Election

**Election** is the eighth and final episode of the second season and the 18th overall episode of **Rutherford Falls**.

## Short Summary

Everyone waits to see who will become mayor of Rutherford Falls. Reagan meets with the Land Council.

## Full Summary

Terry and Roy cut the ribbon at the grand opening of "Dank You Very Much." Nearby, Feather leads a group of protestors.

Bobbie speaks to a group of potential voters.

Nelson and Reagan cuddle on the couch and watch something.

Deirdre gets an ultrasound. Nathan is so excited, he hugs the doctor.

Nathan shows Reagan the ultrasound and brags about how cute the baby is. After the election, his focus will be all on Deirdre and the baby. They've been getting along really well. Deirdre calls him and tells him she tried securing Peggy as her doula, but she's booked. She asks Nathan to do something because they're friends. He agrees to do it, but has to ask her who Peggy is. She says Peggy is Ms. Fish. Nathan had no idea Ms. Fish was a doula. Nathan says Reagan has to go with him because he's not safe alone with her. Reagan says she has to do land stuff, so she can't come. She offers him pepper spray, which he might need.

Bobbie practices for the debate. When they say, "Um," Terry rings a bell and says that was three "ums," six "likes," and four "mms." Nathan wonders if this is really the best way to prepare for a debate, but Terry says this process is how he mastered public speaking. Bobbie's okay with it, because they know Feather will pull out all the stops for the debate. To aid in the debate, Terry's made a list of Feather's mistakes to hit her with. They list a few minor things, which Bobbie doesn't think will be enough.

Reagan sings happily about her new land. She talks to Nelson about how excited she is for them to fight over where things go in the house. Nelson has looked over her application and says it's spotless. They're going to get the land and it'll be great. Nelson then says they need to talk. There's an elder back home, Bonnie Hopkins, one of their last fluent speakers, and she's really sick. They want to record her and do some interviews, but Bonnie only wants to speak to Nelson. He wants to be at the appointment with her, but she says he should go. He promises it'll only be a couple days. If it helps, he'll bring back the best bison jerky she's ever had. She tells him not to overpromise.

Nathan meets Ms. Fish in the gazebo. She says she gave the kids a pop quiz and the last question makes no sense, so they have time. She left Devony in charge because she's the tallest. Nathan says he was surprised to find out she was a doula and it would mean a lot to Deirdre if she could do it. Ms. Fish says she was worried it would be a conflict of interest. Nathan hopes she'll reconsider. Ms. Fish says if she agrees to it, he has to agree not to keep coming onto her. He says that won't be a problem. On the camera, Ms. Fish sees that the kids are turning on Devony and tells Corey to put the scissors down and someone else to start Monsters University on her laptop. Nathan says she should probably get back, but she says it's an hour and 44 minutes, so they have time to hang. He more insistently tells her to go back.

Reagan meets with the council members, including Rayanne. She's surprised there are only three of them. Rayanne introduces Reagan to Mervin Rose, the Land Committee Chair and he'll review her application. Mervin asks about Reagan's mom, who gave him a bad perm in 1988. Her dad is also an old fishing buddy, who once put a hook through Mervin's cheek. Mervin doesn't know Nelson. Rayanne says he's Dakota, really traditional, and Mervin would like him. Mervin didn't know Reagan was married. Reagan struggles to explain that, so Rayanne says they're on their way. Mervin stamps Reagan's paper and says the land is hers. She thanks him and leaves.

Bobbie finishes a statement at the debate. Frank, the moderator, says those are great ideas. He gives Feather two minutes to respond and she says she's taking four. She says she and Bobbie have a lot in common, but unlike Bobbie, she's not someone's puppet. She believes Bobbie is being completely controlled by Terry. She's not sure Bobbie even knows they're pushing the agenda of a weed smoking, gambling obsessed reptile. She yields the rest of her time. Terry tries to coach Bobbie from the sidelines, but Nathan points out that doesn't look good. Bobbie says they're not the most traditional choice for mayor, but Bobbie has nothing to hide, unlike Feather Day, who has been trying to hide the crimes of her out-of-control daughter since Halloween. Her daughter vandalized the Big Larry statue and they have the pictures to prove it. Frank verifies that it's Emma Day in the pictures. Next to her is Jimmy Thomas, Terry's son. Would Bobbie say that if they were Terry's puppet?

Terry is very angry at Bobbie, but also has a lot of respect for them. Bobbie says those pics will get them elected. Terry says it could also get Jimmy suspended or even arrested. Bobbie knew that and that's why they didn't tell Terry. Nathan tries to mediate between the two of them. Bobbie reminds Terry that he told them to be ruthless, which is exactly what they did. Terry hopes Bobbie has made the right play because voting starts tomorrow.

Sally and Wayne come into the cultural center. Sally has brought Reagan some Mountain Dew, but it's in her car. Sally heard Reagan got land. Sally's applied a bunch of times and she's wondering how Reagan did it. Reagan says she filled out a lot of forms, was persistent, and may have led them to believe she was married to Nelson. Sally asks if she just has to parade a man around to get land. Reagan says Rayanne also helped her a lot and she's sure Rayanne would help Sally too. Wayne is also willing to sleep with Rayanne to help.

