Welcome to Summer, or at least when this review is posted, then is about to be, meteorologically wise, that is, not astronomical. Usually, this would be when your boy should be on break, going for a three-to-four-month hibernation before entering a new season in September, or at least when we get news regarding Comic-Con or Emmy nominations. That was until this time around, because after hitting the pause button after ten episodes at the end of last year, kind of like last year, it was one big waiting game for if you’re a Bob’s Burgers fan when hoping for the show to come back like a dog waiting for its owner to come back after a work shift. Up until last Sunday with “Mr. Fischoeder’s Opus” and now, here we go with new episodes airing on Thursdays for a while, the summer months... or until the end of July, when we have to burn through the rest of the season before the new season begins at the end of September.
In this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, it’s a trip outside the house... by force, with Linda forcing the family to get some exercise outside of the house with the Belcher kids, hoping to get out of it, tags along with Megan in a conspiracy theory hunt regarding their school coach, Coach Blevins, in the twelfth episode of Season 15 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “Like a Candle in the Gym”.
Might as well get the schedule for the summer months out of the way if y’all haven’t seen it in my socials, this is going to be a very long summer ahead for yours truly when having to do the reviews. Especially when doing the full breakdown. So, of course, the Bob’s Burgers review will have to go first, followed by The Great North. This will be released on either Sunday or Monday, likely around Monday, because Saturday and Sunday are considered the busiest days with the voting tournament and live blogging, which can cause problems when doing this, as new episodes now air on Thursday for this Summer only.
Yeah, this is going to be a challenge, and I can try the best I can when having to talk about the episode, two, three days out from the episode’s official premiere on TV. But, in between those, I got to need to take constant breaks at times so I don’t feel a bit burned out, because I got other things to do other like the upcoming review for The Great North. So, I’ll try to do that, I can here, in trying to get both episodes from both shows out before the next one airs. And let’s see where this goes. And if you’re asking about the introduction for the episode review before getting into the episode itself... that’s pretty much the introduction because I can’t think of shit but also, it was a big question mark about the episode leading up to its initial premiere. It was sort of clearer once the night arrived. And here I thought it would be about people getting trapped inside during a storm, but no, what’s done is done, I guess. This is “Like a Candle in the Gym”.
The episode starts with Tina, Gene, and Louise on the couch on a Sunday morning, it is Sunday where this episode is set, with the three siblings watching TV on the couch and probably wasting the day away before it even begins. They call it Lazy Sunday for a reason, and for the Belcher kids, they’re taking it literally when planning on doing nothing for the day. Hoping to waste the day before heading off to school the next day, other than... I guess working is the only choice on what to do. I mean, who needs watching sports or going to church, amirite?
Of course, Linda plans on taking that away when she is dressed in her workout outfit and turning off the TV. Upsetting the kids when telling the three to get dressed because she announces to everyone that she plans on taking everyone out for a morning walk. Correction, she plans on forcing everyone out for a morning walk because that’s pretty much Linda when trying to get any of her kids or the entire family to get involved in doing something that they don’t want to do or think that something will blow up in their face. At least this time, it wasn’t because she got the idea from Ginger or came across a random parent or what she saw online about blah, blah, blah. It wasn’t explained why she wanted to do this other than “I’m doing this because I’m worried about you” and “we've never done this as a family”.
It’s mostly stemming from the kids not wanting to do this the last few times they tried getting a workout, with them trying to come up with excuses to get out. Well, Linda believes that this time around, there will be no excuses for the kids to dip from the morning exercise because any excuses they can throw will be null and void. No way out to not do the workout. So, their only other option to be their saving grace would be Bob, because with a man who is not built for workouts, not being able to escape the unc allegations, he would be the wild card in all of this to make the decision. Too bad for the kids...
Bob is dressed up in his workout outfit, it’s mostly him changing pants from slacks to sweatpants. But yeah, Bob is dressed up to ready to go, and for the kids, they pretty much lost the fight against their mother in not wanting to go outside. Again, no whatever reason for why she’s forcing everyone to get out other than not wanting the family to be out of shape and waste the day away inside. And yes, I said the family because even though the kids might be out of shape, Bob too isn’t the active of the bunch when it comes to getting the body a good workout. But this is more of a Belcher kids' problem than a family problem since it is their episode. So, it looks like Tina, Gene, and Louise will have to swallow their pride and follow along in getting a workout, with one condition, and that is that they want to get some toys at the souvenir place. Only for that to be shot down and go for the muffins option instead as a consolation prize. And with that, we’re a go for the family walk.
