Frasier (Revival) Episode 1 “The Good Father” Recap & Review

The Good Father

In Frasier Episode 1, Frasier arrives at the airport in Boston after attending his father Martin’s funeral in Seattle. He is met by Alan Cornwall, an old college friend who now teaches at Harvard. Niles and Daphne’s son, David, is also with Frasier, having attended the funeral as well. It’s revealed that Frasier is back in Boston to patch things up with his son, Freddy, who didn’t attend the funeral and has dropped out of Harvard. 

Frasier drops by to see Freddy, and things are a bit tense between them. He invites himself in to his apartment, and they are interrupted by a woman named Eve, whom Frasier assumes is his girlfriend, and Freddy goes along with it. Frasier invites him to dinner, but his son declines, and Frasier leaves disappointed. Eve reminds Freddy that she’s not his girlfriend, and questions whether Frasier knows about John. Who’s John? 

Frasier completes a guest lecture at Harvard, and the head of psychology, Olivia, is keen on him teaching here permanently. Frasier declines, as he’s heading to Paris to research his next book. Frasier is joined by Alan and Olivia for a beer at a local bar, and Olivia continues to push for Frasier to join the Harvard faculty while he reconnects with his son. 

Frasier turns up with steaks and scotch at Freddy’s door, and Olivia and Alan follow closely behind, bringing all the core characters together in the apartment, with David turning up too. Turns out, John is a baby, as Eve shows up with a baby stroller. They sneak the baby past Frasier, and she pretends to be a private investigator. Freddy tries to get rid of Frasier, and Eve comforts him by saying Freddy has always been there for “us.” Frasier is on to them. Alan says he recognizes Eve, as she works at the bar, and had a baby with a fireman. Frasier thinks he’s solved the case, and when he hears a baby crying, he assumes this must mean that he is a grandfather. 

The baby isn’t Freddy’s, and Eve is just a roommate. Freddy tells Frasier that he doesn’t want him interfering in his life, which leads to a heart-to-heart between the pair, and Frasier asks him why he didn’t attend his grandfather’s funeral. He gets emotional and says he just couldn’t face it, and reveals that baby John is the son of a firefighter who died in a fire, and Martin flew out to comfort him when his friend died. Frasier apologises for not being a better father, and he gives Freddy a gift: a framed American flag that was flown over the state capitol in honour of Martin’s service in the police. 

The next day, Frasier turns up at Freddy’s apartment with champagne and informs him that he’s staying in Boston, teaching full time at Harvard, and has bought an apartment nearby. Turns out nearby is opposite Freddy’s apartment, and Frasier has bought the whole building. He wants Freddy to move in with him while Eve stays in her apartment. He offers them both to stay rent-free, and Eve agrees, leaving Freddy with no choice other than to move in with his father.