I’m doing the best I can here in trying to push folks to give The Great North a watch. Like, I’m doing the best I can here. And I’m sure some of us are doing the same as well in trying to save the show, mostly in the event FOX were to not pick the show for a Season 6 and have Hulu pick it up, since they do better on streaming than being on the air. Especially because we have a double billing coming up once this episode’s review is posted. Y’all might as well pray my mentals don’t become scrambled eggs and be left burnt when having to do the double premiere. It all comes down to either doing the full breakdown of the two episodes or doing it in a short review format just to make it out before getting into the next set of episodes the following week. Just watch the show for Glob's sake. Especially for anyone in the New York area because y’all got a WNBA game taking the time slot and pushing the shows to a later time slot, so you have to play the waiting game and survive till the show is on with the doubleheader.
In this week’s episode of The Great North, Beef and Walt became best buddies in the fastest way possible, but a single incident over a belt nearly ripped their newfound bromance apart between the two men as Wolf and Honeybee tag along with the Tuntleys after finding out that a couple they spotted turned out to be dine and dashers in my spoilerific review of the fifteenth episode of Season 5 of The Great North, titled “MIB: Men in Belts Adventure”.
One of the reasons why y'all should at least give The Great North a shot is how they do the side characters on the show. Throughout the show, especially around Seasons 2 and 3, they expand their side characters so that they can give some equal time in the spotlight, despite the usual where any of the main characters get their respective episode. Regardless of their role in the main plot or the subplot to each episode, as long as they get some screentime and maybe throw in some development or two, and we should be gucci. When it comes to the families who are not the Tobins or the Shaws, we have the two families who are side characters that got most of the attention throughout the show, and that would be the Tuntleys and the Evanoffs. And the Evanoffs are taking charge of this week’s episode with Kima’s father Walt finally getting his time to shine... right as the show is on the verge of getting fucking canceled, but sure, better late than never I guess unless we get Season 6 greenlit and possibly move to Hulu.
So, we finally got a Walt episode that has to be paired with Beef’s episode. And Walt is the last person within Kima’s family, well, there’s him and Dane, but Walt is the last one within the family who, up until this episode, hasn’t gotten some major screentime, main plot or subplot, where he isn’t paired with the entire family like Season 3’s “Bee’s All That Adventure” in his and Esther’s debut and “Rear Genius Adventure” as prime examples. And even though he has some scenes with him being a big help in the two-parter in Season 3, and him just being there in episodes like “Barrel Be Blood Adventure” and “Bear of Beeftown Adventure”. But other than that, he's the only member in the main Evanoff household who hasn't gotten some major screen time since his debut in Season 3.
We know Kima has the most because most of the time she's there with the friend group, which is pretty much her peers at school, or with Judy most of the time since those two are inseparable as best friends with her time in the spotlight being “High Expectations Adventure” just last season despite being a Judy episode. Still wishing on how those two first met because those two have known each other the longest. Esther, Kima’s mother, had a subplot in “Barrel Be Blood Adventure” when taking both Judy and Kima to the station so they can prepare themselves to be future smokejumpers, especially Kima. Only for her and her troop during the visit, and having to treat them like servants, like they're unpaid interns going through an initiation.
Walt, on the other hand, doesn't have an episode of his own, regardless of whether it's the main plot or the subplot. And that looks like that's about to change in this latest installment of The Great North. Especially with his friendship with Beef, despite that, it's his episode, back-to-back episodes for the guy.
Oh yeah, there's also the Tuntleys as well as they too get some much-needed screentime. Especially with one of the members of the family, Jim, getting some much-needed screentime. I know that Father's Day has long passed at the time of typing and posting the review, but it does feel like we're giving the dads some time in the limelight for this episode, even though it's him and Dorothy having to team up Wolf and Honeybee going after the dine and dashers of a couple. So, might as well get to the episode review and try to break this sucker down, this is “MIB: Men in Belts Adventure”.
The episode begins with Beef coming into the kitchen with excitement in his body as he tells Judy, Ham, and Moon some good news. The news being that the city approved the permits for an empty lot on Edgecumbe Road so they can begin construction, and Beef plans on going there, via walking, which can take up seven miles to and from home, and he plans on taking the kids there to watch the construction unfolding. Unfortunately for Beef, his kids decide to take a rain check with Judy, Ham, and Moon having to come up with excuses because they don’t want to do what Beef wants, like seeing a construction taking place at an empty lot because it’s boring. Doing something like watching a lot slowly is about to transform into whatever building is going to be that got approved, spoiler alert, it’s a medical plaza that the city approved, which is considered boring unless you’re Beef. That’s not their style. This causes Judy to tell Beef that maybe he should find someone his own age who likes this stuff. Which is pretty much a clear indication that Beef doesn’t have a best friend his own age. I mean, he has a couple of friends from here and there, but a best friend is quite the reach for him. Especially, of course, it has to be someone who is within his age range. Lone Moose is a small town where everyone knows each other, so it shouldn’t be that hard. As long as you meet the right people. Beef goes on his lonesome to the construction site, going into the next scene, and it looks like he’s not alone in this one.
