We’re now in the Spring season of the year with the movie now only two months away. And let’s be real here, ladies and gentlemen, regarding the tweet that Kristen Schaal sent out last week regarding an Easter egg that could play a huge role in the upcoming film and everyone and their mother already pinpointed at the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. Like no, seriously, ever since...I think what I heard is that “Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid”, the Thanksgiving episode from almost two years ago, is when you started to notice that is off regarding the sidewalk, each passing episode from last season, and going into this season is starting to fall to shit.
Is it due to poor infrastructure? Well, knowing that we’re one of the richest countries in the world and we can’t even seal a single crack to save a mother’s back, it’s possible. The shark incident from Season 3 on the other hand...it’s not out of the table. We’ll have to wait and see once May hits as for now, we’ll continue to see the sidewalk continue to deteriorate even more as the season progresses. To the point where at least someone should notice about the issue. Just pray that the whole issue regarding everything that’s been going on in the news as of late doesn’t escalate into nuclear war and possibly the end of the world. I just wanna see the movie and if that’s the case, Disney, FOX, you might as well release the movie right away.
Hoping to get the fear of nuclear annihilation out of our system, in this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, even more military talk with the Belchers visiting a naval ship to attend Teddy’s reunion with his squad with Linda stepping in, rather intervene, helping Teddy out in my spoilerific review of the thirteenth episode of Season 12 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “Frigate Me Knot”.
So if you were to sum up the events that aspire in this week’s episode. Think of it as “Purple Rain-union” on a boat. That almost summarizes this episode with Teddy trying to struggle to stick around during his visit to an old naval yard with a ship that he, the Belchers, and the others are at is set to retire. And by “retire”, I mean destroying it because the ship has gotten old. Much like sending your car to the junkyard and well, smashed into pieces. Rather, smashed into a giant cube filled with metal, leather, and regret.
And much like with Linda back in Season 4 with her high school reunion, they can be a bitch. But unlike Linda where she didn’t overperform her rival band during the school’s talent show and had to wait for 1/4 of a century to get a redo, Teddy on the other hand is mostly him having a nickname after one incident...after another while being stationed overseas. Yeah, it’s not a pleasant experience for Teddy and we’ll know what’s the haps and also taking a stroll on the S.S. Burger Boat, this is “Frigate Me Knot”.
And it didn’t even take a full minute for Teddy to get into a situation himself after getting a letter from the Navy and telling his problems to the Belchers over at the restaurant. And no, it’s not a letter for him to answer the call to service. Or even drafted to get into action. That only works for young adults, especially the males, around the 18-26 age range. Mostly because the US hasn’t even done a draft since the end of the Vietnam War following countless anti-war protests. Though knowing the current climate that’s been clouding over our 2022 plans...I know that they’re not planning to reinstate the draft but knowing where this road is heading while driving around a mountain with no guard rails, being knocking on WWIII’s doorstep...yeah, that’s something no one wants to encounter.
But no, it’s not a call to service. But rather telling him that a naval ship is being decommissioned and he got invited to celebrate. Think of it as a mini-reunion with his old shipmates before the boat gets decommissioned. And by that, I mean retired. And by “retired”, I mean, according to Teddy, they’ll blow up the ship with torpedoes from another ship and put it out of its misery. And no, it’s not going to be as emotional as...I don’t know, One Piece at the end of the Enies Lobby arc where the Straw Hats decided to decommission the Going Merry because at the start of that arc, the ship was pretty much at its last leg. That’s pretty much this ship that Teddy is being invited to attend, minus the emotions despite the memories being shared between shipmates. But it looks like Teddy at the start of the episode doesn’t seem too interested in attending the big event.
