About Payton and River, some lines and thoughts on "The Politician"

Dustin 2022-12-19 05:03:42

It's been a long time since I saw a drama that I liked so much. I forgot when was the last time I really felt that a drama deserved 5 stars. I like Sufjan's "Chicago"; I like the bright candy color scheme; I like the political, ethical and satirical tone of the show; I like Payton, he knows he is not a good person but still wants to do good things, and there are really not many people who have this kind of consciousness now; I like that there is no definition of "good people" and "bad people". Human nature has always been in a gray area. There are both unspeakable and sympathetic pain. There is no real "good" and "bad" distinction.

"It's not about trying to make you feel real, instead, the show blurs the boundaries of reality by leaving the nature of every act to the audience to define."

There is no doubt that River is the person who has the most influence on Payton and the person who has the most profound meaning for Payton. I think the most important characters in the whole show are Payton and River, and a lot of the arguments are shown in the dialogue between Payton and River, and the other characters are more or less "accompanying".

But the first time I saw a screenwriter come up and write such a key character to death, I thought it was incredible when I just watched the first episode, but later I found out that this setting is actually very clever.

When Payton was confused, River guided him and woke him up every time. But these processes all appear in Payton's memories, dreams or visions. River is definitely the kind of person that Payton described in his mind, but unless someone can be psychic, no one can be sure that River and Payton later in Payton's vision. What he said must be what he really thought. All this is actually Payton's thinking, but he is thinking from River's perspective. In the end, these truths are actually realized by Payton himself. River is his firm belief and backing, and his positioning in the play is also equivalent to Payton's second "personality".

Every time Payton falls into a quagmire, it is through the appearance of River that Peyton's psychology is shown to compete with himself, which also reflects the saying "Only you can change yourself and save yourself". After River's death, the two of them became one. Later, River was no longer River, but became a part of Payton. At the same time, he was also Payton's spiritual sustenance, which made Payton's heart become stronger and stronger. The screenwriter used the role of River to show Payton's dual psychology, paving the way for Payton's subsequent transformation and success. At the same time, he also pointed out to Payton a lot of diverse and profound truths worth thinking about in the confusion and mistakes.

There is also a very ingenious point in the play, in episode 7. I thought that after Payton and the principal confided their hearts, the principal would not exempt him from the status of the president of the student union, and developed according to the line of "dog blood" and "Mary Sue", and later found that he underestimated the strength of this drama, Payton really failed, Everything that came before was in vain. At that time, I really felt that it was very unexpected d(ŐдŐ๑), this is the real "The Politician", this is the real life... It turns out that episodes 1-7 are all refined versions of warm-up foreplay, and it's the 8th episode. The real beginning, I have to say that Murphy is definitely a refreshing stream in the screenwriting world.

Not all of the dialogues and opinions in the picture below are correct, but may provide some perspectives.

E01

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E02

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E04

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E07

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Extended Reading
  • Kasey 2022-06-26 20:19:20

    The typical Ryan Murphy comedy, the American political ecology is condensed into high school, the campus is the society, the big red and green drama packs a little reveal and a little ironic, and continues to expand the description and care of sexual minorities. But it's still too much to sing three songs in full), and it still shows fatigue in the fourth episode. After all, the play is still playing, and it is still too conservative from creativity to this development. Until the last episode turned a corner, rushed out of the campus and rushed to practice, and was about to win New York, the first seven episodes were just the last episode and a large preview of the next many seasons. I wanted to say if it would be better if I did a double line, but I immediately realized that this kind of "conservation" is actually part of his design, too clever!

  • Garret 2022-06-26 12:39:52

    Great ending, looking forward to the second season