I cried so hard when Willie Jack said "OH Shit" I watched it twice and had the same visceral reaction at that scene. I know that moment, intimately. It's wild to see in media, just amazing.
Glad I wasn’t the only one!!! I’m Hispanic indigenous (pretty much 100% a mix of Mixtec and Zapotec) and I found myself tearing up at that scene and I didn’t understand why at first. I think it’s because it’s the first time in a long time that I felt like my indigenous culture was _taken_ from me. Hispanics pride ourselves on our distinct “mixed” cultures, but the truth is, much of Hispanic culture is derived from the Spanish; although the Spanish colonists didn’t push us into reservations like the British and French colonists (later Canada/U.S.), they did make an effort to stamp out indigenous history and culture. This scene made me wish I could’ve been given the chance to have this kind of connection with my indigenous ancestors.
As a Black man, I have to say how much I enjoy the show and deeply, deeply respect indigenous people. It's all right to cry, man. Your collective people, of all, should feel no obligation to hold anything back. Not after all the horrible things done to your ancestors. Mine were treated like royalty by comparison, honestly. And though I'm not indigenous, I have to say the scenes with Grandma Mabel's house, Willie Jack's ancestral connection, and the spirit of Daniel with his friends in the ocean are my favorite scenes. Think I'll rewatch the show from the beginning now...
While it’s true the indigenous experience was/is horrific in this country so was the black experience in this country. We do not compare atrocities. Genocide and hundreds of years of chattel slavery is wrong. It’s is massively ignorant to say black people during and after chattel slavery were treated like royalty. Read a book or do some research. This piss poor suck up take on your part is shameful. SMDH.
I like how Willy jack was going to be a male at the script process then they found a girl that was perfect for the part so they got her to take the role kept the name and just made the character female I wouldn’t want anyone else to play that part she has been the best character of the series hands down
One of the most touching things about this series is the exploration of what grief does to people generationally. Both the adults and the kids are reeling from loss - Cookie's death and Daniel's death. Reservation Dogs manages to be incredibly funny and deep and poignant at the same time. That prayer scene with Willie Jack made me bawl. This entire series is "good medicine," to use your words. Thanks for this very right-on review.
I think another reason why Mabel’s death is such an important moment for Elora, is that this is her first time seeing death after Daniel’s passing. Daniel passed in such a traumatic way and he was alone in an abandoned building. He felt that no one would care if he was gone. It was devastating for Elora to see death that way. Then you have Mabel who passes in the exact opposite way. She’s passing peacefully while surrounded by people who love and respect her. She’s also in her own home, a place she’s comfortable in and a place that’s full of memories and love. With Mabel’s passing, Elora gets to see death in a way that is peaceful and full of respect. Death doesn’t have to be this ugly and cruel thing, it can be beautiful. I think when she runs outside and is crying, she’s not just grieving for Mabel, I think she’s grieving for Daniel as well.
I loved season 1 of Reservation Dogs, but season 2 hit so much harder. Bear's episode when he was working on a roof took me back to my teenage years. I remember almost falling off a roof trying to catch a packet of shingles, getting saved, and receiving the same lecture about letting shingles go when they fall.
The Mabel episode had me BAWLING having gone through that but at the same time it gave me a sense of comfort and familiarity. The writers and crew do such a fantastic job
Same. I lost my grandma a few years ago 2019. And mom in 2020. And others. 2020 was one of the worst years of my life. All of them still feel fresh today. Still hurts. It's rough. And that episode really hit me so hard. I cried and cried. Then seeing Mable taking to Elora. Seeing Mable making jokes and smiling. Reminded me of my grandma. Being her silly self. I loved the episode even tho it's sad. It's nice to let those emotions out.
My parents are Lakota language teachers at Sitting Bull College on Standing Rock, and they caught some additional things in Amber Midthunders character. There are moments were she uses the male form of words in her greetings and introducing herself. I think that is just a very in depth detail to add to her that not a lot of people would notice unless you recognize the language. I love these details in shows♥️ also great video btw ♥️
I am not remotely a spiritual person but that Willie Jack moment with the spirits still hit me hard. The framing and acting were absolutely incredible.
Every time i watch that Willie Jack scene i bawl. And when i could tell you were about to break that scene down i thought "I'm safe, he's just gonna talk about the scene, I'm not gonna cry" and sure enough, straight tears!
I'm African American, not Native, but I relate a lot to things you say in this video; particularly when you talk about episode 4 & the familiarity of the scene with all the members of the community gathered for Mabel. I watched the show with my brother (it quickly became a favorite of ours) & that episode really resonated with us cuz we could see ourselves in these characters from shared experiences. No matter what differences are between Black & Indigenous cultures there's that unifying energy of community & togetherness. Friendship & family. All around, absolutely AMAZING show! I don't think it gets the attention or recognition it deserves
I don't think I've ever watched a show that's managed to make me switch from laughing to crying for the majority of its episodes. I really loved this season. I also love your thoughtful analysis.
