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Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Bob's Burgers Season 14, Episode 2 Review - The Pursuit of Rudy-ness | yahoo201027's Bob's Burgers Reviews

 


Two in a row...two in a fucking row that we got a good episode. A lot of hype was built into this episode right as we were nearing the season premiere last week. Mind you, we’re only two episodes into the new season and I didn’t expect this episode to bring out the feels hammer. And onto an episode where the main cast, the main characters, being the Belchers, aren't in focus with any of the members of the family. The focus is on the side character, a well-beloved side character. It's a risky move when it comes to sitcoms, primarily animated sitcoms, but they did it. They actually did it.

In this week's episode of Bob's Burgers, we something the likes we haven't seen in a while. An episode where a side character becomes the focus. And it's everyone's favorite asthmatic boy, Regular-Sized Rudy, as he dines with the Belchers as they try to perfect cooking a dinner dish in my spoilerific review of the second episode of Season 14 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “The Amazing Rudy”.

Might as well get two topics out of here before getting into the episode itself, that being the topic of an episode where the side characters get their time in the limelight and the main cast being sidelined. That and also the topic of divorce and how it can affect a child who lives in a divorced family. Because that’s what we got in this week’s episode with Regular Sized Rudy being the center focus in this episode. Did I mention that we’re only two episodes into the new season?

So, if you're familiar with the world of sitcoms, let alone animated sitcoms like Bob's Burgers for example because why the hell not, every episode since the start of the series has been focusing on the main cast. Whether being the whole family or any one of the five members of the family...or I guess one of the six because Teddy is a part of the main cast. And that's basically the norm in all of this. That's an entire 261 episodes of this series...up until now with the 262nd overall episode with "The Amazing Rudy" where a side character, which is Rudy, gets the spotlight while the main cast, the Belchers, is sidelined. Granted, the Belchers only appeared with a small appearance in the first half and took over the second half once Rudy stormed out of the restaurant, but it was a ballsy move for the show to not have the main cast taking center stage for once in this series.

The only show I can think of when seeing the main cast being sidelined to make room for a side character to take the spotlight would be Central Park with their episode "The Shadow"...even though Bitsy is one of the main cast, the antagonist of the series. But the show did push the main cast of the series, the Tillerman family, from doing their thing and having Bitsy be the focus of the episode. The family remained sidelined, rather, taking a bye week because of the final five minutes that focused on Birdie. With this episode of Bob's Burgers, focuses on Rudy and his life. Him attending a dinner with both his mom and dad, both divorced, having dinner with their dates with Rudy being in the middle of the action. Mind you, he is a child living with a family who are divorced. And noticed that something was bothering him throughout the dinner enough for him to storm out of the restaurant after getting ready for the night. Enough for the guy to break down once we get to the end of the third act. Guess we all know from watching this episode is that this guy needs a hug.

And going into the topic of divorce, we know that Rudy lives in a family that is divorced. He lives with his dad and oftentimes lives with his mom as part of the shared custody that came with the filing. We saw his dad trying to get into the rebound. Attempting to land someone while trying to get back to his feet while taking care of Rudy. Mind you, divorce can be a hard topic to talk about. Especially when you're growing up in a family that you thought was going to last forever, only for the relationship to fall apart. That and having to live in a family where you lost a family member, losing a parent at a young age, can cause some pain. It's a process that will take time to get through. Even going through a lot of stuff, a lot of questions on what and how it caused that led to the separation. Thinking that you might be the blame or something else, pretty much playing the blame game and it's a game that no one wants to play. We see Rudy living in a divorced family. We have seen Zeke, and I say that because he mentioned a stepmother. Jimmy Jr, Andy, and Ollie are the prime examples of kids in the show who live in a divorced family. Have yet to see Mrs. Pesto on the screen but we got Rudy's mom in this week's episode. Not a lot of her in this episode position-wise like her having a lot of lines and a lot of scenes but, take it what we get. That being said, time to get to the episode breakdown portion of the review because knowing that it's a Rudy episode...we're going to be here for a while. So, basically, perfect reading material while waiting for your next flight. This is "The Amazing Rudy".



