Council of Dads Review: Stormy Weather (Season 1 Episode 9)

When a show reaches its penultimate episode of the season, an audience expects drama, revelations, and heart — ultimately, it’s supposed to be a storm of messy proportions that hopefully the finale can sort out. Council of Dads Season 1 Episode 9, “Stormy Weather,” presents both figurative storms as well as an actual storm with Hurricane Aiden.

Letting the episode center on the storm at hand — the hurricane, not Luly’s actions — creates a whole other level of drama that drives the story forward and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Ultimately, everything that has been brewing under the surface since the season began comes boiling to the top.

What is great about “Stormy Weather” is that it forces two sets of warring parent/child relationships to actually face each other and talk things out. One such meeting is helpful and productive while the other starts off promising but the participants lose interest quickly. 

For Theo, this season has been about figuring out his place and purpose in the family. He isn’t the focus of their mom’s attention much at all — because she thinks he doesn’t need her, but he does despite his outward appearance.

It gives Robin a bit of redemption as a mom because she has been unfairly pulling her attention around all season long. She has been saying that she’s trying, but every interaction between her and Theo has been an argument or a one-sided discussion.

The writers creating that moment for them to be stuck in a hurricane alone together — relying on one another for survival — is monumental for their relationship as a whole. Storms are notorious for causing destruction, but this storm creates a moment of change for two characters about to self-destruct. 

While Robin may still not have all the answers, at least now she is open to being more forthcoming and honest with Theo. By telling him Luly’s secret, she is extending an olive branch of trust.

Meanwhile, at Luly’s house, Larry and his daughter, Lauren, are forced to remain in close proximity with each other. It starts off really strong with Larry insisting she come with them to evacuate her own home — he’s really trying to step up as a dad.

When Lauren agrees to go with them I actually thought this is going to lead toward mending the bridge. However, it’s quickly made apparent that Lauren has given up all hope of her father because, to her, he can manipulate any situation and still let you down in the end.

It’s an interesting dynamic to continue to showcase. While Larry may be an ideal father figure to the Perry children — as well as viewers — he is still a deeply flawed man that not everyone is going to forgive for his past indiscretions.

If Council of Dads chose to mend that broken relationship with a simple little apology or bow during “Stormy Weather,” it would lose all credibility as a show about the reality of complex emotions.  There is a lot that has happened between Larry and his daughter, and that will take a very long time to amend — if at all. 

While Larry doesn’t come out of this episode with a new relationship with his daughter, he does come out with so much more — a growing bond with his granddaughter and the satisfaction that he is living his redemption every day of his life.

It takes a lot to correct or make penance for mistakes as large as wrecking a family with your alcohol use or crashing a car with your family inside. Larry is living each day with all of that on his shoulders and the hopes that he will see a change in himself most of all.

Of course, the biggest storm of all isn’t even Hurricane Aiden: it’s Luly’s mistake of publishing her letter to her dad. That information is now public knowledge and as the storm rages on, she worries about both her mother and her siblings reading the paper before she can explain.

This is what irks me the most about Luly as a character. It’s always one step forward and two or three steps back. 

It’s painfully obvious that Luly is young — however, her sister is ten times more mature than her and she is still a young teenager. Luly takes every little slight against her set plan for life as a major affront to her personhood. 

Watching the opening scene of “Stormy Weather,” I literally found myself rolling my eyes and telling Luly to stop being so dramatic. She is as upset about her letter being published as she’s been on the first episode when her father died. 

Luly needs to learn hard and fast that it’s not always about her — her problems are not suddenly more important than those of her siblings. Part of the reason Theo struggles so much is that their mother’s attention is constantly on Luly, his adult sister.

Please don’t take this as a critique of her desire to find answers about who she is and where she comes from, because it’s more than that. Basically, Luly is the oldest child and yet she is in constant need of emotional support.

Luly moves out, gets married, and is renovating her own home — it’s high time she actually practices the independence she keeps preaching about. She needs to fail so that she can dust herself off and learn from it. 

Leaving the episode on a bit of a cliffhanger with regards to all three separate storylines lends well to an investment on the coming finale.

We want to tune in because we want to know what Charlotte and JJ’s reactions to the article are. We need to know that Robin and Theo get to safety. And we need to know what is going to happen with Larry, Lauren, and Luly.

Adding the stress of Sage going into labor and revealing her condition to Oliver ends up being way more worthwhile than initially thought, which adds to the intrigue of what’s to come. How is Peter going to react to Sage’s news? How will Tess react to the news that her dads decided to adopt a baby before talking to her about it?

So many questions and hopefully, the finale will be able to answer all of them.

 

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 finale airs Thursday, July 2nd at 8/7c on NBC.

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