I did say at last week’s review that the reason for why it was so short, about 7-8 pages long was not because of the episode itself but because of a fractured arm that I had to deal with. And well, status update, it’s nothing serious to the point where I have to type with one arm for the next couple of weeks. No cast is required, just do not need to push around to add any pressure onto it to make the healing time look complicated. So... back to business I guess and at a new place and yes, that is the reason why I was in the dark this past weekend and was unable to do anything because of the WiFi not being set up over the weekend. I’m doing the best that I can here. I’m just one person. And, of course, the moment the review is released, we might find out either it’s dictatorship o’clock under Trump or an “at least we’re kicking but ooh boy, that was a close call” under Kamala. Who knows. All we know is that the international viewers got a front-row seat to this shitshow in a span of a year. Hope y’all got your money's worth because it’s gonna affect everyone, not just the US (spoiler alert since it’s been a few days because of pushback after pushback... yeah, it’s Trump again... God help us all).
In this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, Tina participates in a cheese throwing competition, pretty much a game of assassin, with the other eighth graders despite her sucking at throwing. Louise having to step in to help her sister out as Linda struggles to eavesdrop on a conversation with a couple without having to get caught and being scared off in my spoilerific review of the fifth episode of Season 15 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “Don’t Stop Be-cheesin’”.
And yes, once again in this blog, we’re talking about weird school traditions. I brought this up earlier this Fall season with The Great North with its Season 4 finale in “Am I the Ice Hole? Adventure” with the students of Lone Moose at any age, any grade having to participate where some random student gets picked via having the school skeleton Bonesy dropped at the front door and they have to return it to the school without getting caught. Think of it as a dangerous game of Don’t Wake Daddy when having to transport the skeleton back to the school as if anyone at the school has seen any of the heist films. This time around with Bob’s Burgers, it’s the students, primarily the eighth graders, having to play assassin where instead of guns or I guess in the case of that one subplot in one of the iCarly episodes, a paint blower gun, it’s a slice of processed cheese. America, am I right?
Yeah, this is what I’m reminded of with the plot of this episode was that one subplot in that one iCarly episode, the original one, not the revival, when it comes to the game of assassin, only to switch out the blow gun or whatever the device is called to shoot out paint with slices of cheese in their possession. This is what I didn’t get about traditions at all back in the day. Mostly because I think any of the schools I went through, whether it’s elementary, middle, or high school, don’t sort of have that, my memory is pretty fuzzy when trying to remember, no need to cause alarm. Guess I’m pretty much out of the loop. But other than that, the episode did have some promises.
Yeah, there are some moments that were dull from here and there, but as long as everyone is present, which is nice to see and hasn’t been forgotten by the show, then yeah, there are promises despite some predictability regarding the outcome at the end on who would be the last person standing. And aside from the subplot... yeah, it’s a subplot alright that I have to cover along with the main plot, it’s not a bad episode. A good episode to be exact if you don’t focus too much on the subplot that is. I mean, the screencaps and synopsis for the episode leading up to its initial premiere speak for itself but let’s see how this episode fares. This is “Don’t Stop Be-cheesin’”.
The episode begins with the Belchers eating their breakfast with Tina entering the kitchen and sitting down to get her food as it appears that today’s the day that the week-long eighth-grade tradition begins. A tradition that she is already dreading but can’t back out from. The cheese throwing competition where all eighth graders in Wagstaff have to participate and throw cheese at their peers to take them out and to be last one standing. So, it’s pretty much laser tag or in this episode’s case, hunting only where instead of guns as the weapon of choice, even if it’s fake and makes pew-pew sounds or a Nerf gun in that matter where you have to fire darts, it’s a slice of processed cheese that each eighth grader in Wagstaff and Wagstaff only that they have to throw to their target. To Tina, it sounds dumb... mostly because she has her reasons why. Louise on the other hand, sees it as an awesome tradition because it’s a game where you have to take out your opponents as if you’re playing assassin for hire. Too bad that she can’t participate because she’s in fourth grade and she has to wait for another 3-4 years in her lifespan to play the game. Tina, on the other hand, dreads that this moment would come and she would know...
This shot in a flashback shows it. You could say that it’s typical Tina because she can’t throw for shit. And she can’t for shit because she had been practicing leading up to the big week and look at her throw, the accuracy of a Stormtrooper in Star Wars. And that’s not her coming up with an excuse to get out of it as if she’s pulling the ol’ Henry Haber card out of her deck, she literally said that going into the next scene when trying to team up with Susmita. And we see that in this brief flashback with her trying to hit a target by throwing a lot of cheese slices, either store-bought from the fridge or the kitchen of the restaurant for practice...
Girl out here putting up Tony Snell numbers with her throw. It’s bad. It’s really bad for Tina to the point where she would have to serve as a liability and could hold her team back unless she has to serve as a sacrificial pawn. And there’s always going to be that one team where one of its teammates could weigh them down and cost them the match, mostly when it comes to playing RPG games like Call of Duty or Fortnite. And a lot is at stake for any of the eighth graders who want to be the last person standing. As for the prize for the person who wins it all... it’s mostly honor and recognition, so, nothing fancy other than building up a reputation for your graduating class and thinking back about how that person wiped the floor out of everyone once they lay foot on the podium to get their diploma. And also pizza because one of the students named Matthew Ross has a brother who is an employee there who delivers the pizza to the winner without letting his boss know. So reputation and pizza are pretty much the prizes for whoever is the last person standing.
