WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the end of The Politician on Netflix
The Politician Season One, Episode 8, entitled “Vienna,” takes us to New York, three years into Payton’s future. After having to resign the presidency (which he only won by default after Astrid stood down as a candidate) for being an accessory to Dusty Jackson’s (Jessica Lange) Munchausen by proxy syndrome, he has lost the motivation he had during the campaign.
We see him in a New York bar, drinking too much and, despite giving a rousing rendition of Billy Joel’s “Vienna,” getting put to bed by Infinity (Zoey Deutsch) and Skye (Rahne Jones) for being too drunk.
As Payton’s life spirals out of control, viewers met 13-time incumbent New York State Senator Dede Standish (Judith Light) and her long-time political advisor Hadassah Gold (Bette Midler). We meet them as Dede is approached by Texas Senator (Jeff Allen), who wants to announce Dede as his running mate in the upcoming Democratic primaries. He asks her if she has any dirty laundry, and Hadassah assures him she doesn’t. However, we soon learn she is in a secret “throuple.”
Before she runs as a VP, however, there is the matter of her next local election. McAfee (Laura Dreyfuss) arrives as an intern at the Standish offices, only to learn that there is barely a campaign—Dede has become arrogant after winning so many times, and has not faced a challenge from any other candidate in years.
While McAfee hatches a plan, Payton learns that his former love Alice (Julia Schlaepfer) is getting married and so heads to stop the wedding, only to find that she has moved on from their toxic relationship and is ready to marry Thad.
But has she really moved on? McAfee’s plan is to have Payton take on Dede, and Alice is a major part of her plan. Payton originally turns her down, but then starts to be won round by his conscious/“shadow” River (David Corenswet), who Payton is still having visions of.
To persuade Payton, McAfee assembles the old team together, with James (Theo Germaine), Astrid (Lucy Boynton) and Alice all agreeing to help Payton run—with Alice even running out of her wedding over the chance of becoming Payton’s First Lady.
A plan starts to be put into place—Payton will attack Dede on the single issue of the poor state of the MTA. Plus, he has a secret weapon, as Astrid found about Dede’s ’throuple’ while catering an event.
The series of The Politician ends with Payton announcing his campaign, with Alice, James, Astrid and McAfee standing supportively behind him.
Season 2, therefore, will likely see Payton take part in his second election, as he tries to become a New York State Senator and grapple with his possible alcoholism, his worries that campaigning again will stop him from feeling emotions, and his hallucinations of his dead former friend.
The Politician is streaming now on Netflix
