Original subtitles

‐ Previously on "Council of Dads"...

‐ Hey. So the surgery went great.

Oliver removed the tumor.

‐ If the cancer comes back, if I died,

there'd be this group of guys

to help the kids if they need guidance.

‐ The council? ‐ Yeah.

Council of Dads.

‐ How are you?

‐ I don't know. Ask me in a year.

‐ I'm pregnant.

‐ Why are you doing this?

‐ And when I came into AA, your dad agreed to sponsor me.

‐ You have a lifetime to teach them your values.

You're gonna be here for a long time.

The cancer's back.

‐ My dad died this morning at 3:00 a. m.

‐ You having any second thoughts?

We can call this thing off.

‐ I love Evan.

I'm choosing joy.

[all cheering]

‐ I miss him, Ollie.

‐ I'm right here.

And Larry, and Anthony.

We're gonna get through this together.

♪ Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors' "Family" plays ♪

‐ ♪ Family ♪ ‐ ♪ On the way to the city ♪

‐ ♪ Family ♪ ‐ ♪ Laughing in the rain ♪

‐ ♪ Family ♪ ‐ ♪ It ain't always pretty ♪

‐ All right. You ready, Theo?

‐ Uh, yep. I'm recording.

‐ All right. Here we go, guys.

It's Hope's first ice cream!

[imitating plane]

‐ I think she likes it, you guys.

‐ You like it? [baby coos]

‐ It's been four months since my friend Scott died.

He entrusted me and two other men

to look out for his family.

And they're doing okay,

but every now and again, something'll happen.

‐ [whines]

[crying] Daddy! Daddy, look.

‐ Hey.

You can have mine.

It's always when they least expect it.

They're reminded he's not here.

‐ Theo?

Play the song.

‐ Hey, Theo.

I made up a song here

to help you remember the state capitals.

Here we go.

[guitar playing]

♪ Montgomery, Alabama ♪

♪ Juneau, Alaska ♪

♪ Those are the first two ♪

♪ If your teachers ask ya ♪

‐ [singing along] ♪ Arizona's got Phoenix ♪

[all singing along] ♪ Arkansas's got Little Rock ♪

♪ Sacramento's in California ♪

♪ Where they've also got gridlock ♪

♪ Denver, Colorado ♪

♪ Hartford, Connecticut ♪

‐ Scott was everything you'd want in a dad,

and our job is to step in, be him,

fill his shoes.

But how do we do that?

How does a council of dads even work?

[acoustic music]

♪ ♪

‐ All right, now that Robin's back to work part‐time,

we've gotta double down on the schedule,

so I've made a spreadsheet.

Oliver, Hope's music class on Thursday?

‐ I'm there.

‐ Great.

You know, Hope likes the bongo drums.

This kid Tyler likes 'em, too.

So, I suggest that you sit up front

so you can snag 'em before Tyler can.

‐ Or maybe we could teach Hope how to share.

‐ Sure, we could. Or...

‐ I'll sit up front. ‐ Great.

Anthony, how are we doing on food

for Luly's going‐away party? ‐ All set.

It's in the fridge, ready to go.

‐ Good.

And you're taking Charlotte

mini‐golfing this afternoon?

‐ Yeah.

‐ Because you cancelled on her last week.

‐ We had a staff issue at Pelago.

‐ Well, Scott didn't hire me to watch out

for your restaurant.

But he hired me to watch after his kids.

‐ He hired us all to watch out for his kids, Larry.

‐ We are.

Just a lot of items on the schedule here.

If you're only able to make it down from Atlanta once a week,

I'm gonna need you to be solid on your day.

‐ Are you always this bossy?

‐ Well, I'm a Virgo.

‐ What does that mean?

‐ I have absolutely no idea.

But it usually shuts people up

when they ask me if I'm always this bossy.

‐ [scoffs]

‐ Okay, if we're good here,

I have a meeting at the hospital.

‐ Hold up.

We need to talk about Robin.

I keep asking her to come to these meetings.

She keeps declining.

I'm looking for feedback.

I'm getting pushback.

What's going on with her?

‐ She seems fine to me.

‐ She's not fine, Oliver.

Her husband died four months ago.

‐ Yeah. I know, Larry.

I was there. Remember?

I have to go. I'm late.

‐ What's wrong with him?

‐ Thank you.

‐ Yeah, that for me?

I ordered some pens in bulk online for the wait staff.

‐ It's actually for me from Michelle Pruitt,

with a Savannah return address.