But that’s not going to stop Tina from being all doom and gloom because she can’t throw for shit and thinks that she might cost her team a win. And knowing that she can’t get out of it and yes, you can’t get out of it, no matter where you go whenever you don’t have school like a doctor’s appointment or attending a funeral if you’re an eighth grader who attends Wagstaff School, she has no other choice but to compete and pretty much going to be a liability. As for whose team she’ll be joining for this game, you’d think that Tina would usually go with the usual crowd once the eighth graders attempt to assemble a team like with Jimmy Jr, Zeke, Tammy, and Jocelyn but those usual four have to find their own team and thank God for that even though later in the first half, the first two that I brought up is who Tina will end up teaming up with, but luckily, the first person in her head when ready to assemble a team is not either of the usual four and instead, it’s Susmita who she wants to team up with as if we’re about to have the school’s version of Shaq and Kobe. Even though Tina, once again, knew that her horrible aim and throwing skills would serve as a disadvantage, at least she knew that even though they’d likely going to get eliminated, they could at least share a laugh or two and call it a day. It’s shifting. The tides are shifting regarding the status quo with those two... well, they’re already good friends and hopefully, they become close friends, if not, best friends. And I want the bullshit to be real dammit.
We now go into the school hours later at lunchtime and remember that Tina mentioned that she has horrible aim and could serve as a liability to whatever group she’s roped into and also wants Susmita to be her teammate. Well, Susmita took it to heart once Tina came up to her and asked her to be teammates, only to reject Tina’s offer. And no, there’s no drama between the two. Susmita respects Tina and is a good friend and schoolwork partner to her the same way you have Sam and I guess Zeke and maybe Jimmy Jr from time to time who don’t throw her under the bus. It’s just she remembered that one moment during class when they were doing their assignment with Tina telling Susmita to not draft her to the group. Saying that she’s a bad draft pick and could serve as someone who could cost them the game due to her throwing skills being dog water the same way you have to pick a team for dodgeball and all of the best players happened to be taken and the only person left is the person who is going to likely cost you the match in the first 30 seconds of the game unless they serve as a sacrificial pawn. And Susmita took that literally once Tina whispered to her to not pick her to join her team out of abundance that she would hold the team down.
And besides, Tina... you were the one who brought up because you don’t want to join in because of how shit of a thrower you are as if you’re rivaling a Stormtrooper on whose aim is poopy ca-ca. And this is not me being harsh, Tina literally said that so she doesn’t want to cost any of the groups she would joining the match in an embarrassing fashion. More embarrassing if you get knocked out first. I feel like if Susmita saw what Tina was doing to prove her point of her being a terrible shooter that she is when practicing, she would either: A) where we are right now and not accept Tina into the group but not in a harsh way as if it’s going to hurt her feelings, pretty sure that’s not how Susmita rolls; or B) knowing that, and this is a what if, she sees Tina’s point of how much of a terrible shooter that she is, and would probably be partners at some point, give her the rundown on how to throw even though once they’re the last people standing, they’ll be rivals till the end of the game. So now, Tina doesn’t have a team and thus, she and Susmita are pretty much rivals... only for this game. And that’s how the game goes, they may be your friends every day but once the green light shines for the game to begin, everyone, including your friends, is an enemy.
And yeah, got to put this out there since knowing that we got a lot of eighth graders who will be participating in the game, gotta bring out the non-speaking cameos and yes, we got the return of one Rosa Batista sitting at Susmita’s table. And also Tamica if you remember was the girl who Jimmy Jr tried to impress by trying to lick his elbow in “Ain’t Miss Debatin’” which drove Tina to join the debate team with Henry. Rosa, of course, the last time we saw her was nearly ten years ago, ten freaking fracking seasons since “Can’t Buy Me Math” and her importance was only there to be Darryl’s love interest since it was a Valentine’s Day episode and never to be returned since... up until now in this episode despite being there in a non-speaking cameo. As for whether or not that’s ever going to be touched upon, you know, if Darryl and Rosa are still together or remain as friends or trying to rekindle their relationship one step at a time. And if Rosa were to have a speaking role again in the distant future, y’all already know where I’m going with this and that is to recast her. With a person of color voicing her since Rosa, who happened to be Hispanic/Latina, with a Hispanic/Latina voice actress. Had to put it out there because it has been a long while since we last saw Rosa (and Tamica). Good to know that they aren’t forgotten. Oh, if only there was another girl who made her only appearance on a Valentine’s Day episode who happened to be in eighth grade that would’ve made the cut in this episode.
So, now, Tina has to join Jimmy Jr (and Zeke) with a few extras as her last-minute option to be in a team after being disinvited by Susmita thanks to Tina’s big mouth. And right away, he ends up letting Tina join and have her meet with him and Zeke and the others at Michael Carlish’s house, Michael Carlish being one of the members in Jimmy Jr and Zeke’s little group for the game since he’s pretty much an extra, for a secret meeting. Of course, having to whisper because they don’t want anyone to know what they’ll be doing, mostly to create a strategy on how to survive, and that’s where Tina is heading at the meeting time of 4:15. Why 4:15? Because Jimmy Jr has to leave early for a dentist appointment. Nothing much on that front.
We now go to the restaurant after school with the subplot now taking place. You have Louise being upset because she didn’t get the invite to be at Michael Carlish’s house because she wants to help Tina out coming up with ways for her (Tina) (and a few others but mostly Tina) to survive but didn’t because it’s an eighth-grade only meeting and also having the siblings along for the ride would make things even more difficult for Tina other than her being a terrible shooter. But enough with all of that, you have Linda attempting to eavesdrop into a conversation with a couple whose relationship is on thin ice and is about to end their relationship... only for them to be spooked away by Linda, who just wanted to get a front row seat to all the drama that was going on. And yes, that is the subplot to this episode. Linda needed to get some lessons on how to eavesdrop without having to spook away anyone who was in the middle of a conversation or argument while at the table, primarily with the couple who Linda spooked away just now. Meaning Linda now needs a crash course on how to eavesdrop without getting caught but not without getting humbled by the rest of the family and Teddy.
Going into the final few scenes of the first act of the episode with Tina now a part of a team, not THE team that she wants with Susmita but teaming up with Jimmy Jr and Zeke I guess could somewhat work with them as a trio or a team of five alongside Michael Carlish at his house alongside a random eighth grader with them now talking strategy on how to win the game if they want to be the last ones standing or at least make it to the part of the game where the teams are dissolved and it would be every eighth grader for themselves. The five prepare to do some practice in preparation for the game to begin, though who knows if the game has already begun. Especially once Tina decides to make her way to use the bathroom, leaving Zeke, Jimmy Jr, and the others to do some target practice to get ready for the big event...
