Awkwafina stars in the new Comedy Central show Awkwafina is Nora from Queens about a young 27-year-old navigating her way through Queens, New York. She still lives at home with her father and grandma and has dropped out of school. Nora attempts to do things that are expected of an adult, like getting a job and moving out, but she runs into countless relatable problems throughout her journey.
Awkwafina is taking the film world by storm as she continues to star in hits. It was only a matter of time before she was the star of her own show, here’s to more hilarity!
“I’m in heaven? That’s tight!” - Nora Lin, Episode 1
The first scene of the first episode opens with Nora Lin (Awkwafina) floating in the clouds, dressed in all white and looking angelic. She converses with a disembodied voice, who Nora mistakes for Laverne Cox (the voice IS Laverne Cox), but in the show, it’s God claiming she’s in heaven.
Instead of questioning any of this, asking how she died or becoming upset at the notion, Nora immediately responds with a light-hearted and excited, “that’s tight!” It sets a funny and carefree tone for the rest of the show, as Nora continues to speak with God until she eventually wakes up to her grandma yelling at her.
“Well then, move out! You don’t want to end up like Esther Wong, sleeping in the same room as her 89-year-old parents, it’s like a Chinese version of Willy Wonka.” - Grandma, Episode 1
Nora decides to move out of her dad and grandma’s house. They’re both happy to hear this, although her grandma steals the spotlight when she responds with this hilarious line. Along with the imagery and pop culture reference being funny, the quote is actually supportive in the scene. Nora had some concerns that they might not want her to move out, but they’re both immediately supportive of her choice.
Esther Wong is mentioned again by name in episode 6 and hopefully will continue to be a running joke throughout the series. Maybe this character can become similar to Bojack Horseman’s Erica, who is referenced by name every so often but never shown.
“Can you believe that Commutes suspended me? Because I broke ONE white girl’s collarbone?!” - Nora Lin, Episode 1
Nora needs money and decides to join Commutes, the show’s equivalent to ride-share services like Uber or Lyft. The audience is treated to a hilarious montage of different riders she totes around New York, but undeniably the funniest part is the last one.
Nora swerves the car as she talks to the passenger about the ukelele case she’s gripping tightly. The passenger yells at Nora to let her out of the car because of her erratic driving. As the passenger is getting out of the car, she is hit by a biker. The show then jump cuts to Nora talking with her roommate and delivering this quote.
“Blackjack! Why not call it Blackjill, right? Cause of women.” - Nora Lin, Episode 2
This episode sees Nora and her grandma (Lori Tan Chinn) travel to Atlantic City for a day. While her grandma and friends sit at the food court watching K-Pop dramas, Nora begins to play blackjack for the first time. She’s never played and begins her gambling life with this quote to the dealer who doesn’t react much.
Nora ends up explaining her own joke as she mumbles the “cause of women” and throws in an awkward laugh when she sees no one is responding to her. The delivery and matter of fact explanation make this quote so funny.
“Taye Diggs is following me, he’s hot. Wasn’t he married to Adele Dazeem?” - Grandma, Episode 3
Nora is surprised to hear that her grandma is social media savvy and has a Twitter account. Her grandma responds with the fact that Taye Diggs follows her and he’s hot. Then she asks Nora if he was married to Adele Dazeem, referencing the John Travolta flub of Idina Menzel’s name.
The funny part about this quote is that Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel were married, so the quote is true, despite the name flub. Nora knows exactly who her grandma is referencing and the audience is treated to them briefly yelling back and forth about the correct pronunciation.
“It’s like a Supreme drop, am I right?” - Nora Lin, Episode 4
This episode sees Nora trying to navigate adult responsibilities like cashing a check, re-opening a bank account, and waiting in line at the Social Security Office. The latter is when Nora drops this quote about how standing in a ridiculously long line that curves outside of the building is akin to a Supreme drop.
Nora references a recognizable phenomenon and pokes fun at the predicament she’s in. The quote is incredibly relatable as most people have had to wait in lines like this to provide endless paperwork to simply prove they are who they are.
“What even color is this?! And the texture?! I look like a hot f***ing Cheeto right now!” - Nora Lin, Episode 5
After a fight with her father, Nora decides she wants to rebel and, after a brief conversation with a woman (Natasha Lyonne), she decides to bleach her hair. The hairdresser hilariously tries to tell her it’s a bad decision, but Nora does it anyway.
The result is disastrous.
The big reveal leaves the hairdresser laughing and Nora unable to process what has happened. She brings up the bright orange color and frizzled texture and asks how her hair ended up looking like a Flaming Hot Cheeto.
“Hit me up on Facebook messenger!” - Daniel, Episode 5
Nora runs into an old friend (Jaboukie Young-White) as she tries to sneak into her cousin Edmund’s fancy apartment building. They’re both genuinely happy to see each other again. He even compliments her hair, which she laughs off because she knows it looks like a Flaming Hot Cheeto.
The conversation is cut short when he sees a man trying to go up to the apartment floors. He runs away, but tells Nora he wants to stay in touch saying he can only chat through Facebook messenger. Despite sounding so out of place, it is Daniel’s normal and matter of fact delivery that makes this quote work so well. Hopefully, he’ll pop up more as the show goes on.
“It’s my life. It’s my life.” “It’s bronzed poop.” - Nora Lin & Edmund, Episode 5
Nora finally gets to see Edmund’s (Bowen Yang) fancy apartment after not so subtly stalking him. Nora is drawn to a sculpture in his apartment, claiming that it is the embodiment of her life. And Edmund, deadpan, answers that the sculpture is literally bronzed poop.
Even after this, Nora feels inclined to lick the sculpture, despite Edmund’s exasperated pleas. Hearing that a sculpture you think describes your entire life is literally poop has got to be rough to hear, but Nora handles it well.
“Ohana!” “OH, SH*T!” - Wally & Sandy, Episode 6
In the 6th episode, we see Nora’s family preparing for her Aunt Sandy (Ming-Na Wen) to visit. Aunt Sandy is the (in some cases not so) exaggerated health nut of the family. Giving only an hour’s notice to when she will arrive they all leap into action to put out all the vitamins and probiotics she’s given them and hide all the candy and junk food usually around the house.
Sandy opens the door exclaiming “Ohana!” as a greeting to which Nora’s father, Wally (BD Wong), screams “Oh, Sh*t!” and throws a bag of candy behind his head. The alliteration makes it funny, and also the relatable exclamation when select family members make surprise visits.
