It is once again the Christmas season. Meaning that the year is almost at an end. With 2022 soon to be closing its book...yeah, this year has been a weird one. Sure, we had pretty much our biggest year if you're a Bob's Burgers fan because of the movie that came out back in May. And even though Disney pretty much...you know, didn't get any press to get everyone to watch the film when it came out in theaters...thank a lot, Chapek. This is why Iger had to come out of retirement and clean up the mess that you made. Take notes, David Zaslav. But yeah, the final episode for the year 2022 before we get into 2023, and of course, with Christmas right around the corner, might as well talk about this year's Christmas episode. How will this pan out? Might as well break this son of a bitch down.
In this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, it’s your type of episode where a character had to attend many events in one night and it’s Bob and Linda who had to encounter that when trying to attend three events for their kids in one night. Days before the Christmas holiday in my spoilerific review of the tenth episode of Season 13 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “The Plight Before Christmas”.
And knowing the definition of the word "plight" when the titles were leaked earlier this year, it was quite a difficult situation for Bob and Linda to attend three events in one night to show their support to Tina, Gene, and Louise. And if I'm going, to be honest here, I had originally had some concerns about this episode. I'm not kidding, knowing how this season had performed so far, I've been saying it in the past reviews for Season 13 that has been ranging from average to bad. "Show Mama from the Grave" from two weeks ago, while it wasn't the Hail Mary that I didn't get but it wasn't a bad episode. So when Loren tweeted out numerous guest stars that appeared in the episode for this week. Ranging from bad to borderline average. And because of how the Halloween episode with "Apple Gore-chard (But Not Gory)" and the recent Thanksgiving episode "Putts-giving" performed...I guess you could say that there were some concerns about how this week's episode, being a Christmas episode would pan out. And lo and behold, this exceeded my expectations.
I don’t know why but the episode did that. Whether being the idea of Bob and Linda going back and forth with them wanting to attend three performances in one night to show their support to the kids or seeing each kid performing in their performance...it did not disappoint. Sure, there were some moments when I was a bit mad. Mostly with Bob and Linda not calling in some help to at least alleviate with their situation of being in three places in one night. But the way the episode was handled, especially on Christmas no less, knowing that Loren Bouchard is the one who has taken control of the writing station for this episode, despite my expectations for this episode and fears of how the episode would pan out, we're due for a good one. Take a look at the recent stuff that we got with the Some Like It Bot two-parter, the movie, and the short. We were due for a good one and on the holidays no less. Mostly Loren's way of giving the fans who did not like Season 13 so far and decides to come in and save the day this holiday season by giving them a good one to enjoy and here we are. It almost sums up this episode to close out the year for the show. That being said, since this is the last episode for the year of our lord 2022, oh yeah, there’s no intro for the episode, just a heads up, let’s break this sucker down so we can enjoy some rest this holiday season...well, for y’all. Nearing the end of the year, y’all are probably wondering about the year-end countdown. Let’s focus on that later and just focus on the episode. This is “The Plight Before Christmas”.
Of course, no intro for the episode, and knowing that there's no intro to start the episode, we should have a good episode. Even though "Apple Gore-chard" had no intro and we know how that episode came out...yeah, you could see why that's one of the items on the list where I originally had some concerns for this episode. Again, it is mostly on how the episode would pan out. So the episode begins with the family ready to close up shop for the night as both Bob and Linda prepare to watch Tina and Gene do their performance. Separately, of course, with Tina doing her performance by city hall with her Thundergirls troop, and Gene at the school with his sixth-grade peers to perform in an orchestra...filled with xylophones. Meaning that one parent will go attend Tina's performance while the latter goes to attend Gene's. Though to no one surprise, Bob and Linda had to decide on who goes where by flipping a coin while being drunk on wine. Because that's one way to make a decision when doing something for the kids. By getting wasted in wine while trying to make a decision on which parent attend either of the kids' performances, whether its Gene playing his xylophone along with the other sixth graders or Tina partaking in the Christmas pageant with her Thundergirls troop where she plays the star, as Tina stated, the roles are based on the size. At least they'll be accompanied by Louise, so as long as nothing can mess everything up with everyone's plans, they should be good to go...or so they think.
Because here comes Louise entering into the restaurant and decides to throw a wrench into everyone's plan for the night when telling everyone that she needs to go to the library. Why? Because she has to perform her poem for her performance. Adding salt into the wound, it's on the same night as Tina and Gene's separate performances. And adding more salt into the wound coming from Louise makes things difficult for Bob and Linda, it's at the same time when the session begins. But Louise wants to brush that off because knowing her, she'll probably read her poem that has "poop" written on each line. So basically, it's Louise being Louise and despite the announcement that it made Bob and Linda's night difficult that they would have to attend three events in one night to support each kid, its stick to the script because just as Louise said, it's her being herself readying to read the poop poem in her arsenal. So it wouldn't be an issue whatsoever. I mean...it's not like Louise's poem about poop is nothing more than a ruse into tricking the audience, including her family, and holds the actual poem that holds sentimental value and would add even more salt into the wound that it would fill the Grand Canyon. And would be to the point later on where they would at least bring in a lifeline and call for some help. Just putting it out there.
