4x05 Turkey in a Can

10/10. This is just peak Bob's Burgers. The episode has so many things going for it. For one thing the central mystery of the episode -- who is putting Bob's turkeys in the toilet -- is brilliant. It's an old premise (the holiday mystery, not as much the turkeys in toilets idea) but it creates a great sense of low-stakes intrigue throughout as Bob goes to more and more bizarre lengths to protect his Thanksgiving meal (which, as we saw in "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal") is very important to him. It also leads to a great deal of amusing fingerpointing (Louise's attempts to solve the mystery being the best of them.

But then there's just the sheer comedy of the episode. For one thing, Bob's interactions with the guy behind the counter at the grocery store as he returns to buy more and more turkeys is great. The conversational style of the show really works in those moments, and the guy assuming Bob's hitting on him fits into that nicely. They're last conversation with Bob's "it would never work" bit is hilarious. It's just one of those little thrown in bits that doesn't really impact the story of the episode, but adds a lot of comedy and character to it.

The same goes for basically everyone in this episode who isn't Bob, Tina, and to a lesser extent Louise. This episode's laugh-per-minute ratio is amazing. Gail's general presence is welcome, and the sort of abbreviated C-plot of her, Linda, and Gene coming up with a song about the gravy boat (filled with gravery, savory sailor folk) is the exact kind of fun musical weirdness this show does well. The cats everywhere are a constant bit of visual fun. Gene and Louise's are great as the show's greek chorus through much of it. And the always hilarious Teddy is great too, between his not understanding Bob's sleepwalking and thinking he needs to grab (and eat) the mashed potatoes, to his hilarious yarn about a dream with a dolphin when his bed caught on fire (with both philosophical and very mundane explanations.)

But the rub is Tina's story. Initially, her desire to be more mature and sit at the adult's table seems like just a solid comic-relief B-story. And if that's all it had been, it still would have been great. It's a well-observed take on how kids ape adults as a badge of honor with only broadest of signifiers (see, for example, wearing pantyhose, tripping in high heels, and the very funny "not in this economy" runner). Instead, it becomes the emotional center of the episode and the great twist. Bob himself is the toilet turkey culprit, and he's mentally reliving potty training Tina as an emotional response to her attempts to be grown up. For one thing, it's nicely foreshadowed as a result of Bob's allergy pills. For another, it wraps up the episode's mystery in a satisfying and hilarious fashion. And most of all, it adds a firm but not overwhelming emotional contingent to a holiday episode, that deepens it without making it cloying.

It's a complete tour de force of an episode that captures so many things that Bob's Burgers does well. A solid central story, a great use of characters, conversational and throw-in line humor that amuses, and a subtle but strong bit of heart to tie it all together. It's one of the show's high water marks, but also a standard that all shows should envy and aspire to.