It baffles everyone that we're now in October and are less than two months left in the year. It was just yesterday when things took their sweet ass time to start off 2022 despite...things. But man, it's already the Fall season. The weather is slowly taking its time to crank down the temperature. It had been for the past few days with lows in the 50s. But back to reality we go to the area where I live. Though spooky season is here. Nothing wrong with celebrating all things Halloween and soon...we get to Christmas. Time means no bounds anymore.
In this week's episode of Bob's Burgers, the Belcher family heads off to the woods for the Labor Day weekend for a family weekend getaway, only in typical Belcher fashion, disaster decides to rear its ugly head when dealing with a swarm of mosquitoes infesting the cabin they're staying over in my spoilerific review of the second episode of Season 13, titled "The Reeky Lake Show". Why the title? Hell, should I know? I don't even work for the show.
Before we start, if you want to help out with hurricane relief down in Florida following the effects of Hurricane Ian, there are a lot of donation sites going on online if you want to find out for yourself, make sure it's legit because often times, there are scammers out there who would misuse the donation money. So legit donation sites might be the way to go. Also donating essentials to random places where a donation drive is should be noted too. But if you wanna help out on the donation side of things, the American Red Cross is the site to go to help out with hurricane relief. So if you wanna help out, scroll down to the end of the review for the donation link to send out a dollar or two to help out with the relief efforts.
So tell me you heard this before. The Belchers heading off for a weekend in the great outdoors and hoping for a nice outing as a family...only for things to go down south in a matter of seconds. This isn’t the first time this happened because you remember what happened at the start of Season 4 where the Belchers make their way to a campsite, much to the family sans Bob when it comes to their excitement in being the outdoors that resulted in both Bob and Linda to be swept away by a rushing river and away from the campsite and the kids. Now, it’s the family facing the outdoors once more and renting out a cabin for the weekend and as the script says, issues erupt. Mostly with mosquitoes swarming around the area and attacking the woods like they're locusts eating up the local crops. Apparently, the Bible didn't even warn anyone about a swarm of mosquitoes attacking families and treating the campers like it's a buffet. Oh yeah, we're back in the pre-pandemic days, folks. We're back. It’s like we learned nothing and neither does the Belcher family. That being said, we might as well swarm our way to break this episode down. This is “The Reeky Lake Show”.
So the episode begins with Linda making her way back to the restaurant with a bag of necessities, primarily tons of cans of salt from the bag for the salt shaker. She tells the family that she came across a woman at the store, a random unknown character that we won’t be seen in this episode, telling Linda that her family just came back from vacation. Did a family trip throughout the summer by doing some zip-lining and other stuff to do like playing with a monkey. And I hope that didn't result in someone getting their face ripped off. No, wait, that's a chimpanzee. And those motherfuckers are violent animals. They may look calm but they're not the type of animals you would keep as a pet.
The random mother that Linda mentioned came back from vacation and Linda notices that the family hadn’t done a family vacation for a while and with the summer vacation coming to close very soon with Labor Day weekend coming up, the window is starting to close for Linda to wanting to have a family outing for once. Mostly because of the fact that the family is working throughout the summer. Though wouldn’t be too surprised if there were a few breaks during the past three to four months where some, if not all of the members were to have a break or two from the place. Mostly with the Belcher kids and their doing. But other than that, the window is starting to close on summer vacation. So much for their summer resolutions that they announced at the start of the movie. Also if you’re wondering that because it’s almost the end of summer, you’d think that the Belcher kids might be moving up a grade. You know, Tina in ninth grade and putting her in high school and such. Yeah...looking at next week's episode as an early prediction, rather, than have people facing reality, they won't do that. They won't age the characters. Even if we're in the post-movie era of the show, they won't age the characters. Sure, you have characters like Linda, Tina, Bob (twice), Rudy, and Courtney who had their birthday and have to age up by a year but the fact that we’re nearing the end of Summer in this episode and have not yet touched on the subject of aging the characters and do a time-skip, yeah...that's the sitcom business, alright. Also don't want to imagine once the Belcher kids come back to school and they have to do an essay on what they did during the summer and restaurant work would be the only thing that they have only done. But at least it's somewhat better than sitting on your ass and letting time waste away.
