Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 cast and characters: Here's who brought the psychological thriller to life 

Aashna
Dark Winds Season 3 (image via AMC+)
Dark Winds Season 3 (image via AMC+)

Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 was titled Ye'iitsoh (Big Monster) and aired on AMC on March 9, 2025. The official synopsis for the episode reads as follows:

Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Sgt. Jim Chee investigate the disappearance of a Navajo boy. Manuelito makes a sinister discovery while adjusting to life on the border patrol. An FBI agent comes to solve a case linked to Leaphorn's recent past.

Dark Winds is AMC's crime thriller series, based on Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn & Chee book series, which debuted in June 2022. The show is set in the 1970s Four Corners area of the American Southwest and follows three tribal officers as they investigate a string of violent crimes and murders in their community.

Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 was the beginning of a harrowing case for Leaphorn and Chee, one where they investigated the disappearance of a Navajo boy

Here is the complete cast from the Season 3 premiere.


Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 cast: Meet the main players

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Here are the main players who brought Dark Winds Episode Big Monsters to life:

Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn: Like the previous two seasons, McClarnon's Joe Leaphorn led the Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 cast. He is the titular character from Tony Hillerman's detective book series and the veteran tribal police lieutenant in Navajo County who leads the AMC series. Leaphorn is the complex moral and emotional backbone, who comes across a harrowing case when a Navajo boy is reported missing in the Season 3 premiere of Dark Winds.

Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee: Gordon's Jim Chee is the second lead from Tony Hillerman's detective book series and an undercover FBI agent who becomes Leaphorn's newest deputy in the AMC series. While Leaphorn is experienced and more versed with the faulty justice system, the young Chee is often conflicted between his profession and the changing notions of justice in Navajo County.

Jessica Matten as Bernadette Manuelito: Matten's Navajo tribal police sergeant and a U.S. border patrol agent brings the much-needed female presence to the Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 cast. While Leaphorn and Chee are occupied in a case of their own, Bernadette makes a harrowing discovery in the premiere while living her life on the border.

Deanna Allison as Emma Leaphorn: Allison is another addition to the Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 cast, who plays Emma Leaphorn, Joe's wife and a nurse. While Joe's profession is rooted in violence and darkness, his wife provides some much-needed solace and compassion. However, the latest season of Dark Winds featured a tragic fate for the couple.

A Martinez as Sheriff Lawrence "Gordo" Sena: He is a seasoned lawman whose calm demeanor and measured authority reflect years of navigating the moral gray areas of justice. Lawrence is neither an ally nor an enemy to Joe and only sides with the law.

Tonantzin Carmelo as Border Patrol Agent Eleanda Garza: Carmelo's Agent Garza was the most recent cast addition to the Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 cast. As a fellow border patrol officer with Bernadette, Garza brought her grounded sense of justice, which often clashes with Navajo's intuitive and community-rooted justice.

Alex Meraz as Border Patrol Agent Ivan Muños: He is another addition in the Season 3 cast, introduced as a fellow border patrol officer.


Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 supporting and guest cast

In addition to these main players, Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1 cast also featured supporting and guest characters, who are as follows:

  • Derek Hinkey as Shorty Bowlegs
  • Terry Serpico as Senior Chief Ed Henry
  • Carly Roland as Teddi Issacs
  • Jenna Elfman as Agent Sylvia Washington
  • Natalie Benally as Natalie Bluehouse
  • Andersen Kee as Officer Harold Bigman
  • Wade Adakai as Officer Gary Felix
  • Gary Yazzie as Hastiin Biyaazhi
  • Flora Amanda as Irma
  • Dirk Rogers as Yé'iitsoh
  • Bodhi Linton as George Bowlegs
  • Amias Chavez as Cecil Bowlegs
  • Alonso Rappa as Ernesto Cata

Additionally, author George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) and actor Robert Redford (The Twilight Zone), who serve as executive producers on the series, made an uncredited appearance in Dark Winds Season 3 Episode 1. Both Martin and Redford made a brief cameo together as inmates playing chess.

Before Dark Winds Season 4 premieres on February 15, you can catch up on the previous seasons on AMC+.


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Edited by Aashna