‘The Lowdown’ Finale: Creator Sterlin Harjo Breaks Down Lee’s Choices and How Robert Plant Inspired a Key Scene

[This story contains spoilers for “The Sensitive Kind,” the season finale of The Lowdown on FX.]

A lot of dark things have happened over the course of The Lowdown, including a host of murders; a man being literally tarred and feathered by a white supremacist cabal; and the death of an elderly Native man (played by Graham Greene) that series protagonist Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) inadvertently caused. That’s all in keeping with the kinds of noir stories that influenced creator Sterlin Harjo.

The season finale of the FX series, however, breaks from the often despairing endings of many noir tales by giving the good guys some victories — albeit at a cost. After doggedly investigating the shady dealings of Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate Donald Washberg (Kyle MacLachlan) and the death of Donald’s brother Dale (TIm Blake Nelson), Lee prepares one final exposé about how Dale really died.

But after laying out the tale to Donald, he pivots, making a deal with Donald…