Once the excavator roams its way toward the site shows Kima’s father Walt, who is also seeing the construction site that is about to take place. I’m guessing, like what Beef is trying to bring his kids to join him in overseeing the lot, I’m guessing he was about to do the same with Kima before she ended up bailing on him. But Walt is there because he lives for a good ground-breaking for construction to take place, like what is about to take place for the lot they’re on. And the same goes for Beef as they watch the thing being unfolded as if they’re watching the Oscars or something. Walt was about to head out to the nearby bench so he could eat some boiled eggs before asking Beef to join him, and with that, a bromance was formed between the two.
And the montage shows it between Beef and Walt as they do the things they have in common following their encounter at the construction site. From overseeing the site to looking at the train passing through town, to pretty much everything else, with them playing around with tools at the hardware store, seeing a documentary about ice, to even showing off their collection of novelty socks from Walt, and various belts from Beef in their respective closets, it’s pretty much a match made in heaven between the two, platonically. A healthy and well-balanced friendship between the two after just one encounter at the construction site, as if it was all fate’s doing for them to be the bestest of buddies. Though, you can go and check out my review of “For Whom the Smell Tolls Part Two” from 2023 about the two, especially the parts where Beef had to calm Walt down when he was about to go through claustrophobia, as well as Walt telling Beef that what his great-grandfather did a long time ago wasn’t his fault for something he didn’t even do, not having to bear the responsibility of what his great-grandfather did, when the the undiscovered third bunker that held the rotten meat got turned into a ticking time bomb that would’ve put their teenage children and their peers in extreme danger. Those two work things out as a pair.
And what’s funny about Beef and Walt quickly becoming best friends is that their daughters, Judy and Kima, are also best friends and have been for the longest. Still wishing for an episode or something about them being friends since the whole Stacy B. fallout. And if I were to do some sort of character discussion for the show, either on the Tobins or anyone for that matter, either Judy or Kima, or maybe both, I may have an idea of how that played out. Probably not, but who knows. But not we’re talking about Judy and Kima in this episode, we’re talking about their fathers, Beef and Walt, and it's quite the friendship that they developed just a minute into the episode, as if, again, it feels like a match made in heaven, platonically speaking, of course. Just a couple of buds hanging out and enjoying what they like as the montage progresses.
And especially, right at the end of said montage with both families, the Tobins with Beef, Judy, Ham, and Moon, and the Evanoffs with Walt, Kima, and Dane, finishing eating dinner, a mixture of noodles that Walt cooked up and the noodles that Beef had to mix it with to create the dish they ate. And that’s pretty much one of the casseroles that Esther left for her family to eat for the month while she’s away for her smokejumper duties, leaving Walt to be in charge of Kima and Dane for some reason, but he’s there, I guess, as a fill-in for Esther for this episode. Regardless, the two parties are at the dinner table with Beef and Walt celebrating their newfound best friendship and having to pass around the images of the construction site for their kids to see.
Later in the night, as everyone was doing their dishes and the Evanoffs to preparing to head back home for the night, where they talked about how great things were going with their respective fathers quickly becoming best friends with each other. Mainly because they don’t want to be involved in any of their fathers’ interests, like going to a construction site, for example. Or in Judy’s case, having to be dragged to watch the train pass through not once, not twice, but thrice in a week before having Walt enter his life. The same can go for Kima’s cousin, Dane, who has to be joyful that he doesn’t have to play pretend in having a conversation with his uncle about chainsaws before Beef entered his life. All they know is that they’re happy that their fathers found each other and, of course, quickly became best friends, and are hoping for nothing that could ruin that. But fate may have other plans going into the next day. But for now, we've got a new friendship unlocked, and while of all that is happening...
We check up on Wolf and Honeybee as they prepare to wrap up their date night at a steak restaurant, with Honeybee pulling out a jar that is labeled “date night jar”, i.e., hoping to do some post-dinner down and dirty with Honeybee pulling out a piece of paper that reads “tailgating”. And we’re not talking about the pre-game activities in the parking lot before a football game that involve grilling. So, just as Wolf and Honeybee are about to head out to do the act, bill paid and all...
