I know that this review for the Halloween episode came out the day after the holiday but you try working on the episode review and break it down for two days before releasing it. Besides, Bob's Burgers had two Halloween episodes that came out in November, so it's not even late until the last person on the planet decides to get over the holiday. At least we got our first break for the season coming up. And after being six episodes in with the new season...yeah, a little breather wouldn’t hurt. Might as well get the Halloween episode out of the way in the transitional week from October going into November.
In this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, it’s Halloween once again over in Seymour’s Bay with the fourth graders going on a field trip to an apple orchard with Louise believing that something might be off as Tina and Gene in their little subplot try and compete for the school’s costume parade but hits through some hurdles in the sixth episode of Season 13 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “Apple Gore-chard (But Not Gory)”
Normally, this would be where the introduction would take place with the reviews leading up to the actual episode to start breaking down, but I might as well change that just for this week. This is pretty much going to be my small initial thoughts about the Linda cameo from the latest Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode. It’s short. But what do you expect coming from a cameo? In one of the stories that turned into their version of the HBO series Westworld with the family served as self-aware replicants. At least it's not something like Blade Runner because we did it first. But it is nice to hear John Roberts voicing Linda and keeping the show's style though of course, with a different animation studio taking its place, you have to give the show some credit for what they're doing.
And it’s not the first rodeo for Bob’s Burgers when it comes to being on The Simpsons. You remember that couch gag from a few seasons ago where Homer stumbles into the restaurant and he’s in the intro to the show. Somehow survived through the rat infestation, the kitchen catching on fire, and a downed power pole before being noticed by the Belchers. And sure, you would bring up the cold opening to Archer with the Season 4 episode "Fugue and Riffs" where Archer had amnesia and took up the name "Bob" and run the restaurant before running off to a spa resort in hopes of not be seen by Russian assassins before getting his memories to return. And before you say anything about the show getting more crossovers in the future, I don't think that is ever going to happen. Mostly because Loren come out to say that he wouldn't do it. Even if it's with another FOX show or any other show outside of the network. Hell, don't think a crossover with either Central Park or The Great North would be a possibility. You leave that to fan artists, fanfiction writers, and also people who participated in the ongoing voting tournament if you follow me in the socials. But yeah, that Linda cameo was an alright one even if it's a short one. But that's how cameos work. Of course, it has to be overshadowed by the Death Note parody, and even though I never saw the anime, I know, hearsay, I get it, it's not a bad parody and the show did stay true to the anime from the style to pretty much everything else. Even if they have to tone the deaths down whenever Lisa writes down every wealthy person's name because they're killing the planet.
Now that’s out of the way with that mini-review, short thoughts on what happened in The Simpsons, let’s get to the actual review of the episode for Bob’s Burgers. Of course, going to include the half-assed mini-review intermission of The Great North’s episode once we get to the halfway point of the review with “Blood Actually Adventure”. But for now, it’s “Apple Gore-chard (But Not Gory)" that is the name of the game, and let the games begin.
Of course, we got no intro to start the show, and instead, we get a cold opening to start the episode. Though normally with no intro to an episode, you would expect shit to hit the fan with the most recent being the two-parter from last season's finale leading up to the movie. Though there are often times when you have an episode with no opening for no reason other than being cut for time or sending in false hope. Thinking that things would be interesting, only for things to become putrid. Looking at you, "Tina and the Real Ghost". Starting with the episode with the fourth graders making their way to the apple orchard for their field trip on Halloween with every student in the class in costume.
You have Louise dressing up as Helen Hunt, emphasis on the hunt part of the name with the blonde wig over her ears and a safety vest. And points out that it's part of the costume contest that she, Tina, and Gene are participating in and we'll get to them in the next scene of the review. Rudy, going basic this Halloween, going as a mummy and having tons and tons of toilet paper around him. And if this were Halloween in 2020, pretty sure the homemade mummy option wouldn't be on the table if anyone remembers the toilet paper shortage. And then we get to Jessica. Oh, Jess is back, boys. Bland and boring Jessica is back for this episode. First time since before the start of the pandemic. Going all out with her costume for the episode with her dressing up as a combination of both Billie Eilish and Billy Idol into one. Mostly because her dad is a fan of both artists and thus, the idea came to life. And to the point where the actual Billy Idol has some influence on the episode. Both the costume that Jessica wore throughout the episode and also the ending song that is used for the credits. Not the first time we had an artist doing this on the show. Cyndi Lauper, Carly Simon, Fiona Apple, and Billy Idol did their due on the show. Though you'd think that Billie Eilish would respond to this to the costume.
