So, that was, uh, a week that happened—mainly coming from the sports world of things. And a few of y’all know where I’m going with this since I don’t have anything to say for the introduction. From making the Western Conference Final for three consecutive years, even if we lost that in those three years, to a first-round exit. I know that it’s under a first-year head coach, and some questions at the start of the season would be for the team, lo and behold, made the freaking playoffs, hoping for a deep cup run as per usual. Just didn’t expect to go out this soon in a series some considered a tight contest that would at least go seven games. The Wild pretty much had us beat as if we just gave up when the situation became dire with the season on the line. We really need to do better next season. But, it could be worse... we could be the Atlanta Hawks. What the fuck was that!?
In this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, the Belcher siblings (Tina, Gene, and Louise), along with Zeke and Jimmy Jr, are on a mission to deliver a stuffed koala doll to a place that the siblings once visited not too long ago, only for that to become a mission to settle a beef between the carnies, as Teddy plans on avoiding his therapist like the plague after spotting her at the restaurant in my spoilerific review of the twelfth episode of Season 16 of Bob’s Burgers, “Children of the Carn”.
If we can sum up this episode in a nutshell after watching it, a few times just to get the gist, it’s pretty much fan service at its finest. Not the typical fan service that you would think about, but more of trying to roll into the nostalgia from the movie not too long ago. Almost four years, to be exact, since its initial premiere in theaters. And the post-movie era did have some moments where it would come across a few areas that we saw in the movie without even bringing up the events from the movie, of course. We did it once with the Mole Hole in both Season 13’s “What About Job” in Bob’s story and Season 14’s “Jade in the Shade”, along with, also in that episode, the ice cream shop and underneath the pier with the old rides. Once again, mentioning and going to the places without having to bring up the events of the movie. And here we go again with a visit back to Carniopolis.
I mean, what else to say about the episode other than the kids having to deliver a stuffed koala doll to Carniopolis, or was the case as the episode progressed, and turning it into a situation where a decade-long beef between a few carnies when going through the rabbit hole in what was supposed to be a simple delivery from a retiree who happened to be a former carnie. A beef that needed to be settled. And for the kids, they all have to play therapist in hopes of settling this little situation between the carnies, and that is exactly what we will be delving into. This is “Children of the Carn”.
The episode begins with a brief scene at the restaurant with Tina, Gene, and Louise all dolled up and ready to head out with a couple of items on them. Still going solo with just the three of them without even mentioning the name of their other band, the Itty Bitty Ditty Committee, because, of course, Rudy, Peter, and Darryl aren’t in the episode. But instead, we have Jimmy Jr and Zeke since the performance they’re doing is at the retirement home for Zeke’s grandmother. It was her birthday, after all. So, they can’t say no to Zeke’s request, unless there’s compensation involved to accept the gig. Even if Zeke was the one who came up to the siblings, mainly Tina, to ask him for a favor to perform for his grandmother’s birthday at the retirement home.
And so, they did, going into the next scene with the five (Louise, Tina, Gene, Jimmy Jr, and Zeke) performing their gig in front of the seniors. Quite the crowd they got in front of the birthday girl and every other senior citizen in attendance. And this right as the performance was about to wrap up with Tina, Gene, and Louise doing the vocals, Jimmy Jr, of course, dancing through the beat, and Zeke doing a kazoo solo when trying to get the room going. At least we know a few things coming from the performance, especially right after it wrapped up, going into the following scene in the same location: Zeke’s grandmother just turned 85 years old, and she has a name, once one of the elders comes up to the kids, named Betsy. Generic name when having to name an old lady that has a Southern accent, as if they’re originally from the South. So why not throw in the most usual Southern name that you can throw in to name the character who was only there for a few episodes.