That is what the rest of the episode will be, outside of the house, with the next scene showing the family walking across the sidewalk by the beach and by Wonder Wharf, and already, it looks like we've got some problems for the family. Mainly Linda, who is dealing with some problems of her own regarding the shoes she’s wearing. Feeling a sharp pain in her foot as if she’s stepping on thousands of broken glass shards on the ground as part of a dare. It’s mostly because of the new shoes that she is trying to get used to when deciding that today would be the best day to test out the new pair. And it looks like that’s going to be the subplot for the episode, even though it’s just one single plotted episode, but that’s going to be a break away from the main plot, and that, of course, focuses on the kids.
Especially once they spotted Coach Blevins at the sunglasses kiosk, checking on some sunglasses as if he were planning on getting a pair for himself before, I guess, leaving it behind and mind his business. And this is where the main plot kicks into high gear with something that Louise and Gene have made up regarding Blevins following their respective encounter during gym class. A little jab at their gym teacher, so to speak.
And that is, of course, starting to create a rumor about Blevins collecting sweat from students and using their sweat to be made into scented candles. Which is gross, both for the scent and using sweat that is from young folk, and all this because Louise and Gene were unable to produce sweat whenever they are in gym class, unlike everyone else in school. Leading up to the point where, during lunch time, when getting their food with the two were questioning why Blevins even needed them to sweat as if he had some weird fetish or something. But yeah, that’s the rumor that Gene and Louise made that Blevins collect the kids’ sweat to create sweat scented candles, which I can’t tell what’s worse, this or having to bathe in someone’s bath water, I would rather pick firing squad than have to do any of that. But it’s a joke. It’s a joke. Nothing more than just ha-ha laughs and just hoping no one takes this joke seriously as if it’s a conspiracy. Yeah, if this were 1961 and long before the internet, and how social media turned our brains into mush. Or if you’re a dumb little kid, believing that everything is true without having to go through a lot of fact-checking or a community note.
Not unless you’re Megan, voiced by Abbi Jacobson, back again after five years since we last saw her, this time on her lonesome and not having Jessica in tow. Where, instead of going after Wharfy this time around, since we’re by the shore and by the pier and the Wharf, she’s going after Blevins. For what reason? Wouldn’t you guess it? It’s the rumor that was sparked by Louise and Gene about Blevins using sweat from kids. She thought it was a joke at first when it was spreading across the school like wildfire, but if you know Megan, since we last saw her in Season 10’s “Three Girls and a Little Wharfy”, everything is a conspiracy to her. Out here thinking she’s Dipper Pines when having to across various conspiracies like Wharfy or the Blevins rumor fiasco.
And that, of course, should raise some alarm bells for the kids, especially Louise, since that is her friend, well, according to her, her sort-of friend, because she did tag along with Megan, but that was mostly because she was looking out for Jessica because she (Louise) thought she (Megan) was dragging her (Jessica) into what Louise dubbed it as the “black hole of cuckoo-ness”. But mostly because Megan had been in trouble just for doing something like that before, like following a teacher, Ms. Santucci, because she thought she was a werewolf. And is told not to follow any more teachers because of what she is hearing or what she has conducted. And if Blevins were to catch her in the act, then she would get suspended. Not so funny now, is it? Thought that a rumor like Blevins using student sweat to create candles was going to be shits and giggles, but to Megan, she’s about to turn a funny little rumor to an investigation that can cause some consequences for not just Megan, but to Louise (also Gene, but mostly Louise).
We cut back to Bob and Linda for a bit before getting back to the kids, with Linda continuing to feel some pain starting to form in her feet courtesy of the new workout shoes that she is trying to try out. And oh yeah, that’s a nasty gnash from Linda that is shown in the screencap above, in GTA. And of course, Bob was close from having to passing out just by looking at the bloodied foot of Linda because we already know that he and blood don’t meet eye to eye. And that should be more than enough for Linda to plan to abruptly end the morning walk. Though she had band-aids ready in the event something like this would happen. But I think even that wouldn’t work because we’re talking about an open wound courtesy of the shoes, not a simple scratch in the arm or knee unless you have a gauze on standby to wrap around. And unless there’s a store in any of the buildings that sells sandals or is planning on walking barefoot on the hot ass pavement, you might as well pack it in. Just pack it in.
