Commendably, there's been a real sense of progression in Eastbound & Down regarding Kenny's character, even if this episode seemed to jump ahead a few too many steps. There hasn't been a smooth sense of Kenny curbing his egomaniacal attitude and bad habits, but at least ther's been a change in his character that hasn't softened him to a pulp. It would have been easy for the writers to repeat the pilot's joke and run it into the ground over six episodes (perhaps alienating a section of their audience by keeping Kenny so unlikeable), but they've actually shown a bit of growth and change.
The big sell here was seeing Kenny genuinely mend his ways: he took his P.E classes seriously, he started wearing glasses to make himself look studious, he broke up a fight in a library, he started helping brother Dustin (John Hawkes) with a building project for a rich lady (Gina Gershon), and he decided to stay clear of sweetheart April (Katy Mixon) and respect her relationship with Principal Cutler (Andrew Daly). Despite the fact the whole episode was tinged with the possibility that Kenny would eventually revert back to type, "Chapter Five" actually took things in a different direction.
Arrogant car salesman Ashley Schaeffer (Will Ferrell) made a return from episode 2, having now secured the services of Kenny's sporting nemesis Reg Mackworthy (Craig Robinson) to drum up business for his car lot. Always one to spot a moneymaking opportunity, Schaeffer tried to organize a "pitch-off" between the two former-titans of the Major League, and Kenny was again faced with the prospect of public humiliation because he can't throw. So, he retreated into his excuse of having put his baseball days behind him, until Dustin managed to talk him into taking Schaeffer up on his offer to wipe the smile off Mackworthy's face and get some revenge on the man he blames for ending his career.
The episode ended on a very effective note (with excellent, atmospheric music), with April deciding to abandon Cutler as he participated in his Triathlon and instead support Kenny at Schaeffer's pitch-off. The tension built very nicely as Kenny's first two throws missed their target by metres, but seeing April restored Kenny's prowess and he slung his final ball straight into Mackworthy's face, with a 101 m.p.h force that popped his eyeball out!
Overall, "Chapter Five" wasn't the funniest episode of the show, and its storyline was basically a fleshed-out remake of episode 2's, but I'd by lying if I claimed it wasn't entertaining and provided no development for its characters. The only person who never ceases to make me laugh is the cheerfully delided Stevie, whose idolisation and creepy affection for Kenny is mixed with hilarious vocal outbursts meant to defend his hero. I'm still not a huge fan of McBride himself, but he's definitely become more palatable as Kenny over these five weeks, and the fact his character actually seems to be learning and improving himself is something I didn't expect to see. If Eastbound & Down is destined to be a one-season wonder, then hopefully Kenny's reformation will be completed next week in fine style, or else the story might twist to send him back to square-one in some way.
29 October 2009
FX/FX HD, 10pm
written by: Jody Hill, Ben Best & Danny McBride directed by: Adam McKay starring: Danny McBride (Kenny Powers), Katy Mixon (April Buchanon), John Hawkes (Dustin Powers), Andrew Daly (Terrence Cutler), Ben Best (Clegg), Jennifer Irwin (Cassie Powers), Steve Little (Stevie Janowski), Sylvia Jefferies (Tracy), Ethan Alexander McGee (Dustin Jr.), Bo Mitchell (Wayne), Terry Bowden (Schaeffer Salesman), Will Ferrell (Ashley Schaeffer), Jan Hartsell (Librarian), Quentin Kerr (Kevin Hickman), Craig Robinson (Reg Mackworthy) & L. Warren Young (Drug Dealer)
