[7.2/10] This is a tricky episode for me to judge, because I like some of the ideas of the A-story, but it doesn’t really jell for me, and I just love the B-story.
The A-story, about Bob getting trapped on an island with a bunch of Mr. Fischoeder’s drugged up, amoral rich guy friends is...odd, and not in the typical fun Bob’s Burgers way. Poking fun at the wealthy and weird is easy, but “Escape from Which Island?” doesn’t get much comic mileage out of it. There’s some natural humor to Bob barely tolerating the insanity and being the straight man to all the strange billionaire stuff going on, but it’s more smiles than belly laughs.
That said, I like the theme of the A-story -- that compassion, rather than selfishness, is the real sign of strength. Bob demonstrating that by trying to rescue everyone despite their dangerous buffoonery and occasional treachery is a good way to dramatize that idea and his own goodness. And I like the fact that Mr. Fischoeder shows a brief sign of kindness and humanity himself. Plus, I really liked the animation here, with some cool movements at the dance party, some neat lighting and effects during the hurricane, and some spooky but goofy moments with Hubert the drugged up biter.
But the A-story is the real winner here. Linda trying to teach Tina all the sundry unwritten rules for cocktail parties is an absolute hoot. It’s a great forum for Linda and the kids to be joke machines, and there’s something well-observed about the challenges in mastering all these intricate social graces which few people say outright but often judge others on. There’s a lot of laughs to this one, and also something sympathetic in Tina fretting about the whole thing.
Overall, a mixed bag of an episode, but the B-story pulls it into clear “good” territory.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-12-11T00:16:16Z
[7.2/10] This is a tricky episode for me to judge, because I like some of the ideas of the A-story, but it doesn’t really jell for me, and I just love the B-story.
The A-story, about Bob getting trapped on an island with a bunch of Mr. Fischoeder’s drugged up, amoral rich guy friends is...odd, and not in the typical fun Bob’s Burgers way. Poking fun at the wealthy and weird is easy, but “Escape from Which Island?” doesn’t get much comic mileage out of it. There’s some natural humor to Bob barely tolerating the insanity and being the straight man to all the strange billionaire stuff going on, but it’s more smiles than belly laughs.
That said, I like the theme of the A-story -- that compassion, rather than selfishness, is the real sign of strength. Bob demonstrating that by trying to rescue everyone despite their dangerous buffoonery and occasional treachery is a good way to dramatize that idea and his own goodness. And I like the fact that Mr. Fischoeder shows a brief sign of kindness and humanity himself. Plus, I really liked the animation here, with some cool movements at the dance party, some neat lighting and effects during the hurricane, and some spooky but goofy moments with Hubert the drugged up biter.
But the A-story is the real winner here. Linda trying to teach Tina all the sundry unwritten rules for cocktail parties is an absolute hoot. It’s a great forum for Linda and the kids to be joke machines, and there’s something well-observed about the challenges in mastering all these intricate social graces which few people say outright but often judge others on. There’s a lot of laughs to this one, and also something sympathetic in Tina fretting about the whole thing.
Overall, a mixed bag of an episode, but the B-story pulls it into clear “good” territory.