Had to get that out of the way, as we now focus on the other senior citizen living in the retirement home, an old man named Rusty, voiced by Judd Hirsch, as he asks Louise, Gene, Tina, Jimmy Jr, and Zeke to do him a favor with $100 on the line that he plans on paying. Which leads us to the next scene in his room, where he holds a worn-out stuffed koala doll that has seen better days. The stuffed koala is pretty much a plot device for the episode, as Rusty requests the five kids to make a small delivery for him and the location where they should drop it off. And the name of the place that the kids are planning on going to, at Rusty’s behest, is a place that Tina, Gene, and Louise are far too familiar with. One that they haven’t been to for a long time, not since the events of the movie almost four years ago to the day. That being Carniapolis. What is Carniapolis, you may ask? If you decide to binge-watch the show, but didn’t even bother watching the movie in between the end of Season 12 and the start of Season 13, or don’t know where to watch, Disney+ is available all across the world and in the US, its on Tubi... yes, I’m deadass on that, let me explain for a bit on the place which makes you wish I’ve done the whole breakdown of the movie.
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| From "The Bob's Burgers Movie" | Release Date: May 27, 2022 |
Carniapolis is a microsection of Seymour’s Bay located by the abandoned dog food factory owned by the Mr. Gravy Paws company, where the carnies, i.e., the workers at the Wonder Wharf, reside. In The Bob’s Burgers Movie, Louise, Tina, and Gene paid a visit to the microsection as part of their investigation regarding the death of Cotton Candy Dan following the wrongful arrest of Mr. Fischoeder, if it means going the whole nine yards to save the restaurant following a sinkhole and financial struggles. They once paid a visit there when looking for a carnie that they know all too well, Mickey, to question, before being countered by the rest of the carnies, voicing their frustration with Fischoeder, turning it into a musical number. You know, the song “Lucky Ducks”. That was the only time to visit the microsection of the city where the carnies reside, since we know it is right beside the abandoned dog food factory.
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| From "Don't Stop Be-Cheesin'" (15x05) | Air Date: November 3, 2024 |
Though we only ever saw the abandoned dog food factory, not a hair towards Carniapolis, the inside of it in “Don’t Stop Be-Cheesin’” with Tina being there, along with Susmita, Henry, Sam, Will, and Chelsea, as the final participants left standing during their eighth-grade cheese-throwing competition, the Cheese Royale, aka the Eighth Grade Culling Game. Not a hair towards Carniapolis, but Tina knew where the place was because she, along with Louise and Gene, once paid a visit there. Though surprising that Carniapolis was mentioned, but yet, the events of the movie were not mentioned in the post-movie era of the show. Weird, yet interesting to bring that up, where continuity is pretty much as rare as a gas station that has a price of $2 a gallon in this economy.
Anyways, Rusty placed a small request for Louise, Tina, Gene, Jimmy Jr, and Zeke to make a quick buck to deliver the stuffed koala doll, named Cool-ala, to Carniapolis. And the reason for that is that Rusty was once a carnie. A former employee of the Wonder Wharf, before having gotten his bread, got paid big from his settlement following a workplace accident involving a roller coaster falling on his head. And the koala, this little plot device, he and a few carnies used to have fun with each other by having a little prank war where they find the koala doll that was hidden somewhere in the vicinity. And Rusty wants to ignite it, probably one last time, for his former friends to play a round and treat it as if he is still one of them. A long case of FOMO for the guy since being moved into the retirement home after getting his compensation money from the accident. And dropping the koala doll off at Carniapolis, thus reigniting the prank war, would be the way to go.
And as much as Tina doesn’t want to do this, and wants everyone to do the same, not because they did their job doing requests, which is to perform for Zeke’s grandmother’s birthday, but mostly because Carniapolis is a dangerous place to go to, they hope they would never come across it ever again as if they were heading to a random neighborhood in Memphis, the rest can’t say no to $100 offer from Rusty. And the mission is simple: Go to Carniapolis, search for one of the trailers that one of the carnies, a carnie named Sonny, resides in, and drop it off. And it all has to be filmed on video for proof, which they have nothing to worry about with Jimmy Jr pulling out his phone from his pocket. And as long as they don’t get caught, then it should be a breeze... treating it as if their life depends on it. All to make some bread from a guy who already made bread.