Leaving Linda to have come up with the notion that the family will be heading out of town for this Labor Day weekend to get some summer fun before the summer vacation season comes to a close. Much to Bob’s dismay because Labor Day weekend is one of those events where he would be hoping for business to be booming. Except for that one Labor Day weekend where the family is being accused of being cannibals and having human remains in their meat because Louise hates being one-up by one of her classmates whose uncle was a matador. Also...Linda, did you and the rest of the family learn from what happened the last time y’all went camping for a weekend? Something about being separated from the campground and being washed away through a river naked and afraid that causes the kids to go out to look for you guys? It's like they never learned anything from what happened took place almost a decade ago.
The day transitions to nighttime whereas Bob and the kids are watching TV is where Linda comes into the living room with the laptop and shows the family the cabin that they'll be renting for the weekend and looks at the photos of the place on the screen, it looks like a nice cabin to sleepover for the weekend. Cozy, quiet, it's by the lake, and while talking about the cabin, brings up the activities that they can do in just one weekend from kayaking to swimming to having a nice little bonfire. Sounds like the perfect getaway weekend for the family and would have no issues whatsoever during the potential visit to the great outdoors. Too bad that everyone doesn't know how "expectation vs reality" works. Because the kids noticed that something is off about the cabin. And no, just because it’s October, you don’t expect a cameo from Jason Voorhees. But that's not the concern. The concern coming from the kids, coming from Gene when looking at the cabin once the thought bubble is out of the way is that TVs aren't allowed. Most importantly, no electricity. Which explains the cheap price of the cabin. That already strikes two for the cabin.
Not to mention that the cabin is BYODW. Bring your own drinking water. As in the place doesn't have any running water. No plumbing. I mean, the cabin if you take a look at things, it almost feels like Linda might be bringing the family back in time to the 40s...the 1840s. No water to drink. No water to take a shower. No water when taking a shit. But no, not having the TV and any electricity is the main issue with the cabin. I would say have a smartphone with you but knowing that you're deep into the woods, shit out of luck. Because knowing that you're in a rural area of the state, you won't find the nearest cell tower to get some data for you to use the internet. That and also the concern of overusing your data. Also mention that because there's no electricity, you won't be able to charge your device. Sure, you can go and get a portable charger that uses either battery or use the sun to power up. Well, what about the car? That car is usually from the 1970s, I don't know my cars but it does scream 1970s and most of the time, you would often mistake the cigarette dispenser with a port to put in the phone charger. Regardless, it looks like the Belchers are ready to head out of town on an electricity-free weekend as the scene changes to later into the night with the Belcher kids taking one last look at the portable TV in the kitchen before heading off to bed as they're prepared to say goodbye to anything that could get them through the next few days. Or so we thought when it comes to the TV. More on that later.
We transition to the next day with the Belchers on the road to make their way to the cabin but not before making a pit stop over at the local backwoods convenience store to get the key from the clerk. Though an odd choice of background music to pick when having the family to make their way to the shop to pick up the key. As if something sinister is about to go down for the family once they arrive at the campsite. Almost feels like something coming from the Season 12 two-parter. You know? The Blade Runner parody. That sounded like something coming out from there added into this episode. So Linda enters the store to pick up the key to the cabin just as a random old guy comes by the counter and notices that she and the family are heading over to the cabin that they'll be renting for the weekend but not before bringing in some doom and gloom on what is about to expect over there.
As if not having running water or electricity isn't the only problem that the cabin has. But something about the so-called "Nippin' Nevins" swarming around the place that attacked the guy when noticing him scratching his arm when entering the store. "Nippin' Nevins" is what he is referring to deep into the woods is pretty much fancy talk for mosquitoes. Oh yeah, the cabin on the website forgot to mention that, huh Linda? Mosquitoes. Well, to them, they're like mosquitoes but not in a way they would think you would imagine. Just get rid of worrying about a potential case of the West Nile Virus and more of the bugs being somewhat smaller than your usual mosquito and would go and invade your throat. More than enough for Linda to not only take the key to the cabin but also some bug spray to protect themselves from potential bites. Probably a smart decision to defend yourself and your family from the mosquitoes. Or "Nippin' Nevins". And also gum...because why not. With no running water, how are you gonna wash your teeth? Sure, you have to bring your own drinking water but...have they even brought it though?
