When the tenth season premier of Bob's Burgers started out with Linda talking about Gayle's pink eye I was a little worried: I'm not very fond of pink eye or Gayle. But luckily the majority of the half-hour focused on Bob and the kids and a water park so in the end I found it an enjoyable episode overall.
The kids and Linda are all set for a day of rides (the kids) and suntanning (Linda) at the Wetty Set Go water park when diversions strike. The kids find a box with a ring in it while looking in the super secret hiding place for their goggles and Linda gets a call to deal with the aforementioned pink-eyed Gayle. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that the box didn't have one small grape in it like Tina had guessed.
We later find out that the ring is Bob's anniversary present for Linda. This year he actually remembered; Teddy's phone reminder was not needed but still a sweet, if slightly creepy, gesture. Bob explains to Teddy that he and Linda do not have a Benjamin Button marriage where the engagement ring comes after the wedding. Bob initially proposed with an engagement high-five since he couldn't afford a ring. Many years later he's giving Linda her ring, their financial situation improved enough that he can buy the ring through installments of $15 a month over 30 months, with interest. Can Suze Orman guest star soon, because the Belcher's need some financial guidance ASAP.
The Piranhas in Pajamas, as Linda lovingly calls her kids, pass the ring around trying it on and it gets stuck on Gene's finger. Gene won't be shamed, declaring that he loves his finger curves. Prioritizing the water park over coming clean, the kids keep quiet and take the ring with them to the park. It's only after enjoying the lazy river that Gene realizes that fingers are the wieners of the hand: there was shrinkage and the ring is now lost.
Deciding against staging a robbery where Bob would get stabbed as a cover for the lost ring, the kids instead call their friend Nat Kinkle, a limo driver who spends her lunch break on the lazy river due to her water park connections and who has the best life. Just as the kids are sneaking out to meet Nat at the water park to look for the ring Bob corners them with the empty ring box. He's so mad they lost the ring he grounds them forever, forbids them from talking to him and bans them from his funeral. That's pretty mad.
Luckily Nat is awesome. Not only does she get them back in the water park to search for the ring but she gathers up her crew of "all female SCUBA and cannabis enthusiasts," the Puff Divers, to help them look for the ring. Plus she can sing classical music acappella style! She might not be Nat King Cole, but Nat Kinkle is pretty great too.
During the hunt for the ring Linda is busy trying to corral Gayle into taking her pink eye medication, which Gayle is violently against. This plot mostly serves to keep Linda occupied while Bob and the kids look for the ring, and I found it more annoying than amusing. Like I said, I'm not the biggest fan of Gayle. At one point Linda calls Bob to let him know that she's giving up on Gayle and coming home, and Bob tries to stall her since they're all still at the water park, telling her that she can do anything, even handle Gayle. When he's reminded that she can't french braid or whistle Bob reassures her that no one can do those things. It was mostly self serving on Bob's part but I found it a nice little moment of this realistically sweet marriage.
After getting his arm stuck in a drain Bob calls it quits on the ring search. The water park is too big and the ring too small. Louise feels enough guilt to offer to move to an orphanage. It's a decidedly down beat group when Eddy Wetty enters, wondering what all of these people are doing in his water park after hours. Just as Bob finishes telling Eddy about the lost anniversary engagement ring Linda walks into the water park with Gayle thanks to Tina's detailed and up to date diary. She hears everything and tells Bob that their marriage isn't about big rings (it's actually very small) but everything they've built together after Bob begged her to settle for him. Awwwww!
Everyone jumps into the pool to celebrate the Belcher's anniversary (and so Gayle can escape the pink eye meds), with only Tina worried about Gayle infecting everyone with pink eye, and the episode ends with a literal bird's eye view of what actually happened to the ring. Spoiler alert: it found its way home. Sort of.
Odds and Ends
Favorite scene: Tina freaking out when the kids realize they lost the ring.
Favorite quote: "Move over Nemo there's a new thing lost in the water."
Best visual gag: Bob looking for the ring in his underwear since he didn't bring a swim suit with him to the water park.
Any Gayle fans out there willing to make a case why I should like the character? Let me know in the comments below!
