#Bob’s Burgers Season 11 Episode 5 Review: Fast Time Capsules At Wagstaff School

You know it’s going to be an enjoyable episode of Bob’s Burgers when they shine a spotlight on Louise’s obsession over Boyz 4 Now and the infamous Boo Boo.

Bob’s Burgers Season 11 Episode 5 focused on the obsessive nature of Louise and the perfectionist nature of Tina, making for a clash between the two sisters that we have seen before.

The half-hour was not particularly memorable, but it hit a lot of the basic plot points that sum up a typical Bob’s Burgers episode, making it fun to watch but easily forgettable.

Louise loves to downplay her obsession with the boy band, which is a recurring theme that never fails to be hilarious.

Unfortunately, this episode did not further her internal struggle with loving Boo Boo and Boyz 4 Now, rather focusing on the tension it ended up causing with Tina.

Louise: It’s like we share a brain sometimes!

Tina: Sister brain. I have to pee. Do you have to pee, too? Sister bladder?

Louise: Uh, no.

We’re always down for a little sisterly drama between Tina and Louise, it is just that we’ve been there, done that. So, the outcome of this plot was easily predictable.

Fast Time Capsules At Wagstaff School could easily be lumped into a group of episodes that roughly follow the same plot.

Sure, it was good for a lot of laughs, but it just wasn’t a standout showing for the series.

While we can rely on Louise to put on a front to act like the cool kid we all know she isn’t, and I mean that in the nicest way possible, we can also rely on Tina to be strong-willed.

Tina is a strong, independent woman (teenager), and, sure, that’s a good person to be most of the time, but it also can cause her to be a bit arrogant.

When it came to what went in the new time capsule, it was Tina’s way or the highway.

Strawberry lemongrass is the flavor of our time!
Tammy

As a result, it made sense that Tammy wanted to create her own time capsule. And, although we hate to admit it, we were on Tammy’s side on this one.

A time capsule should be a group effort, not one person deciding what should go in it and what shouldn’t. That is what we call a dictatorship.

The time capsule storyline seemed to be great setup for growth for Tina’s character when it came to her headstrong attitude, but, instead, it was about Boyz 4 Now tickets.

The episode didn’t end on a lesson learned for either of the Belcher sisters who were the stars of the half-hour, it was just sad that they couldn’t get into the concert.

There was never a return to the time capsule, which is a shame because there were so many rich and hilarious storylines that could come out of it.

Rather, Tina gave into her sister, they tried to go to a concert, and ended up being dupped by Henry Haber and his girlfriend.

It was an unfortunate conculsion for an episode that didn’t have much of a direction for the second half of it.

The episode mainly focused on Tina and Louise, but there was also another story, albeit miniscule, that centered around a weird competition between Bob and Linda. Bob can’t roll his “R’s” and Linda can’t whistle. That’s it. That’s the plotline.

This recognition resulted in Bob whistling and Linda rolling her “R’s” at any chance they got, which was funny, but did not add anything at all to the conflict between the two spouses.

Bob and Linda have always had a competitive side to their relationship, one that is — most of the time — healthy and pushes the other to be better.

Tina’s killing it up there. And by “it,” I mean “my interest.”


Gene

This, on the other hand, was just nonsensical filler for when they cut away from the children to the adults. I would hesitate to even call it the “B” story of the half-hour since it got so little screentime.

They whistled, rolled their “R’s,” and made up at the end for a fight that never felt like a real fight. It added almost nothing to the overall episode, especially because it never tied into the time capsule story.

But, of course, we don’t always look to animation sitcoms to have a compelling story, sometimes we just want a laugh. If that was the goal, then Bob’s Burgers certainly achieved it.

By now, we all know the characters, quirks and all. And this episode shined a light on the eccentricities of Tina, Louise, and Bob and Linda as a couple.

Mr. Frond: So, I guess the way this whole time capsule thing works is now we have to do one.

Tina: You mean we get to do one.

Mr. Frond: Sure. And since you’ve shown an interest, how’d you like to coordinate it? So I don’t have to.

Tina: Me? Really?

Mr. Frond: Yeah, get some submissions from students-

Tina: Decide what best represents Wagstaff? Who lives, who dies, who tells their story?

Mr. Frond: Kind of regretting this now.

Tina, with her need to always get things perfect. Louise, with her concealment of her love for a boy band. And Bob and Linda, with their cute, competitive nature.

It was lighthearted and fun. What more could you ask for when we all so desperately needed an escape from the news?

Overall, the time capsule themed episode produced lots of laughs with classic Bob’s Burgers one-liners and inside jokes from past episodes, but it failed to create any kind of substantial story.

Bob and Linda’s “fight” deserved to have more screentime to really build up that conflict.

There needed to be a real resolution to Tina’s need to control what went into the time capsule.

And Louise should have learned that not everything is about her or Boyz 4 Now.

Unfortunately, we got an episode that failed to resonate with the audience and will soon be forgotten.

What did you think Bob’s Burgers Fanatics?

Did you enjoy the time capsule and Boyz 4 Now themed episode? What would you have put in Tina’s time capsule? Tammy’s?

And are you excited for next week’s 200th episode?

Let me know in the comments and do not forget that you can watch Bob’s Burgers online right here via TV Fanatic!

Bob’s Burgers airs Sundays at 9/8c on FOX.

Sarah Little is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.