6x19 Glued, Where's My Bob?

8.4/10. Oh Bob's. Such a consistently great blend of heartwarming and kind of bent. There's a solid emotional through line for this one, with Louise denying any and all responsibility for the "goop" prank war that inadvertently gets Bob superglued to a toilet right before an interviewer for a big magazine is supposed to drop by. It's some absurd version of an I Love Lucy plot, and yet there's a great Bob's Burgers spin to all of this, with so many side characters from Teddy to Gretchen to Jimmy Pesto to Dr. Yap showing up to offer support and/or gawk. It's a fun excuse to get most of the cast in the restaurant, throw in a lovely counter-point musical number, and get a lot of laughs out of a situation as ridiculous as someone getting spackled to a seatless, swiss toilet.

But then, after the "Coasters" magazine people show up before Bob is freed and declare that he won't be in the magazine, Bob kind of has a freak out about how, despite his best efforts, stuff like this always seems to happen to him (shades of Frank Grimes). This prompts the perpetually blame-eliding Louise to admit that this is all her fault, and to rally the assembled in support of her dad and his business. It's a small but significant emotional shift for the character and shows the love for her dad beneath her defiant demeanor.

The result is that Bob and his restaurant do make it in the magazine. Sure, the spread includes a picture of him on the toilet, but is on the whole, positive, and speaks to the place the restaurant, and by extension the show hold in the hearts of the people who love it. That's really the ethos of this show -- a victory, but never a pure one, that gives our heroes a bit of a win, while still keeping things just terrible enough that it still feels real, still feels funny, and still feels like Bob's. It's another superb finale from this fine show.