Nathan Rutherford

## Nathan Collins Rutherford

**Nathan Rutherford** is a descendant of the founder of Rutherford Falls, New York. He gets into a conflict with the local Indian reservation over moving a statue of his ancestor.

## History

### Hiding and Return to Society

After Josh's podcast was released, Nathan returned to Rutherford Falls in shame, but spent the next two months hiding in the attic. Reagan was the only person aware he was back in town and he helped her take care of her job duties while making his plan for reentry, a process he expected to take a year.

His hiding came to an abrupt end when Bobbie, convinced there was a ghost in the museum due to the sounds they kept hearing, brought Wayne and Sally in to help them find it. Instead, they found Nathan, with shaggy hair and a beard. Startled, Bobbie punched Nathan before Reagan came in and told them it was just Nathan. Bobbie was angry that Nathan just ghosted them, so Nathan said he'd start his apologies with Bobby, even though he wasn't quite ready. However, just as he started, Bobbie said they forgive him and hugged him.

While having dinner with Reagan that evening, Nathan decided he wanted to apologize to everyone else because apologizing to Bobbie made him feel so good. She told him that was a good idea. He tried to ask her what he should wear before realizing he shouldn't put that responsibility on her.

Nathan worked with Bobbie to plan his apology. He had a draft, but decided to start fresh. He had grand ideas, but Bobbie reminded him he had a $50 budget. Nathan said he could stand in the middle of the square and let everyone he'd wrong insult him or physically punish him. Bobbie said people would assume he's into that, which might not help. Nathan wished all his apologizes could be like Bobbie's. They both felt like they were just being.

Nathan decided to use Terry's surprise birthday for his apology, planning to sneak in and hide until the moment where he'd emerge like a butterfly. However, when the moment came for them to start the video as he planned, he realized it was a bad idea, as he would be centering himself at Terry's expense. However, before he could stop it, the video started playing. He rushed out to explain himself, only to find himself saying the same things he was saying in the video, showing the crowd that he hadn't really changed. Bobbie was able to pause the video, but Terry said it was his birthday and he wanted to see the video. Nathan had them play the video and everyone watched it.

After the video was over, Nathan apologized to Terry, but Terry said he enjoyed watching Nathan drown and it made him feel better about himself because as poorly as things were going, his life wasn't going as poorly as Nathan's.

Nathan later shared a drink with Reagan and said he just wanted people to know he had changed, but it came off as him saying he wasn't a villain. Reagan said maybe they just needed to accept that they were both assholes crawling around a planet full of assholes. Maybe then they could feel good about themselves.

### Terry's Suggestion

After his re-emergence, Nathan had a picnic with Bobbie and Reagan. Bobbie was upset that Nathan had missed so many things, including their 18th birthday. Nathan revealed that he'd sent them the Cameo from Olivia Rodrigo's horse. Their picnic was interrupted when Ms. Fish talked to them from her nearby blanket and told Nathan she listened to the podcast about him on a loop and created a subreddit with like-minded women. Nathan made an excuse and quickly walked away.

Nathan then met Duz for ice cream and told him how weird it was coming back home. When a townie came up to him, saying his roommate thought he was a maniac, Duz agreed that it was weird.

Nathan and Bobbie went to meet Terry at Terry's request. Terry suggested that Nathan run for mayor, saying he needed someone to beat Feather Day, who had sabotaged his wife's business and would ruin all the changes he made. Nathan said he was trying to de-center himself and listen and champion other voices, but Terry suggested he try it out at the going-away party he was throwing for Deirdre before deciding.

At the party, Nathan talked to Frank, who believed he was the pointed mayor because a man in a suit had pointed at him and said he was the mayor. Bobbie then told Nathan that they'd pulled up the dossiers they made on all the VIPs in town and would help Nathan navigate. Nathan instead went to talk to Deirdre. He congratulated her on her promotion and apologized for not calling her. He said he wanted to, but he didn't like the person he was and then felt like he'd missed his chance. She said maybe not because she'd be commuting back and forth and might run into him. Nathan asked what she thought about him running for mayor and she gave him a vague platitude, which she said is the job. Nathan left the conversation and told Bobbie he was ready to start pressing the flesh.

The next morning, Nathan was hungover. He told Reagan what Terry wanted him to do, which surprised her as she knew Nathan was supposed to be de-centering himself.