We jump over to the subplot, back at the restaurant, with Teddy finishing his food and was about to leave the place to do his job, only to go and make a quick trip to the bathroom. And right as he entered the bathroom, you had a woman entering the restaurant while on her lunch break, ready to make an order. But once Teddy leaves the bathroom and is about to leave the restaurant, the moment he sees the woman at the booth, the alarm bells in his head ring, and he plans to go into hiding. Being questioned by Bob, Linda, and Mort on his decision to hide despite originally planning on leaving. And the reason is that Teddy recognized who the woman was who was about to order her lunch. The woman was revealed to be his therapist, Dr. Majorie. I might as well give you guys the lingo on who this character is because we only saw her once and never touched again until this particular episode.
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| From "Glued, Where's My Bob?" (06x19) | Air Date: May 19, 2016 |
Dr. Majorie first appeared in the Season 6 finale “Glued Where’s My Bob”, and was only there in a non-speaking role when Teddy was called up by Linda in that episode where Bob became trapped on the toilet seat. Glued to the toilet seat after becoming a victim of the kids’ ongoing prank war on each other with the solvent that Teddy made by Louise that was meant for Gene. This was the only time we ever saw the character, even if it was a non-speaking cameo, and for a brief time. Which explains Teddy’s absence throughout the first act of that episode. Right before this episode aired, and yes, a non-speaking role.
But that’s not going to stop Teddy from going into hiding from his therapist because, to him, it’s pretty much a rule that he shouldn’t come across his therapist. He had a near encounter with her at the pharmacy, and because of it, he had to go to another pharmacy just 20 miles away, which is totally ridiculous for Teddy to do. We’re treating this as if you had to go a public place, whether it’s a store or the gym, minding your own business, only to come across someone, probably someone who you know back in school not too long ago, and all of a sudden, your brain decides to ring the alarm bell and you go into hiding like a damn ostrich trying to hide from their predators.
We go back to the main plot of the episode with the kids arriving at Carniapolis to do the job for Rusty to deliver the stuffed koala doll. Jimmy Jr and Zeke plan on staying outside the trailer to serve as the lookout, leaving the Belcher siblings to drop off the item inside Sonny’s trailer. The three enter the trailer, of course, unlocked with a lack of locks on the door, but knowing how old the trailers are, as if they were grabbed from the nearest junkyard, I could see why, with Tina being the one to put away the stuffed doll since out of the three inside, of course, her being the tallest and the oldest, being treated like a sacrificial pawn, she did as she was told despite being in a state of panic because, again, Carniapolis is a dangerous place to go to, treating it like its North Sentinel Island, so they can make a break for it despite the small battle between her and the cabinet door. All this while being recorded on video, of course. But right as they were about to meet with Jimmy Jr and Zeke, so they could make a break for it, they got the alert and decided to find a way to hide.
Turning this into a dangerous game of hide and seek as we about to end the first act of the episode and going into the second with Tina, Gene, and Louise trying to find a place for them to hide, which leads to under the trailer... only to spot Jimmy Jr and Zeke, who are also hiding under the trailer because they too don’t want to get caught. But, as long as they don’t make any movements, especially once the three carnies pull up at the trailer and are now noticing the stuffed koala doll in the cabinet. Knew right away that it was Rusty’s doing and not the kids, and the response when seeing the stuffed doll is not as pleasing as what the kids were hoping for going into the second act.
Too bad that the kids won’t be getting out of dodge of this one to start the aforementioned second act of the episode. As if the three carnies believed that Rusty was here after the kids dropped the stuffed koala doll in the trailer, meeting with negative responses as if they wanted nothing to do with him, was bad enough, their time hiding isn’t long-lived because both Gene and Tina had to give away their location from under the trailer. First, Gene thinks there’s another way out to avoid getting detected, only to have his leg knock a few empty beer bottles. Followed by Tina, who can’t keep her mouth shut when trying to avoid being detected. And unless she were to make a quacking sound, making them believe that she and the others are ducks, a la Krillin from Dragon Ball Z Abridged, the jig is pretty much up.