We start the episode with a flock of sparrows on top of the sign that hovers over the restaurant and yeah, I see y'all. I see y'all, Molyneuxs. I say that because they wrote this week's episode and they also wrote "The Ring (But Not Scary)", which that episode ended with the sparrows that took the ring that Bob was supposed to give to Linda for their anniversary. Way to connect things, guys with having a flock of sparrows at the top of the sign hovering over the restaurant to start the episode. Having one sparrow leaves its nest, leave the restaurant, and fly across town leads the way for the camera to move over to Rudy's house...Rudy's dad's house as if they're telling the viewers when watching the episode that we're shifting away from the Belchers like we were usually supposed to be focusing on with every episode and instead, it will be focusing on a side character. Which is what we'll be doing for this week's episode with Rudy being the person in the spotlight.  So, quite the change that we got in having the main cast, the Belchers, to be sidelined to make room for a side character to take center stage.



Starting the episode with Rudy waking up in the morning, holding his flounder plush Pancake that he got from his co-scheme with the counterfeit coins with Louise and Millie from Season 12. Telling his plush that tonight's the night he'll be attending a dinner party. A dinner party that he might be dreading with him talking to his plush upon waking up that he's feeling a bit stressed leading up to the night of the event before trying to calm himself down through song and trying to get his game face on. Also, note the use of piano music each time we change scenes with Rudy. Whether being a happy scene like a trip to the store for him to get ready to perform a trick at the dinner, hence the title of the episode, or a sad tone like him storming off and walking alone at night on his way to the Belchers for refuge. It's like...whatever the episode has in store for everyone...you get in the ride and you're not going out until the ride is done. And after watching this episode, that was a ride, folks. That was a ride.



Rudy gets called for breakfast by his dad as both he and Rudy are preparing for their big night tonight. Talking about the restaurant that they'll be going to and what to expect from there. Mostly to change the subject with Sylvester trying to not be corny towards Rudy when attempting to create small talk with his son about their plans for tonight. Especially with Rudy feeling a bit stressed over the aforementioned dinner earlier in the episode. Something that is going to bother the crap out of him once we get to later in the episode. But for now, it's the calm before the storm for the family, Sylvester's side of the aisle as he has to run a few errands. Primarily getting the car washed and exchanging a shirt at the mall. But not before Rudy decides to add a little something to the list of errands, as seen in the next scene when they stop at the front of the magic shop and want to wow the crowd with his tricks. I mean, gotta entertain the crowd on what could be the longest night ahead in your lifetime there, Rudy.



So, Rudy makes a pit stop at the magic shop to get what he needs for his magic tricks to perform at his dinner tonight where he is approached by one of the owners of the shop, Esmeralda, voiced by Sheryl Lee Ralph, when Rudy noticed the other person who was supposed to run the store isn't present at the moment. The person being the guy we saw in "Presto Tina-O" when Tina got her magic equipment when going against Jimmy Jr. for the magic competition. So the guy who runs the shop, Horace, isn't here because he's at a conference in Cape Cod, so Esmeralda is running the show for the time being. Rudy comes into the store to find something with $13 in his pockets that he earned from mowing the lawn...well, just one lawn. $13 and a health scare was Rudy’s reward because Rudy is allergic to grass. So that’s another one added to the allergy list. At this point, you might as well put Rudy inside a bubble, but then you would question if he’s allergic to plastic. So Rudy gets his stuff for tonight that is under the $13 threshold and Esmeralda decides to give Rudy a kit that is worth $8.99 plus tax. Sodium polyacrylate is the name. Pretty much planning on doing the whole "make the water disappear" trick once he makes it to the dinner party later tonight.