They spot a couple they had hosted the last time they went out, the Puckbottoms, who are now hanging out with the Tuntleys at the nearby table. This upsets the two because of what happened in their previous encounter, when they had to share a table the last time. And the flashback from their previous encounter shows that they have no issue with the couple. Just a normal dinner with both parties expected to pay their own bills. Or rather, one of the parties has to do the heavy lifting because Wolf and Honeybee have to pay both their own bill and the Puckbottoms once they make a break for it after telling them that they’ll “pay for the next one”. Spoiler alert, they did not. And here we are with them upset over them having to burn their wallet when having to pay both bills. Saying as if the couple is a pair of dine-and-dashers. These are the worst if you work in the restaurant or retail business, but a dine and dasher who lets someone else pay for the whole thing after saying that you don’t have the money but instead, let someone else do the job, well, that sounds a bit evil if you think about it. I mean, sure, it’s fine, I guess, if you accidentally left your wallet or didn't know you would be short on cash in your banking account. But doing it intentionally and then having to pretend to be the saint that you are, I have no experience with that, but I know that it’s like wanting to be paid back. Oh yeah, and what happened to Wolf and Honeybee the previous night is now happening to Dorothy and Jim. They now have to pay their half of the bill like a couple of freeloaders.
Going into the next scene in this subplot with the Tuntleys going into their car, where they get spooked by Wolf and Honeybee, who somehow got into their car as if they left the vehicle unlocked before going into the restaurant, unless Wolf or Honeybee know how to pick locks. Regardless, Wolf and Honeybee scared the bejesus out of Dorothy and Jim and told the two about their guests for the night, the Puckbottoms, and who they really are based on experience. The Tuntleys tell the two that there was no problem in having them share a table with the couple, only for Honeybee to step in and say that if they paid their bill on their behalf and come up with the same excuse they heard that they’ll “pay for the next one”. Case in point, they got fucked over by the couple for being a pair of dine and dashers and Wolf and Honeybee want to get back at them to make sure they actually pay their bill for once and not make excuses after excuses to make them or the Tuntleys or anyone to pay the full price. And with that, we got ourselves a subplot with 2/5 of the Tobins, by the way, Dirt is absent for this episode, and the Tuntleys teaming up to get back at the Puckbottoms.
And yes, it’s going to take some getting used to some adjustments of having Mrs. Tuntley have a new voice going forward. Unless y’all are living under a rock, in “Ham to Lose a Guy Adventure”, it was revealed that we got a new voice actress to take over the role of the matriarchal member of the Tuntley family, but thought it would be a one-time thing. You know, as an understudy in the event of Megan Mullally, who was the voice of the character throughout the series up until this season in “The Prince of Hides Adventure”, not being available and not being straight up and left, or if the show is unable to pay her.
Anne Yatco is the name of the voice actress if y’all want to know who would be filling in the role, whether or not this would be the long run going forward, but then again, that's what we said about Crispin regarding the changing of the voicing role at the end of Season 3. Not a lot to list in her resume when checking through her IMDb page and her Behind the Voice Actors page. I didn’t even notice when going through those pages that she was the English voice actress for both Bambietta Basterbine and Meninas Mcallon on Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War. Her most notable role when going through those pages is Jujutsu Kaisen as the English voice of Nobara Kugisaki. I’ve never watched the show, I know, hearsay from someone who watched anime, but still. But it’s quite interesting that we got an anime voice actor lending their voice on a FOX animated series like The Great North, whether or not this will be the direction going forward. Then again, I did not notice that fellow Bleach English voice actress Michelle Ruff, the voice of Rukia, was in The Bob’s Burgers Movie when going through the credits, though it was for voicing various background characters. Probably the carnies, but still. It’s interesting to know about all of this. Hopefully, the new voice won’t cause Mrs. Tuntley’s personality to shift.
The next day arrives at the Tobin household with Beef ready to put on his pants for the day when he receives a text message from his new best buddy, Walt, about a train passing through town on its way to the repair depot, which, of course, Beef RSVP’d the invitation and plans on meeting him there. Also, who the fuck uses a closing remark on a text message? Like, unless it’s a text message from a politician to make a donation to their campaign or help out for the cause, no normal person would ever have that written on it. Beef plans on going to do some train viewing, having to pull out his belt collection when he notices one of the belts is missing from the rack. Causing him to tear through the house, going into the next scene with the Tobin kids coming down the stairs to see the destruction that was being unfolded as if there was a break-in. And it is what Beef thinks it was over him losing one of his belts from his closet. And the belt in question that was missing from the rack that caused Beef to go into massive panic?
