Finding The Love Tester

Bob's Burger, S03E13

Bob took the kids with him to find a better Valentine's Day present for Linda.  It became sort of a wild goose chase when they had to find an old love tester at a restaurant in town, but didn't know which one it was.  Linda also held a speed dating session at the restaurant, hoping to help Teddy or Mort find love for Valentine's.

One of the best things about this story was that the kids kept manipulating Bob into taking them along for the shopping so they could help him get the perfect gift.  Bob is such a softie.  I don't think his kids are impossibly smart, but they are definitely smarter than Bob at times.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out that they just didn't want to go to school.  I thought Bob would eventually put his foot down and take the kids home, but he kept getting swept away by the "adventure" and their reasons why he didn't have time to take their to school.

Another thing that I liked was when Bob was recalling the story of his "first" Valentine's with Linda.  He kept messing up the story details, making it confusing before it even started.  It was funny when Gene accurately told Bob that he was the worst storyteller.  Indeed, since the story wasn't about Linda in the first place.  I'd cut him some slack, though, because with the shitty life he's living, he probably can't even remember when his life wasn't ruled by his crazy-ass family.

Finally, I liked that despite Bob had wasted money on a gift from a memory that wasn't about Linda, Linda thought the whole thing was romantic.  She may drive me crazy with her voice and personality, but at least she loves and understands Bob.  He surely wouldn't have gone that far and let his kids play hooky if he didn't think it was going to sweep Linda off her feet.  Since I usually feel like Bob's efforts are under-appreciated, it was a nice change to see that Linda didn't do the obvious and freak out about him mistaking an old girlfriend for her.

The worst thing about this story was that it involved Hugo, and he was being his usual dick self.  He outdid himself by not just refusing to tell Bob which restaurant the love tester was at, but also by selling it to Bob for 5 times what Hugo had paid.  I really hate him.  I wish that he hadn't found out that Bob wasted his money on the thing too.  It makes Hugo's victory over him all the better for him.  But I guess that Bob's the real winner because his gift was a hit, and unlike Hugo, Bob has Linda by his side.  Still, I wish there was something bigger to shove back in Hugo's face.  I hate how he keeps popping up at the worst time to make Bob's day unnecessarily worse.

I didn't really care for Linda's story.  It was annoying that she was using her voice as a buzzer instead of a real one.  It is funny that her voice is more grating than a buzzer, though.  I sort of liked that when Bosco was ruining the romantic flow of Linda's dating service, she got cuffed for taking his gun and waving it around.  She tried to do something good and got punished for it, basically.  I was a little satisfied by that outcome, even if Linda was set free.  Linda's idea of speed dating was just weird, and it needed to be stopped one way or another.

This episode wasn't too bad.  It was sort of interesting to see Bob and the kids trun around town for something as odd as a lover tester, but I hated that their main obstacle in getting it was freaking Hugo.  It all worked out in the end, so I can't complain too much.  Since Linda's speed dating attempt was pretty much a failure (even if Teddy did get a number), it was good enough that Lina managed get a romantic surprise from Bob.  It was long overdue with all those cheesy hearts Bob kept giving her.