But hey, at least she’s back and now that appears in the episode...yeah, she’s not coming back for a long while. And it's getting annoying to do that. I get the reason why they're holding Jessica back. But a long wait? More on that little tirade later in the review. Also mentioning that Jessica went all out on the costume. Questioning if the hair color is either a wig or if she possibly dyed it to get the costume because some people want to take the costume business very seriously and would go all out by dying their hair color. Because if it is dye, then...uh...you would have questions from some who think that if it's even okay for a nine-year-old to undergo hair dying. Mostly because you would use bleach as one of the ingredients for the color change for the hair.
Also, you got Bob doing some chaperoning for the trip. Not the first time with him doing the position while being on the trip. Of course, it wasn't until a matter of time before Rudy brings up Chloe, who is absent from this episode, though not 100% absent because she was there in a flashback, but she's one of the students who are not on the bus on their way to the apple orchard. One of the four. The other three being Abby, Jodi, and Millie. But yeah, Chloe is absent from the trip because she's out sick for the day, sucks to be her.
And you have Rudy here, treating her absence as if the world has gone mad. Annoying the fuck out of Louise and Jessica, but mostly Louise because knowing Louise's issue with Chloe is uh...it's a long list because Chloe is a bitch. Whether being not accepting to be Rudy's Valentine's kiss after getting the weed and card or calling her a baby for not doing the dead man's drop over her ears, she's a bitch. She is a bitch. She is Queen Bitch. And Rudy would still fall head over heels for her despite getting some of the messages from Louise. He is simping for her and simping her hard and it's pretty obvious that Louise is jealous of Chloe. She is jealous of her. Not for the whole “I’m better than you because I’m popular” type of bullshit. But leaning towards the line of shipping. Sure, Louise was just looking out for Rudy's well-being and she wouldn't let his heartbreak by Chloe on Valentine's Day, but it's blatantly obvious that Louise was jealous of Chloe because Rudy is crushing on her. It's almost as simple as that after watching "Bob Actually". But no, it's because she's popular and once made animal noises. The type of stuff that will be sticking around for the first half of the episode for the three kids. That being Rudy, Louise, and Jessica. So as the fourth graders make their way to the apple orchard farm...
Back at school, you have Tina and Gene entering the building with them having some issues with their costumes as if they’re carrying a fragile package. And according to Frond, it appears that they're doing a group costume for the upcoming costume parade. Well...less of a parade and more of a contest later into the episode. Would have made it easier by calling it a contest rather than a parade. Because of the definition of a "parade" is, of course, walking through the street or hallway and wowing the crowd. I dunno what's your definition of the word, Frond. I dunno what's your definition of it. But at least you have Jimmy Jr as John Travolta from I'm guessing it's Saturday Night Fever and of course, you have Zeke as a panda. Tina and Gene went with a theme for their part in the contest by recreating the movie "Twister" with Tina as the tornado and Gene as debris. Rather dressing up as Bill Paxton's character. Of course, the movie Twister is the movie for weather nerds and people who have an interest in meteorology that inspired some to go storm chasing. Linda worked hard to get the costumes in place for the Belcher kids, primarily Tina and Gene to not mess up with their costumes. Spoiler alert, there's a lot of messing up for them leading up to the hour of judgment. At least Louise's costume doesn't need any fixing because it's pretty much a vest and a wig over the ears. And that happens in the next two scenes of the subplot in the episode.
The fourth graders arrive at the apple orchard and are greeted by the owners of the attraction who tell them about the backstory of the place in an attempt to entertain the masses or as they dubbed the fourth graders attending the place as "peasants". Thought the setting for the place would scream the 1600s...late 1600s because the buildings do almost scream colonial era and whacky shit happens there. Mostly with the idea of the whole witch hunt back in the day. Almost thinking of the Doctor Who episode where they have to battle poo demons in the 1600s over the whole witch hunt situation. But no, apparently coming from the two people who are running the joint, it's based on what life is like in the year 100 B.C. Pretty much the time when the Pagans were the ruling religion or lifestyle for the British Isles. Some farmers pray and please their gods in hopes for their harvest and their crops don't get ruined. And if does stay alive, we get a festival as a thank you for the Pagan gods to keep their harvest alive and well for them to survive. So it was pretty much tribalism back in the day. I would say "cult" because that almost sounds like something you see or hear about what a cult would look like. Mind you that this is before the creation of religions like Christianity and Islam even though the other three major religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism are around back in the day. But no, the Pagan lifestyle seems to be the way to go. Almost forgot that most of the religions back in the day were in the Eastern Hemisphere, not yet reaching towards the West until...give it a few centuries for everything to expand.
