I love Halloween and I love Bob’s Burgers, so it’s a treat to get to review the special Halloween episode.
The Belcher kids are all a bit crazy. The show has toned down on Louise’s psychotic tendencies over the past couple of seasons, but she and Gene both go from 0 to 100 in record time. It’s Tina, however, that holds a special place in my heart. She’s just as crazy as her siblings, but in a way that’s instantly relatable to anyone who was once a teenage girl. I’ve never been in the midst of costume contest drama, but I can see how being given a spell book by the librarian would intrigue Tina and let her mind run away with the possibilities. In school, anything that makes you feel special can make you feel confident and the show makes it clear the results of Tina’s spells were more about that newfound strength than the spells themselves.
It all starts with Tina’s rival, Tammy, and an overheard conversation. Tina is planning to go to the costume contest as a “hot-mess” and Tammy immediately steals the idea. Before Tina can stop her from entering, they’re separated by the harsh crossing guard, Jackie (this is the second show this week that I’ve reviewed that features a tyrannical crossing guard). A little Tammy goes a long way, so I’m glad the episode veers away from her and Tina’s feud to focus on Tina getting very power-mad, very quickly.
Tina falls back on her second idea, entering the contest as a sand-wich (a witch between two slices of bread) and goes to the library for inspiration. Just as Mr. Ambrose kick-started the plot of one of the best episodes of Bob’s Burgers, "Topsy", with his knowledge of Thomas Edison, here he gives Tina the exact right thing to create maximum drama for Wagstaff. After accusing Tina of being a witch-ist for propagating the tired pointy hat and broomstick stereotype, he shows her a way of winning the contest, or, as her siblings point out, a really fun way of cheating. Tina casts the spell, as well as one to get Louise out of a school assignment and get Gene fishsticks for lunch, and some love spells for good measure (Tina wouldn’t be Tina is she didn’t find a way to exploit every situation to get Jimmy Jr. to notice her). When her spells sort of work, Tina decides that it is proof that she is a witch and embraces it, complete with choker and black clothes.
Deciding that Tina has magical powers is exactly the sort of thing the three kids would do. While all of them can be as cynical as an adult at times, they still share a sense of wonder and Tina’s just desperate enough to believe in the magic. What makes Bob’s Burgers such a great show is not just that the kids’ imaginations run wild or that they’re a bit crazy, but that the adults are even more dysfunctional. The witch plot isn’t just about Tina’s teenage angst, but the larger battle between Mr. Ambrose, the school librarian, and Jackie, the crossing guard. They were part of the same coven, but Jackie got too into the dark arts and didn’t pay for pizza. Now, the ousted Jackie is bitter and vengeful and takes the first opportunity to curse Tina.
Tina becomes convinced something horrible will happen to her at the costume contest. In front of a very confused audience, her anxiety finally makes her confess to casting all her spells and she does end up falling off the stage. The contest, however, has a happier ending than anticipated. Tina falls on Tammy and neither of them win. Instead, Regular-Sized-Rudy takes home the prize for a killer Marcel Marceau costume, Tina apologizes to Jackie, and the curse is lifted. I know that by the next episode, the status quo will be restored and Tina will have lost some of her new-found confidence, but she seems happy at the end, and that’s all I want for her.
Speaking of dysfunctional, obsessive characters, Bob proves that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Like Tina with Tammy, Bob’s own rivalry with Jimmy Pesto often clouds his judgment. The latest in the feud is his suspicion that Pesto has been stealing his impeccably carved burger-themed jack-o-lanterns from in front of the restaurant. Instead of ever admitting defeat, Bob carves pumpkin after pumpkin, patiently waiting to catch Pesto in the act. Linda and Teddy think it may be a pumpkin ghost and want nothing to do with his plans for revenge. Finally, Bob realizes that Mr. Fischoeder has been stealing the pumpkins all along. He is under the impression that people have been leaving out all of their pumpkins for him and brought them all to Jack O’ World, a Halloween attraction at his house. Bob is annoyed that Fischoeder is now charging money to take pictures of his own pumpkins, but Linda and the kids are in awe of the beautiful, larcenous exhibition. It's fun and corny and morally sketchy, just like all the best episodes of this show!
What did you think of the episode? What was the funniest line? Ever have costume contest drama? Let me know in the comments!
