Finally...finally! The end of the Top 12 Countdown for 2023. Another year has come and gone. And with that, we have to introduce the number one spot in the Top 12 Countdown for the year which is 2023, and...yeah, to some who had followed me when doing these throughout the past year, it’s not surprising to see this episode being this high on this list. I’m talking about Bob’s Burgers with “The Amazing Rudy” taking the number one spot in the Top 12 Countdown.
Yeah, yeah, I can already see everyone giving me the stink eye, primarily the cartoon community, questioning my pick for the number one spot for this year with this episode of Bob’s Burgers over the likes of The Owl House with the series finale or Rick and Morty with any of the episodes from the show’s seventh season or any other show that came out in 2023, yeah, well...it’s my list. I make the picks. Sorry that I can’t appease any one of the casuals out there because I omitted a show that is either below this spot or have yet to see because I didn’t have the time. I’m already guessing some of you all somewhat called me out for putting “The Shadow” from Central Park taking the number two spot back in 2021. It’s my list, it’s my opinions and everyone is entitled to have their own. Had to get it out of this small, out-of-nowhere “rant”, so...let’s get to “The Amazing Rudy”.
It’s not even a contest on who should take the number one spot in the countdown. I gave my praise to some Bob’s Burgers episodes that came out in 2023, mostly coming from the second half of the show’s thirteenth season with the likes of “What A (April) Fool Believes”, “Radio No You Didn’t”, and, of course, “Amelia”. Then comes the current season, Season 14, “Fight at the Not Okay Chore-ral”, in which everyone has mixed reactions to the episode, it was an alright one to start the season. But then came the episode after that with “The Amazing Rudy”. There was a lot of hype building around it ever since the title was leaked and the synopsis weeks before the episode’s airing and even though people are now going to call it “overrated” because of the positive reviews that it was getting, but, we can all agree that this was an amazing episode and mind you, this was only the second episode of the new season. The second episode.
And this episode has it all. Mostly because this episode had dared to do something that would break the rules of (animated) sitcoms and that would be having the main cast, the Belchers, being sidelined (for the first half) and having the side character, Rudy, becoming the center of attention. In what some in the entertainment industry would think would be considered as “entertainment suicide” for having the main cast in a sitcom, let alone an animated sitcom, being sidelined for the entire episode, despite that they’re only riding on the bench for the first half, they did a really good ass job in keeping things in order when it comes to giving the side character their own episode and the development that came with it. And Rudy did fit the mold to have his episode because...well, it’s Rudy and everyone loves Rudy. So it would make sense for him to become the center of attention.
The episode focuses on the topic of divorce as you already know Rudy is from a divorced family with both Rudy's Mom and Sylvester (Rudy's Dad) having to share custody with Rudy. And the story is simple…to a degree and it's Rudy having to attend a dinner party but not just any dinner party, but a dinner party that only happens every month where you have both parents who had never lived together for a long time sitting at one table for one night.
And you see here in the flashback later in the episode arriving at the restaurant and it shows the family with Rudy performing his magic tricks to please his parents and as the months pass by, you notice both of Rudy's parents having a falling out that would lead to their eventual divorce. And, to Rudy, despite that he knows that it's not going to fully have the family back together since the damage is already done with the parents having a falling out, to him, despite an awkward atmosphere of having both parents sitting at one table who, again, haven't lived together for a long time, in Rudy's point of view, the monthly dinner almost feels like as if the family, even if it's for one night, is whole again despite the separation.
Of course, a lot of pressure mounted onto Rudy when he had to find out that his dad would be bringing his date to the dinner and the same goes for Rudy's Mom to bring her date, her boyfriend, solidifying that things are becoming serious between the two, and uh…yeah, mounting pressure and awkwardness from Rudy leading up to the big night.
