This was a really, really fun episode! I loved it.
Cons:
Honestly can't think of any. This was a Bob-centric episode so we spent less time on the kids and Linda, but that was just as it should be.
Pros:
This is going to be a short review because honestly I think just listing things that made me smile is silly, and that's all this review is going to be.
Another cute episode!
Cons:
I feel like I've been saying this a lot about the subplots on this show of late, but there always seems to be a lack of climactic joke... like, in this one, a car is blasting annoying loud music, Bob is annoyed, then he recognizes one of the songs, and gets annoyed when the police finally shut the music off just as he's getting into it. And then they put the music back on, and the plot thread ends? I was kind of hoping there would be more with whatever the crime was, or something. Nothing wrong with what we got, just wish there had been a bit more.
Pros:
That said, in the subplot I did really like the trajectory of sad sack Bob being turned around and getting into something that was previously bumming him out, that always makes me smile, when he winds up being enthusiastic.
Our main plot features Louise's classmate Arnold wanting to get into the body-guarding business now that he's a green belt who can smash wood boards with his feet. In typical Louise fashion, she takes his initial pitch of her helping him with promo and escalates it to an absurd degree, leading to her and her siblings, along with Arnold and Rudy, sneaking into an abandoned old high school and then getting into conflict with real scary high school boys.
I suppose this is one of those episodes where I don't have a ton to say; I had a fun time as always. Maybe my favorite comedy beat was Louise telling her folks that they were going to a safe location for school reasons, and Bob wondering why she felt the need to emphasize they were going somewhere safe... that whole exchange made me chuckle! Having Louise for a daughter would be a fun challenge, I think.
8/10
Not sure why two episodes aired in the same week, but I'm not complaining!
Cons:
I feel like I say this a lot on this show, but could have used a bit of resolution on the subplot! Teddy figures out a way to say "lawnmower" by imitating Linda's voice, which was funny, but I wanted to hear him actually say it for the play!
Pros:
This was a Bob episode, and we got to dive into a bit of his psyche here. His father shows up with a kite that was bought after Bob's mom died, but that they never actually flew together. Time to correct that record with the kids! But when they go out to fly a kite, it gets away from Bob and sends him on a grand adventure, where he ends up teaming up with various bikers from the community that are helping him on his journey.
This was a super fun and inventive episode!
Cons:
I can't think of anything to complain about, honestly, I just want more of the vibes this episode was giving!
Pros:
Starting with the subplot briefly, we see Teddy taking care of butterflies in their chrysalises. He misses their hatching because he's in the bathroom, and then has a really hard time saying goodbye and letting them go. He eventually lets them fly free! This was just some good old fashioned Teddy goofiness. He gets weirdly invested in some bizarre thing, brings his personal life into the restaurant, ropes Bob and Linda into paying attention to it too. I liked that the drama/conflict of this subplot was focused entirely on Teddy's emotional turmoil. The butterflies were fine, nothing dramatic happened, but Teddy was Going Through It.
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.
Poor Tina! This was a really fun one.
Cons:
This so sort of random but is there... "discourse" about this show and how the Belchers used their children for unpaid labor? Like is it a little fucked up that they can't operate the restaurant without their three kids helping? I mean, I'm not actually mad at it or anything but it did occur to me that it's a little wild that these kids have to volunteer their time to the family business seemingly against their will. I think we think of that family business aspect when it comes to working on a farm or something but when it's a restaurant business it feels stranger to me, especially considering just how young they all are - Tina isn't even in high school!
Pros:
I did really love the joke where Bob and Linda debated having more kids so they could have some help running the restaurant. "Did they graduate? Are they in college? No... we can't afford that, right?" lol. I also liked Teddy roasting the restaurant by saying that things were starting to fall apart without the kids there to clean the menus and fill up the ketchups. Teddy is such a funny regular to have at the diner, he's so rude but you know he'd never ever consider going elsewhere.
Aww poor Bob lol.
Cons:
As always I find myself noticing the things that I wish the episode had, more than having problems with what was there - I feel like we haven't had something Gene-centric in a while and I was noticing that he didn't have a ton to do here!
