Foil / Bob's Burgers

Several characters in Bob's Burgers heavily play off one another, serving as Foils in one way or another.

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General

• The entirety of the core Belcher family's relationship with each other serves as a contrast to their relationship with their extended family.
  • Big Bob and Bob's relationship is quite poor, as Big Bob made Bob work all day, gave him little to no freedom and Bob never had the chance to play outside or express himself in the restaurant; Bob is very close to all of his children, allows them to express themselves and their opinions of him (for better or worse), and gives them plenty of freedom (if not too much) out of the benevolent intention of ensuring that his kids have a better childhood than he did.
  • Linda's relationship with her parents is very much All Take and No Give, with Gloria and Al inconveniencing Linda numerous times and forcing Linda to live up to Gloria's increasing demands; Linda is a very doting mother to all three of her kids and doesn't ask for too much in return from them.
  • Linda and Gayle's relationship is similar to Linda and Gloria's, as Gayle takes way more than she gives to Linda as Linda goes out of her way to mother her and support her; Tina, Gene and Louise support each other in much healthier ways and always give back to each other when they end up taking more than they intended to.
  • Bob and Linda's relationship also heavily contrasts Gloria and Al's. Gloria drags Al along for the ride and makes pretty much every decision for him to the point of Al being a Henpecked Husband, and despite their many years together their relationship is practically dead in the intimacy department; Linda often drags Bob along for the ride as well, but their partnership is much more even and Bob is capable of speaking up for himself, and although they're getting on in years they constantly work to spice things up in their personal lives, keeping things fresh and preventing a dead-bedroom situation.
• The Belchers' dynamic also heavily contrasts with that of the Pesto family. The Pestos are distant from each other (not counting the twins), dysfunctional, and overall they have a very poor relationship. The Belchers are quirky but close, and overall they have a much healthier relationship.

Bob

• Bob to his own wife Linda, not that it stops them from being Happily Married.
  • Bob is reserved, level-headed and monotonous, Linda is loud, extroverted and full of energy.
  • Bob and Linda both adore their family, however while Bob tends to prioritize business and bettering things for his family in the long run, Linda almost always prioritizes her family's short-term happiness even if it's to the detriment of herself or others.
  • Bob is honest to a fault and isn't above being frank with people including his own family, but Linda goes out of her way to spare people's feelings (especially if it's her family) and is perfectly fine with telling fibs to others and her family.
  • Bob has a distant relationship with his father and his mother died when he was very young, and he was also an only child, while Linda is very close to her still-living mother and father, and her sister for that matter. At the same time, Bob refuses to put up with his father's nonsense, while Linda puts up with her parents and sister's demands to a rather extreme degree.
• Bob is also this to his rival Jimmy Pesto in so many ways.
  • Where Bob is morally upstanding, Jimmy is morally reprehensible.
  • Jimmy is more business-savvy than Bob, but Bob is a borderline Supreme Chef while Jimmy is a borderline Lethal Chef. Bob also actively prioritizes quality while Jimmy is willing to cut corners to turn a profit.
  • Bob is Happily Married; Jimmy is bitterly divorced.
  • Jimmy as a person is more popular than Bob, but only on a superficial level—those who don't know either are more inclined to side with Jimmy, but anyone who knows them is likely to favor Bob.
  • Both of them have a smaller circle of friends, but in Bob's case this stems from his introverted nature, and both Teddy and Mort like to hang out with him; in Jimmy's case it appears to stem from the fact that he's a horrible person, and Trev only really hangs out with him because he also wants to have a friend.
  • Bob is a Good Parent with an active role in his kids' lives, while Jimmy is an Abusive Parent who neglects his kids.
    • Both of them have sons who are more artistically-inclined than sports-inclined. However, Bob is an Open-Minded Parent who supports Gene's talents even if he doesn't understand them, while Jimmy is a Fantasy-Forbidding Father who tries to force Jimmy Jr. to stop pursuing his talents.
    • Both of their youngest children have deep-seated respect for their fathers. However, while Bob genuinely earns the respect Louise has for him, Jimmy has yet to do a single thing that warrants the adoration Andy and Ollie show him.

Linda

• Linda is one for her sister Gayle. Both are eccentric and artistic, but that's where the similarities end.
  • Linda is confident, happy, and emotionally stable; Gayle is insecure, unhappy, and neurotic.
