Stuck in the Middle of Hu(go)
The opening for me was funny and memorable. The store on the right says Planks for Nothing and the exterminators are titled: The Mice Storm. I personally chuckled at this because I thought it was a clever play on words and it works. Very rarely do I mention the opening credits, however, this was the exception and thought it was a great way to start the episode.
The overall story/execution could’ve been better but it wasn’t the worst episode I’ve seen. Yes, there were little quips in there that I liked (e.g. “I flush my duties”), that part I laughed at. It was such a fast-paced exchange between Bob and Gene that worked in the episode.
One element that I did like was Bob sticking up for Hugo. Yes, I cannot stand Hugo, however he does have an important job as a health inspector. Despite his petty and strict ways of doing his job, Bob is right in that if we didn’t have someone that had standards in how the food industry handle there products and produce, customers would be at risk and they wouldn’t be able to stay in business. This is important to mention because health inspectors are necessary because without them, the public would be vulnerable to food borne ilnesses (e.g. Bar Rescue touches more on this/Kitchen Nightmares). From what I see on Bar Rescue/Kitchen Nightmares, it’s kind of disturbing on how many kitchens don’t get cleaned often. I know it might production interference, but still it’s nasty.
Anyway, back to the episode, I like how Bob sort of has Hugo’s back. However, I wish they expanded on there relationship rather than have the plot of the food court people retaliating against Hugo. Yes, he’s annoying but fire ants, that is dangerous and made me side with Hugo. (Never thought I’d say that as a Bob’s Burgers fan). There was a potential storyline there to give layers to a non-supported characters. While there are some positives to having them stuck together, I think there could’ve been more elevation to the story.
The side plot of the kids trying to find Jimmy Jr’s ring was alright. Some of the bathroom humor was balanced well, but I wish there was more Jimmy Jr and Tina dialogue instead of having the relationship be one-sided. Poor Teddy, thinking he ate the ring and they forced him to drink coffee/take strong medicine to make him poop. I did like how we got a throwback to when Louise had to take the strong medicine in order to poop at home to make sure she is able to feed the sharks. We almost never get throwbacks to older episodes, so to have that brief moment was a nice change of pace for the show.
While it has its moments, it wasn’t my favorite. Though, it did have some chuckles, which I enjoyed.
P.S. Love that Ron was separate from Hugo. It did show more personality in that one moment and his life outside of his work. Wish we got that more from Hugo (exception: season 6, episode 1 Sliding Bobs). Why Ron puts up with Hugo, I’ll never know.