With everything that is going on in 2025 as of late, it’s not even the first few weeks of the summer season, and already, it’s pretty much painting a clear picture that we’re not surviving this year. Between The Great North on the verge, if not, already at the cancellation stage, and what is currently going on in the world, and especially in the US, one thing for certain, and this is unrelated to the episode, so feel free to skip what I have to say since it’s a small statement and small rant, this shit can’t stand. This cannot stand. I mean, this was warned during the 2024 election, and we ended up ignoring it all because most of y’all were hesitant to vote for Kamala. I am trying my best to avoid the news because holy freaking hell, it is depressing as crap, but I guess the best word of advice would be to stand up and make your voice heard. Join a protest, but it has to be peaceful because that's pretty much what they want if things go south fast. That’s pretty much what they want if things turn disruptive. Organize, communicate, be on the lookout for you and each other, and soon, if not, now, register to vote for the upcoming midterms in 2026. I try to be light as I can because of everything that is going on, mostly for my mental sake, but this shit can’t stand. Stand up for what is right without giving them what they want if things were to escalate.
In this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, it’s a Tina-centric episode and a major one at that, with the rest of the Belchers getting sidelined, with Tina attending an overnight camping trip in the woods and attempting to survive the entire trip when having to share the campsite with her rival troop, Troop 257, in my spoilerific review of the fifteenth episode of Season 15 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “The Place Beyond the Pinecones”.
By now, we’re all familiar with how horror movies work, right? Just try to survive while having to play smart so that you don’t become a recipient of the Darwin Awards. No matter the location and theme, whether it’s a town that is rocked by a murder that sent shockwaves through the community or, I guess, what this episode is trying to pull, a horror setting that is set on a camping trip that totally can’t go wrong once the night hits. Quite fitting that the episode has its premiere date the day before Friday the 13th. And most see that as the unluckiest day of the year, but if y’all know the movie franchise, it’s set in a camp and shit happens. Only replace a mask-wielding maniac with a machete with another camping site that is set at a house by the camping site where the Thundergirls are being housed for the night, which may or may not be housing a would-be cult. I can’t think of a movie that has that other than The Wicker Man or Midsommar. Though the closest would be the Fear to Fathom video game, you only have to be a park ranger, not a camper. I apologize for being an uncultured swine when trying to come up with what we’re getting into with this episode.
But this was one of the episodes that was hyped up since the release of the script cover last year. Probably thought it was supposed to be a Halloween episode, but it’s not. Mostly because we had a Halloween episode back in October of last year that doesn’t feel like a Halloween episode, even though it is. It’s more of the line of the likes of what we got in Season 14 with both “Escape from Which Island” and “Fraud of the Dead” when it comes to episodes that is trying out the horror aspect that is not supposed to be a Halloween episode but is something to watch for the month of October.
And it has to be a Tina episode for this one, but this is what is interesting about this week’s episode, because for the first time in a while, or literally the first time, we have an episode where that focuses on one of the main character and the rest of the main cast being put to the sidelines and not even bothering having a subplot that focuses on them. The closest I would think of would be the Halloween episode we got earlier in “For Whom the Doll Toes”, but that one has the subplot with Teddy trying to keep himself busy while the Belchers are away. Though there’s also “The Amazing Rudy”, but the Belchers were sidelined for only the first half. And the closest I can think of is not from Bob’s Burgers, but from Central Park called “The Shadow”, where the main family, the Tillermans, are pushed to the sidelines and have the focus on the show’s antagonist, Bitsy. And also, Birdie in the remaining five minutes. An interesting little experiment they’re doing for this week’s episode, with Tina taking the spotlight and the rest of the family being benched for the rest of the episode. So, we might as well get to it. This is “The Place Beyond the Pinecones”.
The episode begins with every member of the Thundergirls, including Tina, being dropped off at the parking lot with the bus parked for taking the troop, both troops of the Thundergirls in the vicinity, Troops 119 and 257, for an overnight camping trip in the woods. Linda does one final check-up to see if Tina has everything she has packed in her bag for her trip before heading off to the bus. The trip in question for having each Thundergirl troop attend is for orienteering, where each member of the troop has to go to the forest, where they have to work on their navigation skill. Having to use maps and compasses with a scavenger hunt being the thing to be the event to work out on navigational skills. Hopefully, nothing can go wrong deep in the forest overnight, and the fear of getting lost in one.
Especially when Tina and her troop, Troop 119, have to share the bus and the camping site with their rival troop, Troop 257. And knowing that the orienteering trip has a scavenger hunt in the woods to help everyone work on their navigational skills, Louise knows that they’re going to cheat their way to winning and thinks that they won fair and square, even though that’s not the case if you’re Troop 119 who have to deal with L after L by them and think, and I think, I mean know that Troop 257 would have to pull a ridiculous amount of bullshit out of their asses just to “win” each competition. Well, unless it’s the cookie sales where they got caught for having Rena serve as the mole to give Troop 257 the advantage, and similarly, the father-daughter boat race where Patty had to use a motor, only for Tina and Bob to switch boats. But other than that, Tina and her troop know that they’re going to bullshit their way to winning the damn thing “fair and square”.
