Review: Bob’s Burgers “Land of the Loft”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Bob and Linda have made some cool new friends! Maya and Becket are seemingly perfect: fun, attractive, and artistic. When they invite Bob and Linda to a party at their place, the Belchers end up attending instead of rewatching Earl Gray Murders for the countless time. With a quick call to Jen to babysit, Bob and Linda take off for the night of their lives. The party may be later than they’re used to, but they quickly acclimate with the help of fancy alcohol and quirky party guests. However, all the guests are expected to perform a talent!

Meanwhile, the kids convince Jen to take them for a ride in her hot cousin’s ice cream truck. Things are going sweet until the slippery road conditions strand them. Jen makes a call to Bob and Linda, who hear her message just in time to save them any more embarrassment at the performance circle. They end the evening altogether at a strip club – the perfect finish to such a spontaneous Belcher family night.

Our Take:

Just wanna get this off my chest at the start: Land of the Loft is a fantastic episode of Bob’s Burgers. With a wonderfully unique yet still relatable main plot and a wacky side plot for the kids, this week’s episode balances the Belcher family in a way few episodes have done quite so masterfully. Putting the parents outside their comfort zone and giving the kids a ride in an ice cream truck is the recipe for success it seems. From the hilarious artist stereotypes to the sad humor of Bob’s early bedtime, I was grinning the whole way through.

It’s rare for Bob and Linda to get truly upset at their kids, but Linda comes pretty close tonight. After the kids spill her last remaining glass of wine (Throw Louise sounds like a fun game), she’s had enough. Maya and Becket are cool and all, but Bob and Linda are completely stuck in their routine, and so it takes a minor catastrophe to break them out of their monotony. Bob and the kids are shocked at them leaving during the night (“Are you guys in the mafia?” Tina asks.) But I’m so glad they decide to go. It’s great to see the adult Belcher’s getting some fun time with other adults who actually like them. Maya and Becket are fantastic because not only are they wacky, but they’re genuinely nice people, too. Seeing them volunteer to help track down the kids was proof that they’re true friends. I really hope they stick around down the line because Bob needs a friend who isn’t Teddy.

The kids have an excellent storyline as well. Usually, it would be Tina babysitting, but because of how late it is, Linda decides to call in Babysitter Jen. Jen is such a weird girl. She’s the best babysitter a kid could ask for, indulging their every whim. She’s very accommodating. (Also suggestible.) I love that we get to see Tina let loose in a way that she doesn’t get to around her family as much. As the older Belcher kid, she’s usually the responsible one, so getting to see her indulge in her wilder side was nice. I almost thought she would start trying to sabotage Jen, but thankfully the episode doesn’t delve too far into that line of thinking.

A great storyline gets bolstered even more by genuinely funny lines throughout the episode. “Who does that,” Teddy says when he learns about Maya and Becket coming to the restaurant so often. “It’s creepy.” Teddy is one to talk! “We watch it with the subtitles, so it’s like reading a book.” Linda is a genius. Bob’s response when Linda asks to do something actually fun: “Sleep?” So relatable! Finally, I gotta throw in this line from one of the party guests. The delivery had me rolling: “I make ukeleles. Biodegradable ukuleles.”

Land of the Loft is a surefire winner. It gives both sets of Belchers their own, interesting storylines while also connecting them in a way that makes sense. It introduces two of the best-supporting characters this season with Maya and Becket. Most importantly, it shows that Bob and Linda are still young enough at heart to have some fun… even if it’s only once in a blue moon.