Pros:
Whenever Mr. Fischoeder shows up you know it's going to be a truly weird time for everybody, and this episode was the epitome of that. There's a tortoise, it needs an official guardian, for some reason Bob is in the running along with a bunch of other strange figures from Fischoeder's social circle. There's something almost... sweet? About Fischoeder wanting to choose Bob for this task and give him $10,000 a year, and we never really get a punchline where it turns out Bob was the choice for some degrading reason or anything. It's kind of nice and seems genuine, as much as Fischoeder is capable of that.
Cons:
I honestly don't have anything to complain about in this one! I hope Linda's newfound half-aunt recurs in the show later on, that was fun!
Pros:
The kids and Bob had the subplots this week, and both were pretty fun! I loved that once again Tina is not being a spoil-sport about Louise's shenanigans, she also seems to understand that wandering around the slot machines is probably mostly harmless fun. And I loved that they "won" twelve dollars and had to get into negotiations with the old man who pulled the lever for them. They have this real kid energy of being genuinely enthused over things that really aren't that big or exciting.
A good summer vibes episode as things start heating up!
Cons:
I wish Tina had gotten to spend a bit more time with the people in her troop, I feel like she splintered off so quickly and was only with the two girls from the rival troop! That's a small detail, it's just that since we're in this environment with these characters, I could have used even more!
Cons:
I don't have complaints about this show usually, more like... potential missed opportunities. I thought the little through-line about Tina wanting a specific pencil holder could have had a funnier punchline than her just telling us that she broke it immediately. I wish we'd seen her using it or showing it off and then it had broken. Similarly in Bob and Linda's story, could have used a comedy beat about them having to re-do the spreadsheets or getting chastised by their accountant or something, just to round it up!
A cute episode! Not sure I'll have a ton to say...
Cons:
I feel like I say this every once in a while with this show, and we're just getting back after such a long hiatus, but I miss the school characters. We get this one sorta-friend of Louise's here, but I kept thinking of how fun it would be of the rest of the gang got pulled into the shenanigans and conspiracies. I hope we have an episode soon that's set during school.
Pros:
Linda and Bob are a good couple. The joke of Bob's character is that he's a bit of a sad sack but what I love about this show is that he's genuinely a goofy dad, too. I loved the bit at the beginning when the kids are like "wtf" about Bob consenting to the walk, and he's apologizing to his children for betraying them by going along with Linda's plan. And then when they're on the walk, when Linda is in pain because of her new shoes, he problem-solves at the expense of his own back, and then finds a cart and does a Mrs. Doubtfire impression to make Linda laugh. Their little banter about Bob leaving Linda for a new wife with better feet was so sweet too.
Eyyy we're back!
Cons:
I sort of wish the part of the episode actually at the symphony had been longer? Like, why not have the party be a reception directly before the orchestra is going to play, they've rehearsed it the "slow" way and Fischoeder is going to surprise them during the performance with the faster conducting, but then shenanigans occur... it just felt sort of weird pacing-wise to have the big scene be at the Fischoeder residence, and then cut to a different setting for the payoff of those plot points.
Going to rapid-fire this one, I'm on a bit of a time crunch today.
Cons:
I wasn't particularly interested in the Teddy subplot this week, it felt very paint by numbers to me... Teddy gets in too deep with some shenanigans, and then succeeds at the last second but only kinda sorta? I guess I wanted to see more of this secret society and maybe meet some fun and wild side characters that populate that world. Maybe we'll circle back to this concept another time and get some of that.
Pros:
The core plot this week involves Tina being volun-told to run an advice column in the school paper. She immediately tells her siblings that she's the anonymous advice-giver, but her big secret doesn't really lead to much at first, because nobody writes in. Then Louise, feeling bad for her sister, steals Tina's journal and uses it to fabricate messages from an insecure eighth grader. Linda gets roped in to making the messages sound more authentic.
Christmas chaos with the Belchers! I love it.
Cons:
It's another story where Louise has to learn not to be selfish, and give something up so someone else can have a good experience - I love this story, but I have seen it a bunch of times on this show. I almost wish Gene had been the one to bond with the puppy, since it was his chocolate misadventure that started the whole thing, and then we could have a Gene-centric plot, which almost never happens
Pros:
The basic conceit of this one is that the kids really want a handheld video game console of some sort, and Bob and Linda can't afford it, leading to a crestfallen Christmas morning. I loved the bit about the kids remembering all their super obvious hints to their parents, and then the parents remembering all their super obvious hints that it wasn't going to happen - but of course, Christmas hope rings eternal, and the kids don't listen to their parents when they talk...
