It is so hard to say good-bye!
Plotwise, the conceit of this series finale is simple: Old Man Fixico has passed on, and now the town of Okern must come together for his funeral. However, in classic Rez Dogs fashion, this episode is about so much more. “Dig†provides viewers with lots of consolation about the future, capping off the show’s three-season run with lessons about change, community, grief, and hope.
Willie Jack takes it upon herself to inform Hokti (Lily Gladstone), Daniel’s mother, of the news of Fixico’s passing. Hokti is still incarcerated and being guided by the elder spirit Smiley — who is now dating that amazing cowboy character from “Offerings†(season two, episode nine), who has presumably passed on since we last saw him in that episode … unless he was a spirit the whole time, which, if that’s true, is awesome. Willie Jack is deeply troubled by the loss of Fixico and feels she couldn’t learn enough from the “wizard†elder before he walked on. Despite her own heartbreak, Hokti consoles the young elder with a lesson on community that she stages with chips, candy bars, and energy drinks. (It’s a beautiful food-based metaphor, perhaps rivaled only by a scene in the Louise Erdrich novel The Round House in which a character compares the history of tribal law to a spoiled casserole.) The scene is part goofy and part heartbreaking, and it’s fantastically played by Paulina Alexis and Lily Gladstone.
Hokti also reminds Wilie Jack that each person connected with Fixico carries a piece of him with them through their memories and his teachings. Everyone who was close to Fixico will help to carry on those lessons to others, just as Willie Jack’s friends will carry on pieces of her when she passes, and so on. Hokti’s metaphor speaks to the future of Reservation Dogs as well. These stories have been a way to build connections and community, and now we are all challenged to maintain those relationships. As Hokti says, “Now it’s your turn.â€
Later, everyone gathers for Fixico’s funeral. Maximus is there with Irene and is finally reunited with his old friends Brownie and Bucky (someone on Reddit described seeing Graham Greene, Wes Studi, and Gary Farmer onscreen together like this: “The Infinity Gauntlet of famous Native actors is finally completeâ€). Brownie makes a flippant joke about his friend’s belief in the Star People, and Maximus responds by rolling his eyes. But then, the long-separated friends look upward and share a moment of silence that signals a deeper understanding of their situation. It’s clear each of them has grown a lot since they last spoke, and the encounters each of them has had with various spirits and entities have shifted their understanding of Maximus’s stories about his encounters with Star People. Later, the four elders lob a series of puzzling, teasing non sequiturs at a very confused Cheese, which confirms they have started to overcome their differences.
During the service, community members offer their final good-byes to Fixico. Big thanks Fixico for educating him about his “man moon†and nearly lets rip a deeply personal anecdote but is interrupted by other attendees. Mose and Mekko leave the very traditional offering of their bootleg rap album. Meanwhile, the aunties are busy cooking and making obscure references to Ethan Hawke cannibalism movies. They also make dick jokes. Aunties are the best.
Teenie arrives and congratulates Elora on her acceptance to college and Rita on her new job in Oklahoma City. But, shocker, it doesn’t seem as if the two women have shared their plans to leave Okern with each other. Rita tells Elora she is to be her “eyes and ears†in town while she is away, and Elora nervously accepts the responsibility before excusing herself and heading off to find Bear. Back in the viewing area, Elora breaks the news to Bear about her plans to leave Okern. While he’s sad to hear she will be leaving, he congratulates her on her accomplishments and recognizes all that she has had to overcome. The two share a hug to acknowledge their love for each other (as friends), and Elora promises to visit on weekends. Elora and Bear have had a rocky relationship ever since Daniel’s passing, and this scene ties their story line together well by ensuring that, despite any past beefs, it’s all love between the two.
Funerals require a lot of emotional labor, and on top of it all, the community has to dig Fixico’s grave themselves. It’s a task made all the more difficult because the funeral director doesn’t provide them with shovels. Luckily, Kenny Boy and Ansel arrive with a pickup truck full of shovels, which I hope were ethically sourced. The men spend the rest of the night preparing the burial site while Willie Jack and the elders supervise.
