Reservation Dogs Season 3 Review: A Bittersweet Farewell

As the trailers for the new season revealed, much of the early narrative in "Reservation Dogs" Season 3 does focus on our heroes — Bear (D'Pharoah Woon-A-Tai), Elora (Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor) — as they return from California to their Oklahoma home, and the repercussions that come with it. Their parents and guardians are, naturally, furious with them for having wandered off, but the fallout is about more than the often-hilarious punishments they face. For the Rez Dogs, being back home after such a trip is a reminder that they need to do what Daniel could not and live their lives in ways they find satisfying. For Elora, that means a search for a career path and, perhaps, a family secret. For Cheese, it means finding ways (literally and otherwise) to see things more clearly. For Willie Jack, it means connecting to certain aspects of her Indigenous roots in ways she never has before. And for Bear, it simply means searching, trying to quiet the voices in his head, looking for a purpose bigger than his own base desires.

Each of these journeys is, of course, complicated by a number of encounters both familiar and unexpected, from a brilliant guest-starring role for the legendary Graham Greene to a new encounter with one of the show's many mythic figures. There's a sense, even in the first episodes of the two-part season premiere, that the show is going for broke with these final hours spent with these characters, that each member of the foursome will reach places they've never dared go before. It's thrilling, compelling, and a fulfillment of all the promise the show first displayed with its wild, emotional first season.

On a very basic level, though, it's also just very nice to see the crew back in their old stomping grounds one more time, with all the supporting characters we've come to love over two seasons back from one more round. They're searching too, the show reminds us, whether it's following former Rez Dog enemy Jackie (Elva Guerra), Bear's mother Rita (Sarah Podemski), or the always-great Officer Big (Zahn McClarnon). Even Bear's spirit guide, William Knifeman (Dallas Goldtooth) has an added air of gravity to him, as the quest for fulfillment intensifies in each character. That makes the kickoff to the new season both wonderfully ambitious and an instant reminder that we're still dealing with one of the best things on television right now.