At the car wash going into the next scene and we have ourselves a bit of an awkward conversation about what to expect for the dinner later tonight. Most importantly, who is coming to the dinner with Rudy and his dad. However, hard to hear their conversation as the car goes into the car wash and the machines that operate the car wash are making things harder to hear to listen to what Sylvester is saying to Rudy about tonight’s dinner. But he mentioned a name, that being Paul. Yeah, you still probably can’t hear what Sylvester is saying but some already put two-and-two together on what to expect for the dinner tonight. That being that Rudy’s mom, who will be joining them for dinner, will be bringing in his boyfriend Paul and for Sylvester, to bring in his new girlfriend with Rudy being sandwiched in the middle of both parties. And we’ll get to that later to close out the first act of the episode.



We switch over to the mall with Sylvester exchanging a shirt and Rudy, outside of the clothing store, trying out a couple of hats at a kiosk and it didn't take long to have ourselves our complimentary cameo from the Belchers once Rudy eyes Louise, Tina, and Gene at the fountain just in time for Bob and Linda to come out of the store with a neck pillow inside the bag. But why stop there for the Belchers being sidelined to being the side characters for the episode? When we get to the next scene, you have Rudy, carrying a drink from one of the express stores by the food court where he encounters the Belcher family once more at a store with them trying to find something for Gloria and Al for their upcoming anniversary with Linda asking Rudy which of the items that was shown to him, a turtle item and a miniature Eiffel Tower. Which Rudy has no idea what to pick since he has walked into whatever the Belchers are doing but ultimately chooses the turtle. Did I mention that the Belchers are sidelined in this episode?

Oh yeah, I did say that in the introduction of this review. Sure, a risky move to have the main cast benched for an episode...even if it's for the first half, and have to serve it as a quick cameo. And sure, the Belchers became pretty involved once the second half of the episode hits, but for once, despite what some might say that it's a risky move, you have to give the show some credit on what they're doing when it comes to who gets the spotlight. Central Park did it with “The Shadow”. The most notorious that I could think of would be My Hero Academia because you have each episode, rather, each arc, well...episodes too where they’re not focused on the main character, shocking I know on a Shonen series, but they did that. And it doesn’t have to be a filler arc. The example I can think of would be that school festival arc in Season 4 where portions of Class 1-A are in a band and one of the characters from the series, Kyoka Jiro, being the center focus of the arc...even though you have the likes of Izuku taking the spot for a bit when taking on the likes of Gentle Villain and La Brava. But this isn’t a My Hero conversation, we’re talking about Rudy since this is his episode.



And honestly, this was a breath of fresh air that a side character gets their due in this show. And a crisp too when having the main cast being sidelined for once. I always wondered whether or not any of the side characters will get their own episode. I mean, some do but that would be if they're paired with a Belcher. Look at Edith in "Bobby Driver", you have her character and Bob had to be involved. You have the likes of Jimmy Jr, Zeke, Darryl, hell...Tammy has their due but you have to shoehorn Tina into the mix. The same goes for the likes of Rudy, Millie, and Kaylee as said examples with Louise. So it was nice that we have a side character taking charge in their own episode and as a bonus, having the main cast being sidelined. Almost forgot that South Park did it once with Butters, just putting it out there. So it's nice that we finally got a side character expanded in this show. Because, bro, to be real, we've been lacking in expanding side characters. We have some moments but most of the time, it's solely focusing on any of the main characters.



I mean, compare it to The Great North and even though the Tobins are involved in every episode, they had expanded their side characters. They gave their development along with the worldbuilding surrounding Lone Moose. They expanded their side characters on the show when being compared to Bob's Burgers. Because with The Great North, they dared to expand their characters. Have yet to give any of the side characters their own episodes like what we're seeing with this week's episode of Bob's Burgers because we're nowhere near that threshold yet to make it possible. But they at least expand their side characters. Take a look at the likes of Delmer, Debbie, Crispin, Gill, just to name a few. Hell, most recently in the previous season leading up to the season finale, Kima had the most expansion. Introducing to her family and the occupations her mom and dad have with her mom being a smokejumper and her dad being a climate scientist. Her being around more leading up to the two-parter earlier this year. And might be doing that again once Season 4 arrives when it comes to expanding their side characters. Something that Bob's Burgers AND Central Park had been somewhat lacking. As for whether or not we might see this again in a future episode? Knowing that the Rudy solo episode has worked and the crew did a bang-up job in working on the episode, it's possible. As for who will be on the docket...Jocelyn.