You can see what Loren is doing with what's he doing with Louise's side of the episode as Linda drives her to the library to be dropped off before heading off to city hall to attend Tina's performance. Tricking the audience with Louise into thinking that she's planning on doing the poop poem and she has the poem in her binder that she is carrying. Trapping us in his genjutsu as the episode progresses. Tina became the first to not get caught in it and thinks that something is up with Louise on their way to the library for Louise to be dropped off. She wants to see the poem that Louise wrote about poop but Louise denies that request and keeps it for herself to read to the audience in the library once they arrived to be dropped off. But Tina's not dumb. She knows Louise. Even though she is denied of seeing the poem that Louise wrote firsthand before reading it to the general public, she would put two and two together later in the episode at the end of the first act and of course, jingle bells won't be the only thing that would be ringing for Bob and Linda. And of course, way later in the episode where she showed her support for her sister. Spoilers by the way. So Louise gets dropped off at the library by Linda as she and Tina make their way to city hall as we transition to the next scene.
At Wagstaff and it looks like things are already not looking too hot for everyone because of a small issue regarding the performance that Gene will be performing. That issue being who would be the conductor for the performance when a substitute music teacher named Rachel Bisselbender, voiced by Tina Fey, alerts Bob and Gene about the current situation that Gene and the other sixth graders are dealing with at the last minute. Apparently, Ms. Merkin was supposed to conduct the performance for the sixth graders but she had to deal with a health emergency that involves her appendix. And it was last minute for a change of who would be taking charge of conducting the performance. Can't be called off. Every sixth grader practiced leading up to the big night. Mostly under Merkin taking the helm of the orchestra but with her out of the picture because she had surgery and will be recovering throughout the winter break, it looks like Gene and the other sixth graders will be dealing with a tough predicament throughout the night. Oh yeah, and the substitute teacher has no expertise with music or any skills to be a conductor. So even more salt into the wound for everyone's night when dealing with someone who has no expertise in the subject at hand. The same way a sports team fires their coach midseason and brings in an interim coach to coach the team...with a losing record. And that coach has no coaching experience to lead a team. You could say that I’m summing up “The Hurt Soccer” in a nutshell with what I’m saying but some teams in real life did that. Mostly the Indianapolis Colts just this year. Just to put it out there. But this might be a long night for Gene at his side of the episode. Speaking of long nights...
We transition to the library for a bit to see what Louise is doing with her having butterflies in her stomach. Sounds out of character for Louise to have her being nervous in an event that she signed herself up for this on the night when all three events are taking place. She has the poop poem on standby and she told the family that she'll be fine on her own. But again, something is up with Louise to make her feel out of character, and coming from this episode, especially with Tina reading Louise as a book, we might be feeling a shift for this episode once the truth is revealed about what Louise is holding in her arsenal. A huge shift to be exact. And you can what Loren is doing with Louise. And we'll get to her later into the episode in the final act of the episode, but this almost feels like you're watching a movie, and the person next to you tells you, while you were watching the movie, and say, "Pay attention to this scene. You'll know when it'll become important." And you say to that person, "Dude, let me watch the damn film in peace." You know what I mean. Louise's side of the episode is what is going to carry this episode.
Switching over outside the steps of city hall with the Thundergirls with Linda helping Tina put on the star costume as the other members of the troop put on theirs to get ready for their performance. The costumes aren't store-bought and instead, Ginny, the leader of the troop, made them from scratch. So I guess that explains there's some difficulty for each member to put on their costume with Tina's costume having her face fully covered. But not in the way of a certain someone who is currently nuking his career with the stupid shit he's saying. Though Harley in this episode...yeah, I can see why some think that it sounded out of character for her when saying that she wanted to be the star and not Tina despite their given roles for the show as Tina mentioned earlier in the episode. The old Harley would just be fine and brush it off despite the person who is wearing the star costume would be the center focus for the pageant. New Harley here pretty much felt jealous over Tina getting the star costume for the night. She and the other members of Troop 119 have their roles. Multiple roles have you. So I'm guessing that Tina only got the role of the Christmas star is...well, she's the tallest member of the troop. But also the oldest. So... I guess that answered your question about each role every member of the troop is positioned.
Going back into the school with the sixth graders who are set to perform with Bisselbender passing out the papers for each student who is set to do their part for the holidays. But it appears that...I'm going to sound like a broken record with this episode, a long night. They should know what they're doing leading up to their performance. But that was with Merkin. But now that she’s out of the episode because she has to recover from her appendix, Gene and the other sixth graders are pretty much clueless and are about to take charge without any direction whatsoever once they hit the stage. As the sixth graders make their way into the stage, the scene changes from the kids to the parents with Doug talking to Bob about Linda's absence when seeing the event with Bob telling him that she's with Tina for her performance and of course, telling him and the other parents about Louise and she is alone at the library with her poem on standby for her to perform. Giving Bob and Linda in spirit the cold shoulder about not being there to see Louise in action as Gene and his sixth-grade class is set to perform their Christmas show.
