And so begins another long season for this series for yours truly. No... seriously, and I mean surely seriously on this, it’s going to be a very long season because after coming out of a season filled with many questions than answers regarding scheduling and the number of episodes the season will hold. Remember last year nearing the start of Season 14 right as the strikes were going on that we would get a rumored amount of 17 episodes, that didn’t happen, and instead got 13 episodes out of it... only for the Fall primetime schedule to come out this past Summer and the total amount of episodes or Season 14 went up to 16. Going into Season 15, still reeling from the strikes with everyone back to work once the deal was made (though we might be going to deal with that again come 2026 or the impending animation guild strike), it’s gonna take a while to get back to normal. And how many episodes Season 15 will contain boils down to what the Spring 2025 schedule will look like and where in the time slot the show will fall. Especially with Grimsburg and The Great North poised to return in January. Until then, new season and coming out of three weeks of why God?! Why?! I thought we were done with this?!
In this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, and yes, still worn out from playing catch-up with certain episodes that missed doing, already got “The Big Steblitzki” out before the season began, so once we get to a break in the event something happens during the MLB playoffs, I could dabble in getting the next episode, which would be “Welcome to Miami Adventure” for The Great North, but aside from that, in this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, Tina is in desperation mode to save her news segment and Frond showcasing his new computer program serves as her golden ticket as Linda (and later Bob) tell Teddy the plot to each horror movie in my spoilerific review of the first episode of Season 15 of Bob’s Burgers, titled “The Tina Table: The Tables Have Tina-ed”.
We got ourselves a Tina episode to start the new season. And aside from “Butt Sweat and Fears”, and I’m still standing my ground that episode should be the legitimate season finale despite what the networks say, and I guess “Bully-ieve It or Not” even though it’s more inclined of a Zeke episode, Tina had taken the backseat of the bus last season. Not one episode for the first twelve episodes of Season 14 up until the premiere of “Butt Sweat and Fears” and now, a few months later, and especially since we end September and going into October, or by the time this review is posted, it would already be October, she got an episode and it’s a season premiere episode no less.
And it’s somewhat of a follow-up but it’s mostly a piece of the episode that is now the focus of attention because when you remembered the Season 3 episode “Broadcast Wagstaff School News”, oh yeah, we’re going way back for that reference, after covering the Mad Pooper incident, only to be framed, only to be cleared after finding out that it was Zeke who did the crime, at the end of that episode, she got her own segment on the school news called The Tina Table. And now, it’s on the verge of getting canned because what she is doing isn’t appealing to the students. And the events for the episode speak for themselves once she decides to interview Frond about a program that he worked on. Just be glad that after a season where she got taken to the backseat of the bus, Tina finally got an episode with her in the spotlight. Y’all already know where this is going and I have the graphic on standby. Other than that, we have a season premiere episode to break down piece by piece, especially when having to do three reviews to close the previous season, surprising I’m not even tired just one bit, this is “The Tina Table: The Tables Have Tina-ed”.
And quite the start to the season as we begin with the rest of the school watching the news with Tammy finishing up her segment over which eye shadow she likes best because if there’s one issue that affects everyday lives for Americans, it’s talking about which shade of purple that Tammy’s eye shadow works the best. Especially during an election year and don’t expect either Trump or Kamala or any third-party candidate to bring this up. But that’s not what is causing quite the start to the season, that belongs to Tina’s segment, The Tina Table, where she interviews Mr. Branca on camera for everyone to see. And much like going through a lecture that feels like it was going on forever even though it’s only for less than a minute or going through a cab ride after leaving the airport and the driver having to put on NPR on the radio, it’s boring the fuck out of everyone.
Not even kidding, everyone in the school, regardless of grade level each student, whether it’s the sixth-grade class like this screencap above shows or the fourth-grade class, and seeing both Louise and Gene in separate classrooms seeing the trash heap that is Tina’s segment on the news as if we’re reliving the Biden/Trump debate weeks before Biden dropped out of the race or any of the low-scoring games that won’t end, oh boy, they are embarrassed when seeing their sister on the air, hoping for anyone to cut the feed or at least turn the TV off and focus on something. Like with Peter when asking Ms. Twitchell if the class would rather do a math assignment than have to listen to Tina’s segment on the school news or Ms. LaBonz trying to mess around with the remote when having to succumb to it with the rest of the class. In their point of view, it’s bad. It’s pretty bad. Tortuous to be exact that it should be questioned by the UN if this should be considered a human rights violation.
Thankfully for everyone across the school moments later, the news ended and so did Tina’s segment. Mr. Grant comes up to Tina to talk in private about her segment and the negativity it garnered as of late when being picked up as an apology gift twelve seasons ago, that it’s not drawing a lot of eyeballs to the segment and instead, they feel turned off by it. To the point where a fifth-grade classroom had to turn their attention to something else than having to watch the segment. Hell, I could imagine one student getting into prayer when watching this and asking God and saying to themself, “Jesus, Jesus, what did I do to deserve having to listen to this segment?!” It has gotten to the point where Mr. Grant tells Tina that if she doesn’t do something that would change the tone of the segment, you know, spice things up a little, then she can kiss her segment goodbye as it is at risk of getting pulled and for Tina to lose her credentials as an in-school TV personality for the school news.
