S06.E01: Help Unwanted

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

After Brandi Chastain scores the World Cup-winning goal against China and rips off her jersey to celebrate, Evan gets his first case of "the tingles," and now Louis and Eddie must team up to give him the talk. Meanwhile, Jessica and Honey are learning what it means to be best friends, and we learn a whole lot more about Marvin's family.

Original air date: 9/27/19

[Snow Apple]

"Jessica and Honey are learning what it means to be best friends." 

 Is it yet another "Jessica is awful and learn a lesson which will be forgotten next week" storyline? 

[Aryanna]

I may have to bow out of this series. I'm done with the Jessica is awful but learns a lesson only to forget it next week storylines. Too many shows that I've been watching lately feel like I'm abusing myself by continuing to watch them. They just aren't fun anymore. And this is one of them.

[Mr. Sparkle]

7 hours ago, Aryanna said:

Too many shows that I've been watching lately feel like I'm abusing myself by continuing to watch them.

I have such a weird fear of missing out, and I don't know why. 

[tennisgurl]

A new season of Fresh Off The Boat?! So upset right now that I’m literally crying. Ugh. Fucking hell. 

[Robert Lynch]

Oh, Jessica, that's not how you do friendship! Spare me the theatrics! Just because Honey told Emery about drama does not make her on the wrong! He choose an elective. Nothing more.

BTW, Emery and Eddie are getting very tall! They are like 6'2 or something.

[jmonique]

I can't really hate on Constance Wu for being disappointed about being saddled with another season of Jessica The Emotionally Stunted Moron Getting Away With Being an Ass. Being an immigrant means she's from another country, not new to being a damn human. 

The Jessica of the early seasons reminded me a lot of my own mother -- a hard worker from Taiwan with high expectations. This Jessica is an insult. 

As for the boys, it's getting comical how much Hudson towers over everyone!

[possibilities]

Louis's sex talk was not at all what I expected, and I wish we'd gotten to hear the whole thing. Jenny's, too.

I did not remember Honey having a 2nd child. Did that happen and I forget, or is it a retcon?

[Robert Lynch]

I think Honey did last season. By the way, that child looks more like a three year old than a one year old!  Nice one, writers! 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Robert Lynch

[Snow Apple]

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

Louis's sex talk was not at all what I expected, and I wish we'd gotten to hear the whole thing. Jenny's, too.

I did not remember Honey having a 2nd child. Did that happen and I forget, or is it a retcon?

Honey was pregnant last season but I don't think gave birth yet by the season finale.

Was the actress pregnant in real life so they wrote it in? Otherwise, I thought it was a strange storyline since Maria was just born a short time ago and there's so much potential stories instead of another pregnancy.

[Harvey]

2 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Honey was pregnant last season but I don't think gave birth yet by the season finale.

Was the actress pregnant in real life so they wrote it in? Otherwise, I thought it was a strange storyline since Maria was just born a short time ago and there's so much potential stories instead of another pregnancy.

It was mentioned last season that Honey became pregnant again surprisingly early after giving birth. It happened in the episode where Honey and Louis try to get fit.

[Robert Lynch]

3 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Honey was pregnant last season but I don't think gave birth yet by the season finale.

Was the actress pregnant in real life so they wrote it in? Otherwise, I thought it was a strange storyline since Maria was just born a short time ago and there's so much potential stories instead of another pregnancy.

She was. I think that's the reason for the dowdy clothes she wears and Constance Wu wearing nice clothes all the time.

[tennisgurl]

Oh good, lets start this season off with something new...Jessica is an asshole and learns not to be an asshole by the end of the episode and will certainly forget this lesson next week! Oh wait, whats the opposite of new. 

I did think the "the talk" plot had some funny parts, especially the end with the blinking beanie babies. And the "yeahhhh" "noooo" sound effects. 