This explains the flashback to days before the trip, with everyone in Troop 119 at Ginny’s apartment having a meeting on what to do with Troop 257 so that they don’t cheat once they arrive at the campsite. One of the members of the group, Julie, needs suggestions on what to do when having to confront their rival troop. And pretty sure no one wants to do the job because they know that Troop 257 is pretty much girls who are criminals in the making. The girls end up agreeing that one of them should follow the troop so that if they do cheat, they can catch them in the act, hopefully, to have something capturing them in 4K, and tell the troop leaders. Even though something like that would probably have the Troop 119 coming home in body casts once this trip is over. Julie pulls out the strings for each girl to take, and whoever gets the shortest one gets to volunteer as a possible in memoriam... It’s Tina. Tina got the short end of the string after her fellow troop members, Julie, Jodi, Harley, Molly, and Katie, got the long strings. So, congrats, Tina, your troop is sending you to the lion’s den. Like a lamb being sent to the slaughter.
And Tina is not happy with the idea that she would have to be the one who would follow Troop 257 once the scavenger hunt begins in the woods. So, the best that Tina can do for the entire trip is to survive and hope Troop 257 doesn’t retaliate, which could turn a normal overnight trip in the woods into a potential crime scene once they get caught. So, Tina heads out once Ginny tells her to get on the bus before heading off for the night, giving the family one last look before leaving them to get on the bus and make their way to the campsite...
Leaving the rest of the Belchers hanging, and if you think that we would get a subplot to what they’re doing while Tina is out in the woods... that ain’t happening. That’s right. No subplot for this episode when having to check on what the others are doing. Especially since they’re planning on messing with Tina and mismatching her socks once they get home. I’m not kidding...
This is later in the episode, with them doing the job. Messing with socks, and I’m guessing they’re doing that because they got bored. And I got to admit, bullet fucking dodged. Bullet dodged on having that or whatever the Belchers are doing for the episode while Tina is away. Because, and I don’t want to be THAT guy, anything that they would be doing would downplay what is about to come with Tina under center for the rest of the episode, because, good God, we got an episode. And it’s going to be quite an experiment with this one because you have one of the main characters in the spotlight and the rest of the main cast being pushed to the sidelines for the rest of the episode without having a subplot made for them. Going all “Hello, we’re just minding our own business while Tina is away. Hope she’s doing okay.” And I say that it’s an experiment because this is probably the first that we have an episode where we have a character, whether it’s a part of the main cast or a side character, having to be the center focus while the main cast gets sidelined for about 90% or 100% of the episode.
We’re not talking about a subplot where it intersects with the main plot as we got recently in “For Whom the Doll Toes” or having the main cast be sidelined for only the first half, like with “The Amazing Rudy”. Think of the Central Park episode “The Shadow”, where the Tillermans had to be sidelined for the rest of the episode and handed the spotlight to Bitsy and the final few minutes to Birdie. Or I guess the better example and decent at best would be “Radio No You Didn’t” where the entire family had to be put on the back burner and the focus would have to be on Bob’s grandmother Alice. So, it’s an interesting little experiment that they’re doing with this episode, with Tina being the center of focus. Especially since this is pretty much their apology letter for putting her in the back of the bus throughout Season 14. She didn’t have a single episode up until the premiere of “Butt Sweat and Fears” last season. And it looks like we’re getting that with this episode.
Going into the next scene with the Thundergirls arriving at the woods, what appears to be the same woods from Season 4’s “A River Runs Through Bob”, where Tina, Gene, and Louise spot another Thundergirl troop back when they were doing a family camping gone wrong with two of the troop leaders, Ginny (Troop 119) and Bethany (Troop 257) giving the girls a play-by-play of the orienteering with a terrain map of the campsite being presented. The Thundergirl Orienteering Overnight Trip, or TOOT by Troop 257, because that is the acronym for this overnight stay. Anyway, Ginny and Bethany laid down the ground rules for the trip with the terrain map of the campsite present regarding a scavenger hunt for the girls to work on their orientational skills, of course, as a group with their troop and not doing this in their lonesome because that would paint a bad picture for the organization if one of their members get lost deep in the woods. Each troop gets a map and compass along with a whistle with a survival cord attached, which will be useful later in the episode. And we got ourselves a scavenger hunt where each troop had to find and collect eight stones that were laid out as a checkpoint and should serve as a clue to find the ultimate prize for the hunt: the golden pinecone. It’s pretty much your standard pinecone that had to be spray-painted gold, and not like a fake pinecone you would find at a home decor store. Though it was from a spray paint can, and the pinecone is not a fake one, so it can cause some problems for the forest. And the prize, once the night hit and everyone arrive at the bonfire, will be getting badges added to their sashes.
But Troop 257 says “fuck that” when stopping the troop leaders when saying the prize that comes with the pinecone because they want more than just badges that they need to be added to their sashes. They want the good shit, and it looks like the other troops at the campsite, especially Troop 119, want that too. This causes Bethany to announce an additional prize for the troop that collects the most rocks and the golden pinecone; they will get a private pizza party at Family Funtimes. And that should be enough to get everyone motivated to work on their orientational skills the moment the hunt begins. Of course, there is one little downside to all of this, and that would be that the landline is down because of a gust of wind that knocked down the communication line. I would say have a cell phone ready, but knowing that they’re in the woods, away from civilization, unless you’re a park ranger, who doesn’t get affected by the recent spending cuts.
