Marietta is at Patty Lynn’s house for dinner.
Patty Lynn: Do you ever wonder what your legacy will be?
Kathleen: Oh no, she’s getting philosophical again.
Patty Lynn: No, I just… Maria getting elected to the House makes me think about the family legacy. How did I contribute to it?
Milton: You raised us, you helped us become the people that we are.
Moira: And I’m very grateful for that. They’re both wonderful humans, especially my Milton.
Marietta: Are you implying Milton is a better person than me?
Moira: I don’t know how to respond to that.
Marietta: “No, Marietta, I would never do that. You’re the best person I know.”
Amy: Who would ever say that?
Marietta: Amy, remember all I’ve given you! You’d still be a loser on the city council if it weren’t for me!
Moira: Excuse me?
Marietta: She wouldn’t be a loser because she was on the city council. She’d be a loser because she literally lost the mayoral election.
Moira: That’s true. You did bomb badly, Amy.
Amy: I held a longtime US Senator to a runoff election. I avoided getting defeated in the primary, that’s enough for me.
Tammy: Are you implying that you knew you didn’t have a chance to win for the entire race?
Marietta: You certainly didn’t act like it.
Tammy: And our polls certainly didn’t say that.
Amy: They didn’t? Do I have a chance in 2027?
Marietta: Good job, Tammy. Now you’ve given her delusions of grandeur.
Tammy: As if she didn’t already have those.
Moira: I think she has a chance.
Marietta: Oh my god, what a joke!
Amy: I don’t think it’s that funny…
Marietta: There we go!
Milton: Mom, can I ask you what you think your legacy is? And what you want it to be?
Patty Lynn: I know my legacy is you kids, and being a dutiful wife to your father. I just wish… I don’t know. I wish I could’ve had some independent impact. I wanted to matter — not just because of my husband or kids, but because I was important myself.
Milton: You’re very important. You were a city councilor for a decade, all while helping guide a few young adults through the world and being away from your husband, who was in Washington.
Amy: My grandmother said you were the hardest worker she serve alongside on the council. She said you had a mind for government and a powerful voice for progress like no other.
Patty Lynn: That’s an honor coming from someone you respected so much, you ran against her in the primary.
Amy: It was time for change.
Marietta: Anyway, for those wondering, I have no clue what my legacy will be.
Milton: You’ve been in office in some form for thirty years.
Marietta: But what have I done with it? Also, it’s thirty-seven. I’m old.
Milton: You’ve done so much! People will remember you as a powerful voice for progress.
Marietta: You literally copied what Amy just said.
Milton: Dammit.
Tammy: Marietta, you know you’ve made an impact. What other Democrat from Louisiana has been as boldly, outspokenly left-wing? You’re a firebrand for our party, even when the party brand is toxic here. You marched to the beat of only your own drum, even when it cost you your job. That takes real integrity.
Marietta: So my legacy is losing? Cool.
Tammy: No! Your legacy is having integrity! It’s sticking to your guns! It’s always standing up for your beliefs.
Kathleen: I agree with her. You certainly have more of a legacy than me, or anyone at this table.
Amy: Hey, speak for yourself.
Kathleen: And people are going to know that you were about to be our president, but you threw in the towel for the sake of your family. You’ll be the one that got away!
Marietta: All right, so my legacy really will be being a loser.
Kathleen: You weren’t a loser. You’re just a winner who didn’t get the chance to win.
Marietta: Okay. I need a better legacy than that.
Tammy: She’s about to come up with a scheme, I feel it.
Patty Lynn: Whatever it is, I’m by your side!
Marietta: I have nothing, I’m just saying, I need to make my mark. I have two years left in my term, and then odds are, I’m out of public office for good.
Amy: You didn't think to work on the legacy while holding national office?
Marietta: I was focused on trying to win re-election and pass bills. I wasn’t focused on “legacy.” I had work to do!
Milton: You have work to do now too, no?
Marietta: Yeah, but it’s different. I’m a mayor now. I have far fewer responsibilities than I did as a senator. I have more time on my hands. Time to work on cementing a legacy!
Patty Lynn: I don’t mean to interrupt the philosophizing, especially since I’m the one who started it, but dinner is ready.
Kathleen: Thank god, too much yapping going on for my liking. It’s Saturday, today’s a day to relax.
Milton: You don’t work, every day’s a day to relax.
Kathleen: Don’t talk down to me. Respect your elders!
Monday, at the office…
Henrietta: Did I miss something this weekend? She seems… off.
Tammy: That’s her default setting.
Marietta: I can hear you!
Tammy: Oh, I thought she was referring to Amy.
Amy: I’m acting my normal self.
Tammy: No, you’re acting your regular self. You’re certainly not normal.
Amy: Fair.
Marietta: I’m working on my legacy!
Henrietta: By… sitting at your desk staring at the ceiling?
Marietta: No, by relaxing and brainstorming.