The Belchers finally made their way to the campsite. Seeing the waters of the lake once parking and would be a good idea for everyone to go for a swim as the others begin to unpack everything for the cabin but ends up hitting a snag. That snag is a sign in front of them when looking at the water. Warning them that the lake is off-limits because it was contaminated with an unknown bacteria that everyone doesn't even know existed called "giardia". Which is a bacteria you find in lake water that can cause infection. Mostly in the bowels and... it's diarrhea, folks. That can cause diarrhea. And you might need some antibiotics to treat it. So the lake is off-limits. Nobody is allowed to swim but kayaking would still be allowed, but they have to be cautious regarding the water in the event a splash were to land on your face and accidentally enters your mouth. Just a word of warning.
The family enters the cabin where they were met with a foul odor and already things are falling apart with the trip and the contaminated lake water was only the beginning. Louise found a closet and plays sneaky with Tina and later Gene by putting in a box that Tina was carrying into the closet. Tricking the adults in the room that they're carrying extra pillows and water but we all know what the Belcher kids had smuggled into the cabin. Though for Gene, it looks like he found an issue with the cabin regarding the bathroom. Remember the "bring your own water" policy when renting the cabin? Yeah, the Belchers would've at least brought in a few gallons of water. If not, a few buckets. Industrial-sized buckets of water for them to use. Mostly to flush down the toilet. Otherwise, what Gene is seeing when using the bathroom feels like a porta potty over at a music festival. Mostly Coachella. So as Bob and Linda check out on the whole bathroom situation as a distraction from Louise, thanks to Gene seeing what he just saw from there...
You have the Belcher kids inside the closet as they set up the portable TV that they smuggled into the cabin. As expected, the moment they saw the portable TV over in the kitchen and heard that the cabin has no electricity for them to bring a TV with them to the cabin. So a portable TV has to be the way to go for the kids to smuggle. No plug? No problem. The kids have batteries on standby for them to power the device and are ready to waste away while hoping for Bob and/or Linda to not find out. Too bad that Tina brought the wrong batteries. A pair of dead batteries from a bag...where the batteries were used up and boy, Tina messed that up with her doing battery duty for the TV. Otherwise, you’re pretty much screwed. So for now, no new batteries for the kids to use to power the TV as they make their way out of the closet without being seen by Bob or Linda who is coming out of the bathroom and making their way to the couch.
Gene picks up a radio that isn't your usual radio that is powered by batteries, but instead, it's a hand-cranked radio. But it's not your usual radio where you would get either AM or FM and instead, it's a weather radio that is only used for emergencies like in an event of severe weather like a thunderstorm for example. Nothing wrong with getting some exercise in the arms by cranking the radio to get something out of this cabin. And that comes in the form of an advisory being put into place due to a high wind warning taking place that resulted in the Rimshaw Pass area being closed off. And because of the high winds, didn't even notice that it was windy because you don't see each member of the family’s hair being blown, but because of the high winds getting in the way, not only the place is being closed off, mostly due to the place being mountainous, but it would shift the direction of wouldn't you guess it? The "Nippin' Nevins", best that I call it mosquitoes because that's pretty much what everyone would say. So I'm saying it. Mosquitoes.
The high winds shifted the swarm of mosquitoes and make them move over to the area where the Belchers are staying, causing the family to hunker down as the swarm infested the campsite. Taping the door and windows so they don't fly into the cabin. Of course, you have Tina in panic mode by spraying and wasting the bug spray. Linda only bought one bottle and I don't think that panic spraying would solve the issue. Also, the fact that it has chemicals means that you and everyone else might inhale and it's not a pleasant smell. Not the type of thing to inhale. So the Belchers are pretty much trapped inside for the entire weekend and possibly a week or two if the winds don't shift the mosquitoes away from the cabin. Leaving them to deal with potential cabin fever and we have ourselves a bubble episode, only in a new location. And of course, in this divided country of ours, there is one thing that we can all agree on in this day of age...and that is mosquitoes are the fucking worse. A nuisance. Wherever you go, there is always a freaking mosquito flying around and without proper protection, being the use of bug spray or wearing a long-sleeved shirt, they like to lurk around and search for blood to feed. And from someone who lives in the South in a subtropical climate, it's not a pleasant experience. It's not.
