Welcome to TV Recap, in which we look at modern shows and analyze them on an episode-to-episode basis. This one focuses on the cartoon sitcom Bob's Burgers, a very funny show that is capable of rivaling old school Simpsons in terms of irreverent humor and off the wall zaniness. With a cast of modern alternative comedian heroes, the story follows the Belchers as they run a burger joint. Join me as I take part in dissecting the show in its first full season. Check back on Tuesdays for the next exciting installment.
Following the last episode which saw Bob's Burgers hit their closest stride yet to The Simpsons, the show goes further into an odd direction that is full of great moments alongside questionable ones. Overall, the episode falls into a nice niche that neither sees the show at its best nor at its worst. To say the least, it is one that will likely not be remembered further down the line. Still, it is great to see Bob (Jon Benjamin) finally reach his happy place at the risk of his family.
The episode opens with Bob getting a letter about being rejected from the community garden. It has been his dream to have access there so that he can grow organic food for his restaurant. He is so full of passion that he decides to go down there in person to ask why he was rejected. It turns out that it is run by Cynthia (Lindsey Stoddart), whom he has had an uncomfortable past with. When he decides to barter by letting her son Logan (Kurt Baunohler) work at the restaurant, he finally gets to live his dream.
However, this only causes problems for everyone else. Louise (Kristen Schaal) is very upset that she has to work alongside Logan, who is her mortal enemy. Meanwhile Tina (Dan Mintz) tries to get advice about boys from Logan. Linda (John Roberts) hates Cynthia, who regularly stops by and decides to interfere with too much. The claim is that Logan needs this for credits to get into a summer camp program. With Bob trying to figure out a way to keep everybody happy, he makes Logan an Employee of the Month.
This upsets Louise more and causes her to shoot spitballs at him from within the crawlspace. Things continue to go downhill when Cynthia confronts Linda. She tries to call off the deal with Bob, who is eagerly trying to please both forces. Louise ends up cutting up the plants from the community garden. At that moment, Bob realizes what he has done wrong and decides that it was worth the sacrifice. He ends up growing the plants in a window upstairs.
Rating: 3 out of 5
There is nothing inherently wrong with the episode. In fact, it hits all of the familiar beats with plenty of the solid humorous moments. However, there isn't anything necessarily exciting or interesting about it for the most part. Sure, Logan is a detestable character in the constructs of the series, but he doesn't do too many things out of the norm. In fact, he is a very relaxed person in this particular execution in a way that doesn't necessarily feel interesting. It bodes the question why we should care that Bob wants to be in that garden so much.
While I will admit that Bob often gets short changed in most episodes, it seems odd that this would be his call to act differently. He isn't really one to think so insular about situations. Still, to see him happy is a nice change of pace for the show. It creates an interesting dichotomy in which he sacrifices family for, in a sense, business in ways that don't pan out. In the closing scene, he even references the garden as his babies in front of Louise, who is technically his real life baby. There's some hard hitting poignancy there that gives the otherwise fluffy episode some interesting subtext.
The one redeeming feature of this episode is that it features the show's strongest song number in quite some time. With the juxtaposition between the family dynamic annoyed with Logan and Bob in a blissful state, the lyrics manage to capture what's best about the show. It may be unfiltered and raw for the most part, but it does come away feeling like an earnest interpretation of everything it does. This song in particular has a lot of quality writing to it yet never really feels like more than a company production. I like its unpolished nature and the way that it progresses story is fascinating.
Otherwise, I don't know if I necessarily find a lot to enjoy about this episode. It hits all of the familiar beats that we've already come to expect from Bob's Burgers. Logan is a nice touch, though serves as nothing more than another random character who stopped by for an episode. I don't hate it and feel that the song goes miles towards giving the show some credibility. Still, I don't feel like there's much that stands out other than Bob being happy and sacrificing once again his joy in order to benefit his family.
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