Elora's Dad

**Elora's Dad** is the ninth episode of the third season and 27th episode overall of *Reservation Dogs*.

## Plot

Cheese, Bear, Jackie, and Willie Jack walk through a college. Bear sees a woman pass and comments on how hot she is. Cheese asks if he's considering going to college now, but Willie Jack reminds him he has to be smart to do that and besides that, you come to learn not to snag. Jackie says she'd go on a snagging spree if she went to college. They find Elora, who is flying out her paperwork. The secretary sees them and asks if they have an appointment. Elora says they're there with her, for moral support. The secretary says they can't go in with her.

Elora notices a photograph of several barely-dressed men on Debbie's desk. Debbie moves it, saying it was aunties' night out and wasn't supposed to be there. She reviews Elora's paperwork, which says she dropped out of high school. She says she was in a different place. Debbie tells her college is harder than high school. She's going to have to study. She asks what Elora wants to major in. Elora thinks maybe mental health. Debbie asks her about being a scientist or tribal leader, but that doesn't interest Elora. Debbie says the first semester will be a lot of fun, so she should start with the basics so she can pull in the As. They all know she'll be partying and snagging. Debbie was the same way. And there are no scholarships left. There's still financial aid available. Debbie sees that Elora's mom has passed, so they need her father's financial information. Elora says she doesn't have a dad, but Debbie doesn't believe her. Elora clarifies that she doesn't know him and has never lived with him. Debbie points out that he's on her birth certificate. Elora doesn't know how to get the information. Debbie says she needs to do it, but Elora doesn't know where to start. Debbie suggests Google. She doesn't know her daddy either, but she knows everything about him.

Elora leaves with the others. She told them what Debbie told her. In order for her to get money, she has to get information from the dad she doesn't know to prove he doesn't have money either. Willie Jack wants to go look for him, but Elora finds that awkward. It's just a business transaction, but Bear says she could have a relationship with him like he has with his dad. Elora asks to borrow Willie Jack's mom's car for the next day. Jackie asks Elora if she wants them to go with her, but she thinks she needs to do it alone.

Rick Miller grabs two cans of spray paint and takes them to the counter, where the clerk rings him up. From nearby, Elora watches him pay and leave. A worker sees her and asks if he can help her. She says no and watches Rick pull out of the lot.

Elora follows Rick to a dispensary. She texts the Rez Dogs that her dad is a stoner, but admits she hasn't actually met him yet. She hides when he comes out of the store, then prepares to follow him again.

Rick smokes as he drives. He notices Elora following him and pulls off into a gas station, where he gets out and confronts her. She threatens him with a knife, but he just asks who she is. He has her look at him and he realizes who she is as soon as he sees her face.

Rick and Elora are at a diner. The waitress asks if she can get them something to drink. They both order coffee. Rick says he comes there sometimes in the mornings and they have great breakfast if she's hungry. She says she had chips. He tells her she looks exactly like her mother, which she's heard her whole life. He says he looked her up once on the internet. He was curious and wasn't sure if he'd ever meet her in person. He's glad she came to find him, but she says she's not looking for a dad. She only found out he existed last week. She just needs some financial information. Rick watches Elora pour sugar into her coffee and says she gets that from him. He loves sugar, but she says everyone does. He says he's thought about meeting her a lot and thought he'd have a lot to say, but he's just nervous. He would like to get to know her though, but she's not sure that's the best idea. He asks if she knows he named her. It's from the movie *Willow*, but she knows that. He was a bit of a movie nerd. Elora pulls out the paperwork and shows him what he needs to fill out. He thinks it's great that she's going to college. He never went. She asks what he does and he tells her he paints houses. He feels like he should tell her he's sorry that he was never there for her. He was young, but she says he doesn't have to do any of that. She's grown. There was a time she wished she'd had a dad, but she had a lot of people looking out for her and now all she needs from him fits on that paper. He asks her for a pen, but she doesn't have one, so she goes to get one from the counter. He fills out the paperwork and hands it back to her. She says they might need him to email some things. She gets up to leave and he says it was really nice to see her again. He says his number is on the paper so they can keep in touch, but she just walks out. After a moment, he leaves as well.

Outside, Rick says he has something he wants to give Elora, but it's at his house. She can follow him there. It'll be quick. She reluctantly agrees.

Rick shows Elora his house and tells her she has siblings. She asks if they're there and he says no, they're at school. He leads her inside and offers her coffee. She asks how many kids he has and he tells her three: Megan, Marty, and Ally. Ally is the oldest and she's twelve. Megan, the youngest, is seven. Their mom is struggling with opiate addiction. They separated a few years ago and he got custody, but she's in treatment now and they hope she can stay clean because the kids miss her. She asks if he's fully white and he says yes. He did a genetic test and he's 99% European and 1% unknown, but they come from a long line of Quakers. He asks her to wait while he digs out the thing he has for her.

