The pilot of American Born Chinese promised both a faithful adaptation of the graphic novel’s spirit and a handful of surprises and new dimensions to fill a season of TV in 2023. Episode 2, “A Monkey on a Quest,” sees Jin take his “whole community… three steps backwards” (as Suzy Nakamura accuses him) for the sake of social– and soccer team –acceptance, continuing the themes so artfully drawn from Gene Yang’s seminal graphic novel. But does the show’s sophomore installment live up to the pilot’s promise?
Reminder: SPOILERS for this second episode of American Born Chinese.
1. “He’s a Smart and Special Boy”
This second episode starts with Wei-Chen in his milieu, crashing to the ground with his unlikely vision that Jin is the solution to the uprising in the heavens. The episode ends with Jin knocked out, the uprising in the heavens having crashed into his school cafeteria kitchen. No matter how well or poorly the other elements of the show work so far, the creators were sure to make the chemistry between Jin and Wei-Chen really solid, a love-hate that’s believable as a genuine bond AND a tragic betrayal on Jin’s part. Like Gene Yang’s original graphic novel, Jin’s cruelty to Wei-Chen is patently a bit of self-hatred or internalized prejudice, but perhaps there’s more pathos or richness than Yang’s comic could accomplish. The screen time that Ben Wang (Jin Wang) and Jimmy Liu (as Sun Wei-Chen) share allows for layer upon layer of dynamics. Wei-Chen’s description of Jin as that “smart” and “special boy” with an “athletic body” in front of the whole school doubles as a hilarious show of Wei-Chen’s boldness and as a really sweet signal of his devotion to his new friend. For me, their connection holds the rest of the show together, as the show’s creators surely intended.
2. Suzy Nakamura and the Culture Club’s Uprising
Meanwhile, the fallout from episode 1’s meme of Jin’s laundry cart mishap, topped with…
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