‘Dark Winds’: Zahn McClarnon & Cast Break Down His Directing Debut for Season 4 (VIDEO)

[Warning: The video above and article below contain MAJOR spoilers for Dark Winds Season 4 Episode 2, “Bikéé’ Doo Éédahoozįįdę́ę́góó (Toward Their Unknown Paths).”]

Dark Winds may put Zahn McClarnon in the spotlight as Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn onscreen, but the actor and executive producer stretched his skills even further by directing Season 4’s second episode, “Bikéé’ Doo Éédahoozįįdę́ę́góó (Toward Their Unknown Paths).”

The episode picks up on the action viewers missed at the remote diner where Albert Gorman (Avery Hale) and his younger cousin Billie Tsosie (Isabel Deroy-Olson) were catching their breath before apparent assassin Irene Vaggan (Franka Potente) busted in. As a shootout ensued, the waitress at the diner was left dead, and Albert and Billie were on the run, leaving Leaphorn, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) to put the puzzle pieces of this mystery together.

As for taking on the task of directing while headlining the series, McClarnon tells TV Insider, “It was overwhelming, to be honest with you.” He goes on to reveal, “I kept trying to get out of that episode specifically. I wanted to do another episode, and they left it kind of up to me, and then I thought to myself, well, why not take on the challenge?”

Michael Moriatis / AMC

Ultimately, McClarnon credits the support he had around him for the experience, including director of photography Blake T. Evans, first assistant director Dennis Crow, and executive producers Chris Eyre and Jim Chory. “I’ve got such a great team around me… supporting me and I’m really glad I took the chance to do Episode 2,” McClarnon says, adding, “I learned quite a bit.”

Costar Potente sings McClarnon’s praises by adding, “That’s what being a director is… I think being open to collaboration also shows that [Zahn] — obviously also coming from an acting standpoint — understands a set.” This was especially vital when approaching the big moments Episode 2 required of McClarnon as a director, whether it was the diner scene or the race to find Billie at IHS, where she’d gone to collect medical supplies after Albert was shot.

“He did a fantastic job,” Potente continues. “He knows from the other perspective what we value, what actors need, because at the end of the day, the actors are the ones in front of the camera, so that’s where it all comes together. And to be directed by an actor is awesome because they know, there’s less talking sometimes, because an actor doesn’t need to always say everything… You kind of look at each other, and you know.”

Michael Moriatis / AMC

Speaking of looks, it’s becoming clear that Chee is onto Bernadette’s secret arrangement with Leaphorn as he questions certain situations surrounding their work. Viewers know that Leaphorn intends to retire and give his position to Bernadette, but he is forcing her to keep it a secret, causing some apparent friction.

“She’s apprehensive because there’s a lot of dynamics at play,” Matten shares. “She’s still a woman in the 1970s that’s offered a leadership role, which was very rare back then. So she’s highly aware of how that could affect her relationship dynamic with Chee, but also Chee technically on paper being more qualified because he’s an FBI agent.” As Matten points out, Leaphorn’s choice was formulated around the fact that Bernadette “knows the ways of our people, and that’s what matters most in this position.”

Still, Chee and Bernadette’s romance is moving in a more serious direction, which is challenging behind the scenes, considering the brother-sister bond Gordon and Matten share as colleagues. “Having the [the cast and crew’s] reactions to us actually doing this finally…. They’re like, ‘What the hell?'” Gordon says with a laugh.

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Matten reveals that McClarnon even had to offer some directing when it came to flirting, “Zahn was teaching Kiowa how to flirt in a scene with me.” Gordon chimes in, adding, “I’m being all timid with her because I’m like, this is crossing a line.” Despite the awkwardness the stars might feel in portraying the onscreen romance, it translates into a connection that Chee and Bernadette will both need.

As viewers saw in the final moments of Episode 2, Chee entered a Death Hogan and experienced the beginnings of what is known as ghost sickness. “While you actually see her being very vulnerable with Chee for the first time… as the season progresses, you see that role kind of flip completely where Chee goes through ghost sickness, and he becomes the vulnerable person.”

Stay tuned to see how Season 4’s latest mystery unfolds, and see the full interview in the video above.

Dark Winds, Season 4, Sundays, 9/8c, AMC and AMC+