It won’t be long until Bob’s Burgers makes its return since we’re only a month away now from its supposed May release. It's been a good five months since we last got an episode, right around the New Year, and knowing yours truly, who has been reviewing the show for eleven years and has been doing The Great North a year now... well, a year and a half or two when having to split the series’ mini-reviews when serving as a halfway segment with the Bob’s Burgers review thanks in part to the double premiere on that one March night in 2023. So, it’s just The Great North going into April before things get really hectic once we get to May with yours truly on this page. Especially across a few social pages with the NHL and NBA playoffs right around the corner.
In this week’s episode of The Great North, it’s storytelling time, though it’s not an anthology episode, it’s more of the likes of what we saw in “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” if you remember that episode, with Judy telling Alanis a story about the ice skating competition with her and Moon having a bit of a falling out leading up to the day of and sticking with the story by Judy, Beef’s old high school peer Zelda decides to move next door to become the Tobins’ next door, rather, next boat neighbor in my spoilerific review of the seventh episode of Season 5 of The Great North, titled “It’s Compli-skated Adventure”.
The world of ice skating, especially being put under the microscope in the world of entertainment like movies and TV shows like this one, is an interesting one. It’s a... complicated thing on what is going on behind the scenes with the skaters whenever they’re not on the rink and being put on camera for thousands, if not, millions, to see on screen. Mostly because of what Hollywood paints on everything that is going on for us to see. I’ve never been one, mostly because there’s a thing called being born and raised in the South, though I’m sure there are some Southerners who are figure skaters, so I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.
With The Great North for this week’s episode, the figure skating theme is one thing but it’s also the idea of siblings separating as if they’re having a falling out just because Person X or Y is having some issues that they don’t want to deal with the latter because of reasons but mostly because of they’re getting old, not feeling the heat of the game, and wants to hang it up. That’s pretty much what Judy thought and whether you want to say that it’s her being overdramatic when telling the story and treat it like it’s a rom-com even though it’s not, and we’ll get to that in a bit and we got a lot to talk about when preparing to recap the whole episode from top to bottom. Oh yeah, if you’re hoping for a Tonya Harding situation where someone’s leg has to be messed up, if you know, you know, that didn’t happen. Just a spoiler because I’m sure The Great North wouldn’t go that far to do that.
Other than that, it’s the same format as “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” where Judy has to tell Alanis about what happened as the synopsis from The Futon Critic stated leading up to the episode’s premiere, mixed with somewhere we have to retrace our steps to the beginning but without the title card that reads how many hours or along with having the return of one Zelda Blop and having her to once again, invades Beef’s life by becoming his new neighbor. You’d thought that by now, this should’ve been dealt with, especially since the pact was pretty much nulled and void now that Beef is in a relationship with Carissa. We can all agree that Zelda is pretty much a freaking nutcase. Especially with this episode alone, when going after Beef yet again. That being said, we might as well skate our way through the episode and, like the competition, see where this episode will land when it comes to scoring. This is “It’s Compli-skated Adventure”.
The episode starts outside of the Tobin household on the roof by the window where Judy’s room is located and we get our Alanis appearance first time this season where instead of Judy calling for Alanis to have a conversation in a one-on-one through the night skies, it’s Alanis who is calling Judy to come out of her room. During the midnight hours no less, while she was supposed to go to sleep and especially, for this episode, dealing with a dilemma that she is currently in. And normally, any situation like what Judy is currently in would be where she would at least get some advice from Alanis like with the previous instances between the two and we rarely get that as we get into what is pretty much the later seasons unlike with Seasons 1-3 of the series, especially Seasons 1 and 2. This one, however, is not so much, and again, it’s not Judy this time around who she is calling for Alanis, and instead, it’s the other way around. And Alanis’s reason for calling Judy out while she is dealing with a problem of her own that we’re going find out just moments away?
She needed a story. She needed a story to keep her busy, rather, a bedtime story to get her ready for bed because her streaming service is down because Fiona Apple is resetting her router and was unable to do the job because, according to Alanis, by the way, this is all imaginary by the way, doesn’t know how and now, she is stuck and needs Judy to tell her a story as if it’s reading time at the library. Even though Judy is not in the mood to tell Alanis one because of the situation that she is in, mainly because of the upcoming Lone Moose Ice Dancing Competition, for Alanis, that should be enough for Judy to recap why she (Judy) is dealing with the situation that she is currently in. Of course, since it’s a story for Alanis to get her ready for bed, it has to be in a style like it’s a movie. A rom-com, to be exact, even though Judy’s issue isn’t like that since it’s with Moon, and yeah, it’s nothing like that.