We go back to the Belcher kids at the intersection it it looks like they’re going after Megan, who is going after Blevins, thanks in part to the rumor that was sparked by Louise (and Gene, but mostly Louise according to Tina), where Megan is nowhere to be found but Blevins is seen as he is still minding his own business from across the street. And finding her is going to be a hassle for the three siblings when trying to look for her, as if she’s playing ninja and trying to hide her tracks in hopes of not being detected. And as Louise puts it when describing Megan since being around her in “Three Girls and a Little Wharfy” and I guess a few times off-screen, she’s a nutcase with one of the moments she had was during recess with her (Megan) trying to convince everyone that chickenpox is some sort of ploy by the chickens to overthrow the humans as if it’s the chickens getting their getback at the humans for eating them and using their eggs for food. And no, it’s nothing like the current bird flu epidemic, and yes, that is still going on, with the birds probably getting their getback, even though that’s not the case. But the fact that we’re not going to have a vaccine ready because the guy who’s running the health department is a fucking nutcase and a conspiracy theorist at best, we are not surviving the remaining months of 2025.
Of course, Megan popped up and spooked the living crap out of the Belcher siblings at the intersection without any given warning after talking about the whole “chickens out to get rid of humanity” conspiracy. Guessing she knew that Louise and her siblings would be hightailing her the moment they spot her hightailing Blevins on this Sunday morning, but not really. She asks them why they’re following her, only for Louise to ask the same thing about her going after Blevins, of course, tying in with the rumor that Louise started and tried to tell Megan to back out of what she is doing if she wants to risk suspension, but that’s not going to stop her because if we know one thing about conspiracy theorists, the one moment a rumor started as a joke for laughs will end up getting negative feedback that could end with terrible consequences. And you can already guess what that one example is on a cold day in January, a few years ago.
Megan takes the whole “Blevins collecting sweat from students” rumor seriously, with Louise telling her to back out, with Blevins being accused of creating sweat scented candles, but Megan thinks that it’s more than just the candles that Blevins is using the sweat for. And I’m not kidding, if you haven’t read the synopsis when it came out, Megan believes that instead of Blevins using the sweat to create sweat scented candles, it’s him mining the kids’ sweat and using the data they collected to predict who’s good and who’s bad... and also, who’s going to get a free trip to a performing arts school and have a database set up to see who’s the troublemaker is and if you’re name pops up on the troublemaker list, and according to Megan, it might be GGs. It might be GGs. Pretty dark if you think about it when coming up with a conspiracy like that regarding Blevins, as if he’s about to use each student’s sweat and about to round up the bad ones and send them to be “corrected”. Of course, this little conversation has to come to a screeching halt with Megan now on the move once again, going after Blevins once the crosswalk switched to “walk” for her to cross. And for Louise, she’s fearing that what she did would eventually get Megan suspended, and has to find ways to stop her. Hence, Tina has already started blaming Louise for starting the rumor as if she wants her to feel bad and learn a lesson.
So, we already reached the end of the first act of the episode with Bob and Linda finally catching up to the kids at the intersection and telling the three that it’s time to head on home because Linda’s new shoes are slowly killing her despite trying to put on a brave face since this was her idea to get the family to go on a walk across town. And it looks like the kids don’t want to go back just yet, by convincing their parents to stay out for a little bit. All while hoping nothing can draw suspicion on what they’re actually doing, which is going after Megan, who is going after Blevins. And that is exactly what the Belchers are doing, going into the second act of the episode, not going back to the house as they go across the street and making it to the other side of the road...