  • Linda has a steady job with her husband's restaurant and is even capable of working additional part-time jobs; Gayle quits whatever job she gets before she can even get a single paycheck and is otherwise unemployed at any given moment.
  • Linda is Happily Married to Bob and a loving mother towards her three kids; Gayle is single, childless, and a poor owner towards her three cats.
  • Linda is loved and supported by her family even at their worst; Gayle is looked down on by them (Linda herself being the exception), with even her cats being hostile towards her.
  • Linda has decent social skills and a small but loyal group of friends who enjoy her company; Gayle has No Social Skills and no friends, with the few people she meets often being uncomfortable by her mere presence.
  • Linda overall leads a comfortable, fulfilled life; Gayle's life is in ruins to the point that everyone (including Gayle herself) knows it.

Belcher Kids

• The Belcher kids in general act as foils to each other. They're all quite eccentric with their own quirks, but they differ greatly in exactly what those quirks are.
  • The most noticeable contrast among the kids is between Tina and Louise.
    • Both are the daughters of the family; Louise being the youngest child overall and Tina being the oldest child overall.
    • Tina is kind, respectful and obedient; Louise is obnoxious, disrespectful, and mischievous.
    • Tina has a high interest in more lighthearted subjects and frequently tries to bond with her female classmates; Louise is a Nightmare Fetishist and hangs out more with the boys in her life.
    • Tina is monotone and rarely expresses much emotion; Louise is extremely hyperactive and loud.
    • Tina isn't very smart and doesn't really understand most social cues; Louise is sly, clever, and street-smart.
    • While both qualify as a Daddy's Girl, Tina is more consistently respectful towards Bob, while Louise's admiration for Bob is more infrequent but tends to be much stronger whenever it pops up.
    • Tina and Louise arguably inherited the opposite traits from their parents: Louise has her mother's charisma but, like her father, prefers to interact with family and close family friends. Meanwhile, Tina has inherited Bob's awkwardness but like Linda is friendly and eager to meet new people.
  • Gene also acts as a foil to both his sisters.
    • Although both Tina and Gene are The Ditz and tend to be rather equally dim-witted when they're together, Tina is much quieter, not nearly as expressive as Gene is, and is considered the most attentive and reliable of the kids, but she's also the most awkward sibling and cares much more about what people think about her; in contrast, Gene is loud, theatrical, and having an extremely poor attention span that leaves him completely unreliable, however he is almost always confident and overall the most outgoing sibling as he can easily brush off negativity (unless it has to do with his music) and go about his days without a care in the world.
    • Gene and Louise are both the youngest and most immature siblings overall, and both are obnoxious troublemakers. Louise is not nearly as odd, irresponsible or dim-witted as Gene is, but Gene isn't as mean or as much of a risk-taker as Louise is. Both also hold close relationships with their opposite-sex parent (Gene with Linda; Louise with Bob), and can get very possessive of that parent's attention, but Gene is very vocal about his closeness to Linda (with their relationship featuring more outward affection) while Louise tries to hide her closeness to Bob (with their relationship based less on outward affection and more on internal respect).
• Louise serves as one to the Pesto twins.
  • They're the youngest children of the aforementioned Bob and Jimmy respectively, and both Louise and the Pesto twins seem to adore their fathers.
  • Louise is the smart and manipulative member of the Belcher family, while Andy and Ollie are the naïve and gullible members of the Pesto family.
  • The Pesto twins' adoration of their father appears to be out of ignorance to their father's clear dislike of them, while Louise's adoration of her father is out of genuine respect and acknowledgement of her father's efforts. Additionally, while the Pesto twins are open with Jimmy about their affection, Louise tries to hide hers from Bob until she accidentally lets it slip.
    • Relatedly, despite their idolatry of their father, the Pesto twins aren't actually very close to him, and it's made clear that Jimmy Pesto is even more distant to them than he is to Jimmy Jr.; Louise, meanwhile, is very close to her father, and between her siblings it's arguable that Bob has the best relationship with her.
• Tina's relationships with her 'friends' at Wagstaff couldn't be more different than Gene and Louise's relationships with their friends at Wagstaff.
  • Louise struck a fast friendship with Regular-Sized Rudy and is shown to be hold a mutual respect with classmates such as Arnold and Wayne. Tina's first 'friend' was Tammy, who instantly realized she could manipulate Tina into doing whatever she wanted, and Tina only followed along if it meant she could spend time with Jimmy Jr.
