13x15 The Show (And Tell) Must Go On

[7.2/10] A perfectly pleasant episode. Tina and Louise stories tend to be good ones because you have the natural contrast between Tina’s considered cautiousness and Louise’s bold recklessness. It gives Tina a chance to be mature and assertive in the name of a good cause like protecting her sister, and it gives Louise a chance to pull back from the brink and recognize the wisdom of someone who cares about her.

In this case, the situation is a little out there (though well within acceptable tolerances for Bob’s Burgers standards. Louise is doing her last show and tell ever, wants to retrieve a cannonball from the local battery, and is willing to go to dangerous lengths to get it. There’s not much in the way of laughs, but Tina and Louise's dynamic on the adventure makes the most of the setup. And I like that in the end, even when Tina prevails upon her sister that their lives are worth more than an old ball of iron, Louise takaakes her advice that telling the truth about their adventure, rather than spinning exciting fables (like she did in the very first episode!) is a better finale than anything she could invent.

The B-story about Teddy trying to impress his Irish girlfriend with his knowledge of hurling is sufficiently cute. There’s more laughs from Teddy’s awkwardness and thinly-veiled ignorance about the sport. But it also lands someplace nice, with his girlfriend reassuring him that it’s okay for them to have different interests, and it doesn’t mean that things will turn out the way they did with his ex. Teddy and his girlfriend have an easy rapport and are even easier to root for.

The C-story is Gene needing to poop and eventually doing so. It has all the excitement and humor from that you’d expect.

Overall, this is one of those perfectly amiable episodes of Bob’s Burgers, where there’s little to really wow you, but a lot of solid moments.