This causes Tina to get into desperation mode once we head to the next scene with her on her way to where her siblings are for lunch. Of course, she asks Jimmy Jr on what he thinks about the segment, hoping for someone for once to be on her side and give her support, even if it’s by pity. Only for Jimmy Jr to respond that he was bored of the segment and turn his attention toward Zeke trying to lick his elbow. Yes, seeing someone attempting to lick their elbow is more enjoyable than seeing Tina’s segment. Seeing paint dry is more enjoyable than seeing Tina’s segment. It’s a long list of what to do rather than seeing Tina’s segment. Tina arrives at the table where Gene and Louise are and again, Tina is in desperation mode because she needs to find something to spice things up now that her segment on the school news is on the verge of getting pulled (and hopefully not getting treated as a freaking tax write-off) and she needs to think of something fast before she gets on the camera the next time around. Because the last thing she needs, and this, according to Louise by the way, is a Pam situation. Here’s the low down on that.
We got the long return of Chuck and Pam (voiced by Thomas Lennon and Samantha Bee), Chuck of course since Season 5 that the last we saw him and Pam all the way back in Season 3... underutilized for this week’s episode when being used as an example. So, Pam and Chuck, according to Louise, got their morning show back after getting pulled thanks in part to Linda flashing her breasts on live TV in an attempt to stop Bob and Gene from killing each other which resulted in the two getting separate shows and a strained marriage, and it was short-lived with Chuck and Pam being co-hosts once again because Pam got the boot and the morning show got Chuck to go solo rather than finding a new co-host and as usual between those two, they get into a shouting match over Pam getting “fired” even though it might be more in line of her contract not getting renewed, hence, why she is being let go and got pissed. The point is that Pam was let go due to issues with the network and that is the last thing that Tina needs with her situation with her segment on the verge of getting canceled. And thus, the pressure is on for Tina to save her show.
As we head to the restaurant for the subplot to take its place with Linda telling Teddy the plot of one of the movies she saw, a horror movie to be exact, so basically, she’s spoiling the film by explaining the plot but with a different style of flair so it won’t spook Teddy while at the same time, keeping him entertained. Or rather, telling Teddy those things because movies are long and for Teddy, according to Linda when asking Bob after spotting her spilling the plot, Teddy can’t handle how fastly paced certain movies are as if he has some sort of short attention span and yeah, I could see that. We can often relate to Teddy when it comes to struggling to understand a film or TV show with things going as fast as they can. We want things to keep things steady and understandable but don’t want to bore you. Because that’s pretty much the cardinal sin in the world of entertainment, something that Tina didn’t notice was committing with her news segment, that certain forms of media shouldn’t commit, and that is boring the viewers. You handle that shit with care and let’s face it, we’re pretty much Teddy with certain shows that don’t garner a lot of viewers and trending each time on Twitter.
And of course, it’s one of the Saw movies that Linda had to explain to Teddy during his visit to the restaurant. But now in the way that if you saw any of the Saw movies, pretty sure you think to yourself that’s not how the plot goes for each of the movies aside from the film being labeled as “torture corn” and instead, it’s her trying to remember piece by piece and having it to twist it into her own style and flair to keep Teddy entertained. And yes, that’s the subplot of the episode, folks. We got ourselves the subplot for this episode. I know that it feels like it’s weighing down the episode, but don’t worry... it’s probably not.
We go back to Tina’s situation with her struggling to find someone to interview that should get the students’ attention. She goes to Ms. Schnur and asks if Principal Spoors is available as she is on her radar for her to interview for her segment and, of course, no luck, he’s out at the moment. As if we’re actually gonna get the guy for the first time aside from the legs shot at the end of “The Runway Club”, we’re pretty much long overdue but we know that’s not going to happen. It’s the same thing with Ginger back in Season 12 and we knew that they ain’t going to show her face. So, Tina was looking for Spoors but ended up with no luck. And the same goes for Frond because he too was waiting for Spoors but like Tina, no luck. And Tina searching for anyone across the school, mostly Spoors, in an attempt to save her show got Frond’s attention. Leading the two to Frond’s office for Frond to explain to Tina why he was waiting for Spoors outside of the office, which we’ll get to that once we get to that but Frond noticed that Tina needed to find someone to interview but a spot in the segment on the school news seems to be Frond’s opportunity to get Spoors’s attention. Two people in desperate need of something coming together to achieve their goal for this episode.
And so, we get to the interview the next time the news is shown for everyone at school to see. The moment of truth for Tina and Frond but mostly Tina, hoping for her interview with Frond to be her golden ticket to keep her segment alive. Frond gets interviewed by Tina and decides to present something that should help the students of Wagstaff with their needs. Which is losing the students at first because it’s Frond and also him being a guidance counselor when presenting that should help the kids is something they don’t want as if they’re about to get lectured. That was until Frond decided to throw a curveball and now, it got the students’ attention once he brought up that the thing he was presenting under the cloak is an interactive video game, and that alone, you noticed a shift of enthusiasm for the entire student body at Wagstaff.