Yeah, Jocelyn. The first person to pull out of the hat. Give Jocelyn her episode. Some of Tina's eighth-grade class got their development. Tammy got hers. Jimmy Jr got his. The same goes for Zeke. Darryl, even though he's a wild card and he is between Gene's and Tina's grades, but he got his if you remember when he and Tina pretended to go out. Henry got his. Susmita sort of but we'll get there. I mean, fuck, if she ever makes a return, and we're talking about the Wagstaff students, Chelsea might have proper development before Jocelyn. So yeah, if the show does another solo episode like with Rudy and has the Belchers sidelined, Jocelyn has to be the next person up. I know that if we do get that, you would have to drag Tina along for the ride, but if we do have an episode like with Rudy's, hope for the best and see if Jocelyn will finally get her due.



Onto the end of the first act of the episode as we prepare to transition into the second with both Rudy and Sylvester dolled up and ready to head out to meet up with Sylvester’s date Vicki, alongside Rudy’s mom and her date Paul at the restaurant. Rudy on whether or not he'll take the hat with him. He's bringing the backpack for sure because it has his magic set with him to entertain his table, as seen in the next scene to start the second act of the episode. You have Sylvester having some issues on whether or not he'll have his shirt tucked once the boys make their way out of the house. Primarily because he’s wearing puffy underwear and having his shirt tucked would look like old-time underwear back in the olden times. And this is the start of what might be a long, awkward, and potentially emotional night ahead for everyone here, especially for one Regular Sized Rudy to close out the first act with him and Sylvester racing towards the bathroom, so I’m guessing the house only has one bathroom I guess?



At the start of the second act with them in the car on their way to the restaurant. Of course, Rudy has his bag taken and ready to go with his magic stuff on the docket once they arrive at their destination. And it's going to be a long, awkward night ahead for Rudy. The fact that you have Rudy's mom and her date sitting at the same table with Sylvester and his date with Rudy sitting in the middle of all of this, at the same time with both your parents that haven't lived together since the divorce, you can feel the uneasiness coming from Rudy leading up to his arrival to the restaurant. Oh yeah, and we're finally introduced to Rudy's mom when they arrive at the restaurant and make their way to their table. No dialogue coming from Rudy. Just him standing there in the middle while the adults, his parents who have not seen live together in forever in the same room. Sitting at the same table. Now, take a look at the dinner party with Sylvester and Rudy’s mom, we didn’t get a name and the credits at the end did say Rudy’s mom, it seems that they’re on good terms. Not romantically, at least, not anymore with them. Especially when having to sit together at the table one night a month and have to bring Rudy along because he has to, even if things can get a little...well, awkward when sitting in the middle, between them at the dinner table.



I mean, look at the flashbacks to Rudy's time at the table with his parents once the party of five made it to their table at the restaurant. The times when Rudy shared his tricks with his parents. The smile on Rudy’s face. The smiles on his parents’ faces each time they're eating out. Starting the flashback with Rudy performing a disappearing item act with both parents holding hands. And each time with the flashback with Rudy presenting his tricks, you see a bit of a lull between Rudy's mom and his dad as if they lost their spark as time progressed and you see that final scene of the flashback with both Sylvester and Rudy's mom sitting at the table alongside Rudy and you noticed the silence between them. They’re not sitting next to each other, even though they could move their arms and meet them across, but that ain’t it, bub. It almost feels like the spark may have been lost and it has gotten to the point where the split was happening right before their very eyes. So it’s getting to the point where you ask the question...what the fuck happened? How did it happen? What caused the separation?