Other than that, it's pretty much the two hosts giving the students an introduction to the apple orchard farm. Giving them the ground rules. Though you can see Louise and Jessica becoming disinterested in the farm though there is one place on this farm to at least make their day not miserable before Louise fucks off to be with Tina and Gene for the costume parade/contest, it's pretty much a contest. It's pretty much a contest. Though Bob somehow shows an interest in beekeeping when telling the two owners if there's a beehive in the vicinity. Okay? Random. Don't even remember Bob even having an interest in beekeeping but...okay.
Before switching over to the next scene, of course, you have a lot of students in costumes on this trip. We already have Louise, Rudy, and Jessica with their costumes; might as well explain the others. Andy and Ollie no surprise, they dress up as salt and pepper shakers. I mean, they dressed up as jars of peanut butter and jelly back in Season 9. You try telling them to wear different costumes that are not the same. Other than them, you have Hogarth as Abraham Lincoln, going with a presidential theme because you have Henry later in the episode in the background as George Washington. Wayne dressed up as a vampire. Harley dresses up as a unicorn. Of course, the first debut in the post-movie era of the show where Ashley Nicole Black takes charge of voicing her. Don't wanna hear any bitching. I don't wanna hear any bitching over the voice. We all watched the movie. That was the first time we heard the voice, deal with it. Jeremy dressed up as a dog if anyone remembers that character. Arnold is an astronaut. And then we get to Kaylee...as a banana. You'd think that because she reads a book series of anything medieval and wizardry is where she would at least dress up as a wizard, or at least a witch. The Owl House is ending soon. Give them a shoutout and early sendoff. She mentions the wizard cape in "Prank You For Being a Friend". But no, she's a banana. Already guessed that Kaylee's favorite color is yellow, so why not dress up as anything that resembles the color like a banana? Though sometimes you see green bananas (plantains) at the store, but the rest is yellow and that is pretty much Kaylee’s choice of wardrobe for Halloween.
Back to the subplot and to no one's surprise, Tina and Gene damaged their costumes and call Linda to come over to fix everything that the two oldest siblings messed up. And we don't need to switch back to the main plot because the phone call was short for them to mess up their costume. Might as well skip over to that with Linda entering the school and fixing the costume while being at the office. And once that is fixed, she gives Tina and Gene a warning to not do anything stupid to damage the costume. They can't sit down. They can't use the bathroom. Don't do anything to mess things up until the contest arrives later in the day once Louise makes her return from the orchard farm. That is what I would say and have them not mess things up but spoiler alert, they did it again. Casing Linda to go back and forth to fix the costumes. We already know what the outcome is going to be for them. Even Tina flat said that they'll most likely not going to win. Mostly because kids these days don't understand the reference, can't blame them for that. But the props falling from Gene and Tina being tangled will most likely going to cost them the win. Or even land in the top three. It’s not a good look for the Belcher siblings...or this episode in general.
Back to the main plot of the episode whereas the kids' tour around the orchard farm village in what is pretty much a sad setting if you look at it with the area where you have Louise and Jessica spotting a barn with a keep-out sign attached to the door and it's one of the spots that the duo want to sneak away and have some fun, but gets called back into the group by LaBonz. You can already see Louise and Jessica already getting bored with the trip on their way to the apple orchard but Louise sensed that something is off about the place they were at when noticing a weird being in the background that caught her attention before diving back to the orchard. Almost getting some Wicker Man vibes coming from Louise knowing the people in costume and that weird being in the back. Not to mention everyone follows the Pagan lifestyle. Yeah, you could say that you're somewhat getting vibes to The Wicker Man when noticing the behavior of the attraction and Louise noticing the weird creature in the back and now a flock of crows roaming around the area. Nothing too ominous about that for the nine-year-old as the trip drags on.
