Overview (Spoilers Below): When the coolest teens she’s ever seen start coming into the restaurant, Tina decides she needs to be just like them. Meanwhile, Gene and Louise get into a battle of wills over stinky socks.
Our Take: We all have that one moment when we want to be like the cool kids to gain attention. It’s good for stepping out of our shadows, but in typical fashion, we eventually lose our true identity and humiliate ourselves. Unsurprisingly, Tina becomes the latest victim of that scenario in this week’s coolest episode. The episode consists of Tina attempting to be the cool version of herself to impress the other cool teens that arrive at the restaurant often. To do that, she tries to like the same stuff they like, including their band, The Mud Stains, and wear the same clothes they’re wearing. Tina then realizes that the cool kids are going to the Mud Stains concert at the Odeon and attempts to go there. But, unfortunately, she arrived too late as the concert was sold out. This leads to Tina and the family following the teens to the Greece-themed diner, where everything goes south quickly. In other words, “These Boots Are Made for Stalking” follows the basic plot involving changing one’s identity to impress the other group they admire. In this case, Tina tries to change her appearance and interests to be friends with the cool teens. However, Tina’s socially awkward personality and waitress instincts led her to some embarrassing scenarios that are genuinely humorous but also relatable. One moment includes Tina wearing combat shoes to match the cool teens’ clothing. However, her new shoes are a bit too big, resulting in Tina prat falling a few times. This was one of my favorite parts of the episode regarding its humor because I have a soft spot for slapstick. But, of course, the other moment I enjoyed was the message. While its plot offers very little to its tried-and-true narrative, the episode maintains the theme’s importance that made similar plots from other shows and movies relatable. As Linda stated during the episode’s conclusion, trying to be someone else can be exhausting, and being yourself is the only way to be cool. Fortunately for Tina, Linda’s advice worked as she managed to talk to one of the cool teens (named Sage) as herself. “These Boots Are Made for Stalking” is another example of the show’s ability to provide enough humor and heart to overshadow most of its narrative shortcomings. It’s very formulaic, which seems normal since the show’s run is in its teens. However, its charming appeal and Dan Mintz’s performance as Tina are cool enough to progress the eldest sibling’s coming-of-age journey further. While it’s not the weakest episode in its thirteenth season, I will say that it doesn’t compete with the other cool episodes from the past few weeks.