William Knifeman finally returns triumphantly when he visits Bear during a bathroom break (a running gag). Though we haven’t seen him since episode two, Spirit has been keeping an eye on Bear this whole time. And it seems Elora and Rita aren’t the only ones leaving. Having imparted unto Bear all of the traditional knowledge he needs, Knifeman is also saying good-bye. But before he does, he asks Bear what he has learned since they met, to which Bear replies, “I don’t gotta be the only leader … I’m from an amazing community, and I’m just proud to be a part of it.†(Psst … the show is talking to its audience again.) And with that, the pair exchange their final ahos.
The next morning at the grave site, Willie Jack leads the final farewell for Fixico. Already she is putting his teachings into practice and carrying on his legacy by bringing people together. Poignantly, she tells the crew, “I know we have our own lives and our own problems, but I think it’s beautiful that we come together like this … We don’t know what we are going to be doing in a week, or a month, or a year … But we’ll always come back together when we need to.†(Hi, hello, the show is talking to us again.)
A final montage sends everyone on their respective journeys: Rita is off to Oklahoma City, Cheese is hanging out with Grandma Irene, and Elora has sold Mabel’s house and is headed off to college. And while everyone is going in different directions, we have been assured that they will visit and keep their connections strong.
So: Reservation Dogs is over, and writing this recap feels a little like writing a eulogy. While I am excited about everything this series has accomplished, I would be lying if I didn’t admit I’m scared about the future. Three years ago, the promise of Indigenous television and film seemed bright, and with the cancellation and conclusion of several important shows, like Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls, it feels a little like we’re back where we started. But I have to hold on to the hope that the world isn’t the same as it was before Reservation Dogs.
This is an incredibly special show. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say it has profoundly altered the U.S. media landscape. Mainstream Indigenous representation is rare here in the States, and when folks are being represented, it is usually from an outsider’s perspective. An elder I recently spoke with told me the first time he ever saw a Native person portrayed onscreen was while watching a TV rerun of the John Ford Western Stagecoach (spoiler: John Wayne shoots all of the Natives in that one). Now imagine living most of your life never seeing someone like you represented in media in a compelling and complicated way. It’s hard to feel at home in the world when you are not joyfully imagined in it.
So three years ago when Reservation Dogs was announced, it sent waves of excitement through Indigenous communities. Finally, Native people will be in control of their own stories, in front of and behind the camera. Finally, Native folks worldwide are collaborating to share their visions. It’s the culmination of generations of work put into motion by Native film “elders†like James Young Deer, Lillian St. Cyr, Zacharias Kunuk, Merata Mita, Barry Barclay, Alanis Obomsawin, Victor Masayesva Jr., and countless others. This series has been a labor of love born out of intergenerational work, and I hope it has created structural change in the industry and among audiences that will make the labor easier for Indigenous creatives to come.
Please keep supporting Indigenous storytelling, especially in your home communities. Buy books written by local Indigenous authors. Go to film screenings of independent films directed and led by Indigenous people. Advocate for ethical Indigenous representation in school curricula. Pay your voluntary land tax. If those things aren’t happening in your community, make them happen. These are small practices each of us can do that will help carry the momentum generated by Reservation Dogs. It’s one way we can all care for one another, to make this world a more habitable place for Indigenous peoples. It’s how we hold one another up. It’s how we make sure we aren’t being a bunch of shitasses. Reservation Dogs has done a lot of good, so let’s keep doing good. Aho.
Willie Jack’s Deadly Meat Pies
• Bear and Jackie are 100 percent confirmed a thing, hickeys and all.
• The mid-credits sequence shows Brownie, Irene, Bucky, and Maximus talking and ends with them all cheering and saying, “Till the next one.†Is this foreshadowing? I’m hearing rumors about spinoffs, and this crew seems like prime spinoff material. If I may make a suggestion, can we please also have a horror crime series where Deer Lady hunts down various bad folks and does revenge? Please?
• I hope each and every one of you gets to be as happy as that auntie was when she danced with Wes Studi.
• Thank you for reading these recaps. It’s been a joy and an honor to write them. Pilamayaye.