Did Michelle move back to Savannah?

‐ No idea.

‐ Who's Michelle?

‐ Ah, it's probably just a wedding gift.

‐ Did you tell her I got married?

‐ No, I haven't seen her in years.

‐ Again, who's Michelle?

‐ Her mom. ‐ My birth mom.

‐ Open it.

[Layup's "Now It Begins" plays]

‐ Mom?

Mom?

Who's that?

‐ No one.

‐ What's a DNA thread?

‐ Nothing.

What do you want?

‐ Mom's missing.

‐ ♪ Now it begins ♪

♪ A change happening ♪

‐ Hey. ‐ Mom!

‐ Where were you? ‐ Buddy.

‐ We were scared. ‐ Oh, guys.

I'm so sorry. I, uh‐‐

I put the baby monitor in Theo's room.

I went running, and I didn't want to wake you guys up.

Who wants a smoothie?

‐ You could've been hit by a car.

‐ Whoa, guys. I'm really careful.

I'm fine.

[phone dings]

Theo, it's too early

for your phone, please.

‐ It's Larry.

The Word of the Day is "abrogate,"

which means "to cancel."

Mom, can you tell Larry to abrogate

the vocabulary words? It's annoying.

‐ Well, Larry's just trying to help.

He knows you've got your PSATs coming up.

Oh, guys, go get ready for school.

Go. Go, go, go.

Thank you.

‐ The reason I was looking for you this morning

is because I need to learn how to ride a bike.

Dad was going to teach me, but then...

‐ He died.

‐ Yeah.

‐ [sighs]

I can teach you. ‐ You will?

Thank you. ‐ Mm.

Go get ready. ‐ Okay.

‐ ♪ I'm leaving this place behind ♪

♪ And I'm heading out on the road ♪

‐ Hey, Ollie, can you wait up a second?

‐ Yeah, sorry, I'm late for a meeting.

‐ That's okay. Um...

So I've been texting you.

‐ Yeah, sorry, meant to reply. Just been buried.

Sorry. Bad choice of words.

‐ What? Buried?

No, you can say "buried" to me, Ollie.

It's all right. I won't fall apart.

‐ No. Of course.

‐ Just please don't say, "husband", "sex",

or "ever having five minutes to myself again,"

because then I will fall apart.

Oh, my God. Do not look so weird.

It's a joke. ‐ Sorry.

‐ You just said "sorry" like, six times

for something that you have no reason to be sorry for.

Are you okay?

‐ Yeah, it's just...work stuff. ‐ Okay.

Listen, I have to ask you a favor.

Uh, JJ's class is doing a father/son bike ride,

and he wanted to know if you would ride as his dad proxy.

‐ A bike ride?

‐ Yeah, it's a fundraiser. He asked for you specifically.

‐ Oh.

‐ If you can't do it, just say so.

‐ No, it's just, I‐‐

‐ I‐‐you know, what? It's all right.

We'll‐‐yeah, we'll figure something else out.

‐ Robin, I‐‐ ‐ It's all right.

Don't say you're sorry.

‐ [sighs]

The patient was a 47‐year‐old Caucasian male

who presented with right

lower‐extremity osteosarcoma.

As you know, we hold these

morbidity and mortality conferences, M&M's,

to learn from our mistakes.

And as most of you know, this patient was a friend.

So I need you to be extra tough

with your questions.

Please.

If I missed something, I need to know.

Questions?

[The Spring's "Only Skin" plays]

♪ ♪

‐ ♪ I'm leaving now, I cannot stay ♪

♪ I haven't got the time ♪

‐ Hey. ‐ Hey, baby.

‐ What's this?

‐ This is our new Brooklyn studio.

‐ Wait. ‐ [laughs]

‐ We passed the credit check? ‐ Yep.

It's ours if we want it.

Kitchen, bathroom,

bedroom, and living room. Roughly.

Based on the specs the landlord spent.

‐ This is very small.

‐ Yeah.

But look at the view. There's the Met.

‐ This is Brooklyn, Evan. You can't see the Met.

‐ Okay, fine. There's the Barclays Center.

The Nets are playing. Oh!

See? There's Jay‐Z.

‐ [chuckles] ‐ Hey, Jay‐Z!

What do you think? Should we take this place?

I know that‐‐you know‐‐ it's small,

but my wife, she won't bring all 200 of her sweaters.

‐ [chuckles]

I don't know. Are we sure we wanna do this?

