Rutherford Falls takes a time out from lawsuits to celebrate history. In “History Fair,” Nathan (Ed Helms) and Reagan (Jana Schmieding) judged the History Fair Art projects as we learn that there’s beef between Terry Thomas (Michael Greyeyes) and Mayor Deirdre (Dana L. Wilson).
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It’s time for the Rutherford Falls history fair. Nathan and Reagan volunteer to judge the high school history projects every year. Then they go to P. F. Changs for dinner. Nathan is also taking this opportunity to remind the town how important Big Larry is. He’s feeling a little besmirched.
Meanwhile tensions are brewing between Mayor Deirdre and Terry. Things get intense when Terry gives a land acknowledgement, but really he just called Deirdre frigid. It’s obvious these two have a history that did not end well.
Nathan and Reagan have an easy time judging most of the categories, except one. The art project. They both agree that the touching short film about the Minishonka’s struggle is the best, until they learn that a Minishonka didn’t make it. A white boy named Spencer (Johnny Jay Lee) made it.
Then there’s Bobby’s (Jesse Leigh) project about … well … about everything. There’s no real theme, but many theme about greatness … I guess. And their third finalist is a girl’s painted poster dedicated to famous feminist in a Fast and Furious style. Reagan picks the feminist poster. Nathan picks the Minishonka film. The third judge has no idea.
They decide to ask Spencer about his film. Spencer’s answer satisfies everyone but Nathan. Spencer says he made the film to honor the Minishonka people. And then says the town needs to tear down Big Larry and replace it with a statue that represents the Minishonka so they aren’t faceless anymore. He also wants to change the name to Minishonka Falls. Reagan calls Spencer a Mark Ruffalo – an adorable white ally. Nathan changes his mind about the film and votes for the feminist poster.
While we wait for a winner, Terry and Deirdre are confronted by their staff. They are scheduled to attend multiple events this year. So it’s better to squash the beef now. See. What happened was … Deirdre rented Terry’s Air B&B for her brother one weekend and her brother practically tore the place up. Deirdre offered to pay for the damages, but Terry decided to go through Air B&B to settle the matter. Now all they can do is insult each other.
Reagan and Nathan decide to go to P. F. Changs because they’re too hungry to come to a decision. While talking about the competition, Bobby shows up to defend his project. He does so by pointing out that some of the feminists painted on the poster are actually different versions of Ariana Grande.
Deirdre tries to patch things up with Terry saying her brother is a mess. Terry has a mess of his own named Charlotte. But Terry doesn’t back down because his community is counting on him. Deirdre understands because she is the first black woman mayor. Terry doesn’t see that as the same thing, but if he was the first Native mayor, he would be the same way. Now that they have some common ground, Deirdre says they shouldn’t work against each other. Terry agrees that they should stick together. They say goodnight, but still don’t trust each other.
Bobby also has dirt on Spencer. Spencer has a problem with cultural appropriation of many cultures. Bobby says they have to vote for his film because it literally offends no one. There is still no clear winner. The waiter returns to ask if there’s anything else they need.
Reagan and Nathan let the P. F. Changs staff vote on the winner. There is a discussion about why some celebrities are canceled and why some are forgiven. It’s complicated, but where’s the line? Who says what’s okay and what’s not? This discussion gives Reagan and Nathan a clear winner.
The next day, Reagan and Nathan join Terry and Deirdre at the casino to award the History Fair grand prize to Bobby. Reagan compares the situation to when Green Book won the Oscar. Deirdre says that only works if they gave the award to Spencer. Gosh!
RELATED: Catch up Rutherford Falls Season 1 Recaps Here!
You can stream episodes of Rutherford Falls on Peacock.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