The one with the train buckle and the hand-tooled leather train cars wrapped around the waist. It’s a rare kind of belt that Beef kept in his closet because the person who made the belt used moose skin to make the special belt before having to die in a freak accident after making it. And Beef has no idea where he put it, as if he put it away that is not in his belt rack. Getting to the point where someone might’ve broken into the house last night and stolen it while everyone is asleep. I mean, I get that it’s a rare belt that is pretty much one of a kind, especially when having to wear it for when having to go train to watch, but I’m sure it’s not that deep even though it does suck that someone were to steal a rare belt from your rack without notice. Especially since now that Beef has to go around the area to see if anyone, whether being a person or an animal, has the belt in question. But oh boy, it looks like we may know who might have the item in question as we prepare to wrap up the first act of the episode.
We transition to later in the day with Judy at Kima’s house, as she is just finishing up typing an essay for her report on Elizabeth Cady Stanton while using the laptop to do her report. She finishes the thing and notifies Kima that she’ll be making her way to the bathroom to do her business, and once she makes her way towards the bathroom, about to pass through the doorstep of Walt and Esther’s bedroom, shades of what we saw in Season 3’s “Rear Genius Adventure” the last time Judy was about to use the bathroom at the Evanoff residence. And here we go again. The last time that happened, was when the three families (the Tobins, the Tuntleys, and the Evanoffs) all had to make a promise to Mayor Peppers to play nice during the poop drop festival despite Walt having to finger cross behind his back. And this time around.
It’s the belt with the train buckle, and Judy knows who had stolen Beef’s special belt from his belt rack. And it’s none other than Beef’s newfound best friend, Walt, who is the suspect behind the theft. Oh boy, this is going to crush Beef going into the second act without having to hear any explanation for why he took it. Judy figured out that it was Walt who took the belt the moment she saw the buckle and the design of the belt that Beef told her and also Ham and Moon onto the bed, and that alone is more than enough for her to dip and alert her brothers on what happened. Telling the Evanoffs that she has a case of diarrhea and plans on doing it at her house, and without the stuff that she brought, once Kima tells Judy that she is about to leave her stuff behind, and should go and retrieve it. Only to end up dipping soon after.
So, we enter the second act of the episode with Judy having to call an emergency meeting with Ham and Moon over what she saw and who is responsible for the theft. Especially when given the all clear by Ham and Moon when saying that Beef is in the woods and should be away from what Judy has to say. Judy is about to tell her story of what happened, going for the dramatic flash of thinking that she is putting up a show, only for Ham and Moon to stop her from doing that and ask her to get to the point because they don’t have time for that. Everyone is on edge here on who took Beef’s special belt. Judy tells her brothers that it was Walt who took the belt and saw it in her own eyes while at the Evanoffs. So, you’d think that little revelation by holding a secret emergency meeting would probably be kept all to themselves and thought that the coast would be cleared because they thought Beef was in the woods away from it all. It’s not like he overheard everything Judy said when she told Ham and Moon that Walt stole the belt, right?
Except for the fact that Beef overheard the whole thing from under the house from start to finish. This explains the screams of agony when he hears that Walt has taken the belt from underneath the house because Beef thought the belt would be there. But going into the next scene with the four now inside the house, with Beef now feeling heartbroken that his new buddy has stolen his belt, as Judy saw earlier over at the Evanoff residence. Trying to get his head together over what he is hearing, that someone like Walt would come in and become friends with him, only to nab the belt that he has in his closet and take it home with him. Not without a clear explanation for why he took it, and that is exactly what Beef is planning on doing. Paying the guy a visit so they can talk things out about why he took it. And hopefully, this little incident will be nothing more than just an accident. Just an accident. So, the rest of the Tobins leave, with Moon taking the wheel this time around instead of letting Judy or Ham drive, who have licenses, by the way, but sure, let Moon take the wheel. And he is pretty good at it, despite being 10 years old, and we see that in “A Chug’s Life Adventure”.
Day turns into night as we transition back to the subplot with Wolf, Honeybee, Jim, and Dorothy all having a stakeout just a few blocks away from the Puckbottom residence as they begin a sting operation of their own to catch them in the act of them being dine-and-dashers. It’s going to be a long night for them to do that without having to, I don’t know, bug the place and monitor their every move. The four might as well improvise to pass the time when doing a stakeout, and that is exactly what they’re doing with Wolf waiting for their pizza to be delivered to their car as he checks on the pizza delivery app to see the status of when their order to arrive. That, and also Jim pulling out a car filled with strips of paper similar to earlier in the episode with Wolf and Honeybee, with their date night, but not in a sexual way, but more of the political aspect. Though given the current political climate that we’re in, it might not be a good idea to do that. At least there’s Would You Rather mixed in that jar, so there’s that. The pizza arrived for them to eat while staking out...
