Life may be slow on Reservation Dogs, but it’s the little things that make it unique. In “Hunting,” Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis) and Leon (Jon Proudstar) reminisce on a hunting trip.
We know very little about Daniel (Dalton Cramer), except that he died a year ago. Elora Danan (Devery Jacobs) blames their town for Daniel’s death. No one talks about what really happened. But one thing is clear … Daniel’s friends miss him a lot.
Directed by Sterlin Harjo
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Early one morning, Leon takes a bag of feed into the woods and sees someone … or something staring at him. This … being has glowing red eyes. Leon says he doesn’t want any trouble and asks who the person is, but it doesn’t answer.
On opening day for deer hunting, Willie Jack wakes up at 4:30 AM, makes some coffee and talks to Daniel’s picture. She tells him that she’s taking her dad hunting. They have some unfinished business in the form of a large stag they call Chunk. She’s hoping to catch him before she leaves for California. Willie Jack imagines that Daniel is standing in front of her smiling and nodding at her. California was Daniel’s idea after all.
Willie Jack prints off a picture from a trail camera. She wakes up her dad and he’s reluctant to get up. He takes his time putting on his shoes, talks about driving safety along the way, and how to clean a rifle. Obviously he’s stalling, but he doesn’t say why. Willie Jack noticed that he cleaned his rifle a year ago, but hasn’t been hunting since then. It’s supposed to be his favorite thing to do.
They cross into a fence with a ‘no trespassing’ sign. Willie Jack says they need to get the hunts in before it’s too late. She won’t be around much longer. Leon asks where she’s going, but they hear a gunshot before she can answer. Other hunters have already started.
They find a spot to sit and wait. Willie Jack puts on war paint that she got at the Halloween store. Leon looks at the ingredients and says it’s dangerous, but he puts it on too. While they wait, Leon asks Willie Jack about her plan to leave. She says they are going to California because Snoop Dogg and Dr. Phil are from there. Leon starts talking about how great Oklahoma is. Willie Jack says there’s things she can’t do at home that she can do in California. Like being an MMA fighter, becoming a gourmet chef, or becoming a dog rescuer. Leon has a counter argument for everything she wants to do though.
Willie Jack asks why Leon never left. He says he never needed to. Everything he needs is right there. People leave all the time, but they always come back. Their people are there in Oklahoma and it’s their home. They hear a noise, but it’s just a turkey. Willie Jack tries to chase the turkey away, saying it will scare off Chunk. Leon doesn’t remember Chunk, so Willie Jack shows him the picture. His only question is where she got the pictures. She printed it on his laser printer, that she’s not supposed to touch. And Leon reveals that he doesn’t have a trail camera. The trail camera probably belongs to the owner of the land.
That brings up questions about who owns the land. Willie Jack thought they did. Leon reveals his grandfather sold the land in the 1930s. Now it’s owned by some Texas ranchers. They decide to look for the trail camera, not knowing there’s more than one camera. The cameras pick up their every dance move. While they look, Leon tries to convince Willie Jack to stay. She points out that Daniel wanted to leave. If he had, he might still be alive.
Willie Jack asks if there’s hunting in California. Leon thinks they hunt hogs out there, but he’s not sure. And thinks you can only hunt for “kardassians” in LA. Leon gets serious and apologizes for being different for the last year. Willie Jack stops him so she doesn’t start crying. Leon does wish Daniel was still alive and with them on the hunt. They start remembering hunting with Daniel. Daniel made a lot of noise while waiting for any sight of Chunk.
Leon says he feels like Daniel is still around. Something in the woods moves behind them. Willie Jack says she feels like Daniel is around all the time. They remember one day of hunting when Daniel couldn’t sit still. Leon tells him to be quiet, but Daniel is bored and hungry. Besides, there’s no deer out there. Even Chunk hasn’t been seen for the last three years. Daniel stands up and starts yelling at the top of his lungs, cursing Chunk for never being around. Leon stands up and decides to leave.
They hear a camera click and think this is the only trail camera in the woods. Leon is in awe of the camera, saying it’s the same type of camera they used to film Titanic. He tells Willie Jack that he wants one for Father’s Day. Shoot, she can get the camera for him now. They attempt to remove the camera from the tree … gotta get rid of the evidence.
While they try to get the camera off of the tree, two ranchers walk by. Leon says they need to sit still until the ranchers leave. Willie Jack pulls out a bag of deer jerky that Daniel made two years ago. It was in their freezer and it’s still good. Leon decides to tell her about the being he saw.
Leon describes the being as being covered in hair with glowing red eyes. He thought it was Tall Man and it scared Leon. That’s the reason he didn’t want to hunt. Also, Daniel wouldn’t be there. Willie Jack suggests that maybe the being he saw was Daniel trying to say goodbye.
Leon is glad they came out to hunt. He says he trusts Willie Jack. She can do all the stuff she wants to do here, but if she needs to leave, he will be there for her. Wille Jack says she misses Daniel. Leon does too. He ‘s sad that he couldn’t help Daniel in the way he needed to be helped. They both start crying. Leon thinks he failed Daniel. Willie Jack says there was nothing they could have done, they can’t control everything. She starts crying in his arms, missing Daniel.
Leon remembers seeing Daniel one night. It was dark, so Leon didn’t recognize him at first until Daniel stepped into the light. Daniel was heading home after a night out with Elora. Leon was preparing to take some feed out to the woods and promised to take Daniel hunting. Before Daniel leaves, Leon gives him a jacket because it’s cold outside. He realizes that Daniel isn’t as lively as usual and asks if everything is okay. Daniel says he’s okay and leaves.
Willie Jack stops crying because she ruined her war paint. They hear something move and see Chunk in the distance. Willie Jack quietly turns around, grabs her gun and prepares to shoot. Leon quietly talks her through the shot. Afterward, Leon and Willie Jack load up Chunk … and the turkey. (No she didn’t shoot the turkey). And head out while a pair of red eyes watches them.
They stop by the cemetery on the way home so Willie Jack can tell Daniel that they got Chunk. She also tells Daniel that she’s not mad at him for leaving them. She leaves the rest of his deer jerky, in case he gets hungry. And finally asks him to watch over them. As they leave, we see a Native choir singing the Mvskoke hymn, Heleluyvn (Hallelujah).
RELATED: Catch up on all of the Reservation Dogs recaps here!
Watch the Reservation Dogs on FX on Hulu.
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News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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