Ep 4. Success Perm

In the episode "Success Perm" of Fresh Off the Boat Season 1, the Huang family experiences contrasting feelings of success and failure. Jessica, Eddie's mom, receives a perm with surprising results. Her new hair look is an instant success and draws attention from everyone in town, increasing her popularity and opening new doors for her as a real estate agent.

However, this is hardly the case for her husband Louis, who is struggling to get his steakhouse off the ground. Despite his constant hard work, the business continues to face financial challenges and Louis feels downtrodden. Even the success of his wife's new hairstyle is not enough to lift his spirits.

Meanwhile, Eddie struggles to fit in at school. He is an outsider, estranged from any group and looking for ways to fit in. At one point he thinks he’s found his clique, thinking that he aced his school's spelling bee may have earned him a one-way ticket out of the clear blue loneliness. But later, there comes a point where he realizes that they’re only using him for his spelling prowess, and Eddie again finds himself friendless.

Jessica and Eddie find ways to numb themselves from the pain of failure by celebrating Jessica's unexpected success. Their way of celebrating? A dinner party at the steakhouse, where they use her social marketing skills to bring in a full house. But the success is short-term as Louis is still having trouble managing his finances.

Overall, the episode "Success Perm" takes a more nuanced approach in depicting success and failure, how these can, independently, affect members of the same family, the light and the dark rooms, and how a family should combat these emotions together.