‘Fresh off the Boat’ Episode Review: “The Taming of the Dads”

Fresh Off the Boat, Season 3, Episode 7: “The Taming of the Dads”
Original airdate December 6, 2016.

Microsynopsis:  Eddie and Alison celebrate their first anniversary with a night at the 1996 Romeo + Juliet.  Louis discovers that Alison’s father also loves Shakespeare, sparking an awkwardly chummy friendship.  The dads have so much fun together that Alison realizes she and Eddie no longer have that kind of fun, prompting her to break up with him.  Jessica is called for jury duty, but is furious that she’s not elected foreperson.  Emery and Evan receive a gift Tamgotchi from their cousin in Taiwan.  They are at first elated, but the little virtual pet becomes a nuisance.

Good:  The Alison-Eddie stuff is pretty good.  I love that Eddie has matured in his thinking about women, but he’s also still a young man with a lot to learn.  Alison continues to be a bright spot whenever she’s in an episode.  Louis is awful in this, but Randall Park’s acting has some really nice moments, especially near the end, in two one-on-one scenes with Eddie.

Bad:  Jessica’s story is unremarkable, and although the Tamagotchi idea is cute, there’s really not enough there.  They might have done better to move up in the craze, to where many young people had three or more Tamagotchis and had to ask friends to sit for them sometimes.  As it is, the little toys haven’t been released in America yet, so the device itself is the story, which isn’t as interesting as the mania that surrounded it for such a brief moment.

I can’t decide if the Louis-Gary relationship is so bad it’s good or so bad it’s horrifying.  Either way, it’s bad!

FOB moment:  Jessica tries to bribe the other jurors with oranges.

Soundtrack flashback:  “Two Princes” by Spin Doctors (1993).  Your reviewer is not ashamed to say he approves.

Final grade, this episode:  It’s an utterly forgettable episode, I am sorry to say, with a few moments but little else.  C+.