other choice. As the audience, we know that's not true, and so does Emma – and it's certain that Joe knows, as well, even if he can't it it to himself yet, which is why his mental health is in a dark place. In reality, it's not that Joe is standing by his decision so much as desperately clinging to it to avoid having a complete mental breakdown.

Emma's Warning Explains Why Joe Is Being Haunted In Dark Winds Season 3

His Choice Has Spiritual Consequences

Ultimately, though, Emma is infuriated because Joe not only dragged her into this on a legal and ethical level, but also spiritually. "Do you realize what you've done? You've invited that man's spirit into our home!" she yells. While the Navajo believe most ghosts/spirits, or "chindi" (ch'į́į́dii in Navajo), are not malevolent, they certainly can be if they die violently or at another's hands. Sometimes, they'll linger and interact with the physical world, which can cause problems (E. Hillerman NMU).

In that case, a "ghost sickness" can manifest within the living, with that spirit causing all manner of ailments that manifest physically, emotionally, and mentally. It would certainly explain Joe's current deteriorating mental state. If it's not just his own guilt eating at him, but also the spirit of BJ Vines haunting him, then Joe is experiencing spiritual retribution for his decision, and it's a storyline first set up at the end of Dark Winds season 2.

In the Dark Winds season 2 trailer and again in the finale, Sheriff Gordo, while not Navajo, warns Joe: "If you kill a man, they're bound to you. Wherever you go in this life, they're with us. Maybe the next one, too." Joe is certainly bound to BJ Vines now in every way a man can be bound to another: criminally, legally, mentally, emotionally, and now, possibly, spiritually. Joe's grief and rage were understandable, as was his choice. Even so, it appears Joe will spend a lifetime atoning for it – and he may never be free.

Source: E. Hillerman NMU