‘Reservation Dogs’ And The Potential For A Happy Ending

Endings are pivotal moments in a story. It’s when the audience is left to ponder what comes next. Some dark dramas have no problem leaving viewers with a sad ending. But more often than not, audiences want a cheerful final note, so it’s unsurprising that happy endings are so popular. However, nothing really ever ends. Even after the story is over on a happy note, things would hypothetically go on for the characters, and there’s always a chance that it can turn sideways in the future. So what’s even more powerful than a happy ending is the potential for a happy ending — which is exactly what a recent episode of Reservation Dogs did.

One of the key plot points of Reservation Dogs is that a main character, Elora (K Devery Jacobs), never knew or has any information about her father. The character finally appears in the show’s penultimate episode (played by Ethan Hawke). Elora sought him out to get a signature on some financial aid documents for college. For her, the interaction was all business, but her father saw it as an opportunity to finally connect with the daughter he abandoned long ago. He was very careful to not overstep and always allowed her the choice of how she wanted to interact with him and his life.

Ultimately, the episode was an extremely pleasant one. Elora got to meet an entirely new family that she never knew she had. Her father wasn’t this awful person that she imagined and he had three happy kids that were delighted to meet her. They even wanted her to come visit and to be a part of their lives. It was a happy moment, but it wasn’t necessarily a happy ending. They didn’t all move in together and become one big family. Instead, this episode left the possibility of happiness in the air. The door was open for a reconciled relationship to grow and flourish in the days and years ahead. Sometimes that type ending is much more powerful that trying to wrap everything up neatly at once.

Reservation Dogs is now streaming on Hulu.