Review: The Casagrandes “Flee Market”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Lori, Bobby’s girlfriend from another show, calls to remind him that it’s their anniversary—of the first time they ate pizza together. So obviously, Bobby wants to take her out for pizza, but he needs somebody to cover his shift at the Mercado. His grandfather can’t do it, which leaves Ronnie Anne, Carl, or CJ. Bobby figures if he lets them all work the shift together, they couldn’t possibly mess things up.

Seriously though, he does not trust them. So, as he drives out of state to meet his long-distance boo, he spies on the children with a camera he hid in a piñata. He oversees them helping themselves to candy, playing K-pop instead of the regular boring store music, and he even catches a dirty customer helping herself to some grapes.

After he picks up Lori, he navigates away from their favorite pizza joint and whisks her away to the city. He drops her off at the pizza place across the street from the Mercado and leaves her to “park the car.” But in reality, he rushes back to the market to anally fix everything the kids are doing “wrong.” This pisses off Ronnie Anne and the others so much that they quit, forcing Bobby to work his original shift.

After a few rounds of running to and from the pizza place—pretending nothing is wrong—Laurie figures out his scheme and catches him red-handed. To make things up to her, Bobby apologizes to the kids and admits he’s been a bit of an ogre. Again, they agree to fill in, but this time on their terms. And since the pizza place is now closed, Bobby takes Lori to the Mercado’s roof and treats her to pizza tacos cooked by his grandmother.

Wait a second. Why the hell didn’t grandma cover the damn shift?

Our Take

This was another Bobby episode. Therefore, due to the rules of the universe, it wasn’t nearly as good as a regular episode. The “try and fail to do two things at once” trope is played out, meaning the average viewer is going to know how the story is going to unfold long before it actually does. Of course Lori was going to catch him; the dumb bastard wasn’t even trying to hide his embarrassingly transparent ruse.

I’ve always viewed the dynamics of Lori and Bobby’s relationship as ridiculously infantile. When they’re apart, both are generally normal—although neither of them are the most interesting character on their respective show. But when they’re together, it’s a barrage of baby talk and silly concepts like (shudder) pizza-versaries. This unholy pairing—one that opened the doors for the Casagrandes spinoff in the first place—creates insufferable plots that aren’t typical of either parent show on a regular basis.

And yet, when these inevitable crossovers occur, the cheesiness is imminent. And no, that is not a pizza pun.