Open Season

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, death, and animal cruelty and death.

Joe’s greatest internal turmoil stems from the pressure to conform to expectations in both his professional and personal life. In his career as a game warden, Joe understands that the townsfolk expect him to behave exactly like his predecessor Vern Dunnegan, and when he doesn’t, he faces hostility and backlash. For example, when Joe writes Ote a ticket for poaching three prize bucks in the hunting off-season, Ote complains that Vern would never ticket him for this kind of offense. Ote declares, “These critters won’t be missed by anyone. That herd ran nearly thirty. Vern Dunnegan wouldn’t have pulled this shit” (6). The Saddlestring locals are used to Vern’s more lenient approach to rules and regulations, so Joe’s by-the-book adherence to the law shocks and upsets them. Joe takes his job very seriously, so he resents Vern’s lingering influence over Twelve Sleep County. It undermines Joe’s authority and makes his job more challenging. The pushback Joe receives for simply doing his job adds emotional strain to an already challenging role, compounded by the already heavy workload Vern left behind.