'Eastbound & Down' Season 2, Episode 5 Recap

['Eastbound & Down' - 'Chapter 11']

In our culture, when we come across a problem child or a hooligan or an ugly person, we generally say, "look at the parents" to see where things began to go wrong.

But what about someone as severely and disturbingly ignorant as Kenny Powers; someone who can't understand that it's possible and often optimal to live a life without glue induced hangovers? Reuniting with his father, Eduardo Sanchez (Don Johnson) may not only be a window into Kenny's soul; it could also be a doorway through which none of us are even remotely prepared to pass through.

The highly anticipated reunion between Kenny and Eduardo quickly escalated into a pissing contest between two decorated and experienced liars. It featured Kenny telling his old man he saved all his money, while Eduardo matter-of-factly referred to his dilapidated barn as an "inventor's lab," insisting that he had so much money he had to bury it all over the grounds. It was clear that, from the get-go, one would need a Sherpa to navigate such steep piles of BS. But if nothing else, both the Powers men agree that Stevie is an idiot.

When they went inside, Kenny wasn't too happy about what he found. One could assume that Kenny hoped to find his father in as dire straits as he was, but after being introduced to Soledad, his step-mom, and Casper, his 15-year-old step-brother, Kenny got offended, ironic as it may be. So overwhelmed by the moment, Kenny has to get some air.

Kenny was threatened by Casper, mostly because he has an XBox, but he confronted him about their pending battle for their father's love, and it looked like Kenny was finally starting to live his life for someone other than himself. He went with his dad to work, "Dirt Diablos," offering ATV tours of Mexico to tourists and the love affair began.

Kenny was desperate to manufacture a bond between him and his father, but Eduardo wasn't on board as quickly. It's the first time we see Kenny in the role of sycophant, someone who will say and do anything to make his father love him. They shared a particularly creepy connection over recreational vehicles. "Maybe it's something in our blood that we can just, you know, get hard from ridin' f@#kin' bad ass, you know, terrain vehicles n' watercrafts." Kenny was clearly enamored.

So inspired was Kenny that he came clean to his dad over dinner about the initial lies he fed him earlier. He's broke, he quit baseball and his last two loves left him cold. It was wryly funny when Eduardo told Kenny "we're family, I won't judge you," when all that family does is judge people. As advice, Eduardo told his son to stay in the moment and screw everyone else but yourself, which was convenient since that's how Kenny had been living, adding his dad to Kenny's long list of enablers. Eduardo essentially absolved Kenny of all his stupidity.

Kenny and Stevie were made to sleep in the barn, just like Christ did, and all was well for Kenny. He now had Casper in his sights, and proceeded to creep into the house in the night to take a whiz on Casper's keyboard. Stevie had other concerns. He not surprisingly, never understood how love between a man and a woman worked, and his intentions were to come to Mexico and live like a couple outlaws with Kenny. With Maria in his life, however, he was beginning to understand, and he dropped an April-bomb on Kenny's head. Turned out, April never married Cutler. Stevie was just trying to keep Kenny to himself.

Kenny was convinced that his wagon should be hitched to his dad and the ATV business in Mexico, and all the boys (Eduardo, Kenny, Stevie, and Casper) went on a joy ride of their own. At a siesta, the four sat down to smoke and Kenny told his dad he loved him, even though "that's somethin' that's, you know, not really on my docket of s@#t to do." This made Eduardo uncomfortable, as he seemed "a little distracted from our pinnacle father/son bonding moment here." It was uncomfortable more because Eduardo had Stevie and Kenny arrested as fugitives than his inability to connect with his feelings.

Soledad swooped in to bail him out and blow the legend of Eduardo Sanchez out of the water. She actually owned "Dirt Diablos" and Eduardo had been free-loading off her for years. Outside the prison, Eduardo apologized, and Kenny realized that it's not easy dealing with someone exactly like you. "Crazy. Here I grew up a whole entire world away from you, and end up exactly like you. A lyin' cheatin' backstabbin' gigolo."

Back in the Lambo, the two outlaws (Stevie and Kenny) were headed back to the states. They made one stop: at a pay phone to call April and tell her "I'm comin' for ya'" - not in the sexual sense of the word ... but who knows with Kenny Powers?

'Eastbound & Down' airs Sunday at 10:30PM ET on HBO.


Dr. Vaughan teaches English/Media/Humor courses at Binghamton University in upstate New York, and his milkshake brings more than boys into the yard. You can also check out his blog at drvtv.wordpress.com or www.facebook.com/pages/Ryan-Vaughan/21931402981