It’s Thanksgiving time again, and Bob’s Burgers has long since taught us what that means: Bob is going to drive himself beyond all reason in pursuit of the perfect turkey. This year’s is an especially hilarious vintage, as Bob gets his dream turkey from Riverbrook Lake Farms after years on the waitlist, only for cruel fate to intervene by knocking out the gas on the entire block. His solution is audacious in its refusal to admit its stupidity, as he sets up a makeshift spit using a couple chairs, a long rod, and, despite the specific objections of the fire department, an open flame. That’s pretty much the entire episode, at least for Bob, who spends more than half of it camped out in the alley trying to save the perfect Thanksgiving meal—a meal, it should be said, that has precious little to do with the family he would share it with or when they or any other reasonable human might want to eat.
Instead, we get Louise showing off her pyromaniac side, which I’m mildly impressed the show has given us so little of up to this point. Bob is the only one invested in saving the turkey for the turkey’s sake—which I realize someone who hadn’t seen the episode might think means Bob has developed an emotional bond with a still living turkey and wants to save it from a horrible fate, which, take out “still living” and, yeah, that’s about accurate. So for the episode to be more than just Bob steamrolling his family, someone else has to care about something, at least then so those two Belchers can split steamrolling duties between them. With Tina busy thinking about her thankful tree and Gene busy being Gene—which is to say, lot of bodily functions on his mind—Louise is the natural choice.
At first, the joy of this side story is seeing Louise cackle with glee as more things are burned, but then the episode zeroes in on something even funnier as Louise discovers a giant log in the woods. From there, the whole story runs on an especially authentic flavor of kid logic, as Louise and her siblings go to literally Sisyphean lengths to deliver the log, only once endangering passing traffic. The kids never once stop to consider—nor did I, in fairness—that there’s no way for their dad to burn something so big in his pit when he explicitly doesn’t have an ax. That’s deflating, yes, but the sudden imposition of adult practicality, albeit in the midst of adult absurdity, is a hilarious contrast with Louise’s total confidence that wood is good to burn, so a big log must be great to burn, no further examination needed.
The big reason these annual episodes are reliably hilarious because they let us see a side of Bob we rarely do. Far more so than even in running the restaurant, cooking the Thanksgiving turkey is when Bob lets his culinary virtuoso loose, and it’s always, always going to end badly. One of the joys of the show’s format is that the family members’ interests are weird and varied enough that a lot of different things can happen on a given holiday—there’s a lot of variety to the show’s Christmas episodes, for instance. Almost without exception, though, Thanksgiving is the same story told over and over again. And I might complain about the show sticking to its familiar formula—I basically did that last week, after all—this is the kind of well-worn story that stays just as funny with each repetition.
That’s especially impressive because a key component of “Now We’re Not Cooking With Gas” and the other turkey-cooking episodes goes back to something from the early days of Bob’s Burgers the show has otherwise largely jettisoned. There’s a lot of the old “Bob just cannot, under any circumstances, catch a break” to this episode, which recalls a more mean-spirited take on this world, one where Hugo and Jimmy Pesto were fundamental parts of the story rather than just amusing occasional side characters. Bob has built up a lot of audience sympathy over the years, so it can be tough to watch him fail repeatedly through no fault of his own—well, let’s circle back to that point.
The Thanksgiving episode is one of the only times in any given season where Bob is unabashedly selfish, ignoring his family in his quixotic attempt to make the perfect turkey. And yeah, that’s not great of him, but come on: If there’s one guy who deserves an unqualified win, it’s Bob Belcher (or Bob Burgers, if you ask Teddy). There are points of this episode where my connection to Bob—in other words, the cumulative result of 10 seasons of the show investing in making him a relatable loser that I don’t want to see lose that much—makes it a little hard to watch.
That passes, though, for two reasons. The first is just how wonderfully, hilarious out of character Bob is. Turkey obsession has fully consumed him, and the first thing that rather shockingly departs him is his constant worries over money. He pays five times the normal price for a turkey to get his hands on the heritage turkey, then willfully ignores the Fire Department’s threats of hefty fines if he doesn’t put out his pit. Bob has rarely if ever risked the family’s razor-thin financial margins like this, which speaks to just how important this damn turkey is to him. There’s also, well, everything else to back that up, including him once again conducting conversations with the turkey, applying the brine with a care and attention that he is generally too tired to show otherwise, and, right, everything about his plan to cook the turkey outside, refusing to go back in even when it starts to rain.