Well said brother. we love all of the reservation dogs episodes they are really entertaining and plaid by many indigenous actors. One character that stands out to us is "The deer lady" to us she is called Matasiguat. It's surprising to us that she is also known to the northern tribes as well. Anyways stay strong brother and follow the red road, you will find yourself. Cant wait to see and hear the new announcements coming up. taati kery meyumu.
yeah that scene had my black a** crying thinking about my ancestors. Love your take on this I always thought the show was the Native version of Atlanta lol.
Man, I cried too many times during this second season. Especially, in the prison visit scene. I also love Cheese character, he is too deep for a lot of peers.
Great video. Your take reminds me of a famous quote from Frida Kahlo. When labeled by Anglo and American art critics as a surrealist painter, she said something to the effect of, "I don’t know if I am or not. All I know is that I paint my reality."
Willie Jack's Prayer scene just cleared the shelf in my head and now sits alone as the best tv moment I've ever watched because it IS a MOMENT. This is what story-telling should strive to communicate. Everything about it (and the show in general) just hit so well. I cried along with you and every time I even start just thinking about the scene. (especially since my own mother died this year and I didn't get around to watching the series until this year). I WISH I could have a moment like that. Just to feel an acknowledgement.
My favorite part of Season Two, maybe my favorite of Res Dogs all together, was when Hokti is praying with Willie Jack and she talks about the hands that buried us and guided us on that long walk, and you realize she is talking about THE Long Walk. Then she talks about Intent, and the ghost touches Willie Jack. I got chills. I keep watching that part over and over.
Great video. One of the things I love to mention when recommending this show to people (which I've done, several times), is how the show runs on the assumption that the Native Spiritual World is 100% real. I love that aspect of it, and feel that it adds so much texture to the world as presented.
I love how your reviewing abilities have sharpened and grown over the last year. I see a real improvement in style and confidence from when I first started watching these. That said, this is a beautiful analysis of this series and one of the primary reasons why I look to the audiences at which these types of shows are aimed, rather than just some random white guys on RU-vid who just happen to like the show. I get a much deeper understanding of which I just watched when people from the cultures involved talk about the entertainments we see about them!
I'm non native and I didn't think it was corny at all regarding seeing spirit or ancestors. I experienced spiritual things but in more indirect ways. I imply they are signs from spirit world talking to me. Helping me. I get it all
I'm so glad I found your channel through the Prey reaction video; love your analysis of season 2 and it makes me want to rewatch it! Keep up the wonderful work and the fight against the algorithm that loves to suppress native and POC creators.
I’m not Native but the amount of heart and beauty that affects me from this show- especially the Singing/chanting- it’s soul-grabbing. I cannot fathom what that would mean to Native viewers but I imagine it’s Quite something. I adore this series and am so grateful to discover all the talent it showcased. TERRIFIC VIDEO!
What!? There's going to be a third season!? I wish you could make a more thorough analysis and maybe explain little more about the cultural nuances and beliefs of indigenous people for people like me who live on the other side of the world. (I live in Finland, northern Europe.) There's so little authentic information to be found here and I think that with a bit more knowledge this series would become the first ever 11/10 for me. I did rate this 10/10 on IMDB though. :) I am almost a 50 year old Finnish male and we, the Finns, are known in the rest of Europe for having the emotional diversity of a pine log but this series made me both genuinely cry and laugh out loud. Sometimes at the same time. And you made me cry here on this channel too. :) It is amazing to find out such an empathetic side on oneself at this age. I would have never found out about the series whitout this channel, so thank you! Also thank you pointing out the indigenous surrealism bit. I have had trouble wording this series to other people. Now I have a great term to use.
Offerings got to me too. I’m not Native but no, it didn't feel corny at all. Watching that scene felt incredibly solemn, and in fact I found myself silently crying with no clear noton why. It's a wonderful show.
Thanks for this thought-provoking piece, Elias. I was crying by the end of this video! Who wouldn't want wisdom, love and strength from the spirits of their ancestors?
My kids and I started watching this soon after my wife passed away about 9 months ago. I didn’t realize what the story was about, or we might not have watched it, but the way the show portrayed spirituality and realness of spirituality, the presence of Mabel and Daniel especially, where so beautiful. EDIT: We are a non-native family and found absolutely nothing corny in any of spiritual experiences depicted in the show; only a deep appreciation of how well it was shown, that it was clearly shown as real and how the conjunction of the irreverence of the show, with the powerful themes and the spiritual realism was so powerful.
