If you’re a fan of “Reservation Dogs,” you’ll probably find this, the final season, difficult to watch.
That’s because the four central characters, Bear, Elora, Willie Jack and Cheese, have achieved their California dream and are moving on to different places in life. For Bear (D’Pharoah Woon-a-Tai), that’s a continued sense of yearning; for Cheese (Lane Factor), it’s a degree of acceptance.
The kids are still surrounded by a wild bunch of characters, but they’re not as (dare we say it) important to the series.
Now, it’s fun to watch someone like Bev (Jana Schmieding), the receptionist at the clinic, bring in phrases, gestures and attitudes unique to reservation life. (Bev has fun sizing up the clientele and isn’t afraid to call out her young helpers while they atone for their sins.)
Once home, the four hear from their elders and learn why relationships are so important.
Graham Greene offers his world view to D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai in "Reservation Dogs."
What’s missing, of course, is the shared goal they had in the first season. When the four got solo moments last season, the series began to shift. Getting to California (and discovering it wasn’t the paradise they were seeking) erased the tie that binds.
Elora (K. Devery Jacobs), who was so vital in Season One, takes a back seat to Bear, who has emerged as the show’s star. When he learns more truths about his father, his journey shifts as well and gives him a side trip that might have been a good spin-off. Woon-a-Tai is so good at letting vulnerability shine through it’s fun to see when he feels he has everything in control. You can tell when he’s lying -- and pretending to be immune to criticism.
During his journey back home, he encounters a conquistador, a hermit and Deer Lady. His work with Graham Greene (as the man living off the grid) is both terrifying and intriguing.
While his life seems like it’s in danger, Bear plays it off and, ultimately, realizes there are people watching out for him wherever he goes.
"Reservation Dogs"
While “Reservation Dogs” seems like a slice-of-life series where little happens, it’s actually a sly commentary on conditions Native Americans have endured for years. Drug abuse, mental illness and alcoholism are visited, not underscored. Through something as simple as a Bingo game, co-creator Sterlin Harjo is able to introduce non-Natives to the environment and the people who live there.
Like “Northern Exposure,” it paints a more accurate portrait of life in a small town and the heightened consciousness that exists.
With each episode (and something as simple as Cheese getting glasses), we see the four growing up and growing away from each other. New goals suggest they’ll head in different paths. A shared sense of purpose will bind them forever.
How Harjo will end the series is anyone’s guess. Easily, the town could continue on with other stories, other protagonists.
The four friends, however, were the lure that brought us in. No doubt, their exit will be emotional. If there’s a lesson to be learned from the journey, it’s this: Great stories are everywhere. It just requires someone to give them light.
Scott Behrends and his son Ben Behrends describe the five attributes vital to compete on the show American Ninja Warrior. You can watch this father and son duo compete in the finals on NBC on August 28, 2023.