So the Belcher family trip has totally gone downhill in four minutes since arriving at the site from no running water to no electricity along with the lake being comminated with bacteria and now with a swarm of mosquitoes attacking the cabin like they're locus feeding on the crops as if we’re taking the pages from the Bible, yeah, it looks like the Belchers really didn’t learn their lesson when it comes to going to the great outdoors. Thinking that the coast is clear, the family hears a buzzing sound in the distance as if it’s coming from the sink as if the mosquitoes somehow got a brain and decide to fuck around and enter the cabin’s drainage system. Causing Linda to cover the sink with tape and also Tina wasting another portion of bug spray. The Guest Cabin from Hell, folks. This almost feels like the Belcher family might have gotten the place for the weekend out of Craigslist just to get a spot for an affordable price. Just watch as the next time they go out of town and decide to rent out an Airbnb and thought it would your typical nice house, only to figure out that the location is by a portion of a freeway that often gridlocks and the conditions, like with the cabin, total shit. You might as well just rent out a motel.
The Belcher kids decide to use that opportunity to sneak into the closet for a private kids-only meeting as Linda prepares to host a board game session to pass the time while dealing with the rising indoor temperature by talking about ideas to get the TV to power up thanks to Tina fucking up with her duty to get the batteries and need to think of something to turn it on so they can at least not make their weekend in the outdoors a living hellscape. But that meeting has been cut short once Bob enters the closet and notices what they were doing with them smuggling the TV into the cabin. Didn't bring the extra pillows or the water that they needed for the cabin but only a TV and also a pack of dead batteries. I mean, Bob would call them out for what they did and would upset Linda for bringing something that goes against the notion of having a family outing and away from civilization that would make the Amish cream themselves. But it looks like Bob might let this one slide and decides to jump aboard because let's face it, the trip is already a disaster and it appears that he doesn’t have any other choice despite not wanting to be on Linda’s bad side. Get to watch some TV while Linda is asleep but if they get caught, then Bob has to sell his kids out for smuggling in the TV from the house. Even though they did smuggle the item without notice. So it’s not really selling them out for immunity. Though it might be because of the incompetence coming from Bob’s parenting skills.
Later on into the day and this is where the episode feels like it has hit the snooze button where you have the family trying to spend some family time over at the table while a swarm of mosquitoes surrounds the cabin while being shut in. Linda wanted the family to come together while being at the table, whether trying to play a board game or having dinner...in which the food had to be cold and raw because they can't use the grill to heat it up thanks in part to the mosquitoes fucking around and waiting for any member of the family to become their blood buffet. And let’s not kid ourselves, this felt dragged out. This felt dragged out. And my god, this felt like this was going on forever with them just doing some sitting and talking. Sitting and talking with the Belcher kids trying to play Koi and not being suspicious around Linda over them smuggling the TV into the cabin without anyone noticing. That and also trying to find a way to turn the item on with the dead batteries that they had to carry around. And I’m sorry, but that scene felt like it went on forever when being locked in. Sure, other shows often do that whenever they’re hunkered down during a disaster event like a hurricane for example. But great googly moogly, that felt like it was going on forever. And this isn’t me shitting on the show. This is one of the many issues that this episode had to deal with as the day drags on before shifting over to the night. I may need to get the taste out of my mouth. A bit of a breather before resuming what I'm doing it. And I think I might do that as I press the pause button for a bit.
So this week’s episode of The Great North was pretty much the best out of the two shows that aired this past Sunday. We don’t need to mention Rick and Morty this week because...God, what the hell is going on over at the writer’s room? The episode is pretty much simple. Wolf and Honeybee get into their first fight as a married couple and this is over the pronunciation of an actor's name. And bad timing too for the pair to get into an argument because it has to be the same day the bi-annual Lone Moose Disaster Day takes place with Moon's theme of Jurassic Park and has dinosaurs roam around and fuck shit up. Where the hell is Chris Pratt when you need him?
Sure, the outcome is pretty much predictable, and knew that these two would patch up in the end, but it has been somewhat of a wild ride for the two. Mostly with Wolf because with their first argument, he thinks that his marriage is pretty much dead on arrival as Honeybee does her role in the Disaster Day event to treat the ill. Actual ill people are in a position where you have to treat people in roleplaying mode but end up dealing with food poisoning because they had macaroni from a food truck. Their fight had been the focus of the episode that has clouded the Disaster Day plot of the episode, but hey, at least their marriage is saved. Though everyone does have a point when it comes to Wolf and Honeybee in a heated argument, couples fight all the time. Sure, some arguments end in a breakup or divorce. Not Wolf and Honeybee. I'm sure they'll do fine. Even if Honeybee had to be around an Irish doctor who Wolf believes is the hot one. Last I checked that this isn’t a hospital drama where you have a hot doctor. At least the marriage is saved as per usual.
