Another Summer break has come and passed. And quite an eventful one that happened during the past four months since Season 12 ended that you can't tell what's good or what's bad anymore to the point where you just wanna wish you're back home, on your couch (or bed), and just sleep the day away...only to know that the summer heat and humidity can be a motherfucker to deal with. But here we are, we made it through the past four months of nothingness and now, it's freaking fracking burger season, peoples. We made it to opening night. And now...I await for chaos...or disappointment. Either way, I'm going to have to say this in the corniest way possible to kick off the review, the first review of the new season, "Burger fandom, let's ride."
On this week's episode of Bob's Burgers, the Belcher family participates in a theater that Fischoeder has made in an attempt to get Felix to confess over a little something that he may or may not have done, as if the Fischoeders already dealt with enough shit that happened since the events of the movie. Oh yeah, and for some reason, Louise gets jealous of Tina's hands...yeah, might as well considered that a side plot to the episode of the new season but stranger things can happen in my spoilerific review of the first episode of Season 13 of Bob's Burgers, titled "To Bob or Not to Bob".
The start of a new season and not just any start to a brand new season and a brand new year on the show. We are now entering the post-movie era of the show. Everything has to be refreshed and refurbished with everything now coming in through when it comes to the events of the movie and the results from the film about to be added into the show. I already did my initial breakdown of the updated intro that was shown during the D23 Panel a few weeks ago with the sinkhole being added right after the "grand re-re-re-opening" banner was shown after a power pole that came down that was usually shown from Seasons 1-12. And I did some comparisons with the sinkhole being shown in the intro and the movie. Mostly with the sidewalk and thought to myself when it comes to the sinkhole that erupted throughout the film leading up to it being patched up would be the question of what to do with the Belchers because the sinkhole swallowed up not just the street, but also the sidewalk that blocked the entrance. Would've either separate the family between the sinkhole or inside the building until we get the "grand re-re-re-re-opening" banner hover over. And all because of a few things that caused the sinkhole to erupt like it's the town's miniature version of Old Faithful over at Yellowstone from Calvin being a cheap ass to get it replaced and also America's failing infrastructure.
Other than that, stuff that happened in the movie now making its way into the show's canon from the aforementioned sinkhole to Grover's arrest to the origins of Louise's hat, and of course, Bob's mom...'s face. Let's hope that Season 13 could have something in the lore department on Bob's mom. That would be nice because what happened in the movie when that moment happened, spoilers, by the way, the whole origins of Louise's ears and that the hat was in remembrance of Bob's mom, who always likes to wear a hat, even on warm days. Got some answers but also created some new questions that needed to be answered. But other than that, some stuff that happened in the movie won't be retconned and will be staying put into the show's lore. But knowing that we made it past the summer because the movie was set a week before the summer break, what the fuck are we gonna do with the Belcher kids and school? Should the show move them up a grade? Should Tina go to high school? I mean in the Some Like It Bot two-parter, Linda did mention that Tina's 14th birthday was coming up. Swear to whatever God you pray if they end up forgetting it because of sitcoms. That should be enough ramblings for this introduction and now, it's time to get to the review. This is "To Bob or Not to Bob".
And right off the bat, the building next door is being emptied as the Belcher family sans Bob are seeing the moving company to move some stuff from what is now formerly a tanning salon because if you haven't checked out my "Seven-tween Again" review, I'm guessing it might be because of the price and cost across the neighborhood. But we all know that it's because if a building next door gets a shop to be stayed put, then it would affect the opening to the show because of course, most animated sitcoms, usually us, The Simpsons, The Great North, American Dad, Futurama, just to name a few that would usually have random gags in each episode. I mean, it's not like keeping at least one shop or one boat or couch gag or oldie cartoon or even one of Roger's disguises would possibly disrupt the natural order or some shit. Therefore, the store next door has to be emptied. Oh yeah, and the store next door that is just shutting their doors down...that was in the intro for this episode. Wild if you think about it. But then again, take a look at "Seven-tween Again" where the store next door is different from the intro from the actual episode because that episode had a beauty salon while in the intro there is pretty much a wool shop. So there's that when it comes to businesses who had taken control of the building next door. But it looks like we're not done with that conversation just yet because apparently, this is one of the many focuses in this episode.
