There is something about HBO’s Rooster that feels so wrong - a show with so much potential - but most of it is wasted in meaningless subplots and the nonexistent conversations that could have made more sense for the characters and their story arcs. Episode 8, titled Nobody Spook It, has a lot going on in its almost half-hour runtime, but most of it does not make much sense. 

Almost all of the characters and their story arcs were touched upon in this episode, and it failed to create any impact whatsoever. The episode was actually intended to show some growth in the characters, but some of their development really makes you question if they are growing in the right direction. 

Although the episode was riddled with subplots, the main focus was Greg’s quest to stop Tommy from dropping out of college.

The episode starts with Greg and Katie spending their Thanksgiving alone with each other, watching television. Greg senses something wrong with Katie when she makes an out-of-character remark about Santa. In the next scene, we see Walt and Greg, who have now apparently become best buddies after the heart-to-heart they had in episode 7. Walt asks Greg about his Thanksgiving, and Greg tells him about the issue with Katie. 

However, the conversation ends soon as Walt mentions that Cristle is back and Greg might want a heads up to plan his next move with Cristle. However, he does not get a chance, as the minute Walt walks away, Cristal enters his office. Her main purpose of the visit was to lay some ground rules for their daily interactions from now on. These rules are quite whacky and indicative of some residual feelings she still has for Greg.

Later, we see Greg in his class giving students their assignments back with the feedback. It was good to see Tommy back in his class - something Greg also mentions towards the end of the session. However, Tommy seems to be back on friendly terms with Greg, and this might baffle some, as his reaction to what he saw in his mom’s kitchen suggested there might be some more pushback from him.    

Nevertheless, the reason for this sudden change was cited to be a psych major who is helping Tommy cope with his trauma. Greg could not be happier hearing this. He clearly has a soft spot for Tommy, and he is just glad to be back being pals with him. They even set up a time for them to work together on getting Tommy’s grades to go up. 

'Rooster' Episode 5 Recap: Can Greg’s Rediscovered Self Survive Beth, the Meteor?

The meeting did not happen, though, as Tommy never showed up. Greg even enquired about him to his friends, but even they did not have a clue. He finally got to know about him through Cristle, who informed him that Tommy is considering dropping out of college. Naturally, Cristle requests Greg to convince him otherwise, as she believes that he is the only one who could get through to Tommy.

Greg goes to see Tommy at the cafe where he works, and tries to talk him out of dropping out, but Tommy’s mind seems to be made up, and he presents some compelling arguments supporting his decision. As they were having the discussion, officer Donnie (the same bumbling police officer from every episode) entered the scene, and Tommy points out how he always wanted to be a cop. Tommy even managed to get a ride-along with Donnie, and Greg could not do anything.

However, Greg cannot give up just yet and goes on to interrupt their little ride-along. When he approaches Tommy's ride-along, they are grooving out to Creed. Tommy tells Greg he's having the time of his life as he takes them outside to talk. While he tries to convince the policeman that Tommy must complete his college education, Tommy goes in search of free donuts. Greg even has to use his get-out-of-jail-free card, which Donnie himself gave him. When Tommy returns with donuts and the cop's misplaced gun, the professor informs Tommy that he and Officer Donnie were discussing the drawbacks of becoming a police officer.

The fact that he is using his get-out-of-jail-free card in this manner seems to astound him. Tommy doesn't see the drawbacks as they sit in the police cruiser, but Donnie suddenly goes into this deep, dark hole of his personal experience with power that comes with the job and how easily it can suck you into a world of despair and mediocrity. This added a layer to the policeman’s character, who was, up until now, only used as comedic relief. Nobody asked for it, but it seemed necessary for Tommy’s decision going ahead. 

While Donnie was having a moment, the mascot thief showed up. Tommy just jumped out of the car to catch the thief, and Greg followed him. The one who should have actually gone after the thief was struggling hard to find his car keys. Tommy eventually caught the culprit, and it turns out it was Pig T*** (JD), one of Tommy’s friends, who got fed up with being the butt of all jokes and, in an attempt to reinvent his identity, ended up stealing the mascot uniform. 

Tommy felt a bit guilty and sad and promised never to call him by his nickname. Later, while catching their breath, the student-teacher duo was back on the topic of the career switch, and Greg told him that he sees potential in him as a writer. At first, Tommy refused to believe and saw this as an effort to coerce him into changing his decision. But Greg quotes one of the lines that he wrote in his assignment and said that he wished that he had written that. That meant the world to Tommy, and he finally decided to stay at Ludlow. 

While this was a fulfilling arc in itself, the other subplots in the episode are actually quite opposite and frustrating - some do not even have a leg to stand on.

In between Greg’s journey to prevent Tommy from making a decision he would regret later, other characters were busy running around in circles in their own storyline. The notable among them is the Katie-Archie-Sunny saga that has somehow grown more and more frustrating as the series is nearing its end. It really does not make sense that a character like Archie has two beautiful and smart women wrapped around his finger and making them take all the wrong decisions in their lives. 

On one hand, there is Katie - hurt and grieving again by Archie’s indifference after making her believe that he would drop everything with Sunny, even his unborn child, just to be with her. On the other hand, there is Sunny, who is actually considering turning down her dream job in the Big Apple just to be with Archie. It is actually insane and infuriating how these women are self-sabotaging themselves by fawning over an incessantly narcissistic and self-absorbed man who thinks only of himself and his feelings. 

In one scene in the episode, Katie almost breaks down when she accidentally comes face-to-face with Archie outside a cafe. As an audience, you feel - how exactly is this man capable of having such power over someone like Katie or Sunny? Towards the end of the show, Sunny decides not to take the job, and she tells the same to Archie, who does not even have the decency to ask her if she is sure about the decision or even have a conversation about such a big step that will affect her career adversely. 

He just accepts her decision without uttering a word or even an ounce of guilt. Despite the show's many efforts to provide him with a perspective on things and show his good side, Archie as a character seems to be in a rut with his moronic phase, which does not seem to be going anywhere soon. It is just sad to see Katie get hurt by him every time, and one can only think that she should have learned by now. However, the episode ends with Katie finally mustering up the courage to tell the truth about her and Archie to Greg.

The show does not really let the audience hear their conversation, muffling everything with background music as the end credits roll. We might get to know what they talked about in the next episode, but this seems actually good for the father-daughter relationship that seemed a bit out of focus in the last couple of episodes. The last episode, especially, had Greg in the background, and his interactions with Katie were very limited. 

There was also a brief subplot about Dylan pushing Eva (one of her and Greg’s students) to explore her artistic talent, but it did not really have an emotional foundation or a purpose in the story. It seemed more like a misplaced storyline that did not contribute to the flow of the episode at all. At the end, episode 8 was not something you would expect from a show in this last leg. There is no tension or anticipation building up, and the core of the show, which was originally the father-daughter dramedy, seems to be waning with every episode. It would be nice if the show gets its act together in the upcoming episodes.

'Rooster' Episode 6 Recap: Greg Starts a New Relationship While Katie Struggles With Her Old One

Do you think Katie will learn from her mistakes and finally stay away from Archie? Share your thoughts.