Episode Grade: B+/A-

Remember a few weeks back when I said Bob’s Burgers doesn’t really do traditional antagonists? How even the meanest and pettiest characters are ultimately drawn sympathetically and given at least somewhat understandable motivations (well, apart from Jimmy Pesto)? I forgot about Logan, who is just the worst. Excepting perhaps “Mother, Daughter, Laser, Razor”, not once on this show has he ever appeared as anything other than a spoiled, mean-spirited bully. Occasionally he’s even veered into legitimately threatening territory (“Large Brother, Where Fart Thou”, after which I would have personally been happy to never see him again), which is a bad look for a high-schooler with a nine year old nemesis.

I came into this episode with a little trepidation, as Fox’s description hinted pretty heavily that Logan would be making an appearance (not a lot of other teen characters on this show, unless we count the Wagstaff eighth graders). I’m happy to say my fears were unfounded this time around. Not only is his menace level dialed back down from his previous appearance, he’s honestly not that big a presence overall. He mostly functions as an excuse to send Louise into scheming-vengeance mode, rather than dominating the episode with his awfulness. Make no mistake, he is still awful, and it’s honestly not a surprise that Rudy’s cousin Mandy (who was a lot of fun and should come back sometime) was able to rally what appeared to be the high school’s entire female athlete population against him. Seriously, you wonder how a kid like that has any friends, even if his friends do come off more as hostages. It’s always nice when a villain gets what’s coming to them, and that’s part of the reason I graded this one as high as I did. I probably would’ve dropped it an entire letter grade had Louise let him off, as it briefly appeared she was going to.

Bob and Linda’s knitting B-Plot ended up being more fun than I expected, bolstered by Linda’s knitting related dreams/hallucinations. Bob actually having some talent in something not related to food preparation is always fun. Teddy was well deployed, spending some time with both the A- and B-plots and never overwhelming either. Gene and Tina both had a relatively quiet night, but they moth managed a few good lines apiece, which is all they really need to do in a Louise focused episode. Overall, this episode continues the mini hot streak Bob’s has been on for the last few weeks, producing episodes that may not reach elite status, but fall comfortably right outside.

Sleds and Snowballs:

• Teddy, on plowing the Church parking lot: “I gotta call my Mom. This counts as going, right?”
• I know looking for character consistancy in Gene’s little asides is a fool’s errand, but still: the kid who was freaked out by a laser-rock show has seen the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan?
• “We might not all make it.” Why are you looking at me?” “Shhh!” Man, Louise’s protective instincts toward Rudy go right out the window when she’s got a plan going, huh?
• Really, Rudy was the MVP of this episode, both for getting his cousin Mandy and for bringing her and her athletic army back. None of Louise’s plans really worked out.
• “Forget dignity, just go, go, go!” I have to imagine this is the Belcher family motto. Like, printed underneath their crest or something.
• “You mean like get a job as his doctor and tell him he’s going to die in a month?” This is how you know Teddy is a real Belcher: his revenge fantasies get intense.
• “Did you just rob William Sonoma? What’re you, my mom?” Friendly reminder that not only is Logan the worst, he comes by it naturally.
• Sounds like Pa Steblitz is still putting himself out there, even if he’s not sure where his relationship with his friend Nancy is going.