The third episode of Frasier ended with Dr. Crane coming to terms with his popularity. Alan advises him to use his showmanship to encourage more students to join the psychology department. His celebrity status might help children stay in school. Dr. Frasier understood the positive side of his popularity and embraced it for the betterment of the department he joined as a professor. The next episode will also give the viewers a peek into father-son bonding as they are rediscovering their relationship.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Wins The Pub Quiz?
The fourth episode of the show began with a pub quiz at a local bar, and Eve was the quizmaster for the night. Frasier joins Olivia and Alan’s team in the hope of winning the quiz because they consider themselves to be unbeatable in such games. All three of them are excited until Freddy and his team of firefighters join the trivia quiz. Dr. Frasier did not realize Freddy would be as intelligent and competitive as he was because his son’s team won the trivia night at the pub. Dr. Frasier equated his job to his level of intelligence, and underestimating his son was a big mistake. Freddy was also livid about his father judging him and looking down on him for his profession. The young man is keen on showcasing the exciting and fulfilling side of his job.
Why Is Freddy Keen On Showing His Father The Fire Station?
After his brief interaction with his father at the pub, Freddy was adamant about making his father understand the importance of the work he does. Freddy truly believes his work involves safeguarding society, and his father is unable to appreciate that. Freddy, just like his father, refuses to have a conversation about this subject. Freddy convinced his father to visit his place of work under the pretext of making lunch for his colleagues. He wondered if his father witnessed him in action, his perception of his profession of choice would change for the foreseeable future. Nothing goes as planned because his first job of the day involved saving a man stuck in his home who was grappling with anxiety. Freddy made sure to bring his father along to this rescue, only to realize the man they saved was a fan of Dr. Frasier. His father helped the man with his nerves, which made it easier for Freddy and his team to rescue him.
Freddy was exasperated in his search for an emergency in town that could paint him as the bigger man. Freddy was constantly seeking validation from his father because he felt his father never respected the job, despite claiming to have accepted Freddy. The trivia night at the pub was an example of Dr. Frasier being condescending towards Freddy, and he caught that. Freddy learned that his father respected his colleagues but not him. He was under the impression that his father had still not come to terms with the fact that Freddy had not completed his Harvard education. Freddy and his father keep having miscommunication and misunderstandings, and their passive-aggressive manner of dealing with issues never works. Dr. Frasier was taken aback by Freddy’s accusations, but he felt they were baseless. Dr. Frasier was keen on clearing the air about Freddy’s misconception at the earliest. A high-alert emergency sent Freddy and his team out of the fire station to the scene of the incident, leaving Dr. Frasier alone at the station.
Will Dr. Frasier Build Up The Courage To Speak With Freddy About His Job?
Dr. Frasier was perplexed by Freddy’s reaction, and before he could communicate his response, Freddy was out on duty. Dr. Frasier was disturbed by the news he was watching of the same fire at the bar, and he was worried about Freddy and his safety. As a father, he was allowed to be anxious about his son’s whereabouts. Dr. Frasier was more concerned about the way both left the conversation, and he wished to convey his side of the story to Freddy.
Eve begins conversing with Dr. Frasier about his state of mind. Dr. Frasier rarely opens up with strangers, Eve could sense a lot of pain and fear in his words. It was easy to deduce why Dr. Frasier felt these emotions. Freddy is part of a high-risk profession, and Eve’s boyfriend was a victim while working at the same job. The idea of losing his son terrified him, and Eve caught that emotion very quickly. Dr. Frasier started speaking his heart out about his fear of losing Freddy, and his mind would never be prepared for the worst kind of news.
Dr. Frasier revisited his childhood memories, where he had spent many sleepless nights waiting for his father to come back the next day. Years later, he seems to be going through the same emotions, but with Freddy. Dr. Frasier was right in the middle of this chain of anxious cycles he never broke because he never found a way to convey his biggest fear to any of them.
Eve requests that he speak to Freddy about his fears and inhibitions. Communicating his fears will erase all the uneasiness he might feel about Freddy and his job. Dr. Frasier, being a psychologist himself, could not come up with this solution. Eve was able to find a breakthrough because she would do anything to get Adam back for a day and convey her love for him. She knows the pain that comes with the loss of a loved one and hence encourages Dr. Frasier to have a one-to-one with Freddy. Freddy might be able to describe the nature of his job, and Dr. Frasier’s active participation in his listening about his work will also make Freddy feel acknowledged. Communication will help both parties come closer as father and son.
Episode 4 ends with Freddy coming back home after a long shift at the station, and Dr. Frasier musters up the courage to converse about his son’s line of work. Even though he broke down, which is proof of Dr. Frasier’s sensitive side, it allowed the father and son to slowly break the ice and converse.