It’s called the “Final Frond-tier”, where it’s an interactive game where you play a series of challenges based on how you play and the computer tells you what’s your problem as if the AI is serving as your counselor to with help with your personal problems just by sitting on a computer with a keyboard and a mouse on hand. And once you beat the game, it tells you what kind of emotional profile you have. So basically, Frond just created a mixture of any old-school interactive computer game from the 1990s mixed with a BuzzFeed survey and that alone got the students when watching the segment getting their attention. Whether it’s the sixth-grade class and seeing the likes of Courtney, Alex, Peter, and Rupa along with a few extras getting their attention, the entirety of the eighth-graders like Jimmy Jr, Zeke, Henry, Susmita, Chelsea, and Will along with the extras, as well as the fourth-graders with Louise already raising eyebrows over Frond’s little program that is poised to become the talk of the school grounds as if she suspect something is going on. But other than that, it looks like the students might as well be on board just as the interview comes to an end.
And right on cue for Frond to get a phone call from Principal Spoors, who just watched the interview, and looks like things might be going in Frond’s favorite with Spoors becoming somewhat impressed with what he had made for the students and now, he wants Frond to roll out the game now that it’s catching the students’ attention and want to try it out for themselves. This is good for Frond but also good for Tina once Mr. Grant comes towards her and tells the good news that her interview with Frond has changed the students’ enthusiasm when watching it, recalling the fifth-grade class that they didn’t switch over to kelp forest and instead, stuck around after Frond announced his computer program, that if this continues, there’s a good chance that Tina will not be pulled from the air. And knowing that we just now finished with the first act, it’s only a matter of time before things become chaotic. I mean, it’s not like Frond’s little program that he announced is going to turn the school upside down regarding the students’ personality traits.
We go into the second act of the episode and we get ourselves a long line outside of the computer lab and already, you can already tell that Frond’s program is already becoming a success after the announcement during his interview with Tina on the school news. And you can see why when seeing Rudy trying the system out and getting his results from the computer that he’s aggressive. Yeah, so this system might as well be busted as hell because last I checked, Rudy is the least aggressive person that we know but that’s not going to stop Rudy from accepting that he’s aggressive and proud as if he’s treating it as a badge of honor just by getting his results from an AI. But why stop there? We got a bit of a montage here with the other students trying the program out with Jocelyn getting her result saying that she’s an introvert because I’m sure an introverted person like myself for example doesn’t shout their personality out in the open but ends up accepting it. You have Andy and Ollie doing their part and got their result as them not getting along... which, of course, is bullshit.
And then, of course, you have Louise. She got her results from the program after giving it a shot and getting the result of being a conformist. A pushover to say the least, which totally offends Louise because she thinks that it’s not the case and tries to shake the computer to give her a different result unless Frond would give the a-ok for her to do a redo but still, feels offended by it. I mean, by the way, the computer is talking about Louise, calling her a conformist and not an aggressor which almost feels like her and Rudy’s results were mixed up, it does sort of feel like a potential jab toward Louise’s character these days in the modern era of the show in compared to the earlier season version of Louise where she was chaotic and mischievous with no apologetic bone in her body. And the current version of Louise won a championship title last year and is poised to repeat this year.
Of course, we gotta give the Tina/Jimmy Jr shippers something, and even though we had a brief moment at the end of “Butt Sweat and Fears” with him laying his head on Tina’s head after feeling worn out, apparently four months seems like a long time. Jimmy Jr comes up to Tina after getting his results from Frond’s little program, revealing himself to be closed off at the emotional level. And he thinks it’s a good idea for the two of them to talk about life and wanting to vent. I mean, they’re teenagers, so uh... they had to get the frustration out of their system and not treat it as if we’re in some dumb teen drama. I mean, he does from time to time live with Jimmy Pesto, so letting the frustration out has to be key for a healthy life. But other than that, everyone in school is enjoying Frond’s new computer program, and despite the results they’re getting to the point where everything later in the episode gets thrown into complete chaos, it has become an instant hit. Who knew that combining interactive video games with the usual Frond wanting to consul the kids to talk about their problems got the kids’ attention and especially coming out of a segment that was one person sleeping away from getting the axe?
Especially when seeing a lot of characters appearing in this episode who had to try out the damn thing whether it’s the fourth graders like Rudy, Andy, and Ollie, the sixth graders like Gene later on, and the eighth graders like Jocelyn and Jimmy Jr and later in the episode Tammy, everyone was muddying the waters and the results speaks for itself like it’s a freaking internet trend. And it’s nice to see the cameos of certain characters and even some who had appeared in the past two seasons like Will and Chelsea now added into the shot each time we’re in Jacobson’s class, even though they would likely be there in the background rather than being one-offs. Hell, Henry got a speaking role after being absent for four seasons even though he’s there in the background for certain episodes in Season 12 and later on appears to have a bigger role. Other than that, nice to see everyone there and, of course, having to partake in the program that Frond that would later spiral things into chaos. Everyone is present for this week’s episode when participating in the program in this season premiere episode... except for the one I thought they were going to make the cut since Frond’s program is interactive that feels like a missed opportunity.
Yeah, a big missed opportunity for this week’s episode. Especially when talking about a program that looks like a video game that I feel like I’m getting flashbacks to my school days and having to go through a how-to-type program at the computer lab. And it’s not just Darryl who is missing out, again, missed opportunity there, you also have the likes of Jodi, Abby, Jessica, Millie, Megan, and Benj, just to name a few from the list who are absent from this. Hell, missed opportunity to not show the fifth and seventh-grade classrooms when getting their reactions to the school news. Especially since Grant brought up that the fifth-grade class at the start of the episode was so bored that they switched their attention to a screensaver of a kelp forest before Frond made his announcement.
