Eastbound and Down

"Chapter 13"


Well, this is embarrassing. When I watched Eastbound and Down last week, I thought it was the season finale. And I wasn't the only one. But really, Kenny left Mexico to return to North Carolina last week. It kind of made sense as a finale. Plus, last season was six episodes in the tradition of the British sitcom format so I figured this one as well. However, to my delighted surprise, I saw that my HAL-like DVR had taken the reins and was geared up to record another Eastbound and Down on Sunday night. Well, it looks like somebody just found a half-hour to shave off of their nightly macramé session.


I am still trying to figure out if I care about Kenny making a return to baseball or not. Even if he does somehow climb his way back into the majors, the glory will most likely be fleeting at best. Plus, I think the creators of the show are going to be careful about giving Kenny too much of what he wants because, as great as he is too watch, somebody like him usually ends up losing in the end. Everything that has happened in this series, especially the promises of professional league play, have been tinted with the notion of too-good-to-be-true. Did anybody in their right mind really believe Kenny could maintain the high he achieved a few episodes before everything came crashing down. Yet, if he makes it back to the mound or not, I can certainly say that I will be along for the ride with HBO renewing the show for a third (and most likely final) season.


Also, I don't really care all the much for April. Disregarding her Al Roker weight loss after the series premiere, I just kind of find her annoying. I'm pretty sure its her voice. And speaking of supporting characters, I really hope next season contains the North Carolina cast a lot more. With Dustin, Clegg, Cutler, etc., the show is just more varied. Mexico had some new friends to offer us but they were mostly just straight players to Kenny's persona.


Let me also say this: Eastbound and Down has the greatest music on television. While not only its songs are well chosen, they are perfectly matched with the action on screen. You will find this in every episode (especially when Kenny rides his jetski). Remember the final moments of that episode where Kenny is riding around on the roller coaster with Vida. The music playing during that scene was hauntingly used. Find that scene and watch it if you haven't.


-The Stevie within his own house is a rare but welcomed Stevie. The disgusted sneer he was giving his new in-laws (while making keyboard music apparently?) and his anger at answering his own door were hilarious departures from his usual passivity.
-Why did Jerry Minor have only a few lines?
-I've always thought Dustin was an odd choice as Kenny's brother purely from a physical stand-point. Not only does he have a weird scrappy body but that notion that he could be related to Kenny is a stretch. But that's probably because I look at him different after watching him play Sol Starr on Deadwood.
-"I literally can't talk to her. She doesn't speak English."
-"Let me know when you find Bin Laden. I've got champagne on ice."
-"That's love. It's better to be strangled by a necklace of Mexicans than not to be strangled at all".
-“You got some sort of ‘Reverse Benjamin Button’ thing going on?”
-“I hope you know there were a lot of rapes that happened in this house.”
-“Oddly enough, Mexicans aren’t too different from us once you get past the lack of interest in real sports and need to have yellow rice at every fuckin’ meal.”
-“Love. Is. The. Best. Gift. Ever.”