Only to end up being delivered to the Puckbottoms instead, since they’re the nearest house available. Especially with the delivery person, guessing that’s Amelia’s mom doing the delivery because you can see the Degigantico's wordmark on the box if you squint hard enough. They’re upset that their pizza is being delivered to them (the Puckbottoms) and not to them (the Tobins and the Tuntleys) and not treat the damn thing as bait to catch them in the act. You thought that would’ve been the way to go, just to go after them the moment the pizza was dropped off. Just putting it out there. Oh, and it looks like the Puckbottoms are getting the pizza free of charge, as if, once again, they’re freeloading off of this shit. The pizza that was supposed to be for the Tobins and Tuntleys is now in possession of the Puckbottoms. Not to mention, getting it for free instead of having to pay for it, even though the pizza isn’t theirs, just because they’re the nearest house available, this is a war. This is pretty much a war for the Tobins and Tuntleys after seeing what they saw, and now, they need to come up with a new plan to apprehend the couple to make sure they pay their fair share. And a foolproof one in that matter.
Miles away from the Puckbottoms’ house to the Evanoffs’ house as we transition back to the main plot of the episode, with the Tobins outside of the house, but it seems no one is there, with Beef struggling to open the door. And Judy knows why the Evanoffs are out for the night. It was revealed that Walt, Kima, and Dane are at the movie theater to watch a film, so it looks like they’re out of luck for them to break in to find the belt. Or so we thought, if it weren’t for Beef to somehow have a spare key that opens the door to the Evanoffs’ home. Why did he have a spare key for a door that isn’t from his house is up in the air, other than... I would say Walt gave him the key, but... fine, I guess we can roll with that.
The Tobins, once they’re inside the house, continue to search through the bedroom for the missing belt, but alas, it’s nowhere to be found. No belt present, and might as well be treated as a wrongful accusation from Judy after what she thought she saw the exact belt that Beef was looking for, as it was brought up in the description by him earlier in the episode. But again, if they can talk things out and not get into problems and take things civil, like men. But that is going to have to wait because they hear a whistle coming through the hallways, and Beef knows who that whistle belongs to. Ends up being Walt who is coming into the room, causing the Tobins to go and hide in the closet, with Walt coming into the room to get his vest because it looks like he forgot to put it on. He puts on the vest and makes his way towards the mirror, and it looks like Judy’s accusation seems to be correct, as we prepare to close the first half of the episode with him showing off a belt around his waist. A belt with a train as the buckle. Beef’s train belt that he is wearing.
And it looks like this newfound best friendship between the two men has come to a dead end after spotting the belt that was stolen from his rack, with Beef questioning why he took his belt after becoming friends with the guy at the start of the episode as if he was some sort of evil mastermind who knows that he has the belt in his possession. Mostly because Walt says that the belt that Beef kept in his rack belonged to him, as he accused him of stealing the belt, as if he bought the belt first before him. Yes, folks, this is how a friendship comes to a sudden end. Especially a friendship between men and we fight over stupid things that most of the time are civil but can put a strain on a relationship, but some of the time can end in someone getting a bullet in the chest, in GTA. Whether it’s because you’re talking shit about their wife or a parking spot as prime examples. A belt seems childish if you think about it. I get that it’s rare and how special it is regarding the design and backstory, the same way your child and their friend get into a fight over a toy. All we know is that this little feud over the belt and who makes the call on the possession of said belt has pretty much killed this friendship, leaving it close to dead as the first half of the episode comes to a close.
Onto the second half of the episode, and we enter another montage but this time, it’s Beef and Walt no longer friends as they do the things they used to have to share their experiences and hobbies with each other, now back to their lonesome and trying to drag their kids to bond once more. Once again, fighting over something as stupid as a belt that could tear a friendship apart. Like, what are we doing? What are we doing? But yeah, what was supposed to be a good friendship, if not a best friendship between Beef and Walt, had to come to a screeching halt because of the incident over Walt stealing Beef’s belt, which he claims was his before Beef had it in his possession and that was after Beef shown Walt his belt rack at the start of the episode when the thing happened right as the dinner was wrapping up. And it was that little scuffle over the belt that put a strain on Beef and Walt’s friendship like the US and every country since January. Unfriended like it’s Facebook. I know that they patched things up in the end, but come on, what are we doing?