Then there’s the simple fact that after all that ridiculous, clearly doomed effort, Bob ends up with the most gorgeously delicious turkey he’s ever made. The episode fully buys back whatever of my good will wavered with that move alone, especially because the family loves the turkey as much as he does. A key running gag for all the Thanksgiving episodes is that Bob loves the turkey—Popcorn, in this case—more than he does his family, and is too distracted by said love to even try to contradict this assertion. How the family feels about that is largely unexplored, beyond Linda occasionally calling out how ridiculous he’s being. That’s fair enough, honestly, given they know from how he acts every other week of the year how much he’s willing to do for them, but it’s also nice to see that, when Bob discovers that his seemingly ruined turkey is in fact the most delicious bird he’s ever tasted, the family is right there with him to enjoy it too. This is the longest of overdue victories for Bob in his eternal campaign for Thanksgiving perfection, and it honestly couldn’t happen to a nicer, more deserving weirdo.
Stray observations
- Tina offering to sacrifice her tree for the sake of the fire is the perfect way to snap Bob back to his senses. Just a really nice illustration of how much the family pulls together, even in support of their most unreasonable member, and how that helps bring said unreasonable person back to their senses.
- Linda getting lost in happy memories of the children’s drawings was also a great little bit of business. As ridiculous as this premise is, part of what makes the episode so great is how true it all feels.
40 Comments
The ending got me. I was about to be pretty upset that Bob’s turkey was ruined and how he never gets a win but then he discovers the deliciousness just below the burnt skin. Bob deserved that win
I was way more invested than I expected in Bob getting a win at the end. And everyone getting turkey.
What is a “heritage turkey”?
Basically, it is a turkey that is bred to contain characteristics that are no longer common in turkeys today. Basically they are similar to a domesticated wild turkey as compared to the standard bred for the broiler turkey, in that they can actually, you know, have sex, they live longer lives, grow slower. There’s some movement to them–people think they taste better. That said, they are still only a small percentage of the turkeys raised in the US and there are constantly endangered.
I like learning things.
It’s just a rebranding of the hate turkeys.
How has this comment been here for damn near a week and only has 13 stars?!? This deserves all the damn stars. I genuinely spit out my coffee.
It’s a long video, but towards the beginning they do a side-by-side comparison of a regular, organic free range, and heritage turkey. The heritage looks amazing after it’s cooked. Having watched it before this Bob’s Burgers episode I was even more invested in Bob getting his turkey.
https://video.bonappetit.com/watch/making-perfect-brad-and-andy-try-to-make-the-perfect-turkey-and-cranberry-sauce
– Mr. Huggins!- Biggest laugh: How easily Linda threw the egg carton turtle into the fire when she thought Gayle made it.
– She and Tina tie for most relatable subplot. The thankful trees my siblings made in Sunday school still adorn our Thanksgiving table over a decade later.- Off-topic: I watched Bless the Harts, which I don’t normally, because the episode description in the paper’s “Watch This” section sounded kind of sweet. Minus the plot about the Uggs, it was!May everyone enjoy their cooking/eating/shopping/whatever this week : )
Linda immediately going from joyous song to “Oh yeah” and throwing the turtle into the fire had us cackling.
And yes, tonight’s Bless the Harts was the first episode of that series I’ve enjoyed. It’s still not very funny, but it’s now proved that it can have decent character writing.
She and Tina tie for most relatable subplot. The thankful trees my siblings made in Sunday school still adorn our Thanksgiving table over a decade later.
I laughed out loud at the cut to Linda on the bed. With our daughter in her late teens, my wife and I frequently drift into misty-eyed episodes when trying to clean out closets or the attic.
The cut to Linda on the bed hit really close to home. I’ve tried going konmari but it takes me half an hour to work through the nostalgia associated with any given object I own and I don’t even have kids.
That moment hit a little bit too close to home to be funny for me. I’m in my early 30s and my parents are downsizing to a house in Chicago (a move that my mom has been trying to engineer for several years). They’re moving on this coming Wednesday and my mom is still sending me pictures every time she finds a cache of my or my brothers’ elementary school art. She keeps asking if she should keep any of it, I say “no” because it’s bad art, and she says, “No! It’s wonderful!” and presumably packs it to be moved.