Only for Linda to be forced to sit on the bench because, once again, her new shoes are currently killing her, harming her feet, to be exact, as if she got the wrong shoe size at the store. And as much as Linda wants to put on a brave face and wants to get back up and continue walking, unless she wants to risk suffering through blood loss just by walking a few steps, she knows that how much pain that she is in just by walking a few steps with her new shoes that it feels like she’s walking with stabbing at her ankle. Like stepping on thousands of broken glass pieces on the floor. The kids break away from Bob and Linda as it looks like they’re going to be a distance away from them, but not before Linda decides to give the kids money to buy muffins at the muffin shop from down the street. Not because of the muffins, which they do need since it was part of the deal, but also napkins... lots of napkins to treat the wound. You know what should’ve come in handy when packing up for something like a small walk? A miniature first aid kit. A couple of band-aids isn’t going to solve it. Not like a simple band-aid and a kiss would make the pain go away, and having to rub some Vicks across the wound and say the words “sana, sana, colita de rana” as if it’s going to magically disappear. This is on you, Linda. This is on you for questioning why you chose those shoes if they’re going put harm on your foot the moment you step out of the house.
Louise, Tina, and Gene finally reached Megan once more as Megan continues to gather up evidence, somewhat meaningless evidence, when capturing photos and videos on her phone. And if we’re going to be honest, Louise, you’re facing an uphill battle. Trying to convince a conspiracy theorist who is pretty much lost in the sauce is the same as trying to teach a wild animal or a toddler with tantrums how to behave without putting on brainrot like Cocomelon. Other than that, wash, rinse, repeat, and again, facing an uphill battle here, Louise tries to tell Megan to drop what she is doing. Trying to tell her that the little rumor that she started about Blevins is nothing more than a joke, and that’s about it. Nothing more, nothing less. Megan, of course, continues to ignore Louise’s call to drop what she is doing. At least she doesn’t buy the whole sweat scented candles bullshit, which was the main centerpiece of the rumor, so I guess that’s a plus? But that was before having to up the ante in thinking that their coach/science teacher is mining students of their sweat.
And oh boy, quite the answer we got from Megan when explaining her conspiracy for why Blevins wants to get a hold of the kids’ sweat. According to Megan, sweat contains skin and hair cells, and PE is that one class in school where people just sweat it out whenever they have to do exercise or play an active sport like dodgeball, as an example, where after the students are done with their class, and have to change out of their gym clothes and back to their normal clothing, Blevins has to do all of the cleaning. Having to wipe the sweat off the floor and mats so it won’t cause a hazard, and don’t want anything to smell like... well, sweat. And once the last student leaves the gym for the day, that’s where Blevins begins to make his move from the sweat that has been wiped from the floor or mat and rather than throwing it away like what a normal person would do, he keeps the rags filled with sweat, taking it to his home, which Megan tries to deny that he spied on him from outside of his house, and extract the sweat via a swab and places it into the vial. Which is already sounding as disgusting as it is for someone like Megan to come up with something like that, as if she thinks that Blevins sees the students as... well, cattle.
So, once again, the attempt to get Megan to back out of the investigation fails, since we’re about to reach the halfway mark of the episode as Megan continues to film Blevins’ activity and, of course, Tina continues to tell Louise that it’s her fault for starting this mess. You know, trying to make her look bad, that starting a dumb little rumor like Blevins collecting each student’s sweat could get Megan suspended... and I guess potentially put Blevins on the list... I don’t know what you want Louise (and Gene) to do, Tina? Have them sweat at gym class like normal people? Is that what we’re doing? Huh? Is that what we’re doing? Just to make them look bad because they don’t want to do what they’re being told?
We check up on Bob and Linda for a bit, and it looks like Linda’s condition is not looking that hot since it looks like both of her feet are bruised and bloodied courtesy of the shoes that she is trying to get used to. Probably for the best to start thinking about refunding the item, if you keep the receipt, that is. Bob comes back to Linda’s aid with a few napkins and a cup of coffee since the nearby place pretty much requires the customer to order something if they want to get their hands on a few napkins, just to treat a wound. That and a couple of sugar packets, which I don’t know how a couple of pieces of sugar would help to treat the wound. In 2025 where we have medical technology and we’re out here treating it as if it’s how to treat a patient in the 1840s because it would a drive to the ER or a pharmacy to get the damn thing treated. But Linda doesn’t want to plan on going back home and wants to toughen things out since it was her idea to get the family out to go for a walk and if she were to agree on going back because of her ailing feet, she’s probably not going to hear the end of it from her kids. So, she continues to tough things out as the episode progresses once the sugar packets are poured onto the wound, and hopefully does not make the wound worse while walking as she and Bob make their way to where the kids are. Hopefully, by the Old Pier as the expected meetup.