  • Louise also frequently manipulates the Pesto Twins, but it's mostly harmless and never really meanspirited as Louise holds no ill will towards the twins, and Andy and Ollie themselves view Louise as a friend while Louise isn't against excluding them from their fun activities. Tammy still mistreats Tina and if she's not encouraging other kids to make fun of Tina, she's peer-pressuring Tina into doing things she doesn't want to do and Tina almost never has a good time during these instances.
  • Gene's friends consist of Alex Papasian and Courtney Wheeler, and they both share things in common with Gene whether it's a love of music, food or robots, and as a result the three get along very well and can have fun together. Tina, Tammy and Jocelyn have similar feminine interests such as boys and make-up, but Tammy seldom includes Tina and it's Tina who has to invite herself into their activities.
  • Gene made friends with Alex and Courtney relatively late in the series, and the same could be said for Louise who didn't really establish a real friendship with most of her peers until later on in the series; Tina's had Jimmy Jr, Zeke, Tammy and Jocelyn since the earlier seasons. But while both Gene and Louise are very close with their friends, Tina desperately tries to fit in with her 'friend' group and is very clearly an outsider.
  • Gene and Courtney were initially in a one-sided relationship that soon turned antagonistic and likewise he was hesitant to hang out with Alex, but it didn't take long for Gene to make up with Courtney and become best friends with Alex, with Courtney's kinder attitude and friendship with Gene sticking; Tina's had a crush on Jimmy Jr since the start of the series and has yet to go anywhere with Jimmy Jr. growing increasingly disinterested in her and from the beginning Tammy's been a jerk to Tina, and that also has yet to change as Tammy has also become more meanspirited. On the other hand, Tina and Zeke have a more cordial friendship and she and Jocelyn aren't exactly friends and haven't been since the start of the series, but for the most part Tina isn't close to anyone in her peer group.
  • Gene and Louise's friends always have their backs when they get themselves in a jam; Tina's peer group ditches her, makes fun of her and serves as a collective Toxic Friend Influence to Tina, with many times Tina's been in trouble being because of them.
    • Relatedly, Gene and Louise's friend groups bring out positive changes in their members (such as Courtney and Louise, who each Took a Level in Kindness as a result of their friendships with Gene and Rudy respectively), while Tina's friend group brings out negative changes in its members (such as Jocelyn and Zeke, who are otherwise decent people but become extremely obnoxious whenever they hang out with Tammy).
  • As a whole Gene and Louise have close-knit friendships with their groups, as Rudy, the Pesto Twins, Alex and Courtney have shown to be nothing but loyal, considerate and respectful to them and they almost always have fun adventures with each other; Tina's so-called friendships with Tammy, Jocelyn, Jimmy Jr. and Zeke are almost entirely shallow as none of them (with the exception of Zeke) seem to like or care about her, with Tina inviting herself out of desperation to belong and the friend group otherwise ignoring her entirely.

Other

• Big Bob (Bob's father) is this to Gloria (Linda's mother), primarily regarding their relationships with their families.
  • Big Bob rarely sees Bob and they don't really like to be around each other that much; Gloria visits Linda frequently due to the fact that she is close to her daughter (albeit mainly because she can rely on Linda to do things for her).
  • Big Bob is a widower and has been for over three decades — his wife died when Bob was still very young; Gloria and Al still have each other in their old age.
    • Relatedly, Big Bob always talks fondly about his late wife and clearly loved her very much; in contrast, Gloria is almost always annoyed by Al for some reason and their relationship hit quite a rough patch for over twenty years.
    • Similarly, Big Bob, although he was obviously not the best parent, was at least involved with Bob's life and made sure he was working as long as they had their restaurant. And Bob implies that he was close to his mother and that they had done things together such as make gingerbread houses on Christmas; Linda's stories about Gloria and Al (such as Linda's attempt to build a treehouse) imply that they didn't do much or anything for Linda or Gayle, and Gayle never has anything positive to say on the rare occasions she even mentions them at all.
  • Big Bob is still working at his diner; Gloria and Al are both in a retirement home.
  • Big Bob is hard to work with but is still capable of pulling his weight and working together with Bob (even if reluctantly); Gloria is outright impossible to work with as she has Linda do everything for her and does nothing to help whatsoever.
  • Big Bob might be a Control Freak, but is generally more tolerant of other's quirks and is pretty independent by nature; Gloria judges people (especially Bob) while nagging to have all her demands met.