Rick searches his room while Elora waits. She looks around at the pictures and artifacts of the children.

Rick finally finds a stack of pictures and finds the one he's looking for.

Rick shows Elora a picture of her with her mom on her first birthday. She doesn't have any pictures of herself as a baby and he says he might have a few more somewhere. Cookie really loved Elora. Elora asks when the last time he saw her was. He says her first birthday party. He and Cookie had been off and on all year. She invited him to Elora's party and he thought they were getting back together, but they weren't. For a long time, he blamed Cookie and then he blamed Mabel, but it's his own fault. He was too messed up. He wasn't ready and he has a habit of running when things get hard or he did. Elora realizes that's where she got that habit. Rick says that's what he wanted to show her and she thanks him. He says she can keep it. She sees him check his watch and goes to leave, but he says he just needs to get his kids off the bus in a few minutes. He invites her to go with him, saying they would love to meet her. They don't have to tell them anything. When she resists, he backs off, but then she says fine. She doesn't have anywhere to be anyway.

Rick offers Elora a joint and realizes he probably shouldn't after she declines. He asks if the car she's driving is hers and she tells him it's borrowed. He says he has a pickup for sale if she's got some extra cash. She asks how he met her mom. He says they were friends. He doesn't really remember the first moment he met her They partied together and ran with the same crowd. Elora assumes she wasn't planned and she's right. They were only together about four months when Cookie told him she was pregnant. They weren't great together. He was crazy about Cookie, but too crazy. They fought all the time and they were so young. They had no business having a baby. It's not an excuse. He realizes he should have tried harder. With his other kids, he has a second chance to be a better father. He stumbles over his words as he tries to explain himself. She asks why he didn't try to stick around. He says he did for a while. It's still pretty messed up to leave a kid. He says he could offer a hundred reasons, but it doesn't matter. He's not perfect. She says he doesn't have to be perfect. He says he has these new kids and he's always known about Elora. He just doesn't understand why he didn't knock on her door like she did. He could have done it a lot earlier and now it seems stupid and weak. They arrive at the stop. Elroy says that's life. You messed up and try to fix it or not make the same mistake again. He asks if he can ask her some things and she says yes. He asks what her favorite subject in school is and she tells him she dropped out, like him. He asks if she plays any sports and she says she used to play basketball, but quit that too. He asks if Bobson was her coach. Bobson can't even play basketball, but Elora says their team was pretty good anyway. She says she was the point guard. She got some points then cussed Bobson out and quit. He asks where Elora's staying and she says at her grandma's. She got the house when Mabel passed. Rick didn't know she passed. He says he also didn't want to take her away from her family and her people. Also, he was a coward. Elora tells him that's a cop-out. He says he called after Cookie died to see if he could come over, but Mabel didn't want him to and he decided to honor that. He didn't even go to the funeral. He just sat at home and cried. Elora asks if he was relieved not to have to raise a kid. He says no, but then admits that he was. Then he got to mess around for a decade. It wasn't worth it. Elora says she looks nothing like him and he agrees. The bus arrives, cutting Rick off. Rick introduces Elora to Megan, Ally, and Marty as their sister. Megan's excited to have another sister and invites her to eat pizza with them because it's pizza Friday. He says Elora has some people she has to meet, but she'll be walking back to the house with them. As they walk, Elora decides she'll join them for pizza.

As they eat pizza, Rick asks Elora for the Muskogee expression for, "Let's eat," and she tells him. Elora plays a game with Megan.

After dinner, Ally asks if Elora will come back and visit. She promises she will. She'll probably go to school nearby, so she'll be by a lot. Rick thanks her for hanging out and she says she had fun. She thanks him. He asks if it's cool if they hug and she says yeah. They hug awkwardly and part ways.

In the car, Elora looks at the picture Rick gave her and puts it on the visor.

## Cast

### Starring

* Devery Jacobs as Elora Danan Postoak
* D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear Smallhill
* Lane Factor as Cheese Williams
* Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack Sampson

### Guest Starring

* Ethan Hawke as Rick Miller
* Elva Guerra as Jackie

### Co-Starring

* John Parker as Debbie
* Ava Hopper as Ally
* Charlotte Jackson as Megan
* Grayson Oosahwe as Secretary
* Arianne Martin as Waitress
* Steve Mokate as Clerk
* Bronnson Harjo as Worker