One of our favorite shows here at Dave and Thomas Inc. is HBO’s dark comedy series Eastbound and Down. Maybe it’s because the show strikes a nerve with it’s twisted, Southern Gothic humor. Maybe it’s just that the main character, Kenny Powers, is the most messed up, twisted and hateful lead character on TV.
I like to think of Eastbound and Down as the Bad News Bears on crack. C’mon! Who wouldn’t want to get on board that ride?
Season 1 saw the baseball cult-figure Kenny (Danny McBride) being humiliated after learning his ticket to the majors was just not happening. Instead of facing the issue, Powers does what you expect him to do and runs off and goes into hiding. He leaves behind his friends and family to take up a new life in Mexico, or as Kenny calls it, The Butthole of America
In the first few minutes of Chapter 7 we see Powers engaging in cockfighting, drunkenly shooting guns, snorting drugs and tossing money on a naked hooker. Looks like Powers hasn’t mellowed at all since we last saw him.
Basically, Kenny’s new life consists of being called Stephen Janowski (Season 1 fans will get that joke) and putting his hair in cornrows. His main source of income is cockfighting (you expected anything else?) with the help of a mean, knife-wielding midget and he is still the racist Kenny he was in Season 1.
But no matter how hard he tries, Kenny Powers cannot escape the draw of baseball. After his cock. Big Red, dies in a match and his partners leave him high and dry, Powers turns to the local baseball team to get his life back. His only way to get out of the darkest period of his life is the accept who is he and do what he does best. And that’s pitching.
Chapter 7 flows at a great pace and fits nicely into the world of Kenny Powers. I miss some of the regulars from Season 1 like Powers busty love interest April and his drug dealing pal Clegg but the prospect of Powers in Mexico easily outweighs that problem. Here’s a quick recap of Chapter 7 to get you all caught up.
