TLO Rez Recaps: “Elora’s Dad” (3.9)

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

In last week's episode, Fixico passed out at a communal breakfast, while Willie Jack got the team together—the Rez Dogs, the NDN Mafia, and other assorted pals such as Kenny Boy – and devised a plan to get Bear’s old friend Maximus out of the (volunteer) mental hospital and back on the rez... and blew up a bus in the process.

With this final season, I recap each episode of the show for those who are (and are not) watching, giving the basics, and not spoiling anything too much for you.

Skoden? Stoodis!

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Episode 9: “Elora's Dad”

The Plot: As Elora wades through college admission paperwork with the help of a flamboyant admissions counselor, we learn she needs a couple of important signatures to help with the whole enrollment process.

After finding her birth father, she tracks down the signatures she needs for the forms. After a few formalities are taken care of, they begin to know each other and each other’s world, slow and steady at first, but soon enough a bond develops.

The Review:  This is a beautifully told episode that encompasses and endears what makes Reservation Dogs so wonderful and so truthful. What starts out like another college-age comedy—with the Rez Dogs, of course—instead turns into a meaningful life lesson for Elora and her continual storyline of personal growth.

With special guest-star Ethan Hawke – I'll always remember him from the movie Explorers—portraying Rick, he and Elora spend a few hours together, transforming what is the start of a tenuous friendship, one that both of them will (hopefully) continuously work on in a short span of time.

While he admits his massive faults—ones that Elora struggles to really understand—eventually, she begins to learn about the whole person, as well as her mother and her life before him. In the end, Rick is a good guy and I appreciate his character, flaws and all.

As Reservation Dogs concludes its series run, with its hard lessons and comedic fine points that are more appreciated and well-earned by the writers, the producers, and the cast, they know that all of us thank you for your stories and await the very last episode.

Best Line: “Turns out, I’m 99% European and one percent unknown, so….yeah, so I’m about as white as they can come. Good news is, we come from a long line of Quakers, and they are badass motherfuckers.” - Rick

Funniest Moment:  While meeting with her admissions guidance counselor, Elora finds out that she needs her father’s information with a funny interaction that includes male strippers and the virgin Mary.

Oklahoma Soundtrack Pick: Vincent Neil Emerson – “Manhattan Island Serenade”

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