You also have the subplot with Beef and Jerry with Beef coming out that he doesn't know how to ride a bike when doing his part in the Disaster Day event because his parents aren't around during his entire childhood. Really fitting into your role as a sitcom dad, Beef. You're getting the hang of it. Resulting in Jerry helping him out to teach his father-in-law to ride a bike. More traumatic moments for Beef are on the menu for this season and we just got out of him dealing with the fam going to places that were considered a "no-no place" thanks to Kathleen's antics. But at least the family is finally letting go of the past and thinking about the present. Judy and Ham had a day with them planning to keep their Disaster Day survival streak alive...only for their streak to come to an end once we entered the final minutes of the episode. But at least they helped in their voluntary role in helping their older brother to make things right with Honeybee.
Also, Moon had a day during the Disaster Day event with him entering the government building with Mayor Peppers. Thinking that he would do something like deploying the troops, calling for equipment, contacting the governor or even the President. Nope. He's getting paperwork over at one of the offices throughout the day. But it looks like Moon had no problem whatsoever when doing it. Mostly because of him being hot shit because his theme got picked. Hell, he even had a song about it and again, he doesn't seem to mind doing it as long as his theme gets picked. If he didn't have his Jurassic Park theme picked, it would be a different story, and have to play his role. But it looks like Moon had a day and once the episode ends, he gets to take home a stapler from the office as if you're leaving the White House once your term is up and decide to take something as a memento. Unless you're the former president and thought that stealing nuclear secrets is considered a good fucking idea. Okay, finally got that sour taste out of my mouth talking about something else for a bit in this review...and now we return to our regularly scheduled program already in progress.
Night finally hits over at the cabin with the mosquitoes showing no signs to go to bed as Linda sleeps through the noise as the camera shifts over to the closet with Bob and the kids finally got the TV on and can finally have their time to watch something to pass the time without getting Linda to notice. Too bad that she did moments later, either because of the blue light from the TV or the sounds from the volume coming from the closet, but either way, the family have been caught red-handed and of course, Bob failed to sell the kids out and trying to play innocent but fell into the pit as well.
Linda scolds them once the family is at the table with the TV present and reminds them that this weekend was supposed to be the weekend where they need to get away from the electronics and have a nice and simple family time. But Bob and the kids had to lay down the truth to her, it's awful. The outdoor experience to spend the entire weekend is nothing more than cluster shambles. The no electronics rule, sure. Mostly because there's no electricity. They can’t afford a generator. They already knew that the trip is becoming a disaster once they noticed that something was off with the cabin where they were staying. Not to mention not having any running water, the place quickly heats up, it baffles me that they didn't even bother to get themselves a fan before heading off to the woods, the lake is covered in bacteria, and now had to hunker down because of the swarm of mosquitoes. The trip has already turned into a massive disaster that not even the federal government can't send aid to help out.
Linda would challenge their argument and tell them that even though the trip is already a disaster as they proclaimed, they have to stay put because she wants the family to come together. Summer's almost over and they need something to remember before the kids return to school for the new school year. Saving the Wharf and solving a murder doesn't count because that was before the start of summer break. But it looks like Linda can't challenge it and ends up throwing in the towel. Telling the family to pack up first thing in the morning and be ready to head back home. Also throwing in the notion of them watching TV as the rest of the family goes to sleep in a middle of a hot cabin. Again, nothing to cool off. Didn't bring in a single portable fan for them to install to at least help them cool off, especially during the night when they have to deal with them having sweaty butt cracks. Also, note that not having anything to cool off would result in someone getting into deep shit. I'm referring to heat exhaustion. It's the last thing anyone wants. Especially in an area where you have no running water or anything to cool off. Not to mention bringing in a lack of drinking water.
A new day arrives from an already hot cabin as Linda is preparing to head out for a bit despite the swarm of mosquitoes already in line for which member of the Belcher family exits the cabin first as if they’re waiting in line for Black Friday shopping and it looks like it's Linda who will be heading out. Mostly because she wants to at least go kayaking before packing her stuff up and ready to make their way out back to the city. Leaving the family to watch some TV to pass the time while packing up their stuff as Linda is ready to head out and quickly make her way to the boat for her to paddle. But not before putting on some bug spray...that is empty thanks to Tina using all of the aerosols and thus, leaving the family to defend themselves and become mosquito food.