Louise, Tina, Gene, Jimmy Jr, and Zeke all got out from underneath the trailer and faced the carnies, thinking that they’re about to get murked by them. And right as the three carnies, Sonny, the carnie that Rusty mentioned, and also the one who was by the floating duck pond in the movie, voiced by Paul F. Tompkins; Rita, the female carnie with the star tattoo on her arm, voiced by Brooke Dillman; and Alphie, the carnie who look like if Patrick Star were a human who once cornered the Belcher siblings in the movie who gave the three a clue in the Cotton Candy Dan case, voiced by Nick Kroll; were about to gang up on the kids, Louise has to pull a potential ace from her sleeve to get them out of their situation. And that is because this is Carniapolis, where the carnies lived, Mickey should be in the area since the Belchers are good friends with the former convict turned Wonder Wharf employee. And if you think that this would be the episode he would be brought back, sorry to say, that ain’t happening. Because, according to Alphie, Mickey is in jail. For what? No fucking idea because it was never explained. And I might as well get this out of the way regarding the elephant in the room.
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| From "Copa Bob-bana" (11x03) | Air Date: October 11, 2020 |
It was a gimmie that Mickey wasn’t going to be brought back for this episode. They were never going to, the same way in “Clear and Present Ginger” where everyone thought we were about to see a face reveal from Ginger, which never happened. That got some people pissed as if they got trolled, even though everyone saw it a mile away that they were never going to show her face. It’s, I guess, the same with Mickey because they were never going to bring him back for this episode. Similarly, you make the argument with Peter and Darryl being absent in “Hope n’ Mic Night” because Gene originally was going to bring back the Itty Bitty Ditty Committee, but Peter and Darryl chose not to... or at least bring Peter back, but even then, it wouldn’t be fair to leave Darryl out of it. Let alone the beginning of Season 16, “Grand Pre-Pre-Pre-Opening”, with the siblings working on the album on their own album to upload. And here we are again, earlier in the episode, with them performing at the retirement home with Zeke and Jimmy Jr.
And even if Mickey were to be brought back, the main concern for some would be voicing. Let alone, who would be voicing the character, especially since Bill Hader is likely not coming back to the show. You remember the episode “Beach, Please” when it first came out back in 2021, where you had most of the fandom, when watching the episode the first time, feeling confused when noticing the voice change. And some in the fandom were not having it. Mickey, in that episode, when it first premiered, was voiced by Loren Bouchard, before being switched to John Kubin in the rerun, who would also voice the character in the movie. And I guess, this was in 2021, by the way, why Hader was not available at the time would be because of possible scheduling conflicts, mainly because I think his HBO show, Barry, was in production. And the cast and crew can’t write the character out because the episodes take up to almost a year to make, unlike with South Park, where you can make an episode in at least a week with some tweaks before going on the air.
So, had to get that out of the way regarding the Mickey shit. Sonny, Rita, and Alphie now confirmed their suspicion that Rusty put the kids up to this rather than showing up in person. And they explain to the five kids that they don’t fuck with Rusty. Not anymore. They used to be good friends with the guy since they’re all carnies. Treating him like one of them. And when it comes to the carnies, they are truly a ride or die group. They even had matching tank tops that read ‘Carn Dogs”. But once Rusty got his settlement, getting his payday following the accident, they drifted apart. Treating him as if he became a different person the moment he got paid and moved out of Carniapolis. And to make it worse, or at least, according to them, Sonny had a heart attack nearly a decade ago, and Rusty didn’t even bother checking in on him. Which, yeah, it’s kind of fucked up if you think about it. The same way you or your partner had a child, and the other half of the baby’s parent decides to fuck off because they don’t want to pay for child support.
Might as well get this scene in the main plot out since it was a few moments before transitioning back to the retirement home right after checking up on the subplot, which we’ll get to in a bit, with the three carnies deciding to one-up Rusty’s offer to the kids as a request from them to the retirement home. Remember, Rusty was about to pay the kids $100, which I don’t know if its $100 for each of them or split the $100 to them, one for each one, the carnies decided to one-up the offer with the hoard of tickets that they had to take home. Can’t say no to free money, but also can’t say no to free tickets at the Wharf. Especially since it would come in the form of the carnies sending Rusty a message upon returning the stuffed koala. And that is giving Rusty what they call the “cold spaghetti” treatment. What is “cold spaghetti”, you may ask? No idea because I don’t speak carnie. But to keep it short and simple, they want nothing to do with him. They don’t want to deal with him anymore. He is considered dead weight. A harsh declaration, but the line had to be drawn the moment Rusty got his money and decided to move out of Carniapolis. We’re treating the carnies living in the area like they’re the freaking mafia.