[jmonique]

tennisgurl already mentioned it, but this legit made me laugh:

Quote

Evan: "... and Eddie is a year away from his sexual peak."
YEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHH

Evan: "Apparently, it's all downhill from there."
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I also liked how Jessica knew that Evan had taught Louis something.

[biakbiak]

Honey needs to cut her toxic bff out of her life! 

[readster]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh good, lets start this season off with something new...Jessica is an asshole and learns not to be an asshole by the end of the episode and will certainly forget this lesson next week! Oh wait, whats the opposite of new. 

I did think the "the talk" plot had some funny parts, especially the end with the blinking beanie babies. And the "yeahhhh" "noooo" sound effects. 

Then you wonder why Wu was so upset the show was renewed. You can tell she is tired of playing the character and the other characters are tired of it too. Yeah, ABC, let the show die.

[Harvey]

1 minute ago, readster said:

Then you wonder why Wu was so upset the show was renewed. You can tell she is tired of playing the character and the other characters are tired of it too. Yeah, ABC, let the show die.

I'm pretty sure this is the last season. At least this way they can end the show with Eddie going off to college, which would be fitting.

[readster]

1 minute ago, Harvey said:

I'm pretty sure this is the last season. At least this way they can end the show with Eddie going off to college, which would be fitting.

Right, I mean the show is in a good place to end now. Then again, they were pretty close last season and they didn't know if they were coming back or not. Yes, ABC was all about renewing and while the rest of the cast was: "Oh good, we have a job still." Constance is: "Oh come on!" "Our ratings aren't that good." "Just stop relying on old clothes and try taking chances on something else instead of running things into the ground." She sadly, didn't go about it diplomatically, but you can see the writing on the wall, the show is tired and is on fumes and the writers can't really do anything but;" The rest of the characters grow, even the grandma, but we must show that Jessica is a controlling asshole and even son #3 is starting to grow beyond it too." Yeah, we get it! You don't know what to do with the character. Just admit it. 

[rmontro]

10 minutes ago, readster said:

Yes, ABC was all about renewing and while the rest of the cast was: "Oh good, we have a job still." Constance is: "Oh come on!" "Our ratings aren't that good." "Just stop relying on old clothes and try taking chances on something else instead of running things into the ground."

Not that she's wrong, but the fact that she was the star of a successful movie probably has a lot to do with it.  She was probably wanting to get on with her movie career instead of being stuck in a sitcom.  Randall Park's been in movies too, but he seems more comfortable with having a variety of things to do.

[angora]

14 hours ago, possibilities said:

Louis's sex talk was not at all what I expected, and I wish we'd gotten to hear the whole thing. Jenny's, too.

I did not remember Honey having a 2nd child. Did that happen and I forget, or is it a retcon?

I loved the season 1 episode with all the snippets from Louis's sex talk with Eddie (augmented by Jessica pummeling him with a giant stuffed animal to teach him about consent: "You like that?! No? Well, girls don't either!!"), so it was fun to get a callback on that. Eddie and Louis repeatedly chickening out/procrastinating on the talk was fun too, along with Louis drawing hair on a conch shell, lol.

I've recently been rewatching the show from the beginning (near the end of season 2 now) and, as floored as I was to remember how tiny the kids were in the first season, I was in NO way prepared for how they looked in this episode. Even knowing how Hudson's been shooting up, Eddie looked so completely different to me, and Emery and Evan both grew up a lot over the summer. (Both Jessica and Honey looked really different to me too. I needed Louis and Jenny to ground me.)

[Robert Lynch]

I think six seasons will be enough. 

[biakbiak]

6 hours ago, readster said:

Then you wonder why Wu was so upset the show was renewed. You can tell she is tired of playing the character and the other characters are tired of it too. Yeah, ABC, let the show die.

At the very least I believe it’s the last season of Wu’s contract so she won’t have to come back.

[Robert Lynch]

I think next week seems like a Eddie-centric episode about college.