  • In regards to their children-in-law, Big Bob treats Linda pretty decently and tolerates her for the most part even when she's being a little too over the top; Gloria has zero respect for Bob, often nagging at him and frequently judging him whenever they're in the same room even when Bob actively avoids saying anything to her.
    • Additionally, Linda respects Big Bob enough to recognize that she's being too extra for his liking and even apologizes when she realizes that her comment annoyed him and never really has anything negative to say about him; Bob has no respect for Gloria whatsoever because she's such a crappy person and parent to Linda. Also Bob not only hates her and being around her, but he also has nothing positive to say about her and isn't shy to call her out on her nonsense and the only reason he doesn't is because Linda forbids him from doing so.
  • Big Bob was harsh on Bob and was sometimes too critical and brutally honest with him, but it ultimately enabled Bob to pick up on his example of being an honest man as Bob is often uncomfortable with lying and prefers to be upfront with people; Linda implies that Gloria and Al lied to her and Gayle all the time (such as about Gayle's "immortal goldfish" that Gayle only realized was a lie in her 40's), and it enabled Linda to be okay with telling white lies and fibs to her entire family.
  • Big Bob dotes on his grandchildren by giving them money and free reign to take whatever they want from his basement while expecting little in return; Gloria rarely gives her grandchildren anything and even more rarely gives them something thoughtful, yet according to Linda still expects the kids to give her better stuff.
    • Additionally, the kids are very open about their excitement when they see Big Bob and even compete over what they could impress him with on the occasion he does come by; whenever Gloria is involved or visiting, the kids almost never express any sort of excitement to see her or do things for her, with only Tina bothering to go along with appeasing her grandmother and even then having her limits.
    • Big Bob also has no problem doing things for his grandchildren when they need it as he eagerly helps Tina with her interview; Gloria pretty much doesn't do anything for her grandchildren, and instead makes them do things for her.
  • Big Bob is well-regarded by everyone except for his own child^note and even then Bob's relationship with him starts to improve after "Father of the Bob"; Gloria is disliked by everyone except for one of her own children^note and even then it's made clear that Linda puts her mother on an undeserved pedestal.
  • Big Bob at least tried to be a good parent even if he did a poor job, causing Bob to turn out decent enough; there's nothing that indicates Gloria has done anything but the bare minimum for her daughters, causing Gayle to become a neurotic mess and Linda to take the opposite extreme as her mother, going above and beyond for others (especially her family) even if it's to the detriment of herself or others—while Linda is otherwise a stable person, this is in spite of Gloria's parenting, not because of her.
  • In regards to their children, Bob has no problem talking about how poor of a dad Big Bob was to him and despite him being his father, Bob had very little interest in being around him that much, at least at first until Big Bob started to slowly change for the best; Linda is aware of her parent's flaws but she still talks about them in a cheerful manner while trying not to show negativity about them, and the only reason why Linda bothers to be around them (and even then she's not thrilled about it that much) is out of familial obligation and the belief that because she loves them that she should do things for them and be around them.
  • Big Bob is humble enough to swallow his pride, regretfully acknowledge how he drove Bob away, and own up about his faults; Gloria doesn't seem to care about how much she inconveniences Linda with her demands and never owns up to her own faults, basically throwing a tantrum the one time she properly gets called out.
  • Big Bob isn't emotionally open and seldom talked about his feelings or past memories with Bob—most notably one about his late wife and Bob's mother—but it's only because Big Bob cares about his son's feelings and didn't want to make him sad by mentioning her; Gloria is more apathetic towards others and says whatever she wants without caring about how it makes people (including her own children) feel, to the point where even Linda can't defend her when Bob points it out.
  • Big Bob is hard to talk to, and while it was difficult for him and Bob to actually talk about their strained relationship, at least Big Bob was willing to communicate and to listen to his son's criticisms and made the effort to improve his relationship with Bob. By contrast, Gloria is pretty much incapable of communicating with Linda and Gayle, to the point where Linda tells Bob that he can't bring up any kind of incident with her parents. When Gayle brings up the past, Gloria refuses to listen and tells Gayle to "get over it". Gloria still has a bad relationship with Gayle and a parasitic relationship with Linda, and she doesn't seem willing to change or improve herself.
  • Recent flashbacks indicate that Big Bob has always been a fairly decent person before starting a family and took care of Bob pretty well (even after his wife passed), although it's implied that his wife brought out his better qualities and he really only became colder to Bob after her passing; Linda's stories about Gloria and a recent flashback only continue to highlight that Gloria's always been rotten to the core as she not only worsened a family feud for a petty reason, but that she was also never a good parent to neither Linda nor Gayle.