We check up on the subplot for a bit at the guest cabin, get used to the current design by the way, because come Thursday night with the first of the double header, things are going to be looking quite different. Spoilers, by the way. But yeah, going back to the subplot and after the stakeout by the house owned by the Puckbottoms falls flat in their faces, Wolf and Honeybee, along with Jim and Dorothy, now have to come up with a new plan to get back at the couple to they can pay their fair share for once. And so far, through a notepad that has each idea that was brought up by each one in the guest cabin while having a drink of margaritas seems to be far-fetched if you think about it. If I were to guess on who came up with either item from the first three, since the alligator idea was Wolf’s, the petty tweet is Honeybee’s, the drone strike is Dorothy’s, and the moose telegram is Jim’s. And it looks like neither of their ideas will be going forward, and instead, they’re going for the trap option by sending them a fake coupon to a restaurant, free of charge, and once their names are called is when they strike. That will be the plan that they’ll be going with, despite that Wolf still wants to try out the alligator plan as if he wants to be Florida Man.
We go into the next day with Beef entering Maude’s for a quick bite to eat, and oh boy, this is already turning into an awkward and hostile confrontation once he spots Walt at the booth, who is using an extensive amount of sugar in his cup. The first awkward confrontation since the fallout over the belt issue, and things are about to turn ugly between the two men, with either man asking the other to get out of the restaurant, hopefully not in a more racially charged variety of things. But more of men acting like children, feuding over something as small as a belt. Once again, it’s not a race issue, and let’s hope it’s nothing like that; it’s just a couple of grown men acting like children. Getting to the point where Maude has no choice but to kick Beef and Walt out of the restaurant, before getting into a physical fight before Maude has to break it up as if it’s a night out at a Waffle House.
It has gotten to the point where, going into the next scene, around sunset, you have Judy, Ham, and Moon, along with Kima and Dane, meeting up at a private spot in the forest where the stump is so that their fathers don’t spot them talking with each other. No, seriously, the beef between the two adults is slowly getting serious that it might be getting to the point where their fathers might place a ban on their kids to visit each other and for their friendship to be called off. Which is a very hard reach to come up with that as if it’s sort of like Season 1 of Bob’s Burgers in the episode “Burger War” with Bob’s disdain towards Jimmy Pesto that he questions why Tina would go after Jimmy Jr, and the kids having to befriend the Pesto Twins. Which is bad for everyone because the feud isn’t that fucking deep to begin with, especially when having to come across each other at school. But it would also be bad for Judy and Kima because, like their fathers before the belt situation blew up, they are best friends, and their fathers feuding to the point where they want their friendship, along with Ham and Moon to Kima and Dane and the latter to do the same, just because, again, acting like children over the damn belt.
So now, they need to come up with a plan to get them to make up before things worsen between the two to the point where both families could be at each other’s throats. And everyone doesn’t think a giant mousetrap would cut it with chainsaws to serve as bait. That’s where Judy and Kima step in to come up with a better solution to have their fathers to make up by having them wear some sort of clothing to get over their feud. And the two girls know that because they used to have a fight like what their fathers are currently going through in fifth grade over a boy named Bobby Seattle who moved to Lone Moose, and their teacher had them wear overalls, which is an odd choice to get over a fight, but it worked out in the end for them. But instead of forcing Beef and Walt to wear overalls like what Judy and Kima had to wear to get over their fight, it’s going to be a belt to tie the two up. And Judy knows the type of belt that is required to do the job for them once we get to the end of the third act of the episode.
Day turns to night once again as we transition to the subplot once again where the sting operation is about to take place. You have Wolf and Honeybee, along with Dorothy and Jim, waiting for their time to strike as the Puckbottoms are about to take the bait that they laid out. The waiter takes the Puckbottoms to their table, where they question him if this is a party of two, why are there four available seats at their table? Especially when getting a table that is suitable for more than two people for a dinner table.
And that’s more than enough for Wolf, Honeybee, Dorothy, and Jim to rush their way to the table where their suspects at large will be sitting, and plan on joining them for the night. Hoping that tonight is the night that they don’t pull any bullshit out of their asses to get out of paying for their end of the bill and do their job for once, which is to pay the fucking bill. And it’s going to be a long one for this one, so that once they order their food and eat it that they better pray to God that they spend their hard-earned money to pay for their dinner without having to create bullshit excues. I know that the economy nowadays is uh... topsy turvy as of this moment, even though we’re on our way towards a recession, pay your goddamn bill.
So, entering the final scene of the third act of the episode, and about to go into the fourth and final act with the plan enacted by the kids to go into effect once Judy, Ham, and Moon brings Beef to the construction lot at night, the site where the Beef and Walt kickstarted their friendship before having to hit a dent by the belt situation, along with Kima and Dane to bring Walt to the exact site to have the plan go into effect. As expected, the two meet, and their conversation is about to turn hostile, once again, grown men acting like children over something as small as a belt. And that should be more than enough for the five to quickly make their move to restrain their respective fathers by tying them up with the double-wide belt that Judy had to take from the rack in Beef’s closet and have Dane to lift the excavator to the sky for them to make up there while everyone is watching for this to work.