Aside from that, Judy tells Alanis the story of what happened, retelling her steps about the situation that she is in. And quite the interesting change of form for Alanis to go from just the lights from the northern sky using the Borealis to using the full body to land on Judy’s roof. And not in the way she did it in “Worst Drives Club Adventure” where she tried to tell Judy to learn how to drive, but instead, it’s her all colorized to imagine what the actual Alanis, in the style of how the characters of Bob’s Burgers, The Great North, and Central Park would look as we are all accustomed to, but it’s quite the change of form just for this episode. Especially with her donning sleeping gear and a bowl of popcorn as if it’s a sleepover for two. And before we get to the current situation, it’s best to get into the nitty-gritty of things. The backstory behind what is going on in the world of ice skating since it is the central theme of this episode. One of the two, to be exact.
According to Judy, and this takes place seven years ago, right around when Moon was still an baby, one or two years of age to be exact, when they first participated in the skating competition. Whether it’s one year they dressed as a chicken and her chick hatching from an egg, a couple of squirrels, or as the sun and the flower in its pot, they were unstoppable because they’re too damn adorable to beat. Every ice skater dares to find a way to beat them to take home the trophy, but alas, they would fall short because... well, they’re kids. You can’t beat them in something like ice skating. That’s pretty much their advantage. Their ace in the hole. And year after year after year, they take home the trophy. Going for the sweep. Something that the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t achieve and did a three-peat. Although, the poster for the event says 40th Annual for when Judy and Moon were dressed up as the chicken and the chick. When Judy and Moon dressed up as squirrels with Moon having to get rid of his binky and still wearing diapers one year and the two donned in the sun and flower costume the year after, you think that the poster should at least be fixed to said 41st Annual for the squirrel year and 42nd Annual for the sun and flower. Especially since the company that is sponsoring the event, Mike’s Ice for Guys, had to go through some serious PR repairs.
Other than that, things were going great for Judy and Moon. They were an unstoppable duo on the local ice rink, like they were Jordan and Pippen. Nothing can stop them from taking home the trophy and for the family to create room for the trophy shelf from their opponents. However, there is one unstoppable force that decided to fuck things for the two going into the current timeline. And that is, of course, Father Time himself. A rift is starting to form between the two, and that should be the first item on the list for Judy to be worried about. But enough about that; let’s get to Beef’s love life because if we’re going to treat the situation like a rom-com, Judy might as well treat it as one as we get to the subplot of the episode.
It’s the early morning hours at the docks with Wolf and Beef untying the rope that held the boat from floating away, getting ready to take off for the day, when Honeybee notices something that caught her attention when using the binoculars to see what is coming their way. A houseboat, to be exact, which to Wolf and Beef, should be fine because it would nice for once to have neighbors. Especially right next to their boat at the docks. However, their new neighbor isn’t the one they would be excited about, as Honeybee describes the person standing in front of the boat on its way to the docks next to where the family boat is docked. Once Honeybee describes who the person is, a plus-sized woman with purple glasses and wearing only a wedding dress, the alarm bells start to ring because Beef and Wolf, especially Beef, should know who Honeybee is describing. Enough for Wolf to declare a Code: Shocking Pink and for Beef to hide himself in the trunk that somehow came out of nowhere, but I guess it came with the new boat. So yeah, Zelda Blop is back and back into Beef’s life. And for anyone who doesn’t know who this character is, like Honeybee doesn’t know who she is when doing the drill...
In the subplot to Season 3’s “Sister Pact Too Adventure,” when both Honeybee and Judy were away at that feminist retreat, just as the Tobin boys are about to go to the pickle place when they get a knock on the door and it was revealed to be Zelda. And the backstory to how Zelda came to be and how she got obsessed with Beef, not attracting like in the love language, but more of obsessed in the way how a yandere should be defined. Beef and Zelda made a pact in high school that they could get married at a later age if neither of them found someone to be paired with. The pact was called off once Beef married Kathleen, but once Kathleen left to go be with Marcus and had to raise four kids on his lonesome to this very day, it’s open season for Zelda since she never found someone since the pact was made. It was free eats for her. And had to find ways to get Zelda out of his life by lying to her that he found someone, of course, having a portion of the town involved, to pretend to be Beef’s wife. Of course, she appeared briefly in Season 4’s “Risky Beefness Adventure” as one of the matches that Beef made while exploring online dating in hopes of a one-night stand before doing that with Greta. Her saying, “Here comes the bride, her name is me”, should be enough for Beef to automatically swipe left.
And here we go again with Zelda returning for Season 5. Back crawling into Beef’s life and still thinking that Beef is still single. Especially that one night stand too many with Greta, Zelda still thinks that the pact is still ongoing and believes that Beef is currently single and for her to come in for the strike to make him hers. Not knowing and should know this by now, through her thick skull, that he found someone and is currently in a relationship since last season, which is Carissa. The pact should have been called off and for Zelda to leave him alone, but I guess she didn’t get the memo. She probably thinks it’s him playing hard to get as if she’s delulu, and she is. If I were Beef and this were to happen to me: Two things is one: tell her I’m already in a relationship, an actual relationship, to get her to send a message that the pact is off. And two, and something that Beef should at least give it a try: a restraining order. File it. I don’t give a damn, file it.