‐ Are we talking about the apartment

or moving to New York?

'Cause I thought New York was the dream.

‐ It was. ‐ Was?

‐ Yeah, I...

No. It is.

It is.

There's Beyoncé.

She's giving us a thumbs up!

I think this is our place.

‐ I think you might be right.

‐ [exhales] We're moving to New York.

‐ We're moving to New York.

[both laugh]

‐ One, two, three!

‐ Don't let go, Mom. ‐ I know, it's all right.

I got it. Gotcha in the back.

‐ Don't let go. ‐ I know.

‐ Stop! I wanna stop!

‐ Okay, hey, hey, hey.

Hey, I didn't let go, okay?

‐ Oh, guess what?

You remember when I sent my spit off

to that DNA company?

I got a match. ‐ No way.

‐ Yeah. She's my third cousin.

She's adopted, too.

Her name's Phoebe. She's 15.

She lives outside of Atlanta.

‐ That's like next door. ‐ I know.

‐ Are you gonna meet her?

‐ I don't know. I haven't told my mom yet.

I don't wanna upset her.

‐ Got it, got on the pedals? ‐ Let go.

‐ No, no, no, I still got‐‐ ‐ I wanna stop.

I wanna stop! ‐ Okay, okay, okay, all right.

‐ I don't really wanna do this anymore.

‐ [exhales] Okay.

We'll take a break.

Hey, Anthony!

Hi, you.

Hey, Anthony.

Is it all right if Tess comes with you guys

to play mini‐golf?

‐ I already invited her, so...

it would be awkward if you said no.

‐ Which was our grand plan.

‐ So girls.

I just got a tip that a Michelin reviewer's

coming to the restaurant tomorrow night.

‐ Are you bailing again?

‐ My people. They're freaking out.

‐ What about my people?

‐ It's okay. ‐ No, it's not.

And I promise, next week,

we are gonna do something amazing.

I'm sorry, Robin. ‐ I know.

‐ I feel‐‐ ‐ Terrible.

I know, I know.

‐ Next week. Promise.

‐ Good luck.

[baby crying]

Yeah, Hope, we know how you feel.

‐ Candor.

The quality of being honest and straightforward.

You wanna write that one down?

‐ Nope. I'll remember.

‐ There's something about writing a thing down

helps to solidify it in your brain.

‐ I'm good. ‐ Okay.

So define candor.

‐ You know what, Larry?

I don't wanna do your vocabulary stuff anymore.

‐ Think you could use some help.

I called your guidance counselor.

See what other areas you might need support in.

‐ What?

Do you think I'm stupid?

‐ No, no, no, no. I don't think you're stupid.

‐ Well, then why are you calling my teachers?

‐ Just trying to get ahead of the problem.

‐ What problem? ‐ I misspoke.

I don't mean problem. I‐‐I‐‐I‐‐I mean‐‐

‐ You're not my dad, you know.

‐ I know. ‐ Good.

[upbeat music]

‐ Hey, babe. ‐ Hey.

‐ Hope you're hungry.

‐ Something smells good.

‐ Mm. ‐ Hey.

‐ Where's Tess? ‐ Oh, she's with Charlotte.

Figured you might need some time to talk.

‐ It was determined that "the course of treatment

"was appropriate, and it's unlikely any other therapy

would have extended the patient's life."

‐ Oliver. That's good.

‐ Yeah.

They had tough questions, but I had answers.

You know, I've been dreading this thing for months,

and now I'm exonerated and...

I don't know how to feel.

‐ Nobody exonerated you, babe,

because nobody ever accused you

of doing anything wrong.

You did everything you could.

Scott knew that. Robin knows that.

How'd she take the news?

‐ Um, I haven't told her.

‐ You need to tell her.

And say what?

"Hey, guess what?

"Scott's cancer was going to kill him

no matter what we did."

‐ That's a start. ‐ And then what?

‐ Say, "It sucks. Life isn't fair."

Say you're sad too. ‐ Mm‐mm, no.

I promised Scott I would take care of her.

‐ He didn't mean for you to be

this weird, stoic, robot person.

He wanted you to be her friend.

So be her friend. Talk to her.

‐ Hey. I got here as soon as I could.

I took the kids mini‐golfing,

and then I kicked their butts.

And then I had to put Hope down for Larry.

What's going on? ‐ Hey.

You said you had something to show me?

‐ Yes.

‐ Napkin rings.

‐ They're from Michelle.