Only to get ambushed by a mysterious figure who attacked not one, not two, not three, but four members of the team. Four out of five members got cheesed by one person. All four got eliminated first just as Tina returned from using the bathroom and saw the aftermath of what happened. The first to be eliminated and now, once again, Tina doesn’t have a team... because her teammates got knocked out in the open by a random stranger who flanked them as if... well, I never played any of the RPG games but they got sniped, so there’s that. All four members are out of the race and now, all hopes for that team have to rely on Ms. Irrelevant herself, Tina Belcher as the team’s only hope. The girl who claims that she’s bad at throwing is now the only hope this team has and oh boy, ending the first act of the episode and going into the second, all eyes are on Tina. Oh boy, they gotta need it.
So now, going into the second act of the episode, going into the next day with Tina finishing fixing her locker, taking out her text with Jimmy Jr and Zeke telling everyone, primarily Tina, who was there even though she was using the bathroom when all of that was happening, Louise, Gene, Henry, Chelsea, Sam, and some extras about what happened on that unfaithful hour of them and the others sans Tina getting sniped with cheese. And, of course, the pressure is mounting on Tina since she’s now the only member of the team who is still active and has to carry the team on her back. I know that some would probably want to root for Tina having to carry her team on her lonesome or at least feel sorry for her like with Sam telling Tina about losing about 80% of the team that she was in, but again, a lot of pressure is mounting on her. Especially since, again, she wasn’t excited about having to participate in the event because of her being a bad thrower, but she can’t back out and now, having to carry the team on her back... it’s the same way that your fantasy football team is in Hell because your star player that you drafted got hurt and will be out for the year and now has to rely on a scrub who haven’t done Dickey McGee’s act last season except for a few games to serve as the backup. So yeah, the pressure is mounting on Tina, especially when now having to find who the so-called “Big Cheese” is and it’s now getting to the point that Louise and Gene, primarily Louise, to be activated to serve as her aid. Louise finally got her wish and all it took is four eighth graders in Tina’s group to go down like punk bitches.
Going back to the restaurant and now, we begin the crash course for Linda as she begins to know how to eavesdrop without having to scare anyone as if someone were to uncover what the NSA was doing to our calls and everything that we were doing on the daily. And so, the lesson begins with Linda minding her business and both Bob and Teddy begin chatting for Linda to chat. And the results... it’s there. She’s listening to the conversation but can’t hear what the two men are saying. Wanting Bob and Teddy to speak up but can’t do that because then we would have a problem. That’s pretty much the golden rule on how to eavesdrop, don’t tell anyone that you’re trying to listen to speak up unless you have one of those hearing devices as if you’re working for the government.
Switching back to the main plot with Louise and Gene now aiding Tina on what to do to on how to survive the game now that she’s the only one in her team who is left standing when going up against... well, everyone. And that’s where the game plan comes in for the siblings, primarily Louise, to help Tina to how to get through the game and hope to be the last one standing as the game progresses. Case in point, the Joe Biden strategy. The 2020 Joe Biden strategy. What I mean is that according to Louise, if she wants to be the last person standing, she has to lay low from the public to make sure no one goes after her and let the playing field shrink until it’s time to give the signal to unleash the beast. And I said that it’s sort of like what Joe Biden did leading up to the 2020 Presidential Election because if you remember, leading up to the November 3 date that year, the Democrats had to get Biden to lay low because of some fears that he could mess things up, mostly with his gaffes, and that alone helped them landing them the keys to the White House... that and also the other side fucking up the Covid response. And for Tina, she doesn’t need to lock herself in a basement and instead, she has to wear disguises whenever she leaves the school and during school hours... well, it’s a safe zone because even though the teachers are aware of this, they can’t intervene. It’s outside of school that is a concern for her. So, a disguise would be the way to go, and also, joining an after-school activity.
And yes, sir. Yeeeeeees sir! My boy is back! He is back! Thank fucking Christ! There were a lot of eighth graders in the episode partaking in the episode and we see that earlier in the episode with the return of Rosa Batista, a character who we all thought was long forgotten, sorry Becky Krespe... the return of Darryl despite him being a grade lower... I know it’s only for a short scene and only in a montage with him in chess club with Tina, per Louise’s request, to join the club to avoid getting cheesed... man, oh man, this season has been cooking when having a lot of characters, some in the background who are recurring characters in the background but some having prominent roles like with Susmita, Henry, Sam, Chelsea, and Will in this episode, but also characters that we haven’t seen in a long ass time. And yes, two years ago with the movie, which was the last time Darryl appeared with the voice quality sounding as if it was coming out of Facebook Messenger, feels like a long time.
God, I hope he plays a prominent role and does not get phased out whenever the Belcher siblings are doing something in the future. Whether it’s with Ansari if he even gets the call to do some voice work or recast the character like a fill-in, an understudy of sorts, or a possible replacement just to bring him back instead of having to write him off as if he was only good for the early seasons, Seasons 2-9 and the movie, only to phase out because of a lot of shit behind the scenes regarding Ansari that threw a wrench. Just glad that Darryl wasn’t forgotten and even though it’s only for this scene and this scene only and in a montage, and I hope, I do hope, and I pray to whatever God you worship, he makes a full return with a speaking role and hopefully a supporting or somewhat major or moderate role. Come on, show... y’all can do it.
But yeah, that’s all Tina has to do as the montage takes place and goes through a few days' time skip. Joining chess club and the choir. Having to go disguise after disguise to ensure she doesn’t get targeted by one of her peers. And the plan seems to be working for her. Playing chess at chess club with Darryl with her... not knowing the rules of chess with her playing the horse piece and not the pawn, partaking in the choir, going to Gretchen’s to get her hair ruffled up and yes, it does look like the style she had in her story on Mother’s Day from “Mom, Lies, and Videotape”. You know, the Alien story with her as Sigourney Weaver’s character. All of this, having to wait till 6:00 for her to be home free but who knows if there’s someone decided to work overtime whenever they’re doing something after school like going to the park, at the arcade, the Wharf, the convenience store... there has to be some random asshole who had to go into overtime in the event they spotted Tina. Other than that, for the next few days in the montage, Tina has been unscathed and untouched by the disguises and after-school activities that she joined and you can thank Louise for coming up with the idea. Too bad for the others who wished to have that idea because while that was happening, one by one, each random eighth grader from across town got hit by cheese slices by someone or by the “Big Cheese” themself who is going for the X amount of combos. Going for that kill streak... or cheese streak... I’ll see myself out.
