♪
First, we hit the candy store. [grunts]
Then, we hit the pet store, aka the mini-zoo.
[grunts] And finally, due to the upcoming summer solstice,
I want to get my fortune read.
Ollie, it's your money, babe,
but don't waste it on fake stuff like fortune-telling.
Hey there, little girl, can I get your support to expose
the lizard people in government?
Lizard people? Like... Sea Monkeys?
Well, for five dollars I'll explain further.
How much can you explain for ten?
Ollie, get over here, right now!
I need you to develop a "bullshit detector."
Your gullible nature is going to make you a victim one day.
I completely disagree.
No fracking. No fracking. No fracking. No fracking.
Todd, are you sure it's okay to do this?
Jesus, Dad, focus.
It's Kelley Frakes' initiative.
she plans to expand her fracking here on the north side.
And fracking causes climate change. Yeah.
Look, I-I know. Everyone knows. Okay?
But, I-I mean, it's climate change,
so it's no fun at all. Look, I'm struggling.
Kelley wants to expand fracking into the creek,
where me and my friends play with the turtles.
Or should I say, I play with my only friend, the turtle.
Ah, don't worry, Mom.
There's no one but that Harper nerd and Debbie's nervous,
wrong-choice husband.
Johnny, you know what starts a snowball rolling?
A snowflake.
I don't want anyone to get in the way
of our fracking license.
I got big investors lined up to cash in.
Well, we'll have that license in just 24 hours. [chuckles]
No one's gonna pull off anything
to get in the way of that in time.
What's up, windowless van-stache?
Dorothy Parker, everybody.
LOOK! Oh, my God, Todd is on TV! Turn it up!
Today, as the clock winds down
on any dissent for the mayor's fracking expansion,
a local boy makes a scene at the capitol.
Climate change is real.
There are facts, and there are clear plans.
Hi, y'all. As y'all's mayor,
I'm out here trying to figure out how to drum up
some positive economic ventures.
Understandable and relatable.
The local boy, on the other hand, is abrasive, alone, ugly.
Plus, I mean, it's climate change, so... snooze.
Dad. I still got a few dollars
and it's still daylight.
Will you take me to get my fortune read?
Whatever. At least this outing won't give me a headache.
Ollie, remember what I said about that fake stuff, babe.
You put your faith in it, you're gonna be let down.
Leaps of faith are exciting. Leaps of fact are homework.
Welcome to our blessed boutique. Feel blessed.
Hi, I'm Joshathon, the free range kid.
My parents buy our goods on Amazon
and sell them to you for twice the price. [chuckles]
Rad! See, everyone's here.
If there's a sale, I'm there,
even if it is just crystals and brass.
For a place that's supposedly "at one with Mother Earth,"
they sure use a lot of plastic
and create a shit-ton of trash.
Oh, come on. Look at this, look at this.
CBD toothpicks. Look, CBD hair pomade.
Come on, now. This CBD thing is crazy, right?
But let's get some, just to be sure, you know.
Ah. I need this headache to go away.
Oh, you just need a natural remedy.
Is this $65 carrot?
No, it's not. It's a $65 care-OOT,
flown in from the mystical Black Forest of Germany
this morning by jet.
Well, I do like their cake and ham,
but $65... I don't...
A magic number? Yes.
You're into numerology. I get it, so am I.
Tell you what. I'll give you a sample off yesterday's
car-OOT for, like, $12.50.
Well, okay. I'm sure you know what you're talking about.
Hey, little goddess, you have a great taste in crystals.
Those are our most expensive.
If you listen while you scratch at them,
you can hear their high-pitched, scratchy voices
talking to you.
Watch.
Yes. I know. [laughs]
So spiritual.
My grandma says if we want to get spiritual
we should just go to church.
Bullshit! That's bullshit.
It's so backwards and, like, wrong and, like, stupid
to believe in such old, fake bullshit.
Gross.
Dad, there it is. I want to do that.
Jame, come here. I can't get this damn thing to work.
This is for thee to fix.
[gasps]
Thy! Thy the chosen one!
Look, Dad.
That scary, foreboding old crone is
waving me over.
Of course I should go, right?
The fate of the world is in your hands.
Give me a hit off my Monster. Where's my Monster?
How?
This town is located on a vortex
of converging, magnetic ley lines.
That's actually true, geologically.
And on the summer solstice,
this town will line up perfectly at midnight
with the Pleiades cluster of stars,
thus temporarily making it
a special spot on the planet.
Holy shit, look at that.
Checks out, astronomically speaking.