We go back to the kids and Megan staking out from across the street, from the muffin shop, where Blevins is once again minding his own business with him eating his muffin, getting a cup of coffee, and reading a book. A book about genetics, which pretty much helps Megan’s so-called case of him having to be a freaky ass and wanting to collect sweat from students without making things look weird enough to put him on a registry list. But rather telling Megan to back out a few dozen times as we are about to reach the halfway point of the episode, she decides to play along to prove to Megan that the silly little rumor about Blevins collecting sweat, whether it’s making candles or creating a database that sounded like something coming out of 1930s-1940s Germany, and challenge Megan to see if her (Megan) theory is correct. But for that, they need a test subject to serve as the bait.
That’s where Gene comes in to serve as said bait when having to perform a dance just across the street from where Blevins is at the muffin shop. Having to do a dance, which Gene struggled with at first because he, like Louise, if you don’t remember the scenes at the start of the episode, with them not developing sweat in gym class because they don’t want to be active, but has to sweat it out if he wants to see whether or not Megan’s so-called conspiracy is true. Gene does that for a few moments, with him attempting to push himself to stain his shirt with sweat. All while hoping he doesn’t draw suspicion from Blevins that won’t get him, Louise, and Tina in trouble, and for Megan to be suspended. So, once Gene finished working out, resulting in him staining his shirt with armpit sweat, and having to drop it on the ground, the bait is set for him to take. It was the waiting game for a few moments once Blevins finished up eating his muffin and drinking his coffee. Louise thought that Megan’s theory was incorrect at first because he was ignoring what just happened with Gene and just minding his own business like a normal person would do. Not being attracted to the sweat, like how sharks can be attracted to blood if a fresh wound is open. The investigation was all for naught...
Only to end up going across the street and decide to pick up and take Gene’s shirt, which is covered and smells like sweat. Yo, freaky ass. Freaky ass. Cue up the motherfucking “Not Like Us”. But yeah, ending the first half of the episode and going into the second half, Blevins picked up Gene’s shirt, which is covered in sweat, pretty much confirmed Megan’s suspicions, as the four continue to trail after Blevins to see where he is going with the shirt. It’s already bad that Louise had started the rumor of Blevins collecting sweat from students as a sort of resentment towards him for her and Gene not being active in gym and unable to produce sweat themselves, thought that it was supposed to be a joke, before Megan having to take that shit seriously and having to twist the rumor around where instead of using the sweat for candle making, it’s mining the students to create a database as if he’s working for the current administration, and now, it looks like the so-called joke is now blowing up on Louise’s face that could get both parties into deep trouble, whether it’s getting the kids detention or possible suspension, Megan getting suspended, and Blevins under investigation that could put him on a registry list. Hence, once again, Tina tells Louise that it’s her fault and keeps on blaming her, trying to make her look bad, so she can learn a lesson.
We go back to Bob and Linda after Linda poured the sugar packets to treat the wound on both her feet, and well, it’s not helping her case to make herself feel better. Once again, it’s mostly because of the shoes that Linda is currently wearing that are harming her feet as if she’s feeling needles stabbing her in the ankle each time she takes a step or two. Bob continues to get Linda to make the call to go home since she is in no shape to continue walking, but, of course, Linda doesn’t want to go back home despite the pain that she is dealing with because, again, this was her idea to get the family to go out and wants to make the family walk a family tradition. You know, her trying to push everyone to do what she wants. Continue to tough things out, she and Bob want to meet up with the kids by the Old Pier, where they are supposed to meet up. But once again, Linda is in no shape to continue walking if her shoes are going to make her condition worse by taking a few more steps. Especially once reaching the intersection.
