Throughout its tenure on FX, Reservation Dogs, a comedic coming-of-age series, consistently confronts the weight of mortality. At its outset, the young protagonists grapple with the recent loss of their friend Daniel (played by Dalton Cramer), who tragically succumbed to suicide a year prior. Over the span of three seasons, the show underscores that the central foursome in the narrative aren't navigating their grief in solitude. Elora Danan (portrayed by K. Devery Jacobs) retains only fragmented recollections of her late mother. Some of the series' most memorable characters, like the courageous William Knifeman (embodied by Dallas Goldtooth), no longer inhabit the realm of the living — they exist as spectral advisors, returning to offer solace to those left behind.
Out of all the significant milestones that could serve as a fitting finale, Reservation Dogs naturally chooses a funeral over a wedding or birth. In "Dig," the Okern community, comprising not only the Rez Dogs but also others, bids farewell to Old Man Fixico (portrayed by Richard Ray Whitman), the esteemed medicine man who had recently agreed to mentor Willie Jack (enacted by Paulina Alexis) in his traditions. Yet, Reservation Dogs doesn't confine Fixico's portrayal to Willie Jack's perspective alone. In the midseason flashback episode "House Made of Bongs," the series pays homage to "Dazed and Confused" by offering a glimpse of today's elders, Fixico included, during their carefree youth. Even as "Reservation Dogs" approaches the culmination of the journey laid out for Elora, Willie Jack, Bear (played by D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), and Cheese (enacted by Lane Factor), the narrative widens its scope to underscore that everyone arrives at a comparable juncture, where the purity of youth merges with the responsibilities of adulthood.
At the outset of the episode, Willie Jack pays a visit to a nearby prison to share the news of Fixico's passing with Hokti (portrayed by Lily Gladstone), who is both her aunt and Daniel's mother. Encouraged by certain spirits, Hokti delivers a heartfelt speech on the significance of collective bonds.
“I know it feels like Fixico’s gone,” she says, “and in a way, he is. But he’s also not gone at the same time.” To illustrate her point, Hokti uses a bag of Flamin’ Flamers — the same junk food the Rez Dogs stole a truckful of in the very first episode of the series. Fixico's departure brings together a diverse group, ranging from the spirited receptionist Bev (played by Jana Schmieding) to the town's notorious troublemaker Kenny Boy (enacted by Kirk Fox), just as characters like Elora and Rita (portrayed by Sarah Podemski), who is Bear's mother, get ready to depart Okern in pursuit of new opportunities elsewhere.
Reservation Dogs underscores the imperative of bearing witness: to your friends, to your elders, and to those who will follow in your footsteps. Faced with the inevitability of life's transitions, absorbing it all becomes both the simplest and most profound act. While Fixico's funeral is a poignant tapestry of emotions, it's his friends and community, seated in contented silence, that bring the show to a thoughtful, content close.
