If there’s one thing the Reservation Dogs have learned, is that their elders are just as rugged as they are. In “Frankfurter Sandwich,” the Uncles take Cheese (Lane Factor) on a much needed fishing trip. Directed by Blackhorse Lowe.
The world has ended as Chester Williams, aka Cheese approaches the boarding school. There’s death and destruction all around him. He treads lightly down the hallway, missing the zombie nun that rises behind him. As soon as he hears the growls, Cheese whips around and cuts the nun’s head off with a machete. A zombie priest approaches and Cheese is ready for him. He chops off the priest’s head and blood spews everywhere. It’s clear that only Cheese can save the world in a zombie apocalypse … in virtual reality.
Cheese has been spending his days playing video games and Grandma Irene (Casey Camp-Horinek) is concerned. One, because Cheese won’t go outside and he’s looking pale. Two, Cheese hasn’t cleaned up … his room or himself. And three, Cheese won’t see his friends. When Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis) and Elora Danan (Devery Jacobs) stop by to take him out, he asks Grandma Irene to lie and say he’s sick. The Rez Dogs miss their Cheese.
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Irene calls upon her friends to help. Bucky (Wes Studi) arrives and sees just how far gone Cheese is. They pull Cheese outside where Big (Zahn McClarnon) and Brownie (Gary Farmer) are waiting for them. It’s Operation Nephew Rescue. The Uncles are taking the boy fishing!Brownie says Cheese will learn to provide for his community and become a man. And if they don’t catch any fish, Bucky brought some frankfurter sandwiches!
The guys set up camp. Big and Cheese will share a tent. Bucky and Brownie like to sleep under the stars, as intended. Next, they head to the lake. Big teaches Cheese how to put the bait on the fishing hook. Brownie indulges in his special, medicinal tobacco. And Bucky stands in the lake, sprinkling some kind of powder around him. Brownie says it’s the old Mvskoke way of fishing called drunk root. You grind the root down to a powder and sprinkle it on the water. It’s supposed to make the fish drunk so they float. Big thinks it’s cheating. Bucky invites Cheese to join him, but the kid is afraid of the e coli in the water.
Cheese questions the sport of fishing. He sarcastically calls it riveting. Brownie says it’s not about the fish, it’s about the dirt, the wind, the trees, and the water. There’s nothing like this anywhere else in the world. It only exists here, and Cheese is a big part of it now. He tells Cheese to take a deep breath. The air he takes in is all the medicine and chemicals from the trees in his lungs. It’s healing. Brownie tells him to listen. Cheese isn’t sure what he’s supposed to be listening for. Brownie farts and laughs. He says it’s about them being in nature together, but Cheese is grossed out.
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Big gets a bite, but loses it. Bucky, on the other hand, catches two large catfish. They take the catfish back to camp and fry it up. Bucky tells Cheese his secret recipe for fried catfish. Since he has Cheese’s attention, Bucky asks the boy what’s going on with him. The kid says he’s not sure. All he knows is that his friends are older than him and the differences between them are growing. He thinks they will eventually all leave him, like everyone else did. So, he’s consciously pushing them away. Bucky tries to tell Cheese that they are all connected on a molecular level. And he shouldn’t break those bonds.
Big and Cheese walk into the woods to find firewood. They talk about Bigfoot and how he’s supposed to be in those woods. Cheese isn’t so sure that Bigfoot is real, but he wouldn’t mind seeing him. Big saw him once, in those same woods. When he was about Cheese’s age, he would go to the woods alone. One day he smelt something bad. He turned around and saw a family of Bigfoot watching him. A single tear ran down Big’s face.
They return to the camp and it’s time to eat. Bucky not only brought spices, he brought homemade hot sauce as well. Big asks for some and pours it all over his plate. Bucky tries to warn him that the sauce is really hot, but Big isn’t scared. Until the peppers hit him, making him gag and cough. The others just stand around, laughing at Big.
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Big teaches Cheese how to start a fire and they gather around and sit in silence. Cheese breaks the silence with the question, what’s next? They don’t really have any plans other than relaxing. Cheese suggests they talk. He uses something he learned at the boys home. They will pass around a stick. Whoever has the stick is the speaker. Cheese picks up a stick and starts by introducing himself with his pronouns. Then he says he thinks he’s a happy person. Brownie gets the stick next. He says he’s a sex addict and he’s glad to be there. Bucky gets the stick next and claims the same pronouns as Cheese. He’s happy to be there too.
Everyone looks at Big and Cheese asks how he’s feeling. Big takes the stick and gets emotional. He says he has been bottling up a lot of pain. They are men and were taught not to recognize their pain. Big lost two friends. He says he was trying to help but feels guilty for their deaths. He’s been avoiding that guilt and it’s eating him up. He starts bawling.
Brownie takes the stick and says he and Bucky lost a friend too. That friend didn’t die though. Brownie thinks they lost him because his friend didn’t know he could rely on them. Like he didn’t have anyone to lean on. Bucky takes the stick and says Cheese reminds him of that friend. His name was Maximus (Graham Greene). Something happened to Maximus and they didn’t believe him. He needed them and they turned their back on him. The two older men start crying.
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Cheese tries to comfort them, saying there was no way they could have known. Bucky thinks they should have known. But they are just men and they don’t know anything. They all make mistakes. All of the Uncles are crying harder. Cheese stands up and says this trip was more effective than he thought it would be. He doesn’t know Maximus and promises he won’t turn out like him. He has his uncles, his grandma and his friends to lean on. Cheese promises to see his friend more often.
The uncles calm down and decide to watch the sunset together, but first Cheese has to make a phone call. He calls Bear, Willie Jack, and Elora Danan. They meet their friend and the uncles out in a field with an ice chest full of Sonics. Bucky thanks them for bringing their bounty. Brownie says now they are living off the land. The uncles and the friends enjoy the sunset with their relative Chester Williams.
RELATED: Catch up on all of the Reservation Dogs recaps here!
Watch the Reservation Dogs on FX on Hulu.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/marvels-echo-fall-premiere-disney-plus/
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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