• Teddy serves as one to Gayle, especially in regards to their relationships with others.
  • Teddy and Gayle are both emotionally nervous wrecks desperate for love and affection, but Teddy manages to make and hold onto friends a lot easier than Gayle does to the point her only companions are three cats that can't stand her.
  • Teddy's love and admiration of Bob and his family can get a bit creepy at times, but the Belchers genuinely view him as a friend and he's their most ardent supporter in and out of the restaurant. Gayle shows little to no loyalty towards her sister's family, even acting sexually aggressive towards Bob on different occasions, and as a result her nieces and nephew have almost no decent opinions of her in the slightest—even Linda flip-flops regularly, thinking of her as her good friend and sister at best and an aggravating inconvenience at worst.
  • Teddy is shown as being able to land dates even if they don't last, and was even married at one point; Gayle has also gone on dates... that the other person didn't know about.
  • Teddy's financially independent and a genuinely competent contractor living on his own while Gayle burns through multiple jobs she usually quits within a day, regularly "borrows" money from Linda with no intention or ability to pay her back, and can barely live on her own even without the money factor in the equation.
    • Teddy's contracting skills can also be contrasted with Gayle's artistic abilities, with his competency juxtaposed to Gayle's lack of creativity despite her belief she's an amazing artist.
  • Teddy tried to mediate between his squabbling parents as a kid and as an adult he seems far closer to his mother than his father, to the point of accompanying her to a silent retreat and a couples' cruise. That said, his relationship with his mom is leagues better than Gayle's relationship with Gloria, with Gayle deluding herself about being Gloria and Al's favorite even though it seems neither parent cares about her that much.
  • Both have poor relationships with one of their parents. Teddy's father was implied to be abusive to him, such as forcing him through toilet training from the ages of 7 to 14. As an adult Teddy hasn't mentioned ever doing anything with his dad the way he interacts with his mom. Meanwhile, Gayle frequently clashes with her mother and is openly hostile towards her (which makes sense considering how similarly grating the two are).
  • Bob, while often getting worn out by Teddy's rambling and neediness, still appreciates his support and company and does view him as a friend. In contrast, Bob can't stand Gayle at all because she's such a self-centered, apathetic, neurotic mess, and if she weren't Linda's sister it's clear Bob would sever all ties to her.
  • The Belcher kids view Teddy as an Honorary Uncle and he's shown to be a fun, capable babysitter when looking after them (even to the point of going Papa Wolf on a kid who used Tina) and frequently gets involved in their projects. Aside from one or two moments of clarity and empathy (like treating Tina and Louise to expensive concert tickets and helping Louise make it through a cavity filling), Gayle's generally someone the Belcher kids have no interest being around despite her being their aunt, with Gene and Louise both thinking she needs to be in a mental hospital and Tina only tolerating her because that's the kind of person Tina is.
  • Teddy's sister has yet to be seen on screen except for a flashback silhouette in the "The Bleakening" (though her name is revealed to be Dana in "Thanks-Hoarding"), but from the little that's mentioned of her she seems to have a normal relationship with her brother even if they don't interact in person. They both show disapproval to their mom's dating habits and tend to call her boyfriends "boy toys." Gayle is essentially babied by Linda because she thinks Gayle's too fragile to handle things like criticism, and it's clear their relationship's toxic because of how much Linda sacrifices to keep Gayle happy.
  • Teddy tries too hard sometimes to help The Belchers at while sometimes he ends up making things worse, it's the effort that counts and at times proves genuinely competent and has even gotten The Belchers out of a jam at times. Gayle is pretty much incapable of helping her sister's family and is more than often a burden given how much of their financial support goes to her because of Linda, and usually if the Belchers do get in trouble, it's because of Gayle.
  • Teddy gets jealous quite easily of anyone who gets too close to Bob or Linda, but it's usually portrayed as harmless at best and pathetic at worst and it almost never directly harms Bob (or the rest of the family) in any way other than annoying him; Gayle however, is jealous of Linda because she has a much more stable, fulfilled life, to the point where Linda has to go to great lengths to walk on eggshells around Gayle whether it's denying herself and her family to give Gayle criticism on her art or even letting her pretend to have an affair with Bob just so Gayle can feel better about herself even though it pretty much shows how parasitic Gayle is to Linda and how it negatively affects Bob (and to an extension everyone else in the family), but Linda doesn't seem bothered by it for the most part.