And even though the girls want to sneak away from the tour and make their way to the barn to jump on the hayloft, apparently Chloe's influence of doing animal noises to liven things up for this trip affects Jessica, who is making the animal calls. Filling in for an ill-ridden Chloe and ends up becoming the talk of the class trip...for a few minutes and wows the crowd leading up to the whole class harvesting the apples from the shrubs. Though the apples don't look too impressive thanks in part to a few factors. A lack of rain may be one item on the list. Above or below average temperatures is another item to be stated. Or if you're the two owners of the attraction and trying to stick to the script, the Sun God of Pagan lore was not too pleased with everything. Yeah, that explains why the apples don't look good and fresh once the kids picked them from the orchard. But at least Jessica is enjoying her few minutes of fame in doing sheep calls to liven things up with the trip...until Rudy and later Louise steals her thunder. Jessica would be upset about that but she knew that her time would be up for her to get the attention from her peers during the trip.
You’d think that Jessica, like Louise, would not care about the whole popularity thing that Chloe mustered up. Thinking that all of this would be considered bullshit and doesn’t understand or even care about the whole social hierarchy in general. But no, she may have liked having the few minutes of fame before Rudy and Louise took it away because she has some reason when it comes to pretty much her character. And she said to Louise after Rudy took her thunder that she doesn't know what's it like to be around anyone who has a following. Who likes to be at the center of attention but in a good way. And I can somewhat get that because we know that Jessica is not the social type before ever meeting Louise. Whether being her having a boring personality or her issues with her wetting the bed each night, she's not a social person who often doesn't have any friends. I mean, she might’ve in the past but again, she’s not a social person. Don’t think she hardly had any friends or any interaction before the slumber party that Linda orchestrated and befriending Louise. Still think Jessica would be one of those people in school who doesn't give a rat's ass about the whole social hierarchy and getting the attention like what she got for a few minutes during the harvest. She had to earn her way to be the center of attention and she did that with her sheep imitations. Rudy did it with his magic tricks. And now you have Louise making some weird noise by covering your mouth with your fist. So to me, I could see that Jessica wanted to be noticed because of how introverted she is. Whether being her having a boring personality or her issues with wetting the bed and don't want to be the butt of the joke if someone were to find out. Just be lucky that she has Louise and the whole bedwetting issue is between them and them only.
Although you can interpret what I'm saying about Jessica not oftentimes being the center of attention to her peers to how she’s been treated in the goddamn show. Seriously though, Jessica became Louise’s first female friend that she made since the events of “Slumber Party”, only to have her disappear? I mean yeah, looking back at that Behind Bob's Burgers episode from 2015 that was mentioned in my first discussion piece regarding Jessica about her rapidly becoming a fan favorite and Hahn's busy schedule with other projects but some fans are getting annoyed with the lack of Jessica in the show. I mean fuck, the last time we saw Jessica on Bob's Burgers was weeks before the start of the pandemic. The start of the pandemic. Nothing wrong with Rudy. Not hating on Rudy. Rudy's a delight but Louise has other friends that have little to no expansion to their personalities. I mean, if Rudy's absent, who will be next in Louise's circle? Well, you have Andy and Ollie. But we don’t have any major roles from them in a while. I’m guessing Season...ten with the subplot with the lost cat. But if they’re out of the table? Who else would be standing in the wings?
Oh yeah. Jessica. Even though Millie may have jumped the gun thanks in part to the crew’s attempt to humanize her. Season 12 pretty much did their attempt whenever she appears. So Jessica has to be next on that list. Her and Kaylee. Oh yeah, those two had nothing in their department other than Jessica being a boring person with a bedwetting issue but having a super sneaky side that caught Louise's attention. And Kaylee because she came to her for help to get into trouble for her to be homeschooled though stopped her because she never made any friends. But for Jessica, I believe I said that before, though that's probably more over on the Discord chat, I might as well say it. What's the point of Jessica being Louise's friend if you're not thinking about bringing her back? Give Jessica some justice for once. Expand her character. Do something. Wrapping up the first half of the episode and following that little tirade that was spewed out from my mouth into this post, this would be a good time for a mini-review intermission with The Great North’s episode for Halloween. Five episodes into that season and I bet you nothing can end that streak.
