Two Muscogee Nation teens, lifelong friends (along with their two other Rez Dogs pals), have been painfully at odds. Bear (played by D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), who thinks he’s the group’s leader, has felt abandoned by Elora (Devery Jacobs), its most driven member. She has been discovering the world beyond their home as he has grown more deeply involved with their community.
In the series finale of “Reservation Dogs,” the funeral of one of the pillars of that community brings them together again. Elora finds Bear alone — in the presence of the casket — to tell him she’s leaving for college. “The heart of the scene is them trying to come together and tell each other bye and that they love each other,” showrunner and co-creator Sterlin Harjo says.
“But you throw a funeral in, you throw a dead body in, all this stuff surrounding it and their lack of communication skills, and it can end up being a really beautiful thing just from behavior. And that’s what happened.” Earlier in the series, Bear had shown a selfish, immature streak.
He’s likely to react badly to Elora’s hard-to-break news. You feel her bracing for it. He says nothing, eyes down, mouth tight.
When she tries to cushion the blow, he says he just needs a moment. After gathering himself, he reveals a warm smile and congratulates her. “Bear can hold a grudge,” says Woon-A-Tai, who has Oji-Cree tribal heritage.
“It was a really beautiful moment for him to let go of that and realize, ‘It’.