The year is almost over, folks. Well, by the time the review is posted... well, it would still be October, but still, nearly the end of the year. I know you’re probably wondering, or not, as in you’re saying that no one asked, but will say it anyway, about the year-end countdown for 2025. I apologize for not doing the 2024 version because a lot of shit had happened. Mostly because I ran into some problems, and also, FOX did not know what to do with the scheduling back when The Great North was still around. Supposed to have one to end 2024, but FOX had to air the Season 5 premiere of The Great North on the week of Christmas without any warning, unless you followed me on the socials, instead of the first week of January. Ditto on the Bob’s Burgers episode “Advice Things are Ad-Nice” without any goddamn reason for why they did it. Hope to God, they don’t do that again for this December.
In this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, Louise and Gene must clear Tina’s name after Tina got fired from her job as hall monitor, as Bob is being forced to become Gretchen’s moustache model, as he plans on getting a new photo at the DMV in my spoilerific review of the fourth episode of Season 16 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “The Skids in the Hall”.
I don’t know what y’all’s definition of the word “skid” is when the script cover came out last year for this episode. Normally, when looking back at the script cover last year, you’d probably think it’s another “mad pooper” episode if you remember that back in Season 3, when Zeke did the deed of being the mysterious assailant who defecated in areas of the school because his family moved around a lot as the reason why. Thinking someone else would be doing the job for shits, no pun intended, and giggles. But some of y’all had that big brain moment when realizing the other definition of the word is, tying into this episode. Especially when tying in with the episode idea of Tina once again as the hall monitor and doing her duties.
It’s pretty much different from the likes of Season 5’s “Midday Run” or Season 11’s “Fingers-loose” because, as I said time and time again, each episode has its own identity. In Season 5’s “Midday Run”, it’s Tina planning on taking Zeke to the principal's office after being caught trying to take the mascot, before losing him, and then turning it into a wild chase before apprehending him, before getting caught by Rudy because she lost sight of him. That was her buying into the idea that Zeke stole the mascot costume on purpose and having to make up a lie that it was because he wanted to perform for his grandmother before her surgery, only to end up believing that Zeke was telling the truth. Going for the notion that sometimes, you have to break at least one rule when donning the badge, when having to choose what’s considered good and bad.
And again, in Season 11’s “Fingers-loose” with Tina, as a hall monitor, once again, having to choose between good and bad when the whole finger puppet fad was going on. A fad that Mr. Frond wants Tina to put an end to, but ends up secretly performing in the boiler room. Was getting the positive attention she was getting through the orange vest... only for views to be turned against her when being stopped by Frond. Turning against her before having to disrupt the presentation days later to regain her popularity. And also, everyone not knowing that it was Gene who made the call because Louise was sucking the joy out of performing finger puppets by turning it into a business.
And now, in this week’s episode, even though it has Tina as the hall monitor, it’s pretty much the Louise and Gene Show after finding out that someone was sabotaging Tina, which led to her being laid off from her duties as a hall monitor. Especially with the episode’s title having the word “skid” in said title, which ties in with what the episode has to offer. And we might as well get to the nitty-gritty of things. This is “The Skids in the Hall”.
The episode starts with Tina at Mr. Frond’s office for some counseling, and right off the bat, when it comes to why Tina is there to start the episode, not even a minute in, and already been fired from her hall monitor duties. And it’s not the kind of episode where we have to retrace our steps all the way back to how many hours or days leading up to this exact moment that last us an episode, that didn’t happen, but instead, it took a good few minutes for Tina to tell what happened that led to her losing her position as hall monitor by Mr. Frond. Well, at least Frond gave Tina the option of counseling after losing her job when having to deal with what just happened, so that’s something. But anyway, onto Tina’s side of the story on how she got the pink slip from her duties as hall monitor.
Flashing back to a few hours ago with her and the other hall monitors, quite the extended cast we got there in comparison to Season 5’s “Midday Run”, where there’s only two, that being Tina herself and Rudy, and now, it’s an extended cast because times are a changing. Tina, along with the other hall monitors, was given tasks to be in their position ahead of the passing period in-between classes by the head hall monitor, a 7th grader named Maggie, voiced by Kate Miccuci, recognized that voice from somewhere, as she gave everyone their positions on where they should be stationed for the month with Tina being stationed at the north hall on the second floor. Making sure no one runs through the hall because it would lead to injury, even if you have to, because you don’t want to be late for class, knowing how big the school is, filled with K-8 students, but that’s not going to stop the hall monitors from having to do their jobs. Also, the fact that Tina was previously the south hall on the second floor, but that spot now goes to one of the other hall monitors, a boy named Stewart. Anyway, Tina did as she was told once everyone left the front office, going into the next scene. So far, all good.