If you remember Rudy’s question in “The Fresh Princ-ipal” in Louise’s act as principal to save Mr. Frond’s job when trying to get Spoors’ brother-in-law who had no experience in counseling, when he said that he had a "friend" who is asthmatic and questions if his health problems are the cause of his parent's separation. I mean, this is pretty much speculation. Especially coming from Rudy if questioning if he or rather his health problems are to blame for living through a divorce...that's just speculation. That is pure speculation. As for how the divorce happened...it probably boils down to a loss of spark and that’s one of the few factors of a divorce. And whether or not Rudy’s little health problem was the factor to begin with...again, it’s all speculation. How they got divorced might as well be a mystery unless one of y’all at the time of writing or posting the review probably be asking Loren how and why through Twitter (still not calling X).



Rudy thinks it's the perfect time to perform his tricks at his table. Not just his parents, but also Rudy's mom's date Paul and Sylvester's date Vicki, who are getting a front-row seat of Rudy setting up a first impression. Ready to use the sodium polyacrylate to create the water disappearing trick by using a cup to get the water poured and thought that things would go the way Rudy thought it would go...going well and no mishaps...there was a mishap. The water didn't disappear and we have ourselves a bit of a mishap. Mostly because of the stuff that Rudy purchased at the shop earlier, you were supposed to wait for at least 30 seconds for the product to take effect. So basically, it came down to bad timing...okay, it was pretty much him not being able to have the time to read the instructions because he had his focus on getting ready for dinner and trying to calm himself down for the night. I mean, he should've at least read the instructions during the car ride but remember, a magician never reveals their secret. So, already, things have turned into a mess...especially when a piece of suede got drenched, so that’s bad. Rudy's mom tries to tell Rudy that there's nothing to be upset about and that it's only one mishap. Just get the napkins and hopefully, it would be water under the bridge, but Rudy tells her and everyone else at the table that it's sodium polyacrylate, that's not water. It's the substance that is used for diapers and that was what Rudy was planning on using for the water to be absorbed when pouring it into the cup, it just that he had to wait for the thing to do its job before performing the trick. And he could do it again, the only problem is that he only had one packet. So, it’s not a good look for Rudy. Enough for him to storm out of the restaurant when making his way to the bathroom to close off the first half of the episode and going into the second.



And...Jesus H. Christ, like...poor Rudy, man. Trying to perform a magic trick at the table in front of everyone, only for a mishap to happen. Remember last season when Tina blew her shot when trying to please a couple of teens who Tina thought would be her ticket to be cool and hoping to become “one of them”, only to make a fool of herself that resulted in the collapse of her social life? Yeah, it’s like that but holy shit, this is worse. The magic trick is one thing, but the fact that there was a mishap on the one night a month where for once, feels as if the divorce never happened. Sitting at a table with only his mom and dad present. An awkward setting, sure, but for once for Rudy, it feels like the whole family is together. So the fact that his mom is bringing her date and his dad did the same thing to the monthly dinner night, was putting a lot of pressure and a lot of stress onto the poor guy. I mean, we can all agree that by the end of the episode, Rudy needs a hug. Especially when going into the bye week. Rudy wanders off alone in the middle of the night across the town with one lady walking by him, seeing him upset, asking him if he's okay with Rudy lying to the woman that he's alright, even though he's not alright. This poor kid had been through a lot and the was just beginning for Rudy. And that was after one mishap at the dinner table...ONE!!! And to no one's surprise, Rudy decided to take refuge at the Belchers when watching the family closing up shop for the night before cooking up a celebratory meal for Gene. Literally, the first place Rudy would go to in the event he decides to run off. The Belchers notice Rudy through the window and decide to invite him to dinner, not knowing that he ran off to his dinner with his family.