We go into lunchtime a few days later after the montage that we had to go through with Tina successfully laying low while the others get taken out, we’re now nearing the climax of the cheese-throwing competition with only a handful left alive in the race to be the last eighth grader standing. And you have Zeke and Jimmy Jr, after talking about how the Big Cheese claimed more victims by their cheese-throwing abilities, already showing their support for Tina to win it all since she did join their team before them and two other students were taken out in a snap, especially once coming across Tina at her table along with Gene and Louise and yes, for the Tina/Jimmy Jr shippers out there, he gives Tina his chicken nugget because he questions if Tina got any sleep or protein since she had to lay low for the past few days per Louise’s request. Yep, take it in. Take it all in. But now, it’s time to list out who are the possible suspects out of the many folks who are still alive in the competition, mainly the characters that we know who happened to be recurring side characters who are in Tina’s grade as Louise wrote down the possible suspects on who the “Big Cheese” is.
First up, Will. And it’s possible that it’s him because according to Louise, he is the athletic type. And you know about people who are athletic types, they can be good throwers, and the way the cheese landed on most of the eighth graders especially towards Zeke and Jimmy Jr along with two of Tina’s teammates earlier in the episode, it’s possible. Especially with the way he chews. Yeah, that’s one way to put it to figure out who the suspect in all of this is just by the way his teeth munch the food into tiny pieces.
Next up, Chelsea. And that option would make the most sense. She is a troublemaker after all. A risk taker and someone that you don’t want fuck with. I mean, we all remember that one moment when Tina brought up in “Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang” about her getting suspended for saying the F-word 23 times during a game of kickball. We know what Chelsea is capable of and while she can be mean, she’s not Tammy-level mean and just loves to get a rise out of people. Again, taking a look back at “Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang” with her accusing Tina of cheating even though she did it herself. So, Chelsea seems to make the most sense since the game is about taking people out, something that Louise is already getting excited about once she gets into the eighth grade and like Louise, the competition pretty much has Chelsea’s name on it and could throw the cheese outside of playing the game.
Then you have Henry and even though he doesn’t strike to be the kind of person who seems to be the sporty kind because the game would have to make you active, but if there’s one thing to know about Henry is that you don’t underestimate the guy. While yes, this game would have you to be physical when it comes to reflexes when having to hide, strategy and analytics would have to be used as if you’re on the battlefield in the middle of a war and even though war is pretty much going for the kill at the enemy, there’s also strategy where you need to come up with a plan to defeat the enemy or at least weaken them to the point where they either retreat or force a surrender... or wipe them out. That might be Henry’s game plan for him to survive this as one of the contenders who are still alive in the game. And remember, we’re talking about the same guy who pulled the strings in a school presidential election in his favor by having the competition’s campaigns to burst into flames (Louise tanking Jimmy Jr’s campaign, Millie on the verge of winning only for her to commit attempted murder after noticing a flaw in one of her proposals, and Louise breaking into Frond’s office) and fooling Tina and Louise, who fooled Tammy and Jocelyn, with the tickets that was meant for Susmita and oh boy, we’ll get to the controversy regarding what was happening with those two’s relationship status later in the episode.
Tammy and Jocelyn... don’t need to know about them other than the fact that we really wish to not make things predictable, especially with Tammy though spoilers, it’s not either of them. But at the moment, they’re the suspects in question because those two are still alive in the competition, though that might change going into the end of the first act of the episode, but highly doubt it’s either of them. Jocelyn... I don’t think so but when it doubt. Who knows. And then you have Tammy, who’s pretty much a bitch, and if she were the “Big Cheese”, which she is not, it would devolve into another installment of Tina and Tammy with their rivalry. Thankfully, that’s not the final battle because we got that to wrap up the first half, so I guess the crisis was averted.
Then comes Sam. And we don’t know anything about the guy because he was the recent recurring character who was just introduced in Season 14’s “Butt Sweat and Fears” other than him as the super anxious boy. A quiet kid you could say and when in doubt. But Sam seems to be the unlikely choice (spoilers in the fourth act on where this is going regarding the many options on who the suspect is) and one of the few who Tina is good friends with. Especially after helping him get through his anxiety on the dance floor at Chelsea’s party in return for being a big help in getting her skirt out of the dryer with the door being stuck. Which, thank God, when it comes to having Sam returning to the show, they didn’t make him a love interest for Tina right away and instead, maintained their friendship in a platonic way as I suggested in my review of “Butt Sweat and Fears” in the event he makes a second appearance. Sam is one of the suspects according to Louise since he’s one of the few who is still alive in the competition but the downside to having Sam as the possible suspect... him being a klutz. And we see that with him accidentally spilled his milk and tries to clean up.
And then there’s Susmita, seen here trying to write down something, maybe some notes, with her arms covering it as if she doesn’t want anyone to take a peak. And when the images came out for this episode a few weeks ago and the same goes for the synopsis the week before, a lot of speculation was writing on the wall on who would be the final pair once we get to the final battle. We know Tina is one because, of course, it is her episode, sorry for the lack of a “That’s So Tina” graphic. I’ll get to that the next time we get a Tina episode. And the other, to most of the fandom when looking at the images or playing the guessing game with the synopsis, Susmita seemed to be the most picked option out of Tina’s peers. And this is after earlier in the week when Tina, thought that she was bad at throwing cheese in preparation for the game, hoping to be teammates with Susmita, only to reject her offer because Tina said to Susmita that she (Tina) sucks at throwing and shouldn’t waste her time picking her as a teammate in fears of her being a liability. So, out of the options who would serve as possible contenders to face Tina in the event she and one other eighth grader serve as the final two left standing, Susmita and Chelsea seem to be the likely pick though wouldn’t rule out Henry but oh boy, we were wrong once we get to the fourth act.
