Bob’s Burgers: The Plight Before Christmas is a family affair

When it comes to holidays, Bob’s Burgers is king. The show somehow always manages to deliver a stellar holiday episode.

While Thanksgiving is Bob’s favorite holiday, it’s clear Christmas is Linda’s favorite. Looking back at previous years, we’ve watched as Linda put the tree up the day after Halloween and even one on the day after Thanksgiving. It ends up being a disaster for the family each time, though.

Regardless, every Christmas with the Belchers is always fun and chocked full of love. It’s clear the Belchers love each other, but the universe certainly doesn’t. If anything, the universe makes nothing ever seem to line up for the family.

Maybe Season 13’s “The Plight Before Christmas” will change the tides but if you haven’t watched, there will be spoilers from this point on.

Here’s what happened in Bob’s Burgers episode, “The Plight Before Christmas”

The episode begins with Gene getting excited about his holiday concert while Tina is going to be starring in the Thunder Girls holiday play. Bob will be attending Gene’s while Linda will be attending Tina’s. Louise comes down and lets Bob and Linda know she needs to be at the library to read her poem but Linda starts freaking out because she can’t be there for Louise and Tina.

Tina tries to convince Louise to read her non-funny poem while Gene finds out Miss Merkin’s sister is subbing in for her. Bob explains that they’re missing Louise’s thing tonight so he starts to feel bad. Tina realizes Louise actually wrote a heartfelt poem so Linda also feels bad and has Bob call her to explain what’s going on.

Linda convinces Bob to try and go to Louise’s reading so he jumps into a cab but gets lost and calls Linda. Once he gets there, he can’t get inside and calls Linda back but she explains he needs to be at their local branch. The two start feeling bad while Gene is having a terrible time at his concert and Tina is trying to push Linda to just go for Louise.

Eventually, Gene starts to play well while Tina is having an excellent time at her play and Louise gets called up to read her poem. The episode ends with Tina being there for Louise while she reads her poem before Linda comes in at the last minute, Gene had a great concert, and Tina teases Louise for loving the family.

“The Plight Before Christmas” is a family affair for the Belchers

Holidays are a huge deal on Bob’s Burgers but “The Plight Before Christmas” takes it to an entirely new level. The episode just felt so achingly realistic which is what made it so good. We got to see Bob and Linda struggle with trying to deal with the kids’ commitments without making any of them feel left out but ultimately end up leaving Louise out. It seems like it’s no big deal at first.

Once Tina figures out what Louise was hiding, she immediately puts pressure on Bob and Linda to be there for Louise. Eventually, Tina takes matters into her own hands and decides to be there for Louise herself. Tina does make it at the last minute and it makes the episode all the sweeter when Linda pops in while Louise is reading.

All of this is wrapped up in a neat bow with Louise’s poem. Despite how goofy she acted, it’s clear Louise loves her family and realizes just how grateful she is for what she has. It was such a sweet and touching moment that it brought a tear to my eye. To me, that’s why the episode felt like such a family affair because every part of the family had to work together to make something happen but no one more than Tina.

Overall, I really loved this as both a Christmas episode and a regular Bob’s Burgers episode. Plus the episode featured Tina Fey in a guest role so what’s not to like? Maybe I’m getting a bit more sentimental when it comes to Bob’s Burgers, but I can’t deny how much I really enjoyed this year’s Christmas offering.

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

What did you think of “The Plight Before Christmas?” Do you have a favorite Bob’s Burgers Christmas episode? Let us know in the comments.