![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/076b0415fcf4690e6a695e9620e554d37f-rooster-ep9.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Rooster<\/a><\/p>\n Ludlow\u2019s Fourth Hottest Professor<\/p>\n \n Season 1<\/p>\n Episode 9\n <\/p>\n \n Editor\u2019s Rating<\/p>\n 3 stars<\/p>\n ***\n <\/p>\n \n Photo: Katrina Marcinowski\/HBO\n <\/p>\n Guys, why are we pretending that Greg is leaving Ludlow? For the past two episodes, characters have been counting down his last days at the college like they\u2019re never going to see him again, when we all damn well know that he\u2019s going to stick around. Greg not only has his seminar, but he\u2019s now reveling in his position as the capable and kind hockey coach, leading an underdog team to victory (hello, Ted Lasso<\/a> vibes), and he also has his pseudo-son Tommy to think about. This man is not leaving anytime soon, so let\u2019s all drop the charade, shall we?<\/p>\n \u201cLudlow\u2019s Fourth Hottest Professor\u201d is the penultimate episode of the season, and, in the home stretch, the show seems to be doubling down on the Katie\/Archie\/Sunny love triangle as the crux of the story. As you wonderful readers know, this storyline has never been my favorite, and the developments throughout this episode didn\u2019t really do much to convince me that it deserves the attention it\u2019s getting. As we\u2019ve talked about before, there\u2019s a hollow, wooden quality to Archie\u2019s chemistry with both Sunny and Katie, and there doesn\u2019t seem to be any actual interpersonal connection between him and either of the two women. I was very much looking forward to both women leaving him entirely, but, as this week has shown us, each of Archie\u2019s lovers appears determined to make it work with him, so this plot may possibly drag on into season two. Let\u2019s hope it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that Archie isn\u2019t endearing at times. In this episode, Phil Dunster gets to show off his comedic chops in several scenes, and for that, I am grateful. As Archie struggles to finish his doorstopper of a book, he cancels classes two days in a row. Dylan notices, and she goes to his office to tell him that he can\u2019t cancel again. She finds a supremely hopped-up man, grinding his teeth and popping his eyes like he\u2019s on massive amounts of drugs. Oh, wait, actually, he is on drugs! He\u2019s been chugging cans of Celsius so he can meet his deadline, and when presented with another human, the words come tumbling out of his mouth in an uncontrollable train of thought. Dunster clearly has the moves, as he executes a perfectly hilarious \u201cshimmy shake\u201d and then asks, \u201cYou ever have one of these Celsius beverages?\u201d After he compares the energy drink to doing cocaine, he wonders, \u201cI can\u2019t really believe they let kids drink that!\u201d Me either, Archie! Me either!<\/p>\n While Dunster redeems Archie a bit by proving he can provide laughs, the problem with the character is that he\u2019s been given exactly zero redeeming qualities. In this episode, he ignores his students for days so he can meet his deadline, then finally convenes his upper-level seminar, just so they can heap praise on his book. Gross. When the students give him the slightest constructive feedback \u2014 a book with 600+ pages could probably use some trimming, yes? \u2014 he mocks them and then proceeds to kick them all out. Dunster\u2019s brilliant line read of, \u201cGo ahead, fuckity bye!\u201d almost redeems him in the scene, but not quite. It only proves to further illustrate what an insecure child Archie really is.<\/p>\n But, thanks to a lifetime of Greg\u2019s helicopter parenting Katie is kind of a child, too. We\u2019ll get to her, but first let\u2019s talk about Greg. Greg is undeniably thriving at Ludlow. At the top of the episode, he\u2019s helping Tommy get back on track for all his finals, with J.D. and Spooner providing support. He\u2019s also making plans for the hockey team. Since he\u2019s leaving (nod, nod, wink, wink) in a few days, he and Dylan meet with Coach Jake to talk to him about returning. Jake is \u2026 not doing great. He\u2019s working his program and staying away from drugs and alcohol, but he\u2019s also slipping into the world of online gambling. This is a thing! It\u2019s called cross-addiction! Behavioral addictions so often get ignored, but Greg immediately clocks this for what it is and calls Jake out on it. Jake doesn\u2019t care, though, and the juxtaposition between Greg (who feels very connected and responsible to all the people in his life) and Jake (who is comically only out for himself) brings Greg\u2019s purpose into strong relief.<\/p>\n While Greg preps the hockey team for the big game against Pruitt, Walt is schmoozing with the Head of Trustees. Even though he loves Walt\u2019s gift of the e-bike, the man says that the hockey team is \u201ctrimmable fat.\u201d Walt fights for it, telling the guy that not everything has to make money, and the man \u201claughed so hard he cracked a tooth.\u201d Greg raises his eyebrows at this, and Walt explains that the man is 80. Greg\u2019s response, \u201cI\u2019m not sure that means your teeth should fall out when you laugh,\u201d made me laugh so hard that I could have probably cracked a tooth, and I\u2019m not even close to 80.<\/p>\n Sadly, Walt isn\u2019t much of a focal point in this episode, but in addition to trying to convince the old, toothless Trustee dude to support the hockey team, he also meets with Sunny about her future. Mo is there, too, and she\u2019s appalled to find out that Walt supports Sunny\u2019s decision to stay with Archie. Walt has a caveat, though: Sunny needs to make sure that Archie is as committed to her as she is to him. We all know that this isn\u2019t going to happen, and Walt and Mo are prepared for the inevitable, agreeing with a fist bump that they\u2019ll kill Archie if he doesn\u2019t do right by their girl. One of the true pleasures of Rooster is watching all of these comedically gifted actors share scenes, and I\u2019d like to request more scenes with Walt and Mo, please and thank you.