With the business now no longer in the building next to the restaurant, it wasn't long until the idea of expanding the restaurant get brought up to the table. An idea that was sitting idly in the corner for pretty much a while now. Or in this case, just now that was brought up by Linda about the idea of wanting to expand the restaurant and get more space. And they have a window of opportunity now opened up thanks in part to the family not worrying about the rent for the first time in a long while since they paid a year or more worth of rent. How do they even have enough money to pay Fischoeder the rent that was way overdue that was set since the Bush administration? We get that the Belchers aren't rich folks and often struggle to make ends meet mostly because of a lack of customers entering the restaurant (unless you're Teddy and sometimes Mort) and being unable to pay up their rent. I mean, they were this close to having their equipment being redeposit by the bank and went through multiple closures that almost caused the Belchers to go broke. And I guess adding in some real-world stuff like the recession, Covid-19, and inflation. Yeah, the Belchers can't catch a break up to this point in the economic front and now that they don't have to worry about paying rent and having everything being taken away by the bank thanks in part to everything that happened in the movie, this is the first time where the Belchers don't have to worry about how much money they need to meet a certain threshold to pay up as if you're trying to pay your taxes to the IRS.
But enough money talk, it's back to business as usual for the family with Bob asking Tina to sharpen the knives with Louise wanting to do the same thing as her sister but it looks like she's been denied from doing the job that she wants to do because of a few things. That being her being at a young age at nine years old and holding something that sharp would ultimately become a PR nightmare for the family. To her, it almost feels like she's being treated like a baby. But that's pretty much one of the two items on the list of why Louise is being denied getting knife sharpening duty like she's Anakin being denied the rank of Jedi Master.
Because here comes the second item on the list which turns into the main cause of why she's not given the task of sharpening the knives and that is her hands are too small. Her hands are too small. And no, it doesn't compensate for something regarding the size of hands. It's mostly because of the handle and how strong of a grip can you hold while sharpening it. This is the side plot to the episode, ladies and gentlemen. And all because Louise can't handle how to sharpen a knife because of her small hands. The girl who not only saved Wonder Wharf from a potential explosion and solved a cold case that was six years in the making but also saved the restaurant from being shut down. Pretty much carried the damn film on her back and this is the reward that she got after a four-month break for the summer? Denied to sharpen the knives for the lunch rush. She would use her hero status to get some treatment but that would possibly result in her developing an ego as if she's hot shit. Probably imagine if that's the case and say, "Hey pops, maybe I want to try out sharpening the knives? What's that? I can't do it because my hands are too small and too young to carry. Do you know who you're talking to? The person who saved the Wharf? The person who found a dead body and solved a murder? The person who singlehandedly saved the freaking fracking restaurant? I'm a goddamn hero goddamn it! Show some respect and give me that task!" I mean, Louise in earlier seasons, she would. She would probably do that. Louise right now, especially right after the events of the movie? Doubt it. She would but she'll backpedal.
Also to the point where she gets a daydream when watching Tina and Bob sharpening the knives with her having her hands being inflated like balloons as if she just ate some spinach and going full Popeye with those hands. Her having big hands inside what is pretty much a castle and throws knives toward Tina by the door as if she's performing a magic trick and not trying to fatally stab the assistant in a spinning wheel as if you're playing a dangerous game of darts. And having Tina bow to Louise over her knife-throwing skills to the point where she ends up sitting on the Iron Throne. Quite fitting that this episode aired on the same night and same hour as House of the Dragon. Louise really can't stop quietly watching Game of Thrones without having Bob notice to have that daydream but that's daydreams for you. Louise becomes jealous of Tina over hand sizes and wishes that it's her who wants to do a big person job like sharpening knives.
