Reservation Dogs
from Variety.com
It’s been a minute, Dear Reader, since I’ve had the opportunity to sit down and update the blog. As with everything in my life, constant and frequent apologies for my tardiness and lack of commitment. There is a lot in my heart and guts I need to get out, but the one sitting on top of both right now is the unbelievable, amazing, outstanding, heartbreaking, hilarious, humbling, and undeniably inspiring Reservation Dogs. There are smarter people than I, and many who are far, far, far, far more talented and capable of writing about the show than I am, but I will try my best.
Up here in so-called Canada, we were a little behind on the release of Reservation Dogs and once it became available, my partner and I devoured it. Before anything else, I need to acknowledge the breathtaking performances of:
These four young people grabbed me by the shirt collar and wouldn’t let me go. Their presence on the screen is absolutely undeniable. I’m “most” familiar with K. Devery Jacobs through her work with the stellar director, Jeff Barnaby, on Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Blood Quantum. Rhymes for Young Ghouls is an absolute masterpiece; one of Jacobs’ lines that has lived with me since I saw the film is: “I aged 1000 years that night.” My skin is tingling remembering it. So, while I’m most familiar with Jacobs, I can’t wait to see more from the others. They all hold such power and grace on the screen and seamlessly move from scene to scene, emotion to emotion, expression to expression. My partner and I went through three episodes to close the season last night, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the experience. I am indebted to the four actors for their gift; the sharing they did is beyond repayment, and all I can do is sing their praise, internalize what they’ve given me, and try to give the same to others. The supporting cast of Reservation Dogs is another topic entirely, and I’d love to dive into that, though I am putting off getting ready for the day job to write this and don’t have adequate time to pay tribute to entirety of the cast.
I recognize this brief blog isn’t very in-depth and doesn’t really say why you should watch Reservation Dogs. I’m not good at telling people why they should do something, but I will try and close this with something that approximates that sentiment: Reservation Dogs easily surpasses Ted Lasso in every facet of execution, from writing to acting to direction to dialogue to soundtrack to message to impact to relevance. I love Ted Lasso, but it’s a fart in the wind compared to Reservation Dogs. If a call-out and hot take isn’t a good call to action, what is, right?