The world needs correcting.
We are scattered, lost.
The prophecies have foretold that the only thing
to keep the world from ending
is the hope of the new generation.
Can't really argue with that.
That hope is you.
You must get everyone in town to come together
and partake of a great uniter.
We need to partake of someone who believes that
we are the change we want to be.
So, thy little one,
you must get everyone in this special town
to eat a piece of...
Barack Obama.
[all gasp]
Before midnight on the summer solstice,
or the world will end!
[gasps]
Tight. I got this!
But what are we all supposed to do?
Partake of what?
Well, it sounds like she wants us all to take a bite of...
I think Obama.
No one can eat Barack Obama,
let alone all of the town.
And that's only 24 hours.
That can't be real... can it?
I don't know. What if it is real,
but we didn't try to do anything?
That's crazy. Eat Obama?
A-And why Obama?
Well, why not Obama?
He is special.
No, I mean, I get that if it's anyone, it should be Obama.
He's special.
Even if this was a real prophecy,
I don't know how you'd even start.
I'd love to see Ollie try, real or not, and it can't be real.
Well, our crone did predict the last election.
And she is from old, mystic Europe.
I mean, we fly her back and forth every night.
Costs a fucking fortune in gas, but it's worth it.
[indistinct chatter]
So we gotta stay fact-based to end climate change,
which is real and proven by science.
-Uh-huh. -[both snoring]
Guys, you're not going to believe what's happened,
and what's got to happen, and what's going to happen
-if it doesn't happen. -Huh? What?
So, a crone told my fortune, free of charge,
and she said I gotta get everyone in town
to eat a piece of Barack Obama
before midnight tomorrow, or the world ends.
-[laughter] -Yeah.
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
[knock on door]
We better get started, chosen one.
So, yeah. I mean, it's kinda fun and exciting
to believe in this.
Not like climate change or anything.
Okay, I-I get Ollie believing this, but all of you?
Is this some kind of sarcastic game?
Katrina, come on, you're too smart for this.
I'm fifty-fifty.
Fifty sarcastic, the rest is curious.
I want to see how far this can go.
What-- But what about the rest of y'all?
Uh, listen, we're talking about coming together as a people
to save our planet from destruction.
All we have to do is simply eat President Barack Obama.
Which is impossible and stupid.
You're impossible and stupid.
Freddie, say something.
Well, you know, I did have a headache from Todd
-yelling about the climate. -What?
You see, then Jame sold me a sliver of a blackened carrot,
and that worked, so, uh, maybe this will.
Mm, pretty dumb, babe.
Look, I know it's a big stretch,
but, I mean, what if it's not, you know?
Like, what if the world ends and it's our fault because
we didn't even do the simplest thing?
That is literally exactly what I've been saying
about climate change.
Yeah, but this is now.
Is the AC on? 'Cause it's, like, 120 degrees.
Guys, Even if you believe this cockamamie prophecy,
we cannot actually eat
the 44th president of the United States.
-You can't eat anybody! -Tonya!
All I'm saying is I'm open to it.
Okay, Ollie,
I'm going to let you try to do this because
I want you to learn a lesson about being too gullible.
And I'm going to be there when it all crashes and burns.
Awesome, Mom. Thanks.
Here we go.
[line ringing]
Hello, little goddess.
-Aunt Brenna! -DEBBIE: Wait.
-What-what are you doing? -I'm saving the world, Mom. Duh.
You're not going to believe this, but I gotta get
the whole town to eat a piece of Barack Obama
before midnight tomorrow, or else the world will end,
and all these people are behind me to try and do this.
ALL: Hi, Aunt Brenna.
Well, is your mom for or against it?
-Against. -I'll be right over.
Now, the first thing to do
is to create a huge online presence.
Get people on board with this crazy, fun, flirty idea.
I'm already a big influencer, so...
You're @WhiteThangTopNotch FashionBeeotch.
Guilty. I got 500,000 followers just by being me,
and also having all the taste in the family.
[snorts]
Oh, man.
Yeah, you're connected to most of the town.
Got some big shots. Ham.
I see Brenna's organized marathons and fundraisers
for some okay-ish causes. Hmm.
Okay then, @WhiteThangTopNotch FashionBeeotch.
Go ahead.
Thank you very much, sweetheart.
Aunt Brenna, you're all so excited about the Obama part,
you're forgetting about the eatingpart.
Yeah, Ollie, how do you see this whole
"eating Barack Obama" thing really working?
We'll eat that bridge when we come to it.
Fair enough.