  • For the most part, Teddy can be told the honest truth, even when he's being criticized and whenever Bob in particular is being Brutally Honest with him Teddy can usually take it and reflect on himself; Linda outright forbids Bob from leveling with Gayle because Gayle is too fragile to handle the truth, with Gayle herself even saying that she hates criticism despite claiming that she likes hearing what people have to say about her artwork and yet will fly into a nervous breakdown should she ever receive honest criticism.
• Regular-Sized Rudy can be one to Zeke, although it doesn't stop them from being friends with each other.
  • Zeke is an older kid in 8th grade, athletic and strong as he even kept giving Rudy a hard time when he tried basketball; Rudy is a smaller, younger kid in 4th grade who is known for being asthmatic and weak.
  • Zeke excels at sports like basketball and wrestling which require coordination, physical strength and going against kids his own size; Rudy performed well at Gaga ball because it's a much less strenuous activity that gives a smaller kid like him an advantage against bigger and older kids.
  • Zeke is loud, rambunctious and reckless; Rudy is quiet, mild-mannered, and fun-loving but cautious.
  • Even their family trees contrast each other; Zeke's is extremely convoluted while Rudy's is rather simplistic and contained.
  • When it comes to their friendships, Zeke and Jimmy Jr. get along because they're both simple-minded and fun-loving guys; Rudy and Louise are opposites with Rudy being more level-headed and cautious while Louise is reckless and impulsive, but it doesn't stop them from getting along swimmingly.
  • Because Zeke and Jimmy Jr. are pretty similar to each other, they don't disagree much on many things and thus never really learn anything from each other; Rudy and Louise balance each other out and their influence on each other enables Louise to soften up and Rudy to stand up for himself.
  • Even when Jimmy Jr. is being an obnoxious jerk, Zeke pretty much never calls him out for it and even joins in with him by acting just as obnoxious; Rudy can and does call out Louise when she's going too far, and it often gets her to reflect on herself or stop her antics altogether.
  • Many episodes have shown that Zeke has a crush on Tina and in later seasons it's only become even more apparent, but Tina is usually disgusted and annoyed by him save for a few moments; Rudy, however, has a crush on his classmate Chloe Barbash, and although Louise doesn't show much of a romantic interest (or any interest in romance) to Rudy, she still gets jealous whenever Chloe is mentioned or in the proximity.
• Tammy can be seen as one to Courtney, both being blonde, rich girls who have a particular relationship to two of the Belcher kids (Tina and Gene respectively).
  • Tammy was introduced as a new student that Tina was in charge of showing around Wagstaff, but Tammy immediately became a bad influence on Tina by peer-pressuring her and blackmailing her into doing what she wanted and it was clear that Tammy wasn't fond of Tina; Courtney was already a student at Wagstaff from the start with a reputation as the most annoying girl in the school and she even dated Gene and dragged him along for her ride, but despite her pushiness all signs indicate that Courtney genuinely liked Gene.
  • Tammy became Tina's most prominent rival even in later seasons; Courtney became more of a real friend to Gene in later seasons despite their initial antagonism.
  • Tammy is a selfish, rude and inconsiderate Spoiled Brat and her parents (especially her father) indulge and cater to her every whim to the point where even they're not all that fond of her; Courtney started off as a Spoiled Brat due to her well-off upbringing but became much more Spoiled Sweet to others and she has a very close relationship with her dad even if he can be a little bit of a Control Freak.
  • Most of Tammy's friendships are shallow and superficial because Jocelyn, Jimmy Jr and Zeke are just as vapid and ignorant as she is; Courtney developed meaningful friendships with Gene and Alex because they each have similar quirks and can bond over them.
• Ron is this to Trev. While both are the assistants of two antagonistic figures towards Bob who are Ambiguously Gay in regards to their bosses and happen to be decent people when their bosses aren't involved, this is pretty much where the similarities end.
  • Trev is completely spineless and backs up pretty much everything Jimmy Pesto says; Ron is more than willing to call out Hugo if he's being too petty.
  • Trev's life almost entirely revolves around Jimmy; while Ron definitely prefers having Hugo around, he's at least somewhat capable of functioning without him and has several hobbies that don't involve Hugo at all.