What happened when entering flashback mode where we see a young Teddy in a sailor uniform and mopping the floors of the ship. And if you think that because he’s been busy cleaning that the captain of the squadron didn’t see the floor because of a lack of a wet floor sign and caused him to fall injured with a broken back? Well, that ain’t it. What really happened is that when Teddy saw the captain walking by and gives him a salute because he have to since he (the captain) is his superior and you have to show some respect. What’s not respectful was Teddy accidentally slipping off the boat. And you’re probably saying right now when seeing that moment being unfolded with Teddy being slipped overboard is nothing more than an accident. Just a normal accident. You know, just brush it off and make sure he looks before he...well, stuff. But it wasn’t a one-and-done incident for Teddy while on the boat. Try slipping two times and being rescued two times, thus resulting in Teddy getting the nickname “Double Dip.” A nickname that haunts him for a long time since being discharged and wasn’t even brought up until...well, right now with Teddy with the letter that he got.
But oh no, we can’t have Teddy take all the venting that he needed to spill with his story of how he ended up with a nickname and how he got ridiculed. Because Linda once went through that in her flashback with her watching a horror movie with some friends, sorry “friends” as Linda described for a sleepover. And knowing horror movies back in the day, mostly in the 80s since Linda was a teen back in that decade known as the “non-wussy years” of horror films with figures like Michael Myers, Freddy Kruger, Jason Vorhees. Those guys. This one is one of any of the random movies and everyone got some jump scares during certain scenes but one scene spooked Linda so hard that she thinks that she pooped herself. Which is pretty much what some people think when seeing a murder scene happening. You know, the whole “so scary that you’ll shit yourself.” Well, Linda may have taken that literally and thinks that she shit herself and believes that she felt some poop coming out, only to find out that she actually shit herself and ends up becoming a joke for the night. Sure, the scars are there and that’s going to stick around for the rest of your life, or until you get back in return, but that’s not going to stop Linda to convince Teddy to get his big boy pants on and attending the event and even herself and the rest of the family to tag along as support. Only for Teddy to cave in and agrees to attend the event. Giving Teddy some confidence to himself by going to the event and also for the fans to finally get the family to go somewhere different and new.
Although...it didn’t take Teddy a full minute for his nickname to be brought up by his old crewmates once he and the Belchers arrive at the naval shipyard and already he wants to head back home as the scene changes from the entrance to the ship to the catering table with Teddy ready to eat his feelings away through crabcakes. And even though Teddy wants to head back home and pretend that this event doesn’t happen, Linda did have some point about him having a right to attend. Hopefully to shove the people who mocked him and called him names to shut it. Telling Teddy the equivalent of how propaganda in the late 1940s going into the 1950s at the height of the red scare would tell you when your grandparents were once your age. Just enjoy the party. An hour’s visit wouldn’t hurt. And if you wuss out, you pretty much let your bullies in. Enough for Teddy to at least suck it up and try to survive the hours, even though it’s already been 10 minutes since he arrived at the ship. So a full 50 minutes left on the clock. You might as well add a clock at the bottom of the screen during Teddy’s time on the screen. But while Linda and Louise decide to help their friend out in not trying to be a nervous wreck...
We have the side plot of the episode with Bob, Gene, and Tina ready to learn how to tie knots with one of the people who mocked Teddy by calling him “Double Dip” taking the lead in teaching everyone, mostly the kids on how to tie rope. I mean Tina would possibly be a natural at this, mostly because she is a Thundergirl. Like really, you can use your skills on how to tie a rope when doing an activity but didn’t use your training while joining a junior lifeguard group and single-handedly ruined everyone’s career until the last minute of the episode. Some fans aren’t going to forgive you for what happened, Tina. They have memories of what happened. They can go search up the episode on YouTube despite the constant few seconds of closeups and animated watermarks at the bottom right. Just saying.
