Fresh Off the Boat: Episode 10, Season 1

Fresh Off the Boat: Episode 10, Season 1

Picture Credit: AV Club

"Blind Spot"

Synopsis:

Everyone at school is competing in a science fair for a pizza party. While Jessica's ex-boyfriend Oscar is coming to stay with the family. Everyone seems to find it weird that Louis isn't getting possessive which makes Jessica paranoid. Emery is trying to win with a volcano, Evan made a machine that analyzes the chemicals in a liquid, and Eddie is taking in a football phone. Evan gets the chicken pox and Eddie plans on catching it to miss the science fair. This gives him the idea to get Emery sick. Oscar is stereotypically gay and Jessica realizes that Oscar was in love with Lewis the whole time. Oscar thought they were dating back in college. Eddie got a C+ on his presentation on chicken pox that his brothers helped him put together.

Review:

This episode was okay. I wasn't sure how I felt about the stereotyping of the gay characters. I did like how the conflict didn't come from the fact that Oscar was gay, but that it came from the mixup of who he was dating.

MY GRADE: B-

Reviewer's Quotes:

The problem could also be that tonight’s main plot didn’t have much to say thematically in the first place, except that sometimes Louis and Jessica can be oblivious to their surroundings. But we already know that about them. What about their children’s attitudes towards gay people? How do they feel about Oscar? We never really get to see them interact with their eccentric guest. This feels like a missed opportunity, and further proof that when Fresh Off The Boat has the chance to make a point, or at least depict someone with complexity, it often settles for a dumb joke. - Dan Caffery

Ratings/Share: 1.3/5         Viewers: 4.83 million

Fresh Off the Boat: Episode 11, Season 1

Fresh Off the Boat: Episode 11, Season 1

Picture Credit: AV Club

"Very Superstitious"

Synopsis:

Jessica's superstition comes out when she is asked to sell a house with an address full of 4's. Eddie gets caught by a counselor when he was selling ripped cds. The counselor convinces him that he should run for student council. Jessica sells the house but tells Louis that the commission check needs to torn up because it's bad luck. Instead he buys a mechanical bull for the restaurant. Eddie trips over the cord and Louis convinces the kids to not tell.

Louis decides to tell a lie about how he broke his arm after Louis says that a white lie never hurt anyone. The lie used to help him win class president. His lie was about a fight and a school employee suspects he lied and called Child Services. The grandma performs a ritual involving Garfield mugs to rid the family of bad luck.

Review:

This episode was good, but nothing special. In the book the show was based off of Eddie talks about how Child Services was called. He has said publicly that he has stopped watching the show because it's gotten off track and that he doesn't recognize his own life anymore. Knowing that makes the show significantly less funny.

MY GRADE: C-

Reviewer's Quotes:

The script pays attention to how the characters would actually react—not how just anyone would react, but how these specific people in this specific place at this specific time would react. It shows that Fresh Off The Boat is starting to build a consistent, well-developed world. Maybe the writers have a long game in mind after all. - Dan Caffery

Ratings/Share: 1.4/5         Viewers: 4.85 million