The first act of the episode is all set up with Rudy and his dad getting things ready for the upcoming dinner party. Running errands like getting clothes at the mall to Rudy getting his magic tricks at the magic shop in preparation for the big night. And again, you can feel the pressure and the awkwardness for Rudy leading up to the big night when getting the stuff that he needs what might as well be a very long night ahead for the fourth grader. Especially when meeting up with the Belchers at the mall while he was busy looking at hats over at the items shop when looking for something for Linda’s parents, as well as being told by Gene and the others about the dinner to celebrate Gene’s improved science test with...a potato lasagna. Don’t want to get into details about that, the review is for that, but let’s just say, it’s gross to my linking. Seriously, a cinnamon raisin bagel? Come on, man!
Once we get to the second act, especially towards the two-minute warning of the episode, all hell decides to break loose with Rudy and everyone else arriving at the restaurant. And aside from the flashback scenes with Rudy performing his tricks for his parents and the drive to the restaurant, you have him attempting to perform his trick for his parents and their dates by using a sodium polyacrylate pad in his cup to think that the water had disappeared, but then came the mishap. The mishap that made Rudy’s night into a nightmare and it was him rushing into judgment when he turned the cup over, not knowing that the sodium polyacrylate would take time, about 30 seconds, and uh...yeah, Rudy...Rudy...Jesus Christ, that was painful for him to do a trick in front of his parents and their dates. Enough for the guy to head to the bathroom, but instead, he made his way out of the restaurant to second act.
And going into the third act with him walking alone at night...the look on his face...the pain and sadness coming from this guy after accidentally making a fool of himself with the magic trick and on a night he thought in his head would’ve been the one night where it’s just him and his parents sitting at one table that it feels like the family hadn’t been separated. And the fact that Rudy’s parents had to bring their own dates to the table made things awkward for the kid. He’s just a kid for Christ’s sake! A lot of pressure and stress onto the guy as well as him somewhat struggling to go through the changes in the events one or both of his parents get serious with their dates that they brought to the table. I mean, this scene boils down to what it’s like to be in the shoes of a child who has gone through a divorce. And there are portions of the fandom who had gone through that when they were young and can relate to this episode and Rudy in particular. Still think this kid needs a hug from this episode.
Though, to no one’s surprise, he took refuge in the Belcher’s household since it was the first place he would go to after storming out of the restaurant. And you have the family not knowing about Rudy’s little situation as they prepare to have dinner to celebrate Gene’s improved grade on his science test with the potato lasagna dish, again...why is that even a dish to begin with? But besides that, Rudy took refuge with the Belchers with the family not knowing about Rudy’s little predicament and the same goes for Rudy’s parents and their dates back at the restaurant when we switched over to them for a bit. And it didn’t take long before we get to the end of the third act and going into the fourth when Rudy decides to break the ice and tells the truth to the Belchers about what happened back at the restaurant. Him stormed out after one mishap in what was supposed to be the one night where the family, his family, is supposed to eat at one table as if, for one night, the family is together as if the divorce didn’t happen. And goddamn, this episode better be nominated for an award once we get into 2024. Emmy, Annie, or any other award to give the episode the nod because this was a roller coaster of an episode and give props to Brian Huskey for nailing this episode from start to finish, especially with the scenes of Rudy leaving the restaurant and him telling the truth to the Belchers about what happened.
And when we get to the fourth act of the episode, you have the Belchers trying their best to comfort Rudy after the mishap that happened. Telling him that what happened back there wasn’t his fault and that his parents might’ve been worried sick. And going back to my review with that small point I made with Bob originally planning on taking Rudy back to the restaurant since the distance between the restaurant where Rudy left to the Belcher residence isn’t somewhat of a walking distance and you’d probably thought that we would have a moment between them in the car, but divorce and a death of a parent is different. Yes, both are emotionally painful, especially at a young age, but the difference is that with the death of a parent, you lose one-half of the parent and you’re not getting that person back. Whereas with divorce, you have that thought process where the blame game comes in and questions what went wrong and if you or someone or something is to blame for the separation.
Of course, this is where Louise decides to step in by asking Bob and Linda with their permission to take Rudy back to the restaurant by herself before heading out. And I know that the Louise/Rudy shippers are eating this sucker up as I mentioned in the review, but Louise does have the right to take Rudy back even though she doesn’t what it is like to be in Rudy’s shoes in having to live in a split family, but this is Rudy. That is her friend, her best friend. That’s her ride or die and Louise does have the right to take Rudy back to the restaurant where his family is at and might’ve been worried sick, and she did.