Once inside, we get the dish that is being cooked up for Gene’s celebration dinner. I didn’t bring it up earlier in the review, but the Belchers mentioned to Rudy while at the mall that they’re having a dinner to celebrate Gene’s make-up grade for his science test, going from an F to a B-minus, which is pretty much a high standard for the guy. I’m not calling him dumb or anything, but we know that he isn’t the brightest crayon in the crayon box...especially when having what to have for dinner. That being a plate of lasagna. I mean, it’s not too bad of a dish even though lasagna contains pasta and if you remember the ending of “Dawn of the Peck”, trying to substitute turkey with spaghetti after going through a hoard of turkeys ransacking through town that lost their appetite, Rudy can't have pasta. And this is where the weird thing comes into play about what replaces the pasta portion of the lasagna...potato. Yes, a potato to served as the pasta of the dish. Yeah, that doesn't sound too good to my liking. I mean, sure, treat it as a baked potato, but...no. I'm a picky eater and that's pretty much a no from me. I would not be surprised if the guys over at Binging with Babish try to replicate the dish in not too not-too-distant future.



Gene, being the man of honor at the table, rings in a toast to his make-up grade, thanking the rest of the family as a support mechanism, and Rudy...for being there at the last minute before starting to eat their weird dish. It is a weird dish when twisting the ingredients that you usually make with the lasagna dish. The potato as the pasta is one thing, but as Tina brought up, cheese, bacon, noodles, sour cream, red tomato sauce, chives...and a cinnamon raisin bagel...how is that even a dish? This feels like a recipe that you would find over on TikTok than a random contraction to create. Look at that, a Rudy-focused episode, and here I am talking about the atrocity of a potato lasagna being a thing. The Belchers and Rudy eat their food with Rudy eating only a nibble with the thought of the dinner, the mishap with the magic trick...pretty much everything that has been bothering him since storming out of the restaurant when Linda brought up if his folks know about his whereabouts with Rudy lying to Linda that everything is okay and there's nothing to worry about. But it didn't take long for Linda to pull out of her phone and ends up calling one of Rudy's parents, primarily his dad because it was custody weekend for the guy. Too bad that back at the restaurant...



Sylvester didn't even notice that Linda was calling him because his phone was silent for the dinner party. Causing some concern for everyone at the restaurant when both of Rudy's parents noticed that Rudy hadn't come out of the bathroom for some time, not noticing that he ran out of the restaurant and made his way to the Belchers at their place. Talking about what happened and the substance that Rudy came with when that mishap happened regarding the sodium polyacrylate that was supposed to absorb the water as if it disappeared before their very eyes. And parents were thinking of one of them, either Sylvester or Rudy’s mom, to check up on him, but Rudy’s mom had to stop Sylvester to check up on Rudy because...right at the ripe age where...yeah, I dunno. Boy stuff...like pooping. So a lot of concerns from the Stieblitzes, especially later in the episode right at the end with them wondering what is taking Rudy so long as we switch back to the Belcher household with Linda being unable to make contact and is left with a voice mail...at which the voice mail inbox is full. And now, we get to Rudy spilling the beans on how he ended up at the Belchers’ place on a Saturday night.



Telling the Belchers the real reason why he is with them at the moment is because of what happened back at the restaurant he was at during his monthly visit with his split family and the mishap that happened with his magic trick to make water disappear. As well as the dinner itself because the dinner was supposed to be a monthly event where both parents who haven't lived together since the separation and almost feel like the family is back together, just for one night and chatting about what they did and whatnot, as well as seeing Rudy perform his tricks. But with Rudy's mom bringing her date and his dad bringing his date to the monthly dinner table, along with a mishap with his magic trick, Rudy felt frustrated. And anyone here who had gone through a divorce, especially at a young age, it freaking hurts because you thought that the relationship between the two adults would last forever, only for things to fall apart over something that caused the separation to take place. As if because of his parents bringing in their dates for the dinner that was supposed to be with just them, it doesn’t feel like what Rudy would’ve expected. As if it feels like it was too much to handle and mind you, he’s 9. He’s 9 years old, well 9-10 even though “House of 1000 Bounces” have him turning 9...it’s too much for the guy. It’s too much for him to handle.