With the naming of the suspects out of the way, Louise decides to change things up when it comes to strategy for Tina since she is one of the few eighth graders who are still alive in the competition. And yes, this is where Tina’s throwing skills are being put to the test. Of course, Tina dreads that this is coming because she enjoyed laying low and wants to continue doing that as if she wants to be the last one standing just by not doing anything like she’s Rocky, you know, the pet rock that Patrick got in that one SpongeBob episode with the snail race. But with the playing field continuing to dwindle within each passing hour and day, it’s only a matter of time before Tina finally enters the battlefield and is ready to strike, despite the calls from her that she has terrible throwing skills that could cost her the game. That, of course, is about to change.
Because we get to the end of the first half of the episode and yes, we got our Tina and Tammy fight and thankfully, it’s not at the near-end of the episode with the villain reveals who the “Big Cheese” is. We got our battle with Tina on the lookout as she enters the alley and in comes Tammy, hot on her trail and makes her way to capture Tina, only to not find her there and instead, pop goes Tina from outside the alley, on the sidewalk and uh... well, it’s a start for not just Tina, but Tammy also because even though Tina’s aim is bad as she claims to be throughout the first half of the episode, Tammy had some trouble as well when trying to land a hit on Tina with her cheese slice but ends up missing it and slams it on a car but also having trouble quickly peel the plastic off of the cheese. And we end the first half of the episode with Tina finally getting her first cheese hit in the game and of course, it’s on Tammy of all people who Tina can cross off on her list, and let’s be real, it was well deserved for Tammy by Tina to get somewhat of a comeuppance even if it’s all in the game. Karma for all the shit that was thrown at her and thus, we end the first half of the episode with Tina starting to have her aim quickly perfected.
Entering the second half of the episode and Tina is riding high with her now playing the game after getting her first cheese kill and it’s against Tammy. And that’s more than enough for Tina to now feel optimistic after being all doom and gloom in the past 24-96 hours of her saying that she sucks at throwing ahead of the start of the game and now, after getting some help from Louise after all four of her teammates got taken down early, And man, oh man, how the tides have shifted for Tina going into the second half of the episode. Going from realizing that she sucks at throwing and doesn’t want to be a liability to now, she could likely be making her way to the finish line if she continues to play her cards right.
And she does that as we enter another montage to bypass through the third act of the episode with her fastly becoming a pro in throwing cheese at almost every eighth grader who is still alive in the competition. Taking out the competition one by one once the new day hits, even if the random eighth graders are all silhouettes and not a full reveal because I’m pretty sure the cast and crew don’t want to draw them and instead, draw them in silhouette forms to save some time for the montage. Did I mention that Tina has fastly become a pro in all of this and this was after earlier in the week of Tina realizing that she sucked at this. Out of the blue, she knows how to play the game and sure, she has some help from Louise when it comes to strategy, but much like her quickly becoming an expert debater in “Ain’t Miss Debatin’”, she has become a dangerous threat for anyone who comes in her way. And now, here we are going into the next scene once the montage ends... the final six. Alive and well and now going toe-to-toe with whoever is left in the race, that being Henry, Susmita, Chelsea, Will, and Sam. And now, we know where the final battle is going to be held.
Once Henry, one of the final six eighth graders who are still alive in the race, drops a note for Tina to read on where the final battle where all six eighth graders who are still in the race to meet up. The location in question is the abandoned dog food warehouse. The Mr. Gravy Paws dog food warehouse and if that name strikes you of anything, it’s the place by where Carniopolis is at where Mickey and the other workers at the Wharf reside. The note states that Tina (along with Susmita, Chelsea, Sam, and Will) will meet up with Henry at the warehouse at approximately 4:30 where the final battle will be held, and since there are only six players left in the game, one of them has to be the “Big Cheese” that got everyone in that graduating class talking and hopefully that the meeting would be the moment they comprehend whoever the “Big Cheese” is. Louise senses that it’s a trap because you have everyone who has remained in the race meeting in one location and fearing that five of the six or all six could gang up on each other. Either Tina ended up becoming the winner or she would get cheesed and at least brush it off to say that she made it this far in her improbable run doing this.
Of course, Louise and Gene have to butt out going back to the subplot with them, mostly Louise, upset that they can’t join Tina where the action is going to be but pretty sure they could get in the way if they were to butt in as if it would put Tina in a very bad position. So, Tina has to be on her lonesome, which we’ll get to her in a bit, as we now begin to see what Linda has in store after getting her crash course on how to eavesdrop. Especially with a couple, the same couple whose relationship was on the rocks and on the verge of calling it quits, somehow came back here. And for Linda, she’s getting her shot at redemption after scaring them away earlier in the episode. Which we’ll touch on that going into the fourth act.
And now... the final battle. Six eighth graders who are alive in the race ready to duke it out. Tina enters the warehouse where she is greeted by Henry who is hiding and tells her to hide at any spot like with him and everyone else in position. And Tina does that once running to one of the pillars for her to hide so she doesn’t get caught. Not just her in hiding position because you have Henry hiding behind the crates, Chelsea also behind the crates, Susmita also the crates and a barrel, Sam behind a crate, and Will behind a barrel. Making a roll call to see if anyone is present before turning the start of the final battle into a pre-game session of finger-pointing because out of the remaining six eighth graders who are alive in the race, one of them has to be the “Big Cheese”. As I said earlier when it comes to having eighth graders going against one another, they may be friends every day, but once the game begins, everyone’s an enemy. Especially once the finger-pointing begins with Henry accusing Susmita of being the “Big Cheese”.