YES YES YES. Thank you as always for such thoughtful and FUN content. Nice application of Afro Surrealism to this context. Anyhoo, I’m just loving how the storytelling combines hyper-reality and surreality…the bare naked experiences and the absurd. It leaves the audience to try (if we bother) to come to terms with what we watched somewhere in between those poles. Salamat at isulong, mga kasama, in the tradition of my Pilipino peeps from the little I’ve come to understand. ✌🏾➕✊🏾
Man, I'm getting ready for work and you start talking about the Mable and losing grandparents 😢😢😢😢. That episode hit me super hard. Gonna mess up my makeup
So glad I discovered this channel. I cried so many times through all the seasons of Rez Dogs and you made me cry all over again. It's easily in my top 5 tv shows. Thank you for what you're doing and for being so real as well as thoughtful and invitingly analytic.
I cried so many times through this season. Some unbelievably powerful moments that hit me hard. The surreal aspects of this show remind me of Northern Exposure. They used moments of surrealism in the same sort of way and they also left it ambiguous as to whether it was a surreal experience or real.
Not only did the season have me crying, then laughing, then crying, then laugh/crying.... This video did too. That's just how we roll in native country ennit? ❤
I think Reservation Dogs has staying power that Rutherford Falls doesn’t. Rez dogs feels authentic to Rez life, irrespective of what tribe you’re from. You can relate to everything in there if you are an Indian. Even for non Indians the story telling is engaging enough to absorb your attention. By contrast, Rutherford falls felt too corporate shrink wrapped focus group approved. I watched two episodes and couldn’t get invested. Everything just looked wrong, like a Nickelodeon sitcom, like iCarly, where it’s clear the actors are on a Manufactured set. I hope authentic representation continues to earn its place in entertainment.
I'm non-native and I didn't find the scenes with spirits corny at all. I cried watching Mabel and Offerings. I think one of the really incredible things film can do as a medium is communicate an emotional reality that can't be conveyed with words. The writers and cast and crew did an incredible job of making those moments of spiritual connection feel real and important for even those of us who haven't experienced the world quite in that way.
Loved season 2, and really looking forward to season 3. Sterlin Harjo and Ryan Redcorn talk a little bit about plans for 3 in an "All My Relations Podcast" episode, came out the first of March if your interested. Most of the episode is them just chatting with Matika and Adrienne, and having fun.
Real asf mane. Here crying . Every time I watch that scene. This definelty was therapy. That scene, that moment . It’s so indescribable. It feels like it resonates with my spirits aswell. My ancestors are there, It feels like it just absorbs all the energy in the room and magnifies it into one raw emotion shared .
Great review, thank you for your thoughts. I was just in a constant state of balling my eyes out and then going in to fits of laughter the entire time I was watching this series. The power, weight, and representation the show has honestly changed me. Side note, but how the hell did I not realize Hokti was Daniel's mom?? I need to rewatch stat
Why does that affect me so? I originally only saw the clip..and BAM. Anyone I talk to who has seen it also had said the same thing. I was watching this video at lunch in the office and again...waterworks...like WTF?? Lol. Thanks for your work. New subscriber. Wela'lin
Shout out to Travis Thompson a Native rapper out of Seattle who played Tito in season 2. He will be opening for the Snotty Nose Rez Kids in OKC Dec 2nd 2023!
I really fell emotionally into Reservation Dogs. I feel as if I not only watched a beautiful coming of age story, I also learned so much more about Native people and culture. Being a bi-costal American Native culture was a mystery to me. For nearly a year I lived in the Midwest. It was the closest I’ve ever been to Native peoples. Listening to European descendants talking about Native people was a lesson in racism. It was similar to when I moved to Maui and mainlanders talked about the locals, I heard horrible ignorant rants again about people from people without a clue. Reservation Dogs gave so many additional clues to me, into an unknown culture, to which I am grateful. Your review was fantastic, in-depth, and further assisted me in an understanding of Native Americans. Thank you.😊
As an indigenous woman of the Maghreb this show really is just absolutely beautiful 💜💜 best wishes this channel is so special, I love how you talk about media
I love how you let yourself be vulnerable. Just beautiful. That prison scene is what I hope prisoners get to feel. I think the ancestors are always with us. You can ask them for guidance.❤ You inspired me to watch Reservation Dogs.As an Indigenous person from Peru I always feel so connected to the indigenous experience from the North America's since I grew up here . Newly subscribed❤
Knew about you through native reac. Been holding off on the sub for some reason. Them tears and emotion on the Willie Jack praying portion of this vid. You got me bruv. You earned one more sub. Thanks. Doke sa.