Transitioning to the next scene with Mr. Fischoeder enters the restaurant and wants to ask the Belchers to do a little favor for him. And it's not the rent like he usually asks from prior seasons leading up to the movie. You know, him telling the family, "Ah hello Belchers, I'm here for the rent that you're supposed to pay." But not this time around for his visit. His first visit to the restaurant and the Belchers since the movie. You know, almost died at the hands of Grover in his attempts to get Calvin's money and to build a mega park if you remember that stuff. So the spotlight on the Fischoeders is not out of our eyes just yet for this week's episode because he wants the Belcher family to do something for him and that has something to do with Felix. As if the Fischoeder family just once can get through one break without getting into some drama. So Calvin's proposition for the Belchers comes to a simple task and that is to convince Felix of a crime that he accuses of. And this is where we enter backstory territory and add some additional stuff into the show's lore regarding the Fischoeders.
So a long time ago, Fischoeder's dad, who was a real estate magnate and entrepreneur, you can't see his face on the show and I get spoilers and such to have his body to be shrouded in shadow, but you would pretty much see his face on one of the photos on the wall inside the Mole Hill in the Fischoeders' hideout with him having a big, bushy beard standing in between a young Felix and Calvin in the sepia filter. It was the olden times, so it has to come in that quality. The Paternal Matriarch Fischoeder won the Best Businessing of the Bay Award, which is not an actual spelling according to spell check on Microsoft Word and Grammarly but whatever. He won the award for his success and the trophy itself really went all out if you look at it, the organization went out on the trophy. I mean, you're talking about an organization where the place is pretty much filled with wealthy folk to have a trophy design of a lion with its paw touching a stack of cash as a pillar or rock. Similar to propaganda photos of a leader standing all high and mighty as if you're King Arthur and ready to kick ass.
Fischoeder's dad won the trophy for his success and he loves that trophy so much as if he's treating it like his own son. Did I mention that the trophy is made out of gold? Of course not. I mean, it was in a room filled with rich and elite assholes, so what do you expect? Once the Patriarchal Matriarch Fischoeder decided to bite the dust on his death bed, he gave the trophy, as well as his will and ownership of the Wharf, to Calvin for him to keep in memory of the guy. I wanna see what's the family dynamic with the Fischoeders back in the day. Wondering what kind of relationship the Fischoeder siblings have with their dad. Always wondering about the mother, said nobody. You know, wanting to know more about the family that Felix and later Grover pretty much made Calvin a prime target in the Fischoeder family will sweepstakes. Calvin got the trophy once their dad passes away, which almost solidifies that he often sees Calvin as his favorite and groomed him to one day take over the family business, as well as the will and of course, the trophy. The trophy, according to Calvin, made Felix enraged with jealousy because his brother got the item and he didn't once the dad passed on.
To the point where ten years ago from the present that Felix decides to say that enough is enough and ends up stealing the trophy from the shelf with its whereabouts being unknown to this very day. You would say the treehouse is the first place to check to see if it's there. Not saying that Felix isn't...well, bright, but that would be the first place you think but that doesn't look like to seem to be the case. So the whereabouts of the trophy are unknown to this day and that's where Calvin comes in to ask the Belcher family to get Felix to slip up and confess to the crime. And the man tried everything to get Felix to have a Freudian slip from spankings to hypnosis to even drugging his food with LSD. I mean, it won't long until Calvin would go overboard and try to waterboard him to get his brother to confess and I bet that he would still stay quiet from telling about the location of the missing trophy.
So this leads Calvin to ask the Belchers to help him out by coming up with a small play detailing each and every crook and cranny leading up to the moment where Felix decides to steal the trophy. He got an idea from accidentally stumbling into a play that he got a light bulb flashing over his head to get his brother to fess up. And requires the Belchers' help by having them to be a part of the upcoming play. And also a director because Calvin can't step up to the plate and wants to be in the shadows to watch the show to unfold. So it looks like this might be a firm maybe, on the verge of saying no because Bob, of course, needs to have the family to work until Linda brings up a little proposal for Calvin in the deal. That being the building next door...over the original proposition of not having to pay rent for next month. That would've been the better idea and not pay up. Save a few bucks. But nope, throw in the empty building next door for the Belchers to expand their business and they would have a deal to help their landlord to get Felix to confess to his crime. But that is pretty much down to Bob. Treating him as the deciding vote on whether or not they should get the building. It's to the point where Bob would end up getting a special visitor in his sleep and we'll get to that but for now, it's a firm pending status from the Belchers courtesy of Bob.
