The Politician – Season 1 Episode 8 (The Finale) Recap & Review

The Season 2 Pilot?

The season 1 finale of The Politician starts three years later in New York City where Payton has become a student and sings in a bar, where we also see Skye and Infinity in the audience cheering him on. Afterwards, we catch up with the trio and find out what they’ve been up to. Skye didn’t go to jail and got away with community service; she now goes to Vassar. Infinity has published a successful book about her life and she tells them that Ricardo is in prison.

We then cut to State Senator Dede Standish, and her Chief of Staff Hadassah Gold, meeting with the junior senator from Texas. During the meeting, the senator explains that he had to lie on certain issues to make sure he was elected as he’s the first democratic senator in Texas for 25 years. He also plans to run for presidency, and would like Dede to be his running mate. He thinks she would be perfect but also wants to know if she has any skeletons in her closet. Her chief of staff denies it and she accepts the proposition. However, as she heads home, we see that she is living in a ménage a trois.

Mcafee is the new campaign staffer for senator Standish but is only given mailing tasks. Not happy with her new assignment, she decides to speak to her boss, Hadassah. The chief of staff tells her that she will have to make do with what she’s been given as the Senator is running unopposed. Payton receives an invitation to Alice’s wedding and he decides to travel to her campus to try winning her over. While they have coffee, Payton asks her not to marry Thad. He apologises for everything but she tells him she loves Thad and doesn’t think their relationship was healthy. She goes on to tell him she’s getting married in one week and that even though she’ll always love him, it’s now too late.

Mcafee and James have an idea, which is for Payton to run against Senator Standish as their campaign is non-existent. He refuses to go ahead with it as he doesn’t believe in himself anymore. The two friends call Skye and Astrid to tell them that they want Payton to run for State senator and they immediately drop what they’re doing. They then call Alice as she’s about to get married and just as she arrives at the altar, she changes her mind and runs out of the church.

Payton arrives in his dorm only to find his four friends, ready to be there for him. They all realized that something had been missing in their life and he goes on to tell them that he doesn’t think he could win. Suddenly, Astrid comes out of the toilet and tells him that she knows that Standish is in a three-way marriage. As River’s previous words of encouragement resonate in his mind, Payton finally agrees to do it.

The episode then ends with Standish and Hadassah shocked as they watch Payton giving a speech to the public about his upcoming campaign to run for senate.

The finale of The Politician has definitely been a surprising and interesting episode. While we jumped forward in time by three years, we’re given enough information about the different characters to keep us up to date with their lives. With a second season coming next year, the finale almost feels like a pilot episode for that, as we’re introduced to some new characters and we see Payton ready for the next step in his life.

One of the best moments of the finale comes from seeing all of Payton’s friends rally behind him, just like old times. With Astrid also on board, the second season is set to be a very intriguing one and if it’s anything like this, we’re almost certainly set to get more drama, dark comedy and twists along the way.

The Politician has certainly been an entertaining and easy to binge show. While some of the ideas explored here could have been developed further, The Politician still remains a highly enjoyable and dramatic series worth checking out nonetheless.