That is what I would say if you kinda wish the episode may have done a little more with it for this year's Halloween season. I knew that sooner or later that the streak of good episodes would have to end at some point. And this episode may have snapped that streak. I mean, it's not a bad episode. I don't hate it. But it is decent. Average to say the least. This mostly comes from the main plot with Honeybee missing out on her trip to Fresno to celebrate the Halloween holiday with the family but thanks to a storm fucking over with her plans, and thus, losing her holiday spirit and having the episode to go full Christmas Carol. Thought that turning the house into what is pretty much going to be a crime scene investigation but more than enough to scare the Tobins. But this episode pretty much shifted toward what's going on with Jerry and the holiday. And the reason is pretty much simple when going through the various moments in time in their life. Mostly with them at the party and Jerry being frightened year after year and yeah, I get that it’s Halloween. The one time of year when you get some tricks and/or treats. Some frights and/or thrills. It boils down to Jerry not liking the holiday over him being a bit of a scaredy cat. Honestly, I don’t blame him. Some don't wanna be scared on Halloween but don't want to sound like that guy but you should at least try to get to the holiday. Give Honeybee some credit but the main plot of the episode is pretty much hit or miss from each moment.
The subplot on the other hand with the Tobins fighting over the lone cat costume that came into the mail...yeah, I don’t know why they would do that. I knew that Beef would get the costume at the end. The Tobin kids didn’t even put on a fight to make a statement on who gets the full rights to the costume. Surprising that the cat costume has been stretched out for the five members of the Tobin family as if there's like a switch where it can grow or shrink based on the height of each family member. But the Tobin siblings almost had it. No issues with Ham on his part but ends up falling short. Moon almost had it due to the cuteness factor when wearing the costume and would've been the winner...but ends up falling short due to him collapsing due to being high on sugar. Judy had her shot but, of course, fell short coming from the statement side of things to get the costume. Seriously, you're the nominee this year and you do that?! You're not worse than Wolf who ended up with a broken back for a bit before Beef ends up as the winner. Dragged the episode with the side story over the cat costume. So all and all with The Great North this week, it's not that bad but would do a little more with the main plot and the subplot would've done a little better with them in the costume department. A 6 out of 10 for “Blood Actually Adventure”. Back to Bob’s Burgers we go for this review.
It's lunchtime for the fourth graders as some eat their lunch while the rest create their crown or both with Louise enjoying her time as the so-called "hero of the harvest" as Jessica reminds Louise to not let her few minutes of fame not go through her head and reminds her about the barn they'll be sneaking away from the group as they're preparing to do the next activity, which is pretty much them dancing. And not in an eerie and suspicious way to dance but it's more than enough for Louise and Jessica to have some fun all to themselves as they make their way to the barn to do a little jumping onto the pile of hay. Nothing says seeing two buds like Louise and Jessica hanging out together like sneaking away from the group and making their way to the barn to make some jumps. I mean, yeah, we have the montage coming up with the two plots. Four scenes from both plots take place.
So might as well get the subplot out of the way with the montage, before we get to that, we have Linda returning to the restaurant after fixing Tina and Gene’s costumes with Teddy waiting outside of the restaurant like a dog waiting for its owner to arrive. Like...there are other places in town. You know those exist, right? Linda opens the restaurant and with her in charge of the restaurant once again, really wished she did some stuff like what she did in last week’s episode, messing around with the board and such. But just as Linda makes her way to the counter and prepares to cook up Teddy a burger for the soon-to-be lunch rush...wouldn't you guess it? She gets a call from Tina and Gene about the costume once again. Jesus fucking Christ. I mean, we knew that they were going to fuck around with the costumes, but Jesus Christ. I mean, at this point, you might as well have Linda stay at the school and be there as the one-person pit crew in an event Tina and/or Gene mess up with their costume. I know that the school won't allow it but I feel like this would've been the case for Linda each time the kids mess up with their costumes. Though Teddy doesn't want Linda to head over there, pretty much doing everyone a favor in having to go through this subplot. Even though that's his hunger talking, but leave it to Linda to improvise to keep Teddy company as she leaves the restaurant and makes her way back to the school. And that is to feed him a bag full of bread.
