What I’m Watching: Eastbound & Down

Eastbound & Down: Season 3, Episode 5 “Chapter 18” (B+)

Kenny Powers has seen better days. While he’s embarrassed himself plenty in the past, nothing quite compares to his energetic entrance to his July 4th party being met with silence and stares from the many staff members he hired, not to mention his unsuccessful attempt to steal the spotlight from his rival Ivan at his far superior party. Not managing to convince Andrea to come with him was the nail in his coffin, and Kenny has never seemed more dejected. Earlier in the episode, his obvious effort to get his “I rented this hooker” T-shirt noticed was mildly amusing, and that’s a far cry from having Casper bring dynamite to Ivan’s party. The return of Kenny’s father was a bit unexpected, but Eduardo has some surprisingly sound advice for his son, in terms of the importance of family and just taking it easy. Telling Maria that Eduardo was a child molester wasn’t terribly kind, but they seem to have reached an accord of sorts by episode’s end, as Kenny caved and decided to call his mother. I can’t wait to see more of Lily Tomlin as his predictably foul-mouthed, since the one minute we’ve already seen of her was absolutely fantastic. Kenny may be falling apart, but he’s doing better than Stevie, who was so guilty-ridden about cheating on Maria that he had to go ahead and tell her about it, ruining his relationship and depriving Toby of two very vital influences in his life and subjecting him to being raised by members of the Powers family.