Kid Nation Recap 9/26 - Tastes Like Chicken

Last week, the showdown separated the town into the haves and the have nots. Jimmy felt he was too young and made the wise decision to go home. Sophia received the gold star worth twenty thousand dollars for all of her hard work. Will anyone go home this week? Who will receive the gold star? Let’s find out.

To Kill Or Not To Kill
Eighteen chickens reside in Bonanza City and the kids who live on farms back home are in their element taking care of them. One of the hens lays an egg and Colton grabs it the minute it pops out. They get all excited over how warm it still is. Yeah, I know that’s where eggs come from but I prefer mine cold in a blue styrofoam carton, thankyouverymuch! Emilie’s family owns ten acres of horse land so the animals are her best friends. “They’re my soft spot,” she declares.

The town council convenes in the chapel where they read the journal left behind by the town’s original pioneers. The passage of the day sympathizes with their abundance of dried and canned foods and lack of fresh meat. “Let me tell you what we did,” it reads, “If you want a balanced diet, you might want to do it too. You brought chickens with you, right? Truth is, they’re good for more than eggs.” At first, the kids are shocked by the thought of killing the chickens. However, Anjay quickly decides he wants a chicken dinner so much that he’s willing to kill for it. Laurel wonders how he can be so heartless. Since they’re divided on the issue, they decided to let the town vote. As unsuspecting chickens cluck happily in their coop, the council presents the idea to the town after breakfast. They’re all unhappy with the food they’ve been eating so the majority is okay with adding a little protein to their diet. Greg even announces that he’s worked with a butcher for over a year and has butchered a number of different animals including chickens. Why does this not surprise me? A small group that includes Emilie is opposed. She can’t believe what’s happening to the town and informs the council that if they kill chickens, she’s going home. She and a couple others make a beeline for the chicken coop and use rope to “lock” themselves in until the town agrees not to kill her feathered friends. A clueless Savannah asks if they’re going to hang the chickens like they did Saddam Hussein. Taylor wants in but Emilie thinks she’s just going to catch the chickens so she can strangle them. I’m thinking if the little beauty queen can’t wash a dish, she won’t be snapping the necks of any chickens either. Emilie finally lets her in and she tells them the town will meet to decide the fate of the chickens. In his best Shakespearean voice, Jared proclaims, “To kill or not to kill. That is the question.” At the meeting, they agree that they can’t survive on canned fruit and starches. They need protein in their diet. They only need to kill two chickens to feed everyone. Emilie agrees and they celebrate that they’ll be having chicken for dinner.

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A Time To Kill
Caution: The following scene may be too intense for young children. The warning appears on my screen; and I quickly send my melodramatic 6 year old from the room as Mike announces that it’s time to kill the chickens. The kids gather around as Anjay holds a chicken in place on a stump. Greg instructs him to hold it tightly and stretch it’s neck out. He raises his hatchet and brings it down swiftly to decapitate the chicken. Some of the girls scream and several kids gasp at the sight of the chicken’s headless body flapping wildly on the ground. Greg tries to calm them and explains that “it’s only reflexes” and the chicken was dead the minute he cut off it’s head. Emilie can’t watch any longer and runs away. Greg kills the second chicken and demonstrates how to pluck the feathers. Let me tell you, I’m really thankful for the bag of Tyson in my freezer. Sophia helps Greg gut the birds and says it’s the grossest thing she’s ever done. Greg works hard at cutting them for chicken stew and is convinced this will earn him the gold star. After that stomach-turning job, I’d give him an entire bucket of gold stars.

Sophia oversees the preparation of the chicken stew and potatoes. The kids come anxiously to dinner and ooh and aah over how great it is. Everyone except Emilie, that is. Sitting in the bunkhouse, she’s sad that everyone is excited over eating the poor chickens and cries over how horrible it is.

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Cold As Ice
The next morning, temperatures are below freezing. It’s so cold that the kids’ laundry is frozen in buckets. Now, I have no idea why they left their clothes sitting in water overnight but they’re kids, so I’ll cut them a little slack.

Sophia has been doing all of the cooking when it’s actually Taylor and the yellow district’s job. On this particular morning, everyone is hungry and there’s no breakfast ready. Zach confronts Taylor who whines that she’s cold. The others giggle as the spoiled little brat answers “so what” that it’s their job. She’s as cute as a button but I’m becoming annoyed by Taylor. She’s undeserving of that council seat, in my opinion.

Michael is a laborer. It’s his job to haul water but he and a couple of other boys discover that the pump is frozen so he tells the others to conserve water. Without water, they can’t cook, clean, or wash their clothes. Michael boils a pot of water and pours it down into the pump thinking it will thaw the frozen water inside. It works and the town now has water. Now, if they could only get the lazy cooks moving! Mike and Laurel both notice and comment on Michael’s resourcefulness.

