Highlights and review of Reservation Dogs season 3 episode 1: Bussin’

In the first episode of the third season of the FX original series Reservation Dogs, the runaway gang from the Oklahoma reservation is trapped in California with no car and no cash until Bear decides to chance it and see his estranged father.

At the opening of the episode, viewers are greeted by William Spirit Knifeman, the spiritual guide that Bear sees whenever his conscience bothers him.

He catches us up on what the gang has been up to since the previous season, when they finally saved up enough and pushed off to their fabled dream of Los Angeles to go to the beach and fulfill their friend Daniel’s wish.

With their car stolen and all their hard-saved cash gone, Bear decides he’s not going to turn tail and go home back to Oklahoma. Mustering up his courage, he convinces the gang that they see his deadbeat dad and ask him for help.

Reservation Dogs season 3 episode 1 recap

They successfully track down Pinkin Lusty’s address. But when they knock on the door a woman with two young kids in tow answers and she says that he is allegedly off on tour and hasn’t been seen for a week.

Despondent, the kids hang out at a parking lot with a homeless crazy dressed up as Jesus Christ. JC here is actually a cameo by Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd doing his best holy man of LA impersonation complete with filthy robes and a sash.

Meantime Teenie, Bear’s aunt, is already in LA and tracking down the wayward rez kids on orders from Bear’s mother. She spots them hanging out with white Jesus and proceeds to waste no time taking them home with her on a long bus ride back to Oklahoma.

At a rest stop, Bear goes to the toilet and gets accosted by Knifeman, advising him that his fate isn’t to go back to the rez. As Bear argues with the spirit guide the rest of the gang and Aunt Teenie board the bus, taking off without Bear because they mistook him for someone else who boarded the bus and resembles him.

Spiritual misdirection

Bear realizes he is so screwed. Then his phone runs out of battery. Sans mobile, money, food, water, or transportation, Bear walks off toward the general direction of what he hopes is the rez.

Unfortunately, Knifeman isn’t through with him yet and goes on yapping beside him with ever-more obscure monologues and prophesies about the young warrior’s destiny.

Smallhill is led astray

Bear thinks he may very well die out in the Midwest middle of nowhere, especially with the spirit guide pointing him in strange, aimless directions. No idea why he can’t just borrow a charger for his phone but he’s a teenager so I guess panic explains everything.

Two things I learned from this episode. One, Cheese draws really well, even his flip comics are innovative and quirky. And, two, among them Willie Jack is the most comfortable just staying on the rez.

It’s strange because, among the gang, it was Jack that was closest to their dead friend Daniel. And Daniel was the most eager to leave the rez.

Elora’s father is what?

Before they discover that Bear isn’t even on the bus, Teenie brings out a shocker to Elora, telling the kid that her dad is still alive. Yeah, Teenie is Facebook friends with him. Not only that, but he’s also…white. Elora’s plenty blown away.

We are taken back to the beginning of the episode when Bear is still at his father’s house. He leaves his blinged-out penis pendant with what we assume is Pinkin’s baby momma with the note that he will no longer be seeing his father.

The girl reads it and immediately throws the note away.

Teen Bear missing!

And now the rest of the gang arrive back at the reservation, discovering that Bear is not on the bus. Bear’s mother Rita goes into a panic.

And where indeed is Bear? The young man doesn’t know himself.

A great setup to get us started on this new season, what did you think of the spirit guide leading Bear astray and having him miss the bus? Spiritual journey or bumbling clusterf**k?

You can watch seasons 1-3 of Reservation Dogs on HULU.