Bob’s Burgers recap: Linda and Gayle are a Halloween trick

It’s finally here, it’s Halloween on Bob’s Burgers. Halloween is always such a big deal for the Belchers and every year, the stakes seem to get higher. No matter what happens, the Belcher family always seems to get up to something so no doubt Season 12 will give us the chills and thrills we’re looking for.

Looking back at past Halloween episodes, the Bob’s Burgers writers don’t ever seem to run out of fresh ideas. Within the last few years, the episodes have been hilarious, heinous, or downright haunting. Nevertheless, the Halloween episodes of Bob’s Burgers always seem to get an incredible amount of deserving hype.

In addition to the Halloween episodes being iconic, the Belcher kids always have the most creative costumes. Costumes are such a huge part of the Halloween season and it’s always fun to see what the writers come up with. However, it’s going to be fun to see how Halloween plays out for the Belchers this year.

Before getting started, there will be spoilers for the Bob’s Burgers Season 12 episode, “The Pumpkinening.”

If you haven’t watched, be warned and if you have, be sure to let us know what your favorite moment from the episode was.

Here’s what you missed on Bob’s Burgers episode, “The Pumpkinening.”

This year’s Halloween episode starts off with a flashback to Linda and Gayle from 27 years ago in which the two smashed all the pumpkins for a pumpkin contest at school. Then it flashes forward to the present in which Gayle shows up at the restaurant to talk to Linda. Once she gets there, Gayle shows Linda a note that says “Pumpkin Smasher” and Linda checks her mail to see she got the same one.

After Linda and Gayle decide to go to their hometown, there’s another flashback in which Linda accidentally destroys her pumpkin for the contest and Gayle does as well so Gayle suggests they smash all of the pumpkins to avoid trouble. In the present, they decide to revisit all of the people who could have caught them, smashing the pumpkins including Marty and Terry.

It all comes to a head when Linda, Gayle, and Terry see their old principal who is coming to pick up his dog from Terry. The principal starts to explain that he never got to announce Linda the winner and Gayle is shocked as Linda explains Gayle would’ve been devastated which is why she smashed the pumpkins.

The episode ends with Gayle’s life coach saying he’s the one who sent the letters to try and help her confront her past. Meanwhile, Linda and Gayle have a sisterly moment of bonding although Gayle can’t seem to get a grip.

Gayle and Linda’s relationship is the real horror story in Bob’s Burgers.

This year’s Halloween episode focused so heavily on Gayle and Linda’s relationship. If anything, it proves how toxic Linda and Gayle’s sibling relationship can be. The major observation from the episode is that Linda and Gayle’s relationship is the perfect epitome of a haunting Halloween episode.

From the very beginning, Gayle and Linda’s relationship has been tumultuous. For the most part, the angst in the relationship has been one-sided. Gayle is completely convinced that Linda is beneath her and that she’s in constant competition with her. It’s truly an unhealthy relationship and one that the show doesn’t discuss enough. For the most part, the show seems to focus more on Gayle’s jealousy rather than focusing on how things can be fixed.

In addition, the episode focuses heavily on Linda keeping things from Gayle. In a truly loving and supportive sibling relationship, you don’t need to hide things from each other. There’s no reason to censor yourself with your family. However, that’s all Linda seems to do around Gayle and it’s starting to become incredibly tiring.

Mostly, it’s just sad to see how the show has decided to portray Gayle and Linda’s relationship as it could be much better. It’s truly haunting to see that Linda is still holding onto a secret for almost 30 years because Gayle couldn’t handle it. Honestly, it would be nice to see the show portray Gayle as a more stable person and someone who can actually be a sister to Linda. As for Linda, she truly deserves better.

Overall, this year’s Halloween episode was scary for a completely different reason. All I can say is that I hope Bob’s Burgers eventually decides to do right by Linda and Gayle. While the episode was funny at times and did feature some creepy moments, Linda and Gayle’s relationship seemed to overshadow any fun. Nevertheless, it was a unique take on the usual Halloween episodes so kudos to the writers for “The Pumpkinening.”

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

Do you think Gayle and Linda’s relationship is a horror story on Bob’s Burgers? What did you think of “The Pumpkinening?” Be sure to let us know in the comments!