The scavenger hunt begins once the presentation is over, and each troop within the Thundergirls begins to make their move. Once Troop 257 makes their way to the forest to do their part in finding the golden pinecone, Troop 119 begins to make their move. Mostly Tina, who pulled the small end of the string days before the trip, ends up going after their hated rival, and the rest of the troop do their part and collect the stones. Tina is already regretting the idea of having to pull the small string that led to her having to follow 257’s footsteps and probably wishes she had hung up her uniform once Jodi hands Tina the whistle and is ready to follow them from a distance so that she doesn’t get caught. Once again, it’s like they’re sending a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter after coming up with the idea of having to follow Troop 257 so that they don’t cheat and want to play fair and square, so that Troop 119 would come out on top for once. However, the whistle originally intended for the hunt, which was to be handed along with a map and compass for each troop to carry, will now have to serve as a snitch whistle so that Tina can blow it the moment she catches them in the act. So, Tina heads out to the forest to begin following Troop 257, sort of overhearing what Jodi said about the whistle being defunct after having to sanitize it, which sounds like a bad thing for Tina to have, but ends up going anyway as Julie tells her to get her ass going before she loses track of the rival troop.
We follow Tina around as she follows Troop 257 deep in the woods, as the scavenger hunt is already underway. However, in typical Tina fashion, she nearly got caught when she stepped on a stick that caused the thing to break under her foot, which almost got the attention of the entirety of the troop before going into hiding. Great sleuth work there, Tina—really great work. Tina nearly got caught by Troop 257 before having to hide herself in the bushes as the troop continued to take a stroll across the woods to find their first stone as part of the hunt. Tina plans on staying behind the bushes until she thinks the coast is clear for her to follow Troop 257, but she notices something that catches her attention while hiding behind the bushes.
She found the golden pinecone. Hidden inside the tree by the bushes and wrapped around like a breakfast street burrito. I mean, sure, hard for everyone to find but to Tina, especially when having to hightail after Troop 257, easily found the damn thing. The right place at the wrong time or the other way around when it comes to Tina’s situation. To avoid getting caught now that she has the pinecone, Tina tries to put it into her pocket, only to find out it doesn't fit because... well, it’s a pinecone that was wrapped to think that it’s a rock. This leads her to hide the pinecone in the next available option so that no one could find out, and that would be her back. Pretty much the leaves method from “Sit Me Baby, One More Time” with her having to stick the pinecone inside of her underwear, rather, her pants. And not to make it weird when saying that, because shoving a thing like a pinecone inside your pants can make sitting and walking uncomfortable and could cause some scratches on the skin. Just be lucky that the paint is dry because otherwise, it can cause some problems due to the effects. Once again, how the fuck do street performers get through this without having to deal with no ill effects. Though with the pinecone up appearing on your back, good luck creating an alibi without having to look suspicious when shoving the damn thing by your ass. Especially once spotting Rena and Patty splitting away from the troop, which causes her to go after them as if they’re going to cheat at their troop’s behest. And speaking of Rena and Patty, as we end the first half of the episode and go into the second, after what Tina thought she lost them in their tracks...
She got caught by Patty and Rena as we entered the second act of the episode with a little back-and-forth argument and finger-pointing. Tina claims that Rena and Patty are going to cheat at Troop 257’s behest because that’s what that troop does best, by having to pull endless amounts of bullshit and not deal with the consequences. But Patty and Rena fired back, saying that Tina was the one doing the cheating at Troop 119’s behest when not wanting to take another L from their rival troop. And she is only doing this because she wants the scavenger hunt to have fair results without having to resort to cheating. Tell that to Team Penske in the Indy 500 that got them in hot water or something, I don’t even watch the Indy 500 or racing in general, but this was the most recent to search up.
Of course, Patty and Rena ain’t going to let Tina go that easily now that they know she followed them on what they’re planning on doing. Makes you question how a 13-year-old like Tina, a seasoned veteran at this point within the Thundergirls, happens to be afraid of two people who are, I guess, younger than her by a year or two, who happened to be criminals in the making as if they’re giving the likes of Louise and Chelsea a run of their money. They threw the whistle up the tree as if they knew right away that Tina would blow the damn thing if she caught them in the act, which apparently, they do as if they expected Tina to follow them, or they just blatantly fucking with her. Either way, they’re not going to let Tina go easily since finding out that she was following them at Troop 119’s behest. Causing Patty to throw the whistle up to the tree for Tina to retrieve. Which, luckily for Tina, Patty and Rena didn’t even notice that she was hiding the pinecone behind her back once they left her behind when having to retrieve the whistle from the tree. Tina gets the whistle back a few moments later when having to use a stick to get it down rather than having to go climb on it because that could get her caught, even if it’s just her lonesome, but worried that the pinecone would fall off and also would cause some uncomfortability for her because of the splinters from it. But regardless, Tina got the whistle back from the tree...
