So we’re going to be taking a retroactive look at both Bob’s Burgers and Archer, two of the best animated shows for adults on right now. We’re going to be picking up Bob’s Burgers from the end of their hiatus about a month ago. In today’s episode, the kids go to Regular-sized Rudy’s birthday party, only to find the main attraction has been snatched away from them. Meanwhile, Bob faces a life-long fear when an unwelcome guest gets trapped in the restaurant.
Here are some thoughts.
1. Dahlia SUCKS
Dahlia is the kid who is actually using the bounce house the kids are so excited to use. Apparently, there was a mix up. But Dahlia does not deserve bounce house. It’s a common theme on this show: kids are often terrible, and the least terrible are often just the weird ones (i.e. the Belcher kids).
2. Rudy is such a good sport
He’s content to just to his arts and crafts, even while the rest of the kids are champing at the bit to do some good old fashioned bouncing. Oh, Rudy and his spoon puppets.
3. That’s the most depressing party…
Rudy: “That’s okay. We have juice and sunshine!”
Rudy’s dad: “We’re out of juice.”
Rudy: “Oh. Well, we have water.”
Rudy’s dad: “We’re out of water.”
Oof. The adults on this show can be a real bummer.
4. Bob is scared of birds!
Bob’s reasoning: “It’s like a tiny eagle!”
5. A bounce house heist!
This show has a way of subverting expectations so wonderfully. The central problem for the kids is that they don’t get to use the bounce house that was promised to Rudy. And what is Louise’s solution? They’re going to steal the bounce house. There is no other show where that would work, but Bob’s Burgers is not your average show.
6. Teddy is such a beautiful soul
The pigeon stuck in the restaurant is having a hard time getting out. So Teddy offers to corner is and get it outside. “I haven’t touched a living thing in awhile,” he says. “It’ll be good for me.” Awww, Teddy. You’re so weirdly adorable.
7. The kids used divorced parents to their own advantage
Rudy’s dad and Dahlia’s mom are both divorced. So of course use this to their advantage by pairing the desperation of the two adults to make a love connection. The kids are canny enough to know what desperation looks like, and it’s seeping from the pores of these two grown ups.
8. The kids are wicked smart
They decide to take the bounce house out into the middle of the lake so the other kids can’t get to it. That is probably not something I would have ever considered, but the Belcher kids have shown time and time again that they are quick thinkers and able to adapt to bad situations. Maybe that’s why this show is so fun: it doesn’t patronize kids, it recognizes their singular ingenuity.
9. Bob mistook a scene from ‘The Birds’ for a memory from his childhood
The reason Bob is so afraid of birds is that he watched the movie ‘The Birds’ when he was a kid and somehow mistook a scene from that movie for a childhood memory, creating a lifelong fear of the winged creatures. Once he realizes this, he’s able to get over his fear and…
10. Bob took a bath with the pigeon…
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