As we move over to later in the night as Tina brushes her teeth is where you have Louise sneak up on her to no avail other than trying to be a stalker because the little girl here is jealous over the hand size as if she's getting ready to commit murder in cold blood like it's Cain and Abel. Could Louise be planning on doing a potential Face/Off situation where she has to surgically switch hands with Tina by herself or even potentially kidnap her and head over to a dark place and do that? I know that people miss the old Louise. Her being mischievous and devious and can often get away with it, but the girl has fucking limits. She has limits. Enough with the calls of making her be like...oh, I don't know, the equivalent of Eric Cartman from South Park. You stop that, alright. Just stop. As much as I don't like what the show is doing with Louise in her episodes, her learning a lesson and backpedaling from doing something, I don't want Louise to go that far in like committing what could be a potential war crime. Plus, if an event Tina was to have her hands messed up in a weird accident, it won't be you who would be getting the gig of sharpening the knives. If possible, Gene might be up next on the list. You haven't thought about that, huh? But then again, does Gene even want to get the gig of sharpening knives? Pretty sure he doesn't want to.
So once the night hits and everyone goes to sleep is where Bob gets a visit from a special visitor in his dreams in the form of someone as a ghost... dressed up in what a stereotypical ghost would look like. Just be thankful that the ghost costume with Random McGee here doesn't dress up as something else when dressing up as a ghost. Thank God that didn't happen. You know where this was going. So Random McGee here decides to haunt Bob in his dream and make their way downstairs into the restaurant and telling him the question of who would be responsible for the potential demise of the restaurant and lo and behold, it shows Bob himself as the suspect. Why? It's mostly to convince Bob to take the offer and let his business expand. Say yes to Fischoeder's offer to be in the play to get Felix to confess and he'll get the building next door. Almost sounds like guilt-tripping if you ask me.
Though you're probably wondering what is up with this scene. Why a ghost? Why is it haunting Bob in his sleep? Who is that ghost? The ghost is pretty much anyone's game since he or they is a one-off character never to be returned and might as well treat it as a cameo. Almost looks like a perfect representation of Bob's conscience but who knows since much like with the guy with the briefcase filled with walnuts from last season, we'd be off coming up with theories on who that person is. As for why we even have the ghost to come and visit Bob like we're taking notes from A Christmas Carol? This may be because of the show referencing Hamlet. The play that Fischoeder accidentally stumbled upon when trying to come up with an idea to get Felix to confess to his crime and was brought up to the Belchers when coming up with the proposition. And in the actual Shakespeare screenplay of Hamlet, you have the ghost who came by to haunt the character of Hamlet, Prince Hamlet, at night about what happened that got him to die. Telling his son that his brother murdered him to take the throne. Currently stuck in purgatory and asks his son to take down the current king, King Claudius, to quote-on-quote "avenge" him. But not before deciding to visit a few friends, mostly some soldiers and also Horatio before making his way towards Hamlet. And the title of the episode, "To Bob or Not to Bob", is a play on the quote "to be or not to be" from Hamlet. The infamous quote and scene from the play of him holding a skull. Don't expect Bob or any member of the family to do the same but let's just say, this won't be the only time in the episode where Bob gets a visit from the ghost. That's later on in the episode. And it looks like it didn't take long for Bob, once we enter the next day, where he sees Fischoeder driving by and stopping him on his way towards the intersection and decides to finally come to his senses and accept the offer to be in the play. And thus, the family are now theater people to help their landlord out.
