By Jennifer Larson

The kids learn another big lesson, in tonight’s episode of KID NATION, and it isn’t an easy one at that. Equality is something adults haven’t managed to conquer as of yet, so maybe if we teach our children about it a little bit sooner than we were taught they will have more success. One of the biggest things the pioneers learn about equality is that it isn’t an easy thing to achieve. That being said, by taking this challenge on at such a young age, they are one step ahead of the game. But that isn’t the only meaty subject matter the kids have to deal with tonight, because the town council make yet another unpopular decision that affects every district.

Once again, the kids are threatening a mutiny, thanks to a decision made by the town council. What these kids, and many adults, don’t understand is that it isn’t always easy to look out for the well fair and well being of a large group of people. Still, the town council has to realize that there is bound to be some flack, when you take control of other people’s lives out of their hands, even when you’re talking about children who are used to their parents running their lives. I mean it’s one thing for your mom and dad to tell you what to do, but it’s quit another when somebody in your own age group tries to put demands on you. Of course, I’ve always felt like there were a lot of strings being pulled behind the scenes on this show, namely that diary of the former pioneers. It’s obvious the producers are swaying a lot of the decisions made by the town council. I guess you just have to assume that 11-14-year-olds are going to look to their elders for guidance, especially when they’re away from their parents.


This week the powers-that-be behind the scenes encourage the town council to mix up the districts, which means tearing apart groups of children that have come to rely on, bond with and work next to each other since the beginning of their journey. That’s not a small thing, when you consider most of these kids have never spent a week away from their own families, let alone 40 days. And as you might expect, it doesn’t sit well with the town folk. Of course, breaking up the yellow team, which is filled with a bunch of lazy, whiny brats may be the best thing for them. There is one major stumbling block to the upheaval; Laurel doesn’t feel there is any need to tear apart her group. And being the smart cookie she is, she won out and made no changes at all.

The changes were tough enough for the kids to handle, but with Laurel being allowed to keep her existing team, which many kids, especially Greg, feel is the strongest district in town, Bonanza City was in an uproar. Personally, I think it’s a good lesson for the kids to learn. Life is about change and more often than not, those changes are out of our hands so these kids are better off learning sooner rather than later how to deal with it. Besides, being the most physically fit group doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the best group, after all, the biggest muscle in the body is the brain. That being said, if the goal was to make the city more equal, it didn’t seem to work. But that issue will have to be dealt with later, because the kids had a weekly showdown to prepare for.

The goal for this week was to drag a sled of rocks through an obstacle course, but to win the group prize they had to get a ton of rocks across the finish line. So the teams had to decide if it was more important to win as a district by taking fewer rocks, or win as a town and take more rocks. Ultimately, it came down to the red district to save the day. They ended up coming in last place as a team, but they hauled the heaviest load. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win. So for the second week in a row, the kids go without a luxury prize, which caused yet another child to threatened departure. And in a surprising show of compassion, Greg gave the embattled little girl a pep talk, a hug and carried her off to bed. Wow, just when you think you know a kid they turn around and become a different person. Sadly, it wasn’t enough because 12-year-old Randi chose to leave anyway. But the next order of business lightened the mood.


This week’s gold star winner was Blaine, who was yanked away from the blue district and his best friend to become the hero of the yellow team. But the town council meeting didn’t end there. It appears that all but one of the kids is unhappy with their leadership, so a new election was called. So who’s in and who’s out, you’ll just have to tune in next week to find out.