An accusation that Susmita denies. And even though, at this moment of the episode before finding out who the “Big Cheese” really is, she was one of the few eighth graders when predicting the outcome of the episode, especially in the event it’s Tina and whoever her opponent will be as the final two, she was the likely choice of being her opposition. Of course, these are all accusations that are being thrown by Henry all because of the way she throws whether it’s flicking an index card or playing badminton, that could make his accusation towards Susmita look more reasonable. And... we might as well get to the controversy from this episode and it’s this line that Henry spoke when accusing Susmita of being the “Big Cheese”.
#BobsBurgers
— Badgerclops 🏞️🌊🇵🇸🆓 (@bc.swifties.social) November 3, 2024 at 8:31 PM
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Henry said, and in his words when saying it when accusing Susmita, “O-one time during the three weeks and two days that we dated.” Don’t believe me? Play the episode at the 14:58 mark and listen to yourself and listen closely if you watched it online and happen to skip ads and not have it on DVR. Context is key here in what Henry is saying but it does almost feel like some in the fandom, especially if you ship those two, aren’t too happy about it. We all know that Susmita had a crush on Henry in “UFO No You Didn’t” and straight up confesses her feelings at the end of the episode and, of course, you can thank Tina for giving her some advice to let it out. The double nerd angle was there and those two look adorable together as the show progresses since Season 9... then comes Season 11 with “Fast Time Capsules at Wagstaff School” where they hit a bump with Susmita mad at him for correcting her social studies homework, thinking that it’s Henry’s way of being romantic... it’s not, and putting their relationship on thin ice but ended up working things out with him quoting Titanic and that’s more than enough to give Susmita the actual tickets and trick Louise and Tina, who tricked Tammy and Jocelyn, with the fake tickets to the Boyz 4 Now concert. So, all things worked out for Henry and Susmita, and going steady with their relationship.
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| From "Butt Sweat and Fears" (S14e13) | Air Date: May 19, 2024 |
But then comes “Butt Sweat and Fears”. Henry is not present at Chelsea’s party, but Susmita is. And with Will as I guess her plus one. And I mentioned in my review of that episode back in May that Will was recently introduced earlier in that season, and they were doing friendly chatter when sitting on the couch. But once we see a small scene of them dancing when Tina was searching for the laundry room after noticing butt sweat forming on her way to Jimmy Jr, that was when the Hemita shippers (people in the fandom who shipped Henry and Susmita) were in panic mode. Thinking that there’s some tension going on between Henry and Susmita. Hoping for this to be a one-time thing and all of this being water under the bridge... and probably go to Tina for some advice to help them keep their relationship steady. The way Henry said that when accusing Susmita of being the “Big Cheese” as if he was letting out some frustration, saying that they dated for three weeks and two days, again, you can take it to context on what it’s actually means when it comes to Henry and Susmita’s relationship status. Either they’re still together but need things to work things out or they officially called off their romantic relationship, I do hope there’s any clarification of what the relationship status is between Henry and Susmita. (Update to all of this after waiting for the WiFi... yeah, they’re pretty much done. Henry and Susmita are likely no longer a couple... I give it either high school or around graduation for them to rebound)
Aside from accusing Susmita of being the “Big Cheese”, the reason why Henry assembles everyone here in the warehouse is because of an idea he proposed to make the battle more interesting. A strategy to say the the least. And that is to turn the final battle into an all-out catch and compromise because according to Henry, the “Big Cheese” is the threat that they should be focusing on and if they can capture the suspect, then they could have themselves a battle for themselves to be the last one standing. Of course, Henry still believes that it’s Susmita who happened to be the “Big Cheese” and Susmita continues to deny the accusations, turning it into a back-and-forth argument between the two and thinks that Henry might be the person they’re looking for, mainly for having to bring everyone here at the warehouse and believes that he could strike one by one, even though Henry said that he’s all brains and no brawn, which makes you question how the hell did he make it this far in the competition. Henry and Susmita continue to bicker over if either of the two is the “Big Cheese” as if you beginning to wonder if their relationship is over-over or just the competition is messing with their heads just for either of them to be the last one standing and while that is happening, ending the third act and going into the fourth and final act of the episode...
The competition has narrowed down to five. Will got cheesed by a mysterious figure who happened to be the “Big Cheese” and that was happening when Henry and Susmita were bickering at each other over them pointing fingers at each other as if they’re the “Big Cheese” even though the actual “Big Cheese” just landed a hit on Will. So now, he’s out, Meaning that Will is not the “Big Cheese” because how can you be one if you hit yourself? That doesn’t make any sense at all. Will is out, meaning that Tina, Susmita, Henry, Chelsea, and Sam are all that’s left in this competition as the game of accusations continues from their hiding spots with some starting to make some moves in preparation for them to strike. The finger-pointing continues and the sounds of heaving breathing plague the warehouse as things begin to feel as intense as ever before.
Mostly coming from Sam, who... you can’t blame the guy for being anxious. A lot of pressure is on the guy since he’s one of the remaining five now left in the competition and going toe-to-toe against his peers. A minor anxiety attack coming from him but putting on a brave face if he wants to win this thing. And, of course, him trying to play it cool, trying to throw in a zinger in an attempt to ease his anxiety and ready to go on the offensive.
Then, of course, there’s Chelsea when it comes to who the “Big Cheese” is. According to Susmita, she could be the person they were looking for because knowing Chelsea, she’s a troublemaker, a risk taker, and a thrill seeker. Mind you with this tradition of the eighth graders playing this game and having to take out everyone, this pretty much has her name on it. She even brought up that Chelsea once pierced her nose with a thumbtack, hoping for a nose ring, which uh... don’t want to see a hole on the nose from Chelsea’s face when having to know about that. Chelsea denies the claims from Susmita that she’s the “Big Cheese” as she begins to make a move and look for her target. That, and also correcting Susmita that it was a paper clip and not a thumbtack. Again, don’t want to know and even if she wants a piercing, what are the possibilities of the school asking her to remove the nose ring? And we’re talking about the same girl who, again, got suspended for saying the F-word 23 times while playing a game of kickball. And Chelsea, much like Susmita, when predicting about the episode leading up to the premiere, would be one of the few people who would square up with Tina as her opponent in the final two, or at least, right now with the remaining players.
