Bob’s Burgers recap: Which Belcher is on the naughty list?

Christmas is finally here on Bob’s Burgers. Every year, Christmas for the Belchers always seems to be a huge production. Even so, the family never seems to have everything go right or, they have to at least have one thing go wrong.

Within the last few years, the Belchers have dealt with a lot during the Christmas season. Whether it be on a yacht, part of mail delivery, or involving a sled, there is always some kind of shenanigans the Belchers are taking part in. It’s easily nice to see the entire family paired up for a holiday episode.

Christmas might not be Bob’s favorite holiday but that doesn’t mean the show skimps on the Christmas episodes. While it’s a song, an elaborate sequence, or a two-part episode, Christmas is still a lot of fun. In particular, it’s going to be interesting to see how the Belchers celebrate Christmas in Season 12.

If you haven’t watched “Gene’s Christmas Break,” there will be spoilers from this point on. If you have watched, be sure to let us know your favorite Bob’s Burgers Christmas episode thus far.

Here’s what you missed on Bob’s Burgers episode, “Gene’s Christmas Break.”

The episode starts with Gene DJing for Christmas in the living room and having the time of his life while the family suffers in the kitchen. Later that evening, Gene decides to keep DJing throughout the night but Bob and Linda put that to rest quickly. The following morning, Gene rolls over on his favorite record and it breaks. Gene tries to tape it back together but it doesn’t work so Linda and Bob send Louise and Tina to help Gene find a replacement.

They aren’t able to find a replacement at the record store so they ask the record store employee. He tells them to go online but he’s unable to find the record. He also recommends a guy they can meet up which is Doug, Courtney’s dad. Doug gets in touch with one of his friends, Alice and she tells them even more bad news as they could’ve had the last copy of the record. Gene is so upset that he says he doesn’t want to hear any holiday music again.

To try to make things better, Louise suggests the family remake the album themselves. They decide to remake the album at the restaurant and send Gene to spend time with Courtney and Doug. The recording is incredibly chaotic but the family eventually gets the record together. Gene immediately hates it and continues to feel horrible until he has a vision of Percy Mctinselbutt who tells him that the tape is worth more than he believes. The episode ends with Gene remixing the tape and appreciating what the family’s done for him.

Which Belcher family member ended up on Santa’s naughty list?

He’s making a list and checking it twice. We all know that Santa has a naughty and nice list but it’s unclear who ends up there or what causes them to be there. However in the realm of Bob’s Burgers and this episode, in particular, it’s fun to look and see who ends up where.

Looking back at the episode, the two characters who definitely aren’t on the naughty list are Louise and Tina. It’s quite shocking considering the number of shenanigans Louise gets involved in but this time, she decided to be the bigger person. Rather than take advantage of Gene’s suffering, she decides to come up with a plan to make him feel better. It’s surprisingly sweet and goes well with Tina’s willingness to help and also her journey to become a better gift-wrapper.

Moving onto the next two Belcher family members, there’s Bob and Linda. These two are on the nice list for two reasons. Firstly, they went along with Louise’s plan to help make Gene feel better and use their talents to re-create the record. Secondly, they participate in a Secret Santa that they mostly have no interest in. While Bob does act questionably during the episode, he made it to Santa’s nice list.

That leaves one less Belcher family member and that’s Gene. Unfortunately for a majority of the episode, Gene was on Santa’s naughty list. The entire episode was basically him being upset with himself and not being appreciative for what he has. That’s not an uncommon theme for the Belcher kids but it felt particularly disappointing this year. It was especially tough to watch Gene be so unappreciative of what the rest of the family had done for him.

While Gene had a slightly disappointing Christmas and might have partially been on the naughty list, he brought it all together in the end. He was able to appreciate what he had and be happy about it while still being excited about his new tape. As for the unofficial member of the Belcher family, Teddy deserved to be on the naughty list for being so grumpy the entire episode despite getting a good gift by the end.

As far as Christmas episodes go, this was a pretty good one. It had all the components of a good Christmas episode including a song, elaborate sequences, and shenanigans aplenty. While it’s not going to be a new favorite of mine, no doubt others are going to love it and consider it a new favorite. Either way, it’s nice to see the Belchers celebrate Christmas together.

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

What did you think of “Gene’s Christmas Break?” Which Belcher do you think deserves to be on the naughty list? Be sure to let us know in the comments.