8x19 Mo Mommy Mo Problems

[6.5/10] The phrase “hat on a hat” comes to mind with this episode. They tried to do too much and pack too many things in, and it left the episode feeling lumpy. I like the basic idea here, that Linda gets a mom day, and uses it to do something morally dubious but generally harmless like crashing fancy open houses, and things spin out. That’s a pretty standard Bob’s Burgers plot. (In fact, it’s not far removed from the misadventures on Kingshead Island in “Full Bars”.)

But once we get into balancing the needs of Linda as a mom, with the realtor as a mom, with the homeowner’s mom, leading to a series of ruses on top of ruses just felt too out there and sitcom-y. The show kept trying to top itself, with the “private showing” twist, then the “realtor is a struggling mom” twist, then the “guy Bob met on the ferry is the homeowner” twist, then the “homeowner's mom” doesn't want to leave” twist and so forth and so on.

The ending feels rushed and too simple, with Linda convincing everyone to be up front in a way where everybody wins. It’s too didactic about the lesson Linda’s learning and just comes off as too convenient and wacky.

There’s bits I like. Again, I do appreciate Linda being pulled in different directions by her mom sympathies (even though I never thought the homeowner was kicking his mom out of the house for the money, which made that reveal anticlimactic). Tina’s discomfort with the homeowner’s mom’s taxidermy was good for some laughs, and Bob’s uncomfortable-but-supportive attitude to the whole thing is always amusing.

Overall, this is definitely one of the weaker and lumpier episodes of this season, but it’s Bob’s Burgers, so it’s still not bad.