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"Dribbling Tiger, Bounce Pass Dragon" is the twelfth episode of the first season of Fresh Off the Boat. It first aired on April 14, 2015.
Synopsis[]
Louis and Jessica get pressured into volunteering at the kids' schools because of budget cuts. Eddie sees a whole other side of his dad when Louis - a former semi-pro basketball player back in Taiwan - coaches the basketball team, while Emery and Evan see a side of Jessica they wish they hadn't when she grudgingly takes on producing their school play, and puts her own spin on it.
Plot[]
This section needs a rewrite |
Principal Thomas has called Jessica and Louis over to Palms Elementary School to inform them that they haven't volunteered for any extra-curricular activities. Plus the school relies on parents to supervise since they have major cutbacks on their school budget. The two refused to do it since their busy with their own jobs. So Principal Thomas suggests as an alternative solution, they can donate money. And this immediately changes their minds.
The two arrive back home to inform the boys of the news. Jessica has been put in charge of the school play at Palms Elementary. Evan and Emery are happy to hear that since they are in it. But Jessica isn't pleased to hear that and tells them they will never make a living of being an actor. She even tells them a story of a "little girl" (Jessica) who never got a Sparkle Time Beauty Horse as a kid and instead got a strong work ethic and being the first in the family to go to college. Meanwhile, Louis is in charge of coaching Eddie's basketball team after school. This excites Eddie as they haven't had a real coach since his friend Trent doesn't do much. Louis even tells him that he used to be a point guard in the "Mystic Tiger League" in Taiwan. Eddie imagines how that played out back then, and figures that with his dad coaching him, it will be an amazing experience.
The next day was Jessica's first day directing for the school play. But as soon as she arrives, she is heavily disgusted on what she sees on stage. Principal Thomas explains to her that the play is called "The Sunflower Gang Goes to Yumland". All the characters have an equal amount of lines and even the cast is well diverse. But the problem is that the rehearsal is mostly just the kids running around having fun and saying a bunch of random sentences that are either hard to understand, or don't add up. She even finds out there are other adults in charge of the play but they don't do much other than reading, or even playing Tetris.
At Abraham Lincoln Middle School, Eddie tries to hype up his friends about his dad playing basketball in the past. Louis then comes along and starts off practice with some drills. He wanted them to do the drill: "The Bounce Pass Dragon". While it may sound awesome at first, but really it was just them passing the ball back and forth 200 times. This confuses the others and Eddie is heavily embarrassed, so he talks to his dad on why isn't he teaching them something cool. He claims he is teaching them what he has learn back in Taiwan and wants them to learn the fundamentals and working as a team in basketball. He also claims that being cool isn't what's important, its being a good teamate. When the two arrive back to practice again, Walter and Doug are having an argument on who should wear goggles while they play. Louis tries to settle this down, but Eddie takes in charge instead...and he proceeds to start chanting for the two of them to fight.
Back at the school play, Jessica tries to talk to the other parents and tried to denounce acting and even asking if this was a waste of time. But one parent claims his family was happy with the dreams he pursued and got to do the temp track for a movie. Another parent didn't bother to pay attention to her and only cared about her game. Jessica finally had enough of the play when she found out what Evan and Emery's roles were. (The two were dressed up as stars and both acted like a dog and a cat).
Back at the middle school, Louis was showing off the new shorts that they will be wearing with their uniforms. But they weren't happy with it, even Dave wasn't, since his legs were very pale and people can see it now. All of a sudden, their star player Dimitri comes in. This confuses Louis since he looked and sounded much older, and he wasn't at practice. The boys explained that he is truly 11 1/2 years old and he doesn't need to practice since he performs well at games. Louis tried to tell them they can't rely on one person to carry them. But sure enough, Dimitri was able to carry the team to victory. While everyone was happy about their win, Louis was not.
At night, Jessica and Louis have a talk with one another about their experience. Louis wants the boys on the team to learn about teamwork but all they care about is winning and looking cool. Jessica understands, and even admits that she is re-writting the school play so that way she can teach the kids something important in life.
