He’s a health inspector… with some serious beef

Hugo the health inspector might be the ultimate antagonist for any restaurant owner, but for Bob at Bob’s Burgers, he is lucifer himself.

One of my goals for this blog is to post stuff that helps other writers develop their craft in a way that doesn’t make them want to claw their own eyes out. And what better way than to study some of my favourite fictional characters?

Hugo Habecore is one of these characters. He is an antagonist from the animated series, Bob’s Burgers, and possibly one of the most subtly effective side characters I’ve seen in a TV show in a long time. I’m not sure what that says about the quality of the shows I watch, but there we go.

What is Bob’s Burgers?

“Laughter is sunshine, it chases winter from the human face.”

Bob’s Burgers is an animated TV series created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting company and premiered in January 2011. Apparently the first episode, “Human flesh” drew nearly 10 million viewers when it aired. Those are some nice looking numbers.

The show follows the Belcher family and its patriarch, Bob, as they navigate owning a small burger restaurant. It’s a family sit-com that focuses heavily on its characters and their hijinks. The show isn’t aimed at or marketed towards children, but it is more family friendly than some of its predecessors like Family Guy, and has been described as the spiritual successor to King of the Hill. And as shows go, I think it’s pretty damn good.

Who is Hugo?

“It’s a pity the law doesn’t allow me to be merciful, Bob!”

Hugo is a health inspector, first appearing in episode one. He quickly becomes a fan-favourite recurring antagonist, appearing when least expected or wanted, usually when Bob is in the middle of a crisis with the restaurant, or when he decides to take part in one of Teddy’s schemes (such as when Teddy convinces Bob to sell home-brewed beer). Hugo is an angry, bitter, rules jockey with little shame (and fewer scruples) when it comes to Bob Belcher.

If you ever wanted a comparison of the dynamic between Hugo and Bob, consider the characters Javert and Valjean from acclaimed book (and musical) Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Hugo is Javert, the epitome of lawful evil, driven to petty acts of malice under the guise of public health.

“And I’m Javert! Do not forget my name. Do not forget me, Bob!”

Character Backstory:
Hugo was jilted by his former fiancé, Linda, who left him for Bob. Bob and Linda are now happily married with three children, something that fuels Hugo’s rage and obsession with the burger man.

Motivations:
Hugo has 2 motivations: Destroy Bob, and protect consumers from poor food hygiene.

Hugo sees Bob as a rival for Linda’s affections, the antithesis of food hygiene, and prey. He often toys with Bob, using his status as health inspector to torment him, even (temporarily) shutting the restaurant down whenever he gets the chance.

Hugo prides himself on being the best at whatever it is he’s doing, from his status as a health inspector to nude beach Grecian wrestling. So when he’s into something, he commits. This often leads to internal conflict between his need to do things by the book, and his desire to destroy Bob.

“And so it must be, for so it is written on the doorway to Paradise, that those who falter and those who fall must pay the price, Bob!”

Who is an antagonist without his wingman?

Hugo is tempered by his assistant, Ron, a tall, blonde moustachioed bombshell with a mild mannered voice and even milder disposition. For as perpetually angry as Hugo is, Ron is calm – the Yin to Hugo’s Yang, if you will. Ron has many notable moments of his own in the show, but primarily his character exists to keep Hugo from the brink of true villainy, pulling him back every time he risks slipping from lawful pettiness into evil. Ron also adds a level of humanity to Hugo in the eyes of others, reminding them and the audience that whilst Hugo is antagonistic, he is still human.

“There are men who dig for gold; he dug for compassion. Poverty was his goldmine; and the universality of suffering a reason for the universality of charity.”

Notable character moments:

1. In the Lobster fest episode, after Bob freaks out and falls into the butter pot, thus contaminating it, Hugo (after some convincing by Ron, admittedly) comes to the rescue, deeming the butter safe to eat and saving the festival.
2. In the episode “Speakeasy rider”, Hugo’s instincts are on the money as he tries to catch Bob selling home-brewed beer in the restaurant. The only reason Hugo doesn’t win here is because his supervisor won’t let him continue his harassment of Bob. Bob gets away with it (at some cost, because in order to keep up the farce, he turns to baking bread and pretending to serve breakfast) and Hugo is forced to abandon his mission.
3. In episode “weekend at Mort’s”, Hugo torments Bob, closing the restaurant down after discovering black mould on one of the walls. At the end of the episode, Bob notices Jimmy Pesto has the same mould on his wall, and Hugo casually says that you can just put bleach on it. It’s equally hilarious as it is infuriating – and possibly relatable for anyone who’s ever had to work in the food industry.
4. In “are you there, Bob, it’s me, birthday”, Hugo distracts Bob for Linda as a favour so that she can plan a surprise birthday party for him. Hugo does so despite hating Bob, and even proves to Bob by the end of the episode that not only is he effective in his job as a health inspector, but that he is actually providing a necessary service to consumers.
5. In the episode “Nude Beach”, Hugo saves the restaurant from the corrupt behaviour of rogue health inspector Tommy, who threatened Bob with rat droppings after Bob asked him not to play his NSFW music in the restaurant. After defeating Bob in the ‘nudecathlon’, Hugo states that he wants to be the one to bring Bob down, the right way.

“There are people who observe the rules of honour as we do the stars, from a very long way off, Bob!”

Why is Hugo a great character?

Hugo is the antithesis of Bob, as a burger joint is to a health inspector. Simple, right? Bob runs a burger joint and Hugo is the health inspector. Case closed. You don’t need to keep reading.

But wait!

Much like the fresh or caramelised onion that accompanies any good burger, there are layers to this simple premise. Hugo might be Bob’s number one enemy, and downright infuriating at times, but he is a very entertaining and effective character, well written (and voiced) and perfectly encapsulates ‘little man syndrome’. Hugo is such an effective character because he could very easily be real. He’s not just a caricature of health inspectors and villains, he’s a fully realised person that you actually imagine existing in real life. We’ve all met someone like Hugo. We’ve all encountered a petty little rules lawyer who works in some form of administration or bureaucracy. Someone who stands in the way of your dreams, brandishing red tape and piles of paperwork.

Not convinced yet? Ok, fine.

Hugo doesn’t want to rule the world, murder anyone or ravage anyone’s daughters (unless you count his pining for Linda), or destroy the food industry in its entirety. He’s just a health inspector with a particularly strong (and only slightly justified) disliking for one man. And, however petty and questionable his behaviour throughout the show may seem, he does actually have some redeeming qualities. Hugo doesn’t want Bob to lose the restaurant, or cause Linda any suffering, even going out of his way to help her at times. Hugo stops another health inspector from shutting the restaurant down because it wasn’t done correctly or fairly. Hugo even allows minor violations to go unpunished at times in favour of Bob. Hugo absolutely wants to destroy and humiliate Bob, this is true, but it must be on his terms. This is what makes him such an effective antagonist. He’s not there just to be farcical or infuriating – I mean, he can be infuriating, but not so much that the audience stops enjoying his antics.

Final thoughts

The reason I chose Hugo as a character study is primarily because I was recently binge-watching the show. The other reason is because Hugo represents a very real antagonist in most of our lives. He represents not only a smaller authority with the power to make life difficult, but also what happens when that authority has the potential for corruption in the face of petty grievance. Hugo tows the line of villainy, never quite crossing over. But you know he wants to.

Hugo doesn’t want to ruin Bob for the sake of it, he wants to defeat him in the game of health inspection and restaurant ownership, to demonstrate his superiority and dominance like the tiny little lion he is.

We all have a Hugo in our lives. Maybe we have a Hugo in our hearts.

I know I do.