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With only three days left, the producers have some more curveballs to throw at the town, starting with burning down the job board and incinerating the Pioneer Journal. After an obligatory day of looting and rioting, the town settles down, and Jonathan blindsides the Council by making them give out the last $20,000 Gold Star, with no preparation, in place of where there's usually a Showdown. DK almost balks, but then the Council ends up giving it to Zach. With no rules and no districts, Emilie invites herself into the Yellow girls' bunk but gets pissed off over being excluded from their girls' night. Migle is the one who defuses the resulting fight. On Day 40, Jonathan makes another big announcement: the Gold Stars aren't over. In fact, there are three $50,000 Gold Stars to give away on the last day, and the people who have already won the smaller ones are in the running for them. But before the bigger Gold Stars can be put into play, the town needs to race through some arbitrary party-prep tasks in an hour. Which they do. Then everyone's parents show up for a tour and a meal and a big party before the last Town Hall meeting, this one in front of the parental units. The $50,000 Gold Stars end up going to Sophia, Morgan, and dark-horse Migle. As the kids all say their tearful goodbyes, we realize that throughout this whole season, with everything that happened, we never saw anybody -- anybody -- drink a single drop of bleach. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Day 38 has barely started when Mike comes out of his bunkhouse in the morning twilight to "reflect." You know how the kids these days can't get enough reflecting. By some odd coincidence, when he comes around the corner, he happens to look toward the end of the street where the job board is. Actually, it would be more surprising if he didn't see it, because the freestanding wooden structure is basically a solid wall of flame. Huh, lightning must have struck it or something. What a coincidence that this happens on a morning when someone got up early. Mike runs up to it, narrating, "It's the job board! That's insane!" He watches it for a minute, then takes off running to the closest bunkhouse, (which happens to be the Blue boys') to tell them what's happening. At the bunk he doesn't catch any of the Blue girls naked, but some of them don't look like this was worth being woken up over. It's quickly getting lighter outside as kids come running full-speed to see for themselves, and then to get buckets of water to throw on the flames. Well, except Jared, who carries a tin coffee mug at a brisk walk. Eventually they realize that it's too late, and they all watch the structure collapse in flames. As does Mike's world, as he says in an interview, "The job board is on fire so that means there's no more jobs but if there's no more jobs that means there's no more classes and no more classes means that we can't have places in the Showdown but we're supposed to have a Showdown today...oh my God!" So that's what a twelve-year-old looks like when he's having a stroke. Everyone watches as the job board finishes falling into burning embers, and DK tells them, "The job board is not the freakin' town!" Alas, he is correct.
After credits and commercials, the crowd has dispersed. But that's only so that Jonathan can ring the bell that has always stood where the job board used to be and summon them right back. Some enterprising PA has made sure that there are some fresh flames on the site, for some reason or another. Jonathan tells the kids that the fire wasn't an accident (no shit), and that things are about to change. He's holding the Pioneer Journal in his hands, and instead of giving it to the Council and letting them read that a fire department might not be such a bad idea ("Here in 1885, we had a serial arsonist too. Don't make the same mistake we did"), he reminds about how the Pioneer Journal and the job board have structured their lives. "Burn it! Burn it!" Mallory yells at Jonathan. Jonathan's like, "Really?" as though an entry for today even got written. And when enough people agree with Mallory, he throws the Journal on the fire. Which is like burning 25 dollars on eBay. Anjay interviews that he had mixed emotions, because while the Journal may have gotten the Councils into trouble, it also helped them survive. And now they can't even eat it. Jonathan tells them the new rules: no Journal, no job board, no buffalo nickels, no classes. So they can either keep working, or they can do whatever they want. Wow, after 37 days, they're finally putting the kids in control? Are they out of their minds? Most of the kids cheer, but Michael interviews that he has misgivings. In the Red bunkhouse, Mike tells some kids that this is their chance to prove they can do this, and if they can't do that, it proves that they... "Suck!" someone says. Mike agrees.