This makes you question since LaBonz’s class seems to be filled with certain characters that we know aside from Louise and Rudy like the Pesto Twins, Chloe, Harley, Wayne, Kaylee, Jeremy, and Large Tommy, just to name a few, which makes you question if there’s another fourth-grade homeroom just for some other students including Abby, Jodi, Jessica, and Millie there despite that Millie was there for a moment in “The Millie-churian Candidate” and was the one who named the chinchilla Princess Little Piddles. And Jessica did go with LaBonz’s class to an apple orchard farm in “Apple Gore-chard (But Not Gory)” despite not being existent for certain seasons in between her appearance since her debut back in Season 4. Someone might as well explain that pretty soon about all of this regarding certain characters not being in the classrooms that we usually see in the show.
We go back to the subplot with Linda spoiling the plot, this time around being the Scream franchise, and once again, with her own style and flair with her trying to remember how the films played out when telling Teddy about the movie to combat what is pretty much his short attention span, i.e. the movie with it’s pacing. And honestly, the stick figure animation with these stories is somewhat enjoyable in this episode, and whether you like it or not, the storytelling coming from Linda (and later Bob) when telling Teddy does look a bit enjoyable. Especially when having to rewatch it a second time. Even if, yes, to certain people like myself who have never seen any of the films but are familiar with the premise. Or at least the first film. So in Linda’s version of the movie, you have two teenagers having a place for themselves, rather, a random house with the teenage girl being the babysitter, watching a movie, or was because the power was knocked out and forgot to take the bean dip out of her car and plans on getting it... only for the story to abruptly coming to a screeching halt once Linda getting a phone call from Gayle regarding her issues of the week with this time around being the new litter she’s using for her cats. So, Linda leaves to take the phone call in private to talk to her sister...
But not before tapping Bob to finish the story that she was explaining to Teddy. And he has to take the mantle because Linda stopped in the middle of the story thanks in part to getting a phone call from Gayle and Teddy doesn’t want to leave it hanging as if the story was going to end in a cliffhanger, which would be a horrible way to end a story. And yes, despite barely seeing the show, heard about the news and yes, Hailey’s On It deserves better. Bob gets tapped and finishes Linda’s story as he tries to remember how the Scream movies pan out and this is where you notice the change in the theme of each story regarding who is telling them. With Linda earlier in the episode, she was going for the campy 80s vibe and if you remember the 1980s, whether you grew up in it or just love movies as if you’re a movie buff, the 1980s is pretty much the golden years for horror films, and that Linda is trying to aim for but at the same time, because the 1980s is also vibrant and campy, aside from the other stuff since Reagan was president at the time, that’s what she was aiming for.
And now we get to Bob when continuing the story where Linda left off and, of course, a change in theme with his version when talking to Teddy to keep him entertained is what I guess is him aiming for the more realistic kind as if you’re watching an A24 film or some shit and not in the way of a Japanese horror film and Japan is notorious when it comes to making horror content. I just saw the premiere episode of Uzumaki this past weekend and no joke, leading up to do Demon Slayer during the Toonami live blog, I felt my body shaking because good God, that series did not play around with the animation, writing, direction, and all that stuff, and despite that it could give you some nightmare-ish moments the next time you see a swirl, it would make you want to see more from it like it roped you in for the ride that already left the station.
Back to Bob, leaving where Linda left off with the boyfriend returning with the bean dip but seeing the blood stains on his shirt and the girl notices that it’s not bean dip at all because it’s a big ass bowl instead of the usual bean dip you would find at a Walmart in those tin cans and instead of the bean dip, it’s a bowl of intestines. His intestines. Motherfucker did some surgery on himself to remove it and puts it into a bowl, thinking that it’s some sort of April Fools' joke and thought it would be a good idea to play Jesus as if a scoop of his organ would feel like you’re eating a piece of him like you’re at church during Sunday service and you have to eat the dry piece that resembles the body. Making the girl scream loud enough for any of the neighbors would go and respond, only to be sound blocked by a bus filled with members of the high school glee club by singing acapella to cancel the scream. Not bad for Bob in his first time to tell his version of the movie and Teddy agrees to do it.
The kids return from school just as Bob is feeling the high he got from telling his version of the movie and while things are looking on the up and up for Bob with his side of the episode, the kids, or at least according to Louise, not so much courtesy of Frond’s program. Tina has a good day however because she got herself a golden ticket to save her show from getting pulled but once again, Louise thinks that something is off about all of this. Mostly because as you’ll see in the next few scenes of the episode, things are about to turn upside down because of the students getting their results after playing the interactive game. And it’s not because she got upset because of her result of being called a conformist even though it sounds like it, which once again, feels like a jab toward her character in the current era of the show. At least we know what Gene got after taking part and got the result of “studious bookworm”. This is not me calling Gene dumb when having to talk about the result that he got from the computer, but it does feel like it’s starting to turn upside down with the students and their personalities and Gene getting that result, you know that something is wrong at this side of Albuquerque. And well, the results speak for itself. Especially when going to the next scene at the next day with Tammy trying out different drinks on camera because she got her result as “generous” and “easygoing”, again, feels like things have really turned upside down with the students changing their personalities based on a result they got from an AI that Frond programmed. Speaking of Frond...