Another breather for this episode and we have Teddy in the next scene arriving for his daily trip to the restaurant but noticing that there's a note on the door, saying that the place is closed and currently out of town. You have Teddy thinking that not one member of the family, primarily Bob or Linda, not telling Teddy about their trip would result in the family being out of town. Overreacting that the family kept the trip quiet as if they don't trust him. I mean, it's Teddy. He often overreacts sometimes but that has been cut short when he notices another note on the floor. Knew that Teddy would do something like that and also told him that they sent a message before leaving that they would be going out of town. Which Teddy did just as he stops reading the note and checked on his text message to verify. Ready to pull out the key before reading the note again and says that they placed a burger inside the apartment for him to take...only for him to find out that the key accidentally slid inside the locked restaurant and now, he won't be getting that burger for him to take. And out of the many moments from this episode, this has to be the only highlight of the episode because man, oh man, this episode felt like it was going nowhere. Felt like a snoozefest. And it's only episode two. Episode two of a brand new season. Episode two in the post-movie era of the series. I don't know what to say other than utter silence and not get any thinking about what just happened. And this isn't me being a complete asshole or anything to bash the show. It just the episode had a lot of problems to state and the execution and writing felt bland and again, feels like it was going nowhere with the family heading out to the cabin in the woods.
Might as well get this out of the way, I’ll do the Bob and the kids with the TV first before doing Linda’s scenes of the episode because it might as well be as easier as it looks from what is pretty much a very long episode because you have Bob and the kids watching their TV that the kids smuggled last night and finally gotten to work to pass the time. Of course, it has to be when Bob has to pack the luggage up for them to wait for Linda to come back and make a break for it. Even if it means getting through the swarm of mosquitoes waiting for them in the wings. And that is what the family had to do throughout the scene. Just them just waiting for either Linda to come back or for the wind to shift the mosquitoes away from them to get out of dodge. But looking at the situation in Linda's direction, it looks like they’re about to head off with no bug spray, again, thanks to Tina overusing the bottle, to save Linda so they can get out of the campsite. Speaking of Linda and I did say that the Linda scenes come later and I’m doing it.
Linda makes her way to the middle of the lake with that mini dock for her to park the boat to at least enjoy some outdoor activities before leaving the campsite. But because of her being in a tired state due to the environment of the cabin, dealing with the indoor temperature rising in the middle of the night, and also catching Bob and the kids red-handed for smuggling a TV into the cabin, she ends up passing out and right to sleep. Not worrying about the possible sunburn but also terrible timing because Linda is left all alone and she has no protection. Causing the mosquitoes to now make their way towards a sleepy Linda for them to feed. Sending her to an imaginative state where she is talking to one of the mosquitoes in her head. Accusing Linda of ruining their so-called trip because she had to rent out the cabin for the family to stay over for the weekend. Which explains why the cabin has somewhat of a reputation in the backwoods of the rural area outside of town. That and also telling Linda that she shouldn't go overboard with the idea of wanting to bring the family close. Yeah, tell me you don't hear that before? Linda goes overboard and hopes for something to go right and ends up blowing up in her face. I mean, we're talking about the same person who was planning on taking the family to the symphony, only to face a roadblock because of Gene contracting pinworms, and if they were to go with the pinworm-infested Gene and it would turn the concert into a super spreader event. It would not be a good look for her. And we know that this won't be the last. There will be more in the foreseeable future and there's nothing we can do about it. But for now, Linda comes to terms with the mother of the mosquitoes that she may have gone overboard and shouldn't be like other families when it comes to...well, everything. Just in time for her to become mosquito food for the swarm that came in her direction and also being stranded in the middle of the lake because of a reeky canoe that came down crashing into the bottom of the lake. Now you kinda wish Jason Voorhees to make a freaking cameo to make it an episode.