And on that note, cue the looting! A bunch of kids are loading up in the candy store with as much as they can carry. Leila even cleans the now-useless buffalo nickels out of the till. Even as Olivia loads up, she tells us over the racket that since there are no rules, they might as well "raid all the stores for all they're worth, man!" One of the few unidentified randoms left on this show rants to Taylor and us about how they've been acting like responsible pioneers for 38 days, and they need to be kids. Hence the town-wide sugar high. "We've all decided to go mad!" Olivia tells us, hauling a double armload of loot back to her bunk. Taylor gets some sodas out of the Saloon, announcing, "I'm STEALING! Have a nice day." I think that's the kindest thing she's ever said. Pharaoh even dumps a huge jar of yellow jawbreakers on the floor of the candy store for no reason. But despite the disorder, not everyone's in on it. DK bemoans all the looting. As does Zach, who wanders the chaotic streets like the Omega Man and interviews, "Stealing is wrong. You steal, everyone will steal. If other people steal, there is no order. Society breaks down." Nice of Zach to be looking out for the blind viewers.
But apparently this insanity goes on all day, because when the Council enters the dry goods store to assess the damage, they find it totally cleaned out. Except not clean. As Zach sweeps drifts of Skittles from the floor, he rants about how they were doing just fine for so long, and now it's all crumbling. He generalizes about the kind of people who live in Bonanza City. I'm thinking this is more the responsibility of the people who run Bonanza City, and I mean to be quite clear that that's an entirely different group of people. DK agrees with Zach (though not enough to get up and help sweep) and says they'll have a meeting about it after dinner. That whole scene, I totally forgot that Zach wasn't on the Council anymore. That might be because his replacement, Blaine, was seen carrying off a couple dozen bottles of soda.
Dinner has gone back to the first-night style of cuisine, as Sophia and a no doubt sharply reduced kitchen crew were apparently able to throw together some pasta. She apologizes, but calls it poetic. After the meal, the Council takes the stage and Michael tells them that they're going to clean up the town tomorrow. DK adds that they don't need the Journal or the job board to rebuild the town. Well, seriously. Everyone cheers and leaves in a good mood. Guylan interviews that everyone felt bad after "the town riot," but it was a learning experience. Yes, we saw Guylan doing some "learning" in the dry goods store earlier. Sophia, with what is either a bruise or a smudge over her eye, exhaustedly tells us in her bunk that she hopes tomorrow is better. She was probably too busy cooking all day to do any looting of her own. Lights out.
Day 39 dawns ,and the main street is a disaster area. There's candy everywhere on the muddy ground. If people had also thrown their colored uniform t-shirts around, it would complete the impression that this was the scene of some kind of Lollapalooza concert headlined by the Wiggles. In the bunkhouses, kids wake up to their ill-gotten troves of goodies. And then they get to work cleaning up. As she gathers up trash, Migle interviews that when they started, she and Natasha were the lazy ones, but now she realizes you have to work and she wants to leave the town looking good. I should also mention that this episode wants to leave Migle looking good, for reasons that will become apparent in the final act (spoiler!).
Out on the Showdown field, Jonathan calls out for everyone to gather up. They all come running, but none of them are in their district uniforms, so it's kind of disconcerting. That's because, as Jonathan explains, there's no Showdown this time. But there's still a reward. Jonathan opens up a case on a crate and unwraps the last $20,000 Gold Star. Jonathan! That's not a reward! Clearly he is losing it too, if something that gets given out every three days no matter what gets counted as a reward now. It's even less of a reward for the Council, because they have to award it right now. He sends the Council off to confer. While they're gone, Jonathan decides to kill a few minutes by asking everyone who thinks they deserve the last Gold Star to raise their hands. Nobody does, because they saw what happened to Divad after she campaigned for herself. Not that we saw what happened to her, but I have no doubt it was horrible. Guylan nominates Mike, I guess trying to make amends for taking Mike's Council seat and then giving it away the first chance he got. Mike says other people deserve it more than he does. Laurel raises her hand and says Sophia should get a repeat. Jonathan asks Sophia, "Another $20,000 [you greedy little bitch]?" like it was her idea. "I have my Gold Star," Sophia demurs.
Meanwhile, the Council is off talking about who should get the last Gold Star. Greg says the last one should go to someone who represents Bonanza City in a good way. But DK doesn't even want to do this, now that they're down to the last one. After all, giving one away now will mean there are no more to give, right? He faces his fellow Council members with tears running down his face. I hope they don't decide to give it to DK like the last time he started crying.
