Diksha Sundriyal
The last episode of ‘Dark Winds’ Season 1 leads to a lot of twists and turns. The show resolves every mystery that it had set out with, but it also lets loose some ends, leaving the audience wondering what it means for the future of the story. Every character comes face to face with the consequences of their actions and most of them are forced to lay on the bed they made for themselves. Some, however, get a second chance at life. One such person is Frank Nakai. If you are wondering what happened to him, we’ve got you covered.
Is Frank Nakai Alive?
Yes, it looks like Frank Nakai survived the events of the final episode of ‘Dark Winds’ Season 1. From the beginning, Nakai had been the one who always followed the command. It was Tso who commanded everything, from the planning to the execution. All Nakai wanted was to get justice for his people. He’d joined Tso in his quest for the cause, but soon, it became clear to him that Tso’s methods weren’t exactly good for the people that he was supposed to be fighting for.
Nakai didn’t approve of any Dine death that happened due to their plan. He counted all of his people who were murdered by Nakai, and seeing no other alternative, he even aided his partner. But when he discovers that Tso not only killed his own uncle but also resulted in the death of a young girl, he confronts him. Tso shrugs off his query, and it isn’t until Whitover confirms that Tso’s prints were found at the crime scene that Nakai accepts the truth, but by then, it seems to be too late for him.
Whitover shoots him in the chest, and it looks like Nakai is dead. Later, Chee and Bernadette come back to throw Whitover’s body next to Nakai’s, along with the money, to fabricate a story about how they both killed each other in a shootout. Because both Nakai and Whitover are dead, there is no one to contest their theory. This not only keeps Guy, who killed Whitover, out of the picture but also allows Chee to clear up any suspicion that Whitover’s previous actions might have drawn towards him.
In the end, when Leaphorn visits Chee at his place, he starts asking questions about what Chee wrote in his report because there is a discrepancy between what Chee wrote and what was found in the excavation of the cave. It turns out that the money that Chee had left behind was gone, and so was Nakai’s body. This means that Nakai is not dead. It looks like Whitover’s bullet missed its mark, and only succeeded in wounding Nakai, not killing him. Either he woke up after everyone had left, or he played dead until everyone left. He knew that meddling in between would only get him more bullets, so he kept quiet until it all blew over.
His patience worked out quite well for him when Chee left the money from the armored truck heist behind. Nakai, whose scars suggest that he has been through some very bad situations, took the money and got out of some other path that was not known to anyone else. It makes sense that he’d know every entry and exit of the cave because he’d spent so much time there. His escape worries Chee because what if Nakai comes back. The probability of that, however, is very low because Nakai is already a wanted criminal by the FBI. Even if he came back, to tell the truth, no one would believe a criminal over an FBI agent. Also, there isn’t exactly anything left for Nakai to come back to. So, he’ll probably run somewhere far away, spending his loot and enjoying his life.
Read More: What is the Buffalo Society in Dark Winds? Is it a Real Organization?
