TLO Rez Recaps: “This Is Where the Plot Thickens” (Ep. 2.8)

9:51 AM EDT on September 15, 2022

It’s the second season of Reservation Dogs, the critically lauded series by Sterlin Harjo that shows it’s truly a good day to be Indigenous!

Like last year, I will recap the show for those who watch and those who don't, giving the basics and not spoiling anything too much for anyone until they hit DVD, or you bum a friend’s password.

Skoden? Stoodis!

Episode 8: “This Is Where the Plot Thickens”

The Plot: During a routine check on the meth junkyard, Officer Big (Zahn McClarnon) is dosed with a hallucinogenic drug. Freaking out, he runs into the encroaching forest, with visions of his past – from getting smokes for his grandmother to a recent motorcycle accident – cycling through his mind. And here is where we get wacky…

Also tripping balls, Kenny Boy (Kirk Fox) and Big then come across a cult initiation—think Bohemian Grove, but on a budget. It has political intrigue, an appearance of the Deer Woman, and a whole lot of fish fucking.

The Review: Twin Peaks by way of Okie Noodling, this episode feels like a backdoor pilot to Officer Big’s own program, something I would really like to see.

Much like the solo outing last season, he is on his own, tracking drugs at the trailer park. Eventually, he unwilling ingests the LSD-like drug, taking him down a path to his own private tormenters, like his mother.

Eventually, it leads him to uncovering a racist cult that sexually liberates some headless catfish, taking out the whole cabal—look out, Stitt! It is a fun ride, giving Officer Big a real round of applause, with his sidekick Kenny Boy in tow. They really work well as a team, even if one of them has some unsavory side-projects, like bottling psychoactive drugs.

While I always like this view into Officer Big’s life, I feel every episode gives a new layer of complexity to him. Piece-by-piece, we learn a little more, even if that gives us even more questions.

Best Line: “Fuckin’ white people…” - Kenny Boy

Funniest Moment: The Rez Dogs eating the fried fish and the aftermath.

Oklahoma Soundtrack Pick: Willie Dunn – “Crazy Horse”

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