Nathan then met with Bobbie, who had run a poll to see if Nathan had the support to run for mayor and told him he did, thought Nathan realized people would only vote for him as a joke, which he didn't want.

After a conversation with Reagan, Nathan decide that Bobbie should run for mayor instead. They had a better story as a non-binary child of two immigrants. Plus they know all the important people in town and how to sound inspiring without saying anything. Nathan and Terry went to ask Bobbie to run and Bobbie accepted without knowing what they wanted them to do.

### Sue's Death

Nathan came to the hospital with Reagan when her aunt Sue was dying. When her mother came out and told her Sue had died, Nathan hugged her.

Nathan then came to Reagan's parents' house and said he was ready to be put to work, doing whatever she needed to help get things ready. However, when her brother Curtis arrived, Nathan diverted his attention to Curtis instead, even going along to help Curtis get the flowers despite previously saying he would stay nearby to help Reagan. While they looked through flower arrangements, Curtis asked Nathan to borrow the money to pay for them, as he didn't have any. Their choosing was interrupted by Reagan calling Nathan to say she was on her way because she didn't trust Curtis to do it right. Not wanting Reagan to see Nathan, Curtis told Nathan to hide in a casket nearby, since there were no other places to hide. Unfortunately, shortly after he did so, two employees came to take the casket for a wake. Nathan held his breath for as long as he could inside, but eventually he had to push his way out of the casket, interrupting the wake. He tried to explain himself, but eventually just had to run. Two of the decedent's sons chased him and punched him, giving him a black eye.

Nathan attended the party for Sue, where he said that Sue took care of him like her own nephew and once hired a private detective, preventing him from marrying Loretta. When Reagan's mother gave her Sue's motorcycle, Nathan went outside with her to test it out. While they did that, they talked about the respective brothers and how messy family can be. Despite that, they agreed that their brothers did show up for them and they needed them.

### Visiting Deirdre

Nathan went to Albany to see Deirdre in the hopes of getting her to endorse Bobbie for mayor, knowing her name still carried a lot of weight with people. She told him she would think about it and he asked her about the work she was currently doing. When he learned she was auditing the Albany Train Museum, a place he loved and visited often, he ended up helping her go over all the paperwork, which revealed that there might be financial fraud taking place. They visited the museum, where they found more evidence that the director was using museum funds for his own purposes. Deirdre said she would send an investigator and they'd prosecute him for misappropriation of funds.

After the museum, Nathan and Deirdre went out to dinner. She thanked him for his help and offered to do him a favor in exchange and asked him to tell her about Bobbie. He told her all the best things about Bobbie and said it was thanks to her that Bobbie was even able to run because she'd opened the door for other firsts. Then he kissed her. The next morning, Deirdre woke up and left before Nathan woke up, so he brought her breakfast at her office. She told him she was pregnant, which surprised but delighted him. He said he could move to Albany, but she told him she didn't want them to be together because his recent behavior had shown her he was unreliable, which she couldn't take at her age.

Nathan went back to Rutherford Falls, where he and Reagan got a drink and he told her about the baby while she told him she'd kissed Nathan. Either of them was shocked by the other's news, but happy. When Nathan told her what Deirdre had said, Reagan said he was a great guy who had just gone through a rough patch. He helped her when she was struggling and he would do the same for Deirdre. Reagan then announced the baby to the entire bar and offered to pay for everyone's drinks.

### Getting Funding

After seeing how well-funded Feather Day's campaign was, Nathan decided to take Bobbie to New York to appeal to Rutherford Inc. for a donation. He knew that Kaitlyn would help them if he just pestered her enough. However, when they arrived, they were surprised to find that Kaitlyn had been fired and replaced by her former assistant, Melanie, who refused to help them. Desperate to get the money, Bobbie and Nathan went to Kaitlyn's apartment, where she said she had enough dirt on the company to take them down, but she'd signed an NDA. Nathan, however, hadn't signed one, giving them everything they needed to blackmail Melanie into giving them the funding and supporting Bobbie's campaign.

### Halloween

Nathan continued to do things for Deirdre, like bringing her treats and building their baby a crib. Unfortunately, to bring her these things, he broke into her house, scaring her. He later admitted this was a bad move.

