Review: ‘Rooster Season 1, Episode 9 “Ludlow’s Fourth Hottest Professor”

The first semester at Ludlow is coming  to an end. Greg fulfills  his promise to Tommy by helping him improve his grades. Katie  and Greg enjoy  father-daughter activities such as riding around campus on their bikes, and wearing helmets of course. Katie is determined to get her life back on track after her affair with Archie. Sunny declines Walt’s job offer to stay with Archie. While Walt supports her decision, he advises her to be careful and to ensure that Archie gives her the attention she deserves. 

Dylan catches Archie having a breakdown in his office regarding his novel. He has cancelled multiple classes the past week to focus on said novel. Dylan and Archie know that his novel isn’t going anywhere, so Dylan demands that he gets his head back in the game. He then goes to class and asks his students for feedback on his novel. When they try to give him constructive criticism, he shuts them down and dismisses them, two minutes into class. 

Greg and Dylan then meet the original hockey coach for coffee and breakfast. Dylan explains how they would love to have him back coaching the boys once he completes rehab as Greg’s time at Ludlow is winding down. The coach says that he’ll think about it, and later that day at practice, Greg notices that the boys aren’t really confident in themselves. Greg and Officer Mullins basically tell them to just man up. 

During a meeting, Archie gets a phone call from his publicist. He’s excited, but she tells him that she could barely get through 100 pages. Sunny finds him in the hall and he pretends that the call is going well. He lies to Sunny’s face that his publicist loved the book. He even tells her that they can move in together next semester, in Greg’s current housing  as he won’t be there starting in the spring. 

Greg’s ex-wife Beth is back in town to visit Katie. Greg and Beth are friendlier with one another since the last time they saw each other. Katie tells Beth that Greg finally took the poster of her in his house down, so it looks like a good sign that he’s getting over her. Katie then reveals to her parents that she wants to be a tenured  professor! They are both proud of her, and urge her to follow her goals.  

Katie goes to Dylan, and Dylan tells her that she could be on track in about five years. Later, Walt finds Katie and tells her that she could get that amount of work done in just one year, then she’ll be on track to tenure. Katie is over the moon about this news, but as soon as Walt tells her to say hi to her mom for him, she immediately puts two and two together and knows that her mom had something to do with it. She confronts Beth and is able to get it out of her. but, what she didn’t expect was her dad to come into the conversation. Katie finds out that Greg took the job so Katie could keep hers. she is furious and hurt. 

Back on the ice, Greg is having the time of his life. The previous coach gives the team a pep talk before a game, and they are on their merry way! The puck is being hit around the ice with everyone enjoying what they’re seeing from the sidelines. Ludlow wins! Greg is very happy and thankful for the people around him. 

Katie confronts Greg after the game to tell him that she is her own person. She needs to be the one to make mistakes and needs to live her life. While Greg tries to tell her that he made that decision out of love, she storms out and goes to the local diner. There, she runs into Archie. He opens up to her about his book not getting picked up and she can tell that he’s really upset about it. Something clicks in Katie. She tells Archie that she wants the two of them, kisses him, then leaves. He is left flabbergasted. 

This episode really highlighted all of the characters and the turning points in their lives. Greg approaching the end of his semester at Ludlow is very bittersweet, as we have seen him grow throughout the semester and be the author he has always wanted to be. It’s obvious through dialogue and how he interacts with other characters, that he truly feels like he fits in at the school. Beth seems like an evil villain as she immediately throws Greg under the bus about Katie’s job. Katie was never supposed to find out about that, and while it was predictable that she would , Beth shouldn’t have been the one to lead her to that. It was always between Greg and Katie. Her blowing up at Greg was scary, but she does have opportunities to grow as a character especially after getting back with Archie.   

8/10

Amanda Romero: Amanda Romero is a MFA student in Film & Television Producing at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film & Media Arts. She is a dedicated producer and aspiring journalist with a strong passion for storytelling across film, television, and digital media. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Cinema & Digital Media, with a minor in Communications from the University of California, Davis. From a young age, Romero was captivated by the power of film and television to bring stories and characters to life—an early fascination that evolved into a lifelong commitment to creating impactful and meaningful content. Romero's professional experience includes collaborating with The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg, further enriching her understanding of the entertainment industry and strengthening her skills in media research. She continues to explore the intersection of storytelling, journalism, and production.
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