Fresh Off the Boat: Breaking Chains

October 19, 2016 1:51 PM - Season 3, Episode 2

Eddie ushers Emery into middle school by giving him the first volume of Eddie's cultural heritage log, a document of fake Chinese customs he told the teachers and staff to make his life at school easier. Meanwhile, Evan adjusts to his school experiences without Emery, while Jessica and Louis spar over house cleaning.

Vulture recap - Jade Ceiling

Entertainment Weekly recap

Music from this episode:
- I Wish by Skee-Lo (official music video) [released March 27, 1995]
- Zombie by The Cranberries (official music video) [released September 19, 1994]
- Un-Break my Heart by Toni Braxton (official music video) [released November 11, 1996]

posted by filthy light thief (3 comments total)

As always, so good! So many good lines. (Transcript)

Jessica: I root for the best. That's my homeland.

Jessica: Wow, look at this mess. Look at this. Batteries, an armless He-Man, and a tooth. It's like the contents of a shark's stomach.

Jessica: You are all on my list. You, your mother...
Louis: Mary.
Jessica: Mary. All in a line at the top of my list. That being said, I respect your trickery.

While Jessica, as usual, had the best individual lines, I liked seeing more of Eddie and Emery, especially hearing Eddie talking about his first day at school and how he used people's uninformed stereotypes to help him (be comfortable), and Evan was adorably precocious as usual. Speaking of being adorable, it's funny to see the kids grow up, with Walter being the only one who has hit his growth spurt just yet, even with his voice beginning to drop.

I was sad the house cleaning story ended as it did, instead of Louis realizing that "a little help would be nice" meant that the boys in the family could do their share of housework.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:02 PM on October 19, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm so glad we got a third season!
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:24 AM on October 20, 2016

This episode rubbed me entirely the wrong way.

Eddie's "reverse racism" untruthfulness and manipulating the apparently well-intentioned people around him. I understand where he's coming from, but still.

Jessica and Louis' inability to communicate honestly to each other about root causes and Jessica's character's deeply held conservatism.

"I don't want a stranger taking care of my family. I want to be the one taking care of them. And then resenting them for not appreciating it." triggered a lot of unhealthy memories for me.

Also, karate is Japanese, not Taiwanese - but small potatoes.

Did enjoy all of the gags on the different rates that individual kids develop at.
posted by porpoise at 10:39 AM on October 30, 2016