Speaking of dead weight, the subplot. We go back to the subplot of the episode with Teddy continuing to hide from his therapist as he hid himself from inside the kitchen. Because, at this point, it is getting ridiculous. Not just the whole hiding from your therapist as if you were expecting an unexpected check-up on your mental health, but the whole subplot as a whole feels like dead weight. Because this shit is getting ridiculous. Once again, treating it as if you were just minding your business and not wanting to be seen. Especially since, of course, the back door is right behind Teddy for him to make a break for it, but he can’t do that. Mostly because his truck is parked right outside in the front, and his therapist, sitting in her booth, is right by the window. And this is where things get a little weird regarding Dr. Majorie. A little too weird for one might define it as cringe to some.
Because no human being would ever eat a hamburger like whatever the fuck this is. This is a grown person, by the way. A grown ass woman who disassembled her burger, not in the way of removing the condiments as if Bob accidentally placed it without noticing what the customer ordered, I mean, broke the food into pieces like it’s a dissection in science class. And if that’s not enough, the way she eats the patty, look at the GIF above the paragraph. This is how a toddler eats. Or rather, this is how a mother would feed their toddler when looking at that. This is pretty much the equivalent of eating a pizza with a fork and a knife. Almost feels insulted when it comes to how you would eat normally with food. Especially finger food like a hamburger. I’m not afraid to label myself as a picky eater... but never that picky. Especially when what is being seen is what Dr. Majorie is doing. It’s weird looking at it. And mind you, again, this is a grown woman doing this. This is a grown woman eating the burger like a child. We all have weird habits, but never like that. Or at least that was being seen on the screen rather than seeing one in-person.
So, back to the main plot, as we are about to reach the halfway mark of the episode, and after being given a request by the carnies to tell Rusty that they don’t fuck with him anymore, the kids need to find a way to distract Rusty while having to return the stuffed koala that they were originally going to be sent to the carnies back to his room. This leads us to the recreational room, where they have an afternoon pudding session with the kids, giving Rusty an update on his request, as filmed on video. Marking the mission as a success. Rusty prepares to pay the kids their $100 as promised, but notices that his wallet is in his room and is about to go there, but Tina and Louise want to do it themselves, thinking it's the perfect opportunity for them to drop the stuffed koala off, while having Jimmy Jr, Gene, and Zeke create a distraction.
That plan ends up falling apart quickly once Rusty returns to his room and spots Tina and Louise trying to put the stuffed koala on his bed. And Dusty knows right away, going into the second half of the episode, the moment he sees the stuffed koala back in his room, that he got quote-on-quote “cold spaghetti”. As in, he got the message that they are dead to him. They don't want to deal with his ass. In short, their friendship with him is pretty much dead. And this supposed feud between Rusty and the three carnies from earlier is already turning ugly as we are about to enter the second act, because who knew that getting paid with a settlement would make you an enemy to the people who you thought were your friends/co-workers. Oh, wait, that is pretty much every person who won the fucking Powerball.
So, onto the second half of the episode, and Rusty is devastated that Sonny, Rita, and Alphie don’t want to fuck around with him anymore. And knowing the information they got from the kids earlier in the episode, back in Carniapolis, when confronting them, you can tell that Rusty is upset over everything that is going on. His quitting his job at the Wharf, getting his settlement, and moving out of Carniapolis to an affordable place to live would be considered him crossing the line, especially when bringing up the accusation that Rusty did not visit Sonny after Sonny suffered a heart attack a decade ago.
Turns out... yeah, that was a “my bad” moment from Rusty for not paying a visit. But he did one good thing for the guy, so it feels like his presence was there. That thing is him paying for Sonny’s medical bills as an anonymous tip, which was generous for him to do that, but still, you’d think it would’ve been better to just visit the guy after getting the news that your former co-worker suffered a heart attack. Though according to Rusty, he was hoping for the hospital to make the call to say to Sonny that he (Rusty) was the one who paid for the bills as a generous donation. Of course, that didn’t happen because a lot of things happened since, like having to deal with his own health problems to the point where he would require assistance. Which leads us to right now with this beef that is ongoing between Rusty and the carnies that needs solving. And the kids know what will settle this in hopes of ending it. It’s a bit of a wild one, but it has to work regardless, if it means showing the three carnies that they do care for their former friend. And that would be staging a funeral. Have them think that Rusty died, even though he is not a la what you see from a prank show back in the day. And they know who to turn to when it comes to funerals.