Back from ads, DK talks about how hard a decision this is. Michael agrees, as we see shots of Olivia, Mike, and Guylan, as well as Jared, Taylor, Migle, and Anjay. That is a hard decision, all right, but not in the way they're thinking. When the Council returns, Greg talks about a hard worker who's been a leader since Day 1, and names Zach. Zach's jaw drops in disbelief as he comes up to accept the star. "You can't possibly be speechless," Jonathan cracks. But all Zach can manage before his voice breaks is to say that he never actually thought he'd win, and that he can't say anything right now. Greg says that Zach has been committed to making Bonanza City work, and after the two of them hug, Greg interviews that Zach has potential, and he could see him entering politics one day. I think Greg means that as a compliment. Even Taylor smiles a little at this special moment for one of her many nemesiseses. Jonathan disbands the group, telling them to keep running their world. He doesn't add that it's all going to be over tomorrow.
Hey, why doesn't Zach get to call his parents? It's not like that phone has numbers to dial that would give away the fact that he'd be talking to his family in a La Quinta in Santa Fe (spoiler!).
Taylor and the Taylortones have decided to use their newfound freedom to bring their favorite chickens into their bunkhouse. The birds are still getting settled when Emilie comes in to ask if she can move into their bunk as well. "You can sleep by the chickens if you want," Taylor says, which isn't the warmest invitation you can imagine. Presumably if the chickens weren't already there, Emilie would have been allowed to sleep on the windowsill.
But even that gets rescinded because in the very scene, Kelsey has a short one-on-one with Emilie to tell her that she's not invited to sleep over that night after all, since it's their last night together. "We just really want to have a night to ourselves," Kelsey babbles. "You understand, right?" Emilie does, in fact, understand. She understands that Taylor had second thoughts about letting Emilie in, and then sent her Taylgunner Kelsey to shoot Emilie down. And she's pissed about it. "I can't trust you guys any more." Kelsey yells at Emilie that this is their last night together, and Emile tells her not to raise her voice. Which isn't really fair, because this is Kelsey we're talking about and her normal speaking voice is that of talk radio host who moonlights as an auctioneer. But Emilie storms off, and Kelsey trots along to her, protesting, "I've been trying to talk to you really, really quietly and really calmly." Except Kelsey kind of has a really higher baseline than most people on both of those axes. If she weren't such an accomplished pianist I'd wonder if she's half deaf. Random shot of Migle, her spidey-sense tingling, and then Emilie is confronting Taylor and Leila in the Saloon for making Kelsey do their dirty work. They're a lot meaner than Kelsey was. The fight spills out onto the street, and there's yelling and grabbing and lots of random people showing up to try to put a stop to it. But it's Migle who wades in the furthest, grabbing Emilie by her shoulders and keeping her from ripping Taylor's bitchface right off her skull. DK interviews about how awesome Migle is, and then Migle mediates a solution where in Emilie can return to her Blue bunk for the night (with Migle, remember) and then hang with the Taylpipes tomorrow. Hugs all around! Emilie interviews that Migle is like a big sister to her. I wonder if the real reason for Emilie's hurt feelings is that she doesn't get to sleep with the chickens.
Day 40. That's the last one, in case you're keeping count. Jonathan summons the kids to the middle of the town, where they all stand in a tight, artfully arranged crescent as Jonathan pulls something out to show them: it's a Gold Star that looks to be about two and a half times the size of the others. That's just a rough estimate on my part, mind you. And then there's a second, and a third, and a lot of oohing and aahing from the kids. Jonathan summons Alex up to lift one, and as Alex holds it up so we can see it's the size of his head, Jonathan tells him he's holding $50,000 worth of gold. It's not just a Gold Star; it's a GOLD STAR. And any one of them can take one of the three home. Well, except Taylor, obviously.
Jonathan tells them that the GOLD STARs will be given away at the last Town Hall meeting today, but first the town has to earn them. And here's how. Today will be the "first annual Bonanza City Bonanza," celebrating everything they've done. "First annual," that's a good one. He tells them they have one hour to "cook, decorate, and clean the town from top to bottom." Which is not actually the case, because production has just planted three signs at different locations around the town, giving them certain tasks. If they get them all done, the Council gets to give two GOLD STARs to the hardest workers, and one to anyone, whatever that means. Sophia gives an interview in which she sounds like she's just upgraded from two packs a day to four and says, Fifty thousand dollars. That changes your life forever. It's a gargantuous amount." I don't know about changing your life forever, but it's certainly more than I've ever earned in a month and change.