But going into the fourth and final act of the episode, it’s slowly taking its time for these two to just make up since the belt situation is still fresh in their mind. And these things take a while, and it’s going to be a long night to get them to make up. I mean, at least they’re talking things out with Beef asking Walt why he took the belt, hoping for a better explanation for his reason for why he took the item in question from his closet. But Walt continues to make his claim that the belt belonged to him. Saying that he got the belt first as if he’s accusing Beef of stealing it when looking at the rack at the start of the episode during the montage, and we’ll get to that in a bit, but that’s more than enough to add more fuel to the fire in their feud. To the point where the two try to throw some hands at each other, even though it’s mostly Walt trying to pinch Beef’s love hurdles, and Beef giving Walt a wedgie before having to shove each other, despite being tied together by the belt. I mean, at some point, if there’s any last-ditch effort to wrap up this feud, even though they do make up in the end, but still, if there’s any last-ditch effort to settle this feud...
I’m just saying. I’m just saying, no Diddy. No Diddy. I could say the other one that this slang is replacing, but uh... I don’t want to get cancelled. In GTA. In GTA. But still, it feels like a possible last-ditch effort to put an end to this. And I say that because there was that one American Dad episode where Roger and Stan had a disagreement with Roger having to be a director of a play and Stan having to be a part of it after his botched performance during a sting operation. And the line that caught people off guard was from Hailey who said the suggestion when listening to the feud between Stan and Roger. Pretty much picked that up from her psychology class. But it does feel like it might be the last-ditch effort to put this little feud to rest, as if it’s pretty much the adult way of hugging things out, even though they’ll tucker themselves out once we get back to them for a bit.
We head back to the restaurant just an hour or two later with Wolf and Honeybee, along with the Tuntleys and the Puckbottoms, finishing up their dinner for the night. Hoping that tonight is the night that the Puckbottoms don’t bullshit their way out of the table and pay their fair share for once. Trying to play koi with the Puckbottoms as if they’re attempting to guilt-trip them into paying their portion because the dinner they got is expensive. Though you think that they would probably at least continue what they’re doing, which is playing koi, or try to guilt-trip them into paying. Though probably for the best to just tie them down so that they don’t make a break for it. Especially once the waiter comes in with the bill for the food they order and thought that shit was going to be sweet as if the Puckbottoms learned their lesson and will be finally swallow their pride and pay the bill with their own cas-
Yeah, they ain’t doing shit. They made their escape the moment the other waiter came in with another bill. The actual bill from the actual waiter, rather, waitress. Turns out the guy who gave the party of six the “bill” while the Puckbottoms are at the table before having Wolf lose his guard that causes them to dip isn’t actually a waiter at all. Jim knows that because he recognizes him from the bus stop... okay? And the way that things played out that caused the Puckbottoms to get out of paying once again, having the Tobins and Tuntleys to paid for their dinner, which would burn the crap out of their wallet like it’s a leftover burnt chicken nugget because the stuff they ordered is expensive in what was supposed to be their getback at the couple. It is almost as if they knew, they knew about what the Tobins and Tuntleys are planning on doing to go after them as a getback and decide to outsmart the four. Hence, the woman of the couple giving the Tobins and Tuntleys a smug look before departing. So, I’ll just get this out of the way for the four who failed to capture the Puckbottoms and convince them to pay their bills... y’all fucking suck.
At least we got a new date night couple friends between Wolf, Honeybee, and the Tuntleys... despite that Jim and Dorothy are like 20-something years older than them, but at least it’s not somewhat of a total loss for the two couples after having their bank account having to be torched twice by the Puckbottoms to pay for their food mixed with theirs. And that should be enough for either of the two parties to be date night friends. Even though, much like the Tobins and the Evanoffs, you have the Tobins and the Tuntleys are already close friends, and I say that because Beef is a part of the mom’s group, and Moon is good friends with Henry. But sure, looks like we got a date night friendship with a married couple who are twice their age and all it took was a failed stakeout to go after the couple that fucked them over financially. Especially since they’re heading over to a McDonald’s, sorry, I mean McSnowald’s... seriously, they can get away with product placement with every other company, but Dungeons and Dragons, McDonald’s, and TikTok are off limits? Yeah, okay. Okay, the laws of television are weird, but sure.
