Council of Dads Review: Who Do You Wanna Be? (Season 1 Episode 3)

On Council of Dads Season 1 Episode 3, “Who Do You Wanna Be?” the decision to move forward is weighing heavily on the Perry family. It’s never easy to admit out loud that your loved one is gone and never coming back, but this family has to start doing that.

One of the things I have already picked up on with this show is the attention to detail and the motivation behind each character’s decisions. “Who Do You Wanna Be?” is a perfect example of that winning combination.

In the first few moments, we see Robin wake up with her son, JJ, and hear him ask her about her wedding ring. It’s an innocent question that really drives her inner turmoil all episode long. 

The show could’ve created this moment and have her delicately answer it right away. Instead, they choose to have Robin take the rings on and off in an attempt to show us just how unsure she is about such a small move. It’s important that the viewers see just how big of a decision it is for her to remove such a small piece of herself.

If not executed correctly, this decision could easily pale in comparison to the other major decision weighing heavily on the whole council — selling the crab shack. This restaurant is Scott’s baby and giving it up is like giving up a part of him.

However, along the way, Robin has Oliver whispering in her ear that the money she would make from the sale would put all the kids through college and provide for the family in Scott’s wake. She also gets input from Anthony who runs the business with Scott as he tries to remind her of all that Scott put into the restaurant.

Ultimately, I am interested to see what decision she is going to make because Robin is finally starting to pull herself out of the ocean of grief from losing the love of her life. She is trying to balance between making a pragmatic decision for her family and an emotional decision for herself.

I do appreciate her relationship with both Oliver and Luly because they are her guiding lights in this storm.

Voiceover: It’s ok to move on. It’s good even. It means you’re alive.

Oliver is her highly logical, very detail-oriented friend who will give her the logical decision on things. She also has her step-daughter Luly to remind her of what Scott might have wanted or what the younger kids may want in such decisions. 

So by the time she calls the whole council together with the added benefit of Margot — the potential buyer — we are emotionally invested and we feel like she is making a decision for our family business. All because we got to go on this journey of doubt and indecision with her all along the way. 

In the end, Council of Dads gives us the only decision Robin could’ve made that will satisfy both parts of her — the pragmatic and the emotional. She ensures that Margot keeps the shack as it is to preserve Scott’s memory, but also gives up the shack for the sake of her children’s futures. 

We also get to see the benefits of the council when it comes to the decision to allow Theo to play football. Robin’s initial reaction really upsets me and makes me want to shake some sense into her.

She specifically goes to Oliver to ask him to help Theo vocalize his feelings or even just interact with the family more. So, Oliver forgoes his own family and focuses all his time on Theo, only managing to break through to him with football.

Oliver does what Robin asks him to do and she shoots both Oliver and Theo down. I get she is grappling with the toughest decision of her life but, she could at least support her son’s new passion for life again.

This is a kid who has taken his father’s death the hardest and Robin seems to consistently be dismissing him or his feelings because they don’t sit with her own timetable of getting things done. In the episodes to come, I really hope Robin steps up more than just a cautious acceptance for him to play football. 

Oliver also needs to get with the program. Out of all the dads on the council, I do feel like he has the most experience and the most connection with the kids; however, he also has a child of his own. 

Oliver needs to give the Perry children the attention and guidance they are now lacking since Scott passed, but not at the expense of his daughter. She needs her dad to be there and Peter needs his husband back.

This council idea is a well-formulated one despite its many kinks. And in time, this may just become a well-oiled machine, but they still have a ways to go. 

Another example of where the council fails is in realizing that when the children ask them questions, they can’t use the excuse that it’s not their story to tell. If it’s information about Scott, the man is no longer there to tell the story, which by default makes it okay for you to tell the story. 

Both Anthony and Larry run into this problem in an attempt at protecting the kids, but what they fail to realize is they aren’t doing them any favors. Part of being a parent or pseudo parent is answering even the tough questions as completely and honestly as possible. 

These kids deserve that at the very least. 

Council of Dads is already off to a strong start with how it presents the complicated and lengthy grief process. The story is compelling enough and there is just enough drama to keep us intrigued.

However, they fall short so far on putting little pieces of information in and just dangling them there like we are supposed to care about them. For example, Larry’s daughter running into them at the crab shack and making a scene. 

There is a hope that such incidents will flesh themselves out as the season progresses, but right now they are a minor ding against a very cohesive and impactful show.

Council of Stray Thoughts:

• Luly needs to have more faith in herself or the self-doubt is going to get old very fast. 
• When the secret about Anthony and Luly’s mom comes out heads are going to roll — I am here for it all.
• JJ is a sweet kid. I really want to know more about him.

What did you think of this episode of Council of Dads? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Council of Dads airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.

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