Aww, sister episode!
Cons:
I thought the flashback about Linda and Gayle was kind of gilding the lily, this episode would probably have worked just lovely without that added context spelled out for us? I almost rather would have just had Gayle explain the story to the kids maybe with a bit of flashback happening then, rather than structuring it so that we saw it earlier, if that makes sense. A small nitpick!
Pros:
The basic premise here is just that Louise and Tina are fighting about their toys. But the real fight is about their roles in the family - Tina as the good responsible one, Louise as the mean brat. Louise resents that: she was being thoughtless with Tina's possessions, but she didn't mean to break her horse. Both of their feelings are really hurt because Tina thinks Louise thinks she's boring, and Louise thinks Tina thinks she's a screw-up. I liked that the outer surface of siblings fighting over their belongings was actually about a deeper insecurity in their relationship, that worked really well!
Aw, some bonding time for Bob and Louise! I love it!
Cons:
I think I could have used a final beat in the Teddy subplot to show him having turned around on the birthday party thing. Our final moment with him is him being bad at telling left from right and giving confusing instructions, but it didn't seem like he was ever reconciled to having the party thrown for him. Could have had some good comedy potential there, with either him turning around and being suddenly really enthusiastic, or him blowing up at Linda and storming out, and the others all continuing to have his party without him. Either way, something bigger might have been nice!
This was a lovely episode!
Cons:
Honestly, cannot think of anything I would want to change with this one!
Pros:
This episode does what I think Bob's Burgers is best at doing, which is mirroring some really silly ideas with the warmth and comfort of familiarity. We know these people, this community, and seeing them come together to make art for one another was honestly a balm to the soul? Sometimes this show doesn't quite live up to the promises it makes, so I was slightly worried that something would happen to interrupt the open mic night and we wouldn't actually get to see many of the performances, but no - we got a ton of great stuff, and it all felt very warm and cozy and like this is a real place with a real community of people who can come together to do something nice. Just really needed to see that on this day, I think!
Another fun one!
Cons:
There were SO much shenanigans in the kid's plot that I could have used slightly more shenanigans back at the diner with Linda's training to be a better eavesdropper! It was fun, what we got, but Bob and Teddy teaming up to tell Linda she sucks at something is a fun dynamic that we don't see as much, and I could have used even more of it.
Pros:
The main plot was just full of chaos from start to finish, and I loved it. Tina doesn't want to play this crazy cheese-throwing game, but she gets roped into it when she realizes she's the odd man out and everyone else is in it to win it. At first she's just the weak link on Jimmy Jr.'s team, but when everyone else on the team gets taken out by someone who's apparently some sort of cheese throwing prodigy... she becomes their last best hope! Throughout the episode, Tina makes it surprisingly far not getting knocked out, following advice from Louise about how to be sneaky and covert.
This was a fun one!
Cons:
I did like this episode, but I did think it was slightly lacking as a Halloween special - I like seeing the kids in their costumes and all the shenanigans that usually happen on Halloween night!
I also thought the Teddy subplot lacked a bit of pizzazz. I liked the setup for it - Teddy's been working on his grip strength with all these hand and wrist exercises, and when he sees that the restaurant is closed all morning, he decides to while away the time with a lot of his exercises so he can impress Bob. The part that was lacking from my perspective was the part after Teddy's hands cramp up. I feel like there could have been a few more jokes made around Teddy not being able to close his hands, other than just that he struggled to make a phone call.
A very fun episode!
Cons:
I think the kids' plot thread was my least favorite, though it had some good things too! For me, there's maybe a bit of repetitiveness with Louise's character that has been grating on me in recent seasons. I've seen a lot of stories now where Louise has an idea, she's being selfish about it, and then she decides to concede for the good of the group, because she does actually have a heart after all. It's a cute story, but sometimes I want Louise to lean in and be a lot more chaotic than she ends up being.
Pros:
That said, I did like seeing more of the school gang, and it's cute how the other kids did all follow along with Louise's plan until she finally releases them from the obligation. They still accomplish their stated goal of messing with the drone footage of the school, but they also get to do the silly fun thing they want to do as kids. I loved the Belcher children coming home and immediately showing it to their parents, knowing they won't get in trouble even though they were messing with something they shouldn't have been.