So, onto the two-minute warning of the episode and after all that fighting and shouting, Beef and Walt are finally calm while being tied down and up in the air via the excavator with, once again, Beef asking Walt why he took his belt in the first place and Walt once again telling Beef that the belt belonged to him. And he really meant it. Because Beef tells Walt that Kathleen gave the belt to him on his birthday while she was pregnant with Ham, because, according to Beef, this was the only time she can remember the guy’s birthday. Guessing that Beef’s birthday would be weeks or a few months before Ham was conceived, and I’m guessing the birthday makeout is what led to Judy because Ham and Judy were born nine months apart, so who knows. However, Walt now says that yes, it was his belt. It was his belt that he bought for himself while living in his apartment alone, long before meeting Esther, or I guess dating Esther at the time, meaning that Kima would’ve been conceived around or later than Judy’s, but the belt was Walt’s before Kathleen had to come in and steal it and handing it over to Beef as if it’s her way to be nice for once to him. If playing nice includes stabbing Walt with a ballpoint pen. Almost feels like an attempted murder and a hate crime mixed into that pot.
But it does explain this small scene during the montage at the start of the episode that blossomed their friendship when Beef shows Walt his belt rack, with the train belt being a part of the collection in his closet. This was a realization from Walt that he knows what happened to his belt after Kathleen stole it, and ends up probably accusing Beef of theft when the friendship came crashing down. So, I guess you could say that it’s sort of Kathleen’s fault for the mess, but Walt didn’t even know up until now that it was his belt that Beef had in his collection before Walt took it back to his place. Beef just wished that Walt had told him that the belt that he presented to him during the montage was his, without having to turn it into an ugly feud, but he didn’t because he doesn’t want to ruin that. So yeah, as expected, Beef and Walt have made up after setting their feud to rest, and thus, their friendship will live on once their kids lower them down to the ground and untie them before heading home for the night.
And we arrive at the final scene of the episode, where Beef and Walt are shopping for belts for each other, and they come across one with a belt buckle that references the movie Face/Off, featuring the faces of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage on one buckle. And they end up pressing the buy button for an order of two belts for each one to wear to pretty much signify their friendship. And the moral of this story: Always have someone who is true and faithful. But also, hopefully one of the items you have doesn’t has ties to your buddy and could have you and the other to act like freaking children.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So, all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of The Great North? This was an alright episode, and it might be one of those episodes where you have to decide which plot you like best between the main plot with Beef and Walt or the subplot with Wolf and Honeybee, along with the Tuntleys. But regardless, you have to hand the episode some credit for trying to give certain side characters the spotlight, whether it’s Walt in the main plot or Jim and Dorothy in the subplot, as if we’re treating the three families, the Tobins, the Tuntleys, and the Evanoffs as close allies and it’s not because their kids are friends with each other, but it’s more of the line of the adults.
The main plot was fine for the most part. It’s nice that they gave Walt a major role in this episode regardless of whether it’s a main plot or a subplot, but it’s nice that they expanded him, even if it’s about him and Beef becoming best friends, and a quick one at that for that to blossom in a snap in the first few minutes of the episode at the construction site. Of course, a small and simple item like a belt had to come and ruin that for the rest of the episode and up until the end, to the point where their kids have to step up and fix their relationship after having to deal with the feud between two men acting like total children. It was expected that they would make up in the end, and their friendship would stay alive, but at least the episode gave Walt massive screentime for this one. Especially with his friendship with Beef, and quickly became best friends like their daughters Judy and Kima. And Walt had yet to have an episode before this one, so might as well give him one right as the show is on the verge of cancellation. Better late than never, I suppose.
And the same goes for the subplot with Wolf and Honeybee having to team up with the Tuntleys when attempting to go after the couple who had to dine and dash, leaving them to pay their bill. Of course, the sting fell flat on their faces the moment they got the perfect opportunity when laying out the trap, as if the couple knew what they were up to by the end of the episode. But at least we got something between the two, that being the Wolf, Honeybee, and the Tuntleys, despite the 20-something year gap between the two married couples, so I guess that’s something to serve as a silver lining despite having their wallets having to be burnt twice just for having to pay for that couple’s portion of the bill. So, I guess it’s not a total loss if I have to be honest here. So, there’s that. At least they expanded the side characters in this episode, and I’ll take that as a win-win at least. So, I’ll give “MIB: Men in Belts Adventure”...
A 7 out of 10. But that’s my opinion, and I want to hear yours in the comments below. We got a double header coming up for The Great North, so I guess the review schedule will be simple for this week’s slate, especially since there’s no new episodes the week after on June 26, and that would be Bob’s Burgers, as usual, with “The Lost City of Atlantic”, either late Sunday or early Monday. The first of the double header for The Great North, which is “Super Smash Lovers Adventure”, is either late Wednesday or early Thursday for release. And then the second of the double header, since there’s no new episode on June 26, “Serendipi-Beef Adventure”, that review should be out the following late Sunday or early Monday. So, a heads up with the review release schedule for this week’s set of episodes only.
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