He donned his best Steve Jobs impression as he was interviewed once more by Tina in her segment and decided to do another announcement tying in with the success that his program is garnering from the students. And it’s about the school’s computer lab where the game is stationed, you know, that $75 from Spoors’ pocket had to be spent on rolling the program out after the first interview, it’s getting renamed to the “iFrond Counseling and Unattended Emotional Diagnostic Center”. And the success is flowing through Frond with what he did with the program that it does feel like he’s reliving the moment when the Ga-Ga ball frenzy took over the school back in Season 8. But knowing that we are nearing the end of the first half of the episode, it didn’t take long for the cracks to start to form.
Especially the moment Tina asks Frond for more details about how the game works and the software that powers the program. Those questions regarding how the game actually works and the results each student gets after playing puts Frond in a very tight spot but attempts to deflect like you’re asking a candidate who is running for office during a town hall event about their policy and not wanting to get the vague answer and want the fall details to the proposal of a policy. That, of course, when switching over to LaBonz’s class for a bit, catches Louise’s attention because she knows that something is wrong here regarding Frond’s program that took off by storm. The students getting results that don’t tie in with their personalities is one thing but now, hearing Frond deflecting Tina’s question regarding the software and wanting to know more about the gameplay, the cracks are starting to form and you already see that Frond was getting nervous and I guess sweat slowly forming and it’s not because of the heat from the turtleneck sweater he’s wearing. Other than that, a close call from Frond once the interview ends with him dodging the questions and Tina is this close to exposing Frond but here comes Mr. Grant to tell Tina that if she wants to keep her show on the air, she has to as Grant puts it, “puffy” and “fun”. Even though Tina was using her journalistic instincts to question the guy. The students want to know how the thing works, you know, getting the low down but because Grant also partook in the program, it’s really putting Tina in a very tight spot. You now know how the media game works.
And now, we get to the montage portion of the episode and, of course, we have Frond still making a name for himself following the success of his program despite him dodging Tina’s questions regarding the software and the lack of additional details about the gameplay, but other than that, he’s riding high with his success once he installs the sign renaming the computer lab with Frond, now having a couple of stubbles across his face, being proud with Louise shaking her head in disappointment. The school continues to spiral out of control following the success of Frond’s interactive program and you see that in that one scene with Gene trying to solve a math equation, putting his result to the test, and uh... yeah, really proved that the school has turned upside down.
Of course, you also have the subplot in the montage with Bob still riding high in his storytelling and Teddy seems to be enjoying it more and more. Probably better at this than Linda, which, the look on her face speaks for itself. And something tells me that once we go to the third act of the episode, especially with Bob becoming a better storyteller than Linda, we might as well have ourselves a competition to see who is the better of the two. Which is expected once we get to the second half of the episode.
The montage ends and we head over to the cafeteria where Louise notices Andy on his lonesome without Ollie and, of course, their results from earlier in the episode with the computer saying that they had a sibling rivalry as if it was implying that Andy and Ollie don’t get along even though they do but bought the computer’s bullshit, and thus, the twins are sitting in separate tables. First time in a while that we've seen them not together without having to be upset over them not being together. Think back to “OT: The Outside Toilet” when fooling the guy who stole the electronic toilet. And it’s not just Andy and Ollie who felt the effects of the program that caused them to be separated, you also have Jocelyn uninviting everyone from her party because of her result and still thinks that she’s an introvert because of the program. Hell, you also have Rudy walking up to Jimmy Jr and Zeke with him asking Jimmy Jr to wrestle him because he (Rudy) still believes that he’s aggressive and also trying to impress Chloe Barbash when doing this... Rudy, come on. Stop simping over her, for the love of God.
Louise, of course, knows that something isn’t right because ever since Tina’s interview with Frond that saved her show that resulted in his program being rolled out, because everything has turned outside down. People behaving abnormally thanks in part to their results from an AI that Frond programmed from the game that he introduced as what Louise believes is a placebo effect because people’s opinions and personalities change when taking surveys and buying what they saw on the internet from a single post on social media. Which could explain how Trump supporters came to be when having to believe in any conspiracy theory that you know that it’s fake. Louise noticed the cracks starting to form during his second interview with Tina regarding the software that programs the program as well as the lack of additional details and knowing that we are nearing the halfway mark of the episode, it’s only a matter of time before Frond gets exposed.
This is exactly what happened at the end of the first half of the episode and going into the second once the kids noticing Frond coming out of the school kitchen carrying a couple of juice boxes on his way out and boy, oh boy, looks like Frond has been exposed by the Belcher kids after finding out that he didn’t make the program himself and had some help with the software to make the thing work. And having a 13-year-old in Henry Haber to do the job, which I’m sure this is considered child labor and I’m guessing him having to miss some classes and Frond having to write an excuse note. That would explain Henry earlier in the episode when being asked by Tina if he was going to participate in the program, only to bow out.
And it’s not like Henry didn’t have any choice in the matter when having to work for Frond to make sure the program is as accurate as it’s trying to be and at a rushed pace because he wanted to show Spoors what he had “conducted” regarding the interactive program as if Henry is working at a sweatshop. Oh wait, it’s Henry Haber, this dude is not the most social out of the bunch and only agreed to help Frond program his prototype that caused the school to go upside down when it comes to a change in personalities and behavior and in return, a piece of pizza from outside of school and working on his college recommendation over recess. Though knowing Henry, you’d think that his only recreational activities despite not being the type who would try out a swing would be either at the library or with Susmita.