Plumber’s Showdown
Time for the next showdown! Jonathan rings the bell to gather the kids. He tells them to get suited up and meet him at the old windmill. The arrogant blue team chants to get themselves fired up. The green team does a few cheers and Savannah hopes that Taylor and the yellow district take over as laborers next because they’re “lazier than a sack of potatoes.” Hee, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d love to see Taylor scrub outhouse toilets.

The kids meet Jonathan to find a 45 foot inflatable water slide. They learn that just like last week, if every district completes the task in under an hour, they win a reward. The slide is choice number one. If won, they can put it in the center of town and use it whenever they want. The second choice will be revealed after the contest.

Each district must connect pipes to pump water from a pump to water wheels and get them spinning. The pipes will pass through an outhouse, a barrel, and a wall with pipes protruding. Only one of those protruding pipes is the correct one. That’s not all. Once they begin, Jonathan will turn on the water. The kids groan at the thought of water shooting out of the pipes as they work. They’re sure to be drenched by the end of the task. The first district to get their wheel spinning becomes the upper class and earns a dollar. Also like last week, the second place team will be the merchants and earn 50 cents. The third team becomes the cooks and earn 25 cents and the last team gets the lowly laborer position for a measly 2 buffalo nickels.

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The contest begins and Jonathan turns on the water. The blue team gets their pipe together and has water flowing through the outhouse first. Greg has worked with his dad and routed a sprinkler system and feels that’s what helped him lead his team. Blue is the first team through the barrel with red as a close second. Guylan had the idea to split the red team up instead of all of them working on one section. When they get to the wall, the blue team yells into each pipe to see which one goes through to the other side rather than attaching the pipe to each on as a trial. They quickly find the one and have the water flowing through the wall. Red is close but their pipe springs a leak and slows them down. Blue easily takes the win becoming the upper class for the second week in a row. Red finishes second, once again taking the job of the town’s merchants. To everyone’s dismay, the lazy yellow district takes third place and will be responsible for cooking, or not. Green works hard to get it done in the allotted time but falls short. Not only are they laborers again but they’ve lost the reward for the town. The other kids are great sports about it and rally around to congratulate them for their effort. But that’s all they get. No bouncy water slide, no choice #2 which would have been heated water pumps placed throughout the town. Sorry, but not winning the water slide is a good thing. The kids are standing there soaking wet as they listen to Jonathan and I remember that they awoke to freezing temperatures. It can’t have warmed up that much as evident by their shivering. The moron who thought it was a good idea to have these kids soaked in water for this showdown should be forced to strip and slide in cold water all night long.

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Back To Work
No one is happy that they yellow team has the cooking job again. They don’t do anything and Sophia points out a pot of corn that has been sitting there for two days. Taylor says that pageant girls don’t scrub off food that old. They use the dishwasher. Sophia dumps the corn but wishes she was dumping it on the heads of the yellow team. Now that’d be some good TV. I’d love to see the pageant girl covered in smelly old food. Greg helps Sophia out with the dishes even though he’s upper class and doesn’t have to work. He’s thinks everyone should work together if the town is going to succeed. Mike questions Greg’s motives, however. He feels that Greg is only working harder and being nicer to get the gold star. I think Mike has had a chip on his shoulder since he was punked by Greg last week.

Mallory and Sophie have started their own business, a stuffed animal daycare center. The kids can sign their pets in and leave them for the day. The girls will brush them and groom them and keep them company. They don't say if they're charging the kids for this service but I'd sure like to know.

While her red teammates work the saloon or the stores, Emilie hangs out in the chicken coop. Colton yells at her to keep out of there and tells her to go home if she wants to be with the animals. She wonders if that’s what’s best and considers going home. Maybe she can smuggle a few chickens out with her.

The council gets together to decide the recipient of the gold star. Anjay and Taylor both feel that Greg is most deserving while Mike and Laurel vote for Michael. Unlike Greg who is working solely for the star, they think Michael works for the good of the town. They go into the town meeting undecided.