Seriously, Linda on the bed distractedly surrounded by old crafts and memories is the Realest Mom moment I’ve seen on TV in a while. Also, the dramatic saga of the egg crate turtle was great – not just that she casually discards it when she thinks it’s Gale’s, but that she reaches back into the fire to save it when she remembers it was Gene’s! Cooing a soft apology to the little singed turtle.
One of my favourite things about this show is the side character continuity. And seeing Mr. Huggins randomly in this ep makes me hopefully we’ll see Marshmallow again soon..
Yet another classic Belcher Thanksgiving episode! Love the continuity of Bob’s unfinished taa-too.. First time I remember seeing it since Equestrinaut episode.
It wasn’t until I saw it written out that I fully appreciated the name Riverbrook Lake Farms.
I think that’s on Mount Desert Island!
I just went there last month, total false advertising. Wish I remembered to bring an umbrella
I was so entertained by HBJ’s reading of that name every time he said it that I didn’t realize the joke until I read your comment. Man, that’s like the inverse of “Sheesh, Cab, Bob?” – I didn’t get that joke until I said it out loud in my head just earlier this year.
I only got it reading your comment.
Loved this! So unnecessarily fancy and pretentious.
I just thought it was a cumbersome name throughout the episode. It wasn’t until I saw it in the end credits that I too appreciated it.
So I noticed a weird mark (possibly a scar) on the right side of Bob’s lower back. Has that been previously addressed?
He got part of a gigantic Equestranauts tattoo when he went undercover at Equestra Con for Tina.
Ah, thanks. Your memory is better than mine.
it’s a tuh-too
One of the best Thanksgiving-themed episodes of Bob’s Burgers I’ve seen, which is something given their reliability. Too many highlights to mention, but my favorite image is for all of the chaos Bob reigned down on his family, seeing an unphased Linda on the couch casually drinking a glass of wine throughout it all.
Somehow my second favourite Linda moment of this ep (after Linda wine-ing on the couch) was when she went full-on mom, put her foot down and took the kids inside. Super-relatable to my own parental dynamic and somehow very grounding after all the hijinks and chaos preceding it.Also shoutout to the sound and music crew for the music during the Sisyphean logrolling. That orchestral swell when the kids would aaaaaaalmost make it to the top and do a u-turn on a dime when they didn’t was perfection.
The way Jon Benjamin delivered “Riverbrook Lake Farms heritage turkey” was funny everytime
Really solid episode. I have to say as he was bemoaning the burnt turkey I was thinking “but I bet it’s cooked inside!” and you’d think Bob might’ve realized that, but I guess he’s really used to losing. Poor Bob. But he did get a win after all!
I had similar thoughts, that the outer edges were cooked, and he could cook the rest after the gas came back.That bird looked really good when the juices started coming out.
And because it’s the Belchers, no one thought of going to the nearest SuperDuperMarket for some charcoal briquettes or firewood….And now I’m actually looking up how to cook a turkey by burying it in hot coals….
We Canadians did Thanksgiving over a month ago, but I’m thankful for Bob’s “Independence Day” rant. Also aren’t all kids around Louise’s age pyromaniacs given half the chance?
Yeah I really wanted Bob to get a win just this ONE time, because pretty much every previous Thanksgiving episode has put him through the wringer. I felt truly bummed when it looked like the turkey was ruined, and I was delighted when the family got to enjoy it anyway. Once in a blue moon, the gods smile even on Bob Belcher.(Although my favorite “Bob gets a win” episode still has to be the gingerbread house contest one. Not only does he ultimately triumph but he does so EXPLICITLY to do something wonderful for his kids, AND he gets the overly wealthy snobs who didn’t even care about the prize to realize that there was actual value in the opportunity they were fighting for.)
I haven’t watched this episode yet, just stopped by to see what grade Alasdair gave it. I was hoping for a C, the ones given an A usually aren’t really funny episodes. His grade is tempering my expectations a bit…
No love for Louise’s pyromania? Maybe I just relate to it too much.
I also loved the kid logic of getting a giant log instead of sticks
I try not to be negative in the Bob’s Burgers comment section because this is a happy place, but this just didn’t click to me. I don’t know how to explain it, it sort of felt like it was going through the motions. The jokes were repetitive and I felt like everything was just too broadcast to have a big impact. It was okay, not bad, but one I’ll probably forget about shortly