Fresh Off the Boat S1E4 - "Success Perm" Recap

Jessica's sister Connie is coming to visit and Louis isn't happy about it since Connie's husband is Louis' old boss Steve. Also coming is Jessica and Connie's mother. Jessica is determined to make them believe that they they are doing much better than they actually are. Eddie is excited to see his cousin Justin, who is just six months older and was the one to introduce him to hip-hop music. Louis and Jessica get perms since they think it's a sign of their success (a "success perm"). But when Connie arrives, she has a new pair of boobs and Steve also has a success perm, not to mention he and Connie drove separately for thirteen hours, a further sign of their success. Grandma Chu (Jessica and Connie's mother) is upset at Jessica for apparently abandoning her. Eddie is upset that his cousin Justin is now into grunge music and very depressing to be around. Louis is hard at work trying to impress Steve but Steve even brought along his own beeper and dial-up computer so he can check on his business. Grandma Chu and Grandma Huang discuss the OJ trial currently on TV.

Jessica is jealous that Connie is so much closer with their mother than she is. They decide that they should go shopping and they'll try to impress their penny-pinching mother with whomever can find the best bargain. Steve gets Louis off guard by saying they've made a reservation at the restaurant a day earlier than when Louis had planned to have the restaurant packed. The charade is up, so Louis has to admit that they're not doing as well with the restaurant as they'd have hoped. Jessica and Connie reconcile and Connie notes how being the favourite child is a lot more work. Steve's car is stolen and when they call the police about it, not only does he have to admit that the car is not new (Louis was right in his theory that the car was used). The police officer says that the repo man took the car because they were behind on payments. The repo man returns to the house to drop off Eddie's younger brothers, since they had been asleep in the car since it was comfortable than the pantry where they had been sleeping so Grandma Chu could have their room. Eddie reflects on how the family all learned that things aren't always as they seem.

Fresh Off the Boat airs on Tuesdays on ABC at 8PM.