Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Trickster’ On The CW, About An Indigenous Teen Who Finds His Hometown Is Also Home To Spirits

One of the more distinctive aspects of Trickster, which debuted on the CBC in 2020 and based on a book by Eden Robinson, is that it’s an Indigenous-centric series that was co-created by Michelle Latimer, who is also of Indigenous descent (at least that’s what she claimed). Most of the actors are also of Indigenous descent. It’s the story of a teenager figuring out that spirits inhabit his tiny Canadian town, as well as people in his immediate family. Read on for more.

TRICKSTER: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We hear a baby crying as we see the shot of the woods at night. A mysterious man is holding the baby, and a woman is chasing after him.

The Gist: The man holding the baby changes his eyes in some sort of fashion that makes him seem like a spirit, and he tries to slow her down. But she comes up with a scream that knocks him down and makes him start bleeding out of his mouth. She takes her baby back into her arms.

Seventeen years later, that baby, Jared (Joel Oulette), is in a cabin making pink Ecstacy pills. He’s not doing the side business for kicks, though; he deals the “extra-salty fries” out of the drive-thru window of the chicken joint where he works because he needs the money to support his highly irresponsible parents.

His mother Maggie (Crystle Lightning) is a drunk, who self-medicates because she talks to things and people that aren’t there. She also owes a local tattooed bookie named Richie (Joel Thomas Hynes) a few thousand dollars, which prompts Richie to sic his pit bull “Baby Killer” after Jared after school one day; Maggie runs the dog over to save her son. On the other hand, his father Phil (Craig Lauzon) has no job and no prospects, just having gotten sober from an oxy addiction. Oh, and he just found out that his very young girlfriend is pregnant. The money from the Ecstacy sales supports both parents.

While he’s trying to navigate these two nightmares, Jared is seeing visions, like when he gets knocked out in his drug-making shack and all of his supply and money are stolen, the person doing it looks like him. He sees a mysterious man named Wade (Kalani Queypo), who then disappears and turns into a crow. Then Jared gets drunk at a party and sees a double of him once again. He thinks he’s nuts but there’s other stuff going on that he has yet to figure out.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Trickster feels like many other “mysterious small town” shows, from Twin Peaks to Eerie, Indiana, but in Canada.

Our Take: Despite the fact that Trickster is made by and stars people of Indigenous descent, there isn’t anything particularly revolutionary about the characters or the story on the show, but at least it’s Indigenous people telling an Indigenous story. That by itself should be hailed.

We’re wondering how the spiritual end of Jared’s story will play out. Is he going to figure out that his mother has some strong powers? And just who is this Wade character, who can shape shift at will? In the flashback to Jared’s birth, we Wade is the one who’s carrying baby Jared from Maggie, and he’s the one who supposedly dies after Maggie screams. But it seems that “Wade” is just the human shape this spirit takes when it needs to communicate with flesh-and-bone types. When Jared finds out about this will he be able to channel powers of his own?

The other question is how Maggie fits into this. Her “powers” make her look like she’s schizophrenic, and she self-medicates with booze and random sex (she makes a deal with Richie to forgive her debt with sex and an insurance fraud deal after they burned his trailer down). Is she aware of her abilities and just can’t handle them? Or will she and the son she’s so dedicated to team up?

We’re pretty sure that legends of whichever Indigenous tribe that Latimer and co-creator Tony Elliott decide inhabit this section of British Columbia will come to the fore, but for now the show is about a teenager who has to be the adult in his very dysfunctional family. In a lot of ways, the first episode was awfully grim, with Jared going from one situation to another that just seemed hopeless. Is this a commentary on what Indigenous people face or just a story about spirits and powers? We’re leaning towards the latter, which could be fun but nothing that makes the show stand out.

Sex and Skin: All implied, nothing shown.

Parting Shot: Jared sees the talking crow and runs as fast as he can. The crow laughs, and we see him flying over the town, likely in pursuit of Jared.

Sleeper Star: Nathan Alexis plays Crashpad, who is Jared’s best friend and has enough gaming stock (weapons, etc.) saved up to help bail Jared and Maggie out of their predicament with Richie. We liked how he wasn’t your typical cringing dork, and stood up to both Jared and classmates who likely hate him just because he’s overweight.

Most Pilot-y Line: Jared sees his new neighbor Sara (Anna Lambe) taking out rotting moose meat, and sees sparks fly from her. He nervously asks the purple-haired Sarah, a foster kid who’s been around, “Wasn’t your hair pink?” She replies: “It used to be. Life comes at you fast.” Not quite sure what that has to do with her hair color.

Our Call: STREAM IT. We’ll give Trickster points for having a mostly Indigenous cast and writing staff. But the show itself has to become a bit less bleak for us to want to keep watching.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream Trickster On CWTV.com