The Perrys navigate holidays for the first time without Scott.
Think costumes, Christmas lights and dog Cowboy stealing Thanksgiving fare from the table on the latest episode of Council of Dads. The council does their best to help the Perry family find celebration in the holidays in the absence of Scott. Meanwhile, the dads are tackling their own personal issues.
Luly tries to make contact with her early adoptive parents. Robin allows herself the space to get to know her running partner Sam. Theo faces disciplinary action for a bad choice on Halloween. Oliver struggles to forgive Peter for the drunken kiss with another man. Anthony gets closer to Margot, but is not sure how close he wants to get. As if things were not already feeling rocky, Robin’s mom Patricia arrives not feeling sure what her role is anymore.
Let’s review the “council notes’ for Council of Dads episode 5 ‘Tradition!’
Halloween
So, truth be told, Cowboy the dog steals food from the table at every holiday and Halloween is no exception!
Robin is chatting with her new (handsome!) running partner Sam. They talk about their kids’ costumes. Sam mentions his ex-wife and how much she enjoys making their children’s costumes. He asks who Robin’s husband will be going as. When she says “dead”, Sam feels awkward for the faux pas, but Robin understands.
Luly and Evan are at their fixer-upper home. Evan is working on the house and Luly is working on a letter to her adoptive parents asking if they can meet. A knock on the door reveals a kid dressed as a robot and Luly realizes she has forgotten it’s Halloween. So, ramen noodles it is for the trick-or-treat bag!
Council meeting
Back at the Perry house, the kids have made a great haul of candy. Robin and the dads meet downstairs for a council meeting. Robin wants to discuss the holidays, but she is currently most concerned about Oliver and Peter’s marriage. Oliver says he does not want to talk about it.
Anthony is also avoiding conversation about his relationship with Margot from the Gladwell company. Robin asks Larry if he is coming to Thanksgiving and he explains that his usual plans consist of an AA meeting, diner dinner and a movie at home, always the classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Suddenly the doorbell rings.
Officer Sam (yep, he is a real police officer) is at the door with Theo. Sam found Theo and his DPS (Dead Parents Society) friends drinking at the cemetery. He lets Theo go with only a warning this time.
Thanksgiving
Once again, Cowboy is stealing from the table, this time Thanksgiving food while wearing a Pilgrim hat.
Robin talks to Sam about her mom on their run. We learn that Patricia has a history of disappointing replacements in her life. First, her early theater role is given to the understudy. Later, Robin’s dad ends their marriage when he chooses her best friend over her.
Grandma Patricia arrives excited to see everyone for the Thanksgiving holiday. Older kids Theo and Charlotte are still in bed. Grandma uses the wrong gender referring to JJ, but quickly recognizes and corrects her mistake. Robin notes the progress.
Inside, Patricia catches up with Luly and finds out that her adoptive parents, the Calhouns, declined her invitation to meet. Luly and Evan leave to visit with his parents. JJ is very upset that Luly will not be at the house to say grace before the meal.
Things continue to go downhill when Robin checks the mail and sees Theo’s report card. His grades have dropped dramatically. Robin takes his phone. He is already grounded for drinking. Oliver gets upset when he and Peter’s “friend” Eddie texts a Happy Thanksgiving message. It’s the same Eddie who kissed Peter. The husbands argue about Oliver’s distrust.
Larry and Margot sit awkwardly on the couch together. Larry asks her if she has seen Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Robin vents to her mom about how everything is going wrong and says Scott was the one who made the holidays right. Patricia says they just have to keep going.
Christmas Eve
“Reindeer”Cowboy steals Christmas cookies from the table.
Robin tells Sam about her Christmas Eve plans with the family. Sam invites her to meet up Christmas evening for a run under the Christmas lights. She agrees.
It’s time for an early Christmas Eve dinner at the Crab Shack before church. JJ goes to the kitchen to get a crab cracker. He catches Anthony and Margot kissing (no mistletoe necessary!). JJ asks if they are “in love” and leaves. Margot tells Anthony that she is indeed in love with him. He does not reply. She says she can wait.
Robin enters the kitchen and Anthony asks her if he loves Anthony. Of course, she cannot say. Anthony struggles to answer for himself.
