Review: Bob’s Burgers “Three Girls and a Little Wharfy”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Louise isn’t feeling the spirit of Spirit Week at school, which leads her to hang out with the grade five girls Jessica and Megan. But, when they let Louise in on their adventure, she is more than skeptical. The older girls are trying to get proof of the existence of Wharfy, a sea monster that lives under the wharf.  The more evidence they uncover, the more Louise begins to change her mind.

Meanwhile, Bob has begun an online master class hosted by world-renowned chef Michel Du Roche. But, Bob struggles to keep up with the chef’s unorthodox method of approaching food. Through practice Bob finally breaks the code and finds new love in cooking.

Our Take:

Bob’s Burgers settles into the latter half of its milestone tenth season. The show continues to pump out episode after episode of the quirkiest humour you can find on prime-time television. And, as we patiently await the Bob’s Burgers movie, we are lucky to have half a season worth of episodes on their way.

This week’s episode centres around Spirit Week at school, which is a perfect vessel for prime Gene and Tina humour. The pair take on Wacky Hair Day, Pyjama Day, and Business Casual Day in big school spirit fashion. Considering the brilliant Halloween costumes this show comes out with, it makes you wish we’d get to see Spirit Week at least once a year.

Louise, on the other hand, is not a big fan of Spirit Week. She’s also not that excited about finding a local sea monster. Which all feels out of character for the mischievous girl. Sure, she can be the most cynical of the Belchers, but she does love her fun. I would expect her to at least be interested in uncovering a local legend like a monster living under the wharf. Her skepticism does come around by the end when she agrees to continue searching for the beast with the fifth-grade girls. However, you would think she would get her siblings involved as they always tend to solve problems.

The B-plot of Bob getting involved in online masterclasses was a fun addition. One of Bob’s Burgers strengths is giving the other characters interesting things to get up to while not playing a central role. Bob struggling to understand the unorthodox teachings of Chef Michel Du Roche was funny enough before he actually solved it in a mind-blowing moment. Also, a hilarious take on Master Class, where famous names basically just talk about the thing they love for hours on end.

This was not a stand-out episode of the series. It will be quickly forgotten behind the many better plots that have passed and yet to come. Though, it did have one of the best burger board puns that I have seen in years “The Glazed and infused Burger”.  Other than that, there wasn’t anything to make the episode exceptional. This is where the healthy average is for the show. Even its most basic plots involve enough entertaining moments and witty side stories to keep the show as lovable as ever.