"The Voters" is the fifth episode of the second season of The Politician.
Summary[]
On Election Day, a mother and daughter argue over whether Payton or Dede is the better pick, motivating each to spend time with her chosen candidate.
Plot[]
Election Day has arrived and the Hobart and Standish campaigns are in a rush to get as many votes as they possibly can. This episode focuses on a pair of voters, Andi Mueller and her college-aged daughter Jayne.
Pragmatic Dede supporter Andi, scoffs at Jayne’s stalwart belief in Payton’s ability to save the precarious state of the environment. Jayne is spending election day volunteering at Hobart campaign headquarters, arriving just in time to see an enraged Payton fire James over the Marcus leak to the Times. But the leak may just be the spark the Hobart campaign needs to pull off a win, with potentially record breaking local election turnout on the horizon. Now that things are looking slightly more favorable, Team Hobart reshuffles their strategy and Jayne is recruited to help McAfee set the stage for a publicity stunt Payton is going to make to showcase his unwavering support for the environment. Getting an inside look at the operation, Jayne discovers the Hobart campaign is a little disingenuous when it comes to its flagship cause. In a moment of honesty, Payton admits that he does care about the environment, but his passion is definitely poll tested.
Meanwhile, Andi is spending her day volunteering as an election judge and encounters Dede and Hadassah attempting to vote while being hounded by the press over the allegations surrounding her husband. Payton and Alice also show up to vote at this particular packed polling place and use Dede’s faltering attempts to defend her husband as the moment to announce their growing family.
After spending most of the morning trying to talk to Dede and Hadassah about an urgent matter, Andi finally tracks them down at their headquarters. Seeing that they’re struggling with turnout, she suggests the pair make a trek to NYU to sway young voters. Stuck in traffic with Dede and Hadassah, Andi also has an enlightening experience with the candidate of her choice, realizing that while they understand why people are so fervent about the environment, they still can't help belittling their ability to make a change. When the pair refuse to acknowledge their role in shaping the crises younger generations are worried about, chiefly climate change, Andi ditches them, stumbling into Payton’s rally just in time to see him put on a show in support of a zero waste initiative.
Andi ultimately votes for Payton, apologizing to Jayne for trivializing the issues that matter to her.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Ben Platt as Payton Hobart
- Judith Light as Dede Standish
- Lucy Boynton as Astrid Sloan
- Zoey Deutch as Infinity Jackson (credit only)
- Julia Schlaepfer as Alice Charles
- Laura Dreyfuss as McAfee Westbrook
- Theo Germaine as James Sullivan
- Rahne Jones as Skye Leighton
- Bette Midler as Hadassah Gold
- Gwyneth Paltrow as Georgina Hobart (credit only)
Guest[]
- Ryan J. Haddad as Andrew Cashman
- Jackie Hoffman as Sherry Dougal
- Robin Weigert as Andi Mueller
- Susannah Perkins as Jayne Mueller
Trivia[]
- Like Season One's episode The Voter, this episode is the shortest episode of the season and focuses on someone else's perspective of events going on.
- It is assumed that Jayne voted for Payton despite not being shown.
Gallery[]
See also[]
| The Politician Episodes |
|---|
| Season 1 Episodes |
| Pilot • The Harrington Commode • October Surprise • Gone Girl • The Voter • The Assassination of Payton Hobart • The Assassination of Payton Hobart: Part 2 • Vienna |
| Season 2 Episodes |
| New York State of Mind • Conscious Unthroupling • Cancel Culture • Hail Mary • The Voters • What's in the Box? • Election Day |