Going back to the Judy side of the story, with her telling Alanis what is going on as we prepare to close out the first act of the episode, and a quick one at that, where we see Judy getting excited about the competition and is about to ask Moon to get ready for practice as the unstoppable duo once again. Only for her to stop and overhear a conversation he has with Russell by his locker about the topic in question, and this is where the rift truly starts. A rift that pretty much hurts Judy’s feelings. We know that Moon doesn’t like his sister, and it’s not like he doesn’t want to be around her since they’re family. It’s just that Moon is already at the age where he’s getting old. He doesn’t want to do some sibling skating for the people to watch and just wants to hang up his skates. Pretty much calling it a career.
And sure, with the way Moon is saying it, it feels like she’s overthinking what he is saying and treating this as if we don’t know what Moon’s actual reason is for not wanting to skate with Judy anymore, other than him getting old. He’s 10 years old, but for someone at his age, that should be the age where you want to consider retirement from skating, well, unless you’re Debbie, with his sister. And even though he loves to win and bring home another trophy, he’s pretty much calling it quits. Which Judy should at least know that it should be understandable to take, only to hear some complaints when being around her in years past. Calling her bossy and unhinged since this is a competition. Shades of her behavior from “Curl Interrupted Adventure” when she became Beef’s assistant coach for the curling team is what Moon is implying, but it should be more than enough to hurt Judy’s feelings with the competition now days away thanks in part to Moon turning heel.
Going into the second act of the episode with Judy continues to tell the story as Alanis is putting on a facemask. The facemask got Judy’s attention, and she asked Alanis where she got it from. Turns out to be from Sephora, that she may have done a little shoplifting, and Alanis’s excuse for this when telling Judy this... it’s late-stage capitalism. It’s pretty much open season for her to do that. But we might as well get back to Judy’s story since we’re getting a bit sidetracked just by seeing Alanis’s facemask.
And it looks like the fallout between Judy and Moon isn’t just the ice skating issue after overhearing his conversation with Russell by his locker. Whether it’s her asking Moon to create tye-dye shirts or asking Moon to join her at the mall to find some people for babysitting service, Judy sort of put the pieces together that they’re drifting apart with Moon is getting old, 10 years old is pretty much old for Moon when having to do things like ice skating with your older sibling, and for Judy, it does sting her. I’m not a parenting expert, even though I do have siblings and step-siblings, and having a sibling drift away from you can be a bit painful because you thought that they would be your ride or die and got your back and shit. It’s just that the universe loves to pull some bullshit and have Moon and Judy to drift apart, hopefully not being treated the same way as what we got with Tina and Louise earlier in Season 15 of Bob’s Burgers, but it’s more of, as Judy described, Moon used to look up to Judy like how most younger siblings look up to their oldest siblings because they think they’re the most experienced. But time flew by, and things started to shift. Even if Judy is still taking offense over what Moon said that hurt her feelings.
Especially once we get to the ice rink with Judy still upset over Moon’s comments, and speak of the devil, here comes Moon ready to get their practice session going. And this is where the fallout begins to take place because we’re only in the second act of the episode, so we might as well get the separation underway. Moon wants to get the damn thing out of the way by becoming laser-focused on the session ahead of their competition, but Judy decides to bring out what Moon said to Russell after overhearing their conversation. Calling her bossy and unhinged, and that is exactly what Judy is doing. Going for the parent deciding to teach their kid a lesson by deciding to be their worst self as what they described out of frustration. Critiquing Moon’s moves throughout the years those two became partners regarding... well, everything. And much like most figure skaters behind the scenes as Hollywood paints, there’s got to be a breakup, and lo and behold, we got one. Judy and Moon are no longer a team, thanks in part to Moon’s comments that to Judy, a step too far. I know they make up in the end, but still.
To the point where Judy and Moon decide to make an unfriendly bet with each other leading up to the competition. And the bet in question as we prepare to reach the halfway mark of the episode, you may ask? Since Judy believes that Moon is a bad partner after what happened earlier in the episode, to the point where the fallout is currently taking place, the bet would be for them to find different partners. However, they will not be paired by themselves as if they’re going across town to find someone to fill up the hole that was left open, but instead, Judy would find Moon a partner and Moon the same for Judy. The most annoying and the most unqualified to date. Pretty much sums up our current government running every agency. With that, the bet is set, and we’ll find out who will be paired as their assigned partner for the competition now that Judy and Moon are no longer partners.
We go back to the subplot with Beef, Wolf, and Honeybee currently in hiding now that Zelda unexpectedly became their new neighbor. Honeybee thinks that Beef is pretty much overreacting once she and Wolf have to carry him inside the boat and plans on giving her a little welcome to the neighborhood gift as if she treats Zelda as one of Beef’s exes. Even though Beef and Zelda were never close. They never dated because of that pact they made in high school. Pretty much dumb high school stuff that he didn’t expect that it would one day come to bite him in the ass going into his adult life. Especially once Kathleen left him for Marcus. Regardless, they have to welcome her to the neighborhood, or rather, the docks next to the boat, by pouring a bowl of Chex Mix per Honeybee’s suggestion to get the awkwardness out of the way.