And of course, Henry had to sign an NDA the moment Louise said that Tina had everything she needed and was ready to expose Frond on the air that he should’ve gone through this with his lawyer, who happened to be his mother. Other than that, it looks like the kids have everything they need and it’s only a matter of time before Tina is set to expose Frond after seeing behind the scenes... except that it’s putting her in a very difficult spot because the interview with him and the introduction of the program did save her show and she’s worried that if she plans on going ahead of exposing Frond, then she would lose her job as an on-air anchor on the school news with her segment being off the air. Journalism, especially on-air journalism, isn’t easy. Because when you have a story that could shock the core and find out that there were shady doings behind the scenes even though it was doing good things to the community, whether it’s the company or the person behind it, and the story you’re doing could decide your entire career in either drop the thing and continue your job or continue the story but it would mean taking a massive risk and could be sent to the unemployment line. You’re now seeing that with Tina’s situation after finding out that the program Frond created wasn’t programmed by him and the interview that saved her segment.
We go back to the subplot and remember that I said that the storytelling subplot is about to turn into a competition because of that montage showing Bob becoming an expert in storytelling when telling Teddy the plot of each horror movie and seeing the look on Linda’s show, showing some signs of disapproval... oh yeah, we’re entering competition mode with these two. And yes, I can be different at times when it comes to Bob and Linda each time having themselves a small rivalry and competing against each other and there are some times when it’s enjoyable and some not... this might as well be on the enjoyable side because those two went on it with the storytelling to keep Teddy entertained. The name of the film this time around for Bob and Linda to tell their version is not one we are all familiar with, of course, it has been an original coming from the cast and crew called Subcutaneous Evil and, of course, it’s only exclusive on a streaming service. And Teddy wants to attend a special screening and getting the plot told to him without having to watch should be the way to go since the director is from this town.
And thus, Bob and Linda duke it out on how they remember how the film works once more and the difference in how each style plays out shows it. Bob’s style is the more realistic horror movie that we are used to from time to time and Linda goes for the trope of every horror movie should be set in a summer camp. Bob starts his story with a late-night exorcism being performed inside the church with the girl who was possessed so powerfully during the process that it yeeted the priest out of the building and probably got sent packing off-screen. Only for Linda to step in and decide to one-up Bob by thinking that the start of his version was all part of the movie that a pack of campers were watching and think that it’s one of the worst movies they saw with one of the campers went off to get a bag of marshmallows, only for Bob to tag and for some reason, a random portal opened up and sucked the girl down to another dimension... okay? Almost lost me there, Bob with that portal being added but did make a bit to have the scene cut back to the film showing the church to continue where we left off, only for Linda to butt in and add a meteor to destroy the church, killing everyone inside and, yes including the girl who was possessed. Though I don’t know if being possessed by Satan would make you invincible from killer space rocks that crashed into the church. But that’s not going to stop Teddy from listening to the whole thing leading up to the hour of the screening. And Christ, beginning to think that the subplot is already not disappointing for this episode. What a time, y’all.
We check back at the Belcher kids after school and on their way home after witnessing what might as well be Frond’s version of FTX, Tina is still conflicted over what to do after seeing everything that has been going on behind the scenes with Frond being the hack that he is and having Henry to do the job for him because while she wants to expose him as the fraud that he is, she also can’t risk losing her media credentials on the school news. And Tina might as well think of her decision fast because ever since Frond announced his program and later rolled it out for the students to use, the entire environment of the school has been thrown into chaos. We see that with Andy and Ollie being separated without being upset over it, Rudy thinking that he’s aggressive, Jocelyn keeping on saying that she’s an introvert to the point where she uninvites a lot of people from her party, Tammy being nice to everyone as if, as one Moon Tobin would say if she has one of those brain-eating parasites, hell, even Jimmy Jr, who Tina had been getting phone calls with one conversation that lasted for hours talking about him being emotional since he was 6 years old. It’s bad. It’s really bad for everyone and everything that is going on in the school is now weighing on Tina’s shoulders. So now, Louise and Gene decide to help Tina by getting her to the one person who once was in her situation. That being Pam...
From behind the doorbell because Pam was only used in a flashback as an example regarding Tina’s situation, don’t know why they didn’t show her appear from behind the door or at least standing by the door, but why not I guess. Pretty much wasted potential to announce two characters that we haven’t seen in a long ass time, only to be brought back for a scene and in a flashback no less. Pam, at least for the kids’ thought process, seems to be the likely choice to give Tina advice because of the situation she was in that led to her losing her co-hosting duties, mostly for getting fired for doing a story about safety violations and twisting her firing by saying that her contract “expired”, which is what Tina is dealing as of this moment when having to deal with the scoop that Frond is a fraud regarding the program he made and could be at risk of losing her job is she were to expose him on camera. Unfortunately for Tina, going to Pam for advice seems like a bad idea. She had the moment right there when giving Tina advice on what’s it like being in a tight situation... only to give the wrong response by saying that not being on TV sucks ever since she was let go. Yeah, great choice of picking someone to help out during a difficult process. And now... moment of truth time.
