Nobody seemed to share my disappointment at last week’s “Dawn of the Peck,” which seems to be considered the best of the season so far. In fact, even I hardly agree with my review anymore. I definitely think the episode was somewhat forgettable, but not nearly to the extent of “Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl.” The main storyline may not have been great, but there were plenty of quotable lines—and drunk Bob dancing to Donna Summer—to make up for it.
So everyone will probably disagree with me even more now that “Best Burger” has become my favorite of the season. In a way, it’s the antithesis of “Dawn of the Peck.” Where that episode was all based around a big setup, this one is simple (it mostly takes place over the course of 20 minutes, mainly in real time). Where that episode didn’t seem to know what to do with its abundance of secondary characters, “Best Burger” has its secondary characters at their best. And where “Dawn of the Peck” didn’t have anything new to say, this episode builds on a character who has never really received the kinds of a-plots he deserves.
The episode begins at the 1st Annual Best Burger Contest, hosted by Chuck Charles, as bitter as ever over Bob costing him his job—seriously, that was way back in season two. Bob is up against Jimmy Pesto, who hasn’t gotten the hint that he doesn’t have a knack for burgers, and world famous chef Skip Marooch. (“Am I saying that right?” “Yes. Skip.”)
The plot begins when Bob, having left Gene in charge of grabbing the black garlic central to his burger’s recipe, finds that it’s not with him. He sends the kids to get the garlic from the restaurant, on the condition that they’ll get the day off. The episode then becomes a semi-parody of Run Lola Run—the original title of the episode was “Run Belchers Run”—with the kids rushing to get the black garlic. When Gene ruins the garlic at the restaurant, the kids have to go get more from the only store in town that sells it, Fig Jam, which they’d been banned from the week before.
The episode also throws in Mickey (for the second episode in a row), this time driving a pedicab and in a small turf war against another pedicab driver, Manny, which eventually leads to a pedicab chase. So there’s definitely a lot going on. But, unlike in “Dawn of the Peck,” it doesn’t feel out of place for the show. Bob’s Burgers is best when it’s at its most domestic, and nothing that happens in the episode, outrageous at it gets, feels out of place in the show’s universe.
The episode’s main accomplishment is in relation to Gene, a character who, outside of the amazing “The Unbearable Like-Likeness of Gene,” has never really gotten the storylines he deserves. He’s generally used as more of a comedic sidekick. For the first time in a while, though, “Best Burger” treats him as a real character, with the major theme of the episode being his absent-mindedness and its effect on the family. When, in the end, Bob apologizes to Gene and says he loves him no matter what, that’s the kind of sweet moment I turn to Bob’s Burgers for.
Rating: 8/10
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Memorable lines:
“Rocky lost in the first movie, Lin.” “Aw. But he walked up all those stairs. That’s not fair.”
“What’s so hard to understand about, ‘I saw the black garlic, but then I saw my spatula backscratcher and when I reached for it your black garlic got smeared all over my belly’?”
“Your wife is a lucky woman, Bob.” “Thank you!”
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“Your name is a verb in this family, Gene. We call it Gene-ing out.” “I thought that meant taking off your shorts after a good meal.”
“‘Got garlic. Broke law. You fix later. On our way. Smiley face.’ Aw, smiley face!”
“Stay here and help me block Ray. It’ll be a block party.”
“They got nice ties in Thailand?” “I love you, Manny.”
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“No, Gene. You didn’t screw up. I screwed up by trusting you. Wait, that came out wrong.”
“We finished! We finished the burgers!” “Hooray for Bob. He managed to somehow do what he does every day for a living. What a champion.”
“This has exquisite mouth feel.”
“Okay, Bob. You got a fantastic and an ooh. But he got an amazing and a really weird moan. And he liked both your mouth feels. I’d say it’s a tight race.”
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