They turn to Mort to help them stage a fake funeral in hopes of squashing a beef between Rusty and the carnies. And as much as Mort wants to say no to the idea because it's an insane idea to come up with one, he can’t pass up on the opportunity if it means getting the carnies and Rusty to reconcile. Besides, it is a slow week for business for anyone to plan a funeral as if he was waiting for when a body is going to be dropped. So, Mort is in on doing the fake funeral, as long as Rusty does not come out from behind the stage and yell “I’m alive” to the crowd, especially to Sonny, Rita, and Alphie, then we should be good. Who am I kidding? Of course, there’s going to be a fuck up by the end of this.
Speaking of potentially fucking up, Teddy. Because after spending all of the first half of the episode hiding from his therapist at the restaurant, of course, all while hoping to avoid making eye contact, which he did successfully, he thinks it's a good idea to find another therapist because of the stupid rule he made of not wanting to come across his therapist. Pretty stupid if you think about that, just because you don’t want to come across your therapist outside of her office. Hell, Bob and Linda think that what Teddy is doing is pretty stupid. Because this is straight nonsense for Teddy to do something like this just because you don’t like being seen by your therapist, that you’re planning to replace her with someone else, or with Bob and Linda, as he often treats the restaurant as a place to vent. But still, you really don’t have to go and plan on finding a replacement therapist just because you don’t want to have an encounter with your main therapist. Still thinks it’s stupid, and so does this subplot.
We reached what I’m guessing is the next day as we prepared to wrap up the third act of the episode. It’s the day of the staged funeral, if it means putting an end to the ongoing drama between Rusty and the carnies, and quite the turnout it was for this supposed service. It’s mostly composed of Bob, Linda, and Teddy, who were dragged into this by the kids, along with the three carnies from earlier, Sonny, Rita, and Alphie, in attendance and falling into the trap. Hoping for the plan to work to hopefully put an end to the beef. Even if Linda really needs to tone down the acting as the woman who always cries at funerals.
And for the most part, the plan seems to be working once Sonny takes the stage to give his eulogy. Telling the people in attendance on the podium that, despite Rusty getting his money, not being able to see him at the hospital after getting the heart attack, and having to move out of Carniapolis, labeling him as a traitor in their eyes, he, alongside Rita and Alphie, still views Rusty as one of them. Still views him as a carnie. And knowing the carnies on the show, they are ride or die for each other. A real band of outsiders who worked at an amusement park by the shore with little pay and having to come across a few hazards, they look out for each other. They care for each other. To summarize, they’re like a family. And Sonny, along with Rita and Alphie, treated Rusty like family. So, the plan seems to be working, and as long as nothing can ruin this in hopes to squash the beef, then we should be good to go for Rusty and the carnies to settle their differences.
Of course, because we are about to enter the fourth and final act of the episode, Rusty had to come and mess up his staged funeral. Crashing into the stage and telling his friends that he’s alive and the whole thing was a setup. Taking back their sympathy for Rusty going into the fourth act of the episode, making the situation even worse for them and pretty much everyone else in the room, but mostly between Rusty and the carnies. Putting the kids’ plan to resolve the situation into shambles right as Sonny, Rita, and Alphie are all about to make their way out of the funeral home. This, of course, results in Rusty, at the behest of the kids, getting a few things out of the way in hopes of reconciling their relationship.
