Review: Bob’s Burgers “Motor, She Boat”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The annual Father/Daughter cardboard boat race is here, and Tina is determined not to repeat the disasters of the last few years. Bob likes to tape to the beat of his own drum, and that usually involves lots of tape but not much sticking power. Tina gets frustrated with him and begins to build the boat by herself. Then she overhears Bob being sad about how his kids no longer need him, and decides to wreck the boat so they can rebuild it together.

Of course, it turns out even worse than she expected. While everyone else has pretty cool vessels, theirs is basically falling apart. Tina eventually gets fed up, and reveals her true feelings loudly, storming into the woods to be alone. There she finds the girls from Troop 257 in the middle of cheating by attaching a motor to a replica of their actual boat. It turns out to be a conspiracy involving Karin, the judge of the competition whose angling for a promotion. Tina makes up with Bob, and together they sabotage the other troop’s plans to cheat. In the end, team Tad manages to finish in 2nd place!

Our Take:

Three episodes into the tenth season of Bob’s Burgers, the show is showing no signs of age. It’s still just as timely, interesting, and hilarious. But while the show isn’t getting old, the Belcher kids are. Even though there’s no actual time progression on Bob’s Burgers, with the kids staying perpetually the same age, this episode really goes a long way in showing just how much they’re aging without actually making them any older. It’s sweet, but also a little sad for Bob and Linda. But regardless of how their kids age, they’ll always be a family.

One of the most affecting parts of the episode to me was the beginning, when Tina’s frustration with Bob is being hinted at. To my recollection, we haven’t seen much of this kind of feelings from her about Bob before, and it’s a natural advancement that is immediately relatable while making for a great inner conflict. At a certain age, we just start getting embarrassed by our parents. They’re out of touch, and say the wrong thing, or wear the wrong thing. Bob may be sweet, but he’s not really the type of guy anyone would describe as ‘cool’. And he’s definitely terrible at taping cardboard boats. Tina’s rising anger with him is interesting to see, as it’s so unusual for her to get this angry at someone she loves as much as Bob. Even she herself seems surprised at letting out such harsh words, and they make up pretty quickly. I’m not entirely sure I love the quick switch from their emotional issues to the Troop 257 cheating plot, but it all comes together pretty nicely in the end.

The B plot is a reflection of Tina and Bob’s plot in some ways. Linda seems to have taken Tina’s attitude to heart, and is determined to spend time with Gene and Louise before they can grow into moody teenagers. She drags them to the fire station open house, which is intended for much younger kids. “We’re old enough to be these kids parents,” Louise comments. It’s pretty hilarious, which is a good thing since Bob and Tina’s plot isn’t quite as funny. I was half expecting to see a situation where Louise and Gene would get over themselves and be really into it, but seeing them constantly aware of how embarrassing Linda was acting was funny, too.

“Just kidding, I did normal stuff when I was a kid.” Linda walking back saying she built boats all the time as a kid was cute. “She draws it on before meetings. At least, I think she draws it on.” Man, those Troop 257 girls are amazing. “All along I thought I was born bad, but it’s not! It’s the nurturing!” Louise’s reaction about Linda lying to them about going to the open house was hilariously true. “Oh my god, they’re looking at us! Hi!” The sad dads were probably me favorite part of the main storyline. So desperate for attention. It really contrasts with what a good relationship Bob and Tina have.

Motor, She Boat is an episode that asks us to consider what might happen as the Belcher kids grow older, and how it changes their relationships with their parents and the world around them. It was funny, of course, but it also was a bit more melancholy than usual. Even though we know that Tina will never get old enough to really outgrow Bob, this brief taste of the future was kind of scary. But if we know anything about the Belcher’s, it’s that they’re the kind of family that won’t drift apart no matter how much time passes. After all, the family that holds hands together stays together, am I right?