Suicides, poisonings, runaways, and kidnappings are not something you’d expect to see in a show about a high school presidential election. Yet, all of the above happened in Netflix’s  The Politician. 

The show follows high school senior Payton Hobart, played by Ben Platt, in his journey to becoming class president.  Hobart is not the average teenager. He is psychotically obsessed with becoming the President of The United States. He plans out his whole life, with this ultimate goal in mind. Hobart studies past presidents’ lives in order to figure what led them to becoming president including going to Harvard and becoming class president. 

 His thirst for victory leads him on a chaotic and deadly campaign. He loses friends to suicide and relentless drama. Hobart’s campaign almost lands him in jail.

The show, on the surface, is about Hobart’s campaign.  But on a deeper level it’s about his struggle with accepting his emotions. The show is filled with confusing plot twists. The show branches out into the lives of characters that seem unimportant, but as you keep watching become vital for the plot to develop. 

The show as confusing and, quite frankly, odd and bizarre. I found no meaning in the story and found it unrealistic. You’re telling me that a student poisoned his classmate to become student  president. I mean come on! I I found no relation to the characters and their stories .Although, somewhat entertaining at the time it left me confused.. The puzzle pieces didn’t fit together, and the meaning was lost in the midst of relentless violence and drama.