At the end of Dark Winds season 3, episode 5, Bernadette looks at Ivan’s wallet and badge on the dresser, and the look on her face indicates horror, but it may not immediately be clear to viewers why. Dark Winds season 3’s story has arguably been even more “show, don’t tell” than the first two seasons, which is brilliant storytelling that demands full attention lest you miss important details. It’s those small details that appear to be key to solving the mystery of what Tom Spenser is up to in Dark Winds season 3, and who murdered Ernesto Cata and put the arrowhead in his mouth.
Dark Winds season 3, episode 5 sees Ivan do something surprising and finally agree to go with Bernadette to Mexico to stake out Budge’s operation. He’s not thrilled about the idea, but he’s game, even though he cautions Bernadette it could mean their deaths if they’re caught. His warning is prescient: they are almost caught, and are shot at – if the wrong minion of Budge’s hadn’t drawn his ire at the wrong time, they would have been. However, when it seems they’ve escaped unscathed, Bernadette notices something that upends everything.
Ivan Had The Same Money Rubber Band As Budge At The Restaurant
The Green Fruit Company Band Is Unmistakable
The moment Bernadette looks up and sees Ivan’s wallet and badge on the nightstand, it hits her like a physical blow, judging from the shocked and horrified look on her face. At first, since his Border Patrol badge is so prominent in the shot, it seems like perhaps Bernadette is upset that Ivan left his badge out, as it may have been a loose end that could give their identity away. After all, their cover was that they were going down to Mexico for a vacation as lovers, not as two Border Patrol agents staking out a cross-border criminal trafficking ring.
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What throws Bernadette isn’t Ivan’s badge, however, but the rubber band around it: Budge had his wad of cash wrapped up in the same exact rubber band with the same logo. The camera paused on it for a second in episode 3 as Budge paid for dinner with Bernadette. It seemed as though it was just a shot meant to flex his illicit wealth, an implication that he could buy just about anyone.
But season 3, episode 5 revealed that what was actually important about Budge’s cash was the green rubber band stamped with the partially-obscured name of a business, the last two words of which read “Fruit Company.” A close-up shot of the band around Ivan’s own badge reveals the first part is something-“Oro,” possibly “Villa Oro.”
Dark Winds Season 3 Has Been Teasing Ivan Is A Villain All Season
It Hasn’t Been Subtle About The Fact He’s Not To Be Trusted
Dark Winds season 3 has been openly hinting that Ivan is not to be trusted all season, and the green rubber band is the smoking gun that proves it. It’s hard to fathom how he’d have a rubber band from that fruit company otherwise; it’s not like Budge would be walking around handing them out. And since, to date, there have been no trucks from the fruit company being waved through the checkpoint, it would appear it’s an operation in Mexico, which means that Ivan would have to have been there before.
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If that’s the case, it brings Ivan’s story full circle and confirms what Dark Winds has been teasing all season: Chee was right – there’s no one Bernadette can trust in her office. Apparently, the one she can trust least of all is Ivan Muñoz (though Eleanda Garza’s innocence in Dark Winds is also in doubt). At the moment, it actually seems like Border Patrol Senior Chief Ed Henry might actually be the most innocent of the Border Patrol characters in the office – not in on Tom Spenser’s racket, but just a good, old-fashioned racist.
The Rubber Band Could Crack The Case Open In Dark Winds Season 3
The Fruit Company Has Suddenly Become The Key To Everything
The rubber band, or, rather, the name of the company on it, could also potentially be the lead that Bernadette needs to crack her case wide open, as well as the one that Joe and Chee are working on. Whatever the fruit company is, it’s the last puzzle piece needed to figure out Tom Spenser’s operation in Dark Winds season 3 and how Budge fits into it. It sure feels like a huge revelation and the key she needs to bring down the whole organization.
Whatever the fruit company is, it’s the last puzzle piece needed to figure out Tom Spenser’s operation in Dark Winds season 3 and how Budge fits into it.
The fruit company could be the front for the drugs and/or a human trafficking ring, or a shell company to launder money. Perhaps it’s the front for the produce that Dark Winds season 3’s “chili farmers” have allegedly been growing. It could even be that the rubber bands are used to denote which Border Patrol agents or people are on the take, a type of secret handshake between people in Spenser’s operation. It would certainly be an elegant way to work it into Dark Winds season 3’s story.