First off, the hospital bills. Rusty tells the three carnies the bombshell of who was responsible for paying off Sonny’s hospital bills after being taken there following his heart attack a decade ago. Revealing that he was the one who paid off the loan so that Sonny doesn’t have to deal with medical debt. The state of our country’s health care system in a nutshell. We’re pretty much a laughingstock. Sonny is shocked that Rusty was the one who paid off his bills from his settlements, thinking that it was Fischoeder who paid off the loans. Not saying that Fischoeder is a monster for not giving a shit about his employees and their well-being, but the carnies would have thought that would be the case for whoever was responsible for paying off Sonny’s medical bills before finding out at this exact moment that it was all Rusty who paid it off. So, at least there’s some closure on that. But is that enough for them to bury the hatchet? Apparently not.
So, going into the two-minute warning of the episode, Rusty decides to have one last ace in his sleeve to show that he is still one of them. Remember when Sonny mentioned the tank top that they used to wear underneath that reads “carn dogs”. A clear message to the three that, despite having to move out of Carniapolis because of him getting his settlements, the message is pretty clear from Rusty: he is still one of them. Because even though he moved out of the area, quit his job, and moved to an affordable housing, he still views the carnies at Carniapolis as one of their own. Thinking of them as his family. His day ones. Hoping to finally put this little feud to rest since we are nearing the episode.
Of course, they made up after showing off the shirt, and also Rusty confessed to paying the hospital bills, which would be more than enough for Sonny, Rita, and Alphie to finally set aside their differences and accept Rusty’s apology. Finally putting the thing to rest for the episode, but not before Rusty sneakily attached something onto Sonny’s jacket as a parting gift. That being the stuffed koala, signaling that he got Sonny good as part of the reignited prank war between carnies. And also that their friendship is still going strong once the staged funeral comes to a close.
Oh yeah, and also Teddy. Yeah, realizing that he shouldn’t fire his therapist just because he doesn’t want to be in the same building as the outside of her office. Because what just transpired inside the room with Rusty and the carnies putting aside their differences causes Teddy to have second thoughts about wanting to get rid of Dr. Majorie. Once again, the whole thing is kind of stupid for Teddy to go through that in the episode, as if he would be questioned and cornered by his therapist about his mental health and stuff. Treating it like it's an out-of-network type of scenario for the guy. Nothing but a big ol’ nothingburger and pretty much a waste of our time with all of this bullshit.
At least the feud comes to an end between Rusty and the carnies, at least. Putting an end to that chapter in the series, as they prepare to head to the restaurant to grab a bite to eat. And nothing else left to say to wrap up the review/breakdown portion of the review, other than that the moral of this story: never ditch your day ones, even if you get your bread, you never ditch your day ones. They are your ride or die, and it should be that way.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So, all in all, what do I think about this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers? Well, another middle-of-the-road episode to summarize everything from start to finish. The main plot was pretty much the highlight when having to go back to Canriapolis for the first time since the movie. As well as seeing the three carnies that, of course, make their out of movie debut in the canon of the show in the post-movie era. Even if you could paint this episode as fan service, if you want to call it that, because that is pretty much what the episode is when having to travel back to a place the siblings once paid a visit to. So, hooray for worldbuilding.
This is pretty much one of those episodes where you have to rewatch just to give it a clear understanding of the main plot regarding everything aside from the nostalgia bait from the movie when having to take a trip back to Carniapolis. Mainly with the feud between Rusty and the three carnies, Sonny, Alphie, and Rita, over the idea of Rusty leaving the place after getting his money, as if he stabbed the community in the eye and never looked back. And all it took to settle this would be telling the truth about who paid the hospital bills for one of the carnies and a tank top to show that he is still one of them. Again, it is one of those episodes that would require a rewatch upon watching it for the first time.
We don’t need to talk about the subplot of the episode with Teddy going into hiding from his therapist. Makes you wish that Bob, Linda, and Teddy should at least go to the bench for the rest of the episode until the day of the staged funeral hosted by the kids to resolve a carnie beef. So I’ll give “Children of the Carn”...
A 5 out of 10. Again, middle of the road, and there are some decent moments in the episode, just the subplot really downplayed it and dragged the episode down. But that’s my opinion, and I want to hear yours in the comments below. The next episode can’t be that bad, right? I mean, we have Nat returning in the next episode with her having to help Linda deal with her road rage issues in the thirteenth episode of Season 16, “Driving Miss Ragey”. On Mother’s Day Sunday, and no, it’s not a Mother’s Day episode. Try again later.
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