Family members are separated as they face a hurricane on Council of Dads.
A storm is coming on Council of Dads episode 9. Residents are being evacuated from the barrier islands around Savannah. Our characters end up in different groupings with some more in peril than others.
Oh no, the letter's been published. https://t.co/3twBOAwx3r
— Council of Dads (@CouncilofDads) June 22, 2020
Luly awakens to a different kinds of storm when she discovers that her letter has gone public, not only online but also the print edition of the Savannah Gazette. The young writer panics as she looks through her neighbor’s paper in the rain. Her neighbor’s granddaughter is not happy that her grandma’s paper is now sopping wet.
Robin leaves Tybee Island with JJ, Charlotte and Theo to hunker down at Oliver’s house. Sage is staying at Oliver’s house as well. Peter and Tess decide to remain safely with Tess’s birth mom Natalie instead of traveling.
Luly arrives at The Crab Shack where Larry and Margot are battening down the hatches to keep the restaurant safe. Luly confides in Larry about her letter in the paper. Margot then heads to Atlanta. Luly sticks with Larry who is worried about his daughter and granddaughter on another one of the islands. Evan is with his mother whom he has safely evacuated to Macon.
Anthony is in Las Vegas but becomes concerned when he hears about the southeastern storm on the news. Things get really tricky when the Perry’s dog Cowboy is trapped in the basement at home. Theo tries to rescue Cowboy. Then Robin tries to rescue Theo.
All the while, the waters are rising on Council of Dads.
Read on for the full council notes from Council of Dads episode 9.
Scott still lending a hand on Council of Dads
Scott taught the family well about storm preparations. JJ and Charlotte are getting their go-bags ready for evacuation if necessary. After all, their dad always said, “Prep over not under before you get thunder.”
JJ asks Theo to accompany him to the basement to get his flashlight. The younger brother is afraid there are monsters in the basements. Theo declines and JJ takes Cowboy with him instead.
Everyone packs the car as the rain is coming down hard. Theo is still bummed about his mom saying he cannot drop out of school and go live in Vegas with Anthony. He is desperate to be near Jules and go to cooking school with Anthony’s help. Theo feels like Robin is not taking his concerns seriously. Robin assures him that she cares, but they need to get safely to Oliver’s house right now.
Wait, where is Cowboy? Robin and the kids spend an hour looking for Cowboy to no avail. Robin says they must leave and that dogs have good instincts about staying safe.
Sage not feeling so wise
Oliver is making preparations for the Perry family’s arrival. Chili is on the menu. He tries to chat with Sage about baby names, but she is not feeling very talkative. Oliver asks her if something is wrong. She begins to cry.
Oliver assures her that they are ready for the storm even if she goes into labor. Sage says she needs to go upstairs and rest.
Oliver confides in Robin when she arrives with the kids. He tells her that Sage seems to be troubled by something. Of course, Robin is well aware that it is the GSS diagnosis that is upsetting Sage. Oliver asks Robin to talk to Sage.
Robin asks Sage if she has anyone to reach out to for support. Sage says her friends got overwhelmed after both her adoptive mom and birth mother died. Robin tells Sage that they can have the baby tested in utero and get results in 24 hours.
Sage believes that Peter and Oliver will not want the baby if he tests positive. What will she do then? Robin tells her that they will face whatever happens together.
Later, Oliver hears a thudding noise. Sage is pulling her suitcase down the stairs. She tells Oliver that she must leave and that she does not think he and Peter are “the right fit”. She insists, however, that “it’s not you, it’s me”.
Before she can leave, the lights go out.
Anthony gets worried
Anthony is in his hotel room in Las Vegas not looking particularly happy. To make matters worse, he receives a voicemail from Theo asking why he has not returned the teenager’s calls. Theo says he really needs to talk to him about coming to Las Vegas.
Then Anthony sees news coverage on the television about the tropical storm coming through the southeast near Savannah and the islands around it. Anthony frantically makes a call looking for a flight to Savannah. The ticket agents tell him the storm has been upgraded to a hurricane. The closest destination available is in Arkansas unless Anthony has a private plane.
Stopping for Lauren
Luly and Larry stop at Lauren’s apartment before going to secure Luly’s house. Larry already tried calling Lauren to see if he could give them a ride off the island. Lauren refused. But this time, Luly will be doing the asking.
Larry’s granddaughter Ivy answers the door and Luly asks for her mom. Lauren comes to the door and tells Larry that she already said no and that she and Ivy are evacuating to the high school. Lauren says she cannot be around Larry and “his new, big happy family”.
Luly offers for Lauren and Ivy to stay at her house where they can be safe but alone. Lauren says will not get in a car with Larry, but Luly says she will do the driving. Lauren finally agrees.
They arrive at Luly’s house and the generator kicks in. Lauren is grateful for Luly’s generosity but tells Larry he should leave. She says his “new” family will be anxious about his whereabouts. Larry says he will go look in on some of the neighbors.
JJ confides in Theo
Back at Oliver’s house, JJ has confided in Theo about his fears for Cowboy. JJ says he thinks he must have closed the basement door that morning without Cowboy coming out first. He is worried that the dog will drown in the basement.
Theo tells JJ he will take their mom’s car and go pick up Cowboy. JJ is relieved but also nervous for his brother leaving without telling anyone. Theo tells JJ to count to 5000.
Theo finds Cowboy
Roads are shutting down and the rains are coming down hard. Theo makes it home and finds Cowboy. The dog has managed to make it to high ground in the flooding basement. He calls for the dog who jumps down and swims to the stairs.
Cowboy runs up the stairs to safety and Theo runs after him. Theo slips on the wet stairs and lands at the bottom of the staircase with his foot trapped in the bannister. He cannot dislodge his foot. Then he sees the flashlight floating away.