We switch back to city hall with Linda helping with everyone get into costume for the event with her helping two members of the troop to get into the log costume alongside Ginny to put up the log costume and not a piece of poop that looks like if you misread the room. Mostly because there's no...I guess stump on top of the costume to prove to everyone that it's a log and nothing else. And of course, this is where the truth bomb begins to explode when Tina heard the word coming out of Jodi's mouth as Linda and Ginny put up the log costume. Though they really don't have to replay the entire scene of the car ride to the library to drop Louise off when Tina noticed that something wasn't right with Louise when being dropped off. I mean...five, ten, maybe fifteen seconds of the scene being edited would be fine, but not like the entire scene from start to finish from leaving the restaurant to dropping Louise off and making your way to city hall. This isn't Naruto where you have to replay what you saw and refresh your mind on what happened earlier. We know what happened. We don't need to relive it. That's what binge-watching is for.
But other than replaying the whole scene for no reason other than to annoy some people who watched the episode, Tina put two and two together in what Louise is actually carrying in her binder for her performance at the library. And you would say that she would probably pull a prank? That’s probably what you’re thinking at first when Tina figured out that something isn’t right with Louise during the car ride. Yeah...no. There's no prank. Sure, she has the poop poem on standby but there's no prank. There's no joke. Tina finally solved the puzzle about what Louise is hiding. And it's an actual poem. She wrote an actual poem. No jokey joke about it. She wrote an actual poem for her session and that sort of explains why she is feeling nervous earlier in the episode. Talk about a holy shit moment coming from this episode. Tina solves what Louise was hiding in her binder, which reveals to be an actual serious poem that she wrote. Linda is in panic after Tina tells her about what Louise was hiding and also no one is in attendance to see her perform. And even that shot to close out the first act of the episode with Louise waiting for her turn to arrive...yep, that was a holy shit moment right there. Finding out that Louise, someone who had something silly as a poem about poop on standby, has an actual serious poem waiting in the wings for her to speak and with no one in attendance to see it after agreeing to do what Linda and Bob were planning on doing, the alert levels for them has now risen to DEFCON 1 in a snap. No one’s in attendance. Bob is in attendance to see Gene’s musical performance. Linda is pretty much stuck doing costume work. I would say call in someone to at least step in and do them a favor. Maybe a relative like Gayle or Big Bob. Or maybe a family friend like Teddy. Why didn’t you guys didn’t do that?!
Might as well get this little rant out of my system when watching the episode. Why the fuck didn’t you call in for backup? Like no, seriously. What the fuck?! Two parents in one night to see three of their kids perform but agreed to go as y'all planned before heading out with Bob attending Gene's performance and Linda with Tina's, leaving Louise at her own. Thinking that he would be her being herself with the poop poem, not knowing that she has a serious poem in her arsenal, and didn't take long for Tina to figure out something isn't right. Bob is stuck watching the play, soon to be out of the school and make his way but mishaps galore decide to step in, we'll get to that. Linda is stuck in doing costume work as the Thundergirls perform their end of the bargain of the episode. So it would make sense to at least call in someone to step up and help. Whether being a family friend like Teddy or a relative living in the vicinity of the town like Gayle or Big Bob to step up to the plate and at least do their part to help Bob and Linda out in...oh, I don’t know, attend Louise’s performance at the library. Oh jeez, I wonder why they didn’t even bother calling someone for some help for once this holiday season? I mean, yeah, they’re not in the episode. Even though Murphy's name is on the cast list in the press release and even then, he would end up voicing another character if Teddy is not present in the episode. Calling in for some help, even if it's for one night, would've been fine but the fact that they couldn't even do that throughout the episode may have peeved off a few people when watching the episode. Myself included.
The run-across-town portion of the episode takes its place once Bob gets a phone call from Linda about everything that is going on courtesy of Tina coming out that Louise had written a serious poem and no one is in attendance to see it. Just as he leaves the auditorium as Gene, Courtney, Alex, Peter, and every other sixth grader performing in the holiday xylophone performance, and uh...it was for the best for him to make his way out. Especially with Bisslebender taking the conductor podium for the first time and uh...it's not a good performance. More on that. Asking Linda if she can go and attend Louise's thing at the library, but she's chained up by doing costume work. Really could've called for help for once. So Bob makes his way out of the school and calls in a taxi to get to the library and speaking of that...
We pan over to the library with Louise as she and the others watch a random kid wrapping up her poem to the public about her dead grandmother. Making people weep because it is a poem, it's the holidays, and she missed having her grandmother. Sad for her and this is going to be me being a dick. I know it sucks not having a relative around but at least she had a grandmother. Louise hasn't even met hers on the paternal side of the family. She'd been dead for a long time over 30 years. But yeah, that should be enough for the Louise side of the episode with her awaiting her turn as the race to the library begins to take its place with Bob being the one who will be making his way to the library...or so we think.
Because once we switched back to the taxi ride, it appears that Bob might be heading to the wrong location due to the taxi driver mishearing what Bob is saying about the location he was supposed to go to. Saying that he wants to go to a library but instead, the taxi driver ends up driving him to a refinery. It's pretty much the driver mishearing what Bob is saying about where to go. It's a pain for everyone who often uses ride-sharing like a taxi or an Uber and who wants to go to their location but ends up going in the wrong direction or even at the wrong spot. Bob's not going to stop at a refinery either over at the end of the town or even outside and decides to head out on foot in the cold. Knowing how far he is and also knowing that Bob is not a good runner, but if it means wanting to get to see his youngest daughter in action and in person, priorities had to be the center of focus for the man. This man has a kid with no one seeing her in the audience. He might as well take a bike or scooter and make his way toward the library. No flying leaf available to go into a tanooki suit and fly his way to the library.
