S03.E23: This Isn't Us

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

Quote

Louis and Jessica make big changes to provide a better life for their family. Yet these changes come with their own set of challenges and possibly a few regrets.

[SmithW6079]

I hate it when sitcoms set up changes in situations and then reverse them by the end of the episode. The show has built a nice little community & neighbors, so there was no way the family was going to leave unless there was a reboot.

I would have had more respect for the show had the Huangs stayed in their new home, not "returned" it to the seller (is what Jessica used a real thing?).

It was even stupider that they would just move back to their old home without checking to see if it had been rented out or without contacting the landlord to tell him they wanted to buy it.

Evan going to the private school was contingent on them owning a house, not that particular one, so why not just buy the house they were renting? He was an obnoxious little prick; I was glad he got kicked out of the school before he even began, although the resolution to that story line was stupid as well.

Edited May 18, 2017 by SmithW6079

[MaryMitch]

That house was ridiculously huge; I can't imagine how they could afford it, on top of the private school tuition. No matter how well the restaurant is doing, it's just one restaurant.  The whole plot line was so ridiculous that I couldn't just sit back and enjoy the show. 

Eddie and his friends and the pizza tattoos made me LOL, though.

[arcadia63]

I thought there might be chance they would stay in the new house as this is what happened IRL.  I watch the real Eddies show on Vice and there was an episode where he went back home for Chinese New Yearr.  His folks live in a big house, but they may have bought that later on after his dad sold the restaurant.  It was really cool to the the real life Jessica, Louis and Evan, (Emery was a no show). 

[biakbiak]

Yeah they moved in real life when Eddie was starting high school to see huge house and the boys switched schools and were surrounded by rich kids but this show has strayed so far from Eddie's life and memoir that I figured the move wouldn't last.

Another episode where I couldn't stand Jessica and her lying and controlling ways. 

[tennisgurl]

I really thought they were going to stay in the big house, and do something different next season, but it looks like they wont. On the one hand, I'm glad they aren't abandoning all the supporting cast, who I really enjoy (especially Eddy's friends), but on the other hand, it seems rather cheap to build up the To Be Continued from last week, only to just reverse it this week.  

[Jaded]

Now we are really seeing why real life Eddie parted ways with the show. These last two episodes have peeved me off more then anything. This basically 2 parter is the best the writers could come up with for a season finale story?!?

[ClareWalks]

This was...stupid. I mean, Eddie's friends were gold as always, but I honestly hadn't thought Jessica could annoy me more before last night. She buys this massive house they can't afford, then yells at everyone to never use a single utility ever? Then just RETURNS THE HOUSE because it turns out she never wanted to move? Then they all just moved back to their old house without even checking to see if it was still available?! I mean, WTF. It was just a bit much, all piled up. 

[Skyfall]

2 hours ago, Jaded said:

Now we are really seeing why real life Eddie parted ways with the show. These last two episodes have peeved me off more then anything. This basically 2 parter is the best the writers could come up with for a season finale story?!?

He left after the first season (that's why there is no more voiceover).

[MortysCleaningLady]

Arrrrrrrrgh!!   Why would Evan ever allow Emery to ruin his opportunity to attend St. Orlando's?   That seemed so far fetched.   And neither boy opted to caddy?  It was $5; Jessica would be disappointed.

[vibeology]

3 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

This was...stupid. I mean, Eddie's friends were gold as always, but I honestly hadn't thought Jessica could annoy me more before last night. She buys this massive house they can't afford, then yells at everyone to never use a single utility ever?

Just to be clear and to probably annoy you even more, they absolutely could afford the house. They could afford it before they got the merchandising money. Jessica would never have bought a house knowing they couldn't afford it with wiggle room. It's why she refused to let Louis look at her books. Jessica didn't want them to use the nice things because, even though they could afford not to, she wanted them to continue to struggle.

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, vibeology said:

Just to be clear and to probably annoy you even more, they absolutely could afford the house. They could afford it before they got the merchandising money. Jessica would never have bought a house knowing they couldn't afford it with wiggle room. It's why she refused to let Louis look at her books. Jessica didn't want them to use the nice things because, even though they could afford not to, she wanted them to continue to struggle.

Oh yeah, now I remember that explanation. It was incredibly stupid and made me say "...WHAT?" when I was watching. 

[Sparger Springs]

13 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

This was...stupid. I mean, Eddie's friends were gold as always, but I honestly hadn't thought Jessica could annoy me more before last night. She buys this massive house they can't afford, then yells at everyone to never use a single utility ever? Then just RETURNS THE HOUSE because it turns out she never wanted to move? Then they all just moved back to their old house without even checking to see if it was still available?! I mean, WTF. It was just a bit much, all piled up. 

The most Jessica could've done was sue for damages. Her case would've been ridiculous. Also she was the agent she can't pretend she didn't know about any issues with the house. I imagine in the real world the owner would've called the Florida Real Estate Commission and Jessica would've lost her license.  I can't imagine someone who just sold a house would just take it back. I assume a loan was paid off at closing and who knows how much equity the man had in the property. They should just hand waved that Jessica found a new buyer immediately.

