| “ | That man knows how to rock a pant pleat. | ” |
"The Big Stieblitzki" is the fourteenth episode of Season 14, being the two-hundred-and-seventy-fourth episode overall.
Plot[]
When the family gets invited to Rudy's father's birthday party, they scramble to make him look better than Paul, who's trying to hit on Rudy's mother. Meanwhile, Tina attempts to convince a woman to commit to a relationship with Rudy's father.
Full story[]
As Bob drives his family to Spare Change Lanes at night for Sylvester's birthday party, Louise expresses confusion about why her parents are attending Sylvester's party. Bob and Linda disclose that he guilted them when they were at Wagstaff for its parent-teacher conferences. Louise expresses that she hopes Rudy due to the trouble that comes to him because of his divorced parents. Gene asks his parents if they've ensured they won't get divorced, and Linda assures her son they won't. Linda states she loves Bob as much as the first time she told Bob she loved him. Bringing this up, Linda questions Bob to see if he remembers this moment, which Bob has trouble recalling. Linda brushes this off, but Bob is bent on trying to remember.
Walking inside the bowling alley, Bob is still trying to recollect Linda's first "I love you," which Linda reassures Bob that it's okay. Rudy welcomes the Belchers and expresses how difficult it was to get other kids to be enthusiastic about his dad's party. When Tina, Gene, and Louise part ways with their parents to enjoy slushees with Rudy, Louise notices Rudy looking distant. Rudy points out that his worrisome mood is because of the stark contrast between Paul's confident personality and his dad's feeble one. Rudy reveals that Sylvester currently feels particularly delicate because of his breakup with Vicky. The Belcher kids tell Rudy that this means his dad is single again, but Paul is still worrying Rudy about his dad. Louise promises Rudy that she and her siblings will give his dad the perfect birthday party.
Bob and Linda are getting their bowling shoes when they cross paths with Sylvester. Bob tells him they're waiting for their lane, which he immediately regrets because Sylvester offers the pair the chance to share lanes, and Linda can't help but accept the offer.
As the Belcher kids and Rudy leave the bowling alley's snack bar, they go over their plan to make Sylvester seem like a success and Paul the opposite. Louise asks Rudy what his dad's strengths are to help with their agenda, and Rudy reveals he's good at bowling. However, Rudy still doesn't believe this is enough to beat Paul. Rudy brings up Vicky again, stating that he wishes his dad was still with her since he wouldn't be single in front of his mom, Holly. Louise proposes they should find a new girlfriend who's good at bowling for Sylvester, and Rudy points out Cherie, a classmate from his dad's cooking class, as the only candidate. Sylvester walks over to tell Rudy their lane is ready and to tell the Belcher kids about them sharing lanes. He then discloses that Holly and Paul will also be playing with them as he and Paul exchange friendly salutes from a distance. When Rudy is alone with Tina, Gene, and Louise again, he starts panicking about Paul now that they're bowling against each other. Louise pulls Rudy aside, promising again that they won't let Paul embarrass his dad, but this time swearing on her slushee cup.
When all the players are ready to bowl, the Belcher kids and Rudy huddle. Louise takes on the responsibility of distracting Paul until the party is over and assigns Tina the task of getting Cherie interested in Sylvester. Gene and Rudy get put in charge of going to the bathroom with Sylvester to pluck Sylvester's noticeable eyebrow hair. Rudy shares that Paul works as an occupational therapist to help Louise, and when the kids split up, Louise immediately begins her plan by bringing up Paul's job in front of him, her parents, and Rudy's mom. She then tells Paul that her dad needs "that," so Paul begins Bob's therapy by first asking Bob if there's anything painful. When Bob suggests everything is, Paul seems to understand what Louise means by how much Bob needs this.
Meanwhile, Gene and Rudy struggle to pull Sylvester's difficult eyebrow hair, but when they finish and return to their lane, Louise's distraction ends as Bob and Paul get ready to play with the others. Sylvester starts first and only manages to knock down three pins, which Rudy dreads. Tina returns and suggests that Cherie doesn't want to date Sylvester because they've never had any dates. Rudy is about to give up with Tina and Gene as they decide they'd be happier at the slushee stand until Louise determines they should go to the back room of the bowling alley for the next part of their plan. They unexpectedly face an employee. She tells the kids they shouldn't be here, but Louise tells the employee about the situation with Rudy, his dad, and Paul. Louise moves the employee, and she decides to help the kids with their scheme.