Back at the school and I may have to call out this shot here for this screencap for a bit. Because in this shot, you have everyone in attendance. Every parent is in attendance. Everyone including Bob in the peanut gallery and watching the kids perform. Even though Bob was already out of the school and make his way to the library. I had to call it out, so back to being topic.
So back to the performance and much like the Broncos' season for this year, it has become a tire fire with the kids being lost while trying to play some notes with Bisslebinder having some issues trying to be the conductor when performing the music to the parents in the audience. You could say that they're kids, they're doing their best. And you might be right, but with them not having Merkin around because of a health emergency and Bisslebinder being inexperienced with how to be a conductor and thus, you’re seeing a tire fire right in front of your eyes. They’re like clueless ducks not knowing where to go. And yeah...it's not a good look for the sixth graders. Especially when seeing everyone in attendance getting a change in reaction to the point where they could be booed off the stage. I get that they’re sixth graders and all, but it’s not looking great for everyone for tonight.
The scene changes over to city hall as the Thundergirls continue to perform their performance in front of the crowd with Linda dealing with a dilemma that is currently clouding the Belcher adults on this night with Tina, coming back into the backstage with Linda, telling her to head off to be with Louise. Not noticing that Bob is on his way toward the library. And even if she were to find out about it, I’m not saying that Tina knows that Bob might not make it in time from the school to the library. But it almost sounds like it if you ask me. So Tina asks Linda to step away from her duties as costume manager for Tina and the Thundergirls for the night to make her way to the library to be with Louise. But apparently, she can’t because she pretty much had her hands tied when helping the troop out with the costume. And also Ginny can’t let her do that because she can’t do it alone. So everything hinges on Bob...until he phones Linda about his situation about him landing in the wrong area because the driver misheard him on his way to the library and now has to use his legs to make his way there. Would say use the bus as the next possible option but I would guess that they would be out of service for tonight...or for the holidays. Still would’ve called in for some help. Just saying. That should’ve helped Bob and Linda with their situation. But nope. Can’t do that either.
So it’s Bob on his own with his two legs doing all of the dirty work. At least he made it to what appears the library building. So Bob might have reached his destination, or so he thinks, as he comes across a random guy and his dog as he was currently taking a nightly stroll in the cold. Thought it was a neighborhood watchman at first because of his dog and the flashlights that are being used to stroll through the night. But the dogwalker decides to help Bob to get into the library by going over the fence. But Bob going over the fence may have pissed off the dog by barking and trying to pull him down with his teeth. Mistaking him as a burglar when trying to get over the fence. I mean, it's a dog. What do you expect? Sure, it's not their house but dogs can easily bark at people for no reason other than just barking at them because of intimidation and thinking that they'll pose a threat to the user. Bob made it over across the fence and finally made it to the front side of the library...only for it to be closed. Thinking that it was closed to the public at first because once the performance started, the doors are shut. But that ain't it chief and instead, he's at the wrong library branch. Because the library branch that Louise is currently at isn't the one where we saw earlier in the episode. So Bob may have to run once more to the other library across town as the night progresses. Speaking of Louise...
It's killed or be killed as she anxiously awaits her turn to step into the plate for her to read her poem. Hoping to ease her anxiety, Louise does have two poems in her possession. One poem is the serious one that the Belcher family sans Gene found out earlier in the night that was kept hidden from the family which holds a lot of sentimental weight. And the other holds the poem about poop. One of them has to be chosen for Louise to use once her name gets brought up by the presenter of the session. You can feel the anxiety being built onto Louise. Yes, you can say that it felt out of character for her because when it comes to Louise for the past thirteen seasons, she's usually not the type of person who would easily get stage fright and worried that if the poem she cooked up, the one that is not about poop, would garner some negative reactions. But if she goes with the poop poem, there's a high chance it would not be chosen. So again, it's pretty much a killed or be-killed moment for Louise as both Bob and Linda are stuck doing their own thing with Linda unable to get out of doing costume work and Bob just now running across town after arriving at the wrong library. Oh yeah, it's getting real now, boys and girls. It's getting really real.
But for now, the end of the first half of the episode for this review, meaning that it's time for the mini-review intermission where The Great North takes its place for the time before getting into the second half. Also note that we're nearing January, meaning that one week will have The Great North and the next will be Bob's Burgers, so... it may or may not be happening that the next episode for The Great North, for one episode only to start 2023, might be, for one week only, will be on the same format as the Bob's Burgers reviews. A full review and breakdown. Seriously, on New Year's Day? The fuck?! Onto the mini-review portion of the Bob's Burgers reviews with The Great North in "Xmas with the Skanks Adventure".