And with that, rehearsal is in session over at the building next door. Of course, this was one of the scenes that were shown back at the D23 Panel earlier this month showing the Belchers rehearsing for their lines for the play that Calvin has written up...either him or hired some writers to do the job for him. I would say the latter because he's a rich guy and he would totally do that but no, he wrote it all by himself and gave each copy of the script to the Belchers. Each member has their assigned role. Linda of course gets the directing job, so she'll be behind the stage alongside Mr. Fischoeder. Leaving the rest of the family to get the starting gig. Bob, of course, will be getting the role of Fischoeder's dad. Gotta have someone who has to take up the role of the old guy. That and also the hands that both Fischoeder siblings back in Season 4 resemble their dad. Nothing weird at all when coming up with that statement. Tina gets Calvin's role with Louise getting Felix, adding more fuel to the fire of Louise getting really jealous of Tina getting better stuff than her. First, the size of her hands. Now, the role. I mean, sibling jealousy is nothing new. It happens to every family that has more than one kid in their arsenal. Though if this continues, spoilers, it stops right after the episode, and they could end up becoming the new-age Calvin and Felix. Leaving Gene to get the role of the Fischoeder's maid, a German lady named Inga.
And I did mention this scene in the D23 panel a few weeks ago but I guess I could talk about it again. So you have Bob, Tina, Gene, and Louise rehearsing their roles for the upcoming play while Linda is doing some directing in hopes for the play to be perfect for opening night and hoping that it would be enough for them to get Felix to let out a confession that he stole their dad's trophy. You have Tina struggling in the first moment because she doesn't have her glasses on which resulted in her to trip. Enough for her to put it back on but with the eyepatch to go under the glasses. Bob, Gene, and Louise doing their lines with Louise bringing in her melted Kuchi Kopi as the trophy for the play. Bob and Louise giving it their all and Gene, being Gene, taking the Inga role well if we have to be honest here. Yeah, you can already sense potential disaster waiting to happen based on the auditions. Because of course, there always be disaster enough to abrupt the show on opening night. Especially when the opening night of the show would be the mouse trap for Felix to crawl for him to take the bait and confess. And if that goes well, the building next door is the Belchers for them to keep.
I mean, Linda seems excited about what is about to come for the family and the restaurant if things go right. Telling Teddy the big news right after rehearsal about the possible expansion to the restaurant and the opportunities that are about to be thrown right at the family's faces. One of which is trying out new ideas to attract new customers for them to bank in and make ends meet even though they don't have to worry about paying the rent now that they're Scott-free thanks in part to what happened in the movie, they're free to do whatever they want. Wanting to try something new for once in an event they annex the empty building. Though the idea of expanding the restaurant from the building that they're currently in, although Bob would want to expand the business and make more money than he currently makes with a lack of business he's attracting, the notion of expanding the menu other than doing burgers and make things somewhat fancy like sauces and other additional items almost sounds like a Linda idea that is being pushed than have Bob voicing an opinion of his own. We get that Linda is uber supportive of Bob whenever things happen, whether good or bad, but...it's now getting to the point where Bob even wants to have the expansion at all. Is he beginning to have second thoughts about it?
Well, this is where Ghostly McGee here decides to drop in for a second time in this episode to once again haunt Bob because again, following the same rules as Hamlet over a ghostly visitor visiting the main character in their sleep. Earlier in the episode with the ghost's first visit, he guilt-tripped Bob and convinces him that if he didn't take the offer of agreeing in doing Fischoeder's play and get the building next door to expand, he would be responsible for killing his business and thus, here we are with him moments away from getting that building but Bob seems to be showing signs of having seconds thoughts if you think about it leading up to where we at now. So in the second dream of the episode, you have the ghost taking Bob to the building next door in the future where the family opened up the restaurant and business is booming. Though you noticed that in the fantasy that the ghost is showing Bob is that you have every member of the family dressed up looking all fancy as if they're ready to go into the fancy restaurant business. Not the first time they would do that. You do remember in "Romancing the Beef" from Season 11 where they had to transform the restaurant into a place for couples to dine on Valentine's Day? Just putting it out there. Although looking at their appearances, you have Bob and Louise in chef gear with Bob cooking the food and Louise serving it by putting it onto the counter for Linda, as the waitress, to serve the food to the table. And you also have Tina and Gene serving as hostesses to get people to their tables and give them their menus. Though you have Gene in a Beefsquatch mask in a suit and tie as one of the hostesses because it's Gene. He had to add his own style and flair in the event the restaurant was to get expanded. Though you noticed something is odd about Bob and Linda's hairstyles in the fantasy. Because that's not their present hairstyle. If possible, it almost looks similar to their hairstyle when they first opened up the restaurant and were pregnant with the kids. I get it's a fantasy and all but just to put it out there.
