Fathers and Sons
And a coda:
Jack goes out of his way to give Brian the picture, an overture of something, affection, acceptance, maybe closure? But when Brian asks him why he's smiling in it Jack quickly covers up: "It's a photograph, isn't that what you're supposed to do?" This very WASP-y denial of feelings affects kids, whether there is alcohol involved or not. It sends the message you're not supposed to have them, or don't trust them, or people who succomb to feelings are weak. Thus, Brian's response later is a surprising and positive development. Near the end of Ep 117, when Brian is drinking Beam and contemplating giving up his rights to Linds so that she won't marry the frenchman, Justin tells him, "You're not a shitty father, you love Gus." To which Brian replies "Didn't think I would. It's strange." By first recognizing he has feelings and second admitting them, he's already stepped outside Jack's shadow. But that shadow is still a pretty long one and while he may have glimpsed evidence of affection towards him from his father, did Brian ever see evidence that a romantic relationship could have legs?
Jack goes out of his way to give Brian the picture, an overture of something, affection, acceptance, maybe closure? But when Brian asks him why he's smiling in it Jack quickly covers up: "It's a photograph, isn't that what you're supposed to do?" This very WASP-y denial of feelings affects kids, whether there is alcohol involved or not. It sends the message you're not supposed to have them, or don't trust them, or people who succomb to feelings are weak. Thus, Brian's response later is a surprising and positive development. Near the end of Ep 117, when Brian is drinking Beam and contemplating giving up his rights to Linds so that she won't marry the frenchman, Justin tells him, "You're not a shitty father, you love Gus." To which Brian replies "Didn't think I would. It's strange." By first recognizing he has feelings and second admitting them, he's already stepped outside Jack's shadow. But that shadow is still a pretty long one and while he may have glimpsed evidence of affection towards him from his father, did Brian ever see evidence that a romantic relationship could have legs?