JJ comes clean
When Robin cannot find Theo, she consults with JJ. JJ is afraid to say anything, but Robin tells him it is important to come clean because someone’s safety is at risk.
Robin is shocked and terrified to learn that Theo has taken her car in the middle of a hurricane. She takes Oliver’s car and goes after Theo.
Robin reaches a traffic stop. The officer tells her she cannot proceed. She insists that she must get to her son. She asks the officer if he knows Sam. The officer says he does. Robin uses the connection to convince him to let her go through.
Baby is coming
Oliver and Sage sit by the fire and Oliver admits that hurricanes scare him. He’s also concerned that he has said something that has upset her. Sage just wants to save deeper talk until after the hurricane. But then things do get serious after all. Sage believes she is going into labor.
They time her contractions. We see that JJ and Charlotte know a lot about the timing of deliveries. In fact, Charlotte is a big comfort to Oliver when he begins to get nervous about delivering his “own” baby.
The contractions are coming 10 minutes apart. Oliver’s nerves are making him chatty. He asks Sage if he should be quiet, but she wants him to continue. As things progress, Sage works through the contractions in the bathtub. As she manages her breathing, she asks Oliver to take a deep breath. He obliges. She is ready to talk about what is troubling her.
Sage tells Oliver about her GSS diagnosis and how she fears he and Peter will no longer want the baby boy. The baby could have it, too. Oliver assures her that he is “not going anywhere”. Another contraction arrives and she grasps Oliver’s hand as she experiences the pain.
Who wants ice cream?
Luly’s house is filling up with neighbors and food from their homes. The power is out and the food will perish. Evan’s generator has been a blessing to the neighborhood.
Larry tells the girls that there is ice cream. Ivy wants some and her mom gives her permission. Denise who encountered Luly with the paper earlier in the day talks to Larry about worries of gentrification in her grandma’s neighborhood. Larry tells her about the renovation project he is helping Evan with to save the neighborhood’s integrity.
Denise is delighted to hear the news. She wants them to help with some things at her grandmother’s house. Denise asks Ivy if Larry is her grandfather. Ivy pauses but then smiles and says yes. You can tell Larry is deeply touched.
Luly and Lauren talk
Lauren tells Luly that she sees Ivy looking happily at Larry like she once did. Luly inquires as to what happened. Lauren describes the alcoholism and how it made Larry become a different person. She tells Luly about the vehicle accident where a drunken Larry drove into a tree with the whole family on board.
Lauren’s mom and brother dismissed Larry from their lives, but Lauren remained hopeful. But she continued to be disappointed. After Ivy arrived she felt a strong need to protect her from the pain of disappointment with Larry. That is when she shut him out completely.
Lauren goes on to say how she understands that Larry is good for the Perrys. She respects his sobriety and understands he has pain as he seeks forgiveness. She concludes, however, that it is not good for Larry to be a part of her and Ivy’s life. Larry overhears at the door and is completely crushed.
Robin on a mission
Robin arrives at the house calling for Theo. She follows his voice and finds him in the basement. She uses a bat as leverage to get his ankle dislodged from the bannister.
Robin tries to help Theo to the car, but he does not want to leave. Theo wants to stay at the house. He argues saying the house will be fine, but Robin says she needs to get back. She is worried about her other children. Theo lashes out asking why she does not worry about him. He does not understand why she has not thanked him for rescuing Cowboy.
Theo continues to resist leaving. He claims Robin does not worry about him because he is not “special” like his other siblings who have been facing life changing circumstances. He claims he is just “average and dumb”. Theo says he is going to Las Vegas.
Robin assures him that he is absolutely wrong. She absolutely worries about him and that’s why she is trying to help him to the car. She vocalizes how special he is to her. Theo finally budges and they make it to the car.
Getting stable
Once Theo is in the car, Robin works on stabilizing his ankle for the rough ride in the storm. Robin admits that she was so busy tending to crisis situations that she did not recognize that Theo was “quietly burning”. She tells him how much she loves him and admires his passion.
Even still, she will not allow him to drop out of high school. She suggests he take advantage of the fine restaurants in Savannah to learn how to cook. She feels badly about Jules but cannot change that for him.
Theo insists that she tell him what is going on with sister Luly. Interestingly, the Theo says “just tell me” much like the way Robin insisted that Anthony tell her the truth. Robin tells Theo the truth about Anthony being Luly’s biological father and keeping it from Scott. She tells Theo that Anthony acted cowardly. Theo states that he will not be able to forgive Anthony.
Let’s go
Theo’s ankle is stabilized. Mom and son have cleared the air, at least for now. They are ready to take Cowboy and drive to the hospital.
Back at Oliver’s, JJ and Charlotte discover Luly’s article revealing that Scott is not her biological father.
As Robin puts the car in reverse, a tree falls behind them hitting the car. Robin cannot move the tree and she cannot get around it.
Cowboy whines and we see a flashlight. A hooded figure walks towards Robin. He pulls his hood off and we see it is Anthony. He asks Robin if they need a ride.
We are relieved that Anthony is there to rescue them. But surely things will feel awkward. I mean, there is unfinished business with Anthony on Council of Dads.
We have so many questions? Will they be answered in the Council of Dads finale?
The season finale of Council of Dads is just a week away. Sadly, it will also be the series finale based on recent reports from cast members on social media. I am very sad to not see the story continue beyond next week. I have been inspired by the hope that Council of Dads promotes.
Tune in Thursday July 2nd at 8/7c on NBC to see how things end.
You can also revisit the events of episode 2 , episode 3 , episode 4. episode 5, episode 6, episode 7 and episode 8.
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