‐ Oh.

‐ It's weird, right?

I mean, I haven't seen her since I was little.

And Dad made me meet her.

Most awkward hour of my life.

She was all, "I want you to know why I gave you up."

And I was like, "Um, I'm 9."

‐ [laughs]

Well, they're pretty, and they look vintage.

‐ [scoffs] They look aggressive to me.

Dad dies and she thinks she can what?

Be my mom?

I have a mom.

And how did she even know I worked at the Crab Shack?

‐ Well, everyone in town knows it's Dad's place.

‐ But how did she know I got married?

‐ It was in the paper?

‐ Are you defending her?

‐ No, I think I'm just suggesting

that you could give her the benefit of the doubt.

You know?

It's a gift. They're pretty.

You could write a thank‐you note and move on.

‐ Move on.

I'm trying.

‐ Are you excited about New York?

‐ Yeah.

And also...no?

I'm all mixed up.

I don't know anything anymore.

‐ Yeah. That's grief.

‐ Are you sure you're gonna be okay if I go?

‐ Yeah.

I'm gonna miss you,

but I want you to be happy.

‐ And you have the Council. ‐ Yep.

I have the Council.

[phone dings]

Sorry.

Charlotte's hyper‐vigilant.

If I don't respond right away, she thinks I'm dead.

‐ [laughs]

‐ Oh, no, it's Theo,

sending a manifesto.

‐ About what? ‐ Larry.

Apparently he reached out

to Theo's counselors and teacher.

He can't do that.

‐ [scoffs] Larry's intense.

‐ [scoffs] Yeah.

Yeah, he is.

‐ What are you gonna do?

‐ Be intense right back.

‐ Groceries are put away.

And I fixed the jiggly handle on the drawer.

‐ Thank you.

‐ You wanted a word?

I assume it's not a word from Theo's vocabulary list.

‐ Well, you can't drill Theo with definitions, Larry.

He'll shut right down. You gotta make it fun.

You gotta make it a game.

‐ See, this is the kind of feedback that's been lacking.

This is what I've been asking for.

‐ But, what you really can't do

is talk to his teachers without consulting me.

‐ Okay. Noted.

Look, figuring out this Council is a process.

But with better communication, we can make adjusts.

‐ No. No more adjusts.

My kids have enough to adjust to.

And they're hurting enough

without adding more upsets and letdowns on top of it.

‐ Look, I talked to Anthony about cancelling last week.

‐ Did you talk to him about it today?

Because he had to rush back to Atlanta

to cook for some critic.

‐ You know, that's just‐‐ that's unacceptable.

‐ Is it? Because I'm accepting it.

He has a job. He has a life.

So does Ollie, right?

They can't just drop everything

at a moment's notice,

not even for JJ,

my sweet little guy who just...

wants a dad to teach him how to ride a bike.

‐ Done and done. That we can do.

‐ No, you can't.

Because you guys aren't his dads.

Scott was.

‐ And we're his Council,

under your direction,

but we need your buy‐in. ‐ My buy‐in, Larry.

‐ Just tell us what you want.

‐ I want Scott.

I wanna tell him that Theo's upset.

I wanna tell him that Charlotte's scared.

I wanna tell him that I'm sad that Luly's leaving.

And I want him to teach JJ how to ride a bike.

I want my husband back!

This Council was his idea,

and in theory, it's great.

The reality is, it's just not working.

‐ Please, Robin.

Please, don't‐‐don't pull the rip cord, just...

employ us! ‐ I can't!

I never hired you in the first place.

But if you need to hear that you're fired, Larry,

then, "You're fired, Larry."

Tell the other dads.

I'm gonna raise my kids

on my own from now on.

‐ Well, good morning, all my kids.

‐ You're wearing a garbage bag. ‐ I am.

I didn't want to get Hope's breakfast all over me.

‐ Dad usually wore an apron.

‐ Couldn't find one, and I was in a hurry.

I have a patient who's dilated

to four centimeters, and she's going fast!

So I'm gonna take Hope to daycare.

Theo, can you please take JJ and Charlotte to school?

‐ Peter usually drives us.

‐ Well, I know, but today, Theo's gonna do it.

So thank you for getting your own breakfast.

If you please, clean up the kitchen

before you go to school.

‐ We should call Luly and have her come over.

‐ Well, Luly's packing for New York.

Oh, and her party's tonight.

I should be home in plenty of time, but if not,

will you two please set up the table and chairs?

