Warning: The following contains spoilers for Reservation Dogs Episode 1, "F*ckin' Rez Dogs," now streaming on FX on Hulu.
Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi's new series, Reservation Dogs, opens its premiere with fast-paced character-defining moments that go straight to the heart of life in its Indigenous community. Though everyone in the main cast gets an establishing moment before the pilot is over, Elora Danan's highlights reveal that she's pretty uncomfortable with the epic fantasy origins of her name. But the gags over George Lucas' Willow aren't just jokes at her expense. They're woven into the world she has to live in, and they foreshadow some of the themes she and her friends have to deal with.
Reservation Dogs begins with a heist. This entails four reservation kids, Bear, Elora Danan, Cheese and Willie Jack, hijacking a truck full of flamin' hot potato chips. It's a relatively smooth job, helped along by the local cop's obliviousness in favor of a JFK conspiracy video. The goal is to get the truck to Burglekutt's, a junkyard that moonlights as both meth factory and chop shop. Once inside, the kids introduce themselves to the junkyard's erudite overlord, Kennyboy, who's excited to meet Elora Danan. He's a big fan of the movie, and shares some trivia about the twin babies that portrayed Willow's princess. It's not long after that the reservation's own infamous near-twins arrive on the scene, furthering the gag and setting the show's themes of identity into motion.
In 1998's Willow, the Nelwyn Burglekutt was an odious presence in Willow Ufgood's life. Rude enough towards the naïve would-be sorcerer to count as the neighborhood nemesis, Burglekutt was also the village's mayor. Here, the joke is also a sign that the rez's real Elora Danan might not be too comfortable with the junkyard's realities, as its film counterpart was man than happy to leave her in the lurch. But Kennyboy is more polite that the Nelwyn mayor, and his trivia is accurate.
What's stranger than the deep-cut Burglekutt reference are the pair that loop in and out of the scene for the rest of the episode. Mose and Mekko aren't identical twins, and their actors, Lil Mike and Funny Bone, aren't little people by definition. They're standout personalities in the tight-knit neighborhood, and at first glance one might see a little bit of Warwick Davis in them. They're actually closer in nature to Willow's Brownies, Franjean and Rool. They're eccentric but sharp, aware of everything that goes on in their small town, and raucously, sometimes inappropriately funny. They're the town's Greek chorus, and it's them who ultimately name this ragtag quad of friends the Reservation Dogs.
But for Elora Danan, the running gag also serves a purpose. Willow was about a quest for identity, and there were some surprisingly dark ruminations about destiny inside Lucas' epic story. The Reservation Dogs are going through something similar. Elora Danan is tough enough to lead when the going gets tough, but she's also there to support her friends when it matters. Still grieving the loss of a fifth friend, Daniel, the four turned to crime to find a way out of town. Elora's been comfortable taking point in those crimes, and it was her behind the wheel of the stolen snack truck.
When Bear undergoes a crisis of conscience, it's Elora Danan who's the first to back him up after some emotional turmoil. She's willing to help him turn their petty crimes into vigilante justice, a way of taking back the spirit of their town. It's the start of a hero's journey for each member of the team, and for her especially, it's a reminder that being a good person matters, even when it hurts.
Created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, Reservation Dogs airs Mondays on FX on Hulu.