Gone Girl

**"Gone Girl"** is the fourth episode of the first season of *The Politician*, and the fourth episode of the series overall.

## Summary

With the election just days away, Payton faces tough questions about just how far he is willing to go to defeat his opponent.

## Plot

**SPOILERS AHEAD**
The police are investigating the disappearance of Astrid. Astrid’s father thinks Payton did it and bribes the police into arresting him.

Payton meets with James and McAfee to discuss the damage caused by the recent events. The poll results aren’t good, as it shows he will lose the election if it carries on that way. They think they need to replace Infinity as they have now lost the gay votes. As Payton heads home, he gets arrested in relation to the disappearance of Astrid. The police tell him that the waitress testified that she heard Payton say he will kill Astrid, but he tells them that it was taken out of context and explains the whole story to the officer.

Payton’s parents manage to get him out of prison by bribing the police officer. In private, his mother asks him if he was the one that took Astrid but he denies it. Meanwhile, we see that Astrid is actually with Ricardo, hiding in a motel in New York, and it was her idea to run away. Deeply unhappy with her life, she decided to use Ricardo to set up the whole kidnapping.

Payton meets Infinity in the school’s chapel soon after to tell her she is not going to be his running mate anymore. He also reveals that he thinks her grandmother has been poisoning her. She doesn’t believe him, but he tells her not to accept any more treatment as a test to see how she feels after. During dinner, Infinity finally confronts her grandmother about what she just found out. Dusty is outraged and tells her that she sacrificed her life to make her better. However, Infinity doesn’t believe her and walks away, contemplating turning herself in.

Alice comes forward and testifies that she was with Payton the night Astrid disappeared. Payton comes to see her to see how she managed to pass the lie detector test and it’s here she explains that she knew how to trick the test by using nervous reactions during the right questions.

After calling Infinity, Ricardo decides to leave Astrid and go back to his ex-girlfriend. This prompts Astrid to head home and come clean about running away. She tells her mother she wants to stop lying and will run for president as a true woman. She then gives a speech to the press admitting what she has done.

The latest results of the voting polls are in too and they are not good for Astrid. Skye is angry with her for running away as she believes Astrid has wasted their chance at winning. Skye then meets with Payton, asking to join their campaign. However, Payton replies that he has to think about it. The episode then ends with McAfee meeting Skye, telling her that Payton is thinking about her proposition. McAfee replies that she will get him to say yes and as she does, she starts kissing Skye.

## Cast

### Main

* Ben Platt as Payton Hobart
* Zoey Deutch as Infinity Jackson
* Lucy Boynton as Astrid Sloan
* Bob Balaban as Keaton Hobart
* David Corenswet as River Barkley (credit only)
* Julia Schlaepfer as Alice Charles
* Laura Dreyfuss as McAfee Westbrook
* Theo Germaine as James Sullivan
* Rahne Jones as Skye Leighton
* Benjamin Barrett as Ricardo
* Jessica Lange as Dusty Jackson
* Gwyneth Paltrow as Georgina Hobart

### Guest

* Dylan McDermott as Theo Sloan
* January Jones as Lizbeth Sloan
* Eric Nenninger as Detective
* Koby Kumi-Diaka as Pierre Toussaint
* B.K. Cannon as Kris

### Minor

* Alveraz Ricardez as Officer Kellen
* Tracy S. Lee as Vicki
* Karen Brundage as Olive Garden Woman
* Courtney Taylor Burness as Hostess (Karen)
* Adam Wang as Mr. Anselm
* Jordan Wall as Ivy
* Andrew Patrick Ralston as Dean Lawrence
* Nathan Howard as Damien
* Richard Wharton as Thomas
* Doreen Calderon as Librarian