They go directly behind the lane the adults are playing at and are deciding what to do. Tina expresses concern that helping Sylvester by cheating isn't a good plan, though Louise brushes Tina's concern aside. Rachel, the Spare Changes Lane employee, explains that throwing a pin down around the moment Sylvester's ball hits the pins will guarantee all of Sylvester's plays as strikes. Rachel tells the kids that one of them needs to get a pin before it goes into the pin elevator, and another has to make sure the first kid doesn't fall into the machine. Louise nominates herself to sneak outside and look at the adults' scoreboard to tell them the order.
When Louise goes outside, she studies the scoreboard and sees how much Paul is beating Sylvester with 70 to 43. However, when Bob notices his daughter, it temporarily forces Louise to remain with the adults to avoid attracting attention. Bob suddenly brings up his hunch and asks Linda if her first "I love you" was at a sports game, but Linda confirms it wasn't. Paul plays his turn, and when he doesn't manage to strike, Sylvester points out that it will still be hard to catch up to him. Louis decides it's time to return to the bowling alley's back room, but she overhears Sylvester and Holly talking. Holly expresses her confidence that Sylvester is letting Paul win, which confuses Louise until she realizes why Sylvester would do this.
Louise meets the rest of the team at the door to the bowling alley's backroom. Louise tells them that Sylvester is about to play next but also reveals that she believes Sylvester is letting Paul win as she tells them they shouldn't continue their plan. However, Rachel and Rudy are resolute in cheating for Sylvester, with Tina and Gene going along. They shut the door and lock it to prevent Louise from stopping them. Louise tries banging on the door and calling to get them to stop, which doesn't work. Not knowing what else to do, Louise decides to run across the lanes with little time as she dodges a couple of bowling bowls to get to the adults' lane. Confused, Bob, Linda, and Sylvester try calling for Louise to get off, but Louise heads over to under their lane to persuade Rudy. She points out the consequences if he gets caught and how it'll affect Paul's relationship with him and his dad. She deduces that he's the only one who's not okay right now—not his dad.
Being more aware that she has to get off the bowling lanes as a different employee calls on the speakers for her to do so, Louise indicates that she shouldn't have encouraged a scheme against Paul but should've just offered support for Rudy instead. Louise finally gets off, and Sylvester gets ready to play his turn. Louise expects they'll still help Sylvester cheat, but when Sylvester's ball hits, three pins remain, and he doesn't get a strike. Louise's siblings, Rudy, and Rachel, return to where Louise is, and they no longer seem set on cheating.
The Belchers, Holly, and Paul are gone, and Rudy and Sylvester are the only ones in their lane party at the bowling alley. Rudy asks his dad if he let Paul win. At first, Sylvester denies this but then admits it. Sylvester tells his son that Paul is part of their life now, but it doesn't change anything in their relationship. Rudy tells his dad he wants the best for him, and Sylvester assures his son not to worry about him. Cherie approaches Sylvester, telling him she's leaving and apologizing that she couldn't talk to him much. Sylvester tells her she'll see her in their cooking class, and they both crack jokes as she leaves. When Cherie is gone, Rudy and his dad are both in awe because of Sylvester's interaction with Cherie.
The Belchers are heading into their car, and Tina asks her dad if he got to recall when her mom first told him she loved him. Bob admits he didn't and apologizes to Linda for failing to remember. Linda assures Bob again that it's okay and reveals when it happened—when they were at the beach, he had to use his shirt to wipe seagull poop out of her hair, and she told Bob she loved him. It prompts Bob to remember as the Belchers leave Spare Change Lanes.
Videos[]
External links[]
- "The Big Stieblitzki" on IMDb
- "The Big Stieblitzki" press release via The Futon Critic
- "The Big Stieblitzki" script via Springfield! Springfield!
| Season 14 Episode Navigation | v • t • e | |
|---|---|---|
| Fight at the Not Okay Chore-ral • The Amazing Rudy • The Pickleorette • Running Down a Gene • Bully-ieve It or Not • Escape from Which Island? • The (Raccoon) King and I • Wharf, Me Worry? • Fraud of the Dead: Zombie-docu-pocalypse • The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas • Mission Impossi-Bob • Jade in the Shade • Butt Sweat and Fears • The Big Stieblitzki • The Right Tough Stuff • To Catch a Beef | ||
| ← Season 13 | See also: Episode Guide | Season 15 → |