Well, we’re going on another urban legend treasure hunt with the Belcher kids! Unfortunately, I feel like this episode has been the weakest of the season thus far and doesn’t bring the usual life-and-death tension that most of these expeditions come with. This time, the stakes are…really, really low.
With their grandparents’ birthdays coming up, Gene and Louise are looking for any way they can think of to get out of putting effort into making them gifts, and Tina is going along with it as usual. Suddenly, Louise remembers the schoolyard legend of the Ceramics room sealed off from the rest of the school after a kiln fire. The kids ask around, and no one’s ever heard of it. But after finding a clue in the library, they track down an old yearbook that gives them a clue. They locate where the door should be, and somehow manage to cut through with power tools. The room exists, but Mr. Frond catches them before they can explore it. It turns out that Mr. Frond has been concealing a dark (and stupid) secret in the tomb of pottery, and he and the Belchers strike a deal that gets them out of any consequences.
Photo Source: HardwoodandHollywood.com
The secondary plot is even more flimsy this time, barely able to prop itself up against the main one. Teddy takes up fixing phone screens, and decides it’s too lonely at his house. So he sets up shop at the counter in his usual spot at Bob’s Burgers. Linda does nothing to discourage him, even after he interrupts a customer’s meal, and both of them ignore Bob when he expresses his frustration. Finally, Bob decides to confront Teddy, and we get the old, “reverse blame” writers’ trick of Teddy being the one to choose to leave before Bob can tell him. The worst part is, we all know Teddy is going to come back and do things like this again, despite telling Bob that he’s the one who’s annoying!
I don’t disparage the show for one or two bad episodes. This is season 8, after all. But this one was probably worth skipping. Perhaps the next one will be better.
