[8.4/10] Bob had a rough childhood. The reasons for it have been kept a little opaque or at least vague up to this point, but we’ve gotten hints of it in episodes prior to this one. That gives “Father of the Bob” power when it not only presents us with “Big Bob” for the first time, but delves into the schism and frustration and outright anger between father and son that spills out around the holiday.
For Bob, that means resenting the way his dad is always critical of whatever he does, from his weight to his child-naming to his cooking, instead of supporting him, and stifles his creativity at every turn. For Big Bob’s part, that means feeling like his son doesn’t listen and refuses to do things “the right way.”
The show dramatizes that with two flashbacks: one 30 years ago where Big Bob trashes the forerunner to Bob’s burgers of the day before a regular can take a bite of it, and one 20 years ago where Bob refuses his dad’s offers to become partner because he doesn’t want to be stuck in such a creatively barren and hidebound working situation, making a big show of his refusal, replete with more burger puns.
That leads us to the present day, where Linda strives to make her husband break his “fifteen minute rule” with his dad in the hopes that some nebulous “Xmas magic” will prompt them to reconcile. Not for nothing, Linda’s attempts to force a reconciliation, her usual sing-happy ways, and her awkward lines to Big Bob are all a hoot.
The B-story here is just OK, which brings the episode down a tad. Tina, Gene, and Louise compete for a “mistletony award” for whomever can make the best gift for their dad out of the random junk in Big Bob’s basement. There’s not many big laughs in it, beyond Tina’s trash tack, but it’s worth a few chuckles.
The important thing, though, is that the kids use a discarded newspaper they found in a desk to wrap a gift for Bob. When they give it to him, Bob realizes that his dad saved a copy of the first review of Bob’s Burgers all these years, a sign that he did care about his son and his dreams.
That’s important, because after an increasingly testy and shove-heavy effort to cook together in the same kitchen, Bob and Big Bob recreate their “the usual” vs. “Baby You Can Chive My Car burger” event. After much jockeying for position, Bob wins, earning the tastebud loyalty of one of his dad’s restaurants, and throws it in Big Bob’s face, prompting the old diner owner to concede and bolt for the bar next door.
The newspaper cuts the bad blood of that moment, showing Bob that he didn’t upstage a father who never believed in him, but rather embarrassed a dad who cared about him in his own restaurant. Their reconciliation, seasonally magical or not, is a sweet but also an earned one. Bob doesn’t apologize for doing things his own way or for leaving, but does apologize for how he did both of those things, both tonight and twenty years ago.
For his part, Big Bob admits that he isn’t the easiest guy in the world to work with, and tells his son that he admires his success. Most revealingly, Bob tells his dad that he understands the criticisms are his way of showing his love and that he knows Big Bob did his best, and Big Bob admits that “it was hard without your mom.” It’s easy to see Big Bob as the antagonist of this one at first, but eventually we come to see him as Bob does -- a frustrating man who nevertheless had his own baggage to deal with and tried as well as he could.
In the end, Big Bob gives his son a heartening and revealing compliment -- his family can “sling hash” with the best of them, a sign of Bob’s ability to run a restaurant, but also that they’re “happy kids...weird happy kids.” Big Bob tells his son that he’s a good dad and, with that acknowledgement of his kids’ happiness, implies that he knows Bob’s doing a better job at parenting than he did.
There’s so much emotional depth and complexity to that relationship, where it starts, and where it ends in this episode. There’s fewer of the Xmas trappings than in other holiday episodes in the Bob’s Burgers pantheon, but this is still one of my favorites because it gets at the larger themes of the season -- peace and love, realized here between a father and son, in a way that heals old wounds and opens new doors (nigh-literally with Tina).
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-12-24T06:04:01Z
[8.4/10] Bob had a rough childhood. The reasons for it have been kept a little opaque or at least vague up to this point, but we’ve gotten hints of it in episodes prior to this one. That gives “Father of the Bob” power when it not only presents us with “Big Bob” for the first time, but delves into the schism and frustration and outright anger between father and son that spills out around the holiday.
For Bob, that means resenting the way his dad is always critical of whatever he does, from his weight to his child-naming to his cooking, instead of supporting him, and stifles his creativity at every turn. For Big Bob’s part, that means feeling like his son doesn’t listen and refuses to do things “the right way.”
The show dramatizes that with two flashbacks: one 30 years ago where Big Bob trashes the forerunner to Bob’s burgers of the day before a regular can take a bite of it, and one 20 years ago where Bob refuses his dad’s offers to become partner because he doesn’t want to be stuck in such a creatively barren and hidebound working situation, making a big show of his refusal, replete with more burger puns.
That leads us to the present day, where Linda strives to make her husband break his “fifteen minute rule” with his dad in the hopes that some nebulous “Xmas magic” will prompt them to reconcile. Not for nothing, Linda’s attempts to force a reconciliation, her usual sing-happy ways, and her awkward lines to Big Bob are all a hoot.
The B-story here is just OK, which brings the episode down a tad. Tina, Gene, and Louise compete for a “mistletony award” for whomever can make the best gift for their dad out of the random junk in Big Bob’s basement. There’s not many big laughs in it, beyond Tina’s trash tack, but it’s worth a few chuckles.
The important thing, though, is that the kids use a discarded newspaper they found in a desk to wrap a gift for Bob. When they give it to him, Bob realizes that his dad saved a copy of the first review of Bob’s Burgers all these years, a sign that he did care about his son and his dreams.
That’s important, because after an increasingly testy and shove-heavy effort to cook together in the same kitchen, Bob and Big Bob recreate their “the usual” vs. “Baby You Can Chive My Car burger” event. After much jockeying for position, Bob wins, earning the tastebud loyalty of one of his dad’s restaurants, and throws it in Big Bob’s face, prompting the old diner owner to concede and bolt for the bar next door.
The newspaper cuts the bad blood of that moment, showing Bob that he didn’t upstage a father who never believed in him, but rather embarrassed a dad who cared about him in his own restaurant. Their reconciliation, seasonally magical or not, is a sweet but also an earned one. Bob doesn’t apologize for doing things his own way or for leaving, but does apologize for how he did both of those things, both tonight and twenty years ago.
For his part, Big Bob admits that he isn’t the easiest guy in the world to work with, and tells his son that he admires his success. Most revealingly, Bob tells his dad that he understands the criticisms are his way of showing his love and that he knows Big Bob did his best, and Big Bob admits that “it was hard without your mom.” It’s easy to see Big Bob as the antagonist of this one at first, but eventually we come to see him as Bob does -- a frustrating man who nevertheless had his own baggage to deal with and tried as well as he could.
In the end, Big Bob gives his son a heartening and revealing compliment -- his family can “sling hash” with the best of them, a sign of Bob’s ability to run a restaurant, but also that they’re “happy kids...weird happy kids.” Big Bob tells his son that he’s a good dad and, with that acknowledgement of his kids’ happiness, implies that he knows Bob’s doing a better job at parenting than he did.
There’s so much emotional depth and complexity to that relationship, where it starts, and where it ends in this episode. There’s fewer of the Xmas trappings than in other holiday episodes in the Bob’s Burgers pantheon, but this is still one of my favorites because it gets at the larger themes of the season -- peace and love, realized here between a father and son, in a way that heals old wounds and opens new doors (nigh-literally with Tina).