That was until she noticed a splooshing sound down the stairs in the first hall, which turned out to be a broken water fountain, and tried to be a good person and fix it herself because the fountain caused quite a problem. Causing some ponding, and if you know what ponding can do in the streets whenever it rains, right? Yeah, it would cause some skidding. Though that was mainly due to piss poor drainage. We’re talking about a hallway where there’s no drainage nearby, and we’re talking about a school that is a couple of feet up, about 1-2, maybe 2-3 feet up high. Though it would be a total nightmare in the event there’s a nor’easter or a tropical system that would cause some storm surge. Anyway, Tina noticed some ponding from the broken water fountain and was about to fix it because it could cause some problems downstairs, but just as she was about to do that, whoops, a student got injured after slipping and falling. And guess who got blamed for this?
Tina. Frond scolded Tina for leaving her post as a result of a student, a 7th-grade boy, falling to an injury. And you might as well treat this as a debate over what happened. What do you think Tina was supposed to do? Just stay there on the second floor as she was originally told, and let someone who would walk about on the first floor, where the broken water fountain is and slip and fall to cause a sprain or a fracture? No one is stationed there, and Tina was nearby. Mind you, no one is stationed downstairs where the water fountain is, and Tina was nearby at her post. So, are you okay with someone falling victim to the puddle that would result in a bruised part of the body from a broken water fountain because you’re not allowed to leave your post? I get that you have to keep the peace in the hallways so that no one would get injured, but when you noticed another part of the area just a couple of feet away that was left unsupervised, especially noticing something that would pose a hazard without looking like a pool of water from a broken water fountain, you’re in a tough spot on whether to do your job and leave it alone or do the right thing and prevent a possible tragedy.
It’s like if you’re a security guard at a workplace, like a nightclub or an airport, and your job is to keep guard to make sure nothing bad happens, only to come across someone who, let’s say, has a medical emergency, and you want to treat the person or at least clear the way until medical help arrives, which is good because it would’ve prevented a tragedy. But whoops, you left your post, and now, there’s a scuffle with a few people injured, with some in critical condition. Possibly dead as a result. In GTA, of course. It might as well be a Kobiyashi Maru situation if you’re Tina, because you can’t choose one option to keep one side safe, only for the other to not be oh so lucky, just because you have a duty to perform. Something has to try, but that’s life for you if you plan or are already working on keeping everyone safe... unless you’re an ICE agent, then you can go fuck off. In GTA.
But yeah, Tina got scolded for leaving her post, which led to a 7th grader getting badly bruised as a result of not stopping them, in what was supposed to be her position that she was assigned. Especially because the broken water fountain was in Tina’s old post that Stuart was assigned. But Stewart was somehow MIA when all of this was happening. And Tina can’t help it. She had to do something to make sure an injury doesn’t happen on the first floor, even though what happened back there in the post she was assigned to would’ve been prevented. But even if Tina was dealing with a dilemma, and yes, has to do something because the person who was supposed to be stationed was MIA throughout all of this, even if Frond is trying to say that Stewart has ADHD and can’t focus on the task at hand, she’s not getting out of it scot-free. Tina was hoping for a warning because of what happened, but apparently, the complaints from the students over how she handled the halls during her watch with one of the complaints from one of the students, I shit you not, shown some North Korean type behavior, holy fucking shit, there is no way Tina would get out of it and leaving her post to deal with a broken water fountain that led to a student getting injured was the last offense. And thus, she got fired from her job.
And that’s where we are at. Out of a job as a hall monitor and don’t want to be that guy, but uh... what are the chances of that going into her permanent record? Oh, that high? Oh yeah, it might be GGs. It might be GGs for her if colleges were to look at her resume. But, yeah, it’s a hard process for Tina to get used to now that she’s no longer a hall monitor. Treating it as if a part of her had been ripped out, all because of having to abandon her post that she was assigned. Again, what would you do when having to choose either following the rules by leaving your post or checking up on the other side to make sure no one gets hurt? It might be a lose-lose situation if you’re Tina, and either outcome would result in her losing her position as hall monitor. Even if the person who was originally supposed to be in their position, i.e., Stewart, mysteriously went MIA, and had her do the heavy lifting. So, Tina’s session comes to an end as she leaves Frond’s office, the first of four or five, as she is still reeling over her being newly unemployed, as she is being picked up by Louise and Gene on their way to lunch to cheer her up. But right before that, and for Tina to take a quick, sad bathroom break that doesn’t involve crying for the whole lunch period...