So Tina should be a pro at this with Gene and Bob learning how to tie a knot for the first time. Though I guess there are some laughs with Raul, one of the people who mocked Teddy and leads the activity of trying rope, mistaking Bob with someone named Schmitty. Rather, a spitting image of someone. Would say who this Schmitty guy that Raul was talking about? Maybe someone who was sent into the frontlines and was possibly killed in action during the war or have lost connection since being discharged along with Teddy, but it looks like we might not get it, and instead, the side plot is mostly going to be on Bob struggling on trying a knot. I mean c’mon, you know how to tie your apron from the back while working at the restaurant, tying a single piece of rope is what going to give you trouble? I would say anything else about the plot but the rest of that is mostly Bob continuing to struggle as the kids are beating him when it comes to who can master the art of tying knots.
So back to Teddy, Linda, and Louise with their plots as they got their food from the catering section of the boat when they overheard about getting stuff from the ship they can take home as a souvenir with one of the members about to take home a piece of the ship being a pad eye. Causing a lightbulb to shine over Linda’s head and think it’s a good idea for Teddy to take home something from the ship. However, there’s one little issue when thinking about having Teddy to get something to take home because you need to sign a form for the military to deliver it and Teddy...yeah, he didn’t get that memo and send in a request to his branch to take home a little something for him to keep. Though we know what Louise wants to take home that we all know she ain’t going to take home and that is being a torpedo or even a torpedo cannon. I mean, they do have a point. It’s not a good idea for her to take in something that is massive and also dangerous to carry. And I see that some people, as a joke, want Louise to take home a nuclear warhead. The problem is that like I said, it’s massive and also dangerous. And a few dents would result in blowing up half the town. And knowing the current climate that we’re in regarding...you know...it’s best that we don’t give Louise a weapon to take home. Besides, she’ll shoot her eye out.
But that’s not going to stop Linda from getting Teddy something that he can take home from the ship as she and Louise take Teddy’s situation to the clerk at the boat in hopes to give Teddy something to keep. But of course, it got denied because Teddy didn’t even bother signing a form. And that even before getting the invitation to attend the event. Linda tries to reason with her but instead, got denied and be going empty-handed. Hell, Linda even tried to bribe the clerk but that too was denied. Thus resulting in the girls hitting a dead end.
That is until Linda decides to think that it’s a good idea to steal an item that is considered government property. That item? A bell from the wall. You’re probably saying what’s so special about the bell on the wall? It’s just a bell. Except that the bell that Linda just tore out from the wall...of a ship...a naval warship that is considered government property. So Linda and Louise might as well committed an act of terrorism, or rather an act of robbery from the federal property by stealing it to the point where they could expect a surprise visit from the FBI sometime tomorrow and being interrogated and possibly being taken away into a federal prison. And possibly saying hello to Jimmy Pesto. And while Linda thinks that it’s a good idea to take the bell and give it to Teddy to take home, Teddy on the other hand...
Is not too pleased with what Linda is doing and her pulling the bell away from the wall could have not just Linda and Louise, even though Linda did all of the work, but also Teddy into deep hot water. Especially Teddy, a former member of the Navy, being a part of something that what Linda did to yank the bell out of the wall, just because she wants him to feel better. It’s like if you’re a parent and you just find out that your kid has been bullied. You tell them that everything is going to be fine and not let those bullies kick you down the curve. Only for you to step in and rather than telling the parents or the principal, whether or not those two options would make the situation worse, you decide to commit arson. Weird analogy but Linda, if she were to take the bell without anyone noticing, her criminal record would be a whopper. At least that one would make sense, but last season with her defecating in public and being treated as if she’s some sort of psychopath, oh no...oh no, let’s throw her into the slammer, even though she didn’t even carry any cash with her when storming out after hearing that the kids got detention on parent-teacher day, and treat her as if she just committed terrorism. Yes, it’s stupid and it’s still stupid to this day regarding Linda’s little issue and I’m not getting over that. So just as Teddy decides to hook the bell back up to the wall...