Jonathan clicks his stopwatch, and the town scatters. Sophia, naturally, leads a large group into the kitchen and reads the sign out loud. It instructs them to turn a big pile of dough on the table into spaghetti, and a big tub of tomatoes into enough tomato sauce to fill a five-gallon jar. Everyone gets to work loading dough into these pasta cannons that have been set up for the purpose. When kids on one end push the plungers, kids on the other end catch the extruded noodles on plates and dump them into a kettle. I assume the stuff isn't actually going to have to be edible, because it looks disgusting. Like an ostrich shat through a screen door. While Sophia leads that effort, Zach is leading a small crew of tomato-squashers. They're being none too neat, and Zach asks Maddy, "What's worth more, that shirt, or fifty thousand dollars?" My question: Who the fuck is Maddy? The noodles are finished, but the sauce has to be heated in the microwave one big bowl at a time and then dumped into the jar. "Taylor made the right choice," Zach says of the microwave. Hey, I get it! This is like a culmination of everything that...oh, fuck it. The jar is filled to overflowing, and everyone runs out of the now-trashed kitchen with forty minutes left. Is anyone going to have to actually cook in that pit now? "Hurry!" screams Jonathan, holding a GOLD STAR aloft.
The kids also have to assemble picnic tables from kits, using pegs and rubber mallets. Presumably these tasks are going on more or less simultaneously despite the sequential editing, because I'm not seeing a lot of the same kids who were in the kitchen with Sophia. Mike leads a group building one picnic table, and they get kind of frustrated while he fucks around underneath it trying to get things lined up properly. I'm really resisting the temptation to make a joke about Mike not being able to find the right hole here. Michael tries to tell us that this was because they didn't pick the library and thus had no how-to books. Oh, whatever. Like with an hour to build several picnic tables they would have gone to the library to look up how a fucking mallet works. Finally Mike's group gets their table together. Meanwhile, Greg is leading another small group that is having a much easier time. Mike interviews, "Greg's built a picnic table before, so he knew what he was doing. Which is...annoying." I would have said "predictable," but in my gig they're often the same thing. Finally with all the picnic tables built, they only have fifteen minutes left. Supposedly.
Everyone runs to the last sign, which is at the trash heap. It tells them that they've got to get all the garbage out of town and bury it. Otherwise the production crew will have to do it, and that's so not in their job description. The kids all glove up and start shoveling trash into wagons so they can haul it out to the landfill. Which someone has thoughtfully already opened up for them. Savannah offers DK her shovel, and he politely declines, because he's quite busy standing and watching. "I think I'm going to throw up," he says. Everyone complains about the smell and the chicken intestines and what not. But Morgan interviews that she's been dealing with garbage since Day 2, so she's used to it. Day 1, of course, was still the "Sophia throws food on the street" era. Meanwhile, Greg is busy widening the hole to make sure there's room for all the trash. He interviews that he's one of the strongest guys, which I’m sure plays into some past reward choice that I'm simply to dim to grasp. Then we see him jump on a basket to try and crush it, but all he does is fall down and hurt himself. He and Blaine keep trying to break stuff down to get it to fit. Laurel interviews that it was nice to see the town come together. As Greg does more shovel-fu, he talks about how he trusts everyone to do their jobs. Finally the town rubbish tip is empty, but Jonathan points out that they still have to bury all of it. Six or seven kids drag the last, quarter-full wagon out of town at a dead run. By the time they've spread layer of dirt over the trash that's so thin it wouldn't discourage a snail with M.S., there are only two minutes left. Everyone dashes back to town except DK, who collapses in pain. Apparently he has a tendon issue in his knees. As Jonathan tells them that they can't ring the bell until everyone's back, Greg and Blaine rush back to bodily carry DK into town. Which is weird, because in the background you can clearly see several kids just walking, in no hurry whatsoever. Jonathan tells them to hold off ringing the bell until Greg, Blaine, and DK return. Which they do. Mallory, the youngest, gets to ring the bell. And yes, they got the three big GOLD STARs. $150,000 is really not bad for an hour's work, even if you divide it by 37 kids.
