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Dark Winds Season 2 brings the band back together. Even though Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) is a private investigator this time around, his case leads him on the same path as Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Sgt. Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), as the trio reunites to pursue a common foe.
Matten joined SK POP for an exclusive interview to preview Dark Winds Season 2.
She does not beat around the bush, proclaiming the second installment to be superior to the first. Without going into spoiler territory, she even takes us back in time to the setting of Dark Winds Season 2, setting the backdrop for a show that's far more than just a murder mystery.
Jessica Matten was thrilled to get to show off her comedic chops in Dark Winds Season 2
When we asked the Canadian actress to summarize Dark Winds Season 2 in one word, she had one word for us:
"Better."
She elaborated:
"Better because you just get to know the characters more and that always makes it more enjoyable for an audience to get into. Right?"
The bond between the central cast of three actors has also grown over the last two seasons. It helps that they've known each other for eight years! Matten explained:
"So, we’ve known each other for a while but we’ve all never gotten to perform this much with each other. We’re literally spending like twelve hours a day with each other. Five days a week. For four months straight."
The Dark Winds Season 2 star hopes that the genuine bond between the characters reflects on screen too:
"When you’re with someone that much and then you get these opportunities to be vulnerable, yeah, you get to know a person very quickly on and off screen and it does make you closer. And I hope it does show in this season and also, if you have good writing, then that also helps for sure."
Because Matten is self-admittedly goofy in real life, she was thrilled to display her comedic chops in Dark Winds Season 2. She explained:
"And even our showrunner John Wirth was like – you’re funny. Did you know that? And I was like really, you think so? No, because I never get the opportunity to play a funny character. So I don’t know. All I know is that I’m goofy in real life. So, any opportunity. I was kind of myself in that scene to be honest."
Of course, the theme of Dark Winds Season 2 is still deeply rooted in the issues faced by indigenous people in the '60s and '70s. The drama does not abate in the second installment at all. Jessica Matten elaborated on how the writers took the script to the next level this season:
"I just think we had an amazing set of writers this season. The writers room. They were just smart. And the solar eclipse is a huge kind of storyline that we touched upon too, in terms of the moon landing. So, you have a lot of nature elements. And to me, that’s reflective of what’s happening in all of these characters because within native culture, we’ve very much spiritual but our spirituality is also very much attached to nature."
Dark Winds Season 2 returns to AMC on Sunday, July 30, with episodes available on AMC + from Thursday this week. Please note that this exclusive interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Stay tuned to SK POP for continued coverage of the series.
