In Season 3 of Dark Winds, Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Sergeant Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) lead the Navajo Tribal Police force, while they’re former colleague and friend Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) has joined Border Patrol over 500 miles away. When commonalities appear in both Chee and Bern’s cases they reconnect in person to the delight of fans. We sat down with Gordon and Matten to discuss all that’s happened this season (through Episode 4), from their individual character journeys and inspirations, to what the duo’s future holds.    
Q: We find Chee at the beginning of the season really walking side by side Leaphorn and feeling very confident in his position as Leaphorn’s right-hand man. That bravado really comes out when we see his altercation with Shorty Bowlegs (Derek Hinkey) – he’s quick to anger and honestly, I don’t think we’ve really seen him go from 0 to 60 like that before. It’s interesting to see how this person from Chee’s past still triggers him so badly but how he overcomes that bitterness and puts aside his feelings in order to find George. 
Kiowa Gordon: I think Chee was doing a lot of soul-searching in Season 2. By Season 3 he's like, "All right, I'm a new man. I got the backing of Joe. I'm his right-hand man and everything's coming up Milhouse!" I think he wants to do right by the tribe now, and I think part of that is really stepping into his role as Sergeant. Seeing Shorty Bowlegs is a lot for him because it triggers trauma that he hasn't dealt with, and he's always run from — now he has to confront it head on.
Q: Meanwhile Bernadette is hundreds of miles away working for the Border Patrol and feeling out her new situation and colleagues. Of course, she’s also already found a case that intrigues her, and in her opinion, needs special attention. Let’s get real — Bern hasn’t been wrong when she’s followed her gut instinct. By Episode 2 we meet Tom Spenser and De Baca aka Budge and we realize that Bern is up against some really dangerous people... 
Jessica Matten: Well, like you said, her intuition is never off. When is a woman's intuition ever wrong, right? If we get a little ding, it's for a reason. And I find 10 times out of 10 you’ve got to trust that. We falter sometimes when we choose not to listen to that ding because it turns out that it’s usually right.
This year Bern is definitely a fish out of water. It’s a big deal for any person to leave their reservation. It's literally a different set of laws and ways of living. So, there's also that added element that I wanted to bring to Bernadette's character this season. Her not being so tough, courageous, bold, and sarcastic right out of the gate as she would be if she were on her reservation. I wanted to make sure that you really see that at the beginning Bernadette is biting her tongue quite a bit and isn’t going to be overtly tough.
There’s actually an innocence to her this season as a result of being on new lands, being in a new setting, working with different laws, even though it's similar to what she did as a police officer. I really wanted to make sure that that was being brought to Bernadette's character this year. But for Bern, when encountering some really terrifying people, that confident, bold side eventually does come out of her. She has to be her authentic self.
Q: Another moment that really hit me in Episode 2 was the phone call Chee and Bern have – Jessica your lower face quivers at the end of the call when you say it’s nice hearing his voice and Kiowa your eyes get all dewy. My god you could cut the tension with a knife! When you filmed that scene, were you actually in the room with each other?
JM: We’re so supportive of each other in real life that we did the thing that a lot of actors don't do for each other, which is we showed up to set when it was our day off! Kiowa laid on the floor at a desk right beside me off camera and then I did the exact same thing when we shot his side of the conversation a couple of months later.
KG: I was tearing up and it wasn’t even my scene!
JM: There's an added element of energy that we brought to it. These characters matter so much to us, and if you have an opportunity to give it your all, why not go all the way?
Q: Bern’s new co-worker Ivan Muños (Alex Meraz) is definitely feeling Bern in this episode too, and as expected music supervisor Rick Clark got the perfect track for their dance at the bar, “The Night Time Is the Right Time” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. You’re both so familiar with your characters now after playing them for three seasons – for this new chapter and new season of their lives were you inspired by any music from the time to freshen them up a bit this season?  
JM: For every character I play on any project, I always create a playlist. I actually created a Dark Winds soundtrack playlist on Spotify, and I didn't realize it was public! Now there's like 1,000 followers and I'm like, "Oh, my God, they're enjoying it!” I even made a little poster for it. I’m like that. I started it in Season 1 and I just keep adding to it as the seasons go on.
KG: I'm heavily influenced by music too. It transcends everything and it just elevates the material. So every time I show up on set, I bring a boombox and just blast it. Everybody knows I'm arriving because I’ll be blasting the top hits of that year that we're in so for Season 3 it was ’71 or ’72 — whatever I think Chee would be into. Then I'll take requests from the crew. Zahn will try to ruin it and he’ll be like, "Put on some Audioslave." I'm like, "That's not even from the right era!" [Laughs]
JM: We have an amazing time on set given how dark the material can be!
Q: By Episode 4 something that Chee brings up to Bern is trust – who can she trust in her new world? Bern’s new roommate and co-worker Agent Garza seems like a rock-solid option and so does Ivan, but I’m nervous about what’s to come... what can you tease out about the second half of the season? 
JM: Like you said, we really hit on the topic of trust and betrayal this season. I really think that is the yin and yang of the season, not just for Bernadette, but for a lot of the characters on the show as a whole. Deep betrayal. There’s a ripple effect of what betrayal does to a person. I think that's an element that's going to be very interesting for Bernadette to explore, and with pain comes room for growth. What you're seeing, experiencing in this episode is the beginning of something cracking open for Bernadette. I view it is a chance and opportunity for Bern to grow in the way she was hoping by leaving her reservation. Obviously, it's not playing out how she expected.
Q: By Ep 4 Chee also really puts it out there when they have their almost sleepover... but Bern doesn’t bite. And instead, she tries to confirm to herself that she’s over Chee... by sleeping with Ivan! Is there still hope for Chee and Bern?  
KG: [Turns to Jessica dramatically] Yeah, is there?! I mean, I'd say I remain hopeful, Chee's not one to give up and go home, but he does for the time being because he's against the clock to find George. He said his piece, all that for Bern, but he still has a job to do, and his love life comes second.
JM: What I love about what the writers brought to this episode is something that I think is really realistic for all of us. You can be with someone, but it's not necessarily black and white, and you can absolutely have someone else on your mind the entire time. Your actions don’t necessarily match what your heart wants, but there are so many internal things to work through as a human being to get to that place you actually want to be — to be home essentially.
KG: Yeah, come home Bern.

Dark Winds airs on Sundays at 9/8c on AMC. Episodes are available to stream on amc.com (with a cable provider login), and the AMC apps for mobile and devices. You can also watch episodes via AMC+ at amcplus.com or through the new AMC+ app available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku plus Samsung and Vizio smart TVs. AMC+ can also be streamed through a variety of providers, including AppleTV, Prime Video Channels, DirectTV, Dish, Roku Channel, Sling, and Xfinity. Sign up for AMC+ now.