Sterlin Harjo on The Lowdown
Editor’s note: This piece contains spoilers for The Lowdown.
Since the days of Bogie turning up his trench coat collar on the gritty streets of San Francisco, America has been captivated by film noir’s style, swagger, and dark mysteries. Over the past seven weeks, Sterlin Harjo’s The Lowdown has delivered many of these elements, along with the satisfying justice the genre promises, concluding its first season with a finale on November 4.
The latest FX series, co-created by the mind behind Reservation Dogs, follows Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke), an unconventional citizen journalist determined to expose Tulsa’s white-supremacist elite. In the season finale titled “The Sensitive Kind,” Lee casts light on the femme fatale Betty Jo Washberg (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and others involved. He also aids gubernatorial candidate Donald Washberg (Kyle MacLachlan) in confronting difficult realities.
- Washberg distances himself from his crypto-Nazi supporters.
- He returns stolen family land to the Osage Nation, righting a historical wrong.
The series offers a powerful and emotional depiction of bringing racist figures to justice while honoring Indigenous Oklahomans’ long-denied restoration. Though these outcomes may seem like a hopeful fantasy in today’s world, Harjo, himself a Tulsa resident, insists that true change is possible.
The writer-director shared with The A.V. Club that these stories can inspire real progress and healing.
Author’s summary: Sterlin Harjo’s The Lowdown merges classic noir style with urgent contemporary issues, highlighting justice for Indigenous communities and the fight against white supremacy in Tulsa.