This causes Bob to use whatever strength he can muster up and attempt to carry Linda on his back when having to cross the street once the crosswalk signal signals the two to walk across the street. Turning it into what I guess is a sad game of Frogger. But they did cross the street regardless, despite Bob having to stop a couple of times as the clock is ticking before the crosswalk signal changes from white to orange, and it’s not one of those crosswalk signals where the red stop hand flashes with the countdown appearing from 15-30 seconds down to zero, it’s all based on the hand flashing and hopefully you don’t become roadkill. But then, you’re going to have those rare instances, and not the good kind, where you go across the street with the device signaling you to walk, only for a random drunk driver or an accident taking place on some Final Destination shit. Yeah, it’s best that you don’t imagine that. And for Bob and Linda, well, they made it across the street just as the signal changed to the orange hand to stop pedestrians from walking, as the light turned green for the other street. And yes, continuing to walk and could make the feet situation for Linda worse with each step until they find a way to continue walking if they want to meet up with the kids.
The chase continues with the kids continuing to go after Blevins after picking up Gene’s shirt from the ground. Pretty much questioning what or why Blevins is doing this after sort of proving Megan’s theory to be correct about having to mine students’ sweat to create a database to round up the bad ones, hoping for an explanation after seeing what she just saw, as they continue to trail him. But it looks like the whole situation of what we thought was Megan’s correct theory about Blevins is about to go into the trash.
Literally. He puts away Gene’s sweaty shirt into the trash rather than keeping it for himself. And this pretty much shoots down Megan’s theory after what they thought was Blevins taking the sweaty shirt for a little science experiment, only to be thrown away. Mostly because that’s considered littering for Gene to drop the shirt and because there’s no trash can where the supposed meetup is at, I don’t know why he hasn’t checked the pier itself unless there are no trash cans there, but I guess a walk to the nearest trash can would be the way to go. And uh... yeah, Megan’s theory about Blevins being some sort of anime supervillain who uses kids for their sweat, whether it’s about making candles or a database, comes crashing down.
Checking back on Bob and Linda, and y’all already know the drill, Linda’s feet are already feeling worse with each step, even after having to be carried across the street at the intersection. No condition to walk if she were to continue to tough things out when trying to make their way to the Old Pier. And because of this, Linda thinks that it’s time to start thinking about getting rid of the shoes, though rather instead of throwing them away, which would be a potential waste of money, it would be better to just go for a refund, but other than that, Linda plans on putting away the shoes and going barefoot since she’s now planning on getting rid of the pair because it was causing major problems with her feet that is stabbing her in the ankles, probably worse or at the same levels as getting your ankles hit by your scooter.
Not so fast, said Bob, because he discovers something that can help Linda when being out and about. He enters the alleyway and pulls out a random shopping cart by the dumpster, guessing it belonged to a homeless person, though not sure if we have ever seen a homeless person in this show, but regardless, that will be the plan going forward for this episode only with Bob having to push Linda through a shopping cart as they’re about to be pushed to the sidelines until we get to the end of the episode.
We go back to the Belcher kids and Megan with Gene having to retrieve his shirt from the trash can, which is disgusting, but it’s Gene we’re talking here, especially since his shirt is covered and smells like sweat. So, gross. At least we know for one thing, this little investigation is all for naught now that we know that Blevins doesn’t use the kids’ sweat to create candles or a database, and that should be enough for Megan to stand down and just call it a day since that’s going to save her the trouble from getting suspended. But oh boy, it looks like Megan isn’t ready to back down just yet. Because she got all the evidence she needed to expose Blevins because even though the rumor is pretty much dead after an hour of following their gym teacher, once again, what was supposed to be a funny joke about a made-up rumor about someone can draw serious consequences that can put you, the person in question, and everyone in harm’s way and having to having to face serious consequences. And that is exactly what Megan is planning on doing as she prepares to send her evidence to everyone, mainly the school board, after what she thought was Blevins looking at the phone, thinking that she and the others saw everything and could be putting a hit on them. And that should be more than enough for Megan to press the send button to expose Blevins...