Louise and Gene notice that something isn’t quite right when it comes to the Tina situation, that have her hall monitor credentials stripped away when coming across Branca fixing the broken water fountain that Tina tried to fix to prevent a possible hazard that led to a 7th grader getting injured at her post that she left behind for a bit. Branca pulled out the culprit behind the broken water fountain, which turned out to be a crumpled-up paper towel that was soaked, which somehow got into the water fountain. Because Brance said that the crumpled-up paper towel was meant to be in the toilet, NOT the water fountain. So, the fact that the paper towel somehow got crammed into the water fountain raises some major eyebrows for Louise and Gene, which led to Tina’s sudden firing. And it’s something that they want to get to the bottom of. Once again, going for the “they mess with one of us, they mess with all of us” trope when it comes to the siblings. And it’s not like with what we saw earlier this year from last year with “Wild Steal-ions”, where Tina doesn’t need their help. Something doesn’t sit right with this, and it needs to be settled as the episode progresses.
Onto the subplot of the episode at the restaurant, Bob is all set for an appointment at the DMV. Apparently, the reason why Bob has to make the call to book an appointment there is not because he has to go and renew his license or state ID, which might as well be, but it’s mainly because of the photo he took from his last visit. And uh... the photo above the paragraph speaks for itself. Yeah, I can see where Tina had those picture day jitters when staring at the camera. Took a lot of forms to fill out, but it’s done, and he is ready to get a new one in just a couple of days.
And right as Bob put away the laptop, Gretchen entered to pick up a to-go order that she plans on eating... while going through her gynecology appointment. Yeah, I'm definitely not going to question that other than Gretchen, I guess, being Gretchen. But that’s not important for this subplot; it’s her looking for someone to serve as a model because her salon, as of late, isn’t doing so hot. She needs more clients to enter her business, so she thought getting to expanding her job to include giving men haircuts would be the way to go. But she needs the right piece for her business to boom. That’s where Bob comes in, because Gretchen needs a male model for facial hair like the photos you've seen on the wall whenever you go to a salon or barbershop to pick which haircut you want to go with. Various styles to pick... unless you’re in North Korea, where the only style for men would be the Dear Leader style. So, Bob is being forced to do it despite he doesn’t want to do it because he has to take a photo in just a couple of days. But he can’t get out of it, so he’s pretty much stuck and will have to endure what style Gretchen will do to his mustache.
Going back to the school with the kids to get their food for the day. Tina is still upset over losing her hall monitor credentials for abandoning her post, which led to a 7th grader getting injured. Still feeling bad over what happened. But Louise and Gene, on the other hand, they know that something isn’t right after getting their first clue after seeing Branca removing the paper towels that were lodged into the water fountain, which caused the thing to be broken. And they notice something else that screams unusual, which led to Tina getting fired from her position as hall monitor. And it’s regarding the 7th grader who fell into injury after Tina abandoned her post to try to fix the water fountain.
A 7th-grade boy named Cole Riddley, who got up to his seat and bragged about something to his friends. The guy who claimed that the fall was under Tina’s watch twisted his ankle, but noticed something wasn’t right about all of this because his ankle seemed fine. No sprain. No fracture. Not even some pressure on the ankle. It’s just a walk-off type non-injury as if nothing happened unless it’s a small bruise somewhere around the body that isn’t the ankle, or probably got a case of CTE in the process. But that alone, ending the first act of the episode, of course, raises some eyebrows from the siblings as they now put some pieces together that what happened back there that got Tina fired was no accident. It wasn’t even an accident at all. This shit might as well be intentional. As if someone within the hall monitor community, or out, may have been targeting Tina. And ol’ Cole from across the aisle, who faked his ankle injury, has been named the suspect in this investigation.
Onto the second act of the episode, hours later, after school, at the restaurant with the kids returning home for the day. Telling Bob and Linda about what happened from Tina being stripped of her hall monitor credentials to now, having to find out that she may have been set up by a student, as if she were targeted. Of course, Linda isn’t all too pleased with all of this about what Cole did to Tina, since faking the ankle injury that cost Tina her position as hall monitor. Pretty much allowing Tina to be angry over what happened, even though that little advice could potentially jeopardize the idea of having to question Cole the next day at school. Shades of what we saw in Season 7’s “They Serve Horses, Don’t They” with the horse meat. This might as well be her horse meat moment. Oh yeah, and also, a small tidbit on the subplot on what Gretchen is planning on doing to Bob’s mustache when sending various photos of different styles that she wants to try out to Bob. You know he could’ve just said no to the offer. Especially since, again, he has a picture that he has to retake in a couple of days at the DMV, and hoping that his upper lip will be left alone by the end of the week. Knowing Bob, yeah, that ain’t freaking happening.
