It’s time for a showdown on Rutherford Falls. In “Rutherford Inc,” Terry (Michael Greyeyes) meets with Rutherford Inc to discuss the lawsuit against Nathan (Ed Helms) as Reagan (Jana Schmieding) makes an interesting discovery.
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Everyone saw the helicopter fly over Rutherford Falls, including Mayor Deirdre (Dana L. Wilson). When it lands, Nathan and Jess (Devery Jacobs) out to greet everyone. Kaitlyn Farrow (Mimi Gianopulos) leads the Rutherford lawyers into the casino. At the same time, Terry carefully picks out his jewelry. He chooses a large silver cuff and beautiful medallion. Gotta make ‘em feel guilty and jealous.
The Rutherford Inc team sits facing Terry, the Minishonka tribal lawyer and a member from the tribal council. Rutherford Inc tries to relate to Terry and his team by showcasing their knowledge of “Federal Indian Law.” The legal team offends all of the Minishonka tribal members in the room.
Nathan and Bobby (Jesse Leigh) sit outside of the conference room. Jess leaves the room for a second and Deirdre shows up, demanding to meet with Terry. Jess doesn’t let her in while Nathan gives his own commentary about what’s going on behind closed doors. Bobby has to go back to school, even though he went the day before.
Reagan gets a visit from tribal elder Mona (Casey Camp-Horinek). Mona says she is very proud of Reagan and her cultural center, making Regan cry. Josh (Dustin Milligan) is there to congratulate her, but Reagan wants to tell Nathan.
In the conference room, Rutherford Inc denies that Nathan is a part of their board, despite what Nathan says. Terry plays a recording of Nathan, so Kaitlyn asks him to recant his statement. At first Nathan doesn’t want to do that. Kaitlyn clarifies that Nathan is an honorary, non-voting member of the board. And cultural ambassador, which is a title that Nathan created for himself.
The lawsuit relies on the connection between Nathan’s actions and the liability of Rutherford Inc. They ask Nathan to sever that tie. Nathan won’t say that he’s not affiliated with his life’s work. Kaitlyn warns him that the case could be tried in a federal court and that could get really bad.She says this is the only way to help his family. Nathan goes into the conference room and severs the tie between him and Rutherford Inc.
Terry doesn’t back down though. He calls Professor Tobias James Kaufman (Paul F. Tompkins) to speak on Minishonka’s behalf. If you recall, Professor Kaufman wrote a book about Lawrence Rutherford and the founding of Rutherford Falls; however, there are two books. One book depicts the Rutherfords as progressive pioneers who worked with the Minishonka to settle the town. That’s the version that Nathan knows and stands by. The other version is about how the Rutherfords stole the land from the Minishonka. That book also includes details about President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s two love children.
Professor Kaufman says Minishonka agreed to publish his book, the bad version. Terry threatens to drag the Rutherford name in the mud and is prepared to drag out the lawsuit for years if he needs to.The book won’t bring the stock down a lot, but it will be significant. It all comes down to what Terry really wants.
Terry wants land. He wants half the town back for the tribe. Terry says they will drop the lawsuit, shelf Professor Kaufman’s damaging book, and all of the bad publicity will go away if Rutherford Inc will sell the land back to the Minishonka.
Professor Kaufman is the first to object because he really wants his book published. But Terry promises to pay him regardless, so he’s cool with it. Then Nathan objects because the Rutherford Falls Heritage Museum, aka Nathan’s house is included in the land the Minishonka wants. Nathan says it’s a hard pass, but Kaitlyn asks to let them talk to their client, Rutherford Inc leaders; not Nathan. Terry gives them 24 hours to answer.
Reagan checks on Nathan later and he’s not in good shape. He read Kaufman’s book and is in a bad mood. Reagan comes up with an idea. Nathan just needs to have the house declared a historical landmark. A lot of things happened at that house, but nothing big enough to make it historical. Bobby mentions the love children that FDR fathered. If Nathan has birth records, it would be enough to consider it historical. Nathan doesn’t believe the birth records exist because he doesn’t believe the bad version of his family history. If it is true, his aunt Joan (Nancy Berggren) would have the birth records.
Deirdre finally gets in to see Terry. She’s upset after finding out that Terry is trying to buy half of Rutherford Falls. Terry didn’t tell her because it was easier for him not to call her. He says they both want what’s best for their people and sometimes those things don’t align. Deirdre declares war!
Reagan and Nathan visit Aunt Joan, who is really annoyed to see her nephew. He asks to see the family heirlooms in the carriage house because the fate of their family depends on it. Reagan promises that Nathan won’t bother Aunt Joan for a year if she lets them in. That means no requests, no visits, no emails, no family newsletters … Aunt Joan agrees.
Among all of the Rutherford family heirlooms, Reagan finds a lot of Minishonka artifacts. Nathan asks Reagan to forget about the Minishonka items for now and keep looking for the birth records. Reagan agrees … for now …
Reagan whines to Josh about the Minishonka artifacts that they found and how much she wants to get them back. Josh encourages her to talk to Nathan, but he’s not in a place where he can hear her right now. They didn’t find the birth records, so he’s still sulking. Josh recognizes that Nathan is always going through something. And Reagan pushes her stuff aside to focus on him.
Kaitlyn and Rutherford Inc legal team informs Nathan that they are taking Terry’s deal. They surveyed the land and it’s un-frackable. Nathan is in shock. He goes home to drown his sorrows in a bottle of wine. He’s talking to the pictures on the wall when Reagan shows up.
Nathan goes on a drunken rant about how unfair his life is because they are taking away his land. Reagan gets annoyed and tells him that she’s going to get the Minishonka items back from Aunt Joan. Nathan doesn’t hear what she’s saying and continues to whine about his situation. He says he’d like to give the items to Reagan but she works for Terry and Terry is the devil.
Nathan keeps whining about how much he’s hurting. Reagan says she’s hurting too and he can’t see that. She asks why his history is more important than hers. Nathan decides he doesn’t want to drink with her anymore, so Reagan leaves.
Reagan sulks in her car at the casino. When Terry comes out, she tells him that she’s all in on his Running Lightning project. But in return, she wants the budget to make the state of the art cultural center that the Minishonka people deserve. Terry says it’s doable and invites her back into the casino to talk.
Meanwhile Deirdre sends her assistant home for the night while she continues to think about her Terry problem. She calls Nathan and asks to meet.
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.
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