Kyle’s Thoughts

Don’t look know but “There’s No Business Like Mr. Business Business” was a Gayle episode. I’ll be upfront and say I don’t like the Gayle character. She mooches off her family, never tries to grow up, seldom thinks of anyone but herself or her cats who are just extensions of herself, and her voice is the most irritating voice on a show that has a mess of irritating voices. That said, there are few good, and even great, Gayle episodes. “There’s No Business Like Mr. Business Business” isn’t one of them.

I’ll start my analysis of this week’s Bob’s Burgers with something I liked: Bob connecting with Gayle’s cat Mr. Business. This isn’t the first time Bob spilled his soul to an unlikely source. He has a habit of projecting his feelings onto inanimate objects (like a turkey baster), but Mr. Business may be the first, unlikely, living being with which he’s had a heart-to-heart. It worked for me. I especially liked it when Bob got through to Mr. Business, changing the cat’s behavior. Mr. Biz disobeying Gayle at the end of the episode was fun, and more character progression than I’ve seen from Gayle in six seasons. But I guess Mr. Biz’s ten minutes add up to a lot more in cat minutes.

The kids and Linda’s storyline of eating cat food was relatable. Who hasn’t tasted one kernel of pet food or a pet snack? I don’t know of too many people making it a habit. Linda and the kids are making quasi drug deals at the end of the episode. That wasn’t as much funny as it was uncomfortable. To be fair, I was laughing.

Have I mentioned I don’t like Gayle as a character? Well, I don’t for all the reasons I mentioned earlier but she grates on my nerves more than other recurring characters, because she takes over episodes. Sometimes it’s funny. But she always overpowers an episode. What’s worse in “There’s No Business Like Mr. Business Business” is that she has a moment to make a change as a character and doesn’t take it. Oh! It’s as bad as my dog hacking up something and swallowing it. I winced at that moment. It physically hurt.

What makes Gayle’s failure to change even worse is that last week’s Bob’s Burgers had moments where Louise grew as a character. It’d been some time since Louise played something other than the mischievous child, but I would’ve traded dozens of Louise character building moments to not be subjected to the agony of Gayle. But hey, I may be in the minority or Gayle may be the character everyone loves to hate. Whatever the case I’m looking forward to not seeing Gayle next week. And even with a less than stellar episode this week, Bob’s Burgers this season is as solid as ever.

Thanks for reading.