Ending the third act and going into the fourth and final act of the episode with Tina having no other choice but to swallow her pride and might as well let the chaos continue. I would say that Tina is becoming really spineless in what she doing but knowing that we are now less than five minutes into the episode, might as well let Tina see what she can do because if you saw the episode when it came out, you already know where this is going with Tina and how she can break through the cracks and expose Frond. So, ending the third act of the episode with Tina getting ready for another interview with Frond, who is looking like a mess right now with stubble continuing to form on his face and his sweater now covered in cat hair. Trying to make himself look good for the camera once more.
And now, going into the fourth and final act of the episode, as the interview ready to take place between Tina and Frond as if Tina’s mind was already settled or just thrown in the towel, here comes Louise to enter the newsroom and tells Tina to expose Frond right away as if she (Tina) had made her choice regarding her situation if they want the madness to end but it looks like Tina may be already made up her mind because she rather keep her show on the air and let the chaos continue than letting her morals take charge. And knowing, again, less than five minutes left in the episode, you might as well let Tina do what she does best. Of course, Louise has to be escorted out of the newsroom because she had to barge in and could stand in the way of the interview, causing Mr. Grant to call up Tammy to take her out of the room. Which, once again, seeing Tammy being nice instead of her bitchy and egotistical self that we are accustomed to still feels weird.
Might as well wrap up the subplot of the episode with Bob and Linda still riding high from storytelling duties and it looks like that’s going to bite them in the ass once Bob noticed that he missed a couple of phone calls from Teddy from last night. Found out that Teddy went to the screening despite telling their versions of the film and because he thought, when listening to both Bob and Linda, was so good and enjoyable that he wanted to check it out himself the same way you watch a movie review on YouTube and decides to watch it yourself to see if it’s good or bad as what the video you saw is true. So uh... not looking good for Bob and Linda and might be planning on fleeing as if they’re about to escape Teddy’s wrath... only for Teddy to come into the restaurant with an unamused face after going to the screening last night and the result...
He called out the director during a Q&A session regarding the plot of the movie because he listened to Bob and Linda’s version of the film that it was drilled deep into his brain that he thought that when watching the movie for himself, was going to be what he thought was their version but in reality, it’s not. And that resulted in Teddy causing a scene during a session with the director of the film and with the audience and one of the stars of the film present. So what’s Bob and Linda’s excuse? They had parental duties to attend to and got to sleep early without even bothering to check on the film because they had had little sleep in the past few days. Teddy’s response to this? He doesn’t mind. Because when he checked the film out for himself after hearing what Bob and Linda did with their version, he got bored and terrified, but mostly bored. In short, most horror movies these days in compared to the horror movies of the past when you or your parents were growing up. And, of course, prefers the version that Bob and Linda made up over the actual plot. As for telling Teddy on whose version is better... best that we don’t do that as Teddy put out and it’s for the best. We have a few minutes left in the episode and it’s a pretty long-ass review when typing this.
And now, the moment of truth as we enter the final few minutes of the episode and it looks like the cracks may have already expanded for Frond and if you think that Tina may have sold out and prefers to keep giving Frond the spotlight and let the chaos roam rather than exposing him right away, you have to least put your trust on her for what she is planning on doing. In short, might as well let her cook. Especially when shoving the mouse to Frond for him to play the game for himself as if she’s setting up a mouse trap to lure Frond just by having him play the game for himself. And Frond, looking a bit nervous there, can’t get out of this one this time around because everyone in school is watching, unlike the last time when he deflected the question about the software the program was using and wanted additional details. So now, Frond has no other choice but to play the game that he claimed that he made himself and live on school TV for the whole school to see. The entire school, especially when cutting over to the eighth-grade room for a bit with certain characters like Zeke, Chelsea, and some random student sitting behind him watching it unfold. And once Frond is done, here comes his results and the screencap below speaks for itself...
The program shows his emotional profile after partaking in the game, labeling him as unstable, amoral, is probably dangerous, and that everyone should stay away from him because the dude’s a mess. He is a mess. A hack you might say. And Frond’s results live on camera got the whole school’s attention, putting him in a very tight spot. The cracks are already forming and it’s getting bigger and bigger with crumbs falling to the ground. Frond can try his best to get out of dodge. Trying to claim that it was a bug that caused it to give him the results that he wished he didn’t. Especially with the program, according to Tina, expected to roll out across the district outside of Wagstaff. And knowing that we are nearing the two-minute warning of the episode, out comes the truth bomb that rocks the school live on the air.
Shocking everyone across the school with every classroom, primarily the fourth, sixth, and eighth-grade classrooms, in complete shock that all the bizarro personalities that each student and adult in the school got after getting their results, finally decided to stop drinking the Kool-Aid and turned back to normal after being in complete shock when finding out that, yes, Frond made something that would benefit himself by creating something that would help the kids with their issues but instead, creating a bizarro personality for everyone who had partaken in the program and thought that he was going to make a name for himself, only to come crashing down in a hurry like he’s last year’s Jacksonville Jaugars.
Also interesting for this scene with the eighth-grade class during the expected shock moment after finding out that Frond is a hack where the girl in the light purple shirt who was sitting behind Zeke and next to Chelsea when watching Frond playing the game and then comes this scene, the screencap above this paragraph, moved up to the front and taking that place is sitting behind Tina’s empty desk, nice to see that this scene created some space for the empty desk to be added instead of adding an extra random character taking Tina’s spot, and in-between Chelsea and Will is, of course, Sam. Yes, Sam. Y’all remember him as the kid who attended Chelsea’s party who attempted to hide away and dance with Tina? Just be lucky that he’s not donned as a one-off, even if he was there for a non-speaking cameo and only saw his backside. Had to get that out there.