On the next day at school, and so begin the investigation to clear Tina’s name with the siblings entering the 7th Grade hallway of the school. Tina, Gene, and Louise walked up to Cole right as he was closing his locker. And it looks like more suspicion has been raised regarding the incident that just happened the day before, which led to Tina losing her credentials as a hall monitor. We know that Cole didn’t injure his ankle as a result of what happened as what the three saw at the cafeteria as if nothing had happened. But it’s his left arm that got Louise’s attention because that’s where the bruise is located. Cole tries to play innocent by saying that he got it as part of the fall, as if what happened the day before wasn’t all that serious, which would cause a fracture, let alone a sprain.
And remember when I said that Linda allowed Tina to be angry over what happened, which could probably jeopardize the investigation? Yeah, Tina can’t keep herself together when coming across the guy. Already blaming him for getting her fired and was about to murder the guy for what happened, which is very un-hall monitor-like behavior, despite she is no longer a hall monitor. Wanting to take the bad cop route, shades of “They Serve Horses, Don’t They” after finding out that the shipment of meat that Bob got for cheap was made from horses, and was moments away from having to jeopardize the investigation and cause a scene. Nearly had that which would’ve jeopardized the investigation and not helped Tina’s case to get her job back. No wonder people had problems with her during her time as a hall monitor. She just can’t control herself as if she’s doing her duty for the love of the game. So, Louise and Gene have to pull Tina away because what she is doing is not helping her case. Her being a hothead isn’t going to solve things when being around Cole. I get that she’s upset over what happened, and she has a right to be, but getting into a would-be altercation isn’t going to solve things.
Checking up on the subplot of the episode, back to the restaurant, where you have Gretchen finishing up what she is doing to Bob regarding his mustache. And the results are... let’s say... interesting, to say the least. Especially once Bob gets a first look for himself through Gretchen’s phone. Losing a couple of facial hairs on the upper lip just for Gretchen to use as a canvas for her to expand her business. We’re treating Bob’s mustache like it’s the freaking East Wing of the White House. Being torn down before our very eyes. And you can already tell that Bob doesn’t want to do this. He really doesn’t, mostly because, remember, he has to go get his picture retaken at the DMV in a couple of days. And having to become Gretchen’s guinea pig with his mustache taking a beating. And this is only just the start of all of this. Bob could’ve just said no to what Gretchen is doing to him, especially since he has a photo to retake in a couple of days, or at least go for a simple trim as a compromise, but can’t do that. Mostly because that would make a bad friend, and also, we know how terrifying Gretchen can be. So, it’s pretty much an offer that Bob can’t refuse.
Going back to the main plot with the Belcher kids, just as we are about to wrap up the first half of the episode in a couple of scenes. And more suspicions are being picked up during the investigation, like it’s a couple of items that were spilled by a truck that went through a massive wreck that is causing a traffic jam on the freeway. Especially with Branca passing by the Belcher siblings when carrying a pair of shoes that belonged to a student just as he is about to put them away in the lost and found. And it has been wash, rinse, and repeat with the same shoes that a random student left behind, and for Branca to pick them up as if it were Groundhog Day for the guy. But once again, more suspicion on what is going on that led to Tina’s firing as hall monitor. Especially when coming across a certain area where it all started.
Leading us to the south hall of the second floor, or as Tina calls it, the place where Tina got fired for leaving her post. They see Stewart at his post from the other side of the hall at the intersection, where he is on duty during flex period, so anything can happen during that time. Stewart is keeping guard while eating what appears to be a bag of candy. A candy called pink sugar puffs, quite the candy that someone like Stewart would have in his possession. Especially when rubbing some of the sugar onto his vest, which, to Tina, is pretty much a big no-no because, like a police or military uniform, you have to keep that tidy, however, it looks like their suspicion might be coming true as we prepare to close out the first half of the episode, as they see Stewart leaving his post, which is bad because that is what got Tina fired. But Stewart doesn’t care, and I know that Frond did bring up earlier that he has ADHD, so his attention deficit isn’t all that great. What he is doing right now doesn’t seem right about all of this. Especially after leaving his post and having Tina do all of the work that led to her firing.
And especially, seeing Cole and the other 7th-grade boys doing some skidding across the hall like it was nothing, as they skid through the hallway without anyone looking, no teacher or hall monitor looking, makes you wish this school had freaking cameras installed when overlooking all of this, doing the crime. Upper arms hitting the walls hard to the point where the arm would have to feel some pressure, like you saw the bruise on Cole’s arm from earlier in the second act of the episode. And there you have it. Tina was set up. A couple of 7th graders, Cole included, put Tina on blast by bribing Stewart with the candy for him to leave his post and have Tina fix the broken water fountain, probably caused by them by lodging crumpled up paper towels into the fountain to create a spillage, so that Tina can get fired by having Cole to serve as the person to fake an ankle injury, issuing a complaint that led to said firing, so that they can do whatever the fuck they want like skidding through the hallway. Treating it as if they knew that Tina would stand in the way just for being a total stickler to the rules. And knowing that people have been complaining over how Tina runs the halls just for being Mr. Frond’s lackey, it’s like they knew they had to come up with a plan to make sure Tina loses her guard, and setting her up with what happened at the start of the episode would be the way to go.