Only for Patty and Rena to come out of the boulder, just as Tina realizes that she is lost deep in the woods and is away from the campsite and her troop. Lo and behold, Patty and Rena are also lost after having to break away from their troop and catching Tina for following them. The two girls from Troop 257 circled the woods to find their troop after leaving Tina behind to get her whistle, guessing the three had the same navigational skills as Roronoa Zoro from One Piece: lacking a sense of direction. Luckily, the whistle should serve as a warning shot to get anyone’s attention... only to end up becoming defunct. Not because Patty threw it too high that the ball inside the item made the sound to get anyone’s attention, but mainly because Jodi did disinfect it before handing it to Tina, that includes the part where you blow the damn thing. So yeah, the whistle is broken as Tina and later Patty tries to blow it to alert any troop nearby, either Tina’s troop, Troop 119, or Patty and Rena’s troop, Troop 257, to pick up the sound. They’re now lost following their little encounter and will now have to let their instincts do the job once the three, rather Tina and both Patty and Rena, set aside their differences for once and try to work together if they want to get back to the campsite.
And going into the montage as day turns to night, it’s not looking good for the three girls as they struggle to find their way back to the campsite. And because it’s nighttime, it would make things difficult to go into the dark woods at night unless the nearby site has a light that should draw them to safety and not the worst case possible. Hopefully, a normal campsite or their troop and not a cult sacrificing a body, a couple of older teens doing witchcraft, or a Klan meeting. But Tina, Patty, and Rena continue to stroll through the woods, probably around in a loop that got Patty and Rena lost after ditching Tina to get her whistle, with nowhere to go, or rather, find the trail where each girl took before getting lost, but alas, no luck. I would say leave at least something like crumbs or stones so they can follow the track and get there without having everyone worried, but they didn’t. It’s not like you’re going to give them a flare or start a mini campfire, but, of course, that can cause some problems for the forest.
Which explains one of the scenes in the montage where you have both troops, 119 and 257, with both Ginny and Bethany counting each member being present except for Tina, Patty, and Rena. And you’d think that with three of their own missing from each group, they would have to create search parties to go and look for the three girls, but I guess, knowing that it’s late at night, they probably think it’s better to do in the morning and probably pray they make it out before the sun rises the next morning or maybe once the bonfire is lit for them to get there. I mean, with that logic, it would put the Thundergirls in a really tight spot if they don’t head out and find them. I mean, I get that it’s dark and they could be a few miles away from the campsite, let’s just say that if something happens to them, good God, that would be an HR and PR situation on steroids. However, you think that they should at least have a drone on standby in case something like this happens. Just saying. I’m just saying. But yeah, each troop is missing a member, Troop 119 missing Tina, and Troop 257 missing both Patty and Rena, as those three continue to circle across the forest to find the path back to the campsite. And oh yeah, you also have the glimpse scene for a bit that I mentioned earlier with the Belchers when we cut to them messing with Tina’s sock drawer by mismatching each pair. Did I mention that we may have dodged a bullet in this episode, because if this were to be the subplot or whatever they should be doing would’ve downplayed the whole freaking thing? Especially once we get to the next scene of the episode, as we are about to reach the end of the first half of the episode.
Tina, Rena, and Patty continue to struggle their way to get back to the campsite as they continue to stroll through the forest. And with nothing to send anyone nearby a signal, they’re pretty much screwed and would have to hunt for food to survive and sleep in the wilderness as if they’re auditioning for a season of Survivor if it comes down to that. That won’t be necessary for those three or the night, because they spot a house from the bushes with electricity that hopefully they can use a phone to make contact. Probably thinking that the landline is back and running, despite Ginny saying that it’s down because of the wind, the moment the scavenger hunt began earlier in the episode. So, they probably think that the line is up and running again as they prepare to make their way to the house and reach the doorstep once they go to the next scene with the plaque reading “Donna Dane’s Etiquette for Good Girls”. Making this place a camp that turns anyone into a member of society. A reform camp, to be exact, and it’s something that the likes of Patty and Rena don’t want to deal with.
And that’s where we have the headmistress of the camp answering the door. A woman named Eve, voiced by Drew Droege, who spots Tina, Rena, and Patty, who are in desperate need use a phone and anyone who knows how certain horror movie lingo works, there are some horror films out there where someone needs a phone because their car broke down and the first place they would spot out in the open road is not a payphone back in the day or in today’s case, your phone not being charged or get caught in a dead spot, and you spot a creepy looking house that should raise some alarm bells but ended up going there because you need to call for some assistance. That feels like what we’re getting as we prepare to enter the second half of the episode once Eve lets Tina, Rena, and Patty enter the house so they can use her phone to contact the troop leaders. Praying that the line is all patched up for them to use the phone.