‐ We could call Larry.

He likes doing stuff like that.

‐ Yeah, I don't think we need the Council.

Right?

We've got each other.

‐ Did you fire the Council?

‐ Look, they've got their own lives,

and their own families, and so do we.

‐ I thought they were family.

‐ They are.

They're just not our family.

Right? They're not related to us.

‐ I'm not related to you.

‐ Yes, you are. You're my daughter.

‐ Not biologically,

just like the Council

isn't biologically our family,

but Dad wanted them to be.

‐ Char, we're still gonna see the dads, okay?

Just not as much. ‐ Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Chill, you guys. It's not so bad.

No more daily words from Larry.

‐ Oh, there will be vocab.

Don't think that ends just because I fired the Council.

‐ So you did fire them. ‐ Guys, everything's fine.

Everything's gonna be great.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Have a great day.

‐ You're still wearing a garbage bag.

♪ ♪

‐ Luly!

‐ Oh.

Hi. ‐ Hi.

‐ Uh, you're so beautiful.

‐ Thank you.

‐ Do you want a coffee?

‐ No, I have to pack. ‐ Oh?

‐ I'm moving to New York next week.

‐ Oh.

‐ Uh, these are so beautiful,

and the gift was so thoughtful, but‐‐

‐ Well, I just, you know, recently moved back

to Savannah, and I found them.

They're family heirlooms.

‐ Yeah?

They probably have a lot of family history.

Feels like they should stay in your family.

‐ Oh.

[sighs] Of course.

Well, I‐‐I hope that you'll keep the pictures, at least.

‐ What pictures?

‐ Of your dad.

From a million years ago.

‐ I thought, um, you'd like to have them.

‐ [laughing] Oh, my God, his hair.

‐ [laughing]

Oh, that is actually the first day your dad

introduced me to Anthony.

Come on. Sit down.

I'll buy you a coffee.

‐ Okay.

‐ ♪ Finally awake and we're taking the high road ♪

‐ So I hear you fired the Council.

Does that mean I'm fired as your friend, too?

‐ I'm not feeling really friendly right now.

‐ I know I've been acting weird.

‐ Honestly, Ollie, I have a patient in labor.

I'm gonna get paged any minute.

And I just‐‐I need‐‐ ‐ I had an M&M yesterday.

‐ You presented Scott's case.

‐ The conclusion was, we treated him correctly,

and there was nothing more we could've done.

‐ Why didn't you tell me?

I mean, I would've gone. I should've gone.

‐ I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to upset you.

‐ And yet you did.

I need to go.

‐ Look, this is tricky, Rob.

I mean, do I talk about Scott?

Do I not talk about Scott?

I wanna be sensitive.

‐ How about just being my friend?

‐ I am your friend.

‐ It didn't feel that way yesterday.

I asked you to take a bike ride with JJ,

and you hesitated, which is basically a no.

‐ I didn't know to say that‐‐ ‐ Yes!

You say yes!

This is his first father/son bike ride

as a son without a father.

And you knew that. And you should've said yes.

That's what my friend would've done‐‐

‐ I can't ride a bike!

‐ What?

‐ When I was little, I tried, and I kept falling, so I quit.

So when you asked me about JJ‐‐

‐ Why didn't you just tell me that?

‐ Because I'm ashamed.

‐ That you can't ride a bike?

‐ I don't like failing at things.

And I can't ride a bike, And I couldn't save Scott.

And I just keep failing you.

[pager vibrates]

‐ Oh, okay. I have to‐‐

‐ Go.

‐ We're gonna pick this up. All right?

[dramatic piano music]

[Oliver Hazard's "Caesar Knows" playing]

‐ ♪ Caesar, don't you dance on my floor ♪

♪ ♪

‐ Do you think she'll like me?

‐ You talked me into skipping school

and taking a bus to Atlanta.

You're a rebel and basically the coolest person I know.

Of course she'll like you.

‐ That's them.

‐ Hi. ‐ Hi.

I'm Charlotte. ‐ Hi.

‐ This is my friend, Tess. ‐ Hi.

‐ You must be Phoebe.

‐ Hi.

‐ Where are your parents? I assumed they'd be here.

‐ Oh, yeah. They were.

I mean, my mom was.

She dropped us here, and then she went to visit her friend.

‐ Yeah, he owns a restaurant downtown.

‐ Oh, okay.

‐ Um, so, I guess we share a great‐great‐great grandparent

somewhere in China.