Deirdre explains some things to Ms. Fish as they go over Deirdre's paperwork. Nathan joins them, a little late. When Deirdre explains that she's having pain in her wrists, Ms. Fish suggests a remedy and offers Deirdre a massage. It immediately feels better. Ms. Fish asks how Nathan is feeling about all this. He's in this with her. Nathan says it's been a while since anyone asked how he's feeling. He's nervous and excited. He starts crying, so Ms. Fish asks him to dig deeper. Nathan says he's also afraid he'll be a bad dad. He never knew his biological father and he's worried it'll affect his parenting his child. Deirdre assures him he'll be a great father. Ms. Fish encourages him to let it all out.

Rayanne meets with Reagan and Sally. Reagan explains that Sally wants some land, but she's not married and has no children, both by choice. Rayanne says she can't help with that. She tells them to take it up with the US government, as they're the ones that downsized their territories and made them fight for the scraps. Sally says she'd kill for a scrap. Rayanne knows a lot of people are in their same position. She didn't get land herself until she got married. That's just the way it is. Reagan points out that they're a matrilineal tribe, so it shouldn't take a man and kids to get land. Rayanne tells Reagan she could give Sally her land. Reagan hates that her brother gets land passed down to him, but for folks like Sally, it's impossible. Reagan thinks there must be a better solution for this. Rayanne asks if Reagan is going to buy her lunch and Reagan says yes.

Nathan brings Deirdre the tea Ms. Fish recommended, which he says sounds yummy, but has no taste or smell. Deirdre trusts Ms. Fish anyway. Nathan does as well, which surprises him. Deirdre appreciates everything Nathan has done, including getting Ms. Fish to take her on. Nathan says he'd do anything for her and the baby. He finds the whole situation mind-blowing. Bobbie comes to get Nathan. Deirdre says she was heading home anyway, so Nathan goes with them, saying tomorrow he's all hers. Once he's gone, Frank approaches and asks if Deirdre wants Nathan to be all hers. Deirdre says they're not together. Frank points out that they could be. Deirdre says it's complicated.

Reagan explains to Terry how special getting land made her feel. But she's not special. She just made them believe she fit all their requirements. She thinks every tribal member should be eligible for land regardless of marital status or kids because it's alway been like this. Minishonka didn't have nuclear family units. They were communal until colonization forced them to live like settlers. Reagan wants to change that. She shows him the model she made for Singles Sanctuary. He doesn't like the name, so she changes it to Turtle Island Towers, which he also nixes. She gives up choosing a name and just says it's Indigenous communal living 200 years in the making. She's willing to use her plot of land as a testing ground, but she needs the money to build ten tiny homes there for singles of all kinds. They'll all cohabitate and support each other. Terry's upset that Feather has tarnished his reputation. Something like this could help him get it back. It's a tremendous undertaking. She'll have to convince council members to change policies they fought for and develop a placement system and a contingency plan. It'll be a lot of work, but he thinks she's more than up for the task. He asks her to type up a proposal and they'll present it to council together.

Diane Gallego says that with 54% of the votes, Bobbie Yang is the mayor. Everyone at the party cheers. Bobbie gets up to give a speech. They thank their team, including Nathan and Terry. And there mother, Jamie.

Feather congratulates Terry on the win. Terry's amazed she didn't try to challenge the results of the election. Feather already has some new things in the works, including a book deal. She'll profit heavily off this and the best part is that she doesn't have to waste her time being the mayor.

Terry and Nathan watch Bobbie receive congratulations. Terry asks if there isn't a part of Nathan that's disappointed he didn't run instead. Terry kind of wishes he had. Nathan says maybe the old him would have, but not anymore. He's happy where he is. Bobbie is a great candidate and will be a great mayor. Terry makes a vague threat against Bobbie for what they said at the debate.

Reagan calls Nelson, who is enjoying his talks with Bonnie. He asks how the land meeting went and she says she got the land. He congratulates her, then she tells him she figured out a way to build cooperative housing on her land. She wonders if she should have cleared that with him. He says it wasn't what he expected, but they were going to end up living in one of their parents' spare bedrooms anyway. It could be pretty cool. Reagan loves that he understands how great it could be. Nelson tells her he loves her and she says she loves him, too. She tells him to hurry home. She's surprised to see Josh approaching when she hangs up. She wonders why he's there. He's there to cover Bobbie's journey to being mayor for season two of his podcast. They'll be in the same place at the same time again. Josh leaves to go say hi to Bobbie.

Nathan thanks Ms. Fish again for all she's doing. He's enjoyed seeing another side of her.

Nathan wakes up. Ms. Fish pops up behind him and says that was quite a night. She kisses him on his cheek and gets up. Nathan's phone buzzes. It's Deirdre. She's on her way back to Albany and asks if she can come by his place to talk. Ms. Fish comes back in and says her dad is on the phone. He's happy for them and wants to say hi. Deidre asks Nathan if he's with someone. Nathan looks between the two phones.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Ed Helms as Nathan Rutherford
* Michael Greyeyes as Terry Thomas
* Jana Schmieding as Reagan Wells
* Jesse Leigh as Bobbie Yang
* Dustin Milligan as Josh Carter

### Guest Stars

* Dana L. Wilson as Deirdre Chisenhall
* Beth Stelling as Ms. Fish
* Julia Jones as Sally
* Bobby Wilson as Wayne
* Dallas Goldtooth as Nelson
* Kaniehtiio Horn as Feather Day
* Geraldine Keams as Rayanne
* Bill Glass as Frank
* Kevin Sifuentes as Mervin Rose
* Migizi Pensoneau as Roy Crooks

## See Also

 **#02** | "The New Curator"
 **#03** | "Aunt Sue"
 **#04** | "Land Back"