I’m not saying that those 7th-grade boys are like evil masterminds or something, even though what they did pretty much sounded like they were just trying to get someone like Tina to lose her job so they can do whatever the fuck they want, like skidding down the hallway and having to bribe a hall monitor would be gullible enough to accept it. That is pretty much Corruption 101. This is a textbook definition of what corruption looks like in public safety, like the police or the military. And the corruption is what led to Tina becoming the victim in this whole mess because of Stewart leaving his post, and for Cole to skid right as Tina left her post for a bit to fix the broken water fountain to do the deed by faking an ankle injury, despite that it was his arm that took the most damage, but had to go and twist the story so that he and the other 7th graders get off scot-free and for Tina to get the pink slip like she’s a government employee during the ongoing shutdown.
I have to applaud this episode for having to expand the student body at Wagstaff School to focus on the 7th graders. I say that because most of the time, whenever the show focuses on the school, it only focuses on the 4th, 6th, and 8th graders because of Louise, Gene, and Tina, respectively, with the most attention of the three being Louise and the 4th graders and Tina and the 8th graders. Mainly Louise and some 4th graders like Rudy and the Pesto Twins. And equal timing for Tina and some of the 8th graders, mainly Jimmy Jr, Zeke, Tammy, and Jocelyn. Good God, we really need to expand the 6th graders in this bitch. But giving the spotlight to the 7th graders was something in this episode to give people to tell you that “Hey, you know it’s not just the 4th, 6th, and 8th graders, right? There are other grades in the school” was interesting. Something that should’ve been done in the past fifteen seasons of the show. And we only know at least three that we all know so much throughout the show, who are in odd-numbered grades at Wagstaff. Mainly the fifth graders with Megan and Benj, and the seventh graders with Darryl. Other than that, those 7th-grade boys are pretty much demons. They are demons to pull something like that to get Tina fired, just so they can do something as dangerous as skidding. And I’m pretty sure that most of the 7th graders at Wagstaff in a nutshell. And the only good 7th grader within the bunch...
Is the one who we haven’t seen in a really long ass time. Not since when COVID was still a thing in 2022, which was the movie... speaking role-wise, of course. I know he was there last season for a quick scene in “Don’t Stop Be-cheesin’”, but still. Show my boy some respect because he’s pretty much the only seventh grader within the student body who hasn’t done anything wrong, unlike Cole and the others, who would pull something like pulling some sort of heist to get Tina fired. Even though there are some moments like ratting the escape plan to Millie, accidentally pressing the wrong button that nearly killed them, thinking it’s a good idea to a scheme to win their crush’s attention by fake dating, and having to kick Gene out for not knowing a lot of notes other than the ones he’s familiar with... okay, so, he’s not perfect. Then again, so does everyone. And out of the many 7th graders in this school, he’s pretty much the best of the bunch, just by... virtue of default.
And we know that Tina isn’t all too pleased after realizing what happened earlier in the week, as we enter the second half of the episode, later into the night, with everyone at the dinner table. You think that by now, Tina has all that she needs to go and alert Frond about all of this, right? Well, no. Even though Frond is the one who makes the decision and oversees the hall monitor program, she would have to go to the head hall monitor to make the call, and that would be Maggie. And that she will be planning on doing and hoping she doesn’t dig deeper into this rabbit hole. Well, it could be worse, Tina... you could be Bob. Continuing to deal with hit after hit of having the mustache being abused by trimming. I mean, at this point, Bob... you better shave that shit off. You’d better shave that shit off. As much as everyone here isn’t all too keen on the idea of the upper lip being covered by the facial hair, not since all the way back to Season 1, it might be your only option as the episode progresses. You could’ve said no, Bob. You could’ve said no. Especially since picture day is right around the corner at the DMV.
Onto the next day at school, Tina enters the front office right as every other hall monitor leaves the office to head off to their assigned posts. And even though Tina doesn’t have a job anymore as a hall monitor, she has a complaint to file regarding what just transpired when having to talk to Maggie in private. Even though it’s just the two of them, with Ms. Selbo just minding her business in the background. Tina tells Maggie about what she has seen and heard regarding Stewart and Cole that led to her firing. Trying to tell her that she may have been set up just for the 7th graders, including Cole, to do whatever the hell they want, and also putting their bodies on the line like they’re doing some dumb TikTok trend. But uh-oh, what is this that Tina is seeing right as she was about to file a complaint to Maggie over what happened?
