With twelve seasons and counting, Bob’s Burgers has become a whole generation of TV viewers’ main comfort show. And, from Linda’s (John Roberts) overenthusiastic parenting style to Tina’s (Dan Mintz) adoration for boys, butts, and erotic friend-fiction, there are about a million reasons to love each and every member of the Belcher family, not to mention the many other inhabitants of the Wharf and its surroundings. But, when it comes to lists of fan-favorite characters, Louise (Kristen Schaal) is the one who is usually up top, sometimes competing with her sister Tina for the number one spot in our hearts. Her mischievous ways and her chaos loving personality make her one of the show's most entertaining characters, whether she’s telling people her dad makes burgers out of human meat or planning to unleash a storm of rubber cockroaches over her school’s cafeteria.
However, not everything is crazy fun and murderous games with this little evil genius. When we really get down to it, Louise also can also be a kind, caring, and sometimes even sweet girl. Here’s a list of nine Bob’s Burgers episodes that showcase the softer side of Louise Belcher’s personality, from her fear and insecurities to all the love she packs beneath those bunny ears.
"Spaghetti Western and Meatballs" (Season 1, Episode 9)
“Spaghetti Western and Meatballs” is the first Bob’s Burgers episode to give us a peek at Louise’s more sensitive side. When Bob (H. John Benjamin) and Gene (Eugene Mirman) start to bond over a series of old spaghetti westerns, Louise feels left out, shunned by the two members of her family with whom she gets along the most. Of course, being Louise, she can’t just talk about her feelings with her dad and brother. Instead, she responds to their apparent disregard of her by wreaking havoc both at home and at school. Her actions in “Spaghetti Western and Meatballs” are motivated not by her love of chaos or by sheer vengeance against someone that has wronged her, though it might initially seem like it. They come from a place of deep sadness and jealousy. This becomes clear in her final heart-to-heart with Gene and Bob, in which Louise admits just how much she misses hanging out with them and even sheds a few tears. In reality, Louise feels out of touch with Linda and Tina, something that is explored further in later episodes, and has much more in common with Bob and Gene. Realizing that they can find company in each other without her around is just too much for her to handle.
"Ear-sy Rider" (Season 3, Episode 1)
Look, I know what you’re thinking: what is an episode in which Louise has a biker gang threaten to cut off a kid's ears and that gave origin to this gif doing in a list of stories about her softer side? But maybe you’re just not looking at “Ear-sy Rider” from the right angle. Season 3’s debut episode isn’t just about how much of a maniac Louise Belcher can be when someone crosses her, it’s also a deep dive into her insecurities. For the first time, it becomes clear that her bunny ears aren’t just a costume, but a security blanket of sorts. Without them, she feels threatened instead of threatening, and showing the top of her head is such a big deal to her that even Anthony Chun, the episode’s director, doesn’t dare to do an open shot when Logan (Kurt Braunohler) snatches the hat off of her. It’s a nice reminder that Louise is not just an evil mastermind in training, but also a regular child, clinging onto a comfort object to feel safe in the world.
"Boyz 4 Now" (Season 3, Episode 21)
There’s a reason young children latch onto security blankets, bunny years, and other comfort objects: growing up and becoming your own person in the world isn’t easy. In “Boyz 4 Now”, Louise receives a tough lesson on the hardships of being a big girl when she develops her very first crush for a member of the titular boy band of which Tina is a die-hard fan. Without the proper equipment to handle her feelings for young, baby-faced Boo Boo (Max Greenfield), she runs around the concert venue and breaks into the band’s tour bus trying to let all that tween lust out of her system the only way she knows how: slapping the object of her desire across his stupid pretty face. Over the course of “Boyz 4 Now”, we see Louise flailing about, struggling against her own feelings. And, much like in “Ear-sy Rider”, it is odd to see someone usually so secure so out of her element. It’s a torment that makes Louise realize that even her own heart can betray her and teaches her to respect her big sister for the teenage hero that she is.
"Carpe Museum" (Season 3, Episode 22)
While “Spaghetti Western and Meatballs” shows us that Louise loves her father and enjoys spending time with him, “Carpe Museum” goes a step further, making it clear that she downright admires him. So much so, in fact, that she’s probably the only Belcher kid that has made plans to take over the family business when she grows up. And even though Bob is in a retirement home in her fantasy future, she wasn’t the one that put him there. Louise Belcher would never do such a thing to her hero! But Bob isn’t the only one to get some Louise-love in this episode. Throughout their adventure in the museum’s closed off Amazon exhibit, it becomes clear that Louise truly cares for Regular Sized Rudy (Brian Huskey). Not only is she willing to take him under her wing and show him how to live dangerously, she’s also overcome with guilt and despair when she realizes that her actions might have done him harm. Rudy may have started the episode as nothing more than Louise’s school trip buddy, but he finishes it as her first real non-Belcher friend.