The ceremony is about to start over the decommissioning of the ship, putting a dent in Teddy, Linda, and Louise putting the bell back to the wall without anyone noticing. So as they make their way to their seats, they come up with an idea by using the ceremony as their opening to get the bell back into the wall. Of course, you have Tina, Gene, and Bob, who is still struggling in tying a knot, hence why I didn’t even bother talking about the side plot because it’s mostly him having trouble tying a piece of rope. Overhearing their plans before Linda told them to just shut up and watch the ceremony. And luckily, the three, being Linda, Teddy, and Louise, did find their opening as the military band played “Barracuda” and make their way to their previous location with Teddy using his handyman skills to attach the bell back into the wall. Only for Linda and Louise to notice the clerk ready to come back in and distracts her by blocking the door, putting pressure onto Teddy. Also noticing that someone was using the bathroom. Yeah, not a pleasant time to take a leak while at the same time, hearing a commotion by the door. Not noticing that Teddy was putting the bell back with Linda and Louise blocking the door. And that wouldn’t it happen if they didn’t close the door and buy Teddy some time. But even if they did or did not do that, there’s also the other side of the hallway, and someone could come right in and see what Teddy is doing. Not to mention the guy who is just coming out from the john seeing what’s happening, don’t know if he were to notice what’s going on or probably ignore the whole issue and go straight towards the ceremony. Either way, Teddy, Linda, and Louise did get caught with Teddy being wrongfully accused of stealing the bell.
Only for Linda to step in and take the fall. Even though she was the one who ripped it out, the full blame has to be going to her with Louise not wanting to catch any smoke even though she was there when watching her mom taking government property from the ship. You now begin to think that where Louise even got her mischievous and troublemaking side from. There’s your answer. Even if you don’t want to be sent to federal juvie just for being around her mom for again, taking government property as a ringing bell from a naval ship that is ready to be decommissioned. Linda tells everyone why she did it because Teddy was upset about going because of a nickname that has been stuck on his back ever since his days on the ship with all of the mockings after being slipped off from the boat twice. But apparently, coming from Teddy’s old crewmates, they didn’t mock him because he did something dumb like not looking where he was looking, if that’s how the saying goes, this was nothing more than friendly banter. Locker room talk if you want to sum up everything that’s been going on. Didn’t mean to hurt his feelings and was just messing around. Kinda like with most friend groups where you thought they’re making fun of you for something you did and think that they’re not your friends, only to end up finding out that it was just one moment in history and just joshing around.
Before Raul ends up doing the same thing Teddy did when backing himself to the rails and slips overboard. And knowing that we’re now less than two minutes left in the episode is now Bob finally knows how to tie a knot after countless scenes of him sucking because that’s what the script said when getting Raul back onto the ship. Yep. This is what? Almost 19 minutes of the episode if you include the few instances of the side plot of him sucking because again, that’s what the script freaking fracking said. I’m not saying I hate the episode and I’ll explain it in the reaction/thoughts section of the review, but...it almost feels like it’s being done to death. Especially in a Teddy episode with Linda taking over the driver’s seat, it does feel like it’s been done to death. Well, let’s hope that the knot tying skills hopefully get brought up once the movie is released. Mostly because of one scene of the trailer with Louise going down into the sinkhole at night with Gene and Tina ready to carry the rope and camera in tow. Should be interesting...maybe. We’ll have to wait and see once we get to May.
But other than to close off the episode, after saving Raul and he gets the nickname, Teddy got his respect from his old crewmates and also the bell that Linda ripped out and decides to keep it as a parting gift and also a reward for saving Raul from the waters. So it was I guess nice for Teddy to finally get his respect and got the monkey off of his back. As for Linda regarding her past with her shitting her pants after watching a scary movie...yeah, Linda...what the fuck. After earning a bad nickname after being scared over one scene from a horror film that may have ruined her life, she decided to get back at them by pretending to be a killer on the phone a la Ghostface from Scream at two in the morning and also peed on their bikes. As well as TP’ing the host’s house. So if you’re wondering how Louise got her mischievous and troublemaking side, even if you’re new here? Linda. That’s all Linda. I mean, you’re talking about the same person who once threw rocks onto passing traffic in front of her house. So there you have it, mystery solved.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? Well, despite the praise that everyone across the internet is giving the episode following last week’s somewhat disappointment of a Valentine's Day episode. Some think that it’s the best episode of the season so far, which...okay, let’s not go overboard on this. But to be honest, in my take, I’d say it’s average. Much like with last week’s episode, it’s not that bad but it’s not that great. It’s somewhere in the middle.