And give props to Brian Huskey for going balls out on performing as Rudy in this week’s episode. Like, bro...he went all out performance-wise when it comes to Rudy and the dilemma that he had to deal with the notion of being around his parents and their dates while being in the middle of it all. A performance that is astonishing that you might as well it might be Emmy-worthy. So, the Belchers attempt to console Rudy after telling them what happened while trying to get into contact with any of Rudy's parents. Telling him that what happened back there isn't his fault, concerning his magic trick that went wrong. That, and also telling him that his parents must be worried sick about his whereabouts. Remember, Rudy's parents and their dates back at the restaurant didn't even know that he ran out of the restaurant than being stuck in the bathroom and doing his business. And we're getting close to having a search party being called and a possible Amber Alert being issued, which would put the Belchers in a very difficult position, even though Amber Alerts only work for when someone is kidnapped, and Rudy ran his way there. Bob was planning on taking Rudy back to the restaurant by car because it was quite a long walk for Rudy from the restaurant to the Belcher household. Plus, the topic of divorce and the loss of a parent isn't too similar. Sure, the emotional pain is there that it would serve as a mental scar, but unlike the latter, at least the other half of the parent is alive, right out of the blue...



Louise volunteers to take Rudy back. By foot, sure and it's a long way back to the restaurant where the whole situation started. Also, not going to pretend that Louise mentioned that she has a pair of brass knuckles on the docket that she somehow got on Christmas as if Bob and Linda didn’t have a choice to give their youngest daughter something to arm herself with like a pair of brass knuckles. But besides that, Louise volunteering to take Rudy back to the restaurant seems like the most obvious answer but is one that makes the most sense. I am already seeing the Louwheeze/Roudise shippers (people who ship Louise and Rudy) eating this sucker up like its Thanksgiving dinner, it was Canadian Thanksgiving when the episode came out, but shipping aside, this was a sentimental moment to wrap the episode leading up to Rudy’s return to the restaurant and Louise joining his family and his parents’ dates at the table. That’s her friend, so it’s only right for Louise to be the one to console the guy. Sure, the Belcher family aren’t divorced and they never dealt with anything like that, but they know Rudy. He's a good friend to Louise and a good friend to the family. Ever since what happened with the museum trip when they were paired up and Rudy nearly died from an asthma attack, that was Louise's calling card whenever she was around Rudy. Being the protective and supportive bestie. Hell, you have Bob and Linda looking through the window when seeing Louise and Rudy making their way away from the house and going to the restaurant with a song playing in the background, it doesn't sound like an original song that we're used to on the show, but almost feels like an actual song being played. Being proud of their daughter as if Rudy has brought the good out of Louise, even though that sort of more of Louise herself is at the behest of the writers in this current version of the show.




Ending the episode and going into the credits a la...I guess “Amelia” where you have the credits rolling and you would not hear any dialogue as Louise and Rudy make their way back to the restaurant and reunite with his parents after minutes of worrying about his whereabouts. Of course, noticing that Louise was with him out of the blue with Rudy’s mom calling the waiter to bring in an extra chair for her at the table. Funny enough because some people in the fandom would question what kind of parents Rudy’s are with Sylvester being the relaxed parent and Rudy’s mom being the strict kind and would imagine what her thoughts on Louise are since the museum trip but I’m sure that she’s fine with Louise as long as she doesn’t get Rudy in harm’s way and pretty much accepts her into Rudy’s life as the episode wraps up through the credits with the dinner back on with Louise now being the added guest and I guess Rudy explaining what happened earlier in the dinner after the mishap but other than that, despite not hearing any dialogue, the dinner was back on and I guess with Louise at the table, sitting next to Rudy, it should at least help Rudy not feel anxious for the night.



Reaction/Thoughts:

So all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers?



