Dark Winds Finale: Is [Spoiler] Not Returning for Possible Season 3?

The following contains spoilers for the Dark Winds season 2 finale, now streaming on AMC+ and airing this Sunday on AMC.

As Dark Winds wound down Season 2, Sgt. Bernadette Manuelito (played by original cast member Jessica Matten) followed through on her decision to take the job with U.S. Border Patrol. As such, she bid adieu to both boss man Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and sometime-romantic interest Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), in distinctly emotional scenes.

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In fact, with Jim she shared a kiss before good-bye-ing — one that was so long and intent that is seemed to almost convince her to turn her car around as “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” played on the radio.

“It’s an Indian love story — imagine that?” says Dark Winds executive producer Chris Eyre, who directed the finale (and is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma). “There are so many Indian love stories that are traditional, cultural Native American things,” Eyre notes, but Bern and Jim flirted with something more contemporary (for a show set in the 1970s, that is), “which is interesting.”

In the end, though, “They have this miss, this miss of time and place,” Eyre observes. “And the question is, can they find the right time and the right place? I hope they do.”

If Eyre seems confident that Bern, despite her new job (which Chee slipped right into), will be around for any possible Season 3 — the period crime drama has not yet been renewed — it’s because he is.

“Jessica is in there, man. Jessica is solid,” Eyre tells TVLine after being asked if Matten will figure into any third season. “Whether we followed her down to the border or she makes visits or she doesn’t go, Jessica is solid, man. We love Jessica.

“Oh, for sure” she will be back, Eyre reiterates. “For sure.”

(Note: AMC had no official updates on any casting for any possible Season 3.)

Want scoop on Dark Winds, or for any other TV show ? Email your question to InsideLine@tvline.com, and it may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!

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