Reservation Dogs

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Surprised to see there's no thread for this show (or maybe I'm bad at the search function, also plenty probable).

Reservation Dogs is a show currently airing on Hulu. It follows a group of four teenage friends living on a reservation in Oklahoma. The group dreams of leaving the reservation for California, though they are grappling with the recent suicide of one of their friends, Daniel.

A lot of shows start off strong and then, with their initial premise established, kind of peter out and become middling. This show, though, seems to just get stronger as it goes.

The first two episodes are very much ensemble episodes, establishing the group dynamics and the characters. I liked but didn't necessarily love them.

But then the episodes really begin to center each episode on one particular character. I can say, with no exaggeration, that episodes 5, 6, and 7 of this show is some of the best television I've seen this year. Episode 6 in particular, in which the character Elora Danon (Devery Jacobs) goes hunting with her father and the two discuss the loss of Daniel, was just excellent. Some of the episodes mix sorrow with comedy in an excellent flow.

The main cast is really good, but there's also an incredibly deep supporting cast, including actors like Wes Studi, Gary Farmer, and some choice one-off supporting roles like Bill Burr as Elora Danon's former basketball coach who ends up giving her an incredibly memorable driver's license test drive.

My favorite supporting performance is Dallas Goldtooth, who plays the spirit of a long dead warrior who appears only to a character named Bear (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai). The character's backstory---that he was supposed to fight Custer but he and his horse died when they fell in a gopher hole--grounds a running joke about him having been lesser than when alive. But his line delivery is amazing, turning dialogue like "Aho! Thank you great spirit for these tater tots!" into something beyond just tongue-in-cheek.

I also really like the way that the show uses the idea of the spiritual or supernatural, probably most in the hunting episode, but also in other places.

If you haven't checked this show out, I'd highly recommend it. With 30 minute episodes, watching the entire first season is only a 4-hour commitment.



_____ is the most important thing in my life…
This show does a great job of blending comedy with emotion and the surreal. Very well-written and I love the dialogue. Everything Willie Jack says is golden. I think I’m on ep. 3 or 4 and plan on watching some more tonight.

Glad to hear about the Bill Burr cameo. Bobby Lee as the clinic doctor was a nice touch.



This show does a great job of blending comedy with and emotion and the surreal. Very well-written and I love the dialogue. Everything Willie Jack says is golden. I think I’m on ep. 3 or 4 and plan on watching some more tonight.

Glad to hear about the Bill Burr cameo. Bobby Lee as the clinic doctor was a nice touch.
I'll be interested to hear your reaction to the next few episodes. I felt like that was where the show really kicked it into a higher gear, quality-wise.



_____ is the most important thing in my life…
I'll be interested to hear your reaction to the next few episodes. I felt like that was where the show really kicked it into a higher gear, quality-wise.
Will do! I’m impressed so far, so I can’t imagine it can get better than it already is.