History Recap / BobsBurgersS1E3SacredCow

* AnAesop: Eating and selling meat isn't bad, but the mistreatment of animals ''is''.

* EnemyMine: Randy and Bob, who've spent the entire episode bickering, team up to save Moolissa from a couple who kidnapped it for their nightmarish petting zoo.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Bob and Linda's motivations are completely reversed from their usual characterizations, with Bob being the one who impulsively brings Moolissa the cow into their house with no plan to get him back out and Linda playing the OnlySaneMan who wants him gone. If this episode came out later in the series' run, it's likely Linda would have brought the cow in over Bob's objections instead.

* KilledOffForReal: Moolissa is one of the only established characters (if not the only established character ''period'') to die over the course of the entire ''series'' (not counting characters who died offscreen before being introduced), and the only character to ever die onscreen.

* LetsMeetTheMeat: Randy attempts to do this to guilt-trip Bob.

* PartingWordsRegret: Tina has them after Moolissa gets kidnapped.

* KilledOffForReal: Moolissa is one of the only established characters (if not the only established character ''period'') to die over the course of the entire ''series'' (not counting characters who died offscreen before being introduced).

* ToiletHumor: Moolisa poops and pisses everywhere throughout the episode. Tina even believes he's communicating with her through his poop.
* ViewerGenderConfusion: In-universe, Randy didn't know Moolissa is a male steer, not a cow.

** Bob himself has a vivid dream about making out with Moolisa after the cow's death. Unlike Randy, though, this doesn't actually end up happening in reality.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Bob and Linda's motivations are completely reversed from their usual characterizations, with Bob being the one who impulsively brings Moolisa the cow into their house with no plan to get him back out and Linda playing the OnlySaneMan who wants him gone. If this episode came out later in the series' run, it's likely Linda would have brought the cow in over Bob's objections instead.

** Teddy's appearance in the episode hints that he's never been in a movie before. [[Recap/BobsBurgersS3E6TheDeepening Later in the series]], it's revealed that he had a minor role in a semi-popular B-movie that was filmed in town.
** Even for Bob's usual lack of business, the fact that he's only ''now'' making his 100,000th burger (as opposed to, say, his 500,000th or even his millionth) implies that the restaurant first opened fairly recently (not counting the grand re-re-reopening in the pilot). Later episodes indicate that the restaurant predates all three kids, and has been around since Bob and Linda were in the early stages of their relationship (roughly 15 years).
* EnemyMine: Randy and Bob team up to save Moolissa from a couple who kidnapped it for their nightmarish petting zoo.

** Even for Bob's usual lack of business, the fact that he's only ''now'' making his 100,000th burger (as opposed to, say, his 500,000th or even his millionth) implies that the restaurant first opened fairly recently (not counting the grand re-re-reopening in the pilot). Later episodes indicate that the restaurant predates all three kids, and has been around since Bob and Linda first met.

* GenderBlenderName: Moolissa happens to be male.

!!Tropes:

* AmbiguouslyBi: Bob has a dream of making out with Moolisa, who is earlier revealed to be a steer.

** Bob himself has a vivid dream about making out with Moolisa after the cow's death.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Teddy's appearance in the episode hints that he's never been in a movie before. Later in the series, it's revealed that he had a minor role in a semi-popular B-movie that was filmed in town.
* EnemyMine: Randy and Bob team up to save Moolisa from a couple who kidnapped it for their nightmarish petting zoo.

* EvilOldFolks: The couple who steal Moolisa run a nightmarish petting zoo with nursery rhyme-themed exhibits. It's cheap, poorly constructed, and the poor animals are stuck in humiliating and cruel displays like two mice tied up inside a grandfather clock.

** Randy accuses Bob of being this when he saves Moolisa from freezing to death in the rain by bringing him into the apartment.
** However much of a hypocrite Bob may or may not be, Randy's even worse. He accuses Bob of mistreating animals because he's okay with eating and selling meat, but he doesn't treat Moolisa nicely and left him stuck in the rain to begin with.
** The old couple are appalled with humans using animals for food, but they run an atrocious petting zoo that mistreats animals and they kidnap Moolisa to be a part of it.

* LastRequest: In Bob's dream of the recently-dead Moolisa, he asks Bob to make burgers out of him so his death wouldn't be in vain.

* NoDeadBodyPoops: After Moolisa dies, it leaves one last poop in the shape of a heart.

* StrawVegetarian: Randy condemns Bob for selling hamburgers.
* TakeAThirdOption: Bob eventually settles on a common ground between both his and Randy's viewpoints--cows can be both beautiful creatures ''and'' food. Randy himself is ''not'' pleased to be filming Bob summarizing this point.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: In-universe, Randy didn't know Moolisa is a male steer, not a cow.

* AnAesop: Eating meat isn't bad, but the mistreatment of animals ''is''.

Bob faces a strange documentarist called Randy who is making a documentary about how he is a cow murderer as a chef.

Tina believes the cow is communicating with her through its poop.

* EvilOldFolks: The couple who steal Moolisa run a nightmarish petting zoo with nursery rhyme-themed exhibits. It's cheap, poorly constructed, and the poor animals are stuck in humiliating and cruel displays like two mice tied up inside a grandfather clock.
* {{Hypocrite}}:

** Randy isn't much better. He accuses Bob of mistreating animals because he's okay with eating meat, but he doesn't treat Moolisa nicely and left him stuck in the rain to begin with.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: InUniverse. The documentary about Bob being a cow murderer actually helps out the restaurant's popularity; Linda even points out that it's the best free advertising the restaurant ever got.

** Randy believes himself to be far more well known than what he actually is.

* BestialityIsDepraved: Randy attempted to milk Moolissa. Keep in mind that Moolissa is male, and it becomes disgustingly clear what Randy ''actually'' did to the cow.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Bob and Linda's motivations are completely reversed from their usual characterizations, with Bob being the one who impulsively brings Moolisa the cow into their house with no plan to get it back out and Linda playing the OnlySaneMan who wants it gone. If this episode came out later in the series' run, it's likely Linda would have brought the cow in over Bob's objections instead.

** Randy isn't much better. He accuses Bob of mistreating animals because he's okay with eating meat, but he doesn't treat Moolisa nicely.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: In-universe, Randy didn't know Moolisa is a male steer, not a cow.
----

!!Tropes

Tina believes the cow is communicating with her through it's poop.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Bob has a dream of making out with Moolisa, who was pretty much a male in his dream.

->''"Meet your meat, Moolissa!"''

* SmallNameBigEgo: Randy believes himself to be far more well known than what he actually is.
** Similarly, Teddy briefly believed that the documentary would be about him and make him famous.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: In-universe, Randy didn't know Moolisa is a male steer, not a cow.

** The old couple are appalled with humans using animals for food, but they kidnap Moolisa to display her in their atrocious and poorly-run petting zoo.

* EnemyMine: Randy and Bob team up to save Moolisa from a couple who kidnapped it.

** Randy accuses Bob of being this when he saves Moolisa from freezing to death in the rain.
** Randy isn't much better. He accuses Bob of mistreating animals due to being fine with eating meat, but he doesn't treat Moolisa nicely either.
* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: InUniverse. The documentary about Bob being a cow murderer actually helps out the restaurant's popularity, Linda even invokes this trope.

** Randy accuses Bob of being this when he saves Moolisa.
** Randy isn't much better. He accuses Bob of mistreat of animals, but he doesn't treat Moolisa nicely either.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: The documentary about Bob being a cow murderer actually helps out the restaurant's popularity, Linda even invokes this trope.