The next day during practice, Dimitri was signing some autographs to some fans while the others were talking amongst themselves. Louis comes in and tells them they will be doing some drills. Louis also tries to lecture the team about good sportsmanship and how to work as team. But before he could finish his sentence, Dimitri takes the ball from Louis and makes a basket, causing the others to cheer. Louis starts to get annoyed and tries to lecture the team about blocking, but Dimitri makes another basket without Louis doing much or even finishing his sentence. Louis now filled with envy and rage, asks Eddie to hold his whistle...but Walter takes it since he's right next to him.
At the school play, Jessica ended up cutting the majority of the kids from the play. Leaving only Evan, Emery, and a kid dressed up as a gumdrop as the stars of the show. The play was re-written to denounce acting and to convince the kids that pursuing a career as a doctor or lawyer is better. Evan and Emery's roles were changed to have them as a ladybug, and a sunflower respectively. The two weren't so pleased with the change, especially since Jessica took out a few good parts.
Back at practice, Dimitri continued to make dunks on a very exhausted and sweaty Louis with his teamates cheering him on. Louis now completely pass his breaking point, decides to charge at Dimitri and injures him in the process. Dimitri can no longer play for the rest of the season, but Louis assures Eddie and his friends that they can still win by working together as a team. He even tries to explain about a team back in Taiwan who were a bunch of misfits, but they were able to work as a team and became unstoppable...though Eddie points out that's The Mighty Ducks movie plot. But either way, the team agrees to work together. But by half-time, they were getting crushed.
Back at Palms Elementary, the play continues according to Jessica's plan. Now Mr. Gumdrop is homeless due to his acting career being a flop, while Evan and Emery now have successful careers as a lawyer and a doctor. They see Mr. Gumdrop and try to help him out but they can't do much. Principal Thomas comes in shocked and confused on why the play is different. Jessica explains to her why their out and why she decided to take the play to a new direction. Principal Thomas tried to tell her that the play is just for fun and there has also been complaints about the changes. Jessica then accuses a girl with a lisp for tattle-tailing, to which she apologizes and Jessica explains to the principal what she had to go through.
Back at the game, Louis told the team that there is a mercy-rule and they can forfeit the game and go to a resturant instead of playing. He even is deciding to throw in the towel and quit being a coach. All of Eddie's friends were fine with this except for Eddie himself. He tells the others that they can't quit and need to work together to beat their opponents. But even though their isn't anyway they can win, Eddie claims that's not the goal. The real goal is to beat their opponents' best player by making him falter in everyway possible. This lead to the team to break the record with the most fouls in a single game. The referee kicks out Louis and he proceeds to do so in style.
The family and the team celebrates at Cattleman's Ranch. And Louis is happy that while they didn't win, they finally worked as a team. Evan and Emery even expressed to Jessica that they don't want to be a part of the play anymore and would rather study. Jessica was also pleased to hear that and let's them go off to study. While the two were happy for finally lecturing their boys, Louis also claims that its good they work so hard to give their sons a good oppurtunity to do things. He even mentions that while they didn't have the same opportunity, could it have been nice if they have gotten the same thing they got. Jessica gets upset by this since all she wanted was that Sparkle Time Beauty Horse and describes what she would have done with it. But she gets really upset to the point that she slams her fist on the table. But in the end, she realizes that she shouldn't be extremely harsh on the boys and decides to revert the play back to its original script.
