The Breakdown
We start off with Kenny behind the wheel, listening to some classical music. When he arrives at a stop-light, a rowdy guy & girl in a Ford Mustang pull up and give Kenny the finger, challenging him to a race. KP turns down their offer, as he no longer lives that type of a life style anymore. They insult him before driving off.
Flashing back to the end of season 3, we see Kenny dying his hair, stealing Shane-Dog’s truck, showing up as his own funeral, getting punched by his brother, and going to jail for life-insurance fraud. He’s married April, had a daughter, has become a family man, and is currently working on a screen play about his life.
He’s hanging out with his family, and discussing with his children the film Human Centipede, before trying to get April to understand the importance of a party rockin’ playlist for the evenings festivities. April then finds out that Kenny applied for a loan for a swimming pool. Once the party comes along, it’s clear that their “friends” are more so April’s friends, and not Kenny’s type of people, as they don’t appreciate his imitation of one couple’s adopted Asian kid. We then find out that April is up for an award since she sold the most houses in the region.
Later that evening at the ceremony for April, Kenny becomes jealous of her and explodes out in the parking lot in anger. He’s pissed that he’s a nobody while she’s getting awards and all that jazz. It’s like the Incredible Hulk. We’re getting sick of Bruce Banner’s wimpy ass, we want to see the Hulk smash a bunch of things and head-butt some nerds! Once they come home, Kenny gets restless and heads to Guy’s banquet. Afterwards, he introduces Kenny to his team, and they decide to rock the party that rocks the body. Everyone starts talking about all the things they have, whilst Kenny feels like more and more of a failure.
The Analysis
It’s been too long without Kenny Powers. Season 3 gave us one of the greatest seasons of all time in my opinion, so I’m expecting a lot from season 4. Chapter 22 is a great start, and I thought it was pretty clever to put Kenny in shirts with sleeves as well as sober, so we the audience start clamoring for the real Kenny to come back and Hulk-smash all these nerds. The scene with him and his kids talking about Human Centipede is proof alone that Eastbound & Down is so far above all other comedies out there that it’s shameful.