Jonathan tells them that in addition to the money, they got a big party. And what's a party without guests? When Jonathan says that they haven't seen these guests in 39 days, everyone starts screaming in excitement. And then we see seventy-odd parents swarming down the road into town at a jog. And I defy you not to cry like an asshole as Jonathan cuts the kids loose to run and meet them. There's so much hugging and crying and "I missed you"s that they all run together. Yet it's one last "screw you" to these kids, making them reunite with their parents right when they're still rank with the sweat of an hour's panicked exertion and smeared with garbage. Not that you see any of the adults saying, "I missed you so much! Holy Christ, you reek!" I wonder, if the town had failed the tasks, whether the party would have been cancelled and all the parents sent home and all the kids driven out on the same bus that brought them here. I guess we'll never know. Sophia's mom asks her if this is the hardest thing she's ever done. "By far," Sophia nods. Natasha's and DK's parents remark on how much they've grown. Alex tells his suddenly affectionate parents, "Okay, that's enough." I notice that it's parents only -- no siblings are in attendance with the obvious exception of Olivia and Mallory, and if Alex's parents brought his microbes, they're safely tucked away somewhere. Zach's dad tells him, "I said this was going to be a test of your self-reliance and independence? I was wrong, it was a test of our self-reliance and independence." Zach's dad rules. Zach interviews how good it felt to see his parents after so long, and he couldn't believe it was all over. And Michael interviews that you don't often get to show your parents a ghost town and tell them you've been living there. Michael is wrong. I never get to do that. Cue the montage of horrified parents, as Morgan shows her parents her flop and DK shows his folks some chicken feet. Nathan shows his mom how the water yokes work, by making her try one out. She hopes she's not the only parent who has to. Colton asks his mom if she brought him underwear and socks, and he's glad she did. In the Saloon, Jared mixes up a Bonanza Bomb for his incredibly large yet completely Jared-haired dad to chug, while the Morgan family cheers him on. Leila lets her mom use one of the outhouses. "City slicker," Leila scoffs to us after taking in her mom's disgusted reaction. Heh. But I bet Leila doesn't insist on crapping in the back yard after she gets home.
Taylor goes through the town, ringing a triangle to summon everyone to lunch. We only got to see her parents for a second during the big reunion sequence -- certainly not long enough to draw any conclusions, if one were so inclined. Everyone sits down outside to what looks like real food, and everyone introduces their parents to everyone else. It's like parents' day at camp, except that nobody's allowed to sue. After a while, Jonathan comes out (big ovation for Jonathan, like he did anything) and tells the kids to get their backpacks, clear out of their bunkhouses, and bring their parents to the last Town Hall meeting. This is really winding down. In keeping with the nostalgic mood, Laurel interviews that the other kids are like her siblings, the best people she's ever met, and it's going to be really sad to leave them. Jonathan reminds everyone about the three GOLD STARs, and everyone applauds. DK interviews about the weight of the decision, and shots of the other Council members thinking the same thing take us to the ads.
Jonathan rings the bell outside the Town Hall, summoning pioneers and parents alike as it gets dark outside. He has the kids drop their bags by the door and everyone heads in. "Grab a seat, Zach's dad," Jonathan says to the last guy to arrive. Fortunately, he is in fact Zach's dad. Inside, the kids are in their usual spaces, with their parents on folding chairs behind them. I always wondered why there was so much unused space at the back of the hall.
There's only one order of business at this last meeting, and it's the three $50,000 GOLD STARs. Jonathan tells the Council to go take a walk to talk about it. Outside, Greg says that the last GOLD STARs should be about not only hard work, but about making Bonanza City better. DK agrees, and names Sophia. Inside, Sophia stands up to apologize to "anybody I've bossed around, screamed at, or offended. You've all changed my life for good." I notice she's wearing her kitchen apron, which I'm sure is totally a coincidence. Greg says that Mike's a good kid. Inside, Mike tells everyone he loves them, as Greg says Mike was a good Council leader from the beginning. He just needed a little push, was all. DK is also thinking about Migle, who we see saying to the kids that they should all be proud of themselves. DK says Migle has been constantly improving. Michael mentions Anjay. Greg calls Anjay a trouper, but is thinking more about Morgan. Who we see telling everyone that they've improved on their swearing. Everyone laughs, especially Morgan's parents. "You fucking tell those little shits, bitch!" Morgan's dad doesn't say. Greg thinks Laurel is quite deserving. Laurel makes an inspiring speech of the kind Laurel is always making. Michael floats Markelle's name, and they talk about how Markelle makes people smile. Michael interviews that he wishes he had 36 more GOLD STARs to give out, and this was the most difficult decision of his life.
The Council returns. Michael stands and makes a little speech before naming...Sophia. Big surprise. Smart to get that out of the way. Sophia, at least, seems surprised as she stands to accept the award, and everyone claps. Her mom looks really proud. Sophia gives an emotional thank-you speech and goes back to hug her mom. She interviews about how flattered and happy she is. And suddenly battling emphysema, from the sound of her voice. Must have been a whole lot of yelling and crying the night before.
