Kid Nation - Time to Shake Things Up!!!

There’s a new District in town: the Gold District. After nearly a month of Pioneer living, eight Gold Stars have been awarded to Bonanza City’s finest… and half of them have been given to members of the Green District. The Green Kids couldn’t be more pleased by this outcome: they celebrate Kennedy’s recent win by dancing in the street, showing off their best Gold Star struts.

But not all of the TownsKids are so happy about the Green District’s seeming monopoly on Gold Stars. Emilie watches the Green Kids’ dancing in disapproval, “Nobody’s the coolest Kid. We’re all equals.”

While the other TownsKids deal with Gold Star envy, the Council heads to the Chapel to read the latest entry in the Pioneer Journal. The four District leaders are shocked by the Old Pioneer’s suggestion: “Mix up your Districts.”

The Council heads to the Saloon to work out the matter over a few root beers. Anjay is eager to prove his leadership skills and offers to take one of the Kids who struggles to do work, like Emilie or Taylor, to the Blue District. Guylan would love to have a smart, hard worker, like Alex or Nathan, join the Red District. Zach is eager to get an older Kid into the Yellow District since it is in definite need of manpower.

Laurel remains adamant that any change to the Green District is completely unnecessary since the Green Kids are friends and don’t have the same squabbles that plague the other Districts. Plus, she has four Gold Star winners, why would she want to lose any of them? The boys chide Laurel for caring more about her District than the town since one of Green’s Gold Star Kids would make a great addition to another District. Laurel promises that she’ll think the matter over before the Leaders address the other Kids at breakfast. “That’s not fair!”

The Council members nervously approach the Mess Hall, worrying about how the Kids will react to the trades that they’ve made. And the Mess Hall erupts into chaos as Guylan welcomes Nathan to the Red District. Anjay welcomes Emilie to the Blue District. Zach welcomes Blaine to the Yellow District. And Laurel welcomes no one to the Green District!

Most of the Kids are upset about the changes made to their Districts and feel resentment that Laurel got away with making no changes in her District at all. The Kids shout at their Council members. When it becomes clear that the trades won’t be reversed, Greg angrily leaves the Mess Hall telling Blaine to throw the Showdown.

Greg is livid over the loss of his best friend in Bonanza and attempts to move into the Yellow Boys’ Bunkhouse with Blaine. But Zach turns Greg out of the Bunkhouse, pointing out that one of the reasons that Blaine was traded away from the Blue District was so that the two older boys would stop getting into constant mischief together. The older boy storms off shouting, “Yellow sucks! Blue’s better!”

Blaine handles the change in a mature fashion, calmly moving his belongings to his new bunkhouse. Blaine sees no reason to complain if the change is for the benefit of the town. He also views the move as an opportunity to prove himself on his own, not just a partner in the Greg and Blaine team, “Now that I’m kind of out of his shadow, I’m gonna get a lot more credit for the things that I do.”

As Olivia and the other Blue girls make room for Emilie in their Bunkhouse, Emilie is happy about getting a second chance in Bonanza City and assures the Blue girls, “Trust me, I’ll pick up my game.”The Red District’s reception to Nathan is anything but welcoming. The Red Kids shout at Guylan all of the reasons why they don’t want Nathan in their District while Nathan is standing right in front of them. When Guylan defends his choice, saying that it was for the good of the town, Mike shouts that it didn’t make anyone happy at all.

As night falls on Bonanza City, differences are far from resolved.The next morning, Hunter gets up early as usual, but instead of heading straight to work, he holds a religious reading in the hope of bringing a little spiritual unity to the town. As Mike listens to Hunter read a Bible verse, he reflects upon the way that he treated Nathan the previous day, “I feel like a hypocrite.” Mike later apologizes to Nathan and gives him a proper welcome to the Red District, tying a red bandanna around Nathan’s arm. “We’re trying to get this for the town!”

While preparing for the next Showdown, Greg interrupts Anjay as he tries to psyche up the Blue District. Anjay continues to defend his decision, but no one in his District comes to his defense. Anjay is upset by his lack of support, and doesn’t know what more to do. The re-districting drama continues as the Kids meet for their next Showdown. Laurel says that the other Council members should have just done what she did and refuse to make any changes. But Laurel’s remarks win her no fans from the other TownsKids and they boo her in response.

As Jonathan explains the Showdown rules, the Kids ponder what they value more: winning the Upper Class or winning the town reward? The Districts must each drag a mining sled full of rocks across an obstacle course and past the finish line. The first team across the finish line becomes up the Upper Class and so on. If the Town drags a total of one ton of rocks, they’ll win a Reward for the town. But they can drag as many or as few rocks as they choose. Will each District carry their fair share?

