Bob's Burgers: A Psychic, a Pony, an Entrepreneur, and a Trickster

I recently pointed out how Bob's Burgers sometimes takes on overdone storylines while also trying out unique takes on situations. Well, in this next batch of episodes, the writers continue to play with ideas that have been seen before (hello, hit-to-the-head = psychic!) with pop culture-y, timely jokes (Equestranauts was perfect for this series! not a stretch until the tattoo part!). Plus, they bring the viewers back to life in a seaside town (where else would you find ambergris?), and simultaneously freak them out by remembering just how kooky the family can be (Gayle's sleeping arrangements had me wide-eyed and questioning why the kids even know where she lives...). There are a few episodes left this season, and I look forward to seeing what else they can cook up!

Bob's Burgers "I Get Psychic out of You" (S4E16): Linda starts predicting things correctly, and everyone except Bob believes she's psychic. [been there, seen that storyline!] The kids decide to use their mother's "abilities" to bet on a horse, using Tina's $80. They get Teddy to place the bet, and wind up losing it all. [eh. it's a lesson.] Meanwhile, Linda gets recruited to help solve a serious of crimes, but Bob ends up figuring out who the thief is, causing Linda to realize that she's not psychic. [oh, Bob!]

Bob's Burgers "The Equestranauts" (S4E17): The kids watch a My Little Pony-esque show called The Equestranauts, and the family heads to a toy pony convention. But, they soon learn that it's geared for adult men who call themselves "Equestricles." [and I had to pause and explain Bronies to my husband at this point.] Tina starts hanging out with a group anyway, and they talk Pony theories. [seriously, guys. if you've never been to a fan convention before, it is such a fulfilling and enlightening time, talking nitpicks about things you love!] But, soon, they trade Tina for her original horse and give her a new one. Louise hears the guy talking about swindling Tina, so the family plots to get the rare pony back, learning that it had a production defect. Bob dresses up and Tina teaches him about the ponies so he can infiltrate the group. But ,Tina realizes that Bob studied some fanfiction, too, and panics, just as Bob starts mentioning the zombie pony in Tina's writing and winds up being forced to get a tattoo. [how random!] The family shows up and Tina gets her horse back. [yay, status quo! I also loved how Tina started to decide that she had matured but all of the hassle made Bob encourage her to keep playing with the horses!]

Bob's Burgers "Ambergris" (S4E18): The kids find something that smells both great and terrible, and Tina finds out that it's an ambergris from whales. [gross already!]

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Because perfume is made out of it, the kids think they'll get rich from selling it on the black market. Louise convinces a criminal to help them out, but she then thinks she can cut him out, only to wind up being sabotaged by Tina, who replaces the ambergris with a cantaloupe covered in dirty socks. [ewww!]

Meanwhile, Bob and Linda are supposed to keep the landlord's brother busy, so they stick the annoying guy with the task of upgrading the restaurant's restroom, which suffers from brown hot water, among other problems. [yuck!] The end product is a very black and modern bathroom that doesn't fit the look of the rest of the restaurant. [it was very "Smash Club" from Full House, I thought.]

Bob's Burgers "The Kids Run Away" (S4E19): The kids have dental check-ups, and Louise has a bad cavity. The dentist is afraid of the little girl, and she puts up a big fight before going out the window and running away. [I loved that she had a "go bag" in the woods, LoL.] After failing at checking into a hotel, she takes a bus to visit her Aunt Gayle. Linda finds out and decides to trick Louise, so she lets Tina and Gene "run away," too. Then, Linda says that if Louise can make it the whole weekend without Gayle driving her crazy, she doesn't have to get the filling. Bob is skeptical, but Linda plans to cheat with their "inside man," Tina. [I couldn't stop laughing when Linda told Bob that she planned to cheat!]

The eldest Belcher daughter asks to hear Gayle's poetry, change out the claw covers on the cats, and play a long board game that makes no sense. [I've never seen these claw-cover things before!] Bob, Linda, and Teddy stake out the apartment, but fall asleep. [ha, Cliff of Huxtable.] In the morning, Louise has ice cream for breakfast (courtesy of Linda's tricky parenting once again), making her double-over in pain. [I've always found it weird when people don't have any pains until a doctor/dentist points them out, and then it's constantly coming to light.] Louise is still afraid, so Gayle uses her weirdness and gets the dentist to play along with a spy role-playing game. [cool ending!]