The show’s second holiday episode for the year 2022 where we have the Tobins celebrating the holiday by attending the town’s annual white elephant exchange with the family, mostly Wolf, Ham, Judy, and Moon being mad at Beef over him giving away an important family item whenever the holidays arrive. That being an inanimate object that the kids enjoy having it with Beef not being too pleased having its presence around. And it got to the point where he used the white elephant exchange from years past and sent it away to whoever opened the package that contains the dancing Christmas tree and it ended up in Londra’s possession. The main plot is pretty much simple. Bickering and getting the gift by going back and forth as each resident get called up. The Tobin kids each time get reunited with Skanky, the name of the dancing Christmas tree, and each time they lose it. Ham became the first to get Skanky back from Londra, who decides to give it away after it became annoying to her to the point where she brought up that she dreamt that Dusty left her for Skanky. I'm not going to question that but at least she got rid of it and handed it back to the Tobins before Vera comes in and swoop it away from the kids...before Santiago, who dressed up as the devil as a mistake from delivery, wants the item. Yeah, it's pretty much the usual bickering. They receive and get taken away for each member of the Tobin family with the kids wanting to get the item back and Beef not wanting to relive the nightmares he had gone through. Getting to the point where Honeybee had to join Beef's side and not wanting the family to bring Skanky back into the household. Though props to the animation with Wolf's reaction to Honeybee's exact betrayal in not getting the item for them. So it's bickering at its finest for the main plot. But at least there’s some explanation of why Beef hated Skanky to the point where he had to be a total Grinch to the family.
Wouldn't you guess it? It came down to fill in the void that was left by Kathleen. It was the first year with Beef being a single father since Kathleen abandoned the family and knowing the financial struggles that the family dealt with, it wasn't easy for Beef to do it on his own. Had to join in on a crab boat to earn some extra cash but ends up being shipwrecked. And even then, it's not enough to make ends meet. Shopping at a dollar store...sorry, the 97 cent store because stores like Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and the 99 Cents Store aren't going to have a field day with the show using their brand. Though you'd think that because I brought up Dollar General that there would be one because...they're everywhere across the country. And that's how Beef ends up bringing Skanky. And to no surprise, Skanky was there every holiday to entertain the kids and to fill in the space that was left by Kathleen. So while it was fine to have the backstory though often predictable that everything would come down to Kathleen being absent or her doing something that led to her leaving the family right as Moon was born. But at least the Skanky issue had wrapped up with the item being sent to a sanctuary and for the family, they get a dancing snowman. As if the nightmare doesn't want to die for Beef going from one dancing item to the next.
The subplot with the reindeer was okay. It would be a different story if it was its own episode and not as a subplot but what's done is done. It's mostly Moon keeping the reindeer after it followed him home from a run-down Santa's Workshop and can't just leave the animal hanging and decides to keep it secret, despite that the whole town was wondering about the location of the missing reindeer. Judy and Ham knew coming from Moon telling them about the animal when seeing it at the outhouse and decides to take the animal, named him Wilhelm, to the shed by the community center for care. And I guess it was nice to see Quinn again for this episode. Quinn Notti is the girl that Moon, Henry, Russell, and Debbie came across from the failed heist to take the baked goods that her mom made for the Autumn Frenzy Dance. Having her to be Moon’s aid when taking care of Wilhelm, which turns out to be a female reindeer who is currently pregnant and is expected to give birth. Which she did later in the episode and on Christmas. So expect one of the reindeer babies to be the Jesus figure of the town. But it was an okay subplot. If this was its own episode, then it would be a different story. But it was okay. At least the reindeer and her babies are getting a good home in the form of an animal sanctuary in Death Cliff. That and also becoming the sole possessor to Skanky. So it’s not a bad episode but some moments did downplay it for a bit. So it's a 6 out of 10 for “Xmas with the Skanks Adventure”. Now back to the burger holiday special to kick off the second half of the episode review. Because I know you all want my thoughts on the ending of the episode. I’m already eight pages in while working on this review, it’s going to be a very long review because of this.
Bob and Linda call each other once more after Bob arrived at the wrong library branch on the other side of town and has to run once more as Linda litters papers into the stage, rather, the steps of city hall as snow to serve as effects for the pageant. Linda was rushing into judgment and admitted that they're bad parents because they didn't even notice that Louise was carrying a serious poem that she wrote and is expected to speak with no one in attendance. I mean, it was nobody's fault for them not noticing that Louise wrote a serious poem and used the poop poem that she carried in her arsenal as a ruse to trick them because of reasons. It's just they didn't even notice. It's nobody's fault. It pretty much boils down to bad timing. The branch that Bob accidentally visited is the main branch of the library. The library that Louise is at is a local one. Knowing how far Bob is at, going from one library to another, it's getting to the point where Bob is ready to throw in the towel and decides to make it back to Gene's performance. Leaving Louise hanging with no one in attendance to see her performance. Oh jeez...if only there were someone who you or Linda can dial in and do your job so you don't have to worry about missing Louise's performance. Maybe that would've helped you with that. But what's done is done it seems. Because of plot that we can't have that. Still going to be annoyed by that. That and the resolution to the subplot in the Some Like It Bot two-parter. What the fuck, Loren?
