Review: Bob’s Burgers “Mother Author Laser Pointer”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Linda very nearly kidnaps a children’s book author by accident. Meanwhile, the Belcher kids try to help Mr. Frond get his cat out of a tree in front of the school.

Our Take: 

The tail end of the latest season sees the Belchers celebrating Mother’s Day with another Linda-focused plot. However, regarding its story, this celebration seems more nerve-wracking than relaxing. We spend the holiday with Linda trying to relive her good old days through an old children’s book she read to her kids. Unfortunately, what she did to accomplish that was unsurprising, considering her persistent but cheerful attitude.

The episode has Linda suffering from the realization that her kids will someday leave for college due to them attending a school assembly. Because of this, Linda wants to relive one of her cherished memories with her kids: reading “Snail and Newt” books by children’s author Bee Cromwell to her children. Fortunately, Linda gains the opportunity to do so when Cromwell visits the restaurant until the tow truck comes to pick up her broken car. However, it’s revealed that Cromwell retired from writing “Snail and Newt” novels and is now writing adult thriller novels instead. Feeling distraught by this revelation, Linda tries everything to get Bee to write another “Snail and Newt” book, leading to Linda accidentally canceling Bee’s pickup appointment.

“Mother Author Laser Pointer” takes several cues from Stephen King’s “Misery”, both the book and the film adaptation from Rob Reiner. Both involve a massive fan holding an author hostage and getting them to write a book a fan wants them to make. But, of course, this is Bob’s Burgers we’re talking about, so don’t expect to see Linda breaking Bee’s ankles with a sledgehammer in the episode. Although, we do see Bee mistaking Linda for a crazed psychopath, similar to Kathy Bates in the movie. Aside from that, this episode provides the humorous misfortunes of accidental misunderstandings caused by Linda’s excitement and eagerness.

More importantly, it uses the source material that inspired the episode to represent Linda facing significant changes in life, mainly her and the kids. With her kids growing up fast, Linda attempts to slow down time by resorting to one of her happy memories with her kids. She thinks that if she gets Bee to write another “Snail and Newt” book, she won’t have to worry about her kids leaving. It’s a thoughtful representation of its real-life scenario that’s instantly relatable to parents with a similar fear, especially mothers. We all fear our kids growing up fast and eventually leaving us, and, as the episode suggested, we have to appreciate every moment possible and enjoy the changes in life until then.

The episode also features the kids helping Mr. Frond get his cat out of the tree when he snuck it into school. It’s a fundamental side-plot that’s easily amusing for Frond’s feline mishap, which is all you need to know about the Belcher kids. However, the real heart of “Mother Author Laser Pointer” is Linda’s accidental mistake forcing her to accept life’s changes, including her kids growing up. This episode further showcases the series’s charm and humor in using its sitcom scenarios to portray relatable messages thoughtfully and uniquely. Yes, that includes unintentionally stranding your favorite children’s author in your restaurant.