‐ Oh, my mom is way more

into the DNA stuff than me.

‐ Cool.

I was adopted when I was five.

I came here for heart surgery, and my mom's a doctor.

So that's how that happened. [laughs nervously]

‐ I was adopted when I was a baby.

‐ Oh, cool.

‐ [chuckles]

‐ I'm sorry about the napkin rings.

I overstepped. ‐ It's okay.

‐ I don't know what I was thinking.

Actually, I do know what I was thinking.

I was thinking about your dad.

You know, we, uh‐‐ we basically started dating

the first day of college,

and on Thanksgiving that year,

he came over to my house

because, you know, his family was‐‐

‐ Not great. I know.

‐ So, my mom had set the table with cloth napkins,

and the napkin rings,

and your dad was blown away

that people use cloth napkins

and not‐‐you know‐‐ paper towels from the roll,

and that there were families

that actually sat down and ate dinner together.

Willingly.

‐ [chuckles]

He was such a stickler

for the sit‐down dinner,

and now I know where it came from.

‐ I know you and I have never ever really had the

"here's why I gave you up" conversation.

‐ And we don't have to.

‐ No, I know. I know.

It's just if you ever...

want to know.

‐ I don't.

I don't mean to be rude,

but I really don't need to know why you gave me up.

My dad told me that you weren't ready to be a mom,

and that he was ready to be a dad,

and that's enough for me.

It was enough for me when I was nine,

and it's enough for me now.

‐ Okay.

You're very direct. [chuckles]

You're like your dad.

‐ I actually get that from my mom.

[door opens]

‐ I got your text.

What are you doing?

‐ An M&M.

I have a question.

‐ [sighs] Robin.

‐ You gonna call on me? ‐ Stop it.

‐ Were the lesions in his liver and lungs

amenable to local resection?

‐ [sighs] Robin.

‐ Were they?

‐ No.

‐ And was immunotherapy considered as salvage therapy?

‐ I'm not‐‐ why are you doing this?

‐ Stop torturing and punishing yourself, Ollie.

I just read the M&M report.

You did everything. You did more than everything.

‐ I didn't cure him.

I looked him in the eye and I promised him.

‐ You lied.

So did I.

We're doctors, Ollie.

We saw the scans. We know the stats.

We knew. We didn't wanna believe it,

so we told each other that we could save him.

That was a kindness.

Not a crime. That's what friends do.

And now I need my friend back.

You've been walking on eggshells around me.

I need you to stop.

[exhales]

‐ I really miss him, Rob.

‐ I know.

‐ I miss his... [laughs]

Okay, this is gonna sound weird, but...

I miss his voice. ‐ [laughs]

‐ You know the way he'd just call and say,

"How's the cancer business, Oliver?"

[laughs] ‐ He had a great voice.

‐ I'm sorry. ‐ Don't be.

I'm glad you miss him.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

‐ You're not the only one.

[gentle acoustic music]

♪ ♪

‐ So you can't ride a bike, huh?

[both laugh]

‐ Do you think I'm ready to go around the block?

‐ I do.

Just remember you're in charge.

If you get scared, you just put your feet down.

Okay? ‐ Okay.

‐ All right, here we go.

Pedal, pedal, pedal,

pedal, pedal. There you go.

You got this.

You're pedaling.

You've got this!

‐ Dad, I'm doing it. I'm riding a bike!

‐ [chuckles] You're doing it, JJ!

["Tearing at the Seams" plays]

‐ ♪ And from these heights ♪

♪ Of these hills ♪

‐ You want some help?

‐ It's up to you.

‐ ♪ No one else can see ♪

♪ It's tearing at the seams of all that's been ♪

Thought you got fired.

‐ I know I'm not your dad, Theo.

But I am a dad.

My kids are all grown up.

Andrew lives on the West Coast.

We talk a few times a year. Not much, but...

I'm grateful that he takes my calls.

Lauren won't.

It's been almost six years

since I've had any contact with her.

I wasn't a very good dad.

I wasn't a very good husband either.

My ex‐wife told me I had to stop drinking

or she'd divorce me.

Well, I didn't stop drinking.

Instead of fighting for my family,

I let myself get fired.

Boy, do I regret that.

So I'm not gonna let myself get fired so easily this time.

‐ That sucks.

[gentle acoustic music]

‐ Sucks? Come on, Theo.

You can do better than sucks.

I mean, I know you don't like

my vocabulary lessons,

but you can‐‐look‐‐

"Larry, as a parent, you were really..." what?

