S02.E23: The Manchurian Dinner Date

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Eddie is excited for his mom to meet his girlfriend Alison, but worries she will not approve since she is not Chinese. So with the help of a friend, Alison devises an elaborate plan to make a good impression on Jessica. Meanwhile, Emery enlists Louis to help him prepare his graduation speech, and Grandma attempts to make a new suit for Evan.

[TigerLily20]

I loved this episode, and my husband loved it, especially since he was the first in his family to marry outside the Chinese race lol.  I kind of figured Emery and Audrey would end up hitting it off after their first meeting : )

[possibilities]

I notice they've been writing Jessica to be softer and more fun a lot lately. I wonder if they got feedback that she was unlikable before. I admit, I enjoy the show more with Louis being fun and Jessica being fun and Eddie being less of a brat and the family generally getting along. So I liked this episode, too. I loooooooove Grandma-- LOVE HER.

[Silly Angel]

You need four people to play mah jongg. Loved the episode, but just sayin'. Grandma would know that.

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, Silly Angel said:

You need four people to play mah jongg. Loved the episode, but just sayin'. Grandma would know that.

There actual is a three player version, though it's mainly played in Korea and Japan.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

AWESOME EPISODE!

Loved how Audrey was willing to be the stand-in and knew exactly what to bring (oranges).  She probably has been hearing the same in reverse from her own parents.  It will be interesting if Audrey ends up being a recurring character for Emery since Emery's previous girl friends (I really don't think he viewed them as girlfriends) were all non-Asian if I recall correctly.  

Also loved how Jessica was immediately drawn to the true Allison due to her being "first piccolo".  

[peeayebee]

I loved this ep too. Everything worked and was funny and/or sweet.

The whole thing with Grandma making Evan a suit was great. First one sleeve was too long, one too short, and Evan wanted to move some of this over there. Then I absolutely LOVED the scene of him standing in front of the bathroom door, wearing the pants with 2-3 feet of extra length behind him. The finished suit was great with 'Evan' on the back.

Eddie's plot was good, too. I did not expect Allison to send a stand-in to the house. I like Audrey a lot and hope she stays in the show. Oh, and Reba cracks me up.

Emery: Hey Eddie, uh, Allison wanted to talk to you.
Eddie: That's not Allison.
Emery: Whew! I didn't want to say anything. I'm usually great with faces.

Louis: So… quick quesh…
Eddie: That's not Allison. She panicked and sent her friend Audrey.
Louis: I knew it wasn't her. I'm good with faces. I use the mouth/chin method.

Jessica, about Audrey: She's like tofu. She absorbs flavor, got none of her own.

All the stuff betw Emery and Louis was great. 

Emery, speaking in Chinese: Grandma, no one understands what I'm saying right now.

Evan: At our school everyone is valedictorian so they don't feel left out. They're PAL-edictorians.

Oh, and I loved Jessica telling Eddie, "Do the math," then seeing his puzzled face, and adding, "Have your brothers HELP you do the math."

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One thing I found really unrealistic was Jessica deciding that fake Allison was too perfect for Eddie. If anything, she probably would have thought that Allison would be a good influence on Eddie. I know it's a sitcom and we need a happier ending than that though, so from a writing standpoint I can see why they had Jessica say that Allison was like tofu. But from a realistic viewpoint, I find it highly unlikely that Jessica would change her mind, especially after only a few days and when Eddie is still pretty young. I could see it more if Eddie were older and this could end up being a serious long term relationship, but in middle school? Nah. But in theory I appreciate Jessica recognizing that Eddie being with a model Asian girl ultimately won't work. Let's hope she remembers that when he gets older!

It was still a fun episode though. I loved Audrey bonding with Emery - they were a match made in heaven! And it was nice to see Jessica appreciate that Allison had some good qualities that an Asian mom loves (choosing the piccolo for scholarship opportunities!).

It was also interesting to see Eddie torn between wanting Jessica to meet the real Allison and loving that his mom really liked Audrey. Eddie knows that his parents are often disappointed in his choices and this one made his mom so happy that he didn't want to ruin her excitement.  Hee and I loved that Louis freaked out because he didn't recognize fake Allison after meeting her at the school dance. I never knew there were so many ways to recognize faces either. I just usually go with "does this person look familiar?" instead of memorizing chins and mouths.

Edited May 19, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[memememe76]

I kinda love Allison and hope she remains a recurring character. If she and Emery get together, I think Jessica and her can get into some funny conflicts. They're so similar. 

[HawaiiTVGuy]

16 hours ago, memememe76 said:

I kinda love Allison and hope she remains a recurring character. If she and Emery get together, I think Jessica and her can get into some funny conflicts. They're so similar. 

Do you mean Audrey, the fake-Allison?  

[memememe76]

Yes,  Audrey!  Oops. 

[Camera One]

Audrey's exchange with Emery was funny so it would be nice to see more of that.  Though it was a bit disheartening to see her being so greedy with the chicken thighs at the end.

On 5/19/2016 at 6:48 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

One thing I found really unrealistic was Jessica deciding that fake Allison was too perfect for Eddie. If anything, she probably would have thought that Allison would be a good influence on Eddie.

I agree... it led to a clean resolution to the episode, but it was completely unbelievable.  More realistic is if Audrey was too perfect for JESSICA, eg. if she unintentionally started to make Jessica feel badly about her housekeeping or whatever.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Camera One

[HawaiiTVGuy]

On 5/23/2016 at 4:52 PM, Camera One said:

Audrey's exchange with Emery was funny so it would be nice to see more of that.  Though it was a bit disheartening to see her being so greedy with the chicken thighs at the end.

I agree... it led to a clean resolution to the episode, but it was completely unbelievable.  More realistic is if Audrey was too perfect for JESSICA, eg. if she unintentionally started to make Jessica feel badly about her housekeeping or whatever.

To be fair, she didn't know there was a shortage of chicken thighs.  They are normally the cheapest piece of meat, and it was set up as a buffet style set up, not sure what could have tipped her off not to get thighs?  Of course it was funny how Emery just stood there and watched her get the food without saying a word.

[biakbiak]

Even if she didn't realize there was a shortage she took like 20.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

23 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Even if she didn't realize there was a shortage she took like 20.

I think it was just meant to be a quirk of hers.  Not sure if it was a matter of showing she is super skinny in spite of eating a lot?  But I don't think she was someone that would "waste" food.  It could be she believes in taking food home even from a buffet?  As someone who has personally seen it done, it would be within Jessica's character to do that type of thing herself.

Edited May 27, 2016 by HawaiiTVGuy

[fishcakes]

9 minutes ago, HawaiiTVGuy said:

 As someone who has personally seen it done, it would be within Jessica's character to do that type of thing herself.

True. When Jessica and Louis were having dinner at Marvin and Honey's and Marvin and Honey disappeared to "check the water leak" in the bedroom and never returned, Jessica wrapped up the entire dinner ham and took it home.

[biakbiak]

Oh Jessica would definitely do it but she doesn't appreciate it when someone else does it on her dime.

[snarktini]

On 5/27/2016 at 3:27 PM, biakbiak said:

Oh Jessica would definitely do it but she doesn't appreciate it when someone else does it on her dime.

Exactly. That's how I read the scene. We see Jessica irritated that Audrey is doing just what Jessica would do -- loading up on "free" stuff -- because she's the one being taken advantage of. A different time and place, and Jessica would have admired this trait in her mini-me.