Eve gives Tina, Patty, and Rena a tour of the house on their way to the room where the phone is, with Eve’s daughter Lacey having to tag along with everyone. Telling the three about the history of the place, the camp, and the founder of the camp, Donna Dame, when giving them the play-by-play about everything. And when looking at this, when watching the episode, especially of what this camp is trying to shape each girl into a member of a society, you know, “good girls”, as Eve puts it, it’s giving me shades to, and it’s the only location that I can refer because the rest is pretty much military school, would be St. Olga’s Reform School for Wayward Princesses from Star vs The Forces of Evil. Much like this camp that may or may not be a cult, that too knows how to transform girls from all over to be “polite” and “elegant” though that one was to give up their own free will, well, up until the episode of the name of the school happened when everyone had to be liberated and a takeover had to be taking place. But that’s pretty much the background of this camp and what the founder’s mission is: to turn girls of all ages into members of society. Almost feels like the plot of The Handmaid’s Tale if you think about it. A Conservative’s wet dream if you think about it. Eve continues to give the tour of the house to Tina, Rena, and Patty, and uh...
Yeah, this definitely doesn’t look like something that comes from a word that starts with a C and it rhymes with schult. The three girls take a peek at the dining hall, where they see the girls who are enrolled in this camp with them holding up masks that are made out of paper plates, and that should definitely serve as the first warning shot. Feeling something coming from the movie poster of the movie “Us”, but with white folk. Especially when donning pink dresses and when being ordered to put the masks down, they put up a forced smile. A forced smile that should probably do some harm to the jaw, as if they’re donning the Millie Frock look.
All except for one girl, for this part of the scene, a girl named Tabitha, who is the only girl in this camp to ever be named out of everyone who is present in this house, not following what her peers are doing in having to do a fake-ass posture as if she was giving her body some rest from having to do that. Of course, Tabitha doing that got Eve to scold her for not following directions, and she ended up falling in line as if she didn’t have a choice. You know which of the groups of people do something like that when a leader scolds someone who doesn’t follow what they said? Cults. This pretty much screams cult. And it feels like they don’t have a choice in doing anything at all, as if they’re being held hostage or got sent there as a punishment, because these girls’ parents, according to Eve, are paying for this. So, they’re pretty much stuck for the long haul with this little camp to turn them into members of society. So, Tina, Rena, and Patty continue to walk around the house on their way to the phone.
Where one of the girls, not Tabitha, but a fodder character who the three girls almost walked away from to get the fuck out. Telling them to get the fuck out while they still can as we end the first half of the episode and go into the second half. Already, another warning shot, this time from a random girl at the dining hall telling Tina, Rena, and Patty to make their escape while they still can, despite being lost and having no way of getting back to their campsite without having to tell their troop leader where they are. Of course, if y’all follow what to do and not do in a horror movie situation, when the person, like the girl who spoke to the three quietly, to run away, without raising the homeowner's suspicions and causing more harm than good to the guests. And since we’re following horror movie logic as we enter the second half of the episode...
It seems that the landline is still down once Tina, Rena, and Patty arrive in the room where the phone is, with Eve picking up and revealing that communication remains down. Shit ass communication line in these parts of the woods and we’re talking about an area where not one cell tower is available. Seems to be one powerful windstorm to knock communication down but yet the house and the campsite seem to be still intact as if they didn’t sustain any damage whatsoever. Hmm... seems rather suspicious if you think about it. But then again, the infrastructure is shit in this neck of the woods, especially in rural areas like the campsite where connectivity is going to hard to find like it’s the Knicks trying to find a head coach after firing theirs after a successful season before crumbling down in the conference finals. Patty takes the phone to see if Eve is just bullshitting over the communication issue, only to prove her right that the line remains down. Meaning that she, along with Tina and Rena, is pretty much stuck for the night until the morning unless the other Thundergirls troop were to do an overnight search party, which would be unlikely unless they light the bonfire, and should serve as an attraction like how flies are to the zapper for the three girls to go towards. Better than having to stay out in the wilderness for the night because it has electricity rather than using candles, which would be a totally different story of its own if the episode had them stranded in the woods than finding this house.
Tina, Rena, and Patty join Eve and the others at the dinner table; at least they’re getting food that is cooked and don't have to go and hunt for squirrels and whatnot, but they would have to try to follow along with what the others are doing. And the game plan is simple, just follow along and not disrupt things that would put them in a very difficult spot. Patty and Rena don’t get the memo as the dinner progresses. Especially one of the girls broke out a chuckle that caused Eve to tell Lacey to give the girl a stone to be inserted into her mouth for bad table manners. And this is just the beginning as the two continue to disrupt things while Tina hopes for them not to make things worse because that is pretty much the simple game plan here: don’t make things worse if they want to survive.
This is not one of them if you’re Patty and Rena, especially Patty, as she shows off her behavior at the table as if she is quickly getting impatient or getting tired of the whole “nice girl” atmosphere that plagues this house. She doesn’t rock with that, despite Tina wanting to tell her to stop what she is doing because it’s not helping their cause to get back to the campsite. Calling this camp out because it’s nothing like a regular camp, and instead, it feels like prison or a concentration camp, because according to her, it feels like it is, since the name of the game in this house is to transform someone into a member of society. Nice posture and all. Thinking in your head that you’re nothing like them and don’t want to follow in their footsteps, even if it’s for her own free will, like what the girls here are doing. That got the girls here cracking a laugh or two at what Patty is doing and saying as if she’s going against the rules that Eve had to put up for each girl to follow, as if it’s they’re pretending to be fancy. Oh yeah, and Patty let out one last rude gesture at the dinner table by giving out a loud burp at the table, especially towards Eve as one final fuck you. And an extra one for Tina, because why not, since she and Rena hate her just because she’s in a rival troop and often foils what they’re doing. But that’s more than enough for Eve to get mad and decide to Patty, but also Tina and Rena, even though Patty and Rena started this, Tina was just minding her business, but she’s getting dragged, nonetheless.
