Review: Bob’s Burgers “A-Sprout A Boy”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Bob gets a little excited when one of Gene’s school projects is about growing microgreens, but Gene is too distracted by his newfound Purrbo game to care. Bob grows increasingly frustrated by Gene’s weird obsession until the game is eventually lost and Bob starts to realize that Gene’s interest was really no different than his own. Meanwhile, Tina and Louise hog the grocery store ride while Linda awaits Teddy’s package delivery.

Our Take:

Bob’s Burgers has had a couple of Gene episodes this season, but I think this is the first episode that can be truly classified as a Gene and Bob episode. A-Sprout A Boy puts them both centerstage to explore the complicated dynamic between a father and son who are very different on the surface, but perhaps a little more similar than they thought underneath. It’s a good ep that, while maybe not as outrageously funny as some in the show’s past, does a commendable job tackling the deeper relationship between Bob and Gene.

The overall setup for the episode is pretty simple. Gene has a school project, a new toy, and only enough concentration for one of them. Needless to say he becomes obsessed with the toy, a game he got from a yard sale called Purrbo where you have to dress up a cat for the ever-changing weather. Even from the limited glimpses we get of it during the ep, I have to say it’s pretty cute and I could totally see why Gene would be obsessed with it.

There’s also a big fan forum online that Gene becomes involved in, where players swap tips and tricks about Purrbo in their quest for feline perfection. Initially Bob is kind of freaked out by all this, but by the end of the ep he has a minor realization that his worry is unfounded. He and Gene both have their own obsessions and interests, but just because they’re different doesn’t make one of them worse. I definitely saw echoes of Bob’s own behavior in Gene this week, and having the two of them come into conflict in this way allowed for some new sides to their relationship that felt, dare I say it, a little fresh in this twelfth season?

The rest of the ep is split between two subplots: Teddy having Linda stay on alert for a package of Alaskan salmon and Louise and Tina trying to milk all the grocery change to use on a kiddy ride. Teddy and Linda’s plot felt a bit shoehorned in at first, especially with a lot of other stuff going on in the ep, but I did appreciate all the package delivery time window humor. Louise and Tina’s bit wasn’t as funny, but I appreciated seeing Louise going full on goblin mode again, stealing all the change, monopolizing the ride, etc.

All in all, I’d say this felt like one of the more memorable episodes this season. Gene and Bob are perhaps the two Belchers who are least alike on first glance, so it was cool to see the show exploring more of that aspect. While it wasn’t as funny as many other Bob episodes are, I can forgive that when the theme of the episode felt fresh. Now I just need my own Purrbo game…c’mon, Fox!