Sometimes you have to work hard to achieve your dreams on Rutherford Falls. In “Land Back,” Reagan (Jana Schmieding) runs into several road blocks trying to apply for her own land while Nathan (Ed Helms) makes a trip to visit Deirdre (Dana L. Wilson).
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Nathan decides to take a trip to Albany to see Deirdre. He asks for Reagan’s advice on the sweater he’s wearing. It might be too sexy. His only other option is a vest. Reagan says the sweater isn’t too sexy, but Nathan knows she’s lying.
Reagan finds Nelson (Dallas Goldtooth) handling the Minishonka items with his bare hands and insists he put on gloves. He starts to talk about traditional ways to handle the items, but Reagan doesn’t have time to listen. She’s going to apply for a land assignment. Nelson reminds her that she doesn’t have kids and tribal bureaucracy is brutal.
Nathan arrives at Deirdre’s office and asks for her support of Bobby’s (Jesse Leigh) campaign for mayor. She says she has to think about it because there are a lot of eyes on her right now. Nathan geeks out about her new office and notices the paperwork on her desk. Deirdre is doing an audit on the Albany Train museum. Nathan happens to know a lot about that museum. He had his seventh, tenth and sixteenth birthday party there. Deirdre asks Nathan to stick around to talk about the museum.
Reagan is at the Land of Assignment office where her friend Trish (Shauna Baker) is working. Trish is fun and friendly until she gets behind her desk. Then it’s all business … with a dash of cold shoulder. Reagan’s tribal enrollment card is faded, so she goes on a journey to get a new one.
Nathan helps Deirdre by finding a vague cost labeled ‘installation updates.’ They decide to go to the museum to check it out. Nathan is afraid they might recognize him, so he thinks he needs disguise. But then he wouldn’t be able to use his membership discount at the gift shop. Such a dilemma.
When they get to the train museum, Nathan chats with a man cleaning a model. He finds out that the curator is shady. Nathan is furious and wants the curator sent to Guantanamo. Deirdre assures him that there will be an investigation and he will have to answer for misappropriation of funds.
After getting a new tribal ID … with a bad picture … Reagan finds out that she has to register with several offices in the Land Management division because she’s not in the system. She is sent to almost every office in the building, only to end up locked out at the end of the day. Trisha drives by to tell Reagan that they need to go to lunch sometime.
Nathan and Deirdre go to dinner. Afterward, Deirdre thanks Nathan for helping her and offers to listen to his pitch about why Bobby should be mayor. He starts out by saying how awesome the kid is and ends up attributing it all to Deirdre. She was the first Black woman mayor of Rutherford Falls and that pretty much opened the door for people like Bobby. All of this sweet talking leads to Nathan kissing Deirdre.
The next day, Reagan is complaining about having to spend the entire day at the tribal headquarters. Nelson tells her to go look at the land she wants. He offers to go with her. They find the land and check out all of the plots. Nelson has some knowledge about how to test the land for everything Reagan needs and should need. They mark what she needs and Nelson says there’s enough room for the pool that ducks can use … like Tony Soprano.
When Nathan wakes up, Deirdre is already gone. He goes to her office with coffee, but she’s not saying much. He can feel some tension and asks if he did anything wrong. Deirdre tells him that she’s pregnant. And he’s the father. It takes a minute, but Nathan gets it. He looks nervous, and maybe he is, but Nathan is excited. Deirdre wants the baby, but she doesn’t want to be with Nathan. She knows he has a lot to think about before he’s stable.
Reagan returns to the land assignment office to complete her request. Trisha says Reagan will be put at the back of the line because she’s not married and she doesn’t have any children. Nelson stands up and claims to be Reagan’s husband … in the traditional way. Trisha changes her attitude, congratulates Reagan and gives her a large stack of papers … the stack is the application.
Reagan thanks Nelson for his help. She asks why he’s not married. He says he was basically a late bloomer. She decides to show him where the new cultural center will be. He says he learned a lot at his cultural center. Reagan wants to hold language classes. They have a bonding moment over their vision for the cultural center.
Reagan says she feels like all of the things she ever wanted are finally possible. Nelson says he’s there to help with whatever she needs. He feels like she wants to kiss him. Reagan steps closer and kisses him.
Nathan and Reagan meet up at the bar and update each other on their day. They’re leveling up. Except the part about Nathan not being reliable. But Nathan agrees; he’s in a weird place. Reagan says none of that matters. Nathan is a great guy and he’s going to be a great father. To celebrate, Reagan announces to the bar that Nathan’s going to be a dad. She offers everyone a pitcher of beer. Miss Fish (Beth Stelling) is at the end of the bar and tells her date that she’s going to be step mom before taking a bottle from the bar and drinking it.
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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.
