Overview (Spoilers Below):
When Louise is accused of a theft at school, Linda uses her position as a school office volunteer to try to solve the case from the inside.
Our Take:
It’s not every day that you do something crazy to help your kids in their time of need. For the Belchers, one of them involves solving a mystery at their kids’ school. While the episode title references one of Sylvester Stallone’s biggest blunders, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, it doesn’t follow the same plot as the critically panned comedy from 1992. However, it does involve a mother investigating a crime, but not with Stallone as her partner. The title also references the season eighteen episode of The Simpsons, “Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot”, but it doesn’t involve a dog enrolling in a Police Dog Academy.
This episode has the task of having one Belcher member drive the story themselves, with the other members taking the back seat. This time, we have enthusiastic Linda leading us on an investigation. One of the reasons I enjoyed most of the episodes of Bob’s Burgers is Linda’s humorous and heartwarming attempts at being a loving wife and mother to the family. With John Roberts’ vocal performance and Linda’s personality, it’s no wonder why she’s one of my favorite animated mothers. Unsurprisingly, “Stop! Or My Mom Will Sleuth” is another enjoyable episode that showcases Linda’s endearing persona amid its familiar tropes and predictable conclusion.
Fortunately for Linda, it turns out that the real culprit responsible for stealing Jason’s rocket is Miss Selbo (Sarah Baker), the school receptionist. The reason is that Miss Selbo accidentally broke Jason’s rocket and hid it in Louise’s second locker to avoid losing her job. The episode ended with Louise fixing the rocket and clearing everyone’s names, only for Linda to forget about licking the envelopes. As soon as I saw Miss Selbo leading Louise and Linda into the closet, I immediately guessed that Selbo was responsible, which explains the predictability. Although, it is my fault for ruining the surprise for myself.
The sub-plot sees Bob helping Teddy get a new business card when he isn’t pleased with his old one. This led the two to create one online. However, it was interrupted by their different ideas on how to make a business card more expressive, as well as Linda’s quest. It’s a humorous breather from Linda’s investigation featuring a brief musical number about Bob and Teddy’s ideas conflicting with each other.
Overall, “Stop! Or My Mom Will Sleuth” is a fun Linda-focused episode that sleuthed through the narrative’s familiarity. While I did ruin the reveal for myself by the power of guessing, it didn’t stop me from admiring John Roberts’ distinctively impressive performance as Linda and her brand of humor. The episode also benefits well from the brief business card sub-plot featuring Bob and his handyman buddy. More importantly, it continues the show’s reflection on the family dynamic that drives it to success, mainly Linda and Louise.