The Politician
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Payton lies in a hospital bed, dying.
Inside him are two tiny pellets, shining somewhere under the muck.
They are shutting down his organs.
Above him, his mother is terrified, defending the work her personal healer is doing.
Theyre just some shiny stones.
They are harmless, unless you assume theyre all thats necessary for his recovery.
And thats not her assumption.
But its possible, she says.
Hes a very divisive figure.
In The Assassination of Payton Hobart: Part II, he certainly is.
But being a divisive figure means people split to different sides.
Alice draws back her hand.
Skye, who for sure poisoned him, couldnt be more thrilled to be president.
You dont like those parts of me, and I dont either, he unloads on the principal.
But that might be what Im stuck with, so that might just be who I am.
Much of this first season, including those gorgeous credits, has concerned Paytons two selves.
Theres the person hes building, and the person hiding inside.
Peyton doesnt seem to like either of them.
But theres another split in him, made clear by that last line.
First, theres River.
(Welcome back, David Corenswet!
You were missed!)
In a too-brief scene, River (and writers Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk) get a lot accomplished.
There just wasnt enough positive emotion to balance me out.
And thats all she wrote.
Then Dustys telling tales on Payton.
It isnt actually everyone, though.
This is a great little scene, with Rahne Jones and Laura Dreyfuss both doing solid, subtle work.
For a penultimate episode, this hour sure does feel like a finale.
She leaves Payton with advice that can best be summed up as be a person, starting now.
He cries as she leaves, and the most interesting moment in that cry is the moment it stops.
Its not stifled or shoved down.
It just gently survives, still living with him.
That scene made me wonder if the title sequences seemingly inexplicable music choice makes some sense after all.
Sure, all things grow, but the real power of that song isnt the lyrics.
Costume of the episode:January Joness all-white sweater ensemble is great.