But alas, the Belcher family comes to Linda’s rescue as they too are being hit by the swarm to get Linda out of the small dock in the middle of the lake and make their way out of dodge and escape with their stuff packed up and of course, needed to be treated for bites and possible West Nile Virus infection as they reach towards where Linda is at. But not before both camps apologize to each other for what happened earlier as they make their way out of the campsite and get out of dodge. Hopefully, they learned their lesson about the dangers of camping this time around. Because otherwise, we would be back to square one. And there is a future episode called “Oh Row You Didn’t” and if that episode has them by the lake, because when you think of the word "row" in the title, your first thought would be a boat, yeah, I'm guessing they wouldn't learn their lesson. So the Belchers are now out of the vicinity of the campsite with bites now covered all over their bodies but noticed that they haven't signed the guest book. Otherwise, the person who owned the cabin might think the Belchers either broke into the cabin or were scared off because of the mosquitoes or the condition of the cabin. Either way, the family forgot to fill out the guest book but that doesn’t seem to be the concerning part of the trip back to town. Nope, they had to go back to get the TV that they forgot to pack to close out the episode. Man, I need a drink after this.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? It’s only episode two of a brand new season and a brand new era of the show and uh...yikes. Again, this isn’t me thrashing on the show and being an ass and such, but this is a long, yet bland episode. A new location is where I have to give the episode a point because there's nothing wrong with being in a new place like deep in the woods outside of town for the weekend, even if it's for a one-night stay. But above all else...the episode was a mess.
Not in the likes of...let's say "Crystal Mess" this time last season because that episode was aptly named a mess. A predictable mess but it's a total mess when it comes to the execution and the direction with the plot already guessed even before the episode even aired. This episode...I can sense a lot of people having mixed feelings about it from start to finish. Some may like the episode for...reasons other than I don't know why or how. But the majority might as well agree to say what the hell did we just watch? Sure, give a rewatch. Give it a few times to understand it. The rewatchability factor is there for this episode and being flown over your house through a plane with a banner attached on its back. But to me, it's not a good episode. But it's not the worst episode of the series. Rather the season and we're only two episodes into the new season. Two episodes. Two. Feels like a bland episode that felt nothing. There are some decent moments but other than that, it almost feels like a snoozefest. How much of a snoozefest? Almost at the level of last Sunday night's 49ers/Broncos game. That was a snoozefest in itself. This episode is pretty much me being generous.
Out of the many moments that I have to find a positive for this episode has to be the small screen time with Teddy at the restaurant. The only issue with that scene is that it would've stretched a little more and made it a subplot of its own like with "Just the Trip" the last time Teddy was left alone at the apartment or even "Christmas in the Car". Well, you would have Teddy getting his wrist trapped created by the kids when getting a glass of milk that was meant for Santa Claus. But I still think that the Teddy scene would've done a little long. Would've turned it into its own subplot. Just putting it out there. But this has to be the only highlight from the episode. The rest has a lot of issues. From being predictable, as always in certain episodes, to a few scenes that felt dragged out, it became a mess the moment the Belchers head out to the woods and arrive at the cabin. And there is a saying to this and I mentioned it a few times before in past reviews and I might as well say it again. And that is that the biggest crime that any piece of entertainment can commit is to bore you or leave you nothing. Because that’s a cardinal sin written on itself if any form of media were to leave you in a blank space. And I’ll also say this in past reviews and that is that I ain’t dropping the show all because of one bad episode. I’m not dropping the show just because the episode was terrible or was poorly structured when it comes to direction or writing. I said it in Fender Benderful. I think I said it either “Crystal Mess”, “Beach, Please”, or “The Spider House Rules”. And I’m gonna say it again for this week’s episode. I’m not dropping the show because of one episode. It’s only episode two, calm the fuck down.
So final thoughts to the episode...yeah, other than the Teddy scene, it has some issues. But this is where the discussion may have to come into place. Because as I said earlier, some people have mixed feelings about it and I wanna hear them in the comments below. But for me, I'll have it give "The Reeky Lake Show"...
A 3 out of 10. It came dangerously close to a 2 out of 10 that it’s not even funny. So it’s a 3 out of 10 for me. That’s my opinion and now I wanna hear yours in the comment section below. Let’s hope the upcoming episode on October 9 would be a good one. Or at least better than this week’s episode. Though looking at the episode for Next Sunday appears to be an anthology episode with Louise being the center focus. The first time since The Bob’s Burgers Movie where you have her in the limelight. “What About Job” is the next episode on October 9, so be there to watch.
Follow me over on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. No poll this week for the Battle of the Week Voting Tournament because we're gearing up for the semifinals for the 2022 season with the first match opening up on October 9 between Marcy Wu from Amphibia and Judy Tobin from The Great North. A rematch of the last match of Group C back in August where both fanbases fought it out over the Group C crown and now, it's the Bravo Party Nomination and a trip to their first ever Finals appearance on the line. And of course, y'all should know the drill by now...
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