It’s crunch time on Rutherford Falls. In “The New Curator,” Reagan (Jana Schmieding) finds the perfect candidate for co-curator, maybe too perfect. Terry (Michael Greyeyes) turns to Nathan (Ed Helms) for help when Feather Day (Kaniehtiio Horn) tries to sabotage his plans. Nathan is also dealing with the notoriety from Josh’s podcast.
Deirdre Chisenhall (Dana L. Wilson) is vacating her position as Rutherford Falls mayor to take a position at the state level. Terry realized the importance of finding a candidate who would support his plans for Ye Olde Rutherford Falls. The real question is, who does Terry trust? And who will the town believe in enough to elect them?
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Nathan missed out on a couple of big things while hiding in the attic. The town’s revamp. Bobby’s (Jesse Leigh) 18th birthday. Miss Fish (Beth Stelling) missed him though. While Reagan, Bobby and Nathan have lunch, Miss Fish lets Nathan know that she’s willing to help cure his loneliness after hiding for so long. She listened to the podcast and doxed Josh Carter (Dustin Milligan) because of it. She also started a sub Reddit and there are five people who are obsessed with Nathan.
Reagan interviews for her co-curator position. Wayne (Bobby Wilson) and Sally (Julia Jones) interview together. They are a packaged deal. The next interview is with a guy named Nelson (Dallas Goldtooth). He’s done a lot of work with his own tribe. And he says a lot of great things about preservation. BUT! He starts pointing out mistakes Reagan made in the room with her cultural items and signage.
The next interview is with Professor Kaufman (Paul F. Tompkins) to which Reagan immediately says no. He says rehab has changed him. He severed his ties to the college but that may have something to do with him being fired for teaching naked. And he needs a place to live. Too many red flags in that interview.
Feather Day visits Terry to let him know that she is running for mayor of Rutherford Falls and asks for his support. They have opposite views about where the town is going. Feather says she would rather roll with him than through him, but either way, she rolling. Terry says the casino can’t take sides and he’s not political. He wishes her luck and sees her to the door.
Nathan meets up with Duz (Benjamin Koldyke). Nathan hasn’t seen Duz since he found out about his family history. He says things are weird now. Duz just wants his brother back. They are interrupted by a podcast fan who calls Nathan the popcorn guy. In reference to Nathan offering Terry a bunch of popcorn as payment for the land. The fame is also weird.
Reagan’s next interview is with a man named Shep Swiftwater (Mitch Rouse). Shep looks like he might be part native, I mean … he wears a nice medallion. He didn’t apply online, but he did look up Reagan’s thesis. Shep has museum experience and protested so people like Reagan would succeed. Reagan thinks he’s perfect and hires him on the spot.
Terry invites Nathan and Bobby to a secret meeting in a creepy location. Bobby thought it was a party so they brought deviled eggs. It’s actually a meeting to discuss Nathan running for mayor. Nathan immediately says no because he knows he’s a joke in Rutherford Falls. Terry points out that it would make a great redemption story, but Nathan isn’t ready for that kind of move at this time. He needs to focus on listening and champion other voices.
Terry tells them about Feather Day’s intention to run for mayor. It’s clear by now that Terry and Feather have beef. Feather’s gym, Sweat, is in town. A few years ago, Renee Thomas (Kimberly Guerrero) opened a jazzercise gym in town as well. Feather besmirched Renee and her exercise techniques, causing the jazzercise gym to lose money and close. It took years for Renee to gain back her confidence.
Terry says Feather attacks her enemies like a snake. If she becomes mayor, everything that he and Reagan fought for will be in jeopardy. He invites Nathan to a going away party for Deirdre (Dana L. Wilson). He wants Nathan to rub elbows with the power players in town to see how it feels.
Shep meets Wayne and Sally the next day. They like the guy more than they like Reagan. They even invite him out to celebrate his new job. Shep invites Reagan, but Wayne and Sally tell him to be careful of the company he keeps.
Reagan calls Josh to tell him all about Shep. She really likes Shep and it helps that Shep thinks she’s brilliant. Josh catches himself flirting with Reagan and stops. They agreed to be just friends.
Reagan joins Shep, Wayne and Sally at the bar later that night. He tells them about his world travels, but deflects any questions about where he’s from. Reagan asks him what tribe he’s from. He says he has heritage with several tribes, but he’s a descendant of the Pottawatomie. The word ‘descendant’ is a trigger word. Shep is a pretendian. (someone who falsely claims an Indigenous identity.)