Only to end up that she doesn’t have signal on her phone... makes you question how the fuck this town operates when it comes to picking up signal. Especially when having to upload a big ass file that could ruin a middle-aged man’s life just because of one silly rumor. Like, unless her phone like one of those phones where you don’t have data, like a SIM card or an eSIM, or if you’re old school, an iPod, rather, an iPod Touch, if y’all remember that, but whatever situation Megan is in when struggling to upload a big enough file like it’s her making an movie for YouTube, apparently, being in a dead spot doesn’t work out without even noticing that she would be a dead spot. Either that or she got a jank ass phone that I bet her parents wouldn’t let her use social media, which would fuel more into her conspiracy-filled head. But, whenever you’re dealing with a dead spot or not wanting to waste your data in your current plan, there’s always one spot where you can get into a WiFi hotspot for free (or having to buy something to use the WiFi unless it’s a public library or by a local community college), the coffee shop. More importantly, the muffin shop. And that’s where we end the third act of the episode, and going into the fourth and final act of the episode.
With Megan hightailing it to the muffin shop with Louise, Tina, and Gene chasing after her, and that didn’t take long until the four arrived at the shop with Megan asking the clerk to hand over the WiFi password for her to use to upload the file. Only to be told that if she wants to use the WiFi, she got to buy a muffin. And thus, it’s the waiting game once more, and once again, it’s Convincing City for Louise to get Megan to drop by what she is doing. She was hoping to get in front of the line as if she were in a hurry by asking one of the customers to let her cut in line, but that’s not going to happen.
Checking up on Bob and Linda for a bit as they finally reached the Old Pier, with the two ready to cross the street, with Bob continuing to push Linda with the shopping cart. They wait for the signal to change when they come across a mother and her baby, and Linda, even though you’re a mother yourself, you shouldn’t bring up sensitive topics like a bloodied foot by your shoes that feels like you’re stepping on microscopic knives. Yeah, that baby is likely going to be scarred for life after having to bring up the bloodied feet by Linda as if you accidentally put on videos of car crashes on YouTube. Better than putting on Cocomelon, but not a good idea to put it on when trying to find content. The two parties go their separate ways once they reach the other side of the street, and once again, going to be sent to the sidelines for the remainder of the episode since we’re now less than three minutes to go with this.
Going back to the Belcher siblings and Megan at the muffin shop, and once again, it’s the convincing game with Louise continuing to tell Megan to stop what she was doing because she’s going to get in serious trouble if she does get her hand on the WiFi password that could eventually ruin Blevins’ life. Megan, of course, ignores Louise as her wait time gets shorter and shorter, until she finally reaches the register. Louise tried to get the phone out of Megan’s hand by creating a lie to get her to drop her guard by saying that she needed to “update her contacts”, which Megan doesn’t buy it because she thinks that’s all up to date and is not going to drop her guard so that Louise can get rid of the evidence. Either by finding the delete option or by having to break it into pieces.
Megan finally reached the counter and asked for the password. Of course, she had to buy a muffin first before doing that by hastily requesting the worker to give her any muffin he could find for her to take with her, as long as he handed over the password for her to use. Louise is running out of chances to get Megan to change her mind once Megan gets her bag with the password written on the receipt. Telling her that, yes, it was her (Louise) fault for starting the damn rumor that she didn’t expect that it would carry dangerous and damaging consequences if someone like Megan would take that shit seriously, only to twist the idea from scented candle to creating a database. And she only tried to stop what she is doing because, let’s be real, even though Megan is pretty much cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs when it comes to all things conspiracies, which should make you a bit worried about her mental health going into the future, she doesn’t want to be responsible for having her friend, or sort-of friend as what Louise is implying, to be suspended and to have her gym/science teacher in trouble to the point where he could end up on the registry list if the file is uploaded. Pretty much accepting the responsibility and doesn’t want to bear the weight of having to ruin two people’s lives because of one dumb rumor that she made. So, after all of that convincing, especially since we’re already past the two-minute warning of the episode...
Megan, as expected, decides to delete the video to save her skin. You could say that it’s mostly because she got annoyed by Louise for a bit in trying to get her to drop the evidence without knowing that it could ruin Blevins’ life and could get her suspended, but it was mostly what Louise was saying before being this close to pressing the send button as she was supposed to do, but didn’t at the last minute. Mainly coming from Louise saying to Megan that even she (Megan) loves to question stuff about everything, she should question things about herself, like what she was originally planning on doing that could be damaging for her and Blevins. It was expected, sure, but at least Megan has a change of heart, and I guess now knowing that what she was doing can cause some serious consequences. Wrapping up the main plot of the episode with Megan finally standing down from what she was doing and uh... yeah, no lives are ruined as a result of this. And also, for Louise and Megan to maintain a friendship, or as Louise put it once more, a sort of friendship, as Megan shows Louise a video of a giant squid that she found, which got her attention, just by how massive it is.
