Kid Nation - "What's That Smell"

Tonight begins of course with the usual recap of last week which brought us two new council members in the form of yellow Team, Zach and red team, Gulan. Their first problem is how to deal with the stinky garbage mess they have accumulated.

So, Anjay, Laurel, Zach and Guylan walks to the town bell to wake up the Kids. Taylor is still in bed and wants to make life difficult for Zach. Taylor is determined to have a little payback, “I’m getting Zach back for all the pressure he put on me. Now I’m putting pressure on him.” When Zach rings the morning wakeup bell, Taylor yells insults at him, while Leila and Kelsey giggle at every wisecrack.

Next, the council members read the Pioneer Journal. You know the one that was left behind by the pioneers of the 1800's for these new modern day pioneers. The one that just happens to have the same exact problems as the kids do on the same time frame....***rolls eyes***

The Council decides the way to solve the problem is by having a group of Kids gather and bury the trash at the town limits. Of course the rest of the kids want Taylor and Leila selected for this duty....and they are.

The other Kids choosen gather to do the nasty work of cleaning up and hauling away the trash. Of course Taylor and Leila attempt to get out of their duty but the Council refuses to back down. When Laurel tells them to get to work, the two pageant queens run away. Laurel, Morgan and DK confront the two young girls in their hiding place. Taylor and Leila won’t listen to them, so the older Kids leave them in town, but tell them that they will have to face punishment for shirking work. Leila later reconsiders and helps out with the trash removal out of fear of the possible punishment.

Even with the oldest and strongest Kids involved, it’s hard work disposing of the trash. The Kids take turns digging a large hole. Poor Guylan has difficulty digging and a few of the older Kids mock him. Guylan relates, “It’s a pretty nasty feeling when everyone is counting on you and you let them down.” DK takes Guylan aside and offers him some advice about leadership. DK is concerned that Guylan is having a hard time and it’s only his first day on the job. DK encourages Guylan to be more assertive and stand up for himself. Being a leader is difficult and DK is positive that Guylan is up to the task; he just has to work a little harder at being the Red District leader. Guylan is thankful for DK’s advice and considers him his big brother. I smell a new red team council member when new elections roll around.....

After successfully dealing with the garbage, the Council must tackle another issue: Taylor. The four young leaders assign Taylor her punishment: she must fill up the nearly empty town water tank by herself. Taylor’s response to the Council’s assignment is to fill up two buckets of water and dump them in their sights. The leaders confront an angry, crying Taylor in her bunkhouse. Taylor tries to escape the bunkhouse, but the Council members block her way. Laurel eventually allows Taylor to leave and cool down. Taylor angrily runs away vowing to go home.

The water tower is still empty, and some Kids are in the kitchen cleaning dishes with black water, realizing they need to fix this problem. DK mobilizes the Kids in a water brigade, and with almost all of the Kids pitching-in, the job is accomplished in a short time.

It's time for the Showdown and as the Kids arrive at the Showdown, they are greeted by Jonathan and a herd of stinky, squealing pigs. To make matters worse, the pigs are wallowing in a gigantic frying pan filled with 1,600 gallons of baked beans. The Kids from each District will have to wade through the sloppy beans to collect cans in their District color. The Kids have fifteen minutes to collect as many cans as possible; the number of cans collected will determine what class each District ends up in. If all of the Districts are able to collect 75 cans, then the whole town will win a reward.

The Kids all agree that this is one of the most disgusting tasks that they’ve had to complete in Bonanza City. The fifteen minutes are up all too quickly and the Kids are nervous as Jonathan counts the cans. Guylan happily leads the Red District to take the Upper Class with 24 cans, while Laurel and the Kids from the Green District become the new town Merchants with 20 cans. Anjay and the rest of the Blue District become Laborers for the first time after collecting 17 cans, while the Yellow District is back in the kitchen after collecting 19 cans. Whatever their new class may be, all of the Kids are comforted by the fact that they’ve collected 80 cans and have won a town reward.

But what reward will the Council members choose? The two options: a mouth-watering array of fruits and vegetables or two gasoline-powered dune buggies good for hauling and joy riding. After tense deliberations the Council members pick the fruits and vegetables. While a few of the Kids are a bit mad at losing out on the dune buggies, all of the Kids make a free-for-all for their reward, joyfully munching on the fresh fruit and vegetables.

The next morning, Zach faces the tough consequences of his District becoming Cooks at the Showdown: how will he manage to get Taylor and her gang of girls to do work? When Taylor and Leila refuse to wash dishes, choosing to make fruit salad instead, Zach confronts the two, demanding that they do their assigned duties. The two girls refuse but Zach doesn’t back off; he puts his foot down refusing to pay the girls until they start working and threatening to make sure that neither girl ever gets the Gold Star!

There’s trouble elsewhere in Bonanza City, as Emilie, Brett and Eric engage in a messy soda fight in the town center. When the Kids’ playful antics threaten to get out of control, DK steps in to stop anyone from getting seriously hurt. DK yells at Emilie and Brett, “This was just reckless and stupid, and it could have been avoided if you guys weren’t running around acting like a bunch of hyenas.” The Kids apologize to each other and promise to improve their behavior as a disappointed DK walks away.

The Council members admire DK’s continued efforts to “build a better Bonanza City,” and easily pick him as the recipient of the next Gold Star.

The Kids assemble for their next Town Hall Meeting and Jonathan asks Mike and Taylor how they feel to be off of the Council. The two former Council members’ responses couldn’t be more different. Mike willingly admits that he feels a bit sad about losing his power, while Taylor declares, “Now I can just work normal like just a boy or a girl here.” The TownsKids can’t help laughing in response. After a bit of prodding by DK and Laurel, Taylor admits that she didn’t do her job. The Town Hall explodes into bickering as many Kids vent about Taylor. When Taylor once again promises to “try” and do work, even ever-calm Michael shouts in frustration, “Stop trying to change! Change!” DK chides the Kids for ganging up on Taylor: “Y’all need to chill and stop being so mean. I’m serious. Y’all are disgusting me right now.” The Kids are then astounded when DK tearfully announces that he wants to go home, telling the others that he’s tired of the constant fighting. The TownsKids are in shock. Guylan takes DK outside and talks to him, insisting that the town won’t be the same if DK leaves. The Town Hall is filled with tension as the two boys return to the meeting. The other Council members worry that they’ll have to award the Gold Star to another Kid, while many Kids are crying at the thought of DK leaving. DK stands before the anxious crowd and announces that he’s going to stick it out in Bonanza City, “Some of you are some of the most beautiful people that I’ve met in my life. I’m willing to stay for you.” All of the Kids are relieved and then cheer when the Council announces that DK is the winner of the next Gold Star. DK is ecstatic and runs to the town phone booth to call his family.

The Kids celebrate in the Saloon after their difficult Town Hall meeting. Guylan gives DK a hug, telling him that he is glad he chose to stay. Guylan acknowledges the milestone that just passed as the Town continues to work together and stick it out, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

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