Review: Bob’s Burgers “Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
After a student accuses her of cheating on a test, Tina needs to get back to school to clear her name, but a snowstorm traps her and her family at home.

Our Take:
After a brief holiday hiatus, the restaurant opened up with another Belcher-filled adventure to kickstart the new year. Although, as usual, there’s always something that’s going to interfere with the family’s business, especially a massive sinkhole from the movie. This episode is no exception, with the Belchers stranded in their home due to an unexpected snowstorm. It looks like Elsa is having one of those moments.
Unfortunately, this weather picked the worst time to arrive, as Tina is faced with an accusation at school. No, she didn’t do anything offensive on school grounds, but she did get accused of something far worse: cheating on a test. Okay, there are things that are worse than that, but from a high schooler’s perspective, getting caught cheating is a death sentence.
The episode has Tina attempting to avoid that sentence by finding and talking to Chelsea, who caught Tina accidentally looking at someone else’s test. Unfortunately, Tina then saw Chelsea cheating as well, resulting in a race against the clock to prevent Chelsea from tattling. But, of course, that race gets complicated thanks to a sudden snowstorm. I find it weird that it went from fall to winter in a snap, but what can you do?
The storyline consists of the Belchers in different scenarios while trapped inside. The main focus is on Tina, who’s paranoid about Chelsea telling on her, while Gene and Louise make an indoor pillow fort. Meanwhile, Bob attempts to call the heater guy to come to fix the broken heater.
This episode depicts paranoia from people trapped in the same environment, which usually leads to some humorous or outlandish situations. While the series isn’t known for being overly far-fetched, “Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang” does put an amusing spin on the characters being anxious during a snow day. It features the usual humor that got plenty of laughs, especially in Bob’s brief side-plot, where he tries to reach the heater guy. The fact that Bob keeps misspelling his texts to the heater guy shows how much fun it is to watch a simple task go hilariously wrong. However, Gene humming a jingle did little to inject the same amount of laughs as others.
However, what makes the episode work is Tina’s internal conflict regarding her mistake. Tina seems afraid of Chelsea tattling on her via a note for the bear toy’s fanny pack, but she’s also anxious that she may have actually cheated. This results in Tina trying to walk through the storm to get to Mr. Frond’s house before he reads Chelsea’s note. Thankfully, Tina didn’t make it that far, with Teddy coming to her rescue. The scenario ended with Linda telling Tina it’s okay to make mistakes as long as she doesn’t repeat them. Additionally, it’s revealed that Chelsea didn’t tattle on Tina, meaning that Tina can rest easy.
“Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang” is a decent return to the show’s thirteenth season and a suitable start to its new year on business. While the episode fell short of being as good as its Christmas episode last month, it still delivers the humor and fun out of a typical scenario like getting stuck in a snowstorm. More importantly, it offers a suitable message about learning from one’s mistakes. Also, cheaters never prosper, and neither are tattlers.