Then let's start counting our eaters.
♪
We got everyone in town to at least say
they'd be into eating this dude.
Heh. See, Mom?
I knew Aunt Brenna would be awesome somehow.
My job is done here.
[grumbles]
The clock is running out
on any dissent against Mayor Frakes'
expansion of her fracking enterprise.
But we all would rather focus on this super-fun thing:
Ollie Harper and her push to get us all to eat a piece
of President Barack Obama.
[indistinct shouting]
Oh, my God, isn't it cool your sister's famous?
Dad, all these people are wasting their energy
on a fantasy while something real, the climate,
is getting lost!
I demand to talk to the mayor
and get her aid in bringing Obama to River Creek,
so every single one of us may eat a piece of him!
[enthusiastic shouts]
There's no way it's going any further.
I mean, Kelley won't help.
[gasps, cheers]
So, Mayor, will you help get Obama?
Well, I think better to be cautious
than complacent.
Ollie, get me one of those crystal bangles.
I'm on the job.
-[Debbie and Todd gasp] -[cheering]
Man, this is awesome!
I can't believe you're into this, Kelley.
But, honestly, what now, huh? Where are we flying?
Don't worry about it.
I am a connected lady.
And things happen for a reason.
Genocide? Kid cancer? Poor people?
God works in mysterious, painful, and cruel ways.
You see my ankles?
Horseshit! You're trying to run down the clock on this vote.
Boy, don't try to boy-splain to me.
The Harper boy's right, right?
I mean, we're using this Obama eating stuff as a distraction
to run down the clock on any opposition
to the fracking expansion.
KELLEY: Yeah, but keep the boy from alerting
"you know who" about our fracking.
I don't want anything to spook our investors.
Now Americans get their political information
-mostly from comedies. -[laughter]
That wasn't a joke. [grunts]
This man thinks he can write a woman character.
And... he can't.
Mr. President, we have some unexpected visitors.
Oh, Barack...
Is that Kelley Frakes? Let 'em through.
What are you doing here, girl?
I hope you guys get bathroom breaks.
Oh, good to see you.
Oh, my God, I'm going to faint.
Mr. President, we're the Harpers.
And, uh... I guess you already know Kelley?
[chuckling] Who doesn't know her?
[grunting]
Kelley and me have gone a few rounds on fracking.
Played a few holes, too, right? [laughs]
This lady is super connected on a national level.
Quite a fighter, albeit on the wrong side.
But she's a Republican asshole.
Gotta reach across the aisle to get things done.
So, what can I do for you fine people today?
[whispering]: Hey, weird little kid, you're up.
Mr. Obama.
A fortune-telling crone told me
I gotta get everyone in my hometown
to eat a piece of you before midnight tonight,
or the whole world will come to an end.
So we're here to ask you to come back home with us
so you can get eaten.
Oh, my gosh, our little girl!
[sniffling] I c-- can't believe it.
I can't believe any of this shit.
Don't look at me.
What is this, Kelley? Is this a joke?
Mr. President, I am so sorry on behalf of our family
to squander this audience with such a powerful man like you
when we have real problems back home.
Right now, one of the Dark Lord's minions, Kelley,
is fracking the hell out of us.
-Huh. -Kid, show some respect and back off.
Barack, I understand you're busy, so...
Uh, actually, uh, the little girl has a point.
-[gasps] -I will feel bad if the world ends
and I didn't do all I could.
So better get to it.
Let's go.
Mrs. President, you're gonna let him do this?
I mean, with all due super huge respect,
big fan, really, but what the fuck, Michelle?
Kid, you gotta work on your people skills.
Let's get a move on, Harpers!
♪
Fucking liberal hippies, man. Ha-ha!
I'm actually shocked he said he'd do it.
Must be bored in retirement.
You're about to get eaten, man.
Yeah, I mean, you seem very cool and eager to get eaten.
[clears throat]
Uh, hey. What's up, River Creek?
This is big ol' B.O. coming atcha.
And I want you all to get ready,
because I'm what's for dinner tonight.
[chuckles] That's right,
whether you love me or hate me,
come get a chance to say ya ate me!
Tonight. River Creek.
Peace.
Okay, everyone, tell...
everyone that this is really happening tonight.
Let's rally!
Every citizen. Oldies. Babies.
Hospital folks. And people in jails, too.
♪
[tires screech]
[crowd cheering]
Okay, River Creek, now...
-we eat him. -[cheering, whooping]
[chuckles] No need to eat me to death.
Have you all heard of homeopathic remedies?
