The dads story seems unfinished/half assed (most likely) lol. I guess part of it is we all spent so much time coming up with theories about Connor's dad but idk the story just seems off and sort of pointless. Did his dad really just show up to talk shit about Oliver and sort of project his own regrets/insecurities about his life onto Connor lol since he really didn't seem that mad about him dropping out and didn't seem to care too much about the money.
I liked the story with Connor and Jeff. Though I do believe it suffers from being rushed and crammed into a single episode. Beyond projecting his regrets and insecurities onto his son, which is kind of weird in its own way, I think the real purpose of Jeff’s visit (from a writer’s POV) is to show how far Connor’s fallen.
So here’s what Jeff got right: Connor has changed a hell of a lot since he came to Middleton. It’s only been about a year and a half in real time, but Connor is pretty much unrecognizable from the guy we first met in S1. I think Jeff has a right to be concerned. I also think there’s some merit to his words ‘I’ve known you your entire life and you are not this guy’. Jeff is not the estranged father we all thought he was. They may not have had a great relationship, but I think Jeff was always there. And he’s right. Connor is faking happy. Connor is miserable. I don’t think Oliver really sees it, but Jeff does.
And here’s where Jeff goes wrong: He attributes the changes in his son to his new boyfriend. Not really surprising if we consider that Jeff has probably never seen Connor in a relationship before, let alone with a guy like Oliver. So Jeff thinks Oliver is holding Connor back. His strong, independent, ambitious son who didn’t need people has dropped out of law school and settled down with a guy that Connor himself describes as “nice and normal”.
It’s no wonder Jeff thinks Oliver is wrong for him.
Jeff doesn’t know the trauma Connor has been through. He doesn’t know why Connor clings to Oliver, that Oliver may be holding him together as opposed to holding him back.
And honestly, we may never see Jeff again on the show. But his purpose has been served. I think this is going to be a wake up call for Connor. Connor is going to realize his life is stagnant. His relationship with Oliver is stagnant. Something has to change. He may downward spiral even further. Or he might find his ambition and drive again. But he can’t stay where he is. Perhaps he’ll finally open up a bit to Oliver. I’m personally hoping he gets some of that independence back. A little bit of that drive maybe. I miss that guy.