The final scene has the family watching a sitcom on TV until Louis comes in with a Sparkle Time Beauty Horse as a surprise gift! Jessica happily cuddles with the human face horse and doesn't mind that its burning her skin.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Randall Park as Louis Huang
- Constance Wu as Jessica Huang
- Hudson Yang as Eddie Huang
- Forrest Wheeler as Emery Huang
- Ian Chen as Evan Huang
Recurring Cast[]
- Lucille Soong as Jenny Huang (credited as Grandma Huang)
- Prophet Bolden as Walter Stone
- Evan Hannemann as Dave Selby (credited as Barefoot Dave)
- Trevor Larcom as Trent Masterson
- Connor Rosen as Doug (credited as Bed-Wetter Doug)
- Eddie Huang as Narrator (voice)
Guest Cast[]
- Maria Bamford as Principal Thomas
- Amanda Lund as Vanessa
- Cole Sand as Gumdrop
- Angela Durante as Bird Kid
- Wally Schrass as Dmitri
- Kal Bennett as Sabrina
- Bill Lee Brown as Referee
- John Ciccolini as Vinny
- Emily Ann Kelavos as Unicorn Girl
- Clinton Valencia as Worm Kid
- Danny Le Boyer as Taiwanese Player #1
- Arnold Chon as Taiwanese Player #2
- Kyle Weishaar as Kobra Center
- Jack Abrams as Basketball Player #22 (uncredited)
- Masha Malinina as School Girl (uncredited)
- April Marshall-Miller as Ice Cream Girl (uncredited)
- George Todd McLachlan as Basketball Player (uncredited)
- Bella Rochelle as Student (uncredited)
- Eric Shackelford as Assistant Coach with Camera (uncredited)
- Jake Shaw as School Boy / Basketball Player #5 (uncredited)
- Jun Wang as Taiwanese Basketball Player (uncredited)
Trivia[]
- The title of this episode is a reference to the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Quotes[]
Principal Thomas: We've been looking through our records, and we noticed that you haven't volunteered for any extracurricular activities. Jessica: Why... why would we do that? Principal Thomas: Mrs. Huang, our school budget has experienced major cutbacks. We rely on parents to supervise our after-school programs. Jessica: Well, I'm sorry. We're busy with our own after-school programs. They're called jobs. Louis: Uh, what my wife means is she has her real estate career, and I have my steakhouse. Look, we can't volunteer. Is there anything else we can do? Principal Thomas: Well, you can donate money. Louis and Jessica: How do we volunteer? |
Louis: I'm gonna tell you guys a story about a team back in Taipei. They were a band of ragtag misfits from all over corners of town. Some of them were too small. Others too big. One of them was a girl. But they worked together, developed a play called "The Flying V" and became unstoppable! Eddie: Isn't that The Mighty Ducks? Louis: Um... I don't know what you're talking about. Eddie: We rented it last weekend. We were hit with a rewind fee, and you're like, "I will not pay a rewind fee for The Mighty Ducks!" Louis: Mm, not ringing a bell. Look, the point is, you guys are ready for this. You have all the training you need, so let's go out there and let's win one for Charlie Sheen's brother! |
Gallery[]
Episodes
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Fresh Off the Boat – Season One | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode 1 "Pilot" |
Episode 2 "Home Sweet Home-School" |
Episode 3 "The Shunning" |
Episode 4 "Success Perm" |
Episode 5 "Persistent Romeo" |
Episode 6 "Fajita Man" |
Episode 7 "Showdown at the Golden Saddle" |
Episode 8 "Phillip Goldstein" |
Episode 9 "License to Sell" |
Episode 10 "Blind Spot" |
Episode 11 "Very Superstitious" |
Episode 12 "Dribbling Tiger, Bounce Pass Dragon" |
Episode 13 So Chineez |
Fresh Off the Boat – Season Two | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode 1 "Family Business Trip" |