And quite the welcoming greeting from Zelda once Beef, Wolf, and Honeybee stand in the doorway with Zelda already coming in for the kill and hugs Beef tightly. And we have to bring up Zelda’s behavior because of the way she knew where Beef would dock his boat and is still wearing her wedding dress and not even planning on getting rid of it, or I guess returning it because that had to be rental, as if she waiting for the perfect strike to make Beef hers, again, without even getting the fucking memo that he’s off the market, so that pact they made should be called off even though Zelda still doesn’t have a man of her own. She reminds me of Gayle in the “Dr. Yap” episode where she was hitting on Bob after he kissed her, mistaking Gayle for Linda because he was high on anesthesia following his tooth surgery at the dentist. But more of the line of creepy, stalker-ish, and going cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs as if she’s the grown-up version of Millie Frock. But if you think that Zelda is only here for Beef, once again, she should’ve gotten the memo that Beef is with Carissa now so she can leave him alone... in a shocking turn of events, Zelda found someone. I’m guessing it’s either she did her part in the pact or maybe she did find out that Beef is in a relationship with someone other than her in Carissa, and also what I can also guess read the poem that was written by Greta, this is me grasping at straws here, but Zelda found her guy.
The tall twink here is named Ribbert, or as people should call him as his nickname, Ribeye. Hmm... Ribeye? Jeez, I wonder why you have a name, regardless if it is a nickname or not, like that sounded like something coming out of the meat market? Beef and Ribeye both are meat names, and I wonder if that’s how Zelda got a hold of good ol’ Ribbert to become her fiancé just because it’s the same as Beef. So who knows? But regardless, Zelda got her man and told Beef that she quote on quote “had his chance” as if she thinks that Beef was going after her after being single for a long ass time since... knowing that the show is set in 2024-2025 and Kathleen left right after Moon was born, single since Obama was in office. Even though Zelda is straight-up delusional because Beef stated that he was never hers to begin with. They were just two stupid high school students who had to make a dumb little pact that he didn’t expect that it would one day bite him in the ass the moment he became a single father.
Other than that, with Zelda now in a relationship with Ribeye, and, of course, Beef in a relationship, just need Zelda to get the memo to her thick skull, that Beef doesn’t have to deal with the idea of her going after him anymore... is what I would say if it weren’t for what is about to come later in the episode. Beef, Wolf, and Honeybee make their way back to the Mighty Beef as Zelda and Ribeye, judging by how the boat is rocking back and forth like they’re creating their mini-tsunami... if this were a YouTube video version of this episode’s review, I would probably play a certain sound, a short meme sound, in the background as the three adults make their way back to the boat that would probably be going to get me possibly demonetized as Zelda and Ribeye are doing the down and dirty.
We prepare to wrap up the first half of the episode with Judy and Moon meeting once again at the ice rink with them getting ready for their bet. With it, their assigned partners for either of the two parties with the competition are now days away from competing. And the rules are simple for this little bet between the two siblings: their assigned partner has to be unqualified and annoying so that the person who is with their assigned partner starts to break down out of the abundance of annoyance and frustration so they can waive the white flag and prove the other’s point. And here’s Moon’s partner for Judy to be paired with.
He brought in Russell to be Judy’s new partner for the competition. Moon’s reason to bring in Russell out of everyone even though it was short timing and the bet did say that the person has to be unqualified and annoying. According to Moon, out of the four people who Moon is friends with, Judy describes Russell as the most annoying out of the bunch. Which is perfect for him to pair his sister with one of his friends to give her a taste of her own medicine. Let’s just say that... for Moon, as we prepare to go into the second half of the episode, we’re about to see that his suggestion for assigning Judy a partner on such short notice is quickly going to backfire. Especially when noticing that Russell can stand while skating, which should give her an early advantage. And speaking of assigning partners as we prepare to close out the first half of the episode, here comes Moon’s assigned partner from Judy, the most unqualified one of the bunch, and Moon knows who it is.
It’s none other than Ham who came out of the woodworks. Having trouble balancing and nearly got his fingers cut off by a random skater’s skates on the ice. And already, this feels like a losing battle for Moon to be paired with the most unqualified skater who doesn’t know Dickey McGee’s acts on how to do just that on the ice. Almost feels like a missed opportunity, at least in my opinion, in not to have Debbie in the episode. Not for the unqualified part; Debbie is fully qualified, but remember the small comments Moon made about Judy of her being bossy and unhinged, I thought she would bring her in just to give Moon a taste of his own medicine. The type where Debbie’s coaching would make Judy’s coaching look like a priest during Sunday service.
