‘Reservation Dogs’ goes out on a high note: Third and final season is ‘satisfying on every level’ [Review Round-Up]
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On August 2, 2023, FX premiered the third and final season of “Reservation Dogs,” scoring a perfect 100% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics consensus reads, “Bowing out while still having plenty of creativity to spare, ‘Reservation Dogs” final season sidesteps feeling premature by satisfying on every level.” The series created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi centers on four Native American teenagers growing up on a reservation in eastern Oklahoma. The ensemble cast is led by D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Lane Factor and Paulina Alexis.
The critically acclaimed comedy has been continuously snubbed by the Emmys, earning just a single bid for sound editing this year. Other awards groups have been more favorable, including the Critics Choice Awards, which nominated Woon-A-Tai for Best Comedy Actor, Jacobs for Best Comedy Actress and Alexis for Best Comedy Supporting Actress in addition to the show’s 2023 nomination for Best Comedy Series. AFI called it the TV Program of the Year in both 2022 and 2023. Our own Gold Derby Awards have bestowed a total of eight bids on the program over its first two seasons. Will the Emmys catch up to the critics (and fans) next year? Read our full review round-up below.
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Tara Bennett of IGN Movies praises the series, stating, “If you’re not getting life advice from a dead spirit warrior in assless chaps, are you really living? That’s not a weird sentence if you’ve watched the previous two seasons of ‘Reservation Dogs,’ which is proudly earthy, heartfelt, and weird. For their third (and final) season, series creator Sterlin Harjo and the writing staff get even more experimental while continuing to build up the depth of a quirky and extremely talented ensemble of characters. Aside from a season premiere that’s a little too scattered in the wake of such a successful second season finale, season 3 of ‘Reservation Dogs’ remains the rare comedy that captures the mundanity of life yet is revelatory with how it portrays the day-to-day in Indigenous communities.”
Chase Hutchinson of Collider writes, “As we now find this story drawing to one final close, ‘Reservation Dogs’ remains as cutting, clever, and compassionate as ever. While we wish it could continue, we’ll cherish it all the same. What a true gift of television this show has been.” Hutchison adds, “It is unlikely there is ever going to be a show quite like Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi’s ‘Reservation Dogs.’ This is not merely because the series has consistently featured complex Indigenous characters, something television can and should work to elevate instead of diminish as is too often the case. Rather, it is the way these stories were so beautifully and boldly expressed that made them so consistently transcendent. Achieving more in a few seasons than many do over a decade, playfully exploring the expectations of adulthood with raucous wit in one episode and the emptiness of influencers in the next, each new layer that was peeled back revealed a work as effortlessly funny as it was quietly revelatory.”
SEE Devery Jacobs interview: ‘Reservation Dogs’
Julia Glassman of The Mary Sue notes, “Like the best sitcoms, ‘Reservation Dogs’ finds humor in situations as quotidian as riding in a bumpy Uber or picking up glasses from the optometrist … As in previous seasons, ‘Reservation Dogs’ season 3 is a beautiful mix of mysticism and mundanity. William Knifeman (Dallas Goldtooth) returns in season 3, cheerfully catching us up on the events of season 2 and then bugging Bear as the hapless teen tries to find his way home. Deer Lady’s already intriguing and multi-layered character deepens even more. The show’s mystical elements create a landscape that shimmers with life, history, and spirit, and that makes it a thrilling world to visit in each episode.”
Brian Tallerico of The Playlist says, “That confidence in tone, character, and theme is what really places ‘Reservation Dogs’ on the top tier of comedy of its generation. It can swing wildly from silly jokes to emotional coming-of-age character beats, and somehow make the transition feel seamless. So many comedies are desperately eager to please—hitting jokes in a way that feels like they’re begging for laughs or manipulating viewers for emotional responses that haven’t been adequately earned. There’s not an ounce of that in ‘Reservation Dogs,’ a show that’s effortlessly funny, smart, and moving.”
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