Bob’s Burgers: Cheer Up Sleepy Gene features another huge milestone
In its past eight seasons, Bob’s Burgers has featured a lot of milestones kids experience when growing up and Cheer Up Sleepy Gene is a classic example.
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When Bob’s Burgers comes up in conversation, it’s usually funny. The show is, after all, a comedy but there’s another layer underneath it. Yes, it’s a comedy but in some ways, it’s a sitcom and a commentary on family, growing up and children.
Bob’s Burgers has truly set itself apart in that right. With this week’s episode, “Cheer Up, Sleepy Gene,” Fox released a simple plot summary. It’s going to be all about Gene as he attends his first sleepover. That’s just one of many examples of how Bob’s Burgers has featured the milestones of growing up.
Before we get into it, there will spoilers for previous Bob’s Burgers episodes along with this week’s episode, “Cheer Up, Sleepy Gene.”
Once again, Bob’s Burgers has subverted all previous ideas about the show. Throughout the series, they have featured some important milestones for the kids. Since Tina is the oldest, I’ll start with some of her moments, followed by Louise and ending with Gene. This week’s episode will hopefully give us something to talk about.
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As the oldest, Tina has hit a lot of her milestones already. One of her biggest milestones was her first kiss and something teenagers daydream about. Featured in the sixth episode of the series, we watch Tina finally get her first kiss and it’s literally a dream sequence. She also exclaims “I kissed my first boy!” and it’s such a raw and honest reaction.
Tina also drives a car for the first time with disastrous results. It’s another moment of genius as we’ve all been there. One of the more recent moments happened in “V for Valentine-detta,” because Tina experience a Valentine’s Day heartbreak.
She gets stood up and almost exacts revenge, but realizes it’s unfair to the other girl. That’s a huge moment of growth for Tina and another milestone. Here, she realizes it’s not worth it to stoop to Jimmy Jr’s level and ends up befriending Becky.
Moving from older to younger sister, it’s time to talk about Louise. Surprisingly, Louise only has a handful of growing up milestones. It’s understandable as she is only 9 years old. One of the earliest moments is in “Spaghetti Western and Meatballs” and Louise realizes she’ll never have a bond like Bob and Gene.
It’s a tough lesson, but one a lot of girls end up having to learn. In “Flu-Louise,” Louise hit another milestone, realizing she doesn’t have to be so angry. She learns not to push her family away and ends up forgiving them by the end of the episode.
Last week’s episode, “The Hurt Soccer” was another huge moment of clarity for Louise. She realized it wasn’t just about her, but the entire team. Her decision to put in an effort and try to win was something a lot of kids deal with. They start to lose some of their selfishness like Louise has this season.
Last but not least, there’s Gene. Despite being the middle child, Gene is the center of attention and the comedic relief in most episodes. However, Gene has had his fair share of milestones throughout the series.
In season 3’s “The Unbearable Like-Likeness of Gene,” Gene breaks up with someone for the first time. It was messy, complicated and dramatic, but another part of growing up. Moving forward to season 7, “Like Gene for Chocolate” follows Gene as he tries and fails to secure a deal with a candy company. Ultimately, Gene gets what he wants in a way. It’s that disappointment after working so hard that happens to everyone.
His most recent milestone came in “Cheer Up Sleepy Gene.” The episode begins with Gene agreeing to a sleepover with Alex despite being nervous. Once Gene gets to the house and Bob leaves, he starts to freak out. The night ends up being pretty anticlimactic until Alex and Gene go to bed and Alex decides to run away.
Alex takes Gene to the woods, trying to convince Gene to stay in his “cabin.” Instead of heading back to Alex’s, Gene gets Alex to agree to go to the Belchers. Gene gets through to Alex and the two head back to his house. They both fall asleep almost immediately and Gene returns home, agreeing not to sleepover again.
This was a huge milestone for Gene for a multitude of reasons. Not only did he have his first sleepover but learned to stand up against his friend and lie about what happened. The last one might not be a huge milestone, but it was awesome to see Gene finally break out of his shell and start hanging out with friends.
Next: Bob’s Burgers: The Hurt Soccer mixes sports and music
As Gene’s latest milestone, I think the episode was hilarious. Gene was the perfect mix of being in charge while still being vulnerable like kids think they are. As always, it was awesome to see a Gene-centric episode. Overall, it was a unique and fun episode.
Bob’s Burgers airs Sundays on Fox at 7:30/6:30c.
What are some of your favorite milestones featured on Bob’s Burgers? What did you think about “Cheer up Sleepy Gene?”