Deirdre’s going away party is held at the casino. Bobby skipped their father’s birthday to attend. Bobby has a dossier on every power player in town. He goes over a few, and when he comes to Deirdre, he reminds Nathan that they had sex twice. Nathan tells him to stand down and makes his way to say hello. Deirdre doesn’t look too happy to see him. Nathan apologizes for ghosting her. He says he wanted to call her, but he didn’t like who he was. And now he missed his chance because she’s leaving.
Deirdre says she will be going back and forth so they will run into each other from time to time. He asks for her opinion about him being mayor. She says some say it’s the people you don’t expect to change the world. Others say real change comes from within. The key is that everyone is talking. Nathan realizes she didn’t give him a clear answer. Deirdre says that’s part of the job. Nathan returns to Bobby so they can talk to the power players.
The next day, Nathan tells Reagan that Terry wants him to run for mayor. He’s seriously considering it. Reagan wants to talk about Shep. She doesn’t know how to address whether or not he’s a pretendian. On one hand she doesn’t want to be the identity police. On the other hand, she can’t let a pretendian shape the voice of the cultural center. She has to be 100% sure of who Shep is to avoid making any mistakes. That means she and Wayne must confront Shep in the basement of the cultural center.
Bobby created a poll online to see how people would vote in the mayoral election. 52% said they would vote for Nathan Rutherford. 68% said they would vote for popcorn guy and 40% of those people think it would be hilarious. Nathan realizes he’d be the joke mayor.
Reagan asks to see Shep’s tribal ID, but he washed it. And there’s too much red tape involved to get a new one. Shep has no social media. He says he likes to keep his Facebook private. Probably for the best, because Wayne says Shep’s been snagging aunties left and right.
Shep turns the tables on Wayne and Reagan about their own Indigenous flaws. Wayne actually has facial hair but he’s supposed to be full blood Minishonka. And Reagan lacks the confidence to talk about her own culture. He threatens to damage the tribe’s reputation, saying he connected to many Native legacy organizations. Wayne and Reagan back off but they still want answers. It’s time to bring in the bad cop.
Terry sits across from Shep and stares at him. He says Shep is not Native. There are real Native people with deeply complex identity stories but that’s not Shep. Terry accuses Shep of taking advantage of centuries of violent displacement; hiding in the cracks of our trauma, feasting on opportunities. He wonders what happened to Shep that put him on this path. Terry thinks Shep will only be there until he can get a job at a more prominent museum where they can’t sniff out his fakery. He wonders if Shep knows the harm he caused. Shep gets to pick and choose all of the positives of who Natives are without experiencing any of the hardships.
Shep says only his ancestors can judge him. Terry gives him another hard look and asks who Shep’s ancestors are. Shep cracks. He’s white. From Connecticut. Shep starts babbling, scared of what Terry will say or do next. Terry tells him to leave his medallion on the table and get the hell out. Shep cries as he runs out of the museum.
Reagan thanks Terry for helping her get the truth about Shep. He feels bad that she wasn’t able to hire any real support. Reagan says there is one person she can hire. He’s the worst, but she’s 100% sure that he’s Native. She hires Nelson, who immediately notices that she hasn’t fixed any of the problems he found. It’s been two days since he pointed those out. So she assigns him to make those changes as his first task.
Reagan and Nathan catch up over chicken. Nathan hasn’t made a decision about being mayor. He really wants to find his purpose. He congratulates Reagan on getting rid of her pretendian. Reagan shows him an article written by Shep, aka Wyatt Olsen about his time as a part time pretendian. Reagan says it’s always the people with a ton of honor and confidence that get things.
Nathan turns down Terry’s offer to be his mayoral candidate, but he knows of a better candidate. Bobby Yang. Sure Bobby is still in high school, but they have done more for the town than anyone twice their age. They are non-binary, a child of immigrant parents who was born and raised in Rutherford Falls. Bobby has researched every mover and shaker in town. They have a great mind for strategy and know how to sound inspiring without actually saying anything. Terry likes it.
Terry and Nathan go to Bobby’s house with an offer. Before they even say what it is, Bobby agrees to do it … no matter what it is.
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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.