Yep, a bag full of bread as Linda runs her way to the school. Hey, gotta need something to keep Teddy busy and fed and apparently, a bag of bread has to be the way to go in the montage as Linda once again fixes the costume for Tina and Gene. I get that they want to win the contest and wow the crowd, but looking at this subplot, they might as well just wave the white flag. Sure, they would still need Louise to come back from her trip but it appears in the next scene in this montage, she got her own issues, which we'll get to that. But man, this is already becoming a bad subplot for the episode. And everyone and their mother knows what the outcome of the subplot is going to be. And we got a few more scenes with that in the final minutes of the episode. But for now, we have a lot of the main plot to cover before switching back to the subplot to wrap things up.
We head back to Louise and Jessica as they made it to the barn and prepare to have the few minutes all to themselves by jumping onto the hayloft without being seen as the others are doing some dancing that isn't deemed too suspicious and ominous as it was shown with Bob and the other kids doing some dancing as if we're doing what is pretty much the chicken dance back in the early days of civilization. And nothing too ominous with various faceless dolls of hay being attached to the wall as if they're ready to be crucified or ready to be showcased to the masses how the power of voodoo works. But that's not going to stop Louise and Jessica from having some fun by jumping into the pile of hay from the second floor of the barn. And I might as well get this out of the way for this portion of the review regarding the main plot and pretty much the episode as a whole. The scenes with Louise and Jessica being around each other are the highlight of the episode. Only saying that because this was one of the items from the list that needed to be checked off.
Ever since "Slumber Party", we never had an episode where it's just the two of them. You would say, "Oh, but what about Three Girls and a Little Wharfy?" That episode had Megan in it and there's nothing wrong with that trio in the episode, but we never expanded Jessica as a character since her debut back in Season 4 other than her having a super sneaky mischievous side despite having a boring personality and her issues of wetting the bed each night. Want her and Louise to hang out as friends and get to know them more. Work as a duo. A team I might ask. And we got that. But is it enough? Sort of. I mean, they sneaked away from the group to jump into the barn to jump onto the pile of hay. Noticed that something is off about the place. And later tells Louise about a mix-up with everything that she saw and thought that she would be sacrificed. The point is that we need more of these two together. Nothing wrong with Rudy but again, she has other friends and we never got anything from them. This episode may have something with Jessica but I feel like it might not be enough. At least they played their cards right...sort of.
Louise and Jessica are prepared to do one last jump before heading back to the group by getting more hay for the hayloft until Louise spotted an odd painting that was hidden behind the pile of hay. Revealing something that Louise pretty much doesn’t want to do. Seeing that the person who is the talk of the town, rather, the talk of the group, would be served as a sacrifice to appease the Pagan Sun God for a bountiful harvest. Putting some concern to both Louise and Jessica, but mostly Louise because she’s wearing the necklace. She’s currently Ms. Popular and therefore, she’s the target. Jessica and Rudy may have dodged a bullet with their few minutes of fame. Putting a lot of pressure on Louise to the point where she's starting to be scared shitless. And she did once the beings that she saw earlier in the episode come out of the shadows with the group and it's not a good look for the attraction when traumatizing a nine-year-old. Especially when coming across the painting that was hidden from behind the pile of hay. Don't know jack about the film Midsommar, only know about The Wicker Man. Though not the original 1973 film or the book, but more of the 2006 film with Nicolas Cage. And for anyone hoping for Louise to disguise herself as a bear and sucker punch one of the two owners of the attraction? Hate to break it to you, but that ain't happening. But that would've helped the episode.
Louise runs away from the action in fear after seeing the creatures coming out into the limelight with Bob, after trying to find where the beehive is in the area, decides to find Louise and later did once we get to the next scene before the last ad break of the episode with Bob trying to calm Louise down after encountering what just happened. And yeah...a lot of issues with it. Mostly with the notion of Louise being afraid of stuff and questioning of her proving to be brave in the movie being retconned by this episode, you pretty much would have a lot of fans here not being happy about it. Thinking that the worst fear of anything that happened in the movie may have been all for nothing. I get that Louise is only nine years old but...if you have her character arc in one film about her wanting to prove to everyone that she can brave while wearing the ears and solving a cold case, only to be retracted in this episode after seeing some weird beings that came out of the woodworks and seeing the painting of the popular person will get burned to death as a sacrifice...yeah, you're going to have some problems in the development department. So as Bob and Louise make their way back to the group is where Louise noticed the pile of ashes on the ground behind the shrub. This really adds more trouble for Louise fearing that she might be getting burned like she’s about to become the new-age Joan of Arc.