Eve, along with Lacey, takes Tina, Rena, and Patty to the next room, which shows a windowless room, a closet you could say, with three chairs waiting for them to sit as if they knew something like this would happen upon their visit for the night. The chairs that they’re sitting with their arms being restrained with napkins, yes, napkins, and apparently strong ones at best, by Lacey doing job as begins to tie Tina before doing the same with Patty, who tried to walk away before being shoved to sit back down, and Rena, are called posture chairs. Having to sit like how the girls back at the table are sitting, as if they’re being subjected to be like them. All while having to listen to the song about manners on a loop as if their brains are being waterboarded from having to listen to the song that is blasting through the room for them to listen as if they don’t have a choice.
Yeah, that’s definitely cult behavior because if there’s one thing to know about cults or living in a dictatorship, if you don’t follow what they do and say, they will find ways for you to submit. And that is what it feels like with Tina, Rena, and Patty are about to undergo after Rena and Patty had to disrupt their dinner. Makes you question how the fuck they did not see the red flags in this. The moment they come across the house, and see the girls having to follow what Eve says to be good little girls earlier, with one of the girls whispering to Tina, Rena, and Patty to get the fuck out of while they still can but ends up ignoring because they need to make a call to get their troop leader to pick them up without even noticing that the line was still down. I think we may have found our recipients for this week’s Darwin Awards for not having to see the red flags flying about this house and what this camp is doing. At least they’re not certain cults you see in movies and shows where they have to burn a body as a sacrifice. But still, a cult is a cult.
Of course, we have to check up on the Belchers once again for a few seconds after having “fun” is having to mismatch Tina’s socks earlier in the night. Just them sitting on the couch and enjoying their bye week, not knowing that their eldest child is about to succumb to some brainwashing by the camp after getting lost along with two members of the other troop deep in the woods. But yeah, we just had to check up on them for a bit as they’re currently enjoying their bye week since this episode is all Tina and should be focusing on her during her trip. Going for the “Oh, don’t mind us. We’re just having ourselves a nice little bye week. I’m sure Tina is doing just fine.” Once again, not knowing what is going over there at the camp that Tina, along with Rena and Patty, came across and is now being subjected to possible brainwashing.
And we go back to that with the three girls continue to struggle to escape. Trying to break the napkins that serve as the rope with every ounce of strength they can muster up to break the damn thing, but to no avail. Even trying to call Lacey to let them out, but she ain’t going to do shit unless her mother Eve says for her to follow. So, they’re pretty much screwed as long as the song continues to play on a loop so that it drills deep into their brains as part of their punishment for what happened back at the dinner table.
So, while they continue to struggle to escape, we go back to a back-and-forth argument between Tina and both Patty and Rena over what the two troop members of Troop 257 were planning on doing that caused them to be lost deep in the woods and end up where they are currently. Patty and Rena tell Tina that they’re not planning on cheating, but Tina doesn’t buy it because each time Troops 119 and 257 bash heads with each other, Troop 257 always gets the win through countless bullshit they pull over their hated rival and Tina, along with the rest of her troop, Troop 119, want to make things fair because they’re just tired of losing to them to the point where they have to follow I guess their playbook as if they want to play fire with fire, by snitching.
But it seems that Patty and Rena are actually telling the truth when telling Tina that they’re not planning on cheating this time and as much as Tina doesn’t want to buy their story with Troop 257 wanting to do various ways to bullshit their way to win the hunt and the badges and the pizza party from messing with the coordinates for the other troops to smashing the compasses and gaslight the bears for something they would do, Patty and Rena are actually telling the truth and plan on doing it fair and square for once as a little experiment and just want to enjoy this weekend camping trip. Well, if their brains don’t get drilled deep by the song playing on a loop. And as much as Tina wants to continue to call them out because she knows what the both of them and the rest of Troop 257 are capable of, for once, she knows that they’re actually telling the truth and feels like a dumbass for once just for jumping the gun. But Tina will remain skeptical of them even after buying their confession just to get the accusation off their backs, not saying that they should be buddy-buddy or something after this trip, but a ceasefire will do the trick for this weekend. Just to find a way to get out of the house and race their way back to the campsite.
Tina now realizes a way to get out of their napkin restraints to make her, Rena, and Patty’s escape since using up their strength doesn’t seem to be the case with them having to hear the song playing on the record player one too many times as if they want to blow their fucking brains out, in GTA. Because the lanyard that carries the whistle that Tina is wearing is made out of survival cord, which should be useful to serve as some sort of knife to cut the napkin rope as she tries to wedge the thing through the napkin. And lo and behold, her left arm is free from the napkin. And just as she plans on freeing her right arm before freeing Rena and Patty from their chairs...
