Review: Bob’s Burgers “Some Like It Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

When Tina’s cool new horse shirt gets made fun of by Jocelyn and Tammy on air, she turns to her friend fiction to help her process the emotions. In this fantasy world, she’s a robot who dares to break the mold by expressing herself, and she’s not alone. But there are greater forces at play who are trying to erase her memories. Meanwhile, Bob tries to deal with the negative graffiti on the bathroom wall.

Our Take:

Bob’s Burgers is back this week with quite the special episode. No, it’s not another holiday ep, but it’s a rare multi-part narrative with an overarching storyline. Some Like It Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner tells the tale of Tina’s troubles fitting in (and standing out) with her school crowd. And it does it in a way that only Tina could utilize: erotic friend fiction.

Granted, this is really more tame than her usual erotic imaginings so far. Basically, it’s a weird mashup of some movies that Bob let the kids stay up and watch, including Blade Runner. The comparison between grade school and a factory of robots is apt, but definitely not subtle, and none of the beats of the fantasy world conflict come as much of a surprise. I think the coolest thing about these sequences are just seeing the usual characters and setting through a different lens, like Jimmy Jr. in a trench coat.

It feels a little like the episode sacrificed some of the usual humor for more drama, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think the thematic overlap between Tina and Bob’s plots actually really helps tie the episode together here, and how Tina’s fantasy world changes to incorporate more of her family’s feelings about this incident is neat to see. And there were still some great comedic moments, one of my favorites being Teddy and Bob preparing to inspect the customer’s fingers for telltale signs of black ink. The song was solid as well. I always appreciate a good Bob’s musical number.

The whole ‘graffiti in the bathroom’ thing is kind of interesting—I almost want to say I’m more invested in that payoff than in the ending to Tina’s fantasy world. The restaurant is usually such a safe space for the Belcher’s, where they can go to work on homework or just talk, that having some negative Nancy talk trash about them in their own bathroom feels like a major affront. I’m really curious about who the culprit could be—at first I was leaning toward it being one of the kids maybe, but now I’m not so sure.

Speaking of kids, it’s definitely nice to see more of the Wagstaff gang this week. Tammy and Jocelyn are especially fun with their terrible TV segment, and I loved the teacher’s justification. “We’re learning! Learning that they’re mean!” 

Some Like It Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner is pretty unique in the Bob’s repertoire since it ends on a cliffhanger with no real sense of satisfaction. We do know that Tina has a plan now, which is to smash the school’s TV room touchscreen with a hammer that she definitely has… which does not sound like a recipe for school success, but I suppose we shall see. No matter how this all ends, I just hope Gene and Louise get that beautiful boba by the time it wraps up.