Back at the school with the sixth graders under Bisslebender’s direction decided to take an intermission after what is pretty much an abysmal performance to the point where the sixth graders once entering backstage where they notice some negative reactions. Angry applause. Wishing that they regretted on going. I get that they're kids but they really starting to regret going. That's pretty much everyone's reaction whenever there's a Broncos primetime game. A bunch of clueless ducks with no direction whatsoever since the start of their performance that I think some may have already the premise. Bob is the exception because he had to rush out to get to the library to see Louise perform at her performance. Spoiler alert, he decides to throw in the towel and make his way back. But the sixth graders are pretty much lost as fuck. Meaning that the pressure is now on Gene to save the night. Trying to think what Merkin would do in a situation like this one. And I kid you not, when Gene tries to think what Merkin would do in the current situation that the kids are dealing with, it sums up to her saying, “I don’t know what the fuck to do?!” And of course, we have our obituary Frond appearance because the kids are of course, lost and confused. But that’s not going to stop Gene to come in and save the day. And if you think that Gene would do the typical things Gene would do to save the night, save the performance, and help his classmates and Bisslebender, you might as well sit your ass down because this is where expectations will be subverted to the max as the second half of the episode progresses and it begins with Gene's idea to save the performance.
Switching back to city hall for a bit with the pageant still going with Tina continuing to tell Linda to abandon her duties as costume manager and make her way to the library to be with Louise. Rush her way out to the area and drive herself out to show her support for her youngest daughter. But Ginny refuses to do it. Like look, Ginny, I get that you handling the show on your own can hold a lot of pressure. Especially in front of the entire town or the onlookers whenever they come across the government building, but it's an emergency. You have to relieve Linda of her duties, at Tina's request, to get to the library. You can't just hold her hostage while her nine-year-old daughter is about to take the stage?! Especially when her turn is right around the corner.
Bob arrives back at the school with his knees now bloodied and out of breath on his way back to the school. Yeah, that's a wound alright. Nothing too serious but man, that must've hurt for the guy who never ran for his life. That and also getting over a fence while being on the verge of being mauled by a dog. But regardless, Bob made it back to the school, and in time for Gene and the sixth graders to redo their performances. Rather, perform the final act of the performance in hopes to give the audience what they're here for. And so they did...after Gene takes portions of each of the xylophones on stage and messes around and the next few scenes as we close out the third act and go into the final act of the episode...I think we can all agree with this conclusion. Pretty freaking sweet.
Gene and the other sixth graders begin to follow what Gene had cooked up to save the show with Bisslebender having to follow along with the idea and note that Gene's xylophone wasn't playing in the background. It was a different song. This is coming from what Simon Chong tweeted that the song playing in the background is called String Quartet No. 3 (Mishima). I had to double-check when scrolling through Twitter as it's continuing to be a social hellscape. Thanks a lot, Elon and fuck you. Gene and the sixth graders play their performance and go all out as the scene goes back and forth between Gene and his peers playing the xylophone with Bisslebender conducting as she has never conducted before (her first time of course) and the pageant with the Thundergirls, it's scenes galore for the remainder of the episode. You have Bob cracking a smile while filming Gene with his performance despite the bloody knee of course. You have Linda watching over the pageant while waiting for the event to wrap up as it’s entering the last act. And it was nice, it was also suspenseful. The suspenseful meter may have reached out with its meter once Louise is called up to close out the third act.
Everyone who watched this episode was on the edge of their seats. Wondering what is about to happen with Louise once returning from commercial break. The options come down to a last-minute surprise with someone stepping in to watch Louise perform or the family ends up missing it once Louise is done with her poem, either with a good or bad reception. Would she gets stage fright and things could get really messy? Would a miracle take place and mishap were to take place to delay it for a few minutes before the rest of the family arrive? Endless possibilities when watching the episode once Louise's turn is up. The suspense is there and holy crap, this...this is the shit that we've been yearning for. The tension, the suspense, we'll get to the sentimental part of the episode in a moment, but holy shit, man. This episode had gone mental with how everything panned out. Especially in the second half. Going from the third act to the fourth. And on a Christmas episode no less. The final episode in the year 2022 before the year-end holiday break and Jesus Christ, it feels like we’re reliving the good ol’ days of the earlier seasons all over again. This Christmas episode might be on the top three in the rankings when it comes to the Christmas episodes for the show alongside “Christmas in the Car” (fight me) and “The Bleakening”. And we’re getting into the final act of the episode.
So you have Bob filming Gene’s performance. You have Linda watching the pageant entering its final act or about to be wrapped with her hugging Tina for the performance. But...that’s not Tina who’s in the star costume and instead, to everyone’s surprise, it’s Harley who has taken control of the costume with Linda shaking Harley and thinks that she did something to her. Which...would say that’s very out of character for Harley to do something like that because she wants the star role at the start of the episode. But it's not like that. She's not that cold-blooded to do something like taking the costume away from Tina. So Harley is in control of the costume. So where has Tina gone? This is where things really go through the roof. Beyond words is what the reaction is coming from the fans who watched the episode. Bob is filming Gene doing his performance. Linda is stuck doing costume work as the pageant begins to wrap up. Can't call in someone like Teddy or Gayle or Big Bob due to plot purposes. So it might be poor little Louise who had no choice but to go through without anyone in attendance. It's killed or be killed for Louise on whether she reads the poem about poop or the poem that she wrote that had been the center point of the episode. Just as Louise is begin to speak with no one in attendance, butterflies flying in her stomach, just as she is starting to feel as if she's on the verge of a potential anxiety attack, you could call me out for saying that for Louise but it almost looks like she's going to have one. Just as Louise is about to speak...here comes the twist. Look who decided to drop by.
