Abhiroop Das
Prime Video’s ‘The Runarounds‘ tells the story of a group of high school friends, spearheaded by Charlie Cooper, who have one month to carve their name in the music world. With college on the way, the protagonist, along with his friends: Neil, Topher, Bez, Wyatt, and several others, is forced to choose between passion and profession. However, the friends soon tap into the potential of synthesizing those two ends, and a rock band named The Runarounds is born. Their musical journey faces several walls at every turn, many of which sprout out of the issues in their personal lives. Family plays a big role in the show, with conflicting interests and interpersonal dilemmas informing all of its major threads. Charlie soon comes to know that his parents have their share of secrets as well, with some of them having the potential to shake up his very understanding of reality. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Charlie’s Real Father is Catesby Shaw, an Old Flame of Hannah’s
While Charlie has a tumultuous relationship with his family over the course of the season, there exists a backbone in their dynamic built out of love and trust. However, a major crack in that bond comes to light with the revelation that Charlie is not Finn Cooper’s biological son. His real father turns out to be none other than Catesby Shaw, who had a brief stint with Hannah Cooper during their high school years. The protagonist is aware that they were in the same school, but the true extent of their relationship comes to light when he jogs through his mother’s yearbook, where a picture of her and Catesby declares them high school sweethearts. From there, he finds his birth certificate, with the slot for his father’s name left blank. Charlie is quick to put two and two together and does not waste a second in confronting his parents about the truth.
Despite the mystery unfolding for Charlie only in the season finale, it is revealed to the audience much earlier in the story. The earliest hints come in the form of Catesby’s first meeting with Charlie. There, he notices that Charlie has the same guitar-playing hand tic as him, but shrugs that off as a coincidence. With the reveal, this tiny moment is recontextualized as a moment of father and son sharing traits despite no seeming influence. Next, Hannah stops dead in her tracks when she finds Catesby on the road, and later shares that news with her husband. It is at this point that we learn of the truth regarding Charlie’s parentage, as well as the fact that Catesby is unaware of the truth. While Hannah intends to keep things a secret from both father and son, the former is the first to catch on. However, he still chooses to keep the fact from Charlie due to Hannah’s requests.
When Charlie learns of his true father’s identity, he feels betrayed on two levels: by his parents and by Catesby. Bringing the theme of familial honesty full circle, the protagonist demands why the truth was kept from him for his entire life, and all the answers Hannah gives seem half-baked at best. While Finn desperately tries to remind Charlie that he still is the teen’s father, the latter has a deeper set of anxieties to deal with. Frustrated, he dashes straight to Catesby’s and finally finds an outlet for his rage. Here, he learns that Catesby never would have moved out of town had he known of his son, which in turn becomes a bonding moment for the two. Most importantly, Charlie learns to balance his emotions, both acknowledging Catesby as his true father and loving his family all the same. This is reflected in his unrelenting efforts to pay the house loan.
Catesby and Hannah’s Complicated Love Story is Far From Over
While Charlie’s confrontation has a relatively smooth ending, the same cannot be said about Catesby. Upon hearing the truth, the latter immediately heads out to Hannah with a set of questions. The most important of these is why he was never told about his child. To this, Hannah tearfully brings up the past, and she reveals that shortly before revealing the news to him, she found him with another woman. This event left a deep imprint on her psyche and ultimately forced upon her the realization that he still wasn’t ready to be a father. In the end, Catesby goes on to become a lyricist with a brief shot at stardom, whereas Hannah becomes a professor and marries Finn, a writer. Despite their differing trajectories, Catesby and Hannah still harbor feelings for each other, and the latter does not make a secret of that.
In the present, Catesby confesses that he was in love with Hannah in the past, and still is. It is evident that Hannah has similarly conflicting emotions, and the two share a passionate kiss before realizing that they have crossed boundaries. While that may be the case, Hannah’s troubled relationship with Finn, coupled with her lingering feelings for a past spark, can mean many things for the future of the story. It is possible that the two might reignite their relationship, which will further strain Charlie’s internal life. Additionally, the revelation also sheds light on the question of nature and nurture, with Charlie unintentionally following in his father’s footsteps. As such, Catesby’s music career will forever remain a point of comparison for the budding star, and the commonalities and contrasts might become plot beats of their own.
Read More: Are The Runarounds and Futhermucker Based on Real Bands?
