What Happened To Leroy Gorman

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Dark Winds season 4, episode 7.The penultimate episode of Dark Winds season 4 had a major twist about Leroy Gorman and left Joe Leaphorn in a precarious position, and we need to talk about it in more detail. The entire cast of Dark Winds is heading towards some resolutions to their stories as the season finale approaches. Leaphorn has been captured by Irene, Chee is finally dealing with his ghost sickness, and the search for Leroy Gorman took a massive turn.

This week, Irene managed to capture Billie Tsosie. That was a devastating blow, and it was only made worse when Leaphorn discovered that Leroy Gorman has been dead since before Dark Winds season 4 even began. There were plenty of twists and surprises this week, and as with any big new development, they were all worth talking about to get ready for the finale of Dark Winds season 4.

Leaphorn Was Captured By Irene In Dark Winds Season 4, Episode 7

This week’s episode of Dark Winds ended with another cliffhanger. After Leaphorn discovered the truth about Leroy Gorman, he was ambushed by the imposter Leroy and Irene Vaggan. The pair managed to knock Leaphorn out with what was likely chloroform, and Irene ended up putting Joe in her trunk. As she did, Irene said “You’re mine now, Joe,” and the episode ended.

Based on Irene’s final words, whatever she has planned for Leaphorn can’t be good. Earlier this season, Irene told her father, Gunthar, that she was going to bring Joe to their bunker for dinner. Irene has also demonstrated multiple times that she has an unhealthy romantic obsession with Joe. At this point, it seems like Irene is planning on taking Joe hostage and forcing him into a twisted romantic relationship with her.

Irene’s encounter with Emma Leaphorn in Dark Winds season 4, episode 6 also adds another layer of cruelty to her plans. As Joe reasoned, Irene spared Emma to send him a message that she can kill her whenever she wants. Irene will be able to use Emma’s life as a way to force Joe to do what she wants.

Leroy Gorman’s Fate & Phillip Grayson’s Twist Explained

The penultimate episode of Dark Winds season 4 also revealed the season’s biggest twist to date: Leroy Gorman has been dead for weeks. While still in Los Angeles, Bernadette discovered the FBI’s photograph of Leroy Gorman and realized it was Phillip Grayson, the young Navajo man living in a trailer that she and Chee had spoken to at the start of the season. Leaphorn then went to bring Grayson/Gorman back to the FBI so they could protect him as a witness in the Dominic McNair trial.

While there, Leaphorn sussed out the truth: Phillip Grayson wasn’t actually Leroy Gorman. Grayson was working with Irene, and the two had killed Leroy Gorman prior to the start of Dark Winds season 4. Irene then ordered Grayson to assume Leroy’s identity so that he could testify during Dominic McNair’s trial and help him beat the charges. At some point, Irene put Grayson’s photo into Gorman’s file.

What Really Happened With Chee’s Mother & Why It’s Affecting His Ghost Sickness

Jim Chee has been struggling with ghost sickness all season long, and the penultimate episode finally revealed the full details of why it has been affecting him so much. Dark Winds season 4 previously revealed that Chee’s mother died of lung cancer while they were living in Los Angeles. As Emma hypothesized in episode 7, the ghost sickness he got from the death hogan was latching onto Chee’s emotional trauma from her death.

Chee’s emotional trauma isn’t just from his mother’s death, however. As he explained to Bernadette, Chee feels immense guilt because his mother wanted to return to the Navajo reservation before she died, but Chee failed to bring her home. As he said, he never made the time to bring her back, and he also never believed that anyone on the reservation would care about her or for her anymore.

To be fair, Chee did have good reason to believe returning to the reservation wouldn’t work as well as his mother had hoped. In Dark Winds season 1, Chee told Bernadette that he and his mother had been driven off the reservation after someone had branded her a witch and all of her friends had turned on her. The reservation didn’t care about Chee’s mother in life, and he didn’t think it would care about her in death, either.

Chee’s decision to reveal the guilt he’s harboring about his mother’s death to Bernadette actually seemed to do some good. Once the main characters returned to the reservation, Chee spoke to longtime medicine woman Margaret Cigaret and set up a future ceremony to heal his ghost sickness. Bernadette also reassured him that his friends and loved ones would attend the ceremony, which is the first bit of hopeful news he’s gotten in a long time.

Why Irene Killed Her Father In Dark Winds Season 4, Episode 7

Irene Vaggan’s personal life also got a big development in Dark Winds season 4, episode 7. Irene has been struggling to deal with her father, Gunthar, all season long. Gunthar had some form of dementia and believed World War II was still being fought, and Irene was trying to put him in a retirement community. Gunthar, however, hated the retirement home and constantly belittled her.

So, when Irene discovered that Gunthar had left the bunker and was wandering around on a back road, she took her opportunity to run him down in her car and kill him. The retirement home wasn’t going to work, as Gunthar hated it, but Irene still wanted to be free of the responsibility of caring for him and the burden of being belittled by him. Killing Gunthar likely seemed like an easy solution to Irene, one that would let her live a life that was her own for the first time.

Killing Gunthar was yet another example of how villainous Irene is, but it also has implications for Leaphorn. As mentioned earlier, Irene has plans to live out some kind of family fantasy with Joe. With Gunthar out of the way, Irene has a much smaller chance of being discovered and far fewer responsibilities to take care of. Gunthar’s death could be very bad news for the newly captured Leaphorn in Dark Winds season 4.