Nathan went to Wayne and Sally's Halloween party with Nelson and Reagan dressed as the "Pop" corn guy, but against Nelson and Reagan's advice, he left to take Deirdre a charcuterie plate when she asked him where he'd gotten the one he had brought her earlier. He put the charcuterie board on her porch and tried to leave, but made enough noise that she came to the door. He apologized and asked her not to call the cops again. Her parents interrupted the conversation by coming to the door. When they called him the deadbeat, Deirdre had to explain to him that her parents thought he was a deadbeat because she feared their judgment if she told them she was choosing to be a single parent. Her parents then invited Nathan to join them and she begged him to let them hate him for one night. They immediately started making digs at him, but he just played along until finally, Deirdre stepped in and admitted the truth. She told them that Nathan was a good guy and they weren't together because she didn't want them to be. They told her they supported her because she'd always come out on top doing things her own way. Deirdre then showed Nathan out and leaned in to kiss him, but he pulled back, saying Deirdre only wanted to be with him some of the time while he wanted to be with her all of the time, meaning they shouldn't be together.

### Pancake Breakfast

Nathan and Terry prepared Bobbie for the firefighters pancake breakfast, the last event before the debate. They told Bobbie to shake every hand. Reagan also told Nathan that Nelson would be there and she wanted the two of them to bond.

Nathan and Nelson quickly bonded over Nelson teaching Nathan about the Natives using controlled burns, a topic that fascinated Nathan. They continued to bond by making fun of firefighters until Larry, one of the firefighters, overheard them and challenged Nathan to do the Devil's Jump demo. Nathan tried to get out of it, but Nelson said he could do it easily. Nathan went through the course, carrying a baby doll, and made it to the end. Unfortunately, the baby doll was on fire. Nathan tried to tamp it out, but the firefighters turned their hoses on him, knocking him off the platform several feet into a table. Nathan had to get his hand bandaged by Lou, who said that he was impressed that Nathan went through with it, as most big talkers didn't. Nathan said that he and Bobbie both always kept their promises.

### Working with a Doula and Election Results

After the first ultrasound, Deirdre called Nathan and said that she'd asked Peggy to be her doula only to have her says she couldn't work it out. She asked Nathan to step in because he and Peggy are friends. He agreed to do that, but asked who Peggy was. He was surprised to learn Peggy was Ms. Fish's first name. Reagan was unable to go with Nathan due to her land back appointment, but offered him pepper spray.

Before meeting with Ms. Fish, Nathan helped Terry prepare Bobbie for the debate, because they knew Feather would pull out all the stops there.

Nathan then met Ms. Fish, who left her class unsupervised to meet him. He asked her to reconsider and she said she was worried about the conflict of interest. He assured her there wasn't one and she said she'd do it as long as he agreed to stop coming onto her. He said that wouldn't be a problem and suggested she return to her class.

At the debate, Feather accused Bobbie of being Terry's puppet, forcing Bobbie to reveal that Terry's son and Feather's daughter vandalized the Big Larry statue on Halloween, something they wouldn't reveal if they were really Terry's puppet. After the debate, Terry said he was angry, but also respected Bobbie's decision, while Nathan mediated between the two of them.

Nathan met with Ms. Fish and Deirdre and was impressed that Ms. Fish was a competent, helpful doula. She immediately offered Deirdre a massage and other advice to help relieve her pregnancy symptoms. She also gave Nathan the space to reflect on the feelings he was having about becoming a father. When he explained that he worried about being a father since he never met his biological father, she assured him he'd be a great father.

At the election party, Deirdre thanked Nathan for everything he was doing for her and he said he'd do anything for her and the baby. After Bobbie was declared the winner, Nathan ended up talking to Ms. Fish, saying he enjoyed seeing another side of her. The next morning, Nathan woke up in bed with her. She thanked him for a great night. Just then, Deidre called him and asked him to talk. Before he could answer, Ms. Fish came back in and said her father was on the phone and wanted to say hi to Nathan. Nathan looked between the two phones as Deirdre asked if he was with someone.

## Notes and Trivia

* He had his seventh, tenth, and sixteenth birthday parties at the Albany Train Museum, though the final one was cancelled due to lack of interest.

## Appearances

 **#02** | "The New Curator"
 **#03** | "Aunt Sue"

## References

1. ↑ White Man in the Cupboard, 2x01
2. ↑ The New Curator, 2x02
3. ↑ Aunt Sue, 2x03
4. ↑ Land Back, 2x04
5. ↑ Adirondack S3, 2x05
6. ↑ Halloween, 2x06
7. ↑ Firefighters Pancake Breakfast, 2x07
8. ↑ Election, 2x08
9. ↑ Land Back, 2x04