Review: Bob’s Burgers “The Ring (But Not Scary)”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

It’s Bob and Linda’s anniversary tomorrow (9/3, apparently), but Bob’s not going to be surprised this time. He’s got it all planned out, ring and all. See, Bob never actually proposed to Linda with a ring before, and now he’s planning to rectify that oversight. There’s only one problem: he didn’t count on his kids discovering it and taking it with them to a water park. It gets stuck on Gene’s finger, where it remains until it falls off somewhere.

Later on, they discover it’s missing and freak out when they connect the dots that it’s Bob’s ring for Linda. They call Nat, the limo driver, and make a plan to investigate the closed water park that night. But Bob catches them sneaking out and decides to accompany them. While the kids and Bob search for the ring, Linda has her hands full with Gale. Eventually, everyone ends up together at the water park. They may not find the ring in the end, but the love between Bob and Linda was never lost in the first place.

Our Take:

Welcome to season ten everybody! Bob and his family is back, and it’s always great to see them gracing our TV’s again. The season opener is a solid episode focused the love Bob and Linda have for each other that can’t be quantified by something as simple as a ring. It’s a sweet, fun episode that sees the involvement of a lot of different characters in a short amount of time, making it the kind of season premiere I like most. Premieres and finales should sum up the show as a whole in a way, and The Ring (But Not Scary) does a great job at that.

The overarching plot isn’t too unique or different than what we’ve seen before: the kids screw something up and Bob reluctantly gets dragged into their schemes. But while the overall theme may not be something entirely new, there were plenty of great moments to enjoy. This episode was chock full of laughs, from your standard one-liners to the way scenes were setup. For example, when the kids and Nat were having a conversation while on the lazy river, rotating in circles the whole time. It just livens up what would otherwise be a more static scene to watch! The look on the kids’ faces as they overhear Bob hinting to Linda about the ring is priceless, too. When Bob learns about their involvement in the missing ring, his escalating series of punishments keep getting funnier: they’re no longer his kids, they aren’t allowed to talk to him again, and they definitely can’t attend his funeral. Finally, the big moment in the water park when Bob has to retell the tale of the evening for the owner while dressed only in his underwear and surrounded by a motley crew of marijuana enthusiasts had me cracking up. It’s what Bob’s does best: taking a wildly outlandish scene and grounding it in everyday emotions.

One thing I really appreciated about this episode was how it integrated everyone. I think interconnecting shows are the most interesting; when there are two disconnected plots (like many later day Simpsons episodes) it just feels a little thrown together. So having the kids search directly overtaken by Bob is a great choice. Having Nat be so involved is awesome, too. She was a fun character last season when she drove the girls around in the limo, and her character is taken to even greater heights this time around. (She has a giant pet lizard, has a friend who ‘owns’ the water park, and can do a great classical music impression!). Even Teddy and Gale get minor sections to do what they do best in. They’re usually best in shorter bursts, so this works well to their advantage here.

There were some awesome one-liners that I would be remiss if I didn’t mention. “What about when I wanna waggle my fingers and say toodle-oo?” Haven’t we all wanted to do that at one time or another, Gene? “Nerd alert! I mean, so responsible!” Linda’s reaction when Louise asks for sunscreen is the best. “Go help Tina with diarrhea, I’ll get dessert.” Linda’s nonchalance is 100% her. And I love Bob’s reaction, too: “It’s kinda gross, but sweet?”

One thing I really liked about the premiere is how it tied the two storylines together: Bob’s anniversary plans and the kids’ mischief. On top of all the jokes, there was a healthy smattering of heart. This was an episode that highlighted Bob’s love for Linda, but really it spent a lot of time on him and his kids, too. They’re physical proof of Bob and Linda’s love for each other in a way, and the moment where they’re apologizing to Bob as he sinks underwater is so sweet. (Especially when Louise offers to go live at an orphanage for a while.) I’m so glad Bob’s is back. Until we meet again next week, remember – fingers are the weiners of the hand.