You’ve probably already heard the biggest news yesterday on the Latinternet: after making a lot of noise and drawing plenty of attention to their noble cause, East WillyBreached its Kickstarter goal and will be able to fund its second season! In celebration, here’s the 3 best episodes of season 1!
Episode 3/6: Baseball’s Dead
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This episode’s pretty much about nothing, and that’s why it works. In a short, six episode season that basically serves as buildup to a Season 2 confrontation, the best moments in East WillyB so far have been when characters hang out, and we get to see the show’s themes in action. “Baseball’s Dead” examines, not just the characters’ conflicts with the changing neighborhood, but with the cultural differences between Latinos. Willie, the show’s protagonist, is a staunch Nuyorican baseball fan; Edgar, the Salvadorean artist, wants to watch soccer, and has to deal with being called Mexican all the time; Manny, influenced by the new residents of Williamsburg, wants to ditch sports all together; and Ceci, Willie’s sidekick, just wants to stay out of it and not be called out on her pale complexion. It’s funny, it’s smart, it’s real, it’s got a surprise punchline at the end…it’s probably my favorite episode of all.
Episode 4/6: Tommy’s Espalda
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…that is, next to this one. Maybe. This episode’s kind of a one-off, since these characters don’t feature much, but if East WillyB’s can claim to be a “gentrification comedy,” it can cite this episode as its best evidence. We get to see that the Puerto Ricans in the neighborhood have prejudices of their own, and a few more things in common with their new white neighbors than they might at first let on. (Tommy’s my favorite character.)
Episode 6/6: King of Bushwick
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A Machete reference. A 300 reference. The culmination of all the buildup so far. Lots of awesome male posturing. The entire cast on screen at once. The last name “Reyes” turning out to be an elaborate, season long pun. A promise for the second season…it’s a baldly a trailer for Season 2, but goddammit it works.