Henrietta: And that helps your legacy… how?
Tammy: We had a discussion about legacies this weekend, she thinks hers isn’t strong enough and wants to come up with something flashy to establish herself as a woman of influence and positive change.
Henrietta: I think you’e done enough to solidify that. Crime is down 20% in this city since you took over, quality of life has improved, we’re building housing again, the population’s rising. Your policies have changed this city for the better. You’re a difference-maker.
Marietta: Milton helped set a lot of that in motion. I want to do something that people can pinpoint as being my doing.
Tammy: Have you thought of anything?
Marietta: I’ve got nothing. Maybe I’m not meant to be some sort of powerful leader who is remembered for her impact. Maybe I’m just a run-of-the-mill politician who isn’t meant to have a legacy. Maybe I was vain in thinking I was anything but.
Tammy: Oh, spare me the theatrics.
Marietta: Excuse me?
Tammy: Poor, poor, pitiful Marietta. Destined to be forgotten if you believe her. Meanwhile, you changed what it meant to be a Democratic politician in a red state. You got three terms by jut being yourself and focusing on improving lives over partisan rhetoric, all while amassing a voting record to the left of the average Democratic senator. Then, you reinvented yourself as a mayor and, at that point, gained national recognition for being a gifted leader. As mayor, you nearly became the Democratic nominee for president, beating out longtime rising stars and political heavyweights who voters got to see every week on Meet the Press and Morning Joe. You lived out the political dream, you persisted through whatever life tossed at you, and you never lost your way. THAT is your legacy. Resilience, making change in any small way you could, and always rising to the challenge. You are a leader, you made the lives of everyone in this city, and this country, better, whether they knew it or not. I am so proud of you.
Amy: Why are you talking to her like she’s dying?
Henrietta: Yeah, that’s a real “series finale” sorta pep talk.
Tammy: I just feel sick seeing her obsess over making a legacy for herself when she has one of the most impressive legacies I’ve ever seen. Marietta, you inspire me.
Marietta: Me?
Tammy: Yeah! And I’m not alone. There’s nothing you need to do to improve your legacy. You have a legacy in place.
Marietta: Something did pop into my mind, though. And it’s not something I want to do just for the sake of creating a legacy. I think this can improve lives.
Tammy: By all means!
Marietta: I want to invest in the young girls of this city.
Amy: Like… buy them? Human trafficking’s not legal.
Marietta: No. I want to empower young women and girls in this city. I want to create initiatives to give them opportunities to shine. In entertainment, in journalism, in sports, in business, in politics, whatever. I want to push to make women in this city feel more valued.
Amy: That’s a nice idea. How do you implement it?
Henrietta: I don’t know, but I sure love the idea of your true legacy being that of a raging, indiscriminate feminist.
Marietta: I know. I think the best thing I can do is not make my last two years in office about me and my legacy, but to just keep working to improve lives. I’ve already done so much, this is going to keep it going.
Amy: So, again, how do we implement it?
Marietta: We fund camps for girls to teach them the skills they need to excel in their preferred processions. We invest in better sporting facilities for young women athletes. We work with local community leaders and businesses to help young women get internships and mentorships from those in their crafts. It’s about setting them up for future success. And as for adult women, I don’t’ want to ignore them either. Well focused mostly on the women who need our help the most. We’ll invest in female-centric shelters for the unhoused. We’ll implement policies in our police department to take violence against women and domestic abuse more seriously, so we can keep women safe. Establish housing policies that ensure single moms are able to get into affordable housing. We’ll create job fairs for women who need help getting employment again. Does that sound good?
Amy: That’s a lot just off the top of your head.
Marietta: I’m a very committed feminist, Amy. I want to help women. Don’t you?
Amy: Did I imply otherwise?
Tammy: They do say that there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women, and you sure didn’t help Marietta when you ran against her…
Marietta: Yeah! See?
Amy: We’re really harping on that campaign this week, aren’t we?
Marietta: Sorry, Amy. You’ve just been little annoying, so we’re needling you over the one and only thing you’ve ever really done that’s upsetting.
Henrietta: Who is going to pay for all of this?
Marietta: We’ll need approval from the city council. And that means putting an official plan together and working on presenting our case.
Henrietta: I suppose that’s our job?
Marietta: Mostly! But I’ll help!
Tammy: Look on the bright side, ladies: the city council doesn’t completely hate us anymore! We have people on there who are mostly normal, well-adjusted human beings.
Marietta: Well, Bethany getting elected in Helene’s place sure hasn’t helped us any.
Tammy: Crap, I forgot about her. All right, we better make this good.
Marietta: I was hoping the intention was always to make it “good,” no?
Tammy: I guess.
Marietta: You guess? This is about my legacy, Tammy!
Amy: I thought… you know what, never mind.
Henrietta: Smart move.
What did you think of this episode of Marietta? Let us know in the comments and make sure to read the new episode next week!