  • Trev can get along with the Belchers but they don't consider him a friend and the kids don't like him either; Bob, Linda and their kids all like Ron and think of him as a friend.
  • Trev seems to be almost completely dependent on Jimmy, to the point where Bob and Linda have to attempt to try to get him to break out of his sheep-like mentality towards Jimmy by helping him stop being like him (which doesn't last); Ron is much more independent, can clearly think for himself and unlike Trev, Ron never follows Hugo's example and treats the Belchers much more nicely even when Hugo is being a jerk.
  • Although Trev wants friends, his only friend seems to be Jimmy and even then, the friendship is hardly a friendship since Jimmy hardly treats him like a person and more like a lackey, with even Trev admitting that Jimmy is pretty much the only person he knows and thus wants him to like him. Although he can get along with Bob and Linda, they don't regard him as a friend. On the other hand, Ron is perfectly capable of befriending people who aren't Hugo (even being friends with the Belchers), despite Hugo's attitude Ron genuinely likes Hugo, and while Hugo is generally rude to Ron it is shown at times that Hugo does like him enough to continue working with him.
  • Trev seldom does the right thing and mostly just stands on the sidelines—while he has done some things that benefit the Belchers over siding with Jimmy, these moments are rare; in most of his appearances Ron helps out the Belchers and has no problem siding against Hugo especially when he's going too far.
• Mr. Frond can be looked at as one to Dr. Yap. They're both grown men who have semi-professional relationships to the Belchers while also being antagonistic towards them, and are pretty pathetic in general, but they still have some pretty striking contrasts to each other.
  • Both started out as antagonists towards Bob before switching focus to the kids.
  • Frond started out as a semi-decent person before he Took a Level in Jerkass; Yap started out as a pretty crappy person before he Took a Level in Kindness.
  • Frond is a guidance counselor at the Belcher kids school so they have the misfortune of seeing him everyday; Yap is the Belcher's dentist and visits aren't very frequent until the adults or kids need a check-up.
  • Frond is hated by the entire Belcher family, especially by Louise, because they know he's an uptight, incompetent douchebag who punishes them more than helps them; Yap is tolerated by the adults and the Belcher kids don't mind him, with Tina even having a crush on him, Gene could relate to him in feeling like an underdog and Louise was confident enough in Yap's abilities to call him for help when Bob was stuck to the toilet.
    • Adding to that, Frond is Hated by All with nobody (including his own mother) really liking him; Yap is at least tolerated and not outright hated by anybody.
  • Frond and Bob have a very tumultuous relationship, to the point where Bob says that they hate each other (despite Frond's shock at this); Yap and Bob initially disliked each other and Yap even forcibly took a tooth from Bob, but later seasons have improved their relationship enough to where the two are on neutral terms.
  • When it comes to Louise, Frond continuously gets on her case and punishes her the most out of the students at Wagstaff without giving her the benefit of the doubt (even when she was helping someone) and doesn't seem to care nor understand that the girl is not one to be messed with and as a result Louise pretty much despises him and has no respect for him whatsoever; Yap knows better with Louise, and understands that he shouldn't push her buttons and he actually does help her out during visits to the dentist so she can feel comfortable enough to get the job done and Louise even has enough respect and faith in him to call him for help when Bob needed it.
  • Yap can be immature and unstable in most of his appearances, but he keeps that in his personal life and is perfectly capable of acting professional when working as the Belcher's dentist; Frond tries to act professional as a guidance counselor to the Wagstaff students but even at work he can still act childishly, as well as petty towards the students, parents and teachers and he acts like he knows better than everybody else when it's painfully clear he doesn't.
  • Frond is disliked because he's an uptight, judgmental and arrogant idiot; Yap is merely unpopular not because of any particular flaw of his, as he is considered weird at best and creepy at worst.
  • While Yap makes some mistakes at work, he has shown to be good enough at his job as a dentist to where he makes steady income (even owning his own timeshare) and the Belchers never complain about his work (besides Louise, who is clearly shown to be overreacting); Frond is completely incompetent at his job, with nothing implying that he makes decent money (he still lives with his mother) because of his subpar efforts and he is often the source of the Belcher kids' ire and frustration.
    • Additionally, Yap mentions that he barely got through dental school but his current status as an active dentist shows that he managed to get graduate and has decent knowledge regarding his field (even if he skipped a few certifications); meanwhile, many of Frond's lines imply that his highest level of education was community college, indicating that he possibly only has an associate's degree (assuming he even graduated) despite the fact that many if not all guidance counselor positions require a master's degree, with Frond's lack of knowledge about counseling children really letting his incompetence shine.
