Commentary: Funny, sad, smart and human: ‘Reservation Dogs’ was an ode to individualism and communal life

[This article contains spoilers for Season 3 of “Reservation Dogs,” including the finale.]

This week brings us to the end of FX on Hulu’s beautiful “Reservation Dogs,” a comedy about Native American life that is checking out on its own terms after three seasons. Its teenage protagonists — Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Elora Danan (Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis) and Cheese (Lane Factor) — drove the show, but it became increasingly the picture of a community in which “the elders,” sometimes unrespectable but always respected, counted for as much: a rare idea in American television.

Co-created and executive produced by Sterlin Harjo (a member of the Seminole nation with Muscogee ancestry) and Taika Waititi (Maori on his father’s side), it showcased not only brilliant