A stain on her vest. A stain that looks like an excessive amount of sugar, pink sugar to be exact, on her vest. Like Stewart earlier, desecrating the vest. And in Tina’s head, she now knows that Maggie was in on this situation that got Tina fired from her position at the start of the episode. So, rather than blabbing it out, Tina tries to play it cool and throw a curveball to protect herself. Hoping not to cause any problems after what she just saw just now when seeing the stain on the vest. Going from the skidding in the halls and the bribery to a banana peel that was dropped, just so she doesn’t expose Maggie right away, and could create some problems between the two. So, Tina leaves without having to file a complaint, knowing that she now knows that Maggie is in cahoots with everything that had been going on throughout the week that led to Tina’s initial firing.
Tina leaves the office and catches up to Louise and Gene, going into the next scene at the lockers. Telling her siblings the news that Maggie is in cahoots in all of this. Being bribed with pink sugar puffs, and if the head hall monitor is in on this, then this is where we have problems, that someone who is a higher up, like Maggie, is a part of this situation like she’s an NBA player or coach that got caught up in a gambling scheme that involved the freaking mafia if the 7th grade class is being treated as one. Rudy comes across the siblings on his way to his post, only to be cornered by Tina, thinking that Rudy might be in on this. Treating it as if the entire hall monitor community is corrupted as hell. Of course, no stain on Rudy on his vest. Plus, something like pink sugar puffs, which, knowing the stains, should at least be treated like it’s a couple of mini powdered donuts, would probably kill him. It would kill him.
Louise talks to Rudy to explain the situation regarding Maggie, Stewart, and a couple of 7th-grade boys. Telling them about the skidding issue regarding the 7th graders and how they bribe Stewart and Maggie with pink sugar puffs so that they can get off scot-free, and they can do whatever they want without getting into trouble if they continue to bribe each hall monitor with the candy. Of course, Tina didn’t get bribed because she had to follow the rules, but the complaints, and now, finding out that Stewart accepted the bribe with the bag of candy, especially on the day he left his post, letting Tina to fix the water fountain, and for Cole to fake an ankle injury as if they knew that she would stand in the way of their activities.
Of course, Rudy is in shock after hearing all of this, that someone who is a higher rank than him is doing a dirty deed. First, Tina with the Zeke issue in “Midday Run”, and now Maggie in this episode. And that alone has the Belcher kids come up with the idea of starting a sting operation. Catch Maggie in the act if it means sending in proof for Mr. Frond to see so that Tina can get her job back. Just need to get the camera to record a confession, and for someone within the hall monitors to serve as the bait. Knowing that Rudy is with the Belcher kids in this scene, he’s pretty much a volunteer by default, going into the next scene for the main plot. He should know what he is being roped into.
Back to the subplot of the episode, with Bob still reeling from the changes to his mustache that Gretchen had been making to him. And with his appointment at the DMV just days, if not, hours away, because we’re only less than seven minutes in the episode, for him to get a new photo for his card, he's just hoping for this whole thing to be over with. Hoping for Gretchen to have what she got and for this little charade to end for him as her mustache muse. Too bad for Bob, speaking of Gretchen, she makes a return to check up on Bob and gives an update on what is going on. Telling everyone that the idea of expanding the salon to do men’s hairstyles is becoming a success, thanks to Bob. So, you’d think that with Gretchen announcing that her business is going well with Bob as her male model for her salon, you’d think that all of this would be finished, right? Gretchen is finally going to leave Bob’s mustache alone? Finally going to stop trimming his mustache as he prepares to get his picture taken at the DMV at the end of the episode?
Definitely not. Bob got another trim job on his upper lip and another photo up on the walls of the salon. This is pretty much the equivalent of the second tower being hit if you’re Bob when having to deal with his facial hair taking an excessive amount of damage from the trim job. There’s not a lot of hair left on his upper lip after getting the style of how Americans view the French. He’s becoming unrecognizable by the trim that Gretchen is doing to him as she gets another photo of the style, and for her to put up on the wall. And for the second time in the series, not including flashbacks, we’re not including flashbacks, Bob is shaving off of mustache. He is shaving that sucker completely off because of what Gretchen had done to him. Even though again, Bob could’ve just said no to the offer, but was forced to do it because he’s the only one in the building with a mustache. Or I guess had a mustache now, even though it’ll come back in the next episode, so... uh... first time in nearly 15 years for current age Bob to not have upper lip action.
