In the beginning of “Frankfurter Sandwich,” something really interesting happens. Cheese’s adoptive grandmother Irene encourages him to go out and spend time with Elora and the others, and she calls him “Chebon.” This nickname was used by Maximus when he was called that in “House Made of Bongs.” We learned in that story that Maximus and Irene were part of the same group of friends when they were teenagers. But “Chebon” is also a term from Indigenous slang. It can mean “man,” or it can be used to say someone is a young man who is acting immature or foolish.
As the episode goes on, it becomes clear that Irene didn’t use the term by accident. Irene, Bucky, and Brownie all have Maximus on their minds as they see Cheese distancing himself from the other Rez Dogs. This is the start of what Bucky calls “Operation: Nephew Rescue.” The two older male members of the group and Big(*) convince Cheese to join them on a camping and fishing trip in the woods.
Even though Zahn McClarnon can portray various ages within a 20-25 year range, he’s actually younger than Wes Studi and Gary Farmer. In Season One’s “Come and Get Your Love,” he was shown as a pre-teen in the mid-Eighties. Despite not having a known personal connection to Maximus, he probably joins in because he cares about Cheese. Also, since there aren’t many older male role models on the reservation, he might feel a responsibility. (That’s if you consider Big to be one.)
What comes next is a mix of silliness and heartwarming moments. Every culture has stories about wise people who sometimes act quite silly, and that’s exactly what happens here. Brownie gives a thoughtful speech about the special land they’re camping on, but then follows it with a loud fart. Bucky, on the other hand, starts talking about quantum physics in a way that he understands, but it confuses Cheese. Meanwhile, Big, when he’s not making himself sick from his super spicy homemade sauce against Bucky’s advice, talks about Bigfoot(*). Despite the funny moments, there’s a deep emotional truth in this story that even Cheese grasps: “Sometimes, we need to cry, even if we don’t know it.”
(*) This sets up another funny scene during the credits (similar to Big and Bev’s flirtation in “Friday”), where we see two real Bigfoots peeing in the woods, one of them trying to start a sword fight like Cheese did earlier.
As the episode goes on, the things that are hinted at become clear. Cheese uses a ritual he learned from the group home last season to get his three companions to open up. Big sheds tears over a lost friend, and Brownie mentions Maximus by name. Brownie acknowledges how he, Irene, and others failed Maximus almost 50 years ago.
“His name was Maximus,” Brownie explains, “and your grandma noticed you were becoming distant, like he did. Something happened. We didn’t believe him. He needed us, but we turned away from him.” Soon, all the grown-up men start crying, in a way that’s both silly and touching. This moves Cheese to invite his friends to join them in watching the sunset.
This episode is both wonderful and unexpected. When Maximus first showed up, it seemed like he was just a character for that moment. However, about half of this final season has somehow been connected to him. Maybe now that the kids have dealt with their feelings about Daniel’s loss, the plan for this last part of the story is to show a stronger connection between past generations and the current one we’re following. Or perhaps the writers simply grew fond of Maximus after his initial appearance and couldn’t resist bringing him back. Whatever the reason, it’s hard to be unhappy when the episodes centered around him have been this fantastic.
Source: Rolling Stone