Review: Bob’s Burgers “Local She-ro”


OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Tina’s new school project requires her to talk about something that inspired them, but Tammy’s gushing about a trip to New York gives Tina an urge to visit the Big Apple!…which will probably never happen because poor family. This infuriates Linda, who wants Tina to appreciate the town she lives in, so she tries getting her to find things to inspire her in town to write her report on. The examples she gives are…less than inspiring and honestly depressing, until they find out about an artist named Dove Shannon who made it big in New York but moved to the town later. They soon find out that Dove is DEAD…to the world, though really just in a reclusive house boat community. After more of Linda’s craziness, Dove relents and lets her and Tina watch her give a show to the rest of the house boats, which Tina is inspired by enough to bring a CD, but not do her report.

Meanwhile, Teddy ropes the other Belchers into his feud with a radio host about a bad hockey trade, which Louise helps quell by focusing on how sad Teddy’s life is.

OUR TAKE

Moving from a Father/Daughter story to a Mother/Daughter story, right in time for Mother’s Day! Also interesting how both stories are about Bob and Linda learning that they’re pushing their kids into situations that SEEM good at first but end up going against their wishes. Though while I always find a soft spot for Bob and Louise episodes, I tend to have the opposite feeling about Linda and Tina episodes. My feelings on Linda have been pretty mixed since I started watching the show, mainly on how her love for her family and life run the gambit from heartwarming and hilarious to annoying and cringy. At least it plays off other characters well enough that it evens out, but Tina’s demure character pretty much gives Linda all the energy, which leads to her being super crazy to the point I just…hate her.

The other notable time I remember this happening was in “The Grand Mama-Pest Hotel” in Season 7, where Linda’s anxiety about Tina making friends and moving on from her basically just ends up getting her banned from a hotel and threatening Tina’s personal hero into saying pro-mom things. These are moments where I just do not understand what the show is trying to say when they show just about how weird she can get and then say that that’s okay. I tune that out when it comes to Simpsons and Family Guy with their own dysfunctions, but I have the feeling that Bob’s Burgers cares a bit more about that. Maybe it’s to say that every family has these sorts of parents? Whatever it is saying, I’m not really picking it up.