So the bet is on going into the second half of the episode, already getting Alanis hooked as Judy continues to tell the story, as we go back to the aforementioned story with Judy, now with Russell, giving him the basics for their practice session. She pulls out a costume from her duffle bag that resembles the crystal ball you see in Times Square every New Year’s Eve since it looks like that’s going to be the theme for Team Judy to dress up for this year’s competition. Judy was about to put the crystal ball costume onto Russell, only for her to back away once Russell freaked out because of his claustrophobia because the costume that Moon would wear would have him in costume and having to wait for him for his cue to come out. Guess that needed to be worked around for Russell leading up to the competition.
So, things are not looking good for Judy with the bet. She’s 1-1 so far with Russell knowing how to stand while skating but his claustrophobia when preparing to put on the costume. And for Moon, he’s probably thinking that even though he’s stuck with Ham, who doesn’t know anything about skating, like teaching a kid how to ride a two-wheeled bike, as long as Judy gets to deal with some problems with Russell, then it should be easy for him with the bet. However, Moon’s choice to have Russell be Judy’s assigned partner for the competition is going to blow up in his face as the third act progresses.
As much as Judy deems Russell the annoying one of the four people who Moon is friends with, she finds out that Russell is a good skater. I mean, we know that he can stand still while having skates on should at least be a sign, but anyone, especially if they’re bad at it or just learning it, knows how to without having to rely on the railing, but he revealed himself to be a good skater. And you can thank his mom’s boyfriend Jaime for that experience that gave him the skills to be a good skater. All of this without even Moon noticing, and oh man, this really blew up in Moon’s face because he didn’t know that Russell was a good skater and just picked him to be Judy’s partner because Judy thinks that he’s the annoying of the bunch. Congrats, Moon, you just pretty much screwed yourself out of the bet without even noticing that Russell has a hidden talent. Especially at an ice rink of all the fucking places to be at and with the competition just days away. A decision that is going to bite him in the ass as the episode progresses. And speaking of someone having something that is biting him in the ass...
We go back to the docks to check up on Beef, where he is minding his business with the boat, where he notices a random barrel courtesy of a voice that startled him, which we already know that it’s Zelda who is hiding inside the barrel. She’s only doing this because she is delusional. Thinking that Ribeye would catch them in the act just by them walking as if Zelda wants to homewreck her own relationship just to be with Beef. But Beef, time and time again, having to put his foot down and says to her that they were never together and will never be as long as he lives. But that’s not going to stop Zelda from getting the memo and believing that Beef is “playing hard to get” and thinks that he’s the delusional one.
If I were Beef in this situation, I would probably tell her like this: “Hey, I know there’s this pact that we made back in high school, and don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you’re a nice woman and I’m sure Ribeye should be lucky to have you, but this should be the part where this little pact has to be called off. This needs to be called off because your actions make me uncomfortable. Besides, I’m in a relationship now. I’m with Carissa. You’re with Ribeye. The pact is off.” It pretty much shades of that one episode of Family Guy where Brian volunteered to be Meg’s date to the prom, and after attending and standing up to Connie despite drinking too much is where Meg became attracted to him and have gone off the chains to him hers. The closest you can think of when describing Zelda’s situation would be Florence Nightingale Syndrome, but that would only work if Beef were injured and Zelda would be the nurse. It’s just them in high school being idiots, well, Beef being an idiot because it was to make Kathleen jealous, and it worked... up until becoming a father at 19.
This has to be assault, right? I’m pretty sure this has to be the assault as what Zelda is doing to Beef by rubbing her hands that had lipstick on it onto Beef’s face without consent. She is in a relationship, sorry, “relationship” and add the quotation marks on the word because Zelda is already on the attack and plans on homewrecking her own relationship. Cheating on Ribeye because she is madly obsessed with Beef. Not attracted in the romantic relationship term, but more in the line of being obsessed to make sure no one but her gets him. There’s a word on that, you know. And she pretty much fits the mold. You will know that she automatically lands on that definition later in the episode.
We enter the montage portion of the episode as Judy continues to tell the story to Alanis, leading up to the evening before the competition. You have Ham and Moon with Ham, of course, having trouble just attempting to stand on the ice the same way you’re teaching your toddler how to walk and pretty much screwed himself when it come to the bet. I say that because Moon doesn’t know that Russell, who he thought that he had no experience in skating other than knowing how to stand still while on skates without having to rely on holding to a rail, and now that he sees him and Judy skating just perfectly fine, he is already becoming jealous with what he is seeing. And also, quickly finding out that he might’ve screwed himself in the bet now that he figured it out that he’s a good skater without even knowing other than Judy seeing Russell as annoying.
And whether it’s the two sitting at the same lunch table with Russell making Judy laugh by having his hamburger talk, creating tye-dyes in the basement, or spraying soda at each other, if we’re going to treat the story like a rom-com, then in rom-com terms, Moon, without having to turn into what I’m saying is incestious because ew, is the jealous ex-boyfriend, or rather, the jealous ex-skating partner who got dumped after getting into an argument and sees the latter hanging around with someone else and having the time of their life. Moon is jealous that Judy is hanging out with Russell as if she’s treating him as a replacement sibling. And you can see why because, as of this moment, because there’s a script cover for an upcoming episode with Russell and someone who looks like him, along with Moon, doing the Spider-Man pointing at each other meme, him being an only child and living with a single mother, it’s like Russell found someone who can see Judy as an older sibling role model. Nothing wrong with that when you’re talking about two people who are from a divorced family just paling around after what Judy thought Russell was the most annoying in the bunch when it comes to Moon’s group, but that changed once the bet began and for Judy to find out that Russell is an excellent skater. Once again, Moon just screwed himself upon finding out that Russell turned out to be an excellent skater and pretty much given a taste of his own medicine. And he can pretty much blame no one but himself for that.