Greg gets up to announce that the person has been a real friend to him and to everyone, and gives the second GOLD STAR to Morgan. She's in total disbelief as she walks the short distance from the front row to Jonathan, and her parents look amazed as well. "Balls tits cock!" her mom doesn't say. Morgan's speech is about how she doesn't deserve it, since she's been working less and hanging out with people more lately. Jonathan guesses that this GOLD STAR wasn't about hard work, and Greg confirms that Morgan brought the community together. Congrats on winning the slacker GOLD STAR, Morgan! Morgan's dad stands and thanks the Council. Greg in turn thanks Morgan's dad for letting them have Morgan in the community. Morgan's dad asks Greg how old he is, and he's taken aback when Greg answers 15. He says he has adult conversations that don't go that well. He thanks everyone (failing to add, "pussy asshole shit goddamn fuck," by the way), and Morgan goes back to hug her folks to much applause. Morgan interviews that this was one of the best days of her life, that the people in town make her feel good about herself, and that she feels like she belongs there more than she does any place other than with her family at home. She does not add, "Cocksuckers!"
Two down, one to go. DK stands up and talks about someone who has worked hard and has been constantly improving: Yes, it's Migle. The applause starts slow and builds even slower. Laurel in particular looks almost as shocked as Migle herself does. Migle's mom looks amazed, but her dad doesn't seem to react at all. He doesn't even crack a smile until he sees his daughter slowly rise and go to the front. They're from Lithuania, remember, so it's possible he doesn't have a great deal of English yet. It also makes it really hard for me to make a joke about how much Migle's parents look like a pair of Bond villains. Migle gives Jonathan a big hug and smiles back at her parents. She tearfully talks about how much this means, and Michael admit-erviews that Migle was the wild card. Wild card's one word for it. Some might say "dark horse." Some might even say "travesty." Not I, however. Michael goes on to say that she contributes "a lot of kindness to the town." Migle tells her parents that this is for them, and then heads back to hug them. She interviews that it means a better life for her family, and as she does so, she holds the star in her lap while she fidgets. This has the effect of making the star periodically reflect the sun in such a way as to blind me. $50,000 won't buy me new retinas, Mig.
Jonathan wraps things up. He tells the kids they've done something totally amazing over the last 40 days, and that adults can learn a lot from the 37 of them. The three who left are, he leaves unsaid, total losers. Mike's mom stands up and tells the kids she's proud of all of them, and thanks them for giving them hope for the future. Standing ovation from the parents. Jonathan milks the moment as he slowly says, "Head outside, grab your bags, and say good-bye to each other for the last time ever." And yet there's all that interview footage of the GOLD STAR winners that was clearly shot the following day, either at Bonanza City or in front of a particularly convincing backdrop at Sears Portrait Studio. Huh. Jonathan continues, "Good-bye, pioneers. We will miss you. And keep building a better world!"
The kids get up and file out past their still-seated and still-clapping parents, then mill around outside as they hug and say their farewells. Mike: "We've laughed together, and cried together, we've gone through all these experiences together and I knew that no matter what we said, there was a good chance that we probably weren't going to see each other again." In the hugfest, Mike tells Jared he'll miss him. Greg hugs Sophia and tells her he just gave her fifty grand. "Oh, I love you, Greg," she lies dutifully. He interviews, "Kid Nation proves that kids can build a community." Taylor: "Kids can do things do things on their own if they try." Other kids, she means. Mallory: "Big, small, doesn't matter what age." Laurel: "We have brains. We have opinions. We have real minds." DK: "We're not just kids. We're more than that." Sophia: "After spending 40 days with these incredible kids, I have a lot more confidence about the future of this country and the world." The hugfest continues. Poor Zach still has tomato shrapnel on his arms. Sophia tells someone, "If you ever come to Disney, give me a call. I’m fifteen minutes away." We don't see who she's talking to, so I think we can assume she means all of us. Zach: "I think we've all learned so much. We really built something. I think we really made this place a Kid Nation." Colton, Anjay, Markelle, Savannah, and Jared all echo, "Kid Nation," and Mallory wraps it up with, "Kid Nation rules!" complete with a tiny little fist pump. Take that, Iran!
And the closing credits background is a farewell singalong in the Saloon, with Eric on piano. The song sounds familiar, but that probably just means that Eric wrote it.