Three months have passed since the tragic loss in the pilot episode of Council of Dads. How is everyone doing?
The pilot episode of Council of Dads first aired on NBC on March 24th. The pilot aired again on April 30th followed by a brand new episode titled ‘I’m Not Fine”. How could anyone be “fine” in this scenario? A husband, father and friend passed away 3 months ago. Of course, everyone is not feeling fine.
Somehow, though, the Perrys and the council are trying their best to navigate their “new normal”, whatever that might mean. A wise counselor once taught me that when you feel helpless, you often turn to fear and guilt. Or maybe you become engrossed in fixing things for other people. This reshaped family is grieving and probably feeling helpless in many ways.
Let’s take a look at how everyone is really doing.
Robin
Robin is trying her best to keep the regular routine going for her children even if that means donning a garbage bag to keep her scrubs clean while feeding baby Hope before work. She tries to manage doing all the things her late husband Scott would have been doing for the kids. Of course, she has the council of dads to help, but Oliver is avoiding her and declines a request to do a father son bike ride with JJ. Atlanta-based chef Anthony keeps bailing on outings he was scheduled to have with the kids. Larry is around, but he is sort of around all the time, something for which Robin is not really prepared.
The kids
The oldest Perry sibling, Luly, is a newlywed navigating a move to New York with her husband Evan. When the couple learns just how small their Brooklyn apartment will be, Luly begins to have doubts about the move. It’s probably not all about the move, however. Marriage takes some getting used to itself, not to mention that she has an encounter with her birth mom. Luly’s birth mom, Michelle, who chose to give her up because she was not ready to be a mom, sends Luly a wedding gift. Luly wonders how Michelle even knew about her wedding. The last time she saw Michelle was when she was 9 years old.
Theo tires of Larry’s “word of the day” texts he sends to help him prepare for the PSAT. Larry oversteps when he meets with Theo’s teachers without consulting Robin.
Sister Charlotte, adopted from China at age 5, is terrified of losing her mom with her dad having passed. She is so worried that she conspires to come up with a “backup plan” in case her mom dies, too. Charlotte does DNA research to track down a third cousin who lives in Atlanta. She convinces best friend Tess (Oliver and Peter’s daughter) to bail on school and go to Atlanta to meet her distant relative. Charlotte hopes that making this biological connection will serve as a backup to her mom.
JJ really wants to learn to ride a bike. Robin tries to teach JJ, but it’s just not working. There is a father son bike ride event at his school and JJ wants to participate. He specifically asks his mom if Oliver can be his dad for the fundraiser.
The Council of Dads
Oliver is having so many doubts about his treatment of Scott. He is afraid he missed something that could have saved Scott’s life. There is a morbidity and mortality conference at the hospital to evaluate the course of treatment. After fielding several questions, there are no problems identified with Scott’s treatment. Oliver finds some solace in husband Peter, but he just can’t seem to face Robin.
Anthony is pulling double time making a 4 hour commute to Savannah from Atlanta on days he is needed. His restaurant is thriving but he is nervous about the Michelin review that’s coming. He has different things competing for his time.
Larry seems to have plenty of time to make schedules and run the council meetings among the three men. He is frustrated that Anthony keeps missing dad dates and also senses something is troubling Oliver. Larry is also getting push back from Theo and Robin about his frequent visits and suggestions.
Boiling Point
After Larry meets with Theo’s teachers without her permission, she fires him. She tells him the whole council is fired and that he should inform the other men.
JJ still does not know how to ride a bike. Robin learns that Charlotte and Tess secretly took a bus ride to Atlanta to meet her third cousin. Theo wants Larry to back off. Luly has to make a decision about New York.
Coming together
Robin, the kids and the council of dads soon learn more about each other and the council is salvaged.
We learn that recovering alcoholic Larry is estranged from his daughter and only talks to his son a few times each year. That’s one reason he is so available. He is not able to be very involved with his own family. Larry carries so much guilt for choosing alcohol over his family. He desperately wants to do right by Theo and the rest of the Perry family. He shares the past about his family with Theo and the two patch things up after describing Larry’s failed parenting with some of those big vocabulary words. Larry comes through with teaching JJ how to ride a bike.
Oliver opens up with Robin about feeling guilt over Scott’s death. Robin assures him that he did nothing wrong and that she needs him to just be there with her and experience this difficult time together. He also explains his refusal to teach JJ how to ride a bike. Oliver has never learned how to ride one himself.
Thankfully, the girls end up at Anthony’s restaurant after Charlotte’s meeting with her third cousin is less than stellar. It turns out that the cousin named Phoebe does not have a real interest in the DNA research. Phoebe’s mom was the one more excited about the meetup. Anthony gives them a ride home, even if that means missing the Michelin critic. Charlotte opens up to her mom about her fears. Robin reassures her that she also has all the council dads ready to take care of her, too.
Luly meets for coffee with her biological mother. She affirms Robin as her mother but is polite with Michelle. She appreciates some of the stories Michelle tells about her dad and learns that Michelle also sent photos of Scott that Luly had never seen. Luly and Evan decide to stay in Savannah. She wants to write the story of her dad where she knew him.
What next?
After everyone becomes more honest with themselves and each other, Robin reinstates the council. Luly and Evan’s going away party becomes a staying here party. New bike rider JJ helps Oliver learn to ride a bike. It’s a fun evening shared by all.
There is one thing that Anthony is not being honest about, however. At the end of the episode we see him talking to Michelle, which makes sense since he and Scott were friends when Michelle and Scott were dating.
Michelle says “She has your eyes,” revealing that Anthony is actually Luly’s biological father.
That certainly adds a new twist to the definition of family for the Perrys.
Tune in for another all new episode of Council of Dads on May 7th at its regular time slot 8/7c on NBC.
Find out some fun things about Savannah from the cast here.