Though Ivan Muños hasn’t done anything overtly shady yet inDark Windsseason 3, it seems inevitable that Bernadette’s potential new love interest will turn out to be a villain.Dark Windsseason 3’s cast introduced a handful of new characters, and thus far, most of them are a problem. Jenna Elfman’s FBIAgent Sylvia Washington is investigating the disappearance of BJ Vines. Roberto C. “Budge” de Baca is a sinister presence and Tom Spenser’s fixer. AndDark Windsseason 3 big bad Tom Spenser(Bruce Greenwood) is running what appears to be a human trafficking operation alongside his legitimate oil business.
Even the new characters introduced as new allies seem to be hiding something, and while it’s a problem for all of Dark Winds' three main protagonists, it will potentially be a bigger problem for Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten). WithBernadette’s new role as a Border Patrol agent inDark Windsseason 3, she’s cut off from her support network and left to face new threats on her own. Unfortunately, one of those threats appears to be hiding in plain sight as her potential new romance, fellow Border Patrol agent Ivan Muños (Alex Meraz).
Border Patrol Agent Ivan Muños Is Being Set Up As A Romantic Rival For Jim Chee In Dark Winds Season 3
Ivan Is Open & Flirty Where Chee Is Closed Off
WhileDark Windsseason 3has already shown that there are perhaps some unresolved feelings between Bernadette and Chee, it also showed that Bernadette is ready to move on. From the jump, Bernadette’s new colleague, Ivan Muños, has been interested in her and made his intentions known. He’s flirtatious and charming, whereas Chee is emotionally shuttered, and he’s been determined to crack Bernadette’s tough outer shell through banter and teasing. He’s also been open about his interest, which is a strange change of pace for Bernie, but something she also secretly finds flattering.
Despite her lingering feelings for Jim Chee, and vice versa, Chee did what he always does and pushed her away in the second episode of season 3 during their phone call. Unfortunately, it looks like he’s pushing her right into Ivan Muños' arms - literally and figuratively. When Bernie gently chided him for still carrying a grudge against Shorty Bowlegs, Chee shut down and then couldn’t bring himself to return the sentiment that it was nice to hear her voice. It was his failure to reciprocate – again – that led to her finally loosening up with Ivan and dancing with him at the bar.
Chee & Manuelito’s Relationship Chances Don’t Look Good In Dark Winds Season 3, But I Still Have Hope
Chee and Manuelito had a disappointing development in their relationship in Dark Winds season 3, but I’m still convinced they’ll end up together.
That’s not to say that Bernadette has entirely let her guard down – that’s just not her style. Still, she made a decision that night to forget about Chee and try to move on. Under any other circumstances, it would be great to see Bernie finally getting out there. She deserves to have a romantic partner who wants to get to know her and is open about his intentions. She deserves someone who makes her happy. Unfortunately,Dark Windsseason 3 feels like it’s setting Bernadette up for a betrayal the closer she gets to Ivan.
Something Isn’t Adding Up About Ivan Muños In Dark Winds Season 3
He’s A Little Too Slick & Eager
There’s something off about Ivan Muños inDark Windsseason 3. There’s something a little too slick and eager about him. While he is undoubtedly interested in Bernadette, it doesn’t seem wholly sincere. That’s not to say there aren’t men out there who are incorrigible flirts and determined to show women how interested in them they are. But Muños has been blatant in his attempts to romance Bernadette, and it feels a little odd considering they’re coworkers. One would think that he’d attempt to be a little more low-key and private about trying to date someone in his office, for personal and professional reasons, especially as there are so few women in the ranks at the time.
The first four women to graduate from the Border Patrol Academy graduated in 1975. Today, women make up only 5% of all U.S. Border Patrol agents.
As evidenced by how Bernie rebuffs him at first, she also thinks he’s coming on a little too strong. And while that could very well just be Bernadette’s naturally guarded reaction to a man who is finally showing interest in her, it’s important to remember that Bernadette’s instincts for people have always been solid. If her red flags are raised, it’s always been for a reason. Right now, her gut is giving her little warning signals, even if she might be misattributing them to lingering feelings for Chee.
When Ivan suddenly appears out of the darkness to offer to help, he’s not framed as a knight in shining armor saving the day, but as a horror movie boogeyman lurching out of the shadows.
Dark Windsisn’t being exactly subtle about the fact that she shouldn’t fully trust him, either. Each shot setup is a choice, from the lighting to the blocking to the shot composition. The scene in the most recent episode where Bernadette is left alone in a parking lot to fix her flat tire is set up like a horror movie scene. When Ivan suddenly appears out of the darkness to offer to help, he’s not framed as a knight in shining armor saving the day, but as a horror movie boogeyman lurching out of the shadows.Dark Windsseason 3 is leaning into horror elements, no doubt, but that entire scene points to it being Ivan who slashed her tire.
At Least One Of The Border Patrol Agents Has To Be In On Tom Spenser’s Human Trafficking Ring
There’s No Way An Operation That Size Runs Without Help From Local Authorities
Of course, it’s possible that Ivan Muños is an innocent man and is genuinely interested in Bernadette. It’s possible that the intentional horror movie framing is a misdirection meant to keep us on our toes, as all the best thrillers do. It’s possible that he deflects Bernadette’s worries about the human trafficking ring because he doesn’t want her, the newest Border Patrol agent, to step in it. It’s possible that always changing the subject when Bernadette brings up work is because he wants to get to know her as a person, not a coworker. All of that is possible.
Who Is Roberto C. “Budge” De Baca? Dark Winds Season 3’s New Character Explained
From the moment Raoul Max Trujillo’s new character is introduced in Dark Winds season 3, it’s clear the sinister man will be integral to the plot.
And yet, someone at the Border Patrol office has to be working with Tom Spenser. Someone has to be on the take. There’s no way that a human trafficking operation would go wholly unnoticed by the local Border Patrol. Bernadette is excellent at her job and keenly observant, but there’s no way that she’s the first Border Patrol agent to notice something isn’t adding up about Tom Spenser’s operation. At best, the local Border Patrol looks the other way because Spenser is so powerful and his operation provides them with much of their intel. They don’t know what he’s doing, and they don’t want to know.
Muños could very well be one of those agents on the take, and it turns his interest in Bernadette from sweet to sinister.
But more likely is that at least a few of the agents know what’s going on and are getting a cut of the profits to falsify records, wave Spenser’s oil trucks through the checkpoints, and run interference for them - and that includes Agent Garza, who is well-positioned to spy on Bernadette as her roommate. Muños could also very well be one of those agents on the take, and it turns his interest in Bernadette from sweet to sinister. There’s no better way to stay informed about what she suspects and knows than by being intimate with her, and it’s a convenient way to distract her from investigating Tom Spenser. Whether he chose to do it or if he was given an order to get her off the scent, Ivan Muños is telegraphing as an enemy of Bernadette, not an ally, inDark Windsseason 3.
