Bob’s Burgers: The Helen Hunt takes Teddy on a journey for love

In the 1st Teddy-centric episode of season 9, Bob’s Burgers brings back a familiar face and takes Teddy on a mission for love in “The Helen Hunt.”

Before another dreaded hiatus, Bob’s Burgers is airing their final episode of January and this one brings back a familiar face. If you’ve been watching the show for a few seasons, then you’ll know. If not, then it’s all going to be a pleasant surprise. Either way, it’s going to be a Teddy episode and as an unofficial Belcher family member, there’s no telling what will happen.

If you haven’t watched this week’s episode of Bob’s Burgers, there will be spoilers for “The Helen Hunt” from this point on.

“The Helen Hunt” starts with the family working in the restaurant and Teddy comes in, admitting he has feelings for Helen. Teddy explains that Helen’s ex, Larry used to hide things and she’s asked him to look for a netsuke. The family decides to go look with Teddy at an apartment building that Larry used to own.

More from FOX

• Only 3 of FOX’s live-action scripted shows are coming back in March 2024 the rest are being held for Fall 2024
• Is El Cantito from Kitchen Nightmares still open?
• Bob’s Burgers: The (Raccoon) King and I was a busy episode for all
• Bob’s Burgers skipping Thanksgiving this year: Here are 4 can’t-miss holiday episodes to rewatch
• Is Love Bites from Kitchen Nightmares still open?

Bob and Gene go upstairs while Linda, Teddy, Louise and Tina stay downstairs. Bob and Gene get roped into helping an old man while the others search in Kathleen’s apartment. Teddy and Kathleen start flirting so Tina wants to set them up and Linda wants to set him up with Helen.

A few minutes later, Helen arrives at the building and Louise gets her to pay them a reward. Kathleen and Helen keep talking until Kathleen admits that Larry had his own apartment. Once inside, Teddy and Kathleen start flirting but she goes back to her apartment and Linda convinces Teddy to make Helen a drink.

While Linda is with Helen, Tina goes to Kathleen’s apartment and questions her. She calls him down to Kathleen’s until Linda calls him upstairs. After Kathleen explains that Larry fixed pipes, Louise finds what Helen wants but Tina puts it back to find later when Teddy and Kathleen have “fallen in love.”

Tina takes Helen’s washcloth to the laundry room where Teddy and Helen are. Linda confronts Louise and Tina until they admit where it’s hidden. Linda and Teddy find it but Linda drops it on the elevator. He tries to pick it up but the elevator gives out under him and leaves him hanging on the edge.

The family meets up near the elevator and Teddy instructs Bob to go on the roof and bring the elevator up. Bob and Gene find the right lever and start bringing it up until Helen stops it so her netsuke doesn’t break. Helen grabs the netsuke before Teddy falls but ends up alright.

Bob and Gene end up away from the family where they start working on the old man’s pipes. To try and help, they look to see what the pipe is connected to. Teddy gives them tools but Louise ends up figuring out what’s wrong with the pipes. Back at the apartment, Bob and Gene fix the sink at first until it explodes everywhere. The episode ends with the Belchers, Teddy and Kathleen in Larry’s apartment where Tina and Linda keep trying to set Teddy and Kathleen up.

Strangely, this week has a unique format for their plotlines. For a majority of the season, there’s been two but this one felt different. At first, it seemed like there would be two but the show kept it at one. Even though Bob and Gene’s was a little different, they were all trying to help Teddy so it felt more cohesive than normal.

“The Helen Hunt” did split the family up a little bit. Similar to last week, the pairings ended up working out great. I loved seeing Bob and Gene together while the girls and Teddy made for a unique dynamic. Bringing Helen back was an interesting choice but I think it worked out well. Even though Teddy’s original journey was to help Helen, he found Kathleen.

Overall, I really enjoyed “The Helen Hunt.” I only wish that there were more moments between Kathleen and Teddy. This is another episode that I don’t think will be anyone’s favorite but is a good Teddy episode. Since the show’s going on a short hiatus, I think this was a great episode to leave off on. Personally, I thought this episode was a really strong one.

I give “The Helen Hunt” a B.

Bob’s Burgers airs Sundays on Fox at 8:30/7:30c. 

What did you think of “The Helen Hunt?” Any characters you’d like to see come back for an episode or two?