It's Tina. Tina ran her way to the library from city hall to see her sister perform. Mind you Linda later in the episode made it just as Louise wraps up her poem. Tina on the other hand listened to the whole thing. How Tina even made it to the library without anyone noticing it...it's simple. It's like she knew that Bob or Linda are not going to make it just as Louise was about to speak. She can't let her little sister be left hanging after she became the first to figure out what was going on with Louise earlier in the episode. Knowing how important this is to her. So it would make sense...to some...that Tina and Harley had to switch roles, rather, give Harley the star costume for her to run off without Linda or anyone else noticing. And the poem itself as Tina listens through it as the three portions of the episode going back and forth as Louise was talking...sentimental and emotional. I see a lot of reactions from social media. All across Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Instagram, and everywhere across the internet that they bawled their eyes out when the poem was read. Louise felt emotional when reading the poem about being around family on Christmas morning. Not to mention the ending of the episode. I'm probably in the minority where I didn't cry. I got chills. But not teary-eyed. I don't hate the moment. I like it. This is the type of stuff that once in a while you want to see from this show. Mostly in the current alliteration of the show. The so-called modern era of the series is where you may notice that something is missing and you don't know what that thing is. But it's there. It’s really there.
The emotions and sentimentality from Louise’s poem. The visuals from each scene with the three events of the episode for the night, especially towards Gene’s performance with Bisslebender doing the conducting. The song is used in the background for this scene. There's a lot to list out from the final act of the episode and motherfucker, this was an episode. Final two, three minutes left in the episode but holy shit. This might be the peak. Sure, other episodes held that title and everyone had their opinions, but if we're going to be honest, this season alone has not performed well with the past episodes. Except for this episode, "Show Mama from the Grave", and I guess I might throw in "What About Job" as a wild card, the episodes have not been that great. Ranging from borderline average to dear Christ, what the fuck was that?! This saved the season. I know it’s early and we’re only ten episodes into Season 13 but...this, so far, saved the entire season. I get that we got more in 2023. We got until May of next year to know how future episodes will play out but until then, this may have saved the season. And on Christmas on no less. To close out the year. Bitch, this episode better be nominated for an Emmy next year. Otherwise, we’re going to have problems.
The kids finished their performances with Linda driving their way to pick up Bob and Gene after she and Tina saw Louise's poem. Tina poked fun at Louise over her showing off the notion that she cared for her family. I get that Louise isn't the one who likes to show off anything mushy but she did put her heart out into the poem and since Tina knew that Louise wrote a poem about being around family on Christmas morning...I guess she does have some sort of a right for her to poke fun at her for someone who isn't the type of person who would show affection. You know, sibling taunting sibling for fun. But she did enjoy the poem, so at least the night isn't a total loss. We switch over to the school with the aftermath of the performance by the sixth graders. I’m guessing Bisslebender thanked Gene off-camera about him coming up with the idea of saving the performance. Which I also have to give credit to the episode with Gene not being annoying or coming up with anything that would downplay the episode. You could say that he has slowly gotten there in mastering his craft when it comes to him being a performer. Especially right after his so-called arc in the movie with him worrying that he might not be that good of a performer leading up to the week before summer vacation but got the anxiety monkeys off of his back once he and his band performed. So Gene saved the night and for Bisslebender, she gets her check. $35 to be exact. Which...really? It’s the holidays and you only gave her only $35?! I get that we’re on the verge of a recession and possibly a potential economic collapse, but $35?! She takes the check and makes her way out of the door. And...I guess we might as well bring this up...don’t know why but I might as well put it.
Bisslebender gives Gene a wink as she makes her way out of the building with the check in her hand. In my opinion, she's pretty much a one-off and set to never return since most characters in the show in every episode almost all of the time don't make a recurring role. But it pretty much boils down to the idea of "you'll never know". Part of you wants to say that there's a chance, a low chance but it's not zero, of making a return to the show in the foreseeable future. But that all depends on whether or not her voice actress, Tina Fey, is available to give it another go for the character in the event she were to be brought back. So for now, Bisslebender is pretty much being sent off to the island of one-offs as she leaves the building with the check in her hand.
