Fresh Off the Boat Season 6 Episode 5 Review: Hal-Lou-Ween
Inga Parkel
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It was Halloween on Fresh Off the Boat Season 6 Episode 5 and the only thing spooky in this episode was Jessica's idea of "candy" to hand out to trick-or-treaters.
In her words, there were no tricks, only treats. Although the trick-or-treaters would certainly contest.
Louis was determined to set up the house as a haunted maze, but Jessica unsurprisingly vetoed that idea.
It's the only thing she likes more than sensible footwear, instilling fear in people.
Louis
Related: Fresh Off the Boat Season 6 Episode 4 Review: S'Mothered
Sometimes it's hard to distinguish whether or not Jessica's aversion to American holidays is simply her being a scrooge, her words not mine, or if it runs deeper and she just doesn't want to give in to becoming too Americanized.
There comes a point when immigrant families learn to acclimate to their new surroundings and their new culture, while also trying to stay connected and identify with their original roots.
Louis has certainly acclimated much smother and more willingly, but Jessica is certainly more stubborn. But, what else can we expect from her?
That certainly explains why she and Eddie butt heads, while Evan is her favorite.
Not only is Evan more like her, but he takes after her traditional Chinese ideals, whereas Eddie is much more flippant and giving into the American culture.
Ironically the boys decide to dress up as Evan for Halloween, but sadly we didn't receive any commentary from Jessica.
It was a three Evans, one Halloween kind of holiday, and it was certainly welcomed.
This was decided after Emery and Evan were nostalgically looking at old Halloween photos of the three of them, and decided they needed to have one last Halloween hoorah before Eddie was off to college.
One word about full-sized candy bars and Eddie was all ears.
Emery and Eddie had a lot to say about poor Evan, as then ended up mocking him senselessly.
I'm Evan, and my waistline doubles as my nipple line.
Eddie
The amount the boys have grown throughout the show is truly incredible.
Evan's voice is certainly no longer a little kid's voice, despite the fact that the producers still have him saying "mommy" each episode.
Meanwhile, Louis was up to something while Jessica took his position as school judge for the costume contest at school.
Well, if he were a believable sponge he'd be able to sop up his tears.
Jessica
Unbeknownst to Jessica, Louis rigged the competition and somehow managed to get one of the children to dress up as one of the characters from Jessica's book.
Related: Fresh Off the Boat Season 6 Episode 3 Review: Grandma's Boys
My first question is, how did Louis gather a group of children to play out his plan? It seems a little worrisome that he had access to talk to those kids.
The sentiment was all there though, as he got Jessica not only to feel successful with her book but to gain an appreciation for the holiday.
Maybe she didn't enjoy the holiday for the right reasons, but it was sweet seeing Louis and Jessica enjoy something together.
It's rare we see them do things together without the kids, and now that the kids are getting older, I hope it becomes more of a commonality.
This episode wasn't anything exciting, but it was certainly heartwarming seeing the family come together.
As the boys have gotten older their brotherly love has grown and they're still learning how to appreciate each other's differences.
This time it was Grandma Huang's turn to impart the wisdom of the episode and show Eddie and Emery that their mocking wasn't favorable.
Grandma Huang is a serious icon, and her relationship with the boys is too pure.
The ending scene with the boys dressing up as the three amigos was wholesome. Eddie's midriff tied the entire outfit together.
The throwback to many seasons ago with the costuming only made it more emotional to see how the boys have grown up on this show.
Shockingly, Trent has become a larger part of the show, now that he's Louis' work wife.
Jessica's commentary on him being ginger has become a running joke and it's certainly something to look forward to.
Did that ginger bite you and infect your brain?
Jessica
After finding him sleeping on the floor of the restaurant, in total Jessica fashion, she's able to get him to spill the beans about Louis' plan.
All this talk about Eddie going to college soon, I hope they dedicate an entire episode to sending Eddie off to college.
I wonder what this leaves for the show once Eddie goes to college. It is all a tribute to the real-life Eddie Huang and it wouldn't make sense for the storylines to be split.
Unless Eddie follows through with his anti-college plans, in which case he would certainly be disowned and kicked out of the house by Jessica.
Additional Side Notes:
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Jessica's sentiment about trick-or-treaters being costume beggars is a complete mood. Until I'm old enough to have kids to go trick-or-treating with, I think I will take her opinion on the matter.
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Iced Tea, Snoopy Dog, and Doctor Dre, classic oufits that someone will have to reinvent.
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Evan's voice is already slightly dropping and it's not ok.
- Grandma Huang's outfit is undoubtedly the best on the show. She should win all sorts of awards.
What did you think of this episode? Don't forget to leave your comments and ratings down below!
If you missed the episode you can always watch Fresh Off the Boat online here via TV Fanatic.
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Inga Parkel was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the organization in June 2020.
