A nicer ending than the books. The book ending left me with more questions than answers. This ending is more satisfying. Yet still too faithful to the books ending. While it’s a more happy ending there’s still questions in the end that were never answered.
Spoiler warning: For instance. Season 1 teased us season long that the Quagmire parents were the Baudelaire parents. Yet, now that we know they aren’t. The writers wrote them out basically and they are never reunited with their children.
I guess since it’s a coming of age story. About children learning to not need the help from grown-ups and growing up. So just like the books. The Baudelaires and Quagmires aren’t reunited with parents that are teased to be alive.
So deliciously, hilariously meta, especially as it piles on the layers towards the end. I imagine Salma Hayek having a grand old time delivering some of these lines lol "I am a dyslexic, talented actress with questionable English! ...Doesn't my asshole have any rights?!"
I like the whole vibe to the story so far and the direction they could take it. I like how anyone can possibly be a skrull but honestly they could have did more leading up to this in the past movies. Kind of how Peter Parker said he was with Nick fury during no way home but it wasn’t really him. They could have did more with making Nick fury coming back to earth a big deal too.
It saddens me to see them part ways, but it feels right, given how things have developed throughout this season.
Pete was so much fun in the first season, but a true party popper on this second one.
The show runners seem to have had a change of heart between seasons, and a hilarious S&M show was turned into a sappy drama. This lead to what truly feels like the series finale I did not want, but one that fitted the tone of the second season like a glove. Unfortunately.
ineffable husbands to ineffable dads. we love the growth
Raise your hand if you replayed the "I was wrong" dance.
Being the first season after the movie, this season's felt like it's had something to prove, to bring on new viewers won from the movies and keep old viewers by showing the spark hasn't died so many seasons in. It's been a dang good run, but this episode in particular stands not just as the best of the season, or the best of the last few years, but one of its best period. It's funny, but more than anything it's overflowing with heart, it capitalizes on over a decade's worth of connection to this family and even minor characters like Gene's music teacher to show how much these characters have grown and how deep their love for each other runs.
Gene showing his music expertise and creativity to save his recital not just for himself but for his favorite teacher. Bob and Linda trying so hard to achieve the impossible. Louise exposing that beating heart and being that vulnerable kid who acts like she doesn't care because it makes things easier not just for her but everyone else too. And Tina seeing through it and having the maturity won over the series to know that some pageant doesn't matter half as much as being there for her sister. It all intertwines in a beautiful musical climax that honestly left me undone. I've been with this family for a decade, and episodes like these make sure I'll stay for decades more. This is an instant Christmas staple.
Disenchantment, this may not be the greatest masterpiece in history, but it is a series rich in adventures, tales, remarkable and fun characters. I loved following this series
Hilarious from beginning to end with a solid throughline of Bender's disgruntledness with his human compatriots. The all-robot planet was a nice setting for both Trek-ian riffs on weird alien cultures, and some satire aimed at the still salient American xenophobia as well. But apart from the riffs and commentary and good character work with Bender, it's just a damn funny episode. The comedic rhythms of the show aren't settled yet, so the pace is a little slower, but bits like the robot elders saying "Silence" before everything, or Fry obliviously sticking with his "uninhabited planet" line, or Bender trying to get off for Robanukah are just a taste of the laughs in this one. It's striking how funny this show was this early in its run.
[9.5/10] Louise loves her family. Despite a certain mercenary bent, and above-it-all attitude, deep down, the youngest Belcher kid cannot help but appreciate her mom and dad and siblings as something that gives her holidays, and her life, incredible meaning. That is a simple idea, but a powerful one. The characters who put up the most emotional walls tearing them down in choice moments of openness and affections is an old trick, and also one that's undeniably effective.
So is the setup of “The Plight Before Christmas”. Three Belcher kids have important events at the same time in the lead-up to Xmas, and there’s only two Belcher parents to witness these important moments. What can they do?
The answer is try to make it work! There’s a great franticness to Bob and Linda trying to have at least one parent at Tina’s Thundergirls pageant, Gene’s xylophone recital, and Louise’s poetry readings all at the same time. Poor Linda being emotionally ripped in twain at not getting to see all of them is both hilariously over-the-top and sweet for how devoted a mom Linda is to her kids. Bob urgently trying to sneak out of Gene’s musical performance to cram in Louise’s poem, only to get messed up by a rock-headed cab driver and a jog to the wrong library makes for great stakes and great comedy.
So does Gene’s part in this episode. The humor comes from the fact that the music teacher is out with a family illness, In her place is a flummoxed substitute who knows nothing about music (Tina Fey) who has to try to make heads or tails of the regular instructor’s bizarre notation and a group of sixth graders who know as much about playing the xylophone as they do about social security taxes. The terrible, out-of-sync playing in the first half of their concert is a laugh all its own.
I really like the solution though. Gene proposes that they play “fewer notes”, actively removing some of the keys from the various xylophones so that they can better coordinate and play their parts. It is, admittedly, a bit of a stretch that they could go from junk to funk so easily. But it works in the moment, playing off Gene’s intuitive understanding of melody and sense of creativity, and the central idea of the episode -- that drilling down to something essential and earnest pays incredible dividends.
There’s a lot of laughs in Tina’s pageant as well. The Thundergirls’ troop leader and her overmatched efforts to put on this well-balanced but elaborate presentation of world traditions is a comic delight. Linda’s confusion with Tina being “a star”, not “the star” is on brand and very funny. And one of Tina’s fellow thundergirls envying Tina’s part in such a nothing play lends itself to both humor given the stakes, and eventually, one of the episode’s most clever twists.
