Ep 15. Keep 'em Separated

Jessica Huang is a stereotypical doting and overprotective mother. Her husband, Louis, is a hard-working man who owns a successful restaurant. The couple had three boys and moved from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida, in the late 1990s to open their restaurant. Their eldest son, Eddie, narrates the show.

In Keep 'em Separated, the Huang family is getting ready for Chinese New Year. Louis wants to bring in big crowds to show off his restaurant, but Jessica wants a quieter celebration with family and close friends. The two parents have different ideas of what's important for the holiday.

Eddie is struggling with algebra, while his mother won't stop bothering him about keeping his room clean ("no girlfriend wants to see a messy room"). He's become a little obsessed with Usher after hearing his new song on the radio, and he daydreams about being like Usher, being cool, and having a girlfriend.

Eddie's younger brothers, Emery and Evan, are dealing with their own problems: Emery has been feeling left out since Evan started his gifted and talented program, and Evan himself has been feeling like he doesn't quite fit in with the other kids.

At the restaurant, Louis's employees have been having a hard time working together recently. They're constantly bickering, and the tension is making it difficult for Louis to grow his business. When he tries to mediate, it only makes things worse.

Jessica decides to invite her sister, Connie, and her husband, Steve, over for dinner. The two couples always get along, but Jessica worries that her sister's son, Justin, may not fit in with the Huang boys. Justin is into anime, and Jessica fears that he'll be too weird for her sons.

As the family prepares for dinner, Eddie and Emery decide to rally around their mother's goal of having a quiet, intimate Chinese New Year. They plan to keep the guest list small, much to Louis's chagrin. Meanwhile, Evan talks to his father about feeling like he doesn't fit in with the other kids in his program. Louis reassures him that he's special, no matter what the other kids think.

At dinner, Jessica's fears that Justin won't fit in are quickly dispelled: he fits right in with the Huang boys. The adults talk about Louis's problem with his employees, and they all come to the realization that the employees need to be separated into different teams, each with their own responsibilities.

The night ends with the Huang family celebrating together, and Louis getting his employees to work more effectively. The theme of the episode is about sticking together as a family, but also acknowledging that sometimes people need to be kept separate to work effectively.