Election Day Series

If 2020 has taught us anything is to always be prepared for the unexpected. So, as election day started I could not help, but feel like the United States had started a Netflix TV series together.

Advertisements of the newly anticipated series circled for months before the date. We all had chatted, debated, and nervously looked forward to the day we could start the Election Day series. We did not dare to make plans on Tuesday night. You lied to a coworker about not wanting to hangout because you'd rather sit in front of the TV and drink wine straight out of the bottle instead. You put your phone on silent mode so no in coming texts or calls would cause you to unglue your eyes from the screen.

Episode One (Tuesday night)

So the stress is on. The series sets up the storyline perfectly, two geriatric men fight to control the government of a country on the verge of setting up their own Hunger Games. The final results are decided on a two hundred year old system that no one, not even the men that are running truly know how it works. There is a mix of emotions. Some have the series playing on in the background, nervously pretending not to get too invested. Others are too invested, they can barely keep their eyes off the screen and contemplating how green card marriages work just in case. Episode one was the longest and most intense. Those who are familiar with the storyline know that episode two (Wednesday) would give us the finale they were hoping for unfortunately unbeknownst to them there were three bonus episodes.

Episode Two (Wednesday)

The storyline began to run several different character lines that no one could keep track of. John King, the standout character of the episode was praised by many on his predictions and general enjoyment of how vote counts work. Wolf Blitzer was another favorite. The episode was mainly Blitzer firing scenarios out to King and King having to quickly solve each outcome without looking nervous or overwhelmed. Viewers mood began to shift as the episode went from; "I cannot wait to find out what happens" to "Holy shit, will we ever find out what happens."

Episode Three (Thursday)

This was the episode where people began to panic One of the geriatric protagonist, Trump began to tell people that he won and that the election was rigged. A very expected twist! In this episode we were introduced to three unexpected characters-Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia. Arizona was a character people previously saw as predictable and underwhelming, now it was the standout. Arizona was reckless, slowly turning their backs on their team. People were gobsmacked. Nevada began to follow the same character arch as Arizona, but did not pull the same excitement as their personality lacked substance and energy. Georgia was another character people wanted to enjoy, but nervously were not counting on them to do anything drastic. John King wanted to keep the spotlight, but the viewers could tell he barely slept in two days and scared that they may witness a mental breakdown on screen.

Episode Four (Friday)

This was the slowest episode. The ratings began to fall and viewer count dropped. Some viewers had a clear idea of what the finale would look like. Others anticipated a plot twist and tried not to get their hopes up. Some took the series too far and turned to conspiracies. Viewers wanted to like Nevada and hoped they'd be the hero of the season finale, but the final plot twist was saved for final episode-Saturday

Episode Five (Saturday)

The series was finally over when a strong Pennsylvania, a state that went behind enemy lines and made a quick turn around to Biden. The series was finally over. People switched off their TVs and took a sigh of relief, the longest series yet. Some were upset with the results, others played Can You Hear the People Sing from Les Miserables on repeat drinking from a small bottle of champagne they had been saving since Trump claimed that you can use nukes to stop hurricanes- is that too specific?