In a sideways fashion, Tina may be my favorite part of this. I love the fact that she’s the one who realizes, despite Louise’s protests that she’s there to read a poem about poop, that she’s actually going to read something from the heart and is nervous about anyone else hearing it. I love that Tina selflessly encourages Linda to skip her pageant so that she can be there for Louise’s reading. And when Linda feels pressured to keep stage-handing the pageant, the twist of Tina giving the role of the star to her envious co-star, so that by god, someone will be there when Louise spills her guts, is one of the most wholesome and heartstring-tugging moments Bob’s Burgers has ever pulled off, which is saying something.
Not for nothing, “The Plight Before Christmas” is a tribute to the craft of their series. There is incredible power in a montage -- the way the cinematic form can blend images and sounds to capture something deeper, bigger, and more piercing than dialogue alone. The soundtrack of Gene’s performance, the smiles it puts on the faces of the people listening to these kids finding their way, the tension of whether Lousie will open her heart in public or take the ironic prankster route, the pathos of Linda unable to enjoy all her babies’ triumphs at once, the surprise of a loving sister making the frantic journey to a vulnerable moment to show support where it’s needed most -- I’m getting misty-eyed again just thinking about it. Bob’s Burgers rarely gets this artsy, but when it does, it packs a wallop.
So when Tina does arrive in time to show her sister that she cares, to give her the thumbs up, to listen to whatever she has to say, it’s extra moving. Tina, more than any member of the Belcher family, knows what it means to express yourself through the written word, and how vulnerable an experience that can be. She recognizes the opportunity to facilitate and foster a sister who sometimes struggles to present that more sincere side of herself, and vindicate the beauty and acceptance of that.
Louise’s poem is pitch perfect. It’s not overly flowery or tin-eared for something an elementary school student might write. And still, it’s earnest, about how on the day of the year when kids are supposed to be the most excited about the toys and trinkets under the tree, what she appreciates the most are the people she’s sharing the day with. The sentiment is lovely, and it has extra force and resonance coming from someone who’s stingy with that kind of sincerity, who finds the strength and feels the support, to where she’s comfortable expressing such a personal sentiment in front of the whole world (or at least the denizens of the Belcher’s local library).
“The Plight Before Christmas” cuts the treacle a bit with an adorable, teasing declaration of “You love your family!” from Tina on the drive home. But it leans back into the sweetness with another heartwarming montage of the exact sort of family joy that Louise penned a paean to. Linda tends to her husband’s knees while they remark on the gob-smacking poem their daughter wrote. Gene shares their momentous achievement with the teacher in the hospital via Bob’s camcorder. And most of all, the Belchers sit around the tree, opening their gifts, basking in the exact sort of enervating togetherness the youngest member of their clan gushed over in a tense but courageous way.
How is a show this good at a holiday episode in its eleventh at-bat? That's its own sort of Xmas miracle, one that's as worth of celebrating this time of year as any, and a vindication of the spirit of the season, that asks for kindness, support, honesty, and acceptance from all of us, and invites us to revel in the spaces where we find such comfort, solace, and care.
For me 1890 has the best story, followed by 2023. Didn’t like the 1941 timeline much yet.
the fart scene and entire bench conversation was a riot. hilarious show :sweat_smile::sweat_smile:
Two of my favourite quotes from the show are are in this episode. One really funny one from Carolyn goes:
“I can’t stand breakfast. It’s just constant egg. Why? Who decided this?”
And another sad one from Villanelle undercover at AA “I hurt myself, I don’t feel it. I buy what I want, I don’t want it. I do what I like, I don’t like it.”
Both stick in my head.
What is going ON with this show! I usually find Eve and Vilanelle to be very distracting, but today I got bored halfway through and now I don't know all that transpired. This never ever could have happened during season one or two. I don't like the writer change.
I'm mainly watching because I like Eve. And it used to be for V's charms, too, but for one thing, I haven't forgiven her for shooting Eve; and for another, V hasn't been nearly as twinkly incandescent funny this season.
Not that their relationship will heal anytime soon- V is too busy stocking up kills and traumatizing Eve with grisly scenes.
What's the point of this season?
How many Muppets had to die for Villanelle's golf outfit?
Watchable because of the excellent cast but it definitely feels a shadow of its former self.
Jeez that was a tough episode to watch, I thought this was supposed to be a feel good comedy farming show! :cry:
“Do you have any lube”? …. “Lisa has some” haha
Kaleb:
‘Can you please help undress me?’
Jeremy:
‘Cut’
Once more Marisa carried the show, every other character is just a tragically lacklustre experience. And by every other I do mean every other.
Spoiler alert:
How they didn't explain at all that the dying character in the cube was "the Authority" is just another typical failure by the showrunners.
I first read these books just under 20 years ago and wouldn't have dreamed of seeing them adapted like this. There were some less liked changes for me and a few casting duds but the rest made up for it!
I'm glad they dedicated a whole episode to this section, it really deserved it.
Mary's love backstory tweak to falling in love with a woman fit surprisingly well and was beautifully depicted.
I was in tears through Will and Lyra's pain. The actor for Will could have been a bit stronger but crikey, Dafne Keen sure made up for it! Absolutely nailed this character for me.
A beautiful and bittersweet ending. And just as when I finished the book, I didn't want to leave this world.
if there is no renewal for season 2 this is an absolute best ending, Emmy becomes Dove, Dove becomes Gilbert Power, Gilbert stops Podcasting as it was the thing that destroyed his marriage...
