Bob's Burgers: Don't Worry, Be Hoopy (15x18)

Another Tina-centric episode! Interesting to have two in a row.

Cons:

I could have used a punchline to Teddy's involvement in the episode. He's afraid of how steep and high up the bleachers are, and I kept waiting for him to fall, or for him to bravely descend the steps and make a big deal about not falling, or something. But instead, nothing really came of it? He stood up to wave his foam finger and then sat down because he was too scared. Not much going on there.

Pros:

I love the episodes where we go into each of the character's minds and get a different version of the story, they're always so fun. This one's theme was anxiety, about parenting and about doing hard things and being brave. It felt very realistic to me that while Bob and Linda were both stressing out that their bad pep talks had gotten into Tina's head, the reality was that she hadn't even really been listening to them at all, and her own stresses tied back to an earlier instance with ballet from when she was little.

It was funny to see both Bob and Linda's disaster scenarios: one, that Tina would learn the lesson that nothing in the world matters so she should never try, and the other that she'd think winning was the most important thing and the only way she'd ever be worthy of love. The joke of saying "hi, forty-three year old Tina" as the characters aged was funny, and I loved Tina becoming a rich and successful athlete but only at throwing free throws, not at basketball in general. The idea of that being a new Olympic sport tickled me.

Tina's conversation with her younger self was very sweet. As young Tina is trying to convince her to fake an injury to get out of doing the competition, current Tina realizes that she needs to face her anxiety and go out there and do the thing! The episode ends, appropriately enough, just as she's throwing the first basket "granny style", so we don't know how well she does. That's not the point! The point, as Bob tried to tell her, is that she go out there and give it a try.

I hope we can have a Gene or Louise-centric episode soon, since we've had a few this season mostly focused on Tina!

 8/10