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Writer's pictureVictoria Francesca

Council of Dads: A Whirlwind of Emotions

Updated: Mar 29, 2021

Opening Statement: I hope to enlighten my readers on a short journey into my views! I plan to post every other Sunday for the most part, excluding any spur of the moment ideas I may have or a busy schedule which may restrict me from posting that week. Thank you and enjoy!


Today was an incredibly long and tiresome day. I spent hours working on my resume, which as many of you know, is so terribly draining. And nothing, and I mean NOTHING, ever formats or aligns correctly. So you could imagine my exhaustion and frustration. In an effort to relax a bit, I threw on Council of Dads, which has been advertised continuously on my television in the last week. To be completely honest, I sort of planned to half-watch it. This was most definitely not an option, and therefore I have been pulled to write to all of you in a frenzied mix of emotion and appreciation for this story and the way it has been told.


ALERT! Some spoilers of episode one are ahead!


Tom Everett Scott (who happened to be part of another short-lived series I enjoyed, The Healing Powers of Dude) plays Scott Perry who is married to Robin Perry played by Sarah Wayne Callies and the father of four, soon to be five children. One adopted child (Thalia Tran), three biological children (Emjay Anthony, Blue Chapman, Kara Kahn) and an eldest daughter (Michele Weaver) born from a different marriage who narrates episode one. At first, I was taken off guard by the speed at which the show was moving. There were anywhere from two to five new characters introduced every few scenes, and a ton of subjects and occurrences covered throughout: cancer (as mentioned), and cancer support groups, a pregnancy, multiple failed driver’s tests, a reveal that the youngest son is transgender, new love…and then new marriage, alcoholism, a literal “council” of father-like figures, and much more. And on top of it all, within this 45 minute episode, we only get a small snippet of the plethora of things I just listed. This all made me feel frazzled and all over the place, but I soon learned that that was the point.


When cancer takes over a family’s life, it seems that everything floats aimlessly around it, and time moves insanely fast, wanting and waiting for certainty and security. Council of Dads brought this tormenting and heartbreaking experience to life, and I feel that all viewers (those who have personally had cancer affect their life in some way and those who haven’t) will take away a similar roller coaster of emotions as I did. Within the quick cuts and passing events of the year, we see beautiful moments of love, kindness, fatherhood, and warmth. Such wholeness left me feeling utterly, though subconsciously, attached to each and every character. So much so, that when the father is ripped from under us only weeks after his newest daughter is born, I was left sobbing. I couldn’t believe the emotional reaction I had to characters I just met and for whom I was half paying attention to. It was as if I had consumed an entire hour and a half film, except with Council of Dads, it is more like several different films in one episode. This goes to show the amazing talent that is rooted in the minds of those who’ve created this show. It almost felt like a very successful cheat or shortcut of some kind. I was able to absorb all the aspects of a film or an entire series in one episode, such as a deep connection to the characters, laughs, love, tears- my goodness it was all over the map in the best way possible.

And I’ve only seen the pilot so far…


I don’t think there is much left to say other than that I am now hooked and cannot wait to see what the rest of this new NBC show has to offer. I look forward to see how this group of three men (played by Clive Standen, J. August Richards, and Michael O'Neill) guide and support the family of 6 now that their husband/father is gone. In the mix of it all, I even learned so much about these three characters who make up the Council of Dads selected by the deceased father.

I hope my blabbing on (about one single episode) encourages you to tune into Council of Dads and experience a similar landslide of hesitation to full commitment that I had myself. Best wishes and happy watching!


~Francesca Reviews


P.S. The resume turned out pretty well and I’m proud of it…for now! Always an ever-changing process!


P.S.S. Found out JUST now (6/25/2020) that the show has been canceled after one season…I guess not everyone felt as I did! I’m sad about it! At least we have one season to enjoy :)

 

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Disclaimer: All of my posts are based off of my own knowledge, opinion, and beliefs and this blog is only meant to be a platform to share those things with the world. I am always open to hear what you all have to say about the topics I write about, listening to many perspectives can only enhance my knowledge! Therefore, feel free to start a friendly conversation sharing your opinions! Thank you!

 

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