The Politician
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Welcome, friends, to the age of Ryan Murphys Netflix.
Or Netflixs Ryan Murphy.
(That is not a complaint.)
More money, more time, more liberty.
And more people who say, Yes, that totally works, thats brilliant, even when it isnt.
And some were wrong.
Maybe thats an unfair comparison.
Maybe his answers were perfect, but he got creamed, because theres no beating authenticity.
And as Paytons equally disastrous Harvard admissions interview makes clear, he doesnt do authentic well.
(Now taking bets on whether Payton pulls a kick like that by seasons end.)
River has two selves too, it seems, although its not the same.
He is himself and the person everyone else imagines him to be.
ButThe Politicianis a comedy, right?
Thats what the warning up front says.
And Gwyneth Paltrow seems to be playing a parody of Gwyneth Paltrow.
Shes so well cast here!
The casual use of staff!
Oh, and a driver.
Paltrows Georgina is ludicrous but also human, but there doesnt seem to be a division there.
The fact that such a scene works at all is an accomplishment.
But its also whereThe Politiciangrows even more confusing.
Can River understand Payton instantly?
Can he reduce him to tears in moments?
Is Astrid the worlds most accomplished library-teleporter?
The people are heightened throughout.
So is the world they inhabit, which Murphy shoots like Wes Anderson filming a season ofReal Housewives.
Yet the flashbacks are a step beyond.
Thats the tear that changed an election.
Hes fake, fake, fake.
Shes right, he replies, something he tried to confess to his mother earlier.
Hes fake, but Infinity is real, and so was River, and then he shatters.
Thats the other contrast that this episode hinges on.
That devastation is real.
But so is his composed walk to the car, and his simple declaration that Infinity is onboard.
Except maybe shes faking it, too.
I said no, if they were brothers theyd be hot twins.
Then the hot twins showed up.
Someone send me a medal.
Which came first, the name River or the choice of song?
I am, to be quite honest, guessing the latter.
Well, your father and I bought their way in.