You can fill in the sentence. Call me any bad word you want.

‐ Uh...

Abhorrent.

Ghastly.

Abominable.

I was abhorrent,

ghastly, and abominable.

And I really suck.

‐ [chuckles]

‐ That looks great, Tony. Now fire it up.

‐ Anthony. ‐ Are the Michelin people here?

‐ Not exactly.

‐ Charlotte. What are you‐‐

‐ Hi, Anthony.

This is Karen and Phoebe,

and we matched on DNA thread,

and we met and it was cool

and Karen wanted to make sure we were safe,

so she dropped us here, where my mom is.

If she went out to shop,

we can just hang and wait. [laughs nervously]

‐ Good, uh.

Yeah, she is still out.

But, um, thank you.

I'm Anthony Lavelle. I can take it from here.

‐ Okay, then.

Well, it was really fun to meet you, Charlotte.

And you, too, Tess.

‐ Bye! ‐ Bye.

‐ Bye.

Thank you for being so cool. ‐ So cool.

‐ My mom doesn't know I'm here, and we need to get

to the bus station and get back home, so....

‐ I'm ordering an Uber.

‐ What are you, an adult?

Hm? No.

I may be cool, but I'm not that cool.

I'm calling your mom and your dads.

And I'm driving you back home myself.

Hey, Danny. Two Shirley Temples.

‐ Really. We can take the bus.

Don't you have a big critic coming in tonight?

‐ You know what?

They're just gonna have to get by without me.

‐ Hey.

Wow. ‐ [groans]

‐ It's like a tornado hit.

‐ Turns out you don't have 200 sweaters.

You have more.

Start sorting.

You can bring no more than ten.

‐ Evan. ‐ Lu!

200 square feet. We gotta be ruthless.

‐ Right.

‐ Uh, how'd it go with Michelle?

‐ I don't know.

Hearing her tell me stories about my dad made me...

I don't know.

‐ Made you what?

‐ It's just...

I always wanted to move to New York...

‐ Um.

‐ To write in magazines, thinking it would be cool.

But, in reality, it's like,

I'm just gonna be writing

about the latent trend in lip gloss.

‐ Um, I don't get, um‐‐baby.

What does this have to do with your dad?

‐ I wanna write the story of him,

and the story of me this past year,

and why go to New York if the story's here?

I don't want to move to New York.

‐ What?

I literally asked you yesterday, point blank,

"Do you wanna do this?" And you said, "Yes."

‐ I didn't know yesterday.

And we had to make a decision.

And if you still want to move to New York, we can.

‐ Oh, yeah. That's a great idea.

Let's just move, so you can be miserable.

‐ Well, what do you want to do?

‐ I wanna know what you're thinking.

‐ I'm telling you what I'm thinking.

‐ No, you're announcing your decision about your life.

This is our life. ‐ I know.

‐ And I've been trying to figure you out.

I'm trying to make you happy!

I'm trying to do everything.

I packed our entire apartment!

‐ Well, stop!

Stop packing! Stop trying!

Stop yelling at me for having doubts.

I'm having doubts, Evan!

I don't know what I'm doing.

I don't who I am.

I don't know what makes me happy.

I don't know what I'm gonna be.

The only thing‐‐the only thing that I know right now

is that I don't want to move to New York.

‐ That's the only thing that you know right now.

That's just great!

That's just great.

‐ Okay, so they took a bus to Atlanta.

Do we know how long they've been planning this?

‐ I don't know.

Anthony said they'd explain

when they got here.

[phone vibrates] ‐ He just texted.

He's pulling up now.

‐ I should have seen this coming.

‐ You've had a lot on your plate.

‐ My 13 year old wanted to find her biological family.

That shouldn't have fallen through the cracks.

‐ No, it shouldn't have.

‐ What's that supposed to mean?

‐ Nothing. Just ignore me.

‐ You don't make that real easy.

‐ I don't wanna upset you

any more than you already are.

‐ Don't handle me right now,

please, Larry‐‐

‐ Stop pushing me away.

‐ Hey! Maybe now's not the time?

‐ We're not perfect.

Me, Oliver, Anthony.

And we're not gonna be.

But you have five kids, and they each have needs.

Sure, you don't want us.

But you need us, Robin.

You need us.

‐ Tess. Tess! ‐ Oh, thank God.

‐ It's all over. Are you okay?

‐ Mom. ‐ Oh, honey.