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A lot of Cheering Or A Lot of Yelling
The meeting begins and Jonathan asks if anyone has an issue with the council. Sophia and Savannah both raise their hands. Sophia’s beef is once again with Taylor and her district shirking their responsibilities in the kitchen. Taylor whines about the cold and says that she tried to get up but couldn’t. Savannah points out that if Sophia and the green team can do it, the yellow team could. Taylor’s snotty response “As the youngest people, we don’t have as much good cooking experience. I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to starve.” causes an uproar amongst the kids. DK stands and tells Taylor that she needs to fix her disrespectful mouth because Sophia is helping her out. Zach is upset that Taylor makes all of his team look bad and thinks the council would be better without her on it. She again whines that they’re the youngest group there and it’s too hard for them to cook for 40 people. Michael steps up and tells her that’s no excuse because they have the potential to do it. This brings a round of applause from the town as the spoiled little pageant girl squirms in her chair. With nothing resolved, Jonathan stops them and asks if anyone wants to go home. Emilie remembers her mom’s words to her when she decided to come to Bonanza City. She told her to be a rough and tough cowgirl so Emilie thinks she can stick it out.

Mike stands to let the town know how hard it was deciding the gold star winner this week. After much deliberation, however, they award the star to Michael. Michael grins from ear to ear as he accepts and says that many kids were deserving of it and all have the potential to win it. This kid is bound to have politics in his future. He takes his star and goes to call his mom. She’s proud of him but says the best part of the call is getting to hear his voice.

Greg is not pleased with the council’s decision and upset that he didn’t win the gold star. He feels he did a “hell of a lot more than Michael.” He says it was disrespectful of the council and he vows to do something about it.

Next week, Greg’s temper flares and a dust storm blows through the town.

How many chickens have you plucked? PM me with the details.

Last week, I went easy on the parents and other adults involved in this show. Not anymore. Those kids are freezing! When I saw that it was cold enough that the town’s water supply was frozen, I thought surely production was pumping heat into the bunkhouses and other places for these kids. But as I watched, I noticed that they’re bundled up and shivering in most of the indoor scenes. At the town meeting, it’s obvious that they’re cold by their red noses and sniffling. I have to wonder what the hell those parents were thinking when they sent their kids to do this. I mean, they aren’t making that much money. How any adult can stand by and think this is a good idea is beyond me. You can bet your ass that Jonathan and the crew are warm and toasty in their trailers at night. Just my two cents.

Great recap, lil! :jumpy

Thanks for an awesome recap, lil! :yay

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I have to wonder what the hell those parents were thinking when they sent their kids to do this. I mean, they aren’t making that much money. How any adult can stand by and think this is a good idea is beyond me. You can bet your ass that Jonathan and the crew are warm and toasty in their trailers at night.

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I agree about the parents too.

Great recap Lil. I'm going to continue watching this show just to see what happens. Your re-cap is better than the show, however. As for the parents, didn't the girl who was upset about the chicken say something like, "When my mom said I HAD to come here, she said I had to be a cowgirl." Very telling.

Canuckie, that's what I heard, too. :(

:props Lil, you are spinning gold from straw with your recaps, and I've included a few of my favorites. :bowdown

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Yeah, I know that’s where eggs come from but I prefer mine cold in a blue styrofoam carton, thankyouverymuch!

I’m thinking if the little beauty queen can’t wash a dish, she won’t be snapping the necks of any chickens either.

Let me tell you, I’m really thankful for the bag of Tyson in my freezer.

Hee, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d love to see Taylor scrub outhouse toilets.

The moron who thought it was a good idea to have these kids soaked in water for this showdown should be forced to strip and slide in cold water all night long.

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As for the chicken killing, when my sister and I were 7 and 5 the lady who cared for us after school, used to kill chickens in front of us all the time. :omg Needless to say, it was tramautic to witness and I also prefer my chicken to come from the grocer all packaged neat and tidy. :lol Great recap, Lil. :star

Thanks lildago for the great recap.....somehow I missed the show this week....so glad you did the recap :D


Killing chickens?

I personally have never killed a chicken, but Dad killed many chickens for our dinner. Mom plucked the feathers and cleaned it. My sister and I thought it was freaky how the chicken would flop around. When we would eat the chicken, we'd try not to think about all the gore.......:mmm

Mom and Dad both were raised very poor. As children, for both of them, it was a very, very special occasion to have chicken. Personally, my sister and I would have much preferred store bought.

:yay Loved the recap, lil. I couldn't make it through the show this week, but your observations are much more worth seeing. :up

I also love the pic you chose of Taylor with that snotty look on her face. Hilarious.

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Originally Posted by lildago;2589184;

Jared proclaims, “To kill or not to kill. That is the question.”

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Jared is very quickly getting on my nerves.

Excellent recap, lildago! :up

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Originally Posted by dagwood;2595887;

Jared is very quickly getting on my nerves.

Excellent recap, lildago! :up

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I think Jared is adorable and very funny! I also remember freezing my tush off when I went camping as a kid myself (not frostbite freezing, of course). It's good for them. It builds character and I know that the producers wouldn't put the kids in a situation that would cause them real harm. I think we coddle kids too much these days. Just my opinion :teeth