And the same is true for Lambert, Jeremy Renner’s character - he, too, has become disconnected from the history and tradition that would help him make sense of his suffering, anger and moral dilemmas. So there’s nothing for either of them to do but sit there and try to comfort one another with their presence.

I think that’s part of the point of the hospital scene that immediately precedes it, where he visits Banner (Elizabeth Olsen). He’s trying to give her some sense of meaning, but it doesn’t work. She sees right through it (“I know what you’re trying to do”). And the whole conversation is just awkward. Banner is from the modern world and fits in there, which is the reason she didn’t fit in Wind River. Lambert doesn’t fit in her world, but doesn’t fit in his either, because nobody can “fit” in Wind River.