Episode 2 "Boy II Man" |
Episode 3 "Shaquille O'Neal Motors" |
Episode 4 "The Fall Ball" |
Episode 5 "Miracle on Dead Street" |
Episode 6 "Good Morning Orlando" |
Episode 7 "The Big 1-2" |
Episode 8 "Huangsgiving" |
Episode 9 "We Done Son" |
Episode 10 "The Real Santa" |
Episode 11 "Year of the Rat" |
Episode 12 "Love and Loopholes" |
Episode 13 "Phil's Phaves" |
Episode 14 "Michael Chang Fever" |
Episode 15 "Keep 'Em Separated" |
Epsiode 16 "Tight Two" |
Episode 17 "Doing It Right" |
Episode 18 "Week in Review" |
Episode 19 "Jessica Place" |
Episode 20 "Hi, My Name Is..." |
Episode 21 "Rent Day" |
Episode 22 "Gotta Be Me" |
Episode 23 "The Manchurian Dinner Date" |
Episode 24 "Bring the Pain" |
Fresh Off the Boat – Season Three | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode 1 "Coming from America" |
Episode 2 "Breaking Chains" |
Episode 3 "Louisween" |
Episode 4 "Citizen Jessica" |
Episode 5 "No Thanks-giving" |
Episode 6 "WWJD: What Would Jessica Do?" |
Episode 7 "The Taming of the Dads" |
Episode 8 "Where are the Giggles?" |
Episode 9 "How to Be an American" |
Episode 10 "The Best of Orlando" |
Episode 11 "Clean Slate" |
Episode 12 "Sisters Without Subtext" |
Episode 13 "Neighbors with Attitude" |
Episode 14 "The Gloves Are Off" |
Episode 15 "Living While Eddie" |
Episode 16 "Gabby Goose" |
] | |||
Episode 17 "The Flush" |
Episode 18 "Time to Get Ill" |
Episode 19 "Driving Miss Jenny" |
Episode 20 "The Masters" |
Episode 21 "Pie vs. Cake" |
Episode 22 "This Is Us" |
Episode 23 "This Isn't Us" |
Fresh Off the Boat – Season Four | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode 1 "B as in Best Friends" |
Episode 2 "First Day" |
Episode 3 "Kids" |
Episode 4 "It's a Plastic Pumpkin, Louis Huang" |
Episode 5 "Four Funerals and a Wedding" |
Episode 6 "A League of Her Own" |
Episode 7 "The Day After Thanksgiving" |
Episode 8 "The Vouch" |
Episode 9 "Slide Effect" |
Episode 10 "Do You Hear What I Hear?" |
Episode 11 "Big Baby" |
Episode 12 "Liar Liar" |
Episode 13 "The Car Wash" |
Episode 14 "A Man to Share the Night With" |
Episode 15 "We Need to Talk About Evan" |
Episode 16 "Ride the Tiger" |
Episode 17 "Let Me Go, Bro" |
Episode 18 "Measure Twice, Cut Once" |
Episode 19 "King in the North" |
Fresh Off the Boat – Season Five | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode 1 "Fresh Off the RV" |
Episode 2 "The Hand That Sits the Cradle" |
Episode 3 "Working the 'Ween" |
Episode 4 "Driver's Eddie" |
Episode 5 "Mo' Chinese Mo' Problems" |
Episode 6 "Sub Standard" |
Episode 7 "Where Have All the Cattlemen Gone?" |
Episode 8 "Cousin Eddie" |
Episode 9 "Just the Two of Us" |
Episode 10 "You've Got a Girlfriend" |
Episode 11 "Driver's Eddie 2: Orlando Drift" |
Episode 12 "Legends of the Fortieth" |
Episode 13 "Grand-Mahjong" |
Episode 14 "Cupid's Crossbow" |
Episode 15 "Be a Man" |
Episode 16 "Trentina" |
Episode 17 "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" |
Episode 18 "Rancho Contento" |
Episode 19 "Vice Mommy" |
Episode 20 "Nerd Watching" |
Episode 21 "Under the Taipei Sun" |
Episode 22 "No Apology Necessary" |
Fresh Off the Boat – Season Six | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode 1 "Help Unwanted?" |
Episode 2 "College" |
Episode 3 "Grandma's Boys" |
Episode 4 "S'Mothered" |
Episode 5 "Hal-Lou-Ween" |
Episode 6 "Chestnut Gardens" |
Episode 7 "Practicum?!" |
Episode 8 "TMI: Too Much Integrity" |
Episode 9 "Lou Wants to Be a Millionaire" |
Episode 10 "Jessica Town" |
Episode 11 "A Seat at the Table" |
Episode 12 "The Magic Motor Inn" |
Episode 13 "Mommy and Me" |
Episode 14 "Family Van" |
Episode 15 "Commencement" |