The Blue District has always had the most muscle, but with Blaine now a member of Yellow, the younger District now has some serious brawn. And even though Blue takes a huge lead to win first place, Yellow is quick on their heels and becomes the town Merchants. Thanks largely to Hunter’s hard work, the Green District pulls into third place and becomes the Cooks. Unconcerned about status, the Red Kids take as many rocks as they can in an attempt to win the town reward… struggling with all their might to become the town Laborers.“The town is kind of like, way unhappy.”

When the rocks are weighed, the Kids are 160 pounds off from the total ton needed for the reward. Guylan suggests that some Kids cared more about their status than getting the Reward, and none of the Kids take kindly to his remark and Sophia curses at him. Guylan laments, “For me being a leader kind of sucks. The benefits are kind of squashed by the negatives.”

All the Kids are sad about the loss of the town reward, especially when Jonathan presents the two options that they could have chosen from: a souped-up lounge for only Gold Star winners or a comfy bed for every Kid in town!

Later that night, Randi misses her comfy bed at home, her family and the horses on her ranch and wonders how much longer she can bear to be separated from them. Taylor comforts Randi, asking her to stick it out as there are only two weeks left to go in Bonanza City, but the 12-year-old from Nevada doesn’t know how much longer she can battle being homesick. And Zach offers no comfort as a leader, giving no credence to Randi’s tears, “Every night, there really is someone crying about something here. It’s ridiculous.”

After a night of hard thinking, Sophia apologizes to Guylan for her nasty words. Guylan is thankful for her apology, but is tired of the constant criticism he gets as a Council member, “If I could run again for Town Council, I wouldn’t.”

In an attempt to change the Yellow District’s reputation as the lazy District, Blaine gets his District-mates up early and encourages them to work. The Yellow Kids pitch in, and before they know it, the stores are clean, tidy and running smoothly. As he surveys the well-run stores, Zach feels certain that he made the right choice bringing Blaine into his District. Emilie also works hard to change her own reputation as a slacker. Even though she is in the Upper Class, she washes dishes with Hunter and the other Cooks. Anjay watches his newest member with interest, commenting that she’s “awesome” with the Blue District.“We’re so close.”

The night before the next Town Hall meeting, Randi is still feeling upset. Greg notices that Randi is having trouble coping and goes over to comfort her. After providing her with some encouraging words, he carries her to bed, just like his parents used to do when he was upset when younger. Randi is appreciative of Greg’s support.

Before the Town Hall meeting, the Town Council asks the Kids whom they want to see win the next Gold Star. Many Kids nominate Blaine because of what he’s done to stand out once separated from Greg and because of how he has whipped the Yellow District into shape. Some Kids nominate Hunter because of his positive personality and his consistent hard work.

Recent Town Hall Meetings have been happy events; the Kids have praised their Council’s decisions and applauded their latest Gold Star winners. But this meeting is far from happy. With the exception of Blaine, all of the other Kids are dissatisfied with their Council. Greg says he respects Laurel for standing by his District and calls Mallory more of a man than Anjay. Even some members of the Green District criticize Laurel’s decision, as Sophia ponders whether Laurel’s decision was selfish in hindsight. The Council Members bicker amongst each other, and with no resolution in sight, it seems like the town might fall apart.But the Kids fall silent when Randi announces that she’s had enough turmoil and wants to go home. Zach, Taylor and the other Yellow District members implore Randi to stay, and as a sudden cloudburst spatters raindrops on the Town Hall, it seems that even the heavens object to Randi leaving. Kelsey shouts, “Randi, God doesn’t want you to go!” But Randi is simply too homesick and bids a farewell to her very tearful friend Taylor and all of her Bonanza City friends.

Even though the Council is sad about Randi’s departure, they must carry on with town business and award the next Gold Star. But whom will they give it to? Hunter, who has worked hard since day one? Or Blaine, who has only recently emerged from Greg’s shadow to help the Yellow District get their act together? After a final deliberation, the Council gives the 9th Gold Star to Blaine. Blaine is excited by the good news and thanks the Council for their support.

Jonathan then asks the Kids a shocking question: In light of all the anger about the Council’s re-districting decisions, how do the Kids feel about re-elections? An overwhelming majority cheers the suggestion, believing re-elections are just what the town needs in this time of conflict as many are dissatisfied with their leadership. The Council members nervously gulp as DK, Blaine and Greg decide to run against them. And this time even Laurel isn’t safe as Michael raises his hand to become a candidate for the Green District.

Who will win their District’s votes? And will Bonanza City crash and burn in the aftermath?