[scrambled eggs]

18 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

This was...stupid. I mean, Eddie's friends were gold as always, but I honestly hadn't thought Jessica could annoy me more before last night. She buys this massive house they can't afford, then yells at everyone to never use a single utility ever? Then just RETURNS THE HOUSE because it turns out she never wanted to move? Then they all just moved back to their old house without even checking to see if it was still available?! I mean, WTF. It was just a bit much, all piled up. 

Nothing about the episode made sense. Beyond everything you pointed out, there's no way Jessica would have let the St. Orlando's revoke its acceptance of Evan after all she did to get him in. Also, Louis would not have been able to keep his keys as a renter after moving out. They should have just bought their home from their landlord.

[Victura]

17 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Oh yeah, now I remember that explanation. It was incredibly stupid and made me say "...WHAT?" when I was watching. 

Even though a lot of this episode was weird, the explanation about Jessica wanting them to continue to struggle because that's all she knew and wanted them to continue to strive for better rang true to me.

I think for a lot of immigrants, even basic things can be a daily struggle (particularly if there's a language barrier) that over time, one just gets used to it. Also, once you've obtained a goal, it's hard to find a new way to live (a bit like what athletes face after having achieved Olympic gold and not knowing what else to do with their lives after because training and improving at their sport is all they've ever known.) 

Many immigrants also move for the purpose of finding a better life elsewhere, and working hard, pinching pennies, and striving for better whether through academics or business is all part of finding and obtaining a better life. She has big dreams for their family, so I can see why she wouldn't want them to get complacent after just moving to a big house.

Edited May 19, 2017 by Victura

[Jaded]

20 hours ago, Skyfall said:

He left after the first season (that's why there is no more voiceover).

I know. I wouldn't be surprised if the same kind of crazy stuff we saw in the last two episodes wasn't thrown around in regards to writing during the first season.

Edited May 19, 2017 by Jaded

[Mellowyellow]

I liked it. I accepted that some of the plot points were strange but it is a sitcom after all and I've always loved that the show can be so realistic and ring true with me sometimes and yet it can just be crazy at other times.

I'm an asian immigrant and was very poor for a fair chunk of my childhood. I'm not extreme like Jessica but I do like to remind my husband who grew up much more comfortable that we should always prepare for future goals and not just enjoy ourselves. I've got a 4 year old and I'm constantly worried about school, university etc. 

[Nalan]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 10:32 AM, ClareWalks said:

Oh yeah, now I remember that explanation. It was incredibly stupid and made me say "...WHAT?" when I was watching. 

In fairness, the fact that Louis had a similar reaction to that makes it clear that the show knew it was stupid.  So points to the show for acknowledging that.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

While I agree that almost everything in this episode was a giant WTF, part of me wants to defend Jessica's need to continue struggling because being poor really messes with your head. My mom's family struggled (her mom worked two full time jobs simultaneously, her dad was working in another country and sending money to them, my mom started working almost full time when she was 14) and I can still see the effects of it on her. She went from sharing one bedroom with her three siblings to having a four bedroom house after she got married (which took years of hard work from both her and my dad), but there are things that she still does as a result of her upbringing. It's hard to shake the mindset you have when you are barely scraping by. Even once you have a big house, nice things, and lots of money, there's still a part of you that assumes it could all go away and you'll be back to living in a tiny apartment with cockroaches. My mom has never actually said that out loud (or at least not to me) but as an adult, I can see some of the little things she does that are a by product of her childhood.

Although I'm relieved that Eddie and his friends won't be getting pizza tattoos on their elbows, part of me kind of wishes they hadn't give up on the idea so soon, only because I would have loved seeing a group of clearly underage kids going into a tattoo parlor and telling them their idea.

Poor Eddie never got to use the hot tub even once!

[Snow Apple]

On 5/16/2017 at 10:55 PM, SmithW6079 said:

Evan going to the private school was contingent on them owning a house, not that particular one, so why not just buy the house they were renting? He was an obnoxious little prick; I was glad he got kicked out of the school before he even began, although the resolution to that story line was stupid as well.

I finally got around to watching this two-part finale. They had to buy this particular house because Jessica said she'll buy their house if the owner (or his wife) can get Evan into the private school using their connections. 

But I agree with everybody that this plot was awful and Jessica was more annoying than usual and Evan and Emory were obnoxious. 

[msrachelj]

On 5/16/2017 at 11:55 PM, SmithW6079 said:

I hate it when sitcoms set up changes in situations and then reverse them by the end of the episode. The show has built a nice little community & neighbors, so there was no way the family was going to leave unless there was a reboot.

I would have had more respect for the show had the Huangs stayed in their new home, not "returned" it to the seller (is what Jessica used a real thing?).

It was even stupider that they would just move back to their old home without checking to see if it had been rented out or without contacting the landlord to tell him they wanted to buy it.

Evan going to the private school was contingent on them owning a house, not that particular one, so why not just buy the house they were renting? He was an obnoxious little prick; I was glad he got kicked out of the school before he even began, although the resolution to that story line was stupid as well.

agreed. i know its "tv" and there is a lot of unreality going on but really. you can't just return a house, you can't just walk in to your former rental and expect to go back to the way it was, no probs> what the hell. i can't suspend that much disbelief. and jessica is getting very unlikeable. she is really cheap and annoying. i used to like her. i guess it all adds up. was she really like that? what was the actual family really like?