<\/p>\n Eventually, most of the Ludlow crew ends up at the hockey game. There\u2019s a cringey scene before the game where Greg brings Jake into the locker room for a pep talk, but he just ends up revealing all the atrocious things he did to the kids when he was actively using. He swapped one kid\u2019s ADHD meds for fish tank tablets (barf), he slept with another dude\u2019s girlfriend, and he stole oh-so-much stuff from all of them. Jake isn\u2019t just recovering from addiction; he\u2019s also just a pretty awful guy. Scott MacArthur does charming dirtbag really well, though, so I\u2019m still excited to see Jake hanging around, but I wouldn\u2019t leave him alone with \u2026 oh \u2026 oh no. Cristle is sitting with him at the game! And flirting?! Oh, Cristle, nooooo. You in danger, girl.<\/p>\n The hockey game goes super well, and for some odd reason the back half is soundtracked by \u201cThe Fairest of the Seasons\u201d by Nico. Her haunting voice provides a great juxtaposition to the brutal violence of the game, but the overall melancholy vibe almost belies that Ludlow is winning; the reaction from the bleachers is what really sells the excitement of the outcome. Even toothless Joe Trustee tells Walt that the game was exhilarating. There\u2019s no question that the hockey program will remain at Ludlow, and so will Greg, so it\u2019ll be interesting to see how Jake takes it when Greg stays on as a coach. The dynamic between those two men could be very fun in season two.<\/p>\n Oddly, Katie and her mom are not out supporting Greg at the game. Instead, they\u2019re chatting about old grievances. When Katie puts herself up for a fast-track tenure program, Dylan tells her it will be five years until she can become tenured. Later, after Elizabeth chats with Walt, that time has been slashed to one year. Katie senses that something is up, and so she asks her mom about it. Elizabeth pulls no punches by saying that she thought she knew. She also thought she knew that she got her original job at Ludlow because of her parents, too. Katie did not know. And she loses her mind.<\/p>\n I find it hard to believe that Katie thinks she got her job at Ludlow \u2014 a college at which her mother is the most celebrated alumnus \u2014 on her own merit. I also find it hard to believe that she would ignore the fact that her father took a job at Ludlow just as she was being basically pardoned for burning down one of its important historical buildings, but let\u2019s suspend our collective disbelief. The issue between Greg and Katie is that he is an enabler, and Katie is all too happy to be the recipient of the enabling unless she has to directly accept that it\u2019s happening. When she goes to confront Greg about his role in her recent life, he admits to taking the job to save hers. She goes into a tantrum, saying that she could have escaped the \u201cfishbowl\u201d of Ludlow and her toxic relationship with Archie. Excuse me? You can still do that, lady! Escape away! But, instead, in the wake of the fight with her dad, she finds Archie and doubles down on her misery.<\/p>\n The final scene sees Archie and Katie in a (re)meet-cute at the diner. Archie is deigning to drink bagged tea, and Katie is working her way through her third piece of pie. (For what it\u2019s worth, those pieces of pie look rather skimpy to me. Give a depressed diner a Thanksgiving cut, good waitress!) The exchange is one of the most heartfelt and genuine exchanges we\u2019ve seen between the two of them, and we finally get to the core of their relationship: These two both speak the same love language, and that language is words of affirmation.<\/p>\n Both Katie and Archie have a desperate need to be told that they\u2019re good. Earlier, when Archie gripes about his book to Sunny, she sagely offers that brilliant people don\u2019t need to be told that they\u2019re brilliant. This is true, Sunny! (Even Ron Swanson agrees with you<\/a>.) But when Archie repeats this to Katie, she\u2019s not buying it. Neither is Archie. The two give each other compliments, with Katie saying that she\u2019s sure Archie will get his book published someday, and with Archie saying that Katie is the most brilliant person he\u2019s ever known. (This man is really short-selling the woman he impregnated.) For some reason, due to a mix of \u201ceff you, dad\u201d and feeling properly appreciated, Katie tells him that she\u2019s \u201cin\u201d for their relationship. Other than a spark of daughterly rebellion, there doesn\u2019t seem to be a reason for her change of heart. Archie has shown her absolutely zero growth or desire to be with her, but she places all her chips in his corner anyway. Greg was right, gambling is not the way to go.<\/p>\n \u2022 My favorite shot of this episode is when Dylan and Greg are across the table from one another at a disciplinary committee meeting, and the camera holds tight on a well-lit and clearly smitten Dylan as she tells Greg she\u2019s going to miss disciplining him.<\/p>\n \u2022 Speaking of Dylan, we get a little insight into her character when she tells Katie she spent the night in a \u201ctequila-and-solders-surprising-their-children-on-Instagram\u201d rabbit hole. This sounds lovely, but also with the potential to be very weepy.<\/p>\n \u2022 Elizabeth notices the rooster weathervane in Katie\u2019s office, but she calls it \u201cthe cock.\u201d I wonder when Chekov\u2019s cock will be deployed. Hopefully by the end of the season!<\/p>\n \u2022 If Katie is the fourth hottest professor, then who are the top three? Dylan certainly has to be up there. If I were making a list, Greg would be numbers 1-3, for sure.<\/p>\n Sign Up for the Vulture Newsletter<\/p>\n Entertainment news, for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n