Animal Control Season 3 Episode 5 Review: Hot Dogs and Lobsters

Animal Control Season 3 Episode 5, Hot Dogs and Lobsters,” pours hot sauce in old wounds and new ones when the pack’s competitiveness causes chaos at trivia night. 

This episode, written by Jen Jackson and directed by Natalia Anderson, is a howling (literally) good time. The comedy uses fun and games to facilitate bathroom heart-to-hearts, deep cuts, and exciting career developments. 

“Hot Dogs and Lobsters” pulls that off by taking the lead from Animal Control Season 3 Episode 4, “Baby Kangaroos and Chickens.”

Like the last, this episode makes strides in world-building beyond the precinct.

Surprisingly, the only animal featured in the episode is a dog Frank thinks he saves from an overheated car. “Hot Dogs and Lobsters” spends more time on the team-building exercise of trivia night. 

The annual event’s history — Patel climbing under the table to call his dad for answers, Bettany doing skin checks because of Patel’s periodic table incident — actualizes this tradition.

Animal Control Season 2 Episode 2, “Cats and Monkeys,” demonstrates that, too, with the adoption competition. That episode also introduces Emily and Frank’s partnership, which comes back in full force on “Hot Dogs and Lobsters.”

Animal Control turns that general competitiveness up a notch.

Emily sets up trivia night as a team-building exercise, yet it quickly evolves into a team trust exercise. After three seasons, during which this show has only grown in confidence, the ensemble is more than ready for something like this.

Animal Control Season 3 Episode 2, “Rattlers and Gators,” stretches Victoria and Patel’s dynamic to a certain limit, so it’s only fair that it’s Frank and Shred’s turn.

“Hot Dogs and Lobsters” parallels their sibling dynamic with the introduction of Victoria’s sister, Melinda — played by Grace Palmer’s real-life sister, Eve. The Palmer sisters’ built-in chemistry makes their characters’ bickering feel lived-in. They make a fight over a scrunchie or Twilight silly yet impactful. 

Animal Control finds a real point of contention between the sisters.

Despite only establishing their dynamic on “Hot Dogs and Lobsters,” Victoria and Melinda’s tension never feels shoehorned into the episode. 

It has two seasons of stories — Victoria’s Animal Control Season 2 arc hinges on her passing her citizenship test — to back Victoria’s disappointment that Melinda can’t see how hard Victoria has worked to create a life in a new country.

Likewise, “Hot Dogs and Lobsters” makes Melinda’s perspective relatable — she misses her sister. All that is palpable in the honest photobooth scene.

Animal Control also gives Melinda broader significance when she synthesizes the episode: “The people who know you best really know how to get under your skin.” 

Not to mention, Melinda is one of the few people (Patel, Fiona) who knows that Victoria has feelings for Frank, which are becoming more evident with every episode. Did anyone else catch her staring at him when he dramatically ripped his shirt off?

Melinda isn’t the only one speaking the truth on “Hot Dogs and Lobsters.”

After episodes of saying no one listens to him, Animal Control answers Patel’s grievances with a (temporary) job as a bartender. Patel is in his element, listening to others how he wants to be heard.

It’s such a great and productive C-story — this show knows how to use its time.

For instance, trivia night’s excitement — down to the annoyingly accurate team names — brings out a less-than-favorable side of Shred. 

“Hot Dogs and Lobsters” brings all Olympic-level snowboarding competitiveness to the surface. The episode uses uncomfortable digs at Isabelle and harsh jabs at Frank to really test Shred’s core relationships for the first time.

While that creates a chance for Emily to rejoice in Shred’s (briefly) fractured relationship, it simultaneously allows Emily and Isabelle to have their first substantial conversation. One in which Isabelle sees straight through Emily, and Emily recognizes that Isabelle isn’t that bad of a person.

That progress will, hopefully, mean exciting things for the rest of the season.

Emily contending with her feelings for Shred while he’s with someone else will be more interesting if Emily and Isabelle see eye to eye even slightly.

After all, this episode showcases that investing in characters and their dynamics pays off with a comedic — and dramatic — effect. That’s how “Hot Dogs and Lobsters” sells the absurdity and seriousness — Shred using Frank’s childhood memory with “Hey Mickey!” against him encapsulates both — of the trivia game. 

Once again, Animal Control easily manages a laugh-out-loud humor with a heart of gold. It’s safe to say that this team-building exercise is a succes.

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Animal Control airs Thursdays at 9/8c on FOX.

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