The first half of the episode, the first and second acts, are at a snail-paced. Especially once Teddy and the Belchers enter the naval yard to celebrate the ship being decommissioned despite Teddy’s fear of being ridiculed over his actions back in his day and being stuck with a nickname that haunted him all way to this very day with the second half, the third and fourth acts, is where things are slowly picking up the pace. The rewatch factor is there despite people giving the episode some praise but it’s there. It’s an average episode.
At least there are some pointers I would give to the episode. Teddy’s past is one of them. Finding out that he used to be in the military and was shipped overseas. Though his rank as a member of the Navy can be questionable based on the design. Mostly on the wrists of the uniform and looking through the images of the ranks despite again, the design of the show and I could be wrong, a one-stripe, which signals him to be a seaman recruit. Again, I could be wrong. But besides that and also that backstory from Season 3 of him being a part of a shark movie, it was interesting to explore Teddy’s past leading up to the event.
Linda’s backstory is also brought up and man, oh man, the hits keep on playing with the flashbacks. Adding more shit into the lore of the show. We are really adding a lot of stuff to get ourselves for the film. This time being Linda knowing Teddy’s pain in having a terrible nickname that’s been stuck to her like glue. But unlike Teddy, who he has to wait for a few decades, she decided to get back at the girls who mocked her by pulling some pranks and it’s forgive and forget. But besides all of that, it’s interesting to have two Linda flashbacks in back-to-back episodes. And holy hell, as we get closer to the movie, now that we’re now less than two months away from the release, we could be getting more soon as the season progresses.
But other than that, might as well put this as my final thoughts, I apologize if this review feels rushed and I understand that; I’m not perfect, jeez. And while I do have to give some pointers to the episode for the information dump from Teddy and also Linda with their backstories to tie in with Teddy’s situation while attending the ceremony, the first half felt slow with the second slowly picking things up. Though the side plot with Bob struggling to tie something that simple as a knot throughout the episode and then finally got it at the end of the episode, it feels like it was done to death. And I don’t mind the change of scenery for once in a while other than the restaurant, the Belchers’ home, Wagstaff, the usual, again, it’s not a bad episode but it’s not that great also despite the praise that people are given. So I’ll give “Frigate Me Knot”...
A 6 out of 10. But that’s pretty much my opinion and now I wanna hear yours in the comments below. What do you think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Sound it out in the comment section along with your mini-review of the episode. And tune in this upcoming Sunday, March 13 with Gene not having any choice but to be a part of a music video for Courtney in the fourteenth episode of Season 12 in “Video Killed the Gene-io Star”.
You can follow me over at Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. Not to mention that the 2022 Battle of the Week Voting Tournament has already begun earlier this week with the defending champions, The Owl House with Amity Blight at the candidate of choice, taking on The Great North with Judy Tobin. Voting remains open until this upcoming Saturday at noon central time. And y’all should know the drill by now...
- PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/yahoo201027
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/yahoo201027
- Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/Y8Y8K4OP
Donate today over at PayPal, Patreon, and Ko-fi pages to help you boy out in both improving the page and paying the bills to keep the lights on to pump out some content for you guys to at least enjoy. It’s the thought that counts. And until next week’s episode, wash your hands, wear a mask, get vaccinated and boosted, and I’ll see y’all later.
***Bob’s Burgers is owned by 20th Century FOX, Bento Box Animation, and Loren Bouchard. Please Support the Official Release***
No comments:
Post a Comment