So why did the ghost sends Bob to this fantasy inside the store next door? Well, earlier in the episode, you have the ghost telling Bob that if he doesn't accept the offer from Fischoeder to get the family to perform in the play to get Felix to confess and get the building next door, it would ultimately ruin him and the restaurant and that resulted in Bob saying yes to the proposition and the family are about to reach the goal of wanting to reach what could be a brand new era. A brand new start after not worrying about the rent and an eventful summer filled with trials and tribulations that almost killed them while being buried deep inside the sinkhole. And now the ghost seems that he or they wants Bob to back off from the proposition altogether leading up to the big day. And all it took for Bob to now begin to have second thoughts about the whole thing...well, looking at that burger patty being overly cooked to the point where it's getting burnt concerns Bob that with all this new stuff being brought up, it's like he might soon forget about doing the thing he loves, which is flipping burger patties. Also, the fact that Bob has never even been to business school and is unsure of how to handle a business that he's been operating for almost two decades would be a tad concerning for someone who used to work alongside his father before and after his mom died. But yeah, it looks like Bob is starting to get the idea that getting the expansion for the restaurant might be a bad idea, and should be okay with it. But...one dream where he's been given the green light and go along to get the expansion and now here we are with the other dream and has been given the red light and back peddle away from the proposition. Pick one, damn it! Pick one! Choose your fucking lane. I get where this episode is heading because of course, gotta follow what the script is saying. Halfway through the episode and we already know where this is heading leading up to the final act of the episode. But that ghost is really leaving Bob to feel conflicted over shit like this one. Almost sounds similar to "Pro Tiki/Con Tiki" with him agreeing with the idea of turning the restaurant into a Hawaiian theme place, only to back away because he doesn't like it and wants things to be the same. Here we go again with this one in this episode regarding the building next door. And we already know what Bob's answer is.
Onto the next day, the big day, the day of the play with Linda giving everyone a cup of tea for them to drink for breakfast if they want to rest their voice for opening night and the trap to be set where you have Louise wearing the eyepatch that was supposed to be Tina's for her role as Calvin. Of course, back again with sibling jealousy with Louise being upset over not getting the Calvin role and also the size of the hands that y'all just now forgot about as the episode progresses. Though the side plot is being sent to the sidelines with Bob being conflicted over the possible expansion now being brought up after being visited by the Ghost Who Refused to Give Out Answers once we switched over to Bob doing his work and talking to his burger patty on the grill with massive concerns about forgetting about doing what he does best. Again, we already know where this is going when it comes to the outcome of the episode once we get to the final act of the episode.
Speaking of which, it's opening night over at the building next door with every Belcher in costume from Louise and Tina dressing up as Felix and Calvin to Gene dressing up as what Calvin would describe her German maid to, of course, Bob dressing up as his best impression of the Fischoeders' father. But in reality, it's pretty much Bob's best attempt to dress up as King Charles III. Oh yeah, Queen Elizabeth died in the final weeks of the off-season. Now you can't tell that Bob dressing up as an old guy with a crown, which I don't remember Daddy Fischoeder even having a crown on his head, was potentially intentional in light of Queen Elizabeth's death and Charles taking over the throne. So everyone is in gear and everyone is coming in attendance...by force because if they don't attend, Fischoeder will fuck around with their rent, and therefore, attending the play is mandatory.
And here comes the man of the hour, Felix Fischoeder in attendance and trying to be as Snively as ever, he already knew what Calvin is doing to get him to confess to the crime that he tries to get himself acquitted. To Felix, it's a game of he said...well, he said over the whereabouts of the missing trophy of Calvin accusing Felix of stealing the item and Felix denying the accusations. Though I see that some people online when watching the episode noticed that Felix's voice seems a little off. I had to go back and check to see if that was the case while working on this review. I'm getting a hint that there's no issue with how Felix's voice was handled. No, he wasn't replaced for an episode because Zach Galifianakis' name is on the credits and by now, the cast should be back doing in-person recordings when doing the voice work. I don't think there was an issue with Felix's voice in the episode much like with Mickey's voice in both "Beach, Please" and The Bob's Burgers Movie that has the internet in an uproar over the absence of Bill Hader. But not yet on the line of Darryl in the movie because Darryl's voice was off in the film. Aziz Ansari, who voices Darryl, was still credited but the voice was off. As if he's doing his recording over the phone. Note that almost everyone had to record their lines at home during the height of the pandemic. Felix's voice on this week's episode isn't probably the case. For now, I don't see any issue with Felix's voice in the episode but only time can tell. We just started with the new season and the last thing we need is the fandom throwing a temper tantrum over the voice work. We're better than this, guys.