Right as the episode ends with the duo makes it to the restaurant with Rudy reuniting with his parents and their dates with Louise being Rudy’s plus one and like with “Amelia” with the end credits, as the end credits show no dialogue, and the music being played in the background as the Steblitzes, the parents’ dates, and Louise enjoy to have a nice dinner, of course, Rudy had some explaining to on what happened. And I get that there were some of y’all having some gripes in between the scenes with Louise and Rudy leaving the house and the ending with them returning to the restaurant and should’ve had Louise console Rudy on their way to the restaurant and make him feel better after finding out what happened back there at the apartment. Would’ve had that serious moment to the point where you have Rudy starting to break out in tears or whatnot and Louise having to comfort him. Again, as I said in the review, Louise or any of the members of the Belchers doesn’t know what it is like to be in Rudy’s shoes with the divorce but even though they might on the money on extending the scene and I guess it would make sense to add more into the scene to give Louise and Rudy some development into their characters and see good of a friendship they have. But I guess having no dialogue around the end of the episode would be the way to go and I guess that’s alright as everyone enjoys their dinner for the night.
Call me out for having this episode this high on the countdown, but you know that this isn’t even a contest. Whether it’s whatever is the best episode that came out in 2023 for Bob’s Burgers or...I wouldn’t say Season 14 as a whole because we still have a lot of season left going into 2024, but this was a very good episode. An amazing episode that should be Emmy-worthy. The visuals at the start of the episode with the birds flying from the restaurant to the house where Rudy and his dad live looked amazing. The voice acting was incredible and everything else did their damn best to make an amazing episode. Tackling the topic of divorce while trying to not poke fun at it like with some shows in the past that would not go well by today’s standards and they did a good job with what Rudy had gone through leading up to the night of the dinner and the mishap that came with it. I know that the scene with Louise and Rudy walking to the restaurant would’ve been extended with Louise consoling Rudy and making him feel better, you know, getting back to his feet, before arriving, even though I would be fine with that adding more of the emotional stuff and the development with Louise and Rudy with their characters, I think we’re fine with everything that we have with an episode that is truly amazing to close out the Top 12 Countdown for this year to take home the gold medal.
And so, that concludes another season of the Top 12 Countdown with 2023 coming to a close, already 2024 on the other side of the world as this post is released. What do you think about this episode? Should it be perfect the way it is or should be lowered on your list? Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, and BlueSky for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. Live blogs return for the weekend of January 6-7 with Toonami (the second part of the finale of Attack on Titan and Shippuden) and the return of both Bob’s Burgers and The Great North with those reviews coming out on that week, Bob’s Burgers hopefully on late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning and The Great North around late Wednesday or the overnight hours on Thursday. Don’t shoot the messenger for being a one-man band. 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 paying the bills to keep the lights on. Here comes the sappy moments from yours truly. 2023 is a...weird year. It’s a weird year despite everything somehow going to crap going into the new year and no, that’s the fear of the outcomes of the upcoming presidential election clouding my judgment, but despite the strikes that would’ve hampered things, continuing doing the Bob’s Burgers reviews, now going into my tenth year doing this and now, having to talk about The Great North in this page and going into 2024, it’s amazing that I’m not feeling an extreme amount of burnout from doing them. I mean, I can feel some, especially since the summer thanks in part to a World Cup game that went to ten rounds of penalties, seriously, don’t ever do that again, despite the low-to-mid flow of traffic into this site, I know what I’m doing to keep things in order while trying to maintain my mental health so I don’t have to suffer another round of burnout that I got around 2017 going into 2018 and hopefully, that won’t happen to go into 2024. Thank y’all so much for sticking around to my bullshit and more bullshit is coming into the new year with the new episodes coming up in less than a week’s time, and I’ll try to be more active...well, hopefully, my little workstation doesn’t die first. So yeah, out goes 2023 and going into 2024. And until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask, get vaccinated, and a reminder that you are loved, you are beautiful, ignore the haters, and Happy New Year, everyone. And cheers to a hopefully not-crappy 2024.
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