Review: Bob’s Burgers “The Terminalator II: Terminals of Endearment”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Linda’s parents are at the airport for a layover, and have called on their daughter to bring anti-itch cream. Bob is less than enthused, but willing to go along with it when Linda proposes they make this their “visit” with her parents, instead of travelling to see them in Florida in the spring. Meanwhile, Gene and Louise plot to get their wings.

On the drive over Linda lays down some rules for Bob. Notably, she says that he “can’t not talk”, and that he can’t bring up the fact that he thinks Gloria stole Linda’s phone charger and won’t admit it.

At the airport things immediately go awry after her parents deplane, leaving the Belcher bunch to try to track them down. After running to the correct terminal they find Al, but he tells them Gloria left to retrieve her magazine. They go to the counter for help, and the service agent takes Linda to find her mom while Bob waits with Al at a restaurant.

Teddy calls from the hospital to check in about the snowglobe he requested from their trip. Bob wishes him well, but hangs up as Linda returns with Gloria, only to discover Al is now gone.

We’re treated to a quick musical search montage. The kids get a low five, and a pencil, but no wings. The family returns to the service counter, where the agent directs them to the TSA department to look at the security cameras.

They spot him on the camera, but on the cart ride over to where he is, Gloria loses her purse and a phone charger falls out. Bob retrieves the items, but can’t stay silent about the butt-graffiti’d charger. Insulted, Gloria leaves in a huff to find Al by herself.

Bob and Linda argue about Linda never confronting her parents, which bothers Bob because he thinks she’s the best daughter in the world. Linda says she does it because she loves them, and if he loves her, he has to do it too. Bob has a sudden spark of inspiration based on the “conversation” he had with Al earlier, and they head to the neck pain store to retrieve the old man. They’re able to get her parents on their flight in the nick of time, and Bob is relieved that Linda is willing to let this count as their visit after all.

Our take:

Unlike last week’s questionably titled (but ultimately excellent) offering, this week’s episode comes in with the 80s action movie references blazing. Also, the second reference for Terms of Endearment this season (the first being episode 2’s “Worms of In-Rear-Ment”.)

The main storyline this episode is just realistic enough to keep things engaging, while still allowing for some exceptionally sweet moments to offset the in-law frustration. Anyone who’s tried to wrangle their drunk friends will be familiar with the whole “you find one, but lose the other in the process” shtick, while the B-plot of Gene and Louise trying to con pilots out of a coveted pin is the kind of classic kid shenanigans we’ve come to expect from this crew. Their visions of post-wing life are also highly in-character, with Louise using them to fly Andy and Ollie around the world, while Gene simply uses his newfound stature to bribe more tater tots out of the lunch lady.

The voice cast is excellent, as per usual, but the guest voices are where this episode really shines. Not only does Jon Glaser show off his variation by making the service agent sound notably distinct from his other voices in this show (he’s responsible for Jairo from previous seasons, as well as Tape in season 11’s first episode “Dream a Little Bob of Bob”), but he gets to deliver some solid lines, such as “TSA handles camera stuff, and then you’ll be their problem.” The TSA agent is voiced by Timothy Simons. He’s in a bunch of live action things that I haven’t seen (notably Veep) but of course I recognize him as the voice of Huggins from Rise of TMNT. Despite supposedly having an extremely unusual first day, his character shines in this episode with some unexpected lines (“Let’s TS this A!”) and by helping the kids finally get some wings from the lost and found, where there’s also conveniently a snowglobe for Teddy as well. Recurring characters Gloria (voiced by the incomparable Renée Taylor) and Al (who gets his groans from Sam Seder, also the voice of Hugo) get to showcase their wacky personalities with Gloria screeching lines like “Stop scratching, you’re getting dead skin all over that baby!” and “I will not forget your name, DELTA!” while Al has to rely on Louise repeating her father’s mumbling by yelling at her grandfather “He said ‘CRAP!'”

Overall, the dynamic works seamlessly to flesh out the more extended family, but gets a particular boost from Bob and Linda. This season hasn’t focused too much on the main couple’s relationship, and while an episode with frustrating in-laws might not seem like the ideal way to showcase their bond, it works surprisingly well. Bob getting offended by Linda’s parent’s treatment of her, and actually letting her know what the problem is makes for a genuinely sweet moment amidst relative chaos. Not to be mistaken for saccharine sappiness, his opinions of Linda’s family is also played for humor, with his “I’m a good son in law!” exclamation after locating Al based on their extremely brief conversation that essentially amounted to Al complaining that his neck hurts. In the end, this episode serves as a not too outlandish reminder that we can always be grateful that we’re not saddled with someone else’s family (or at least, not all the time.)