"Slumber Party" (Season 4, Episode 9)
Even the most diabolical chaos agents must abide by some kind of moral code, and, in “Slumber Party”, Louise makes her limits very clear. Sure, she might be antisocial and not above using her classmates' most trauma-inducing phobias against them, but she’s no narc. When her deepest, wettest secret is revealed, bland, boring Jessica (Kathryn Hahn) is understandably terrified that Louise will tell the entire school that she is a bed-wetter. After all, what mayhem loving kid wouldn’t jump at the opportunity of sharing such embarrassing news with the world? But Louise Belcher would never do something like that. Most of all, she would never betray the trust of someone she so deeply respects, and, over the course of her unwanted slumber party, Louise comes to admire the tenacity and the stealth skills of the girl she once described as red-headed wallpaper.
"Hawk and Chick" (Season 5, Episode 20)
“Hawk and Chick” is as much Louise’s episode as it is Bob’s. Father and daughter team up to organize a secret film festival to bring together the estranged father and daughter duo that starred in their favorite samurai movies of the 70s. But, for the Belchers, reuniting Koji (Keisuke Hoashi) and Yuki (Suzy Nakamura) isn’t just about doing something nice for someone else. Bob and Louise see themselves in Hawk and Chick, and the prospect of spending 30 years away from each other scares them to death. Things are even harder for Louise, who can’t help but be angry at Yuki for giving up a career fighting rubber monsters with her dad to become an accountant. Is that what she’s destined to become when she grows up? A completely different person that doesn’t even know what is going on with her dad? “Hawk and Chick” is a sweet, heartwarming episode that has Louise fighting for two of the things she holds most dear: her childhood illusions and her relationship with Bob.
"Bob Actually" (Season 7, Episode 9)
Could the friendship between Louise and Regular Sized Rudy evolve into something more? In this Valentine’s Day episode, all Belchers wear their hearts on their sleeves as they try to make the most out of love. For Louise, this means once more struggling with her feelings for a boy. At first, she’s scared that Rudy might have a crush on her, but when she finds out that he merely wants her to deliver a Valentine’s card to another girl, there is nothing but disappointment in the poor little Belcher’s eyes. Her hatred for Chloe Barbash (Stephanie Beatriz) only intensifies when she finds out that the girl doesn’t care about Regular Sized Rudy and only sends him flirty notes to get his quiz answers. Unfortunately, there’s not much Louise can do about that except for making a big speech about how much heart Rudy has in his regular sized body and giving him a kiss to make him feel better. And then slapping him, of course. Because that’s Louise we’re talking about.
"Poops!... I Didn't Do It Again" (Season 10, Episode 20)
In Season 6’s Halloween episode “The Hauntening”, we learn that Louise doesn’t get scared so easily. However, this does not mean she doesn’t have any fears. One of the things she dreads the most is having to poop in a public bathroom - a personality trait she shares with her dad. So when she is chosen to feed the sharks in her classroom’s overnight visit to the aquarium, it is with a heavy heart that she has to call Bob and ask him to take her home to use the bathroom. It’s heartbreaking to see Louise so vulnerable, allowing her fear to get the best of her and deprive her of something as huge as feeding a freaking shark with her bare hands. But where there’s fear, there’s also room for courage, and Louise finds it in her heart to return to the aquarium and face that terrifying bathroom stall. In the process, Bob also manages to get over at least some of his pooping limitations, all with the help of his little girl.
"Prank You for Being a Friend" (Season 10, Episode 22)
In “Prank You for Being a Friend”, Louise has the opportunity to pull the greatest school prank of her life without reaping any of the consequences. But is it really worth it if it will make a fellow kid suffer down the line? Poor nerdy Kaylee (Maya Erskine) can’t find her crowd at Wagstaff and wants to become a troublemaker so that her parents will allow her to be homeschooled. Initially pleased with Kaylee’s request for help, dreaming of all the ways she can ruin the lives of Mr. Frond and the rest of the school staff, Louise eventually realizes that becoming even more of a recluse isn’t the answer to Kaylee’s problem. After all, how will she ever find her crowd with no crowds around her? And so, out of the kindness of her heart, gaining nothing in return, Louise calls off the prank. Mr. Frond (David Herman) thinks he was the one that finally got through to her, but he’s wrong: Louise was just a good person all along, even if she sometimes hates to admit it.
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