Man, I started crying with you T _ T I love Willie Jack's episode so much T _ T the whole show is just a gem. I recommend it left and right :D Hi from Lithuania
Excellent review! I completely agree with your analysis! My mom cried at the finale of Season 2, and I can't wait to see what's in store for Season 3! Reservation Dogs is IMHO the best show on Television!
Salut je regarde ta video via la traduction dans les paramètres jai regarder les deux premières saison j'avoue que la serie et tres bien gros respect pour la nation amérindiens vos ancêtres ont beaucoup souffert AHO 🙏🏻👌🏻
i love this show .. i started late and had to watch all of season 1 first , and i was like yeah , this shows okay but after season 2 .... i believe this is some of the best television out there ...so many season 2 episodes just hit me in such an unexpected and awesome way . cant wait for season 3
Great review 👏 👌 one thing non native people can't understand is its real whether you believe it or not... it's just to us we respect that aspect of life and acknowledge it in a real way. Our humor our greif our resilience our spirituality is our reality. I love this show and I love your channel
Regarding your point at 29:39 As a non-native, I didn’t see it as corny or anything. I more so was wondering, especially regarding willie jacks prayer, if that sort of thing was “real” to the natives watching it. I grew up in a christian house, and the US is largely christian as well so I saw a lot of christian people discussing or christian media showing certain spiritual connections and I never experienced anything like that, so in the christian case I generally find it silly but other religions and belief systems I give a little slack extra slack, though I still can’t say I’ve ever felt any “spiritual” connection, or if I could even say I’d know what that feels like. Fantastic video! Keep up the great work!
I think I cried in every episode of season 2. Absolutely bawled with Willie Jack. I didn’t see Reservation Dogs as surrealism, but magical realism, which I was told in a college class 20 years ago was common in native literature. Where surrealism is kinda absurd and dreamlike, magical realism (or spiritual realism) is a real, regular setting, but because of the beliefs of the people, things that seem magical to the “mainstream” just happen seamlessly in the narrative. Essentially it *is* real to the native characters. It’s not like seeing a ghost for white folks. I’m typing as you’re talking about it now, so I think we’re saying the same thing. Anyway. It was NOT corny, but I don’t think it’s a native version of Afro-surrealism. It already existed in native literature/media.
I'm not a native woman but the aunty episode spoke to me because I know my mom would have loved to have a group of lady friends to go out and have fun and not be in work mode and mom mode all the time. She came from guatemala and most of her family lives in either Chicago or somewhere in California. And it was fun seeing the aunties having fun, especially after that episode Bear's mom had that horrible hook up🤣
Native Media Theory! You do such a great, relatable, yet in deep dive into all this stuff! I'm not Native, though,lol,when I was13 and14,(1971,72?), among my peers in El Cajon, (SanDiego County) CA, everyone claimed to have a relative or ancestor who was! I didn't, because I just felt weird lying that way. Actually, among most of my friends, many probably did. I think part of it was the movie 'BillyJack' and the Cher hit 'Halfbreed'. Anyway, I can't get these shows, bummer, but I've enjoyed your showing so much and Patrick and Jacob from 'PatrickisaNavajo' , too. I love your heartfelt truth here! As always! My Mom had some good friends, later in life, one who claimed her sons had a plan to take over, lol, by impregnation of as many white girls as possible. That was in the 80s! It didn't work, but they had fun! And Mom got to go to a secret Sundance ceremony! Also, my younger sister worked with a band, Red Thunder, in studio, and a Hopi man, Casper Loma Da Wa/ (Sounds of Reality and Brothers' Keeper are 2 of his CDs, kind of reggae/rap?) who she kind of helped find his 'voice'! I got to go to a PowWow in Joseph, OR, in the 90s because the tribe that ran Wallowa Lake, hosted our Archery Shoot, (about 60 people!) and accidentally mixed up the timing. There were parts we were excluded from, but much was shared! A lot of fry bread, but many came to our camp for my chorizo burritos! OK, sorry for the LONG POST! Age and meds combo, lol! Do remind everyone, especially us non Native,(I've been told by friends on line and here in Kingman AZ, that 'Native' is acceptable, but they prefer 'American Indian!' as opposed to 'Native American'?) Anyway, the reminder! Buy 'Inspired Native' made products instead of 'Native Inspired'! 👍💖💙🥰✌
I have watched all three seasons several times. I think Cheese is my favorite character. All of the characters are incredibly written and portrayed, but Cheese is my favorite.
🥲🙏 Thanks bro. For being a real man ….. Sincere, Caring, Emotional, Loving, Honest …. This Reservation Dogs Season 2 Review done by you really touched me 🙏 You’re a good man….. 🦅 🏔️ 🎥 ❤️
How familiar are you with the show Northern Exposure? I would be curious to hear your thoughts on that shows use of Native culture and spirituality and it's use of Native Surrealism as a narrative device