Checking back with the main plot, with the Belcher kids setting up shop for the sting operation. Hoping to catch Maggie in the act while being recorded on camera. Getting the camera from the media room to record the confession from Maggie. And knowing that it’s a sting operation that is taking place, it’s the waiting game for the Belcher siblings as they wait for Rudy to play his role to lure Maggie right as the school is going through the flex period and waiting for the 7th-grade boys to make their move.
It just comes down to Rudy not blowing their cover. Because knowing Rudy, he’s the type who would never lie. He is a terrible liar. The one who would never lie because, like Tina, has no lying bone in his body. So, the fact that Rudy, a hall monitor, got tapped to help the siblings get Tina her job back by having to lure Maggie to the hallway where the camera is facing. Talking about the candy bribe and Stewart as a topic of conversation while hoping not to blow his and the others’ cover, like you've seen shows or movies where the police have to send someone to go undercover, and hoping not to blow their cover while wearing a wire underneath the shirt, strapped to the chest for the police unit to hear. It’s pretty much like that for Rudy when having a one-on-one talk with Maggie. And as long as Rudy, who, remind you, is a terrible liar, though you can’t honestly blame the kid for that, doesn’t blow his cover and could disrupt the sting operation, then things should at least go as planned. There’s just one little probably that might stand in the way as we are about to wrap up the third act of the episode and going into the fourth and final act...
The floors themselves. They are waxed and buffed by Mr. Branca. And knowing the waxed and buffed floors, it’s a recipe for total disaster. And Tina knows it with the ongoing skidding situation that is taking over the school. That is rocket fuel for the 7th-grade boys who like to skid through the hallways, and with the buffed floor mixed with the socks to be treated as skates on ice, it would be more than just arm bruises and ankle twists, but more of... well, ankle twists, but also concussions and comas that would put the entire school on blast. Which is the last thing anyone needs, especially for the Belcher siblings, if they want to catch Maggie in the act.
So, onto the fourth and final act of the episode, the Belcher kids make their way to the gym after coming up with a last-minute idea to prevent an accident from happening that would disrupt the sting operation. That would be a mat from the gym to serve as a guard rail, like how you see those behind-the-scenes videos from movies, as an extra, and you see those mats being used whenever stunts are being performed, to prevent any injuries to the boys who are skidding across the hall. And that is exactly what they’re planning on doing once they leave the classroom, but not before Louise presses the record button on the camera because they have to get the footage rolling and would look like total dumbasses if they forget to record when hoping for a confession to capture. Oh yeah, and also, you have Louise wearing socks when the siblings had to take their shoes off because of the squeaking sounds they were making on the buffed floors. Tiny ass socks, but it’s odd to see her wearing them that aren’t aligned with her gym uniform. This isn’t me being weird; you usually see her barefoot each time we see the siblings without shoes on. And I just rewatched “Yes Without My Zeke” at the time of writing, as I was preparing to post. Going through the same buffed floors by Branca like last time.
It’s the race against the clock for the Belcher siblings as they prepare to pick up the mat from the gym and on their way back to the intersection where the camera is pointing. And with the sounds of socks skidding across the hall from the back, once again, it’s the race against the clock for the Belchers, and with how fast the 7th grade boys are going with the buffed floor serving as rocket fuel the same way how in the world of weather, whenever there’s a hurricane, and I know, I know, feeling a bit insensitive at the post of posting following what happened with Jamaica with Hurricane Melissa, but it’s like how in the weather world, in the tropics no less, one of the ingredients for a hurricane to form and to strengthen is warm waters. Really warm waters to do the job. Other than that, it is a race against the clock for the Belchers to get the mat to the intersection before the 7th-grade boys make their way to said intersection to make the skidding turn.
Which, they did. Right on time for the three 7th-grade boys to hit the mat instead of the wall while they were skidding through the halls. Also, right on time, Maggie catches the Belchers holding the mats as a guard rail. This is what the siblings needed right as Maggie was having a one-on-one conversation with Rudy in their attempt to catch her in the act. Maggie called Tina out for taking the mat and having to do something despite not being a hall monitor, but Tina, of course, had to clap back at Maggie. Calling her out on the corruption that was taking place in being bribed for some candy action just to let the 7th-grade boys do whatever the fuck they want. Once again, blatant Corruption 101 when it comes to someone in the force, especially from the higher-ups, to be taking some greed like candy to have a massive influence and put the law in a chokehold. And, oh boy, Maggie’s rebuttal is not helping her case in all of this. Telling Tina that in the end of the day, they’re 7th-grade boys. They always do dumb and potentially dangerous things; it’s what they do. But throwing in the line of “Get some pink sugar puffs out of a situation”, going for the sing Kumbaya and pretend this thing never happened despite catching them in the act... yeah, this doesn’t help your case at all.