But before we start the show, we get a little pre-show pep talk between Bob and Mr. Fischoeder with Fischoeder telling Bob that soon, once the plan works well, is where Bob gets this exact building. Ready to enter what might be a new era for the business and the family. Bob tries to keep his cool and try to play along but we all know that he wants to bow out. He wants to back away from the expansion. And he wants to tell Fischoeder that the deal is off and he'd be fine the way it is with the restaurant but it would result in the family being bummed because they were looking forwards to the expansion but again, we're pretty much treating Bob as the deciding vote for the family as the play begins to take center stage.
From Gene introducing the play when dressed up as the Fischoeders' maid to the Belcher sisters taking their roles seriously over the whole Felix accusation of stealing the item leading up to the scene where Louise, as Felix, is ready to take the melted Kuchi Kopi as the trophy while Tina, as Calvin, falls asleep with Bob as the Fischoeders' dad standing there as a ghost, it looks like things are going well despite Bob feeling like he's going to break out of line. And with that scene, Calvin can feel it. He can feel that it's coming. The moment where Louise as Felix would take the prop and hopefully the rat will make its way to the trap or in this case, Felix ready to come to his senses and confess to the crime, though in front of the audience? Calvin really wants to add that dramatic flair for the audience's reaction if an event where Felix did the dirty deed. But Calvin can sense that the moment is coming for Felix to come clean as the scene from the play progresses...only for Bob to break character and decides to bow out from the proposal. Ending up ruining the scene and the entire play for everyone, including Calvin who was this close to getting Felix to confess. Luckily, Felix did confess through a Freudian slip about the whereabouts of the trophy, so at least not all hope is lost since the trophy, according to Felix, is somewhere around the swan pond. So it's not a total loss for Calvin because even though the idea of having the play in an attempt to get Felix to confess fell apart thanks to Bob blurting out the secret part of the proposition, but he did get a slip from Felix about the location of the trophy that Felix quote-on-quote hid.
But Bob has to confront his family about him not wanting to have the expansion to the store next door. Mostly due to how having the expansion of the restaurant with the store next door would result in a shake-up to the opening intro, but it's mostly because his conscience was eating him alive, and would have to handle with everyone, especially Linda, about not wanting to expand the business because he's not built for it. He's not a "business lion" as if he's saying that he's not ready for anything that would progress further with the restaurant. I mean, the Belchers just re-re-re-re-opened the shop following a sinkhole and you know, almost died from the sinkhole while being trapped inside a small bumper car the size of a Fiat and the talks about a possible expansion would be a put into the "way too soon to talk" column. But the Belcher family doesn't seem too upset about Bob not wanting to expand the restaurant because Linda thought it was his dream to expand the business, even though Bob thought that Linda was excited about the expansion. Exploring new horizons and trying out new things for them now that they don't have to worry about paying rent for a while. Though Linda was only excited because Bob was excited about the whole thing and now that they won't be getting the expansion, they could at least breathe a sigh of relief and stay as it is with the restaurant. Oh yeah, and uh...Louise apologizes to Tina for being jealous over the hand sizes over the whole issue with the task of sharpening knives. Called it way before the episode started when reading the synopsis. Though Louise only apologized to Tina because of seeing Calvin and Felix bickering, God forbid if she and Tina were to end up following the same route and bicker all the time. Don't want to imagine that.