Might as well wrap up the main plot before we get to the subplot to close things off with the episode where Bob and Louise make their way to where the group is after running off is where you have your usual lecture from Bob to Louise about the issue with popularity. Mostly with Louise enjoying her time in the limelight after making a few noises that caught the people's attention earlier in the trip, just not noticing that popularity can lead to some trouble like her believing that she would be burned at the stake to impress the Pagan gods as part of a cultish ritual for the harvest to be lively. Which I doubt the school would be okay with sacrificing a nine-year-old to a deity that is an ancient religion that hasn't been relevant for thousands of years because that would create a PR nightmare for everyone. Though it would take a while for Bob and Louise to reach back to the group because of knowing how far Louise ran off after seeing what she saw that made her run away, but at least Bob found a random beehive on their way back. Though no beekeeping suit to protect him, so if he somehow gets stung, that’s all on him.
And it wasn't long until the rest of the group caught up to Louise and tells her that was a complete mix-up with everything that Louise saw that caused her to run away from the group. Apparently, the painting that Louise and Jessica saw back at the barn when they snuck off to jump on the hayloft was meant for the other attraction those two were hosting for teens and adults which ends with a Pagan burning with the dolls that the two saw at the wall. Not life-sized but at least there’s something to burn with for the attraction once the nighttime hits. As for the ash that Louise and Bob saw from under the orchard? Well, it’s not the ash from a burnt item like the dolls or actual people, but instead, it's wood ash that is being used as fertilizer to keep the orchard tree at bay. So again, it's all a mix-up and they felt bad for scaring Louise without giving any warning on what was supposed to happen despite the signs of whether being Brom in costume, the crows flying around one area, though one of them just ate off the bread from the PB&J sandwich, in which birds and bread don't mix because it would result in some issues with their digestive system, and of course, the painting that Louise and Jessica saw over at the barn. Thinking that we would go full Wicker Man with this episode...nope. Nope. We ain't getting that. Though I'm sure we're not getting that anyway because that would be a whole different story if you ask me. But it felt lackluster, especially once we get to the end of the main plot as the kids head back to the general area to end the trip and head back to school in time for the costume parade. More on that in the final thoughts portion of the review as we now switch over to the subplot to close out the episode.
And as the fourth graders make their way back to school following a minor mix-up that resulted in Louise being scared off in thinking that she would be burned alive in what might as well be the poor man's version of Burning Man is where the costume parade is already starting with Frond ready to announce the candidates to show off their costumes and for Tina and Gene, it's panic time for them with Louise not able to show up knowing how far the orchard farm is at from the vicinity of the school. Of course, everyone is in costume. Not just the people who are participating in the event, but everyone in school. Bit of "Teen-a Witch" regarding the costume contest but more of "Fort Night" where everyone goes to school in their costume. You have the adults in costume. Ms. Jacobson is a skeleton, Ms. Twitchell is a pirate, and Coach Blevins is Robin Hood. Not Peter Pan and not treat it as the show's excuse for an advertisement for Guillermo Del Toro's version of the movie. Though props to him for saying the truth about animation and that it's not a genre or made only for kids and it's a medium that should be treated equally. You don't see the other teachers in attendance in costume. Selbo is not in costume. The same goes for Branca and Ambrose. Which Ambrose...not a surprise. I would see him as the type of person who would not celebrate the holiday and don't want to go into costume.
Of course, later in the episode, we have more students coming in as spectators as the costume parade progresses. A lot of characters would take up a lot of names because there are a lot of random characters in the peanut gallery. Might as well name a few, which are the recurring characters that are in the backseat of the episode. You have Jocelyn dressing up as Sleeping Beauty. Henry, of course, as George Washington, mentioned earlier in the episode review where you have his younger brother Hogarth dressed up as Abraham Lincoln. Alex...hmm, probably his best attempt at Scatman John but...eh. The closest I would say is Charlie Chaplin but...that costume would require a square mustache in the middle portion of his upper lip and uh...that's a big no-no. You know why. And of course, you have Susmita as Jason Voorhees when noting the clothing and the hockey goalie mask, minus the machete. At least she’s not dressed up as Michael Myers. Heard that the new Halloween movie blows. So everyone who are competing in the parade did their part. Zeke wrapped up his part of the contest and now, it’s Tina and Gene who are up next and by now, it’s too late for Louise to make her way to the parade. As expected as one of the outcomes for this subplot...or so I thought...