The montage also features Beef as he continues to be stalked by Zelda. Whether it’s at the store, the boat in the middle of the water, getting the car washed, or taking the trash out with Beef thought that she would be hiding inside one of the trash bins, only to find out that she was hiding inside the bag the whole time, which is pretty insane if you asked me, he just can’t escape her wherever he goes until Zelda makes her Beef belongs to her now that she docked her boat next to his. And if I were Beef in this situation, I’m going to say this again: file a restraining order. That’s all I have to say because to him, this is getting out of hand. All of this because of this dumb little pact they made that they’ll marry each other once they hit 40 if they don’t find someone in between high school and hitting the 40 mark, and with Kathleen long gone, that became open season for her to prey on Beef. Not even fucking knowing that Beef is already in a relationship since her last appearance.
I said that it feels like a missed opportunity for not to have Debbie in this episode because it’s an episode about ice skating and Debbie always wears her skating uniform like she’s Arnold Evans in his karate uniform to school, it’s also a missed opportunity not to have Carissa on board. Just to tell Zelda to leave Beef alone. Would it turn into a small catfight? Sure, I guess. But it would, at least, for a while at least, unless things become serious between the two, that being Beef and Carissa, and I know that it would feel unnecessary to drag Carissa into Beef’s longtime mess, something has to be done to give this man some peace. Otherwise, file a restraining order. That’s all I have to say. Oh, but why stop there?
We get to the next scene with Beef, Wolf, and Honeybee inside the boat at the sleeping quarters because you have various photos put up that include the family photo that includes Dirt, she may not be in this episode but she is here in spirit in the form of the family photo, along with the photo of Ham in front of his cake creation from “Judy Presents: The Staircake” and a photo of Beef and Wolf along with Tusk Johnson, but that’s enough with the photos that serves as references to past episodes, we got more examples of why Zelda is fucking insane when it comes to the world of romance. She breaks into the boat after spotting her and Beef, once again, trying to tell her that he’s not interested in her, but this bitch won’t stop and listen that should’ve get the message to her head, drill the sucker to the ground, post the sign, and pour cement so that the sign doesn’t get removed. Of course, like the Trix Rabbit going after Trix cereal or yogurt, she goes for the kill and “lovingly” hugs Beef until his bones crack. And you can already guess where this is going.
Ribeye saw this unfolding and accused Beef of being a homewrecker. Even though Zelda is the one who is doing the homewrecking herself... holy shit, folks, I fucking hate Zelda. I fucking hate Zelda so much. And this begs the question, if Zelda continues her quest to go after Beef, why did she choose Ribeye if we all know that she is still overly obsessed with Beef since high school when the pact was made, even though it was made just to make Kathleen jealous? Why did she choose Ribeye if we all know that she would do shit like this and stalk Beef like she’s a lion waiting for the time to strike to go after as innocent as a zebra? Ribeye is pretty much the victim in all of this, aside from Beef since high school and the moment he hit 40 years of age and having to go through his records that stated that he was divorced, but he’s pretty much the victim. He’s technically a kidnapping victim up to this point. But yeah, Ribeye decides to challenge Beef to a duel, not knowing that he’s pretty much a pawn in Zelda’s game, which last time I checked, it’s 2025, not 1804. Ribeye calls for a duel for Zelda’s “honor,” with Honeybee thinking that this is getting out of hand and that there’s no way Beef would ever accept the offer. But if it means getting Zelda out of his life, Beef says, “Fuck it, I’m game. If it means getting Zelda out of my life and stop obsessing over me, then so be it.” And with that, we got ourselves a duel. A duel that Beef plans on throwing away if it means giving Ribeye a win so Zelda can leave him alone. The restraining order option is still on the table, Beef. I’m just putting it out there.
Going from day to night at the Tobin household with the Tobins having dinner with Russell as their guest with Moon and Ham nowhere to be seen for a bit. Already feels welcomed as if he’s one of them, thanks in part to Judy, with the competition now a sleep away, meaning that Alanis is now fully caught up to where we stand from the start of the episode. The bet that Judy and Moon made is pretty much a lopsided one between the two Tobin siblings since Moon pretty much screwed himself by dragging Russell into the mix without even noticing that he’s a good skater, probably better than Moon, to the point where he feels jealous that he is losing his big sister to his friend; not to mention being paired with Ham, who is unqualified to skate where if there’s ever a government agency that is created just for skating, he would that run that shit. And speaking of Moon and Ham...