Entering the final two minutes of the episode with the Belcher family not getting the expansion at all after that little stunt that Bob pulled thanks in part to his conscience eating him alive after two nights of switching like it's a game of Uno but it's all reverse cards. At least Bob doesn't have to worry about that for a while but leaves it to the kids to come out of the woodwork and decides to give their father a little present in a form of a tomato with his face carved into Bob's face. So at least there's a consolation prize for the fucker to take. But the kids did crave the tomato because Tina thought Louise how to cut and sharpen knives like the big sister that she is but at the same time when doing the work, they dealt with some cuts while making it. Not to mention that the knives are badly sharped like you're trying to perfect in sharpening a pencil but the lead keeps falling off each time you're done using the sharpener. It's a pain to think about. Closing the episode with, of course, telling Bob that the knives are badly sharp and portions of their hands are slashed when making the carved tomato and that's more than enough for the family hug to ensue. Season 13, we here, folks. And once again, it's gonna be a long one. Ushering in the new era of the show.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So all and all, what do I think about this week's episode of Bob's Burgers? It's not too bad of an episode. It had some moments. Some good, some bad, and some that make you question why? The episode itself had some promise on where this is going. Especially now that the movie is now behind us and we're ushering in a new era of the series, it feels like we're back at business as usual of how each episode pan out. A semi-promising episode with an ending that is of course, predictable. Whether being Bob backtracking from the expansion proposition or Louise apologizing to Tina for her jealousy because she doesn't want her and Tina to be a new age Calvin and Felix and bicker all the time.
I guess I could highlight some moments from the episode. We got some stuff from the Fischoeders coming out from the movie. The fact that there was a trophy that their dad won and gave it to Calvin once he passed away. Added some lore into the mix, especially right after the movie and everyone had to deal with a lot of shit with Grover. Though covering the Fischoeder's dad's face, rather, his body was covered in shadow even though you can see what he looks like in the photo of him, Calvin, and Felix in the movie. Just putting it out there. And I guess a random ghost haunting Bob in his dreams was something and doing a reference to Hamlet because it was brought up one too many times alongside the likes of Macbeth though flip-flopping the answer for Bob from wanting to expand the restaurant to not do anything at all...yeah, had some problems with that. Not saying that Bob should expand the restaurant, just had to be predictable when knowing what is about to come with the episode as it progresses.
The subplot, the little side story with Louise being jealous of Tina over not doing knife duty felt like it may have downplayed the episode a bit to the point where it was sidelined by the overall main plot with the play that Fischoeder wrote that gets overshadowed by Bob's conflicting decision of wanting to expand the restaurant. I knew that Louise would back peddle from what she is doing whether being her not getting to do the job of sharpening knives to Tina getting the role of Calvin and Louise as Felix to the point where she had to wear the eyepatch at the breakfast table on the day of the premiere. Yeah, Louise did apologize to Tina for her being jealous of Tina for getting the task because she doesn't want her relationship with her sister to be like what Calvin and Felix are doing and bicker like little kids. And sure, they patched things up by creating the craved tomato with Gene by using the knives, but it did downplay the episode and for denying the task to someone who stopped a fuse from making the Wharf explode, I get that she's young and all, but come on, you gave her a torch last season. How are you okay with that and not letting her do knife work? Well, the ending to the episode pretty much proved that theory. Again, you let her use a torch and stopped a fuse. The fuse, that's all on her to save the Wharf. The torch is a whole other story.
So final thoughts to the first episode of the new season, it had some semi-promise. We got some stuff with the Fischoeders just as we were done with the movie. Ushering in a new era of the series, but the end had to feel predictable with Bob backing out of the expansion of the restaurant. I mean come on; we know that the building next door isn't going to be permanently occupied. We all know that. So I'll give "To Bob or Not to Bob"...
A 6.5 out of 10. A slow start but a bit of a bumpy start but it's not too bad to start the new season. So 6.5 out of 10 is the score for this episode but that's my opinion and now I wanna hear yours. Tell me what you think about this week's episode of Bob's Burgers. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Let's discuss this in the comments below. And tune on October 2 for a brand new episode where the family goes camping in a cabin for Labor Day weekend and of course, typical chaos ensues in the second episode of Season 13 in "The Reeky Lake Show".
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