[Harvey]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

At the very least I believe it’s the last season of Wu’s contract so she won’t have to come back.

Remember those rumors of a spin-off? Maybe that is the solution that makes everyone happy.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 hours ago, biakbiak said:

At the very least I believe it’s the last season of Wu’s contract so she won’t have to come back.

The industry standard for American tv shows is a seven year contract so it's most likely that she has one more season left after this year.

Edited September 29, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Robert Lynch]

I hope to see more of Eddie's other friends. They were sidelined last season.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Robert Lynch

[biakbiak]

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The industry standard for American tv shows is a seven year contract so it's most likely that she has one more season left after this year.

Five with an option for six is also extremely common and several articles regarding Wu mentioned that was hers.

[Jaded]

On 9/27/2019 at 9:46 PM, jmonique said:

The Jessica of the early seasons reminded me a lot of my own mother -- a hard worker from Taiwan with high expectations. This Jessica is an insult. 

This show along with Mom have turned lead characters who I loved at the start of each series into people who I wouldn't miss if their characters were written off completely. 

[Aryanna]

I can't imagine how boring it must be to play Jessica. Playing a person with no character arc or growth has to get tiring. At this point I'd rather see a show about Honey.

[Harvey]

She does have a character arc with that going to school thing so she can be "teacher boss" one day, they just don't focus on it for some reason. Maybe because it would take too much of the focus away from the family.

[Robert Lynch]

And let us not forget Jessica's writing! 😩How tiring was that? Funny that this show was almost cancel last season...

[CurlyATX]

I wish that Honey had said something like "Emery being in drama can give him an edge for college applications".  That would have ended the fight.  

Jessica is just a downright bitch.  I like it when Honey tells her off (like in that Stephen King episode).  

I loved the flashback to Eddie's talk (if you pretend you have a bad back, she'll do all the work). And the watering can and flowerpot.  Speaking of which, where are Eddie's friends? 

I did appreciate how Evan took it upon himself to become a sex expert from the library.  My mom handed me a book- there was no talk.  

[snarktini]

I'm not someone who HAS to finish a show, though I tilt more completing than quitting especially this close to the end.  (Please, let it be the end.) Jessica is chasing me away! Which sucks because I like most of the other characters and still want to spend 22 minutes with them. They've done a good job cultivating Eddie's character and having him grow up. (Not to mention the acting has really improved.) 

Honey and Marvin crack me up, especially how Marvin was happy to show up and play reveille, no questions asked. I had to go find out who played his dad -- it was bugging me and I could not place him. Corbin Bernsen!! 

[chabelisaywow]

Quote

Is it yet another "Jessica is awful and learn a lesson which will be forgotten next week" storyline? 

So this is Constance just playing herself?

I think the last episode I remember watching had something to do with Jessica's father and a funeral.

Eddie Huang has said more than once that this was not his childhood. There is no reason to stick to script then.  Kill Jessica off and replace her with Ali Wong. 

[Harvey]

9 minutes ago, chabelisaywow said:

So this is Constance just playing herself?

I think the last episode I remember watching had something to do with Jessica's father and a funeral.

Eddie Huang has said more than once that this was not his childhood. There is no reason to stick to script then.  Kill Jessica off and replace her with Ali Wong. 

His father regularly beat him up but the network did not want to include that in a light-hearted sitcom so that's why it's not like "the script" (which is a biography). Because in real life Louis is not a funny carefree cool guy like in the show but an agressive abusive jerk.

[chabelisaywow]

Quote

His father regularly beat him up but the network did not want to include that in a light-hearted sitcom so that's why it's not like "the script" (which is a biography). Because in real life Louis is not a funny carefree cool guy like in the show but an agressive abusive jerk.

I've read both of Eddie Huang's books.  Other than the pilot which had elements of his real life, nothing about FOB is his life.  I don't know how to get an Asian family "right." It was nice to see Asian faces on television, though. Constance managed to ruin CRA for me with her attitude, so my point is - if she didn't want to finish FOB, then replace her.  No need to stick to the "Huang Family" narrative.  

