Entering the Final 5 Countdown! Number 5: Bob's Burgers: "Hawk & Chick"/"The Oeder Games"

Ladies and Gentlemen, here we are, the Final 5 of our Top 20 Countdown of the 2015 Fandom Season and coming in with Number 5 is not one, but two episodes of a fandom that you’ll be surprised making it to the Top 5 with an Emotional Father/Daughter Reunion and a Rent Strike turned into a Civil War between Tenant Owners over a water balloon fight. Coming in with Number 5, it’s Bob’s Burgers, “Hawk & Chick” and “The Oeder Games”.


Aw yes, how should I have forget about the two season finale episodes that I reviewed back in May made it to the Top 5 list of the Top 20 Countdown. Yes people, this is a surprise to y’all out there that two of the Bob’s Burgers episodes made it up top and the direction that it took to close out Season 5.


Out of the two episodes that premiered in late May, “Hawk & Chick” and “The Oeder Games”, can’t decide which episode to start off with, so I’ll go in order of the premiere time. And it looked like I’ll be starting off with “Hawk & Chick”.

This episode, man...“Hawk & Chick”...so much emotion to talk about. This episode is about Bob and Louise trying to reunite their favorite father/daughter duo from a movie they just watched. Found out that the father/daughter duo have been separated for 30 years. And it looked like it’s up for the Belchers to bring these two together with the help of a Theater Sweeper.

Of course, the only way to get these two together again is to show one of the “Hawk and Chick” films that the Theater Sweeper, Dominic, found, but however, the film he found is all Japanese, and I mean, all Japanese, or Raw, because there’s no subtitles. The film is not dubbed. So the Belchers are going to fandub it. Yeah...just like people at YouTube who don’t want to get majorly copyrighted.

Anyway, the plan is going smoothly as the plot thickens for both Shinji and Yuuki to be reunited...until it backfired when the audio stopped at midpoint and I don’t want to point fingers on anyone...Gene...and to make things worst, Yuuki begins to leave the scene, so that leads the Belcher family to continue voicing over the film by lip-syncing, which of course...

...lead to the heart touching reunion of Shinji and Yuuki after 30 years of being separated. But that’s not the most emotional part of the episode, and don’t get me wrong, but this...

...this has to be the most emotional part when I first saw the episode. Like I said in my “Hawk & Chick” review, I almost cried. That’s the side of Louise that we haven’t seen since like ever. But I’m not the only one who felt emotional over that part with Bob and Louise, two other Tumblr users have felt the same way when that scene first aired. Here’s a response from Tumblr user BloggingBoutBurgers (AKHTS) on that scene...

“In the case of episodes exploring Louise’s feelings, Bob’s Burgers certainly has grown a very strong way of telling the story and saving the most important stuff for the end. Strongest louisefeels episodes usually seem to go like this : Louise finds something she wants to get involved into > cue over-the-top Louise scheme > after everything unfolds, either Louise herself, or somebody else reveals the emotional reason for Louise to have acted the way she did — which usually isn’t what everyone was expecting, as people usually just expect Louise to seek chaos for the mere sake of chaos.

…Well, actually, I said “has grown”, but that kind of storytelling was kind of there since season 1, with “Spaghetti Western and Meatballs”, which remains one of my favorite episodes. Except in “Spaghetti Western and Meatballs”, Louise’s emotional point of view had been revealed pretty obviously from the get-go. The kind of emotional digging the show has perfected so much lately must have happened several times since (“Carpe Museum” had at least shades of this), but the first time it struck me was in “Tina Tailor Soldier Spy”, as I was genuinely taken by surprise by Lin’s lampshading of Louise’s actions, although in hindsight, it makes perfect sense.

This kind of storytelling fits Louise’s character very well. The little girl lives her life in an armor of toughness, wit and cynicism, and it takes only her family, or herself to crack it open and reveal just how genuine and strong her feelings and concerns are. It’s something she rarely shows, and she doesn’t really want to show it as it might be associated with some weakness, but when she does show it, she truly shines.

Of course it works somehow even better when SHE’s the one letting such reveals slip, like what happened in last night’s episode when, while in the middle of the reconciling process, she suddenly broke character at the sheer depressing thought that a father and a daughter can stop talking to each other for decades, and the fear that it might happen to her and Bob someday.

