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‘Council of Dads’ Episode 5 Review: A chaotic melange of subplots and character arcs

In an hour-long episode, it seemed like an overwhelming and confusing web of events from Halloween to New Year, packing all the significant events of every character’s life and it lost us on the way

Spoilers for ‘Council of Dads’ Episode 5 ‘Tradition’

In the latest episode of NBC’s ‘Council of Dads’ titled ‘Tradition’, the Perry family faced a very challenging holiday season. This was the first time they had to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year without the father and the husband, Scott Perry (Tom Everett Scott). The family and their friends, as well-knit as they are, have had a tradition of celebrating the holidays and it was always spearheaded by Scott. But now that their tradition-keeper is gone, things are changing and they are all looking at building new traditions. So, how does it work out? Neither good nor bad, if you ask, but quite chaotic! There was too much going on in everybody’s life during the holidays and so in the episode, making it an overwhelming experience for the viewers.

For starters, instead of the conventional holiday gathering and Christmas dinner, Robin decides to take the gang to her daughter and son-in-law’s house to help them renovate and paint it. This plotline, if you ask, seemed a bit unnecessary at this point, where the stories of other characters are at a very sensitive level. Later, Robin Perry (Sarah Wayne Callies) and her new love interest Sam (David Walton) who were getting closer end their budding romance. After the last episode ‘The Sixth Stage’, we expected that there will more sparks flying between them. And it almost did! But between the beginning of the holidays and end of the year, the budding romance was cut short with Sam considering reconciliation with his ex-wife. If Robin and Sam’s relationship was never to happen, why did it create the vibes of something about to happen?

Next, there was the introduction of a new character Patricia (Becky Ann Baker), Robin’s mother. In the initial few minutes, it was established that the mother and daughter have a complicated relationship and are not very close. We see her struggling with the fact that her daughter relies more on her husband’s friends for help and support than her own mother. Introducing a character in an already packed episode seems to complicate the plot more. Patricia’s character seems to be significant and has a lot of potential in influencing Robin but her role seems to be under-utilized.

There is also the angle of Dr Oliver Post (J August Richards) and Peter Richards (Kevin Daniels), where they finally patch up their differences and reconcile and it’s like revisiting their love story all over again with promises, vows, and sentimental moments. But the highlight of the episode was Anthony Lavelle (Clive Standen) and Margot’s (Hilarie Burton) break-up. After struggling for a while to understand Anthony’s emotions, Margot finally threw in the towel and decided to end her relationship with him. This leads to a whole new angle for Anthony which could include Robin somewhere in the future. Without saying it in so many words, it’s clear that there’s a hidden tension between the two, and more could happen down the line.

There was also Theo Perry’s (Emjay Anthony) emotional struggle as he continues to grieve for his father’s loss, leading him to go wild and drunk and get caught by a cop. Like him, his siblings are also fighting with their father’s death. Overall, it looked like a patchwork of every character’s emotional arc during the holidays but what it should rather have been about is how the council helped the Perrys through this period when they would miss Scott the most. Although the trio differs in their opinions and approaches when dealing with the Perrys the holiday season could have been a time when we could see them coming together.

In an hour-long episode, it seemed like an overwhelming and confusing web of events from Halloween to New Year, packing all the significant events of every character’s life and it lost us on the way, failing to drive the message that they have been attempting to in the episode.

‘Council of Dads’ airs every Thursday night 8pm/7c, only on NBC.