Because Louise makes her way at the last minute after arriving back at the school from the orchard farm. Hoping for a Stone Cold Steve Austin entrance for her making it to the last minute before Tina and Gene perform to please the judges for the parade but at least they’re together for them to perform their version of the movie “Twister". Would say they eked out a win from this, whether being in first, second, or third place but nope. Transitioning to the end of the episode with the family returning to the restaurant and it reveals that the kids didn't win the contest. In fact, they didn't even land in the top three or top five, or even the top ten. And that thanks in part to Tina and Gene. The items from their costume fell apart once more. And also the judges not knowing what the movie is. Or it’s been a while and they don’t even remember if that scene the Belcher kids performed even existed at all. No surprise that the Belcher kids would fall short of winning the contest. Hell, they would still lose if Louise didn't make it to the contest on time or at the last minute. But at least they'll go out trick-or-treating as a consolation prize because they need something from what is pretty much a long day from damage control with the costume or thinking that they'll be burned alive in a sacrificial matter. At least we're getting a bye week after this episode because it's a long review, about ten going into eleven pages but also because...yeah, this episode is pretty much a clusterfuck.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? With holiday episodes like Halloween, you'd think that we would have somewhat of a good time. The cold opening is one example of episodes from the previous seasons. That probably ain't it and instead, it felt flat coming from the main plot. Especially with the resolution of it once Louise makes her way out when believing that she would be sacrificed because she enjoyed her few moments of fame. Although the subplot to the episode is as predictable as it gets with Tina and Gene having some trouble with their costume and the outcome of their performance in the contest off-screen.
The only positive to come out from the episode in my opinion has to be...well, the entirety of the main plot whenever Louise and Jessica are together. And I guess it’s mostly because Jessica is back in the show since before the start of the pandemic. And her and Louise together are one of those items from the list that we wanted to see since the end of "Slumber Party". As I said earlier, nothing against Rudy. Rudy's a fine character but Louise has other friends and would like it if the show does something in a future episode. And we got that for Jessica and I know that it sucks that knowing Jessica's time on the show, we won't be seeing her again for a long while but it would be nice for Jessica to be around more. It is one of the many things on the list that we wanted to see from this show. Try to expand Jessica's character and have her hang out with Louise more. Jessica did pull out a mean sheep impression during the trip. I guess the tone despite how dull it looks isn't too bad over at the orchard farm. It is a Halloween episode and you need to have that set to set up what is about to come but that only happens with everything else if they play their cards right. So Jessica and Louise being around each other have to be the highlight of the episode and this is where the positivity comes to an end.
The rest of the episode felt flat like with the past few episodes of the season as we approach the bye week. The jokes didn't land. The ending to the main plot felt lackluster with everything being a mix-up after Louise was scared away from thinking that she would be sacrificed. Seriously, she had her arc in the movie and she does...that? I get that she’s nine but some people question if this was a step back from what just happened in the movie back in the Summer because of this episode. The subplot, of course, ends up being predictable the moment Tina and Gene make their first steps into the school. We knew that they would have trouble with the costume. We knew that they would be screwed because of Louise's absence. We knew that the kids would lose the contest. Hell, even if Louise didn't make it at the last minute, they would still lose the competition. Case in point, it's a mess. There are some good bits but much like with the apple orchard, it's dry. It had some purpose but it came out empty. And yeah, this is starting to become an issue for this season with the past few episodes, especially when coming out from what happened in the movie, having been in the range of flat and dull to average. And we haven't gotten an episode to break that ceiling.
So final thoughts...it felt flat. A few jokes didn't land. The subplot was predictable from the start. We knew that the kids' costumes falling apart would cost them the contest. The only positive item from the episode is, of course, Louise and Jessica. But that's about it. So I'll give "Apple Gore-chard (But Not Gory)"...
A 3 out of 10. But this is pretty much a generous low-end 3 out of 10 for the scoring. Almost getting there to a 2 out of 10 that it's not even funny to think about. And looking at the next two episodes based on the synopsis...oh boy. Might as well grab the liquor ready on standby. But I will remind you guys that I'm not dropping the show because of one bad episode. I said it before in past reviews and now I'm saying it again. I ain’t leaving. I ain’t ever leaving. No new episode this upcoming weekend, which is something that we might need after six episodes in the season. But we have one in two weeks in “Ready Player Gene” on November 13.
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