Closing out the episode and much like with the end of Part 2 of Some Like It Bot, we have the final minutes of the episode where we let the music play with no dialogue being used as each scene was being shown before we get to the credits with HER being the musical guest to do the credits. From Bob reading the poem that Louise wrote while being treated by Linda to Gene showing the film that Bob captured to a recovering Merkin on the hospital bed to Christmas Day with the kids opening their presents and of course, might be poking fun at Louise for what she did with the poem. There's nothing else left to say but it was amazing to close out the episode. That's it. There's nothing else to say about this. No cap. This was a pretty amazing episode to close out 2022 and what a way to finish 2022 for the show. And what is supposed to be the show's biggest year with the movie's release despite the lack of press and Season 12 and the first half of Season 13 except a few episodes being mid...at least we made it to the finish line from the ride that was 2022. It's a wild ride and uh...what a way to close the year off.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So all and all, what do I think about this week's episode of Bob's Burgers? What else to say and no bullshitting here, this was an incredible episode for the holidays and to close out the year. What an episode, man. Subverting expectations from left to right as the episode progresses, especially with Louise once again carrying the episode. Jesus, we started 2022 with a Louise episode with her saving LaBonz’s ass after writing a bad review of her to her coming up with a sentimental poem that she read with her having a huge character arc in the film sandwiched in between. I guess you could say that 2022 is pretty much Louise’s year despite most of her episodes has been formulaic and we know that it’s going to continue as the season progress once we get into 2023.
Sure, Bob and Linda not calling in any help annoyed me throughout the episode whether its Linda being stuck doing costume work or Bob running across town to get to the library, but I guess some people may have a point that it would result in cheapening and possibly downplay the ending to the episode if they did call in for help. So Tina being the one to step up to the plate and show support for her sister at the start of the final act of the episode as she prepares to read her poem was nice and also very sweet as she was the only one in attendance who listened to the whole thing from start to finish. She was the one who put two and two together in what Louise was hiding, so it would make sense for Tina to hop on out backstage, gives the star costume to Harley, and rushes her way to the library to see Louise in action. So I like that.
Other than that, the episode was amazing to look at. Gene saves the night for his peers and Bisslebender to go balls out with their performance at the end of the episode, Tina attends the poem session at the last minute to show her support to Louise, and the guests haven't been underutilized throughout the episode. The emotions. The sentimentality. The visuals. The execution. The writing. The direction. It's a grocery list to speak out and there's nothing else to say about the episode but to say these words that haven't been used since Part 1 of Some Like It Bot...holy hell, I fucking missed this. This is what we wanted. It's bombastic. The chains were off the moment Tina figured out something was up about Louise with her poem once the first act ended. Again, there's nothing else to say other than that it subverted my expectations. I was concerned about how the episode would pan out before it was aired and now...even though I'm not the optimistic kind of person, for once, I gave my tip of the hat to this episode. So for the rating for this episode...yep...yep, might as well throw this for dramatic effects. I'll give "The Plight Before Christmas"...
A 10 out of 10. The first 10 out of 10 for these reviews since...well, the "My Butt Has a Fever" short back in May. I know, it's shocking. The first 10 out of 10 of the season and after seeing it, this episode has the right to get that score. So a 10 out of 10 for "The Plight Before Christmas". That's my opinion and now I want to hear yours in the comments down below. Bob's Burgers make its return on January 8 with Tina...well, she gets canceled after a student accuses her of cheating on a test and wants to clear her name but mother nature has other plans for her in the eleventh episode of Season 13 in "Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang”.
Follow on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, and Mastodon throughout the holiday break for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. World Cup coverage coming to a close with the Final coming up. By now, Argentina at the time of posting made it to the championship. Awaiting for either France or Morocco for the matchup. Speaking of championships, the Final Round of the 2022 Battle of the Week Voting Tournament is almost coming to a close later this week between Asta (Black Clover) and Judy Tobin (The Great North). So if you haven’t gotten the time to make your vote, time is running out as the deadline approaches. Poll closes on Friday Night at 11:00 at night Eastern Time where the winner will be announced. And y’all should know the drill by now...
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Donate over on PayPal, Patreon, and Ko-fi pages to help your boy out in both improving the page and helping to pay the bills to keep the lights on this holiday season. Mostly because cold weather is expected for the Christmas season and that means the heater is about to be cranked. And that's about it for the Bob's Burgers reviews for 2022. What a wild ride it had gone. A long and wild ride covering from "Touch of Eval(uations)” to “The Plight Before Christmas”. Seeing the movie when it came out. Loved it. Reviewed it along with the short. It’s been a wild ride and I’m not the sentimental type but a huge thank you to everyone who supported me throughout the year when doing these reviews. Doing my best to give the show some praise...even though some might call me salty and bitter but...I get that people have opinions. But what can you do? Again, a huge thank you to everyone who showed their support throughout the year when doing these reviews. This is review number 164 since doing this back in 2014 and revived it back in late 2018. Sometime in 2023 or 2024 might be review number 200 in the ol' blog posts. And despite the low traffic I'm getting with these reviews, at least there's some shmuck out there who would come across with these posts because they got nothing better to do while waiting for their flight to arrive. But yeah, 2022 is in the books for Bob's Burgers as we prepare to enter 2023. Once again, a huge thank you to everyone for their support throughout the year. I would take a year but it looks like we got one more in the tank to close out the year. So get ready. The Top 12 Countdown for 2022 awaits...for a while with the rankings...thanks a lot, Bob's Burgers for the late entrance. Oh and you too, My Hero Academia. The same goes for you, Bleach. See y'all in the Top 12 Countdown. And until then, wash your hands, wear a mask, get vaccinated and boosted, and remember that you’re loved, you’re beautiful, ignore the haters, and Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year.
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