It’s been a minute since we were first introduced to Huang family on ABC’s Fresh off the Boat. The first all Asian American family sitcom in 20 years recently made history as being the first one to last more than one season, after a solid first season mixing laugh out loud humor with the reality of growing up in an Asian American household. After Tuesday’s premiere, it’s already safe to say that the second season is off to another hilarious start.
School is out for the summer and Eddie Huang spends the days away either watching TV or playing video games. His goal is to return to school to show off the one cool thing he did during the summer, buying his own pair of “fresh as hell” Reebok Pumps. However, after watching a report on MTV, made by hip hop luminary Ed Lover no less, he learns that Reebok Pump shoes were seen being worn by the legendary (but uncool) John Stockton and were now effectively uncool. With summer coming to a close Eddie must quickly come up with a cool experience to share with his school friends before vacation’s end.
Conveniently, he along with brothers Emery and Evan, mom Jessica and grandma tag along with his dad Louis on a “family business trip” to Gator World. However, Jessica, who was already suspecting something fishy regarding her husband’s business trip, eventually learns that there was no business to attend to on this trip after all, and that in fact all of Louis’ past “business trips” have been secret vacations to unwind.
As someone who, until then, never believed in vacations (cue Jessica’s burst of laughter when her friend Honey suggested taking one earlier in the episode), she finds it difficult to wrap her mind around such a concept. However, after attending a massage session Louis booked for her, accompanied by the sound of whale calls, Jessica at long last learns what it means to relax and be on vacation.
Meanwhile, Eddie ventures off to build up his reputation by riding the most extreme ride in Gator World, the Death Roll. But all it took was a quick glimpse of a kid being pulled away, vomiting on a stretcher, for him to quickly chicken out of the idea. Forced to return to school without a cool story to tell, his uneventful summer was not well received by his friends… at first that is. Things took a 180 degree turn when his crush Nicole, who was supposed to have started high school, returns to redo eighth grade. She tells Eddie that she wished she could have played it simple over the summer like he did instead of skipping out on summer school. Her compliment instantly validating Eddie’s lazy summer.
In the end, young Eddie scores reputation points with Nicole, and more importantly, Fresh off the Boat scores big for making it back for a triumphant second season premiere! I look forward to seeing more strong and hilarious stories this season, as well as more character growth and exploration of the show’s world, in particular for the character of Grandma Huang.