And so, here we are with the final scene of the episode with Bob and Linda at the bench at the pier, with Linda now out of the cart and letting her feet rest after feeling sore from the shoes that, again, should be refunded since throwing them away would be a waste of money. The kids return to meet up with their parents at the pier after having to deal with their own problems without having to bring up the whole thing regarding Megan and Blevins, without having to draw suspicion and derail things. But at least know what the whole thing with Megan and now the family walk is now put aside as we prepare to close out the episode with the kids now realizing that they enjoyed the walk and hoping to give it another shot once everyone is ready to head home. Of course, Linda still needs to be carried because of her sore foot with Bob originally planning on bringing the car over, but the kids suggest, especially when seeing the shopping cart, that give the thing a try when readying Linda on their way back before all three kids plan on jumping on board as well for the ride. And the moral of the story: don’t create rumors because shit like this would turn a laughable joke into something that could blow up on your face and could ruin a life or two.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So, all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? Well, this was an alright episode, to say the least, when describing it. At first, when the script cover came out last year, I thought that it would probably have students trapped in the school, primarily the gym, during a storm with the power knocked out. Though, unsure on where the candle would fit into this would be scenario unless it’s used for power, which nowadays, would not be a good idea to do that unless there’s some sort of sacrifice being made. But it was an alright episode despite that there was no candle, hence the word in the title of the episode, but at least the episode did one or two good things to keep things steady: not being a bubble episode and having the Belchers to go through street, Front Street to be exact, when going on a walk. And also, having to focus on at least two characters hasn’t gotten any focus or isn’t deemed a one-off.
It’s good to see Megan again after we last saw her pre-pandemic and without Jessica this time around because that's what we thought when it comes to her having to be brought back but this is nothing like with the Wharfy hunt because Megan wasn’t focusing on Wharfy this time around and instead, it’s sweat rumor that Louise started, but replace candle making with creating a DNA database. And even though it was expected that she would stand down by the end of the episode, mostly because she knows the consequences when being told by Louise one too many times, at least we know that Megan isn’t a one-off character since her debut back in Season 10’s “Three Girls and a Little Wharfy” and maintain a friendship, a sort of friendship, between the two after saving her ass. Oh, and also Blevins being the focus, sort of, because of the rumor that Louise created, because she and Gene don’t want to be active in gym class. Gotta put it out there, but at least they’re giving the underrated characters something to shine for once.
The subplot was fine for the most part, and even though it’s Linda forcing her family to do something for a would-be family outing that you already know the outcome, as we saw in previous episodes, the last time there was a family outing at Linda’s behest with this time around being Linda’s shoes that are slowing her down and the whole Megan debacle that got the kids to split away while hoping both Bob and Linda doesn’t throw suspicion, it was fine. Bob was trying to help Linda with the piggyback ride when crossing the intersection, and pushing her through a shopping cart was alright, but that’s about it to think of as the highlights of the subplot. And yeah, this was an alright episode that you feel like it’s something you want to see when first predicting over what we got. So, I’ll give “Like a Candle in the Gym”...
A 7 out of 10. But that’s my opinion, and I wanna hear yours in the comments below. A heads up that the review for the recent episode of The Great North, “Sunset Beeflevard Adventure”, is set for release by early Thursday morning before new episodes air later that night. And speaking of this upcoming Thursday, we have the Belcher kids running a small “cartel” when getting into the illegal snack trading business, and Bob and Linda need to get their laptop fixed. Is it time to get a new one? We’ll see... probably not. Though I am due to get a new one, just hoping the tariffs doesn’t fuck me over when getting it (spoilers, already feeling the effects since... well, April) in the thirteenth episode of Season 15 of Bob’s Burgers, “Snackface”.
Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, BlueSky, and Threads for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. The 2025 Battle of the Week Voting Tournament is already underway with another set of double matches for this week, with Group A between Yoruichi Shihoin (Bleach) and Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop), as well as Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) and Mash Burnedead (Mashle) in Group B. The poll for these two matches closes on Saturday. And y’all should know the drill by now...
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