Review: Bob’s Burgers “Oh Row You Didn’t”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

A man trying to row from New Zealand to Nova Scotia visits the restaurant to have a burger.

Our Take:

The restaurant has opened up again after a brief hiatus, and their first guest since then is quite interesting. Not only is this guest on an incredible journey, but he’s also really hungry for one of Bob’s finest burgers. That guest is Quincy Cocks, a famous influencer spending his days rowing his boat across the world. Unfortunately, he immediately decides to quit after he eats Bob’s “burger of the day” while waiting for a photo op and realizing how much he misses living on land. Fearing being responsible for killing Quincy’s career, the Belchers attempt to convince Quincy to get back into rowing.

The episode follows the narrative of a celebrity coming over, and a character takes advantage of it to spread good publicity for their business. But a troubling situation threatens to ruin the publicity of that celebrity and Bob’s business. What follows is the Belchers’ attempt to convince Quincy to return to the sea while keeping the reporter from getting the wrong idea of him quitting. The result is what we expect from Bob’s Burgers: a humorous sitcom-like scenario with a solid message and entertaining comedy.

Amid the family’s struggle to save Quincy’s reputation, “Oh Row You Didn’t” offers a straightforward yet respectable depiction of quitting. Throughout the episode, Linda is concerned about Gene leaving many clubs after spending only one day in each one. Gene recently left the origami club after his first day because he feared it was too hard for him. This drew parallels to Quincy, whose lengthy, exhausting, and challenging days at sea caused him to go insane. While trying to move Quincy’s rowboat, Bob advises Gene that if he keeps quitting when things get too challenging, he’ll never be able to get to the good stuff in life. But, of course, Bob’s attempts at rowing the boat also help Quincy regain his confidence to finish his goal.

“Oh Row You Didn’t” has the show’s thirteenth season continuing to shine without the need to quit. With its solid use of sitcom humor and a basic message that’s executed fairly well, the episode welcomes the new season back with open arms and a burger fresh from the grill. It came close to rowing circles around my other favorite episodes of season 13, like “The Plight Before Christmas”, which, to me, is better than giving up.