So Frond’s program has now hit the shitter following the interview, especially when trying to avoid talking to Spoors on the phone on the air, not knowing that Spoors is watching the segment, ends up picking up the phone and yeah, the program will not go as planned after the fallout with Frond exposing himself as a fraud. And this is where Frond questions what was going on leading up to this exact moment once all three siblings of the Belchers walk up to him with him talking to her, saying that she was supposed to be on his side and thought that she and Louise were arguing over the chaos was that caused by the program. Turns out to be a fake fight to make Frond lose his guard. I mean, Louise was the first to know that something wasn’t right about all of this, especially once she noticed that the school had turned upside down, but it was Tina’s question in Frond’s second interview when he dodged them and finding out in his office that he was using Henry to work the software that caused the trap to be set up. As for how Frond got the results that resulted in him exposing himself to the school? You guessed it...
Henry Haber. He teamed up with the Belcher kids in their plot to expose Frond in front of the entire school because why not? Tina brought up that Frond had him fix her results so that things would not fall apart, kind of sleazy if you think about it, and now, Henry did the job for the Belchers to help them expose Frond and is now free from what I guess is a hostile environment just because he was the only one who knows how to program. He’s a free man and the school is back to normal, well, right before asking Frond to write his college recommendations because that was part of the deal.
And now, in the final scene of the episode with everything back to normal and everyone back to their normal selves with Jocelyn reinviting everyone to her party after uninviting them because of her results from Frond’s program and also Tina and Jimmy Jr having some chatter with him now switching his attention to Zeke’s sneakers after two hours on the phone after becoming a victim of Frond’s program. So yeah, everything is back to normal once the Belcher kids make their way out with Louise complimenting Tina as a truth finder because she was the one who noticed the cracks on the wall in Frond’s second interview that awakes her journalistic thoughts. And thus, ending the episode with Tina already planning on going back to square one that led her show to be in danger of getting canceled by planning on interviewing Branca once more. As if she had never learned her lesson at all. Cue up the kelp forest screensaver!
Reaction/Thoughts:
So all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? Honestly, this was a good episode to start the new season. I’m not kidding, it was a good episode to start the new season. Sure, Frond being exposed as the fraud that he is was predictable and some certain moments could lightly weigh down the episode but other than that, it’s a good episode nonetheless. It’s like with “Crystal Mess” back in Season 12... except that this is 100% better than that episode.
Both plots are enjoyable for this episode. The main plot, even though the outcome was predictable with Frond exposing himself as a fraud, it was an enjoyable storyline. The students in their bizarro personalities, once they got their results after participating in the program, were weird but also somewhat enjoyable. It was nice to see the characters in their positions, mostly with little lines or just there in a non-speaking role, being present in the episode, though a missed opportunity when getting the reaction shots in showing the fifth and seventh-grade classrooms while watching the school news. And out of the many side characters that got the most attention from this episode, sure, you have the likes of Rudy, Jimmy Jr, Tammy, Jocelyn, Andy, and Ollie having some roles in this main plot, it was nice to see to have Henry in the limelight and mind you, it was a long while since he last had a speaking role. Season 11 was the last time Henry had a speaking role. During the pandemic was the last time Gaffigan voiced Henry and that was after the presidential election was called that weekend. So it was nice to have Henry involved though Pam and Chuck, despite Bouchard back in Comic-Con back in July bringing up their actors’ names being involved in this season, underutilized as if they don’t even need to be involved in this other than the crew saying, “Oh yeah, we haven’t seen them in a long time, so let’s bring them back but only for a scene. And it has to be a flashback”. But that didn’t kill my enjoyment of it and didn’t weigh down the episode a lot.
The subplot, I have to give my credit, was enjoyable with Linda and later Bob telling their version of each of the horror films for Teddy to listen to. If you’re a movie buff, you can somewhat agree with Teddy about how horror films (or any film) these days that can have some issues regarding the pacing and don’t want to commit the cardinal sin in the world of entertainment by boring the crap out of the audience. And the stories, rather, the movie plots in how Bob and Linda would imagine on how it played out in their separate versions, it was stupid that it was enjoyable. Not in a mean way though, just FYI. Especially in the third act where Bob and Linda had to turn it into a competition by having either one butting into the latter’s version of the film, that was stupid fun and I for one seemed to be somewhat enjoying it. So, final thoughts, this was a good episode, and despite a predictable outcome, some characters like Chuck and Pam being underutilized after not seeing them in a long time, and some misses with some scenes, it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this episode. So I’ll give “The Tina Table: The Tables Have Tina-ed”...
An 8 out of 10. But that’s my opinion for this episode and a long-ass opinion piece that is pretty much a truck spill on the freeway filled with word salad but that’s how things go here, and I wanna hear yours in the comments below. Season 15 has begun and we got a new one this upcoming Sunday with the family going out to a drive-in with Bob attempting to save the said drive-in from shutting its doors, Linda getting into a beef with one of the attendees who happened to be a PTA member, and Louise and Gene not wanting to face Tina’s wrath regarding her missing candy in the second episode of Season 15, “Saving Favorite Drive-In”.
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