  • Despite earlier antagonism, Yap is capable of being friendly with the Belchers and has even helped them at times without needing an ulterior motive; Frond is nothing but unpleasant towards the Belchers and if he's helping them out, it's purely to benefit himself.
  • When the kids need a favor from Yap, they aren't afraid to be upfront with him and in return he does what he can to come up some decent solutions that while not always helpful he clearly means well and is genuine in his efforts; The kids never ask Frond for help because they know how useless he is (Frond even once callously brushed off the one time they needed his help), but Louise does have to resort to manipulating him to use his stupidity to benefit her schemes, just to show how completely unreliable Frond is.
  • Yap's relationship with the Belchers isn't the best, but he has stated that he cares about the kids and can even relate to them, whether it's gently dissuading Tina from getting too close to him and understanding why Gene stole his magazine by telling him he understands his desire to prove himself; Frond acts like he cares about his students but in reality doesn't give a damn about their well-being, especially not the Belcher kids (whom all despise him), and he is completely incapable of relating to them despite multiple efforts by the Belchers to help him out.
  • Like Frond, Yap had a romantic relationship with Gayle, but in Yap's case it was just a one-off fling where both parties split up on decent terms (given how cordial they act in "The Kids Run Away"); Frond, on the other hand, had a long-term relationship with Gayle that he ruined via infidelity, and the two haven't interacted since with all signs pointing to a more hostile breakup.
• Nat can be seen as one to Gretchen in some ways, as they are two of the most prominent Belcher family female friends who are both eccentric grown women, however their eccentricity is starkly different.
  • Gretchen stalks and harasses her ex-lovers and even assaults their wives; Nat drives out of town to meet up with her ex-lover at her snake farm so she could talk to her like a normal person.
  • Nat is competent at her job as a limo-driver, while Gretchen's hair-cutting skills are implied to be decent at best and subpar at worst.
  • Nat is well-liked by the Belchers (especially Louise) with even the normally-introverted Bob growing fond of her; Linda is really the only Belcher who likes Gretchen and Bob finds her off-putting and terrifying.
• Edith Cranwinkle to Lillian Bosco. They're both cranky and unfriendly old women, but that's about all they have in common and even clash because of their differences.
  • Edith proves to be surprisingly open-minded, or at least enough to include the history of the freak show that she grew up with; Lillian tried to prevent Edith from including this piece of history because she thought of it as inappropriate.
  • Edith is a married woman to Harold and they don't have any children to speak of; Lillian has no husband that we know of but she has two sons that include Sergeant Bosco and another son named Gary.
  • Edith still works at her arts and crafts shop Reflections; Lillian is in a retirement home.
  • Edith is unpleasant to everyone, but she mainly reserves most of her vitriol and temper towards Bob; Lillian is also unpleasant to everyone, but she unfortunately takes out it on her own son Sergeant Bosco.
• Gayle can be seen as one to Felix, both of them being the younger, more pathetic and overlooked siblings who have an older, more successful (or at least fulfilled in Linda's case) sibling who often baby them because of their respective childishness, but even they have some differences that separate them from each other.
  • Gayle comes from a working-class family; Felix's family is the wealthiest in the town.
  • Gayle can barely afford rent for her studio apartment and many episodes indicate that Linda is paying for her rent; Felix lives in a treehouse just outside of Calvin's mansion but pretty much lives there rent-free.
  • Gayle's love life is severely lacking, but she has had several partners throughout the series; Felix has only had one partner that we have known and seen, and that was Fanny.
  • Linda has made it a point to the whole family to avoid giving Gayle any criticism on anything (be it her art, her quirks) whatsoever because she's too fragile to handle it; Calvin has no qualms about telling Felix that he's bad at things and isn't above rightfully pointing out his flaws.
    • While neither of them take criticism well, we have yet to see Gayle react to being given honest criticism but it's heavily implied that she would suffer a total meltdown that will be hard for her to even recover from; Felix however merely throws extreme temper tantrums akin to a child when met with criticism by either Calvin, Bob and just about anyone.
  • Both are extremely jealous of their older siblings, but while Gayle is jealous because Linda is married, has children and overall has a successfully social and fulfilling life, Felix is jealous because of Calvin's famed, albeit infamous reputation and of all the respect he gets from everybody.