I think this tweet above should pretty much tell the story because holy shit...this was an episode. A good ass episode. We’re only two episodes into the new season. TWO!!! And already, people have found their favorite episode so far going into Season 14 with Rudy taking the limelight and the Belchers being sidelined. A risky move as I said at the beginning of the review that you would have a side character being the center focus and have the main cast being sidelined, even if it was for the first half and they get more involved in the second once Rudy ran away to the Belchers after storming out of the restaurant, but they took the risk and holy crap, it was amazing. And hopefully, I would love to see more of that in not too distant future with another side character waiting in the wings to have their own episode. Betting for Jocelyn to be the next person up to have their own solo episode.

The topic of divorce was the center focus of this week's episode with Rudy attending dinner with his parents who were split and had to bring their dates to the table. Adding a lot of pressure and anxiety onto the guy leading up to the night of the dinner and having not just your parents that, who are on good terms, haven't lived with each other since the separation and bringing their dates to the table in what was supposed to be a monthly dinner that was supposed to be just Rudy and his parents. Much like with OCD and climate change with The Great North, the notion of racism on Central Park (even if it's for one episode), and the notion of the death of a parent, struggling to make ends meet, stuff regarding mental health like a sensory overload, sexism, and now divorce with Bob's Burgers (even though The Great North tackled on that as well with the main family had a divorce), they didn't half-ass it and for anyone who had gone through the difficult process, especially when having to deal with it at a young age growing up, you can probably relate to Rudy's situation since it did tackle on the issue without attempting to fumble the ball and they did a pretty bang up job in dealing with the topic at hand.

Other than that, other than seeing Rudy’s mom for the first time, sure, we didn’t get an explanation of how Rudy’s parents were split and had to file a divorce but that’s pretty much going to leave room for speculation, this was a pretty good, if not, amazing episode. Did I mention that we’re only two episodes into the new season? Back-to-back episodes where we have good, if not, great episodes. And that was after ending the previous season with a banger of an episode like “Amelia”. So, final thoughts, amazing episode. And I would not be too surprised if someway, somehow, this might be in the conversation of a potential nomination, whether being an Emmy or an Annie, this was an amazing episode, so I’ll give “The Amazing Rudy”...



A 9.5 out of 10. Would've been a 10 but...Gene's lasagna...why? So a 9.5 out of 10 is my rating for this episode. But that's my opinion and I want to hear yours in the comments below. No new episode this upcoming Sunday, October 15. Mostly because of a little thing called baseball taking over the spot and as of the posting of this review, we might be looking at a potential Lone Star ALCS to decide the American League between the Rangers and Astros...unless the Twins bounce back. The Braves ain't dead yet, so yay. No new episode on October 15 but come October 22, we have a bachelorette party and we get to meet Gretchen's family in the third episode of Season 14 in "The Pickleorette". Will we go three in a row? Eh...who knows but I get the feeling that the streak might end there.

Follow me over on Twitter (still refusing to call it X), Instagram, Tumblr, Mastodon, and Threads for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. The semifinals of the 2023 Battle of the Week Voting Tournament have already taken place with Match 1 of the Semifinals, for the Alpha Party Nomination between Feliciano Vargas/Italy (Hetalia) and Jolyne Cujoh (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) with the winner to take on whoever comes out of the Bravo Party two weeks from now, either Louise Belcher (Bob's Burgers) or Ham Tobin (The Great North) in the Final Round on December 3. And y'all should know the drill by now...



Donate over on PayPal, Patreon, and Ko-fi pages to help your boy out in both improving the page and keeping the lights on to get some stuff out. And until...well, I guess two weeks from now unless anything happens next week, wash your hands, wear a mask, get vaccinated and boosted, and a reminder that you are loved, you’re beautiful, ignore the haters, and I’ll see y’all later.



***Bob’s Burgers is owned by 20th Television Animation, Bento Box Animation, and Loren Bouchard. Please Support the Official Release***

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