‘Kid Nation’: Tearful goodbyes

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If you’ve been watching, you knew this was coming. A super teary goodbye, some final gold star rewards, and of course, one last challenge.

The episode, like the show and its pre-air hype, started off with chaos. The job board was burned down, nixing the class structure and the division of labor. The kids went wild. Mike, who has kept a relentlessly active energy around him throughout the ordeal, found the board aflame as he reflected on his stay in Bonanza during a walk in the dark. As the kids banned together to douse the fire, Jarrod left us with another zinger (as he carried a cup of water to the flame): Help any way you can, even if you have to use a freakin’ tin cup! We’ll miss Jarrod.

Once order broke down, the kids looted the store and the supply room. As DK asked ‘Why?’ Taylor disciple Leila tried to justify the mayhem by stating that ‘kids don’t always have to act like adults.’ Though I’m sure it happens, most kids probably don’t loot the candy store whenever they get the chance. Or do they?

Guylan embodied the guilt that the kids felt the next day when they woke up to their candy-strewn town saying: ‘We need to learn the hard way sometimes.’ They established order and cleaned up. DK, Greg, Blaine and Michael continued to be the council leaders as they headed into a town council meeting. Zach was finally given a gold star. He believed he deserved it, but the 10-year-old welled up nonetheless.

Fireworks as the mean girls showed up. Kelsey, Leila and Taylor wanted to spend time together, sans Emilie. They may have believed they were being nice by telling her this, but it was mean. Migle stepped in and calmed the situation. Migle has always been in the background. If Laurel and Morgan were the moms of the group, Sophia and Migle were the big sisters. Tough, comforting kids.

And now, the final challenge. The town must complete three tasks to earn their reward. And the council is tasked with rewarding three pioneers with $50,000 gold stars for overall commitment to the town. The chore was symbolic: build picnic tables, cook dinner and clean up. These duties seemed to be three of the biggest challenges facing the group daily (not building picnic tables, but just putting things together metaphorically). And they completed them with flying colors as kids gravitated toward tasks that they’ve proven useful at. After staying in the town for 40 days, it became a little more clear who was good at what. Greg helped build, Sophia cooked, many pitched in with cleanup duty.

Their reward? Parents!!! That was a good surprise, and watching some of the parents’ (Morgan’s) reactions to their kids’ living conditions was fun. After introductions and re-bonding time, they all sat down to dinner, then moved into the town hall for the $50K awards.

First, I have to say ... my favorite pioneers all season long have been Laurel, Sophia, Morgan and Jarrod. Two of them got honored. Sophia was a no-brainer. Smart, resourceful, funny. And Morgan ... Ever since the one episode where she brought kids together for a town prayer, she has been a fave. And the last winner? Migle, remarkably. Sometimes the show telegraphs a bit too much, but it’s understandable that they want to show why the kid is getting a star.

I expected more from the finale. You knew there’d be tears, you knew there’d be a challenge of some kind, and you knew there’d be a reward. Can’t say that I really knew what to expect, but it was a bit of a fizzle after the hype leading up to it. $50K is more than double the money, but since the format is to award gold stars every episode, nothing seemed finale-worthy.

Despite that, it was a decent show. Despite the protests, which obviously died down, despite the grease fire horror (Divad got a mini scar from her ‘innovative’ food sales) and all the other allegations and worries ... it turned out to be an enjoyable, empowering, kid-friendly, family-oriented show. It didn’t feel like ‘Survivor’ or ‘American Idol’ in the reality competition sense. No backstabbing to get ahead, just kids working together. And it wasn’t always the smartest or strongest who won, personality counted for a lot. That alone should secure a second season.

Photos: CBS

-- Jevon Phillips