Tune In Or Tune Out: ‘Reservation Dogs’ Journeys Through Grief and Love Amidst A Rich, Oft Unseen Indigenous Culture
Even with the third and final season of Reservation Dogs coming to a close (due to creative decisions), it is not too late to get into FX’s Indigenous-centered, coming-of-age dramedy. The first and only TV series where every writer, director, and series regular is Indigenous, Reservation Dogs follows four teenagers in rural Oklahoma as they deal with the loss of a close friend and try to leave the reservation for sunny California. The series was created by Sterlin Harjo, who grew up on the Muscogee Reservation in Oklahoma, and Taika Waititi, who, while not Native American, is of half Māori descent. Much of Harjo’s work explores the Native communities of Oklahoma, including his 2007 Sundance hit Four Sheets to the Wind (2007); he is also dedicated to demystifying Native culture via comedy, such as through the sketch comedy group The 1491s. Waititi brings the same dry, cheeky brand of humor seen in his vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and dark comedy Jojo Rabbit (2019), which follows a boy in the Hitler Youth. Harjo and Waititi’s self-satirizing tone combines with genuine, complex, and heartfelt characters to not only pull the viewer into the world of the reservation, but also make them fall in love with the Rez Dogs.
Meet the Rez Dogs
The characters’ visibly abundant love for one another becomes infectious for the viewer and drives the show. The unaffected dialogue of the script is supported by the sheer chemistry between the entire cast. The blend of playful teasing and vulnerable moments between friends, as well as the way the community supports each other, comprises the beating heart of the series. The joy of watching comes from being a part of that and truly getting to know the characters. In the first season, each of the four central characters — Bear (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Elora (Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor), who call themselves the Reservation, or Rez, Dogs — receives a dedicated episode; the viewer gets a strong sense of who each character is, their dreams, and why they eventually want to leave or stay on the reservation. As the four teens come of age, the audience sees the unique ways they form identity and values. One episode might show the Rez Dogs dealing with the loss of their best friend Daniel, revealing cracks in the cool fronts they each put up. Another might exhibit the earnest, idiotic ways they try to win the respect of and help their town. While the young ones get up to endless shenanigans, like stealing a chip truck to drive to California in tribute to Daniel in the very first episode, it is a classic case of good kids doing questionable and hilarious things.
The complex and grounded characters are backgrounded by an equally complex and grounded world filled with cultural details and a splash of the supernatural. Artistic establishing shots hold on the wind blowing through the grass or highlight the dirty, textural details of a repair shop; these visuals reveal the balance between beautiful and run down, and between dull and peaceful in the village, creating a deep connection to place. The series never explains the rules of the reservation to the audience, rather dropping them in and inviting them to see for themselves. There is an ocean of slang, local foods, and legends flowing throughout the series that the viewer simply must, and has the pleasure to, learn on their own. For example, anytime an owl or owl statue pops up, its eyes are pixelated out, with no explicit explanation; this reflects the status of owls as harbingers of evil in many Indigenous cultures and represents those practices without pandering to a mainstream culture that is unaware of them.
The way the series incorporates the supernatural is particularly interesting as it blends these elements with the everyday. Some supernatural events are embraced by the elders and shrugged off by the younger people as luck, like an older uncle driving away a tornado without anyone noticing. Legendary figures fit in more inconspicuously with reality, like the karmic, man-killing Deer Lady who looks like a woman straight out of the 1970s with the addition of deer hooves for feet. Even Bigfoot gets screen time in a goofy iteration that resembles a ghillie suit with glowing red eyes. However, whether it is the spirit of a passed parent visiting their child, a character seeing Bigfoot in the woods and feeling the presence of a hunting-buddy they’ve lost, or the Deer Lady punishing a man involved with the oppression of Indigenous people, the supernatural is always rooted in familiar issues and emotions. History, culture, and legends are neither sensationalized nor foreign, but rather rooted in character, personal pain, and love. The world is a delightfully unique depiction of a grossly underrepresented culture, but the themes and feelings that drive the story are known to all.
Was it Tune In or Tune Out?
A dry, irreverent humor compliments the heavy heart and matters of loss permeating the series. An endless stream of ridiculous characters, like twin rappers cruising around on their bikes, a conspiracy theorist cop, or an old stoner uncle, provide an abundance of jokes; they are awkward and broken in a hilarious and endearing way. The series also makes fun of Indigenous culture in a self-satirizing yet loving manner. Bear is followed by a spirit who was crushed by his horse at Little Bighorn, now speaking in only pithy mysticisms and complaining about how the chill in the spirit world makes his nipples hard. When young activists come to teach the kids about decolonization, they never explain what decolonization means; however, they do give land acknowledgments that include their neanderthal and dinosaur ancestors. The humor is raw, silly, relatable, and subverts the stereotypical image of the “stoic Indian.”
Comedy and characters drive the series, rather than the plot. The first season is narratively guided by the Rez Dogs’ goal of getting to California, and this thread continues somewhat in the second season. However, each episode is more about character than anything else. One episode in the third season has no real conflict and simply shows the teens working at the local health clinic for the day; the central storyline is less about interpersonal conflict and resolution and more about hope and the future. Another episode spans a single day when the Rez Dogs’ grandparents’ generation were in high school; its plot is loose and serves primarily as a study of a side character, as well as the grandparents, who each had only been seen in glimpses. However, it is beautiful and exploratory enough to be its own short film, digging into the baggage of the older generation.
Overarching plots feel more like the continuity of life in this series. If two characters get into a fight in one episode, they deal with it a few episodes later. It is not a plotline that progresses step-by-step as a guiding central conflict; events are connected, but there is no strict direction. Season two feels especially meandering as characters continue to mourn the loss of Daniel with no new revelations. Drawn out, awkward monologues also become a source of humor, which, while funny, might bog down each episode for some viewers. The end of season two and season three shift focus toward the older generations and draw parallels with the young ones, adding fresh, interesting material. However, singular losses continue to ripple throughout the community, casting an omnipresence that necessitates a long process of healing for everyone.
Reservation Dogs deals with grief powerfully as characters are impacted individually and come together to care for one another. Spiritual elements of the series offer a perspective of mourning in which loved ones are always with us, pushing the characters to not only seek healing for themselves, but for the people that came before them. It is this blend of growing up as an individual and growing together as a community that gives Reservation Dogs an infectious level of heart.
Who will like it?
If you prefer fast-paced plots or a less dry sense of humor, this show might not be for you. If you are happy to spend time with strange, funny, complex characters in a richly detailed world and just go along for a ride, watch Reservation Dogs. Every single character, no matter how little screen time they have, has baggage, dreams, and people they care about. There are supernatural beings, rap songs about fry bread, idiotic spirit guides, and, at the center of it all, four kids who are just trying to figure it all out and do good by the people they love. Episodes can be streamed on Hulu with the series finale dropping on September 27th.