[Harvey]

1 minute ago, chabelisaywow said:

I've read both of Eddie Huang's books.  Other than the pilot which had elements of his real life, nothing about FOB is his life.  I don't know how to get an Asian family "right." It was nice to see Asian faces on television, though. Constance managed to ruin CRA for me with her attitude, so my point is - if she didn't want to finish FOB, then replace her.  No need to stick to the "Huang Family" narrative.  

You are right. This is why they are toying with the idea of a spin-off.

[Snow Apple]

The arc about Jessica studying to become principal could be interesting if it was a better actress and/or director. Right now I just dread Jessica bulldozing her way through it.

I also don't remember Jessica being that vain (regarding her looks anyway) but she talked about how beautiful she was at least twice in this episode. Ugh!

[Robert Lynch]

3 hours ago, Harvey said:

You are right. This is why they are toying with the idea of a spin-off.

They are? Why? Let it end already.

[biakbiak]

4 hours ago, Robert Lynch said:

They are? Why? Let it end already.

It’s with one of the writers and hasn’t even been pitched yet but would most likely focus on a different immigrant family. 

[CurlyATX]

21 hours ago, chabelisaywow said:

I've read both of Eddie Huang's books.  Other than the pilot which had elements of his real life, nothing about FOB is his life.  I don't know how to get an Asian family "right." It was nice to see Asian faces on television, though. Constance managed to ruin CRA for me with her attitude, so my point is - if she didn't want to finish FOB, then replace her.  No need to stick to the "Huang Family" narrative.  

I saw a very cool news piece of Eddie- it had to do with his restaurants and his family.  I wonder if Louis' dad was really what the real Louis Huang was like (distant, disciplinarian). 

As for Constance- eh, I think she's fallen into that trope of playing a character too "one note" and yes, the success of the movie has changed her.  Not sure if CRAII will be similar to the original book (which doesn't focus on Nick/Rachel that much).  

Something bugged me about this episode- then I remembered- didn't we already have a "Jessica learns that acting is ok" story line with the little boys and directing their play?  I get it that she's a dragon mom but this is crazy.  

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, CurlyATX said:

As for Constance- eh, I think she's fallen into that trope of playing a character too "one note" and yes, the success of the movie has changed her.  Not sure if CRAII will be similar to the original book (which doesn't focus on Nick/Rachel that much).  

I literally don’t know how anyone could play the repetitive bullshit nonsense that they have written for her for the past three years which presses the success of the movie.

9 minutes ago, CurlyATX said:

wonder if Louis' dad was really what the real Louis Huang was like (distant, disciplinari

If you mean what the real Louis Huang, Eddie’s father was like, he was an emotionally and physically  abusive asshole who’s restaurants plural were more successful than the show portrays and has mellowed with age.

Edited October 2, 2019 by biakbiak

[Camera One]

The showrunner and writers of this show just aren't very good.  Jessica learned the same boring lesson again this episode and it wasn't funny.  How unoriginal can they be?  If they need to have Jessica duel with someone, maybe pick someone who's not her supposed best friend?  

Combined with the actress' negative attitude, they should have written Jessica out.  The stuff with Louis and Eddie and Evan were amusing, at least.  Hopefully, he's not insufferable this season.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 9/27/2019 at 10:46 PM, jmonique said:

I can't really hate on Constance Wu for being disappointed about being saddled with another season of Jessica The Emotionally Stunted Moron Getting Away With Being an Ass. Being an immigrant means she's from another country, not new to being a damn human. 

Sure, but instead of tweeting it out publicly and looking churlish (as well as scaring the people who rely on this show for their livelihood), she should use her newly acquired clout to go to the showrunners and advocate for change.

Edited October 18, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[marriedaniac]

It was cool that the real Brandy Chastain had a cameo in this !