So much for that ceasefire because Tina didn’t even notice that her moving around after having to sit in a posture and struggling to get out causes her to nudge the pinecone to the point where once she moves to free her right arm is when the golden pinecone that was hiding in her back to fall to the ground. Causing Rena and Patty to look at the item in question, and yes, accusing Tina of cheating. The three girls fight over the pinecone, with Patty and Rena continuing to be tied down in their seats over who will be in possession of the item in question. This causes Lacey to step in and try to confiscate the pinecone and restrain Tina once more after noticing that she’s free from her seat. Causing her to run off with the pinecone while leaving Rena and Patty behind for them to suffer, and finally get out of the house.
Tina plans on going back there and leaving Rena and Patty behind, but because we’re at the end of the third act of the episode and going into the fourth, if it weren’t for her badges having to guilt-trip her into saving them from the camp. As much as she wants to leave them behind for her safety after finding out she hid the pinecone, the Never Leave a Thundergirl Behind badge is the first to tell her to go back and save Rena and Patty from the camp. Of course, because of what happened with the pinecone that fell off from her back, you know they won’t forgive her for that and she won’t do the same for wanting to jump her and also the whole back-and-forth accusation with them calling her a cheater if it weren’t for her gaining the Forgiveness badge that would have her to swallow her pride and hopefully she doesn’t get killed in the process when having to go back to save Rena and Patty as we enter the fourth and final act of the episode.
Tina sneaks her way inside the house without having to be detected. Checking to see if the coast is clear for her to save Rena and Patty from immediate danger. She checks across the house to see if either Lacey or Eve is there, and she goes across the house to find the room where the two girls are. Of course, as expected, Lacey is sitting guard at the door while Rena and Patty are continuing to have their brains drilled by the manners song on a continuous loop, so Tina needs to come up with a distraction so that she can go and free Rena and Patty so they can run their way back to the campsite. This is where the highly flammable golden pinecone comes into play, and a sacrifice, since it looks like neither troop will get their hands on the pinecone by the end of the episode once Tina continues to make her way in the hallway, grabbing the vase, drops the pinecone, and you can already know where this is going.
Tina burns the pinecone after getting matches from the dining room and drops the lit match into the vase for the pinecone to serve as a distraction for her to get her out of the chair so she can get into the room. Hence, her having to scream out “Hot! Hot! Mama! Mama! Water!” as if Tina just created a bomb just by using the pinecone. Also, solid animation choice there for Lacey to let out a primal scream for help over the vase being on fire courtesy of the pinecone. I can already guess this might be animator Erin Humiston’s doing for that shot. I could be wrong, but who knows?
All we know is that it bought Tina the time she needed as she entered the room and finally freed Patty and Rena from the room because even though she wants to leave them behind after accusing her of cheating, and was about to jump her over the revelation of her having the pinecone, it would be breaking the Thundergirl oath to leave a member behind. Even if those members want to murder Tina, in GTA, for what happened earlier before she made her attempted escape. So, Tina finally freed Patty and Rena, and they are about to make their way to the front door when Patty and Rena notice the smoke that is plaguing the house, with Tina telling them that she set the pinecone on fire to serve as a distraction to make their escape. Which sucks for both troops going back to the campsite, but at least it did buy the three some time to make a break for it. Sacrifices had to be made. And the pinecone would have to be that sacrifice. They reached the corner of the hallway on their way to the front door...
Only to come across Eve, now dressed up as Donna Dane, and see that the girls have escaped and now have to make sure that they don’t leave the premises, and she would have to do the job. Rather, let Lacey do the job, and plan on putting them back in their place, except for the fact that Lacey is dealing with a problem of her own. That being the vase that is currently on fire, when noticing the smell of smoke and the primal scream of Lacey screaming for her mother to put out the fire. The woman, referring to Lacey, is probably in her 20s or 30s. Don’t you think she should’ve handled the fire herself? I mean, sure, you can’t take it outside because the house is surrounded by trees, and that alone would be enough to start a forest fire. Unless the place has a fire extinguisher or at least a blanket to put out the fire, though it has to be a specific blanket to put it out. But that’s more than enough for Eve, as Donna Dane, to go and assist Lacey to take the fire out. Once again, giving Tina, Rena, and Patty time to get out of the house.
Of course, not until they plan on liberating the rest of the girls who are in this camp as if it’s a horror movie where things quickly fall apart and everyone who are being held against their will to make a break while a fire is blazing through the house, except that won’t be the case because it’s a small fire that Tina started despite the pinecone being extremely flammable due to the thing having to be spray painted. And the girls, well, as much as they want to get out because the house gives out that cult aura that is plaguing the house, they’re staying put despite that one girl Tabitha being forced to crack a smile, the other girl having to put a stone in her mouth, and the other girl whispering to the three to get the fuck out while they still can, they don’t want to leave. Mostly because their parents are paying for this and are expected to pick them up. So, letting them out is pretty much off the table as Tina, Rena, and Patty make their way out and finally out of the property, now without the pinecone in their possession, leaving Eve be as she goes back and plays the role to the girls as planned.
