Bob's Burgers: The Twinnening (16x03)

A cute Halloween-themed episode!

Cons:

I know the premise of the subplot was that Bob and Linda couldn't get into the "Cakes" show but I still would have loved to see a bit of the performance of it. I think it's so funny, this concept of a touring Patty-Cake based act that is wildly popular and hard to get into. I want to go to one in real life, tbh.

Pros:

Sticking with the subplot for a moment, I liked seeing Bob at his enthusiastic best. It's always fun to see him getting swept up in a fandom or genuine love of something strange and specific. It's the counterpoint to his sort of mopey demeanor and saves him from being just this one-note miserable put-upon character type. There's this specific type of excited that Bob can get, where he's just overwhelmed to be in the presence of someone from this show, and the comedy comes in part from the fact that this is objectively not that big of a deal and Bob is acting like he's meeting an angel or something. And Linda reporting to us that Bob failed on the high five was really funny too! They didn't get to see the show, but I still think the Belchers had a lovely date night.

The main plot involves Teddy doing some work for the new shop next door, a spooky antiques dealer. There's an evil twin, a cursed mask, a scarred alter, and poor Teddy alone in the dark trying to install a pin lock that he's not really sure how to do. The situation isn't helped by Louise on the phone next door, fueling Teddy's paranoia that something spooky and dangerous is going on.

I liked the setup of this one a lot: it's been a while since the plot has involved whatever new business is going up next to the Belchers. That's a fun device that they could utilize more! I also like how kid-like Louise's behavior is in scenarios like these. The thing is, she's having fun getting all hyped up over the possible spookiness of what Teddy is going through, but then she's also taking it seriously in that little-kid way where she convinces herself and her siblings that there's real danger and that they need to go over there and save Teddy.

The comedy bit of Teddy being his bumbling self with the twins coming to the door, but then also actually sticking to his guns and not caving and opening the door was great, and then the reveal of the person getting wheeled in with the delivery was fantastic!

This was a fun one overall. Probably not going to go down as one of the classic Bob's Burgers Halloween episodes, but I had a good time.

8/10