That's how I fully cured my tuberculosis.
[retches]
Homeopathy? Are you fucking kidding me?
That's one part one-trillionth of something
diluted to nothingness in a fluid!
I plan to do this via homeopathy.
Think of me as the one part one-trillionth,
and... we put me in your water
and... you drink me.
Any questions?
Yes. Mr. President,
how many calories will be in our Barack bite?
I'm trying to lose three pounds.
Can I choose what part of Barack's body I want to eat?
I recommend we rinse before.
What does Michelle think about this?
Should we not mix with, say, ketamine,
or, I don't know, ludes?
Are you in your body, or areyou your body?
Convince Michelle to run, and then hire me!
Is it cool if I just ate a sandwich?
Have you had any alcohol in the last 24 hours?
And now I get Catholicism.
Hey, can I get mine with, like, an egg on top?
Can my horse get a dose, too?
How do we know you're really Obama?
Do you have a birth certificate?
That a real man.
He's a great speaker, for sure.
Grandpa, you of all people gotta know
this is some bunk-ass crazy shit, right?
Just here to support my granddaughter.
Plus, I want one of those commemorative T-shirts.
All right, listen up.
Let's form a line at the water treatment plant.
♪
So yeah, this here main tank goes down
to the filtration systems, usually, but we can reroute it
to the kind of keg spigot you requested.
Uh, yeah, we're essentially microdosing the town on me.
We can make an "Obama stew"
by vigorously exfoliating me as I soak in this tank.
[shudders] Can you heat me up, George?
"Yes I can," Mr. President.
[grunts]
OLLIE: Form a line.
Soon you'll all get a sip of Obama.
It's getting close to midnight. Let's hustle, people!
[indistinct chatter]
-[grunts] -KELLEY: How is it?
Too hot?
Uh, actually, it can go a little hotter.
No, no, give me a bigger cup.
[smacks lips, exhales]
Ew.
Mmm.
[exhales]
[slurps]
Not bad.
[exhales]
Mmm.
[both chuckling]
Okay, it seems everyone has technically eaten
a piece of Barack Obama by midnight.
Except you two.
I'm not doing it.
Come on. There's only a minute left.
Do it for everyone.
Nope. Protest vote. Not doing it.
DEBBIE [sighs]: Come on, Toddie.
Yes, it's stupid, but...
[sighs]: a little cooperation goes a long way.
It's for your sister.
[exhales]
Fine.
-[smacking lips] -Yes!
We did it just in time!
[bell tolls]
[cheering, shouting]
It worked!
How do you know it worked?
There's no way to prove it didn't work!
It's unfalsifiable!
And...
we succeeded in running down the clock on fracking.
Yeah.
Yeah, Mom. Let's frack everything!
[cheering, whistling]
Okay, this proves we are actually doomed.
Todd, Debbie, let me share something
with just the two of you.
This whole time, all of this was to distract Kelley,
so that my people
could get with some climate-conscious billionaires
who, if I'm not mistaken,
have bought out Kelley's fracking company
while we were all distracted with this nonsense.
So the distraction was a distraction?
Bingo bongo, baby boyo. [chuckles]
So even though fracking now is technically legal here,
she won't have a company to act on it.
Aw. I was worried my daughter's nature
would make her a victim one day,
and it turns out her nature makes her a cult leader. Ha-ha!
Which is kind of a relief, really.
You're fucking kidding my ass right now, Mom.
Todd, Todd, Todd. it's a fine line
between gullibility and hope.
And despite your best efforts,
you can't get people behind you by being a dick.
[clicks tongue]
Now, I think I've done enough for you fine people.
I'm not the Giving Tree, you know.
[Barack chuckles]
♪
BARACK: Oh!
I am almost tired of bull's-eyes.
[chuckles]
You know, I can put a little bit of Barack Obama
in just about anything, and it's gonna taste better.
So, I didn't crash or burn.
I was right and you were wrong, Mom.
[laughs]
Ollie, just because you took advantage
of the whole town's gullibility
doesn't mean I'm not still worried about yours.
Eh, I'm a kid.
I'll be serious when I need to.
Where'd you get that?
No, wait. I know where.
Obama.
I don't know who that Obama guy is,
but he's very persuasive.
Hey, Todd, did you know that we already have the technology
to produce all of our energy from renewables,
but the oil industry won't let us?
Yeah, I say that to you, like, every day.
Sucks! And did you know that if we don't cut our emissions
down to zero by 2030,
the world will start to end in our lifetime?!
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org
Chirp.