Of the many changes Fresh Off the Boat has made since its debut this spring, perhaps the most important is the show’s shift of focus from Eddie to Jessica. It’s a simple change, and one that really doesn’t show up often in Fresh Off the Boat‘s week-to-week composition: there’s still plenty of Eddie material, and the first two episodes have given more prominence to his supporting cast at school, lending a slightly Malcolm in the Middle feel to the ensemble living on the fringes. However, as Jessica Huang has taken a job working in real estate (which we never really see her do, I might add) and Louis’s business has gone from struggling to successful, the stories have changed from survival to assimilation, and with that comes a series of challenges to Jessica’s assumptions about the way parenting works. This is a much more layered, rewarding show, one that can balance the viewpoints of two generations, accessing some of the material and humor from the younger characters through the journey of a parent trying to understand her children and partner just a little bit better, if only to maintain her own fragile sanity.
“Boy II Man,” while it certainly overuses the R&B samples alluded to in the title (more on that whole debacle later; I’m a little upset at you, Fresh Off the Boat), is more an episode focused on Jessica learning how to adjust to parenting a child entering his teenage years, when complacency and ultimate acceptance of a parent’s words suddenly become the enemy, and a household becomes 1000% more combative. When Jessica wants Eddie to play piccolo instead of tutor Nicole, Eddie rebels and refuses to back down to any of Jessica’s increasingly ridiculous threats. When there’s an older girl involved, good luck getting any adolescent boy to pay attention to anything their mother says, a fact Jessica learns time and time throughout “Boy II Man.”
Oddly enough, “Boy” finds its pathos with Honey, whose struggling herself to gain control of Nicole, but for different reasons. In order to curb some of the outrageous hatred aimed at the new stepmom, Honey became a friend to her daughter, catalyzing an inverse version of the mother/son relationship Jessica and Eddie have: she’ll let Nicole walk all over her, because she feels she doesn’t have firm ground to stand on when challenging Nicole’s attitude and sense of entitlement (which her father continues to allow, since he can’t see his daughter as anything but a small, helpless little girl). This is a wonderful story for Honey. It gives her a bit of agency in a relationship where she hasn’t had it before, and it also lets her be the voice of reason when Jessica realizes she’s gone too far and has thrown her child into his first meaningful depression over a girl at school, after convincing the school to make Eddie the tutor for everyone, not just Nicole (who does a pretty dope handmade Wu-Tang tattoo, I might add).
In between the Boyz II Men indulgences and Louis hilariously trying to convince his wife to have a daughter (I just love when Louis’s simple face lights up with excitement; he’s really become a fantastic comedic counterpart to the straight, overbearing Jessica), “Boy II Men” really tells an important story about parenting, about finding the balance between being a parent your kid isn’t afraid to talk to with delicate issues, and still someone to be respected, feared, and followed. Every parent has to figure this out at some point in middle school, and it can be a complicated thing – every parent grew up in a different generation then their child, which naturally presents a clash of interests and values, a bridge that can be difficult to cross for a parent trying to guide, and a child gripped by their biological tendency to forge their own isolated path. And boy, does this episode nail that story: I could watch Jessica Huang challenge herself on a weekly basis, something that thankfully, seems to be a priority of these early Season 2 episodes. Fresh Off the Boat certainly hasn’t lost any steam since its brief summer hiatus. Here’s hoping that momentum can be maintained through the entire season, because this show is really growing into something special.
Other thoughts/observations:
- Evan power walking with the neighborhood wives is absolutely hilarious – I don’t laugh much at visual gags involving children, but this one killed me.
- Okay, Boyz II Men talk: there’s no way in hell Eddie is hearing Cooleyhighharmony for the first time in 1995 (or 1996, depending on when this season is taking place). The album sold more than 8 million copies when it first released in 1991 – and then it was re-released in 1992, when they added their smash hit “End of the Road” to the album’s playlist. There was no Boyz album released between 1994 (when II was released) and 1997 (Evolution), save for a Christmas album (which was really, really good) and a disappointing collection of remixes. Can you tell who liked B2M growing up?
- “Buy you’re the step wife… all you have to do is day-drink and criticize their weight!”
- Jessica’s homemade alarm clock is frightening: “And the batteries in these never die!!!”
- Evan and Emery laughing at the prospect of Eddie going to college is great.
- One of Louis’s points for having another kid: “We could create it in under one minute.”
- The Boyz II Men video montage was very random, but it nearly works because Hudson Yang is great at rocking flannel.
- Brian is quickly becoming my favorite character among Eddie’s friends: “Well, it was a pleasure seeing you.”
[Photo credit: Ron Tom/ABC]
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