Especially since all of this was caught on film. Recorded the whole thing since leaving the room for a bit to get the mats from the gym. Caught in 4K, bitch. Caught in motherfucking 4K. So yeah, Maggie got caught, and it was all on film with her confession. Revealing to be the person who set Tina up to get fired from her post by giving away her original post to Stewart, and knew that Tina would abandon her post that she was assigned, by the sounds of the broken water fountain and having Cole fake his ankle injury, just to get her hands on the candy as if they knew that Tina would stand in the way for the 7th grade boys who were in their skidding era and could be in a massive amount of trouble if caught. So yeah, Maggie got caught, and it was all recorded on camera as if the candy was taking a toll on her brain. Which might as well be the case since that is pretty much her decision-making taking a toll from the bribe that handed Tina the pink slip from her hall monitor duties. But other than that, Maggie got caught red-handed and on film, too. And right on time, for Stewart to enter the scene from what was supposed to be his post.
Entering the final two minutes of the episode, at the end of the school day, it looks like Tina got her job back as hall monitor by Mr. Frond. And all it took was the sting operation to catch Maggie in the act. But it’s mostly the other hall monitors calling for her to return, and Maggie, out of the blue, gives up her position as head hall monitor and passes it to Tina. Though, got to side with Louise with this one and going for what the fuck. Because you think that, aside from Maggie having to give up her leadership position to Tina and the other hall monitors calling for her return to the job, that Maggie AND Stewart, along with some of the hall monitors, would be relieved from their positions because of the corruption that took place.
But the fact that those two, along with the others, somehow got to keep wearing the vest, despite the shit they pulled, allowing themselves to be bribed with candy by the 7th graders just to let them go easy while skidding through the halls... reform. Reform the freaking hall monitor program in Wagstaff because what the fuck, rather, how the fuck did those guys not get the pink slip from all of this, and yet, Tina, despite the complaints she had gotten from the students to serve as a way to tell her that they don’t like how she was doing her job, was the one getting fired up until the end of the episode?! Serious reform changes need to happen within the hall monitor program at Wagstaff. But other than that, Tina got her job back as a hall monitor. So, all is good, I guess, despite that she got fucked over by two people within the program just for some candy.
And, oh yeah, touching back on the subplot to close out the episode. It’s the day of retaking the photo for Bob, despite that his mustache has been trimmed one too many times. Having no other choice but to shave the whole thing off, and having to wear a fake mustache for the cameras. Too bad for Bob, the fake mustache was quickly peeling right as the camera was about to take the photo. It didn’t turn out well for the guy since that’s the photo that he’s pretty much stuck with for quite a while. You could’ve just said no, Bob. You could’ve just said no.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So, all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? Well, it’s an interesting one to say the least. Mainly coming from the main plot when investigating the corruption that was taking place within the hall monitor program in Wagstaff, following Tina’s firing from her position, and eyebrows having to be raised by her siblings on what is really going on, which doesn’t seem like it was all an accident. The subplot, on the other hand, was fine. Decent at best, with Bob getting an unnecessary mustache trim by Gretchen.
At least with the episode, it did expand upon the seventh grade in Wagstaff, which is interesting to see because most of the time, whenever we’re in school in various episodes, it always focuses on the 4th, 6th, and/or 8th grade class because of the grade each of the Belcher kids is in, respectively. Especially when it comes to three of the boys having to do dumb shit like skidding through the halls, but also, to the point where they had to bribe certain hall monitors to give them a pass with candy, which ultimately led to Tina getting fired from her post. So, that pretty much tells you about the blatant corruption that took place within the hall monitors, the same way you would question the police force or the military if there’s corruption that was taking place.
The subplot was decent. So, let’s leave it at that because it’s mostly Bob getting an unnecessary trim on his mustache by Gretchen, leading up to him getting his photo taken at the DMV. I mean, he was becoming unrecognizable trim after trim as the episode progresses to the point where he had no other choice but to shave the entire thing off. First time in nearly 15 years since he had done that in the show’s history. And no, I’m not including flashbacks or anthology stories from “Sliding Bobs”. But, other than that, an alright episode. So, pretty much average at best is where I stand. So, I’ll give “The Skids in the Hall”...
A 7 out of 10. But that’s my opinion, and I want to hear yours in the comments below. We have another episode coming up this upcoming Sunday, and it might be well be shades of a mixture of “The Ring (But Not Scary)” and “Steal Magazine-olias” with the kids trying to get out of trouble by keeping things in secret, but Louise’s trip to the dentist would potentially be an issue for the three in the fifth episode of Season 16, “The Secret Guardin’”.
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