If you were a fan of the first season of Netflix series The Politician, chances are you have already binged your way through season 2. The series follows the story of Payton Hobart, a wealthy California kid with ambitions to enter the world of politics.
Despite his age and lack of experience, he has a clear talent for and understanding of the complex political game, as does his team of friends, who are well-versed in running a campaign and working their way around roadblocks.
In season 2, Payton decided to run against a New York native who has held the Senate seat for decades and always run unopposed. What was there to love about The Politician's sophomore installment and where did it fall short? Spoilers below.
10 Love: The Clever Campaign Strategies
It was astonishing how both sides, young and old, came up with really interesting and clever albeit manipulative strategies to get a leg up on one another or to squash controversy. Both planted moles and both got out of jams with some finagling.
When Dede was about to be outed as poly, she made her own public statement, flipping the script to talk about older women owning their sexuality. When a questionable childhood photo of Payton was released, he found a way to totally manipulate the situation to work to his advantage by architecting a new controversy just to fake-fire McAfee and have her infiltrate Dede's office.
9 Don't Love: The Dirty Politics
Dirty politics are never good, and both candidates resorted to using them out of desperation. Digging into peoples' private lives and trying to use things out of context is just wrong.
Both sides were guilty when they could have easily just run on their merits for a fair fight. It stole attention away from the real issues both parties should have been discussing.
8 Love: Young People Standing Up
It was great to see so much of the focus on young people standing up for causes they believe in. Sure, the kids were singularly focused on climate change. But as Dede noted in her concession speech, the kids realize that all of the other things they also want to fight for won't matter if they don't have a usable Earth to live on in the first place, which is why they are so passionate about it.
Seeing so many young people do things like volunteer for Payton, come out with signs to cheer on his speeches in the park, and actually go to the polls, was refreshing.
7 Don't Love: The Focus on Private Lives
Smear campaigns are always smoke and mirrors that deflect from the real issues, as Andi pointed out to her daughter and to Dede. We really truly shouldn't care about the private lives of candidates, especially when things are brought up for the sole purpose of questioning someone's integrity.
Sure, if a candidate is lying about their lives, it does speak to the type of person they are. But why can't campaigns just focus on the issues?
6 Love: Young Voters Went To The Polls
One of the biggest issues with democracy these days is that many believe younger generations don't go out to the polls, despite being able to vote.
This season showed how much of a difference young voters could potentially make in an election if they exercised their right to vote.
5 Don't Love: The Ageism
So much attention was paid to age in the campaign race, and that goes both ways. Much of Payton's campaign relied on the fact that Dede was older, had been doing this so long and gotten comfortable, and that she wouldn't be around for the world that they would have to grow up in.
Meanwhile, Dede often referred to Payton as a young brat or child, shedding the spotlight on his age instead of determining if he actually knew what he was doing.
4 Don't Love: The Election Rigging
Are viewers truly meant to believe that Infinity and her friends would have been able to steal an entire ballot box without being seen, just by using miming to distract the elderly crowd? Even if the people voting at that location were all senior citizens, were the volunteers running the polling stations seniors, too, who left their posts to see a random young girl mime? And didn't they find it odd that a mime popped up in the middle of a voting station?
Meanwhile, wouldn't there have been security cameras or a realization that 300 votes were missing?
3 Love: People Of All Ages Voted For Change
The most interesting voting story was that of Angie, who, after having an argument with her daughter over politics and spending time with Dede, had a reawakening. She realized that it should be another generation's turn to lead.
Surprisingly, after showing steadfast support for Dede, she went against her instincts and voted for Payton instead. It showed that not everyone's minds are set in stone and sometimes a good campaign and belief in a candidate can change a voter's mind.
2 Don't Love: The Ridiculous Storylines
Some of the storylines in the season were just blatantly ridiculous. Take Tino's wife, who was in a coma for so long yet heard everything he said to her and magically woke up and remembered everything.
Then there's Georgina being elected not only Governor but then President when she had no qualifications and was just spewing ridiculous thoughts. The stealing and subsequent disposal of the ballot box seemed unlikely, too.
1 Love: The Ending
There was a lot to love about the ending, which fast-forwarded two years to show that Payton had been delivering and even exceeding his campaign promises. Everyone seemed to be in better places.
It would seem there was no room to further develop for a season 3, until the last moments when Dede approached Payton to be her running mate for the next presidential campaign. Chances are a season 3 will fast-forward four years to follow that next campaign that truly puts Payton in the big leagues.
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