‐ Are you okay? Let me see you.

Why didn't you call us?

[overlapping chatter]

‐ Guys. Guys!

We need to give the girls a chance to explain

before you start grounding for life.

‐ Okay.

‐ I thought it would be amazing

to find a person who's related to me.

I thought that maybe we'd feel this great connection

and she could be my...

‐ What?

‐ My backup plan?

‐ For what?

‐ I was given up for adoption.

I lost one set of parents before I was five,

and then another a few months ago.

I'm scared of losing you too.

‐ You won't. I'm fine.

‐ She needs to know her backup plan.

Maybe some other kid could just go with the flow,

but not this kid.

She thought she knew. She thought the‐‐the Council

was her backup plan,

but then she got scared because‐‐

‐ I fired you.

Mm‐hmm.

‐ Go on, Char.

Ask her.

‐ Who will take care of us if you die?

‐ If I die?

Oh, Char.

Oh, I don't know.

‐ I'm so sorry. ‐ No.

‐ I‐‐I didn't mean to worry you‐‐

‐ No, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry.

I fired your backup plan.

Epic fail.

But hey, look who showed up.

Hm?

Look who just showed up anyway.

'Cause they love you, and they were worried.

And 'cause these people are your family, okay?

Char, I'm not gonna die on you.

But if I did...

Anthony will take care of you, okay?

And Ollie will take care of you.

And Larry will take care of you.

You want buy‐in? I'm all in.

‐ Us, too.

So, um...

Big announcement.

We are...

not moving to New York?

‐ Evan. ‐ Sorry, what's going on?

‐ Yeah, what's going on?

‐ I don't know what I'm doing either, Lu.

Half the time I'm winging it.

But I know I love you.

And I really wanna make you happy.

‐ You do, and I love you,

and I really wanna make you happy, too.

‐ Seriously, guys. What's going on?

[both giggle]

‐ We're not moving to New York!

[all cheer]

‐ I love it! I love it!

[overlapping chatter]

‐ Guys, what about the going‐away party?

‐ Now we have something to celebrate.

[all cheering]

band: ♪ Oh, so right ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Oh, so right ♪

♪ ♪

[music continues in background]

‐ Hi. ‐ Hey.

Are you disappointed in me

for not moving to New York?

‐ Super.

No, of course not. ‐ [laughs]

You don't think I'm chickening out?

‐ Do you?

‐ No.

I'm choosing to stay here.

Be a writer here.

Like Flannery O'Connor.

‐ Okay.

‐ I invited Michelle. Is that okay?

‐ Of course.

‐ I just heard the great news that you're staying.

‐ Yep. [both giggle]

‐ Uh, Michelle. This is Robin.

My mom. ‐ Oh.

‐ Hi. So nice to meet you finally.

‐ Likewise.

‐ Lead the way.

‐ Follow me.

‐ ♪ Find me in the dark ♪

♪ Between the lines of the black and white ♪

‐ Michelle.

You look great.

I was just gonna get another beer.

‐ Mm. You've been avoiding me.

‐ What?

No way.

‐ I called you after Scott died.

Couple times.

‐ Sorry, I must have missed it.

‐ [Luly laughing]

[gentle acoustic music]

‐ She has your eyes. ‐ Michelle.

‐ I didn't know for the longest time.

For the longest time.

And it was just that one night,

so I figured there's no way,

but I am pretty sure she's‐‐ ‐ Yeah.

Me too.

‐ You think Scott knew?

‐ No.

No, I don't.

She never needs to know, either.

‐ I don't know, you guys.

‐ Yes, Ollie.

If you are JJ are gonna do this ride next month,

you gotta learn. ‐ Mm‐hmm.

‐ Theo, you recording? ‐ Yep, I'm recording.

‐ You ready?

‐ You're in charge.

If you get scared, just put your feet down.

Right, Larry?

‐ That's right.

‐ Don't let go, Anthony.

‐ Scott asked the three of us to watch out for his family,

be his Council of Dads.

‐ I won't. ‐ Don't let go.

‐ I gotcha, I won't. I gotcha.

‐ Okay, okay. ‐ I still gotcha.

‐ Don't let go, Anthony. ‐ I still gotcha.

‐ Anthony, don't let go.

Anthony!

[overlapping cheering]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God, I'm doing it!

‐ It's all you! Come on, baby!

‐ But I think he knew

that we need them as much as they need us.

We'll never move on from Scott's death,

but together, we'll move forward.