Looks like things are not looking good in their end of the bet with Moon being upset and Ham looking like he had been through hell as he sustained a few scratches and bruises with one of them being a black eye as he walks towards the fridge to get a packet of frozen peas to treat his bruised eye. And you can already tell that Moon lost the bet even though he already lost when the bet started after drafting Russell to be Judy’s partner without noticing that he was a very good skater. Something that, once again, blew up in Moon’s face. Dealing with the consequences of his actions after badmouthing Judy when she overheard the conversation and this is pretty much the result. Wreathing in jealousy. Especially when having Russell to easily admit that he was becoming Moon’s replacement to be the younger sibling.
Moon throws Russell out as we are about to close out the third act of the episode. A reference to that one scene from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which is that GIF meme you seen across social media, though makes you question how strong is Moon to be exact when having to carry someone like Russell and throw him out to the yard even if it was for comedic effect? Man’s this strong, as if he was working out at the nearby gym. Russell gets thrown out, and we’re already at the point of the rom-com where the jealous ex-boyfriend wants to be back in the ex-girlfriend’s life. Moon accepts the loss in the bet, thinking that he may have learned his lesson about Judy’s coaching and that she’s the better skater, and wants to be her partner again with the competition just a dozen hours from now. Judy, of course, isn’t going to easily take Moon’s apology because it’s not the skating issue that hurts her after overhearing the conversation. Calling her a “big, dumb, embarrassing loser” is more than enough for her to not take Moon’s apology for granted, and she storms upstairs to her room because Moon did hurt her feelings and took that comment to heart. It’s not about the skating issue as it is about casting your sibling away to the point where they talk shit behind their back.
Also, you have Ham in the back after Judy made a scene at the end of the third act of the episode, with him saying, “Wait, I was a bet!?” Free my man Ham, man. Free my man Ham. He’s slowly turning into this season’s punching bag. That’s all I have to say. And let’s just say, the upcoming episode for April 27, oh boy. The man has pretty much gone through a lot so far this season, from a breakup to being horrible at skating. Free him. But yeah, quite the reaction coming from Ham when he found out that he was used as a bet for Moon to be paired with by Judy.
So now, going into the fourth and final act of the episode with Alanis wanting Judy to continue the story with her already getting hooked with the drama taking place. Only for Judy to give Alanis the bad news that this is where the story comes to a screeching halt because she’s fully caught up. The story was pretty much Judy telling Alanis what happened leading up to this exact point in the episode, with her still being upset toward Moon for making some offensive comments toward her behind her back. That’s about it for the story as Judy prepares to enter back to her room just to sleep the night away. Still being upset over the comments that Moon made earlier in the episode...
She gets a visit from Wolf, who notices Judy talking to herself on the roof as if she has problems. Seriously, if the series were to end, the family has to figure out that Judy has an imaginary friend. They have to figure out that Judy, at her age, has an imaginary friend. Wolf comes in and decides to give Judy a talk about what happened earlier, and what’s funny enough when it comes to the duo with the Tobins, up to this moment, we never have a moment or episode that have Wolf and Judy as a pair. And whether you want to consider this an automatic pair because we never had a moment, or rather, an episode where it’s just these two, this might as well be the first in this series.
Especially when finding out that Wolf and Judy never really hung out as siblings back when Judy was Moon’s age but chased after him; but once she has gotten older, it was quite the irony from Judy when she was making some offensive comments about Wolf to Kima that hurt his feelings, but for Wolf, while he was upset for Judy to call him something offensive, especially when talking to Kima like with Moon talking to Russell earlier in the episode, he knows that it’s pretty much a sign of growing up. Some drifting, and there should be some concerns about it, but that’s pretty much normal for siblings to go through, and they’ll come back around once they’re finished going through that phase. And that is exactly what Judy is planning on doing with the competition, which is now hours away, and we already know they’ll make up since we’re now less than three minutes left in the episode. Of course, with Judy now planning on taking Moon back, the issue now comes down to Russell and how to break the news to him because he was having so much fun being around Judy like the sibling he never had, and now that we’re less than three minutes left in the episode, it’s going to be problem for him to take the news lightly. Wolf volunteers to call Russell the bad news going into the next day and, uh...
Yeah, he is taking the news pretty lightly. Especially when having an overdramatic moment when hearing the news from Wolf and not Judy that Judy decides to drop him because everything that is going on in this episode is pretty much a phase that Moon was going through. Poor Russell, though, but it was fun while it lasted for the guy. Thought that he would make the roster but instead, as the script says, his ass has to be dumped at the last minute. Just by Wolf having to deliver the news and not Judy through a phone call.
Hours before the competition takes place, we have to get the subplot wrapped up first, with Ribeye doing some practice jab in the back. And for Beef, the gameplan is pretty much simple: he just has to let Ribeye win so that Zelda can leave him alone and hopefully for good. And as long as there is no interference to the point where it might draw suspicion, then everything should be fine.
