American Born Chinese- Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

A Monkey On A Quest

Episode 2 of American Born Chinese begins with the discovery that Wei-Chen is searching for the final scroll with the assistance of his wand, as well as Guanyin, the celestial being of Mercy, and Jin, a youngster on Earth, who he thinks is his guide to locating the fourth sutra.

Guanyin arrives to meet Wei-Chen on Earth. She advises him to make friends with Jin. Thereafter, she comically leads a normal immigrant aunt’s life on Earth.

Jin’s mother advises Jin to speak to the coach and to stand up for himself. At school, Jin seems to want to avoid Wei-Chen and even gives back the present he gave him.

The school’s cultural group decides to revolt against Jin’s meme clip. This is embarrassing for Jin who simply wants everybody to forget about the clip. Elsewhere, Jin’s dad tries to get along with his boss. However, even when he does get along, he learns that his boss can’t promote him because his boss is retiring.

Back at school, Wei-Chen reveals to the crowd that Greg was the one who recorded the video. Greg then informs Jin that he is going to speak with the coach on Jin’s behalf because he thinks he is a fantastic player. Jin is aware that he is being used because his video was perceived as a bullying act. Jin chooses to speak with the coach directly, and he is able to convince him of his abilities. Additionally, he ends up promising that he’ll help set up the equipment area.

Wei-Chen decides to assist Jin with organizing the equipment room. Wei-Chen, however, is overly powerful, and in just a few minutes the entire room is a mess. It does, however, help Jin, as it causes the coach to pick him for a position.

Jin’s dad tells his mother about the situation, and the two of them argue once more. Jin’s mother suggests that Jin’s dad take over his boss’s position when he retires.

Later that day, Jin witnesses Wei-Chen and one of Sun Wukong’s pig-like men fighting. Following this, Wei-Chen makes an effort to persuade Jin to play the role of his guide.

The Episode Review

Even though each episode begins with a brief section of explanation, it can be challenging to identify the characters and understand what happened in each scene. People who are acquainted with the mythology are going to understand it better, and more easily compared to those who are not.

We learn that Gene Luen Yang chose to create the world within the Heavenly Realm as the tale progresses, a world which is based on his comic book.

It’s complicated but its offset by the show’s decision to dive directly into Jin’s school challenges. The show performs well in this area with some clever character-based humor.