There are times that I’ve been watching the first four episodes of this fourth season of Eastbound & Down and I’ve found myself thinking, “Maybe they should have called it quits with the faked death.” But that’s not because I’m not enjoying it and laughing hysterically at the horribly offensive comedy like I had through the first four seasons. It’s more because I just don’t have the first clue where Danny McBride and Co. are taking this crazy train known as Kenny Powers as the presumed finale approaches.
Speculation be damned for now, though, because this is about Chapter 25, the fourth episode of this fourth season, and the resurgence of Kenny and Stevie Janowski in their respective quests to regain fame and fortune and make the dick work again. Well folks, we’ve got great news on both fronts this week.
First and Foremost, About Chapter 24…
One of the reasons that I’m reluctant to do these episode recaps is that my brain gets all jumbled with inconsequential and silly thoughts, and I forget all about some of the best aspects. For example, the pet wolf that Kenny gifted to Toby last week. I seriously hope this thing doesn’t maim the poor kid at some point this season, but if the closing scene of Chapter 25 suggested anything, it’s that Toby may have his very own badass sidekick by the time this thing’s over.
And if I’m an odds maker? I’m laying 2:1 odds that the wolf ends up saving Kenny’s life in a hilarious manner.
It’s the Subtle Things that Get Me
Twenty years down the road, someone may ask me, “Hey Burnsy, what did you love the most about Eastbound & Down?” and my first three answers will be April, because I love her and she’s my favorite semi-white trash WAG on TV and/or in reality. But my fourth response will be, “The subtle things,” because this show’s writers kill me at least once per episode with the most under-the-radar lines. This week’s was, “I need to check my Palm Pilot.” Kenny’s technological cluelessness is hilarious, and I say that as a person who still used WinAmp years after iTunes hit the scene.
Okay, the Bigger Lines Get Me, Too
This week’s closing line was awesome, especially laid over Toby overcoming his fear of feeding the deadly killing machine that was destroying his family’s garage and starving for animal blood.
“Mortals falter. Kings act. And the mortal who acts, well, that motherfucker becomes king.”
Again, I think that the wolf will play a hilarious role in the series finale or at some point before it, but trying to predict the plot of a comedy, especially one as wicked and sick as Eastbound, is asinine and futile. I can only hope that the wolf ends up tearing Guy Young’s throat out, or something to that effect.
The Big, Ol’ Wake Forest Loving Elephant in the Room
Obviously, Kenny was going to have to come to terms with the fact that Tel and Gene were eventually going to rat him out to their wives for doing a balloon’s worth of drugs with the creepy as hell family from the water park resort. For Gene, it came right away, because Dixie saw the bruise that Kenny left Gene with after their one-sided throwdown in the hallway. While we knew that was the catalyst for Dixie not inviting Kenny and April over for spaghetti night, April didn’t and that aura of “Oh fuck” was left lingering for the first half of the episode. Especially when Kenny visited Gene and Tel at the golf course.
I touched on it last week, but Chapter 25 was so much bigger for both Gene and Dixie, so I want to reiterate that Tim Heidecker and friend of UPROXX Jillian Bell have been phenomenal this season with their stereotypical, miserable and all-around horrible suburbanite married couple.
(Caps via)
That Leads Us To…
Kenny flipping the script on Gene and Dixie was hilariously evil. Two-parts evil and two-parts awkward as hell, watching Gene pack up the U-Haul at the end was such a wonderful moment, not because I want to ever see an innocent couple be torn to shreds over some a-hole sociopath’s lies, but because I want to see this innocent couple destroyed, because holy God they are just so damn unbearable. It’s truly remarkable the power of this mulleted antihero, that he can make me wish terrible things on good people.
(GIFs via)
The Fame and the Fortune are Beginning to Reveal the Ugliness
It’s inevitable, right? Like, we all see the horrible downfall coming again, don’t we? It’s just a matter of how it happens, who causes it and how Kenny reacts. Because that’s pretty much the basis of this entire show. But it begins with the pool builders, the racist mockery and the awarding of April’s great-grandmother’s priceless jewelry for digging the fastest. But like the Palm Pilot joke, Kenny’s reverse charm shines through with his use of a disposable camera. From the hideous green Viper to every piece of clothing this man owns, Kenny Powers is stuck in a different generation. And I’m not even sure which generation that is.
So About Guy Young and the Looming Meltdown
With Dontell’s visit and the ominous words of the other co-hosts of Sports Sesh, it’s clear that he who giveth (Guy Young) will also be he who taketh away. Perhaps the silver lining of this impending downward spiral back to the barrel’s bottom is that Kenny and Stevie have taken on the task of teaching the urban kids how to play baseball. Honestly, just like the whole screenplay angle that’s being ignored, I’d kill to see an entire season or at least a few episodes of Kenny teaching the kids how to play baseball. Imagine that entire introduction speech stretched out over three or four episodes… I’d suffocate from laughing so hard.
(GIF via)
And now my two favorite parts of Chapter 25 will be on the following page, because they involve some male nudity – dudity, if you will – so cover the kids’ eyes if you’re a good parent.
STEVIE’S DICK IS BACK, BABY!
Stevie’s blue contact lenses made me cry. Legitimate tears of laughter were blinding me. That poor bastard has his stride back, and I want at least one episode of him being a complete badass. Or at least attempting to be one. (GIF via)
Next Week on Chapter 26: We finally get the scene that gave us Danger Guerrero’s favorite GIF in the world.
