Bob's Burgers: Wharf, Me Worry? (14x08)

Aww, an episode about the kids' grandpa! That's a fun concept.

Cons:

I don't have a ton to say in the "con" category here, to be honest. The gift of this show is that if certain characters take the a backseat, we know we'll see a bigger focus on them soon enough. So the kids didn't have a TON of character moments in this episode, it was really mostly about Bob's feelings with his dad, but that's okay because we'll get back to the youngsters more in another episode!

Pros:

I guess I'll start with the subplot here: Linda helps Teddy back at the restaurant to take an actually good picture of himself to advertise his business online. I loved the comedy of both Bob and Linda grimacing in horror when they'd seen the pictures he'd taken so far. He's holding a hammer and it looks like he's a serial killer, not a handyman! This is deeply relatable to me as a person who is bad at getting my picture taken! The bit with the woman in the diner who was shown example pictures was funny too. She tried to push back against her instincts, but yeah, based on what she was seeing of Teddy, she wasn't about to let him into her house alone. In the end, the key to success proves to be to snap a picture of Teddy right after he's taken a bite of a burger! I thought that was sweet, a way of focusing in on the fact that Teddy is their most regular customer and really gets some true happiness out of the food and company.

Then the main plot: Bob's father, the kids' grandpa, takes them for a day at the wharf. It's sweet how excited the kids are to go, since a day at the wharf isn't exactly a super rare occurrence for them. But they're excited for some fun grandpa time! Bob is concerned, however, because his father is very doom and gloom about the world, constantly talking about how everything is falling apart and how we should be bracing ourselves for the worst to come. Bob doesn't want this attitude to infect his children, and have them become pessimistic and down-trodden about the state of their futures!

While at the wharf, Grandpa sends the kids off on their own with some cash, and they quickly get themselves into some shenanigans by finding the booth with the camera in it that controls the talking clam statue, on display to tell people's fortunes. The kids have fun for a while yelling out at passers-by, but when they go to leave, they find that the door has been jammed and they're stuck inside!

Bob comes to the wharf to check up on the situation, worried about what his dad might be saying to the kids, and eventually he finds where they've run off to, and after a long struggle, manages to get the door open and free them! He uses the talking clam to have an honest conversation with his own father about his behavior, and Bob Sr. actually ends up saying that his grandkids are one of the only thing that actually gives him hope about the future, despite all the reasons there are to feel pessimistic.

It's quite sweet, and also delightfully absurd, that Bob has a real and meaningful exchange with his father here, but only through the lens of a talking clairvoyant clam statue at an amusement park on the wharf.

So that's that! A really cute episode, with a focus on a character we don't get to see a lot. I did wonder, though, watching this, why no Thanksgiving-themed episode this year! Maybe there will be a late one next week?

9/10