That is until he gets a phone call from an unknown number, revealing it to be Zelda, who has a bow and arrow that she is pointing in the direction of where the fight will be hel- Zelda is planning on sending Ribeye packing. She is planning on assassinating Ribeye with a bow and arrow just to make sure Beef is hers and hers only, even though, once again, he is in a relationship. Quite the holy shit there for her to go as far as planning to kill the guy who she thought would be her fiancé but in reality, he’s pretty much a pawn in Zelda’s little game just to lure herself towards Beef to make sure he gets the jealous the same he did to her just to make Kathleen jealous. Feels like a full circle with that pact, but at least with Beef, he doesn’t become obsessed and predatory towards Kathleen just by creating this pact. Zelda, on the other hand, is pretty much the definition of someone who is down bad. A simp you may ask for Beef and the one that should be studied and hopefully be locked away in a mental ward.
Of course, Beef has to step in to save Ribeye by taking the shot for him to save his ass and as a result, an arrow has been shot by Zelda, who was spotted at close range from where the fistfight would’ve taken place, up in the ass... cheek. On the butt cheek the arrow landed on for Beef to save Ribeye from getting shot by Zelda. In which, Zelda has to create an alibi by saying that she shot Beef to protect Ribeye even though, in actuality, she wants her “fiancé” dead just because of her delusions that would’ve turned it into one of those true crime YouTube videos if the arrow did land on Ribeye instead of Beef. Regardless, just as Beef wanted, Ribeye won “fair and square,” and thus, making Zelda his and, hopefully for Zelda to be out of Beef’s life... if it weren’t for the fact that the docks where the family boat is stationed will be the permanent spot for her to reside. Just putting it out there, Beef: restraining order. On the table. File it. In fact, can’t you tell Chief Edna to at least question Zelda if she has the permits to station her houseboat at the docks? Surely, she doesn’t have the proper paperwork to station her houseboat just to get close to Beef. And whether or not the boat will be there in the next episode should be up in the air since the next episode will be on the boat.
With the subplot now out of the way and entering the two-minute warning of the episode, Judy and Moon officially made up as they hit the stage, donning in costumes, and ready to skate the day away with everyone watching, including Russell who, even though he is still a bit upset that Judy dumped him at the last minute, seems proud of what he is seeing. Saying that they’re made for each other, as a team, not the other way around, when seeing the performance taking place. And, of freaking course, Judy and Moon won the competition. They went for the four-peat and took home the trophy later in the night, with Judy presenting it to Alanis to give her the conclusion of the story she needed for this episode. And the moral of this episode: it’s normal for siblings to undergo something like that but don’t be a freaking asshole, even if it was for a brief moment. And also, Beef, putting it out there: restraining order. On the table. Take it and use it against Zelda since it looks like she might not be going anywhere any time soon.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So, all in all, what do I think about this week’s episode of The Great North? Not a bad episode, but also not a great one either, because I know some will think that the story format that Judy is telling Alanis about her problems and turning it into a bedtime story in the form of a rom-com film but there are some moments that I’ve enjoyed... well, one or two to be exact.
That honor would have to go to Russell because, as much as, in Judy’s words according to Moon, the annoying one of the bunch within in his friend group, he was a bit of a bright spot in the episode just by seeing him and Judy bond as if he sees her as the older sibling role model. Especially when finding out that he’s an excellent skater, which is a feat that Moon didn’t know and would eventually blow up in his face when it comes to the bet that he and Judy made earlier in the episode. The scene with Russell being thrown out by Moon a la Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was something and the same goes for him being overdramatic over the news of him being dropped by Judy, through a phone call with Wolf, that she decided to forgive Moon and take him back as her partner on the day of the competition, but Russell in this episode was a bit of a bright spot for this week.
And also some pointers on giving us a different form of Alanis once joining Judy on the roof and not in the way of what we saw in “Worst Drives Club Adventure” but more of seeing what she would look like in a Bouchard-style character style. Ham’s reaction to the bet at the end of the third act with him saying “I was a bet” was something when having to recover from him struggling to learn how to skate as part of the bet. As for the subplot, we can all agree that Zelda is pretty much unhinged, and Beef should really file a restraining order. Especially when attempting to homewreck her own relationship just because she thinks that Beef is jealous, even though he’s not. Also, no sign of the yeti at the time of posting. Had to go through the episode when doing the review, and he is nowhere to be found. I’m sure at the time of posting that someone did at least find the damn creature as if the crew decided to crank the level of difficulty in the game of Where’s Yeti to hall of fame mode. The likes we have not seen since Season 3’s “A Bear-tiful Find Adventure”. So, I’ll give “It’s Compli-skated Adventure”...
A 6 out of 10. But that’s my opinion, and I wanna hear yours in the comment section below. Tune in for another brand new episode on Sunday, and we’re staying on the boat with Wolf and Honeybee, ready to use the new boat for business purposes in the eighth episode of Season 5 of The Great North in “Ghouls Rush In Adventure”.
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