Robin finds Theo outside and gives him his Christmas camera early. Theo is snarky when he learns that Sam’s friend is the one who was able to fix the camera. He then apologizes to his mom for being so grumpy lately. He asks to skip church and spend some time at home reflecting on things.
Patricia is upset that Theo is skipping church. She begins criticizing the council and saying she feels left out of decisions for the kids.
Peter and Tess are spending Christmas with Peter’s parents while Oliver is working Christmas Eve at the hospital. Peter sweetly tells Oliver that he misses him. Oliver avoids the topic and says he needs to get off the phone.
After dinner
Theo is back home, not alone, but with his friends Jules and Freya of DPS laughing and goofing around. Robin enters the room to tell Theo that they were all too tired for church. She is angry that he lied to her. He tries to explain that they are his friends who have also lost a parent. Jules was struggling on the holiday missing her mom and dealing with an angry dad. Jules grabs Theo’s hand and tells Robin how much she appreciates Theo listening to her.
Larry agrees to go to church with Patricia. She appreciates the gesture. They talk about Scott after the service. She says they were close and is hurt that he thought Robin needed the dads instead of just her. Larry assures her that the dads were not selected to “replace” her. He encourages her to talk to Robin and thinks they may just be misunderstanding each other.
Christmas Day
“Santa” Cowboy is once again stealing from the table.
Robin is trying to make Christmas breakfast and has forgotten the eggs. JJ comes in excited about one of his presents and gives his mom a gift from Santa. It’s a beautiful necklace Anthony bought for her.
Robin opens up to her mom about how hard it is on Christmas without Scott. Patricia suggests that go and do something else. They decide to help paint at Luly and Evan’s house.
Robin gives Theo his phone back and tells him to check on Jules. Robin thanks Margot for helping to choose the necklace Anthony gave her. No, she was not part of the purchase. Margot seems a little disappointed telling Robin that Anthony gave her a ski jacket (clearly less romantic). Robin thanks Anthony for the necklace and he puts his arm around her.
Patricia gives Oliver some advice. She says he still has time to do whatever it takes to make his marriage work.
Robin meets Sam for their Christmas run, but she is not there to run. She tells him she needs to concentrate on her family’s needs right now. Sam says he understands. He, in fact, has not even signed his divorce papers.
Robin looks at the lights and decides to suggest that they just proceed very slowly with getting to know each other. Sam and Robin kiss.
New Year’s Eve
You guessed it, Cowboy wears his Happy New Year hat while stealing food from the table again!
Robin goes to meet Sam for New Year’s Eve dinner looking particularly lovely in red. Something seems off with Sam. They chat at dinner and Sam reveals that his ex-wife wants to give their marriage a try again. Robin is clearly disappointed and leaves the dinner early. I do not think she is angry at him but really disappointed.
Anthony is taking Oliver to the fancy Gladwell dinner at the Crab Shack while Peter and Tess are not home yet. Oliver becomes enraged when he gets another holiday text from Eddie. He and Anthony go to Eddie’s house and Oliver tells him to stay away from his marriage and never text them again. Oliver feels better, but Anthony strongly reminds him that he also needs to fight for his marriage. Anthony takes him home.
Luly receives an email from the adoption agency. The Calhouns have decided they do want to meet her.
Oliver waits at home for Peter and Tess to arrive from the airport. Oliver greets Peter and reads his wedding vows that he found in his tuxedo that evening. They both recall the magnitude of their love. The husbands reconcile and Tess jumps in to celebrate with her dads.
Back at home, Robin and Patricia have a nice heart to heart talk. They both open up a little more and hold hands.
Margot talks to Anthony at the Crab Shack. She notices how he is always saying how much he loves her friends and her food, but she knows he does not love her. She retracts her proclamation of love.
Scott’s birthday
Here comes another tough day for the Perrys. The calendar has arrived at Scott’s birthday. All are reminded of their loss.
The dads arrive with a gift that Scott prepared for his family before his death. It’s a sweet card and a box full of water guns. Everyone runs outside to celebrate Scott the way he would want them to.
Water is flying everywhere when suddenly Charlotte falls to the ground. She is unresponsive. Larry calls 911 while Robin and Oliver administer CPR.
It’s another eventful episode on Council of Dads. There are highs, lows and ultimately fear. Charlotte’s collapse leaves us all anxious for next week’s episode on NBC.
Revisit the events of episode 2 , episode 3 and episode 4.