And then, of course, Tina, who Chelsea accuses her of taking out her teammates just so she can be the last one standing in her team as if she planned to throw everyone off. Yeah... right. As if her using the bathroom and then somehow leaving the house, climbing up a tree without getting caught, and then sniping them with her terrible throw before picking things up after laying low at the behest of Louise was her strategy. Really? That’s your idea for why you’re accusing Tina of being the “Big Cheese”? Doesn’t make any Goddamn sense.
Henry, in an attempt for him to land a hit on someone who is still in the competition, decides to slide a packet of cinnamon gum and serve it as bait for anyone to fall for it. Especially Susmita who still thinks that she’s the “Big Cheese” and thought she would fall for the trap. Too bad for Henry that Susmita doesn’t need gum at the moment and that alone when trying to bait Susmita or any of the other competitors (Tina, Sam, or Chelsea) to take the gum so he can cheese them. Too bad for Henry that his brains that helped him get this far in the competition... didn’t have that instinct where someone might sneak up on him activated.
Because Chelsea sneaks up to Henry and snipes him with her slice of cheese, knocking him out and now down to the final four consisting of her, Tina, Susmita, and Sam... only for her to get eliminated just moments later just as she was about to get into another hiding spot by Susmita. This means that Henry and Chelsea are heading up the stairs to join Will to watch the remaining three of their peers, Tina, Susmita, and Sam, fighting things out and making the competition more interesting than ever. Henry and Chelsea go up the stairs with Henry handing her gum that was meant for Susmita to take the bait and instead of taking one stick from the pack, it’s the whole thing from Henry’s hands. At least she got a consolation prize but come on, learn to share since it was his gum. And before we get to the final three facing each other...
We go back to the subplot and here comes Linda’s shot at redemption in the eavesdropping game. The family watches the couple at the table and can’t listen to shit as if they’re speaking in a different language or that they’re far away and should’ve gone close but don’t want to scare them away like what Linda did earlier in the episode. And now, it’s Linda’s time to shine for her to eavesdrop and hopefully this time around, she won’t get as close as she can go and not scare them away when listening in to what the couple is saying at their table. Linda does the thing... and that’s about it for the subplot as we get the aftermath of what happened at the dinner table right after the final battle currently in progress.
Only three competitors left in the competition. The final three consisting of Tina, Susmita, and Sam as they are in new respective hiding spaces and it looks like, at least in this moment of the episode as we are preparing to reach the two-minute warning, it’s Tina vs Susmita that you’d thought that it would’ve been those two as the final two instead of the final three, and we’ll get to who Tina will face and the reveal of who the “Big Cheese” is in a bit. But for now, it’s Tina vs Susmita, friend vs friend. And for Susmita when seeing Tina making it this far in the competition, to quote one of the quotes from Shaq, she was unfamiliar with her game. If she hadn’t known that Tina would’ve become a pro in throwing the cheese slice and not beat herself down over her having terrible aim at the start of the episode, robbing us of a potential double trouble from the two like they’re Shaq and Kobe, they would’ve been at least unstoppable. But even though Tina and Susmita are rivals at the moment, especially with them being a pair of finalists alongside Sam, they are good friends, hopefully close friends, where they respect each other with Susmita respecting Tina the most with her improbable run and reminding her that she doesn’t need to be good for this game as long as she has fun. It’s a shame that one of them has to go down to make the final two and it’s Susmita who ends up getting cheesed by Tina, eliminating her from the competition and, of course, denying Tina’s claim of her being the “Big Cheese” once she joins Will, Chelsea, and Henry at the stands. And with Susmita out, that leaves one last person and we got our suspect.
It’s Sam. Sam is the “Big Cheese”. Which makes you question... how? Because when Louise lists out the potential suspects earlier in the episode, Sam seems to be the less likely candidate to be the “Big Cheese”. Mostly because of him being extremely anxious and also being a klutz, as seen with him trying to clean up his spilled milk. He was the unlikely choice but here we are and boy, we were a bit bamboozled when learning that a character who was recently introduced at the end of last season being the person who went on a cheese-throwing kill streak. As for the signs that would give away some hints where Sam is the suspect in question... looking back to the episode and having to mess around with the scrolling feature to find something, there’s not one thing to find like movement or something. I guess you could say the part where Zeke and Jimmy Jr tell the others about what happened with Sam telling Tina that he’s sorry for her loss after losing all four of her teammates in a cheese snipe attack. But in a blink and you’ll miss moment...
The moment Will got cheesed that eliminated him from contention at the end of the third act. You can see a shadowy figure sneaking up to Will and firing the slice onto him. And the shape of the silhouette... you can see the shape when going frame by frame and you can tell right away who the “Big Cheese” is and out of the six eighth graders who were left in the competition up until now, it’s Sam who did the dirty deed. Tina questions why Sam did despite him being super anxious and according to Sam, apparently him being anxious does have some benefits where he can be stealthy at times like with the competition. And that alone can cause Tina some trouble when having two characters who are socially awkward having to duke it out like it’s Mayweather vs McGregor but with social anxiety. And now, going into the two-minute warning, in an instant snap after learning that Sam is the “Big Cheese”, she became a deer staring at the headlights because she didn’t expect to make it this far in the competition and also having to face Sam, who, like Susmita, also treat Tina with the utmost respect. And once again, one of these two has got to lose.
Tina decides to go on the run to find another hiding spot with Sam, watching Tina making her move, ready to go on the offensive to make sure he becomes the last person standing. But oh boy, looks like Tina might be cooked once Sam spotted Tina’s hat through the hole and thought that he got her on the ropes and threw his slice of cheese onto her... only to find out that he got tricked by Tina by leaving her hat, thinking that it’s her, and out comes Tina to throw the cheese onto Sam and thus, the game is over.