Don’t you worry, though, Louise. You’ll be a little girl forever. You’ll never have to face the concerns of terrible adult life. And even if you did, your family is so freaking perfect anyway. Nothing that bad would ever happen to you. You keep enjoying it, and I’ll keep letting my heart grow three sizes at each sight of you guys.”

...and another response from another Tumblr user, herminbean...

“This line got to me really hard. As a child, I figured, “this is me. I won’t change.I know who I am”. But everyone changes. Everyone see’s their parents differently when they’re adults. You stop seeing your parents as “parents”, and you start seeing them as humans. Humans who can make mistakes, who aren’t perfect. Your parents are just as lost as you are. They’re bluffing their way through being a grown up just like you are, and in the same way you’ll pretend to know what you’re doing when you have kids. It’s sort of freeing in a way. Knowing everyone is drifting through life the same way you are. Find me one person who has a complete grip on life, the way it should be, and how you should live it, and I’ll take back everything.”

...yeah...really emotional stuff in that episode. I would never imagine this episode would take a whole new direction. Why am I emotional right now?! Let’s go to “The Oeder Games”, because that the second part of the double episode season finale.

This episode is kinda like The Hunger Games, hence the name of the episode, but instead of survival, it’s about rent. Yes everyone, the reason why this episode came to be is because the people in the town are upset over Fischoeder raising the rent that they can’t pay off. Which lead to Bob and the whole town to organize a strike against Fischoeder, which backfired when it’s every owner for themselves when Fischoeder told the entire town that the last man or woman standing will not be affected by this, which of course, now the Belchers had to tag along with this, even though Bob wants to slap the sense out of the neighborhood to address the issue of high rent together instead of turning against one on one.

Of course, got to talk about that scene with Tina having both Zeke and Jimmy Jr surrounded. If you haven’t read my review on this episode, I talked that this scene is somewhat turned into a shipping war either you ship Tina with Jimmy Jr or with Zeke. I mean, the fans didn’t cry at the last scene in “Hawk & Chick” because they were worried about this episode, this scene is particular. But of course, while Zeke and Jimmy Jr are making some sort of compromise, Tina ran off from being a potential target.

Of course, Bob would’ve won if he hits Jimmy Pesto with a water balloon, but won’t do it because don’t forget the reason why he came  in the first place, speak up against Fischoeder. Which lead him to put up a new game, a dangerous game of tag. Which is good for the town because they all get their rent cost lowered, but bad for Bob and the rest of the Belcher family, who had to suffer the high cost.

Of course, the true winner of this episode is Linda with her speech on how hard the Belchers did to keep their home. You know, protecting their home from the unimaginable. I mean, that speech was so inspiring that much, that the townsfolk put down their water balloons, declaring a cease fire.

Let’s also not to mention, the reason why he raised the rent in the first place, to get to Bob. Still questions me that if Bob is Fischoeder’s only friend in this predicament. Of course, the war is done and we head back to the water balloon fight...for fun.


So why did these two episodes got the Number 5 spot? Oh man, these two episodes...where do I begin? When I reviewed these two episodes back in May, these two are on fire. A+ for whoever wrote either “Hawk & Chick” or “The Oeder Games”. “Hawk & Chick” was an amazing episode full of comedic laughs with major feels at the end of the episode, it’s like watching a Steven Universe episode, taking that approach. And “The Oeder Games”, that scene with Linda told the town that the family worked really hard to make a living when Fischoeder threatening to raise the rent for the entire town, powerful. Absolutely powerful. These two episodes is all laughs, all tears, all suspense, not to mention, that soon to be shipping war. But out of these two episodes, “Hawk & Chick” totally took the cake because of that ending, like I said, almost made me cry when I first that scene. Still emotional to this day. Anyway, that’s it for Number 5 in our Top 20 Countdown of the 2015 Fandom Season. And we’re now down to four, that’s right, the Final Four! And we stick to the double episodes in another fandom tomorrow and these two...made me lose my marbles BIG! So stay tuned as the Top 20 Countdown continues.