At least we know that Tina, Rena, and Patty did make their way back to the campsite after making their escape... or rather, they did make a break for it before Ginny and Bethany spotted them and took them back to the campsite. Which explains this scene with Patty, Tina, and Rena having to tell everyone what happened back there from getting lost in the woods, might be one big potential blame game on who would be responsible for getting the three girls lost with Troop 119 probably take the full brunt for having Tina to go after Troop 257, to them stumbling across the other camp and nearly got brainwashed if it weren’t for Tina having to save them and herself despite wanting to jump her for keeping the pinecone all for herself. And speaking of the pinecone, because the item is now destroyed, they don’t know that, but Tina, Rena, and Patty did, because Tina did set it on fire, but to keep it short and simple: no pinecone, no pizza party. Just be thankful that Tina, Rena, and Patty are found safe because otherwise, good God, the Thundergirls organization better lawyer up.
So, we finally reached the end of what is pretty much an interesting and insane episode, with the camping trip coming to an end. Every Thundergirl member arriving back at the parking lot for pick up, including Tina, who had to be picked up by her family after enjoying their bye week. And oh boy, if you’re the Belchers after picking Tina up as they prepare to head their way back home, they’re going to hear a lot of what she has to say. Especially since Bob got a call from Ginny about her having “quite an adventure”, referring to what happened back in the forest. But Tina doesn’t want to get into the details about what happened... okay, so she might tell Gene and Louise in private, but she would probably write it all down in her diary once she gets home.
Oh yeah, and you also have a glimpse of Patty and Rena with Patty keying the bus and writing their troop number with Rena serving as the lookout as Tina answers Gene and Louise’s question of whether or not Troop 257 got caught cheating and the retaliation that comes with it that they did not for once. Saying to them as if Hell had just frozen over. But other than that, that’s the end of what is pretty much an insane episode if I were to be honest. And uh... the moral of the story: you better work on those orientation skills the old-fashioned way or else, you might end up at the wrong place and could be served as a possible sacrifice for some random cult.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So, all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? An interesting and insane episode to sum it all up. The interesting part being this is pretty much an experimental run from the show to have an episode where one of the main cast, that being Tina, takes the spotlight 100% of the time for this week, or rather 98% or 99% of it and have the rest of the main cast being sidelined for the rest of the episode with 1% or 2% of it showing them what they’re doing without having to turn it into a subplot that could downplay the whole thing from start to finish. And dodged quite the bullet with that. I mean, think of this show with “Radio No You Didn’t” back in Season 13, where the family had to be sidelined and the focus ended up being on Bob’s grandmother Alice, with him having to tell the story of her. Think of other shows as well that have gone through that. Central Park with “The Shadow” is that example. Family Guy with “Brian and Stewie” is another. Hell, Doctor Who with “Blink” is the prime example of having the main cast sidelined and letting someone else take the mantle. We don’t talk about “Love and Monsters”, that’s a whole different story, come never. But I’m not going to lie, this was quite the experiment they did, and it was a good one.
And having Tina as the character who would be taking the spotlight nearly 100% of the episode... this, along with other Season 15 episodes that have been the focus like “The Tina Table: The Tables Have Tina-ed”, “Don’t Stop Be-cheesin’”, “They Slug Horses, Don’t They” even though it’s her and Louise as the focus, and similarly with “Advice Things are Ad-Nice”... this was pretty much an apology letter to her. Because remember, Season 14, up until “Butt Sweat and Fears”, she was in the back of the bus. Not one one before and after “Butt Sweat and Fears” when talking about Season 14’s lineup. And Season 15 is pretty much doing her justice. And this episode was an interesting one, with the rest of the family being sidelined, having her take the mantle all by herself. And without a subplot, which is also interesting.
As well as insane in having to go through the horror theme for this episode with her, along with Patty and Rena having to get lost in the woods and stumble across a house that happened to be a camp that screams cult. And if you’re following horror movie logic, even if you’re not a fan of it, you should know the lingo on what not to do when dealing with a situation like this one. The scenes in the first half of the episode with Tina having to hightail Troop 257 as if they’re going to cheat before getting by Patty and Rena were fine. It was fine. But once the three girls get lost and stumble across the etiquette camp at the end of the first half and go into the entirety of the second half, that screams cult by the aura alone, that was when things took a complete turn. They were going for the likes of non-Halloween episodes that have a horror-like aspect, like “Escape from Which Island” and “Fraud of the Dead” from last season, and they did a good job with that. Not going to lie. I’m not bullshitting, this was a good episode. No bullshitting here. So, I’ll give “The Place Beyond the Pinecones”...
A 9 out of 10. But that’s my opinion, and I want to hear yours in the comments below. Better stay tuned later this week for the review of “MIB: Men in Belts Adventure” for The Great North before getting to the next AniDom night on Thursday, and people of the New York/Jersey area, y’all better buckle up for a long night because y’all got a WNBA game standing in the way on the local Fox station. So, y’all better stay up late for when AniDom airs there. Tune in Thursday for a brand-new episode where the Belchers go on vacation to Atlantic City, and we might be getting some Linda lore that comes with it, so y’all better not miss this one out in the fifteenth episode of Season 15 of Bob’s Burgers in “The Lost City of Atlantic”.
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