From not waiting to participate in the tradition after noticing that she sucked at throwing cheese to now, the champion of the game, Tina completed her improbable run by getting Sam, tricking him to let his guard down. And much like Susmita leading up to her getting eliminated by Tina, Sam respects Tina and says that if there’s anyone who would beat him in the game, it has to be her. And again, like Susmita, Sam being a good friend to Tina and gives her his utmost respect. So yeah, Tina won and everyone in the stands, consisting of Susmita, Henry, Will, and Chelsea, cheered Tina after winning the competition after eliminating Sam.
Can this be the new friend group for Tina? Like... no, really. Can this be the new friend group for Tina? Because you have five of the six eighth graders in Tina’s class, the people that Tina often interacts with, despite the entire game of them being rivals, with Will, Sam, and Chelsea becoming newer additions to the group, I wanna see that group for Tina. They’ve been friendly to Tina... well, Will since being introduced last season has been the least developed aside from him being a newer student and having some history with Zeke and Chelsea, of course, the events of “Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang” with the accusations of Tina being a cheater is still living rent-free in some fans’ heads after seeing that episode, but regardless, these look like a secondary friend group that Tina should have aside from her siblings or the usual four that we’ve been used (Jimmy Jr, Zeke, Tammy, and Jocelyn) to for the past decade. And let’s be real, that group kinda sucks, and the only person who often respects Tina is Zeke (and I guess Jimmy Jr from time to time) but still... come on! Sure, I want more of Tina and Susmita as a duo hanging out and hopefully doing it outside of school and not having to be paired as partners and bringing back Sam in this episode was a delight, and thank God that he’s back and in a platonic level rather than making him a love interest. And I do hope that this, the five eighth graders that Tina took on in this final battle of the game, be Tina’s B-team when it comes to her peers in her grade. The status quo has to change and hopefully, we can start with that.
And now, at the final scene of the episode at the dinner table and we got the results from the subplot and Linda did not fuck up the eavesdropping game, a fuck up that America should’ve done on Election Night even though there was a gut feeling and a super diarrhea after going to an Arby’s to get a sandwich because it was the nearest restaurant you find kind of feeling that something bad was going to happen. So the result from Linda is that she didn’t fuck it up, so there’s that. And the conversation in question that drove the couple to end their relationship was over someone named Julie whom the guy knows. Thinking that the guy was cheating on the woman with Julie, only to turn out that Julie was his sister and got into med school, and that alone causes the two to get back together. So at least that drama is over with and Linda not being horrible at eavesdropping. As for Tina to close out the episode, still riding high after winning the competition with Louise being proud at Tina but also herself for butting in to help her out because if she didn’t, then it would be a different story. Too proud to the point where Louise is already scheming and plans on putting Tina on the frontlines, something that Bob and Linda disavow but that’s not going to stop Louise from having Tina go on the attack and yeah, Tina riding high after an improbable run and after seeing all of that, it’s been somewhat of a ride.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? Honestly, no bullshitting here, it’s a pretty fun episode if I have to be honest. Sure, there are some dull parts in certain parts of the episode, primarily with the subplot with Linda struggling to perfect her eavesdropping skills, the main plot is where it stole the shoe for this episode with the competition between the eighth graders at Wagstaff School.
Yes, there are some slow parts in some moments in the main plot and I guess predictable that Tina would go through a complete 180 from her realizing that she’s awful at the game in preparation for the event to start to becoming a pro in a snap thanks in part to Louise stepping in to coach her how to survive, but it was a fun main plot to go through. Especially when going to the final battle at the third and fourth acts of the episode with her making it this far in the game ad going against the remaining five (Henry, Susmita, Will, Sam, and Chelsea) and thank God, it’s not the usual four (Jimmy Jr, Zeke, Tammy, Jocelyn) and probably turn it into another Tina vs Tammy battle because that got settled at the end of the first half and have Jimmy Jr and Zeke in Tina’s team, which I guess we should’ve seen what the three have in store... if it weren’t for those two and two other members getting sniped and eliminated first in embarrassing fashion, but thank God for a change for once.
It’s nice to see every eighth grader appearing, including some that we haven’t seen in a long while... even if it’s there for one scene and it’s for a non-speaking role, and characters who were introduced in recent seasons like Sam, Will, and Cheslea having prominent roles, especially with Sam at the end of the episode with him being the “Big Cheese” and having to go toe-to-toe with Tina, it’s nice to see the guy again and thank God that, and I feel like there has to be one crew member on the show who came across this blog and took up my suggestion of having Sam to return as a platonic male friend to Tina and not make him a love interest. Susmita, also a prominent character and thought that she would be the one who would face Tina in the event they would become the remaining two left standing... hell, we were sort of robbed of a possible Tina and Susmita duo team up just because Tina saying at the start of the episode that she sucks at throwing before finding out that she was good at it.
The subplot... yeah, I feel like it was a bit unnecessary to have. Feels like pure filler because it is serving as filler while the main plot was happening. So, while it feels like filler while the main plot was happening, mostly because you gotta have Louise and Gene going into two plots with the main plot helping Tina how to survive and on the other, upset that they can’t help Tina whether it’s at the start of the game where the meeting is being held or the end of the game where the final battle is at and having to serve as spectators once the couple who had a rocky relationship coming back to the restaurant after being scared off by Linda, it didn’t kill my enjoyment of the episode, mostly with the game going on and you can feel the tension once we got to the final between Tina and her peers as the remaining players of the event. So I’ll give “Don’t Stop Be-Cheesin’”...
An 8 out of 10. But that’s my opinion and I wanna hear yours in the comments below. We got a new episode this upcoming Sunday and this should be an interesting one with an open mic night being held at the restaurant and after going through a heptic night of doom scrolling at the results... we needed this in the sixth episode of Season 15 of Bob’s Burgers in “Hope n’ Mic Night”.
Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, BlueSky, and Threads for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. Apologies for not having the second match of the Semifinals open and I’ll get to that and hopefully once the Wifi situation is settled, that’s where the match for the Alpha Party Nomination between Jolyne Cujoh and Rin Okumura begins on November 10, of course, it would have to be for one week, just to save time, so uh... please turn out on that match to choose either of those two with the winner to face Moon Tobin from The Great North in the Finals on December 1. And y’all should know the drill by now...
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