'Reservation Dogs' Recap: Season 1 Episode 2

Misfortune begins the second episode of Reservation Dogs as the NDN mafia round-up Bear and knocks him out cold. William, the spirit warrior, visits him in his unconscious state, warns him again about running away to leave his people behind, and then reminds him to go to the clinic to get his nose checked.

As he reaches there he sees Elora and Willie Jack selling meat pies, the plan to leave for Califonia is still in motion. Bear tells them about getting jumped by the NDN mafia and, repeating what William had told him, tells the girls that he had returned some good punches before being knocked out. 

Sadly for Bear, Danny Bighead, one of the people in the streets had seen Bear being knocked down and eventually tells Elora that Bear cried like a baby. When Elora brings this up to Bear afterward, he quips that it is tough being a leader, because people lie about you, a remark which causes Elora and Willie Jack to sneer laughingly at him. 

Most of the episode takes place in the clinic where Bear meets the nonchalant counter clerk, whom he reminds his mom works here. Rita, Bear's mom, who apparently is raising Bear alone since his rapper father is not always around, is a target of many crushes, a list which includes Big the policeman, and the only clinic doctor, Kang.

Cheese also is at the clinic, lurking around for some candy, instead, he is set up for an eye treatment by an optometry nurse as only patients are allowed to take candy. He feigns having difficulty reading off the eye chart in the office and is thus scheduled for an eye exam. Doctor Kang ultimately examines Cheese and opts to have his eyes dilated to the protest of Cheese.

Elora has some stomach pain, so she goes into the clinic to report, but she has a hard time with the counter clerk who is unwilling to admit her. Bear, on the other hand, goes on to the soda machine where he meets Big who tells him that Soda has sugar and was invented to kill the natives, the white man's poison he calls it. 

The natives, just like Big, are, notorious for his superstitious beliefs; Old Fixco, the man who is selling herbs close to Elora and Willie Jack,  had also warned that those who came to the clinic on Mondays could be cursed into turning into a White Man.

When Big spots Cheese eating Flaming Flamers chips,  he asks him where he got it, Mose and Mekko appear from nowhere to the rescue, with Mose covering up for Cheese saying it was him who bought for Cheese.

Cheese returns to the hospital, where he sees an old woman who calls out to him, thinking it's her grandson. Cheese is happy to play along, listening as she voices her desperation to go home.

While Bear waits to be called into admission, Elora goes in before him, so he uses this opportunity to visit Willie Jack's dad, Leon, at his auto shop, where he sees a picture of the four teens including Daniel. Leon tells him to keep it. He asks Leon to tell him any fighting tips, repeating that he had been jumped by the NDN mafia but he got some good punches in regardless. Leon says not to block with his face.

In the clinic, Elora is being examined for stomach aches by Dr. Kang. After examination, Dr. Kang nonchalantly says it is what she has been ingesting and Elora says she has been eating a large number of chips per day. Dr. Kang advises against it and prescribes soup and bread for her pain.

Bear goes in to see the same doctor his friends have been seeing who he mistakes for Chinese and pleads not to tell his mom that he was in the hospital after being in a fight with a gang. Meanwhile, Doctor Kang corrects him about his origins, he is from San Diego, originally Korean. 

After prescribing ibuprofen for him, the doctor, who had wanted to know from Bear about Rita's husband, uses the fact that the son had come to the hospital to start a conversation with his mom, Rita, but she hardly seems interested. In their conversation, Dr. Kang let's skip that her son was beaten by a gang.

Coincidentally, the NDN mafia who had been circling the clinic return this time for a face-off with the Reservation Dogs. They start threatening and intimidating one another gearing up for a massive fight but Rita rushes out of the hospital to separate them. Big also arrives at the scene and warns them all to leave.

Dr. Kang, an odd man for a doctor, closes the scene, as he eats a bag of Flaming Flamer's chips while smoking. Cheese takes the woman who mistakes him for her grandson outside in a wheelchair to enjoy the growing dusk.