Thursday, July 23, 2020

What I’m Watching: The Politician (Season Finale)


The Politician: Season 2, Episode 7 “Election Day” (B+)

Overall, this episode was entertaining and very watchable, but I’m still frustrated that it seemed to rush things in a big way as this season ended after just seven episodes. This show has a lot to offer and there really isn’t time to address all of it, and so I suppose there’s no reason that seven episodes was any less fitting than the twenty-two it could have produced. We could have spent at least an episode on the convent-like farm where Astrid and Alice were preparing to have their babies, but instead they decided to leave after mere moments of us seeing them there. I like that Hadassah and Dede ran into Payton playing piano and singing and they had a moment of true bonding, putting aside their differences and complimenting each other on the attributes they really admired. Dede’s decision to concede right before the legendary rock paper scissors tournament wasn’t all that surprising given the way that she was looking at the young candidate, and it allowed her to go out with grace and enthusiastically endorse her successor. Becoming the vice-presidential candidate on Georgina’s ticket rather than Tino’s was a bit less expected, and their FaceTime conversation felt like the type of filmmaking that we’ll see plenty of once shows return without being able to fully feature in-person production. Like last year, this show skipped some time to introduce an entirely new storyline for a theoretical season three that has yet to be commissioned. Payton having achieved a good deal but feeling unmotivated for the next big campaign was a great setup for Dede coming to him and telling him that they want to change the rules so that he can run as her vice-presidential pick. I really am a fan of this show even if it’s a bit too eccentric for its own good, and I’d be happy to watch more of these wild and often scattered antics.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Judith Light as Dede

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