Review: Bob’s Burgers “Loft in Bedslation”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Louise has to finish her dinosaur homework ASAP, but there’s one problem: the Belchers are a one-desk family and Tina is always using it. Linda gets excited about building Louise a loft bed so she can put a desk of her own underneath, and her enthusiasm quickly spreads to Tina and Louise as the three of them stay up until all hours of the night to get it done.

Meanwhile in the restaurant downstairs, Bob and Gene cater to a group of roleplaying campaign customers and their first-time game master, Shirley. She’s nervous about trying something a little different, and Bob knows how she feels thanks to his constantly underperforming Burgers of the Day. By the time they close, he manages to help Shirley out—and get a few more orders of his special burger, too.

Our Take:

Up until now, I don’t think there’s really been a standout episode of the season so far. This is the twelfth season of Bob’s Burgers, and though I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s losing steam, it’s only natural that the more great stories you tell, the harder more are to find in the future. But tonight’s episode, Loft in Bedslation, might just be my favorite one of the season so far—and a very fun episode in its own right.

The main plot revolves around Louise and her desire for a room with space for a desk. Linda, who never had parents who built things as a kid, resolves to become a better example to her kids and takes them to the hardware store after watching an online tutorial on building loft beds. It’s a simple storyline, but works well because of how it mines humor from Tina and Louise while giving Linda a slightly more emotional angle to the arc.

Louise especially gets a lot of good jokes in this episode. One of the highlights is when she drafts up a building plan for her new loft bed on the way to the hardware store. It’s filled with things like a fireworks control panel, a retina scanner, and potentially a waterslide or two—and she’s outraged at the fact that none of these things are in stock at the local hardware store. Tina gets some great material, too, and I liked the little bit of banter she gets into with Louise as the night drags on. The two of them trying to figure out who drills and who holds was delightful. (And is that drill powered by coal?)

As the builders are doing their thing upstairs, the episode splits the Belcher boys into their own B-plot down below. Bob has been dealing with frustration over the lack of success for his special burgers of the day, and when he sees a new game master having trouble getting her players to try something new, he takes it upon himself to make sure the night goes right for her. It’s a really sweet story and it builds on Bob’s character development to hammer it home. Sure, he runs a cheap and greasy burger joint, but he does what he can to make the experience stand out, much like Shirley trying to twist the Mages and Monsters game in a fresh way for her friends. If there’s one complaint I have, it’s that I feel like Gene could’ve gotten involved in the game himself instead of just kind of keeping Bob company.

Loft in Bedslation comes pretty darn close to showing this show firing on all cylinders for me. It’s everything I enjoy about Bob’s Burgers: sweet, relatable, and of course, very funny. If the show can keep on taking events like building furniture at home and participating in roleplaying games and adding a bit of the signature Bob’s Burgers blueprint, then I’ll happily keep watching for as long as Bob keeps making burgers of the day.