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The heart of ‘Reservation Dogs’: A journey through community and growth
The magic behind the scenes
“It really begins with the footage,” says editor Varun Viswanath. While this might be a standard approach for any editor, Viswanath, who shares an Emmy nomination with fellow editor Patrick Tuck for FX’s Reservation Dogs, has a unique advantage: the creative minds of co-creators and showrunners Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi.
Not only do Harjo and Waititi favor long takes, but they also incorporate resets. “We get to hear what they’re saying to the actors, and it’s an extra tool to get into their heads and understand their preferences,” Viswanath explains. This insight proved invaluable as Viswanath and Tuck collaborated on the series finale, “Dig.”
A community’s farewell
In “Dig,” the town gathers to honor the late medicine man Fixico (Richard Ray Whitman). The theme of community, a cornerstone of the series, is especially poignant in this episode. Each main character reaches a significant resolution: Elora (Devery Jacobs) embarks on a new adventure in college; Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) learns about independence as his mother takes a job in the city, paving his own path, possibly with Jackie (Elva Guerra); Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), having apprenticed under Fixico, turns her focus to helping others on the reservation; and Cheese (Lane Factor) gains a clearer perspective on life with his new glasses.
The essence of community
Harjo envisioned the finale as a tribute to the kids and the community, with a funeral serving as the perfect backdrop. “One of the happiest times in our community is when you go to mourn someone’s death,” he reflects. “People are more honest when faced with death, so they’ll tell one another they love each other more, and their guards are down.”
As a cinema enthusiast, Harjo infused each episode with references to other films, including Ocean’s Eleven and Dazed and Confused. For this episode, he drew inspiration from Robert Altman, particularly Altman’s use of ensemble casts and slow zooms, switching between background and foreground characters who talk over each other.
Capturing the moment
When it came to editing, Tuck and Harjo aimed to encapsulate the essence of community and the feeling of being present. “There were long sweeping shots intercut with moments of [the central characters] in the future, seeing their life just beginning,” Tuck explains. “They’ve come home, matured, and come full circle.”
A particularly powerful scene features Willie Jack visiting her Aunt Hokti (Lily Gladstone) in prison. Willie Jack informs Hokti of Fixico’s death but admits she didn’t spend much time with him. Hokti uses a selection of candy to illustrate the power of community to her young niece.
A familiar touch
Viswanath, who also edited the prison sequence in Season 2, chose not to deviate from the established style. “I decided not to try to get radical and shoot it differently,” Harjo says. “I wanted it to feel familiar to Season 2. But what was really great about that is it’s this very quiet moment before the chaos of the rest of the episode.” This scene serves as a prologue, setting the stage for the community’s actions.
The weight of separation
The prison scene poignantly underscores the importance of community, even in a restricted environment. ”What better way to express the importance of community than through a character that has to be taken away from the community and kept apart from it?” Harjo muses. “That holds this weight that it wouldn’t have if she wasn’t in jail.”
Viswanath found the scene particularly moving to edit, despite having limited footage. “That scene for me is a great microcosm of the Native community that Sterlin and his crew represent,” he says. The scene highlights the power of passing down multi-generational secrets and fostering community, even in isolation.
Bear’s farewell
Bear faces another goodbye, this time to his spiritual guide, William “Spirit” Knifeman, played by Dallas Goldtooth. “You deserve to be loved, and you deserve to love,” Spirit tells Bear, reminding him of the community’s love.
Viswanath, who edited their first encounter in the pilot, believes Bear underwent the most significant emotional growth. The farewell scene was a full-circle moment. “To see how much more nuanced he is with the little expressions on his face, and how much more measured they are,” Viswanath says of Woon-A-Tai’s performance.
A fitting end
The final shot of the episode features the group together, sharing their love. In the edit bay, Tuck considered intercutting other coverage for certain lines but ultimately chose the sweeping shot of the foursome. ”We had to really fight the instinct to cut to separate coverage, deciding instead to let the audience — and the Rez Dogs themselves — feel present in the moment, surrounded by the people and community they love,” Tuck explains. “It’s such a beautiful style to show how these characters have matured and grown across three seasons, and a perfect way to end the series.”
The scenes leading up to the ending centered on heavily emotional moments of farewell and loss, but as Viswanath points out, it always leads to one theme: ”You can go back to your community, share a meal, and be uplifted.”
For more on Reservation Dogs, check out the trailer.
