S02.E17: Doing It Right

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jessica gets into a tangle with another mom and worries that she is the reason why Evan was uninvited to his best friend's birthday party. Meanwhile, Louis and Eddie are busy perfecting their secret family recipe for the North Orlando Chili Cook-Off.

[alrightokay]

I was glad to see another side to Evan, to know that he isn't just cute and innocent.  Even though the show made it a point to have Evan say he wasn't copying Jessica, I still got the feeling that his bossiness was connected to her constant praising of his A++'s and calling him a "perfect angel."  I'm glad that they're showing that Eddie isn't the only kid with issues in the family--it feels more realistic.

 

For some reason my favorite characters tonight were Marvin, JJ, and the male news anchor--all of them had these huge, endearing grins on their faces at different moments in the episode.  Their enthusiasm was infectious.

[possibilities]

I liked Evan's friend. I also liked his sun art.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Although I would be annoyed at a parent deliberately ignoring the zipper at school, I liked that Eddie's chili making method was in direct opposition to Louis and Jessica's need to do everything the right way. Eddie does things like dump an entire container of spice into his chili pot without measuring and the result was delicious chili.

 

I was afraid that Louis and Marvin would try to use Honey and Jessica to spy on each other about chili recipes so it was nice to see that the wives just rolled their eyes and avoided as much chili interaction as possible.

 

Loved Eddie's friend taking the NoCo so seriously and wearing a bib at the cook off. I personally think chili is okay but I rarely eat it, so I couldn't get nearly as excited as he, Louis, and Marvin were about it.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I liked Evan's friend. I also liked his sun art.

 

I liked his neck raisin. 

[ClareWalks]

I felt Jessica's pain with that mom who refused to zipper. Who does that bitch think she is?! 

[whatsatool]

Liked the mime comment.

[peeayebee]

I really liked JJ. I hope we see him again. I've loved that actor (James DiGiacomo) since first seeing him on a commercial with Bill Cowher for Time Warner Cable. He's been in other commercials, like one for Kleenex. I also saw him in 'Brooklyn.' He's just very good.

 

And he was so sweet here. Always agreeable, being a good friend to Evan, who was not acting like a good friend to start with. 

 

Evan: You balance me out JJ. That's why we're best friends.

 

I was happy to see Eddie getting into cooking.

 

Evan: That was my best friend's mom.
Jessica: Well she drives at your worst friend's mom.

[Black Knight]

I was glad to see another side to Evan, to know that he isn't just cute and innocent.  Even though the show made it a point to have Evan say he wasn't copying Jessica, I still got the feeling that his bossiness was connected to her constant praising of his A++'s and calling him a "perfect angel."  I'm glad that they're showing that Eddie isn't the only kid with issues in the family--it feels more realistic.

And, we've had hints of this before. We've seen Evan bossing the neighborhood women around a couple of times, dictating their workouts. So this was nicely done because it didn't come out of nowhere - and, because Jessica and Honey don't hang out with those women, their not being previously aware that Evan can be bossy doesn't break continuity.

 

I loved the whole "Take him away!" "I can walk!" perp walk bit with Marvin. Heh. They take their chili competition seriously there!

 

It was nice to see Eddie be competent for a change. I hope, though, that the writers didn't decide on the "I know food" bit just because the actor is not rail-thin.

[EyewatchTV211]

It was nice to see Eddie be competent for a change. I hope, though, that the writers didn't decide on the "I know food" bit just because the actor is not rail-thin.

I think it is more likely that they are starting to leave breadcrumbs that show where the real life Eddie ends up - being a renowned chef. I don't think it has anything to do with the kid being a little on the larger side.

[SmithW6079]

I think it is more likely that they are starting to leave breadcrumbs that show where the real life Eddie ends up - being a renowned chef. I don't think it has anything to do with the kid being a little on the larger side.

While in this instance the real Eddie does end up a chef, the "ne'er-do-well/dim kid turns out to be a good cook" is a trope on many sitcoms: Reese on "Malcolm in the Middle," Zeke on "Bob's Burgers," PJ on "Good Luck Charlie," even Jack on "Black-ish."

Other than for product placement, why on earth would Marvin use Burger King hamburgers of all things for the meat in his chili?

[Black Knight]

I think it is more likely that they are starting to leave breadcrumbs that show where the real life Eddie ends up - being a renowned chef. I don't think it has anything to do with the kid being a little on the larger side.

I completely forgot that in real life he's a chef (I'd never heard of him before this show, and I've still not read his book or watched anything with him). Okay, whew. It's cool of the show to leave those little hints of what he ends up doing for a career.

[NYCFree]

I think it is more likely that they are starting to leave breadcrumbs that show where the real life Eddie ends up - being a renowned chef. I don't think it has anything to do with the kid being a little on the larger side.

We regularly get lunch at his restaurant Bau Haus when we are in the area (14th Street on the East Side of Manhattan). We went there first out of curiosity, we've gone back because the food is good.

[tearbender]

I enjoyed all the guest stars this episode. I also liked JJ.

I was glad to see another side to Evan, to know that he isn't just cute and innocent.  Even though the show made it a point to have Evan say he wasn't copying Jessica, I still got the feeling that his bossiness was connected to her constant praising of his A++'s and calling him a "perfect angel."  I'm glad that they're showing that Eddie isn't the only kid with issues in the family--it feels more realistic.

 

I love that the show has laid all the groundwork for the sibling issues on this show. Evan is obviously Jessica's favorite. Emery is probably Louis's IMO. Maybe Grandma likes poor Eddie the best, but I feel for him, being the kind of black sheep in the family. It can't be easy having two smart, cuter younger siblings. On the flip side, we see that the attention that Eddie gets for being the "difficult" child also makes the younger two jealous at times. That's good writing.
 

[Camera One]

I liked this episode too.  It worked through an actual issue, and it seems like they learned something.  I did like Jessica's story about "helping out" the man in the supermarket who got his frozen food first.

[nicepebbles]

I liked this episode over all.  The non-zippering mom was totally wrong for not following the system and for disinviting Evan without talking to Jessica first as to why. That's a hard conversation.  It's right thing to do first because what kid and their mom is going to understand being disinvited from their best friend's birthday party?

I liked that they showed Eddie has some competence in an area.  My issue is this "he can cook" is out of nowhere because I can't recall him showing an interest in cooking food before.  Not even when he worked at the restaurant IIRC.  It would've been so easy for the writers to drop some hints then.