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I hope I'm not part of the problem because I like to consider myself somewhere in between. I see your point and I agree but that's not going to stop me from being annoyed seeing Jimmy Junior treat Tina not that great. Heck, in "Burger War", an episode after he kissed Tina on her birthday he didn't even remember her name. They have been restaurant neighbors for how many years before the kiss and he doesn't have her name in his memory?! Credit where credit is due, he has shown there is hope for him. In "Bad Tina" he wasn't completely turned off by the idea of being the main love interest in Tina's "Buttloose" story which is nice because she really needed a win after the embarrassment she subjected herself to. In "Every Which Way but Goose" he helped save Bruce the Goose when the bird was stuck by a friendship bracelet caught in a nail when he didn't have to and while he had a sore butt. I know I wouldn't go anywhere near a goose, those are vicious, f u birds.
He went out of his way to give Tina a rose when he had no idea how to purchase a carnation from Tina during the "Gene and Courtney Show" episode.
He sold his bike in "Gene it On" just so he could take Tina on a date "she" (Louise) wanted to go on.
I'm not counting the Sky Kiss from "Bob Actually" because it's hard to tell if it was selfless or not. It seems he wanted to do it more for the cool factor (especially since he implied he wanted Tina to wear a different outfit earlier in the episode in a passive way. Not the best look for him but it's not "spawn of satan" worthy obviously, just kind of mild jerky. To be fair, Tina is always wearing a skirt so maybe he wanted her in pants for the sky kiss for her sake but we'll never know what he meant by that.) In the Bob's Burgers movie he (allegedly! Like with death in fiction, if they didn't show it, it didn't happen./hj XD) found Tina's barretecklace not knowing what it was but knew it looked like something she usually wore and decided to give it to her. That was enough for Tina to see romance wasn't dead and she was okay with the romance real Jimmy Jr. could do even if it may not be like fantasy Jimmy Jr. That's all the selfless acts that I remember him doing for Tina and only for her that didn't benefit him in anyway (aside from more kisses from Tina). Feel free to add any other selfless acts Jimmy Jr has done in the past that didn't benefit him in some way (aside from Tina's affection) What his major issues that I feel people have a problem with stems from 4 factors. 1. He's self absorbed 2. He can't take constructive criticism at all. 3. He's quick to bail on Tina when things get too weird, intense, or hard. 4. He is hot and cold with Tina a lot.
However, even with these flaws, he's hardly the spawn of satan because of them. In fact, in the words of Miss Labonz, I only really wanted to "punch that kid" for what he did in two episodes. 1. "Presto Tina-o" 2. "V for Valentine-detta"
The rest of the time I feel he's not that bad or was justified because Tina has her problems too. She can also be selfish, have misplaced confidence issues, can be creepy, near predatory, and not know when to tone it down with her intense emotions. However, I hate the first episode so much for how both JJ and Zeke treated Tina (though JJ is worse). Jimmy Junior wasn't taking his magic act seriously at all and it was clear he only wanted to do a magic-themed dance routine over an actual magic act. That's not bad in it of itself, but at least be upfront about just wanting to do a magician-themed dance and not an actual magic act. Tina tried to steer him to actually perform tricks in his magic show but Jimmy Junior could not even take the slightest bit of advice from her because he couldn't stand the thought of someone who had only been doing magic for a day trying to help/possibly know more than him when he was 8 days ahead. Then later he and Zeke laugh at her for being mad, low-key bullying her for showing angry emotions (at least that's how it felt for me anyway but I might be biased).
His inability to not take criticism persists even in season 13, but this was his worst showcase of it. Though, even with that, I understand why this is the case. He already feels at home that he's constantly criticized for who he is by his dad. So he refuses to listen to any criticism from his friends because it feels like a personal attack on him, even if it's with the best intentions. His friends are his safe space, so if even his friends have issues with him, no matter how minor, where else can he feel safe? The second episode, good gosh what was Jimmy Junior thinking with this one?! That's something more his dad would pull, not him! I know he's a dumb teenage boy but what he did in that episode was downright malicious (no wonder Linda later changed her mind about Jimmy Jr. from her opinion of him in season 1 and told Tina she wasn't sure about him in "One of the Boyz 4 Now" XD). Not only did he play with Tina, but he dragged Becky down with Tina as well. Good thing Tina helped a girl out in the end after JJ abruptly dumped her. Becky should be part of Tina's new friend group with Susmita and Dillon lol) Though to defend JJ, I feel the way he treated Tina was what he learned subconsciously from his dad. Even though he tells his dad he's his own person, he still falls into similar pitfalls because that's all he's been taught at home. So I feel once he realizes how much he's taking after his dad when he's older he's going to be disgusted with himself and try to be better. So in short, he's been a stinker a few times but there's still hope for him and I'm sure he'll turn out fine if we ever get a real flash-forward episode. While I can't speak for every Zekina shipper, I think part of the overabundance of hatred JJ gets stems from insecurity. While it's been confirmed on Anidom's Twitter poll Zekina is the more popular ship (at least on Twitter), there's still uncertainty to it all. Being the more popular ship doesn't do a darn thing to make it end game (just ask the Zutara shippers from the ATLA fandom). For example, LisaxNelson is the more popular ship in the Simpsons fandom but more often than not Milhouse is the one Lisa ends up with in flash-forward episodes. So even if Zekina is more popular we still very well could not be end game because the cast thinks JJxTina is funnier or is more in line with what Tina wants anyway. Why should Zeke get what he wants and not Tina after all? Why should Tina have to be the one to settle after all the work she's put in to make her fantasy a reality? So because of this possibility, some Zekina shippers might overcompensate by constantly pointing out every negative thing JJ has done and putting him down to make them feel better about their stance. Though, tearing down one ship just to build your own is never a good idea. It just shows your insecurity in your tastes when you bash a rival ship or a character in a rival ship. You don't need a ship to be canon to justify its existence. It's okay to like what you like whether it's endgame or not. If Zekina happens, great but don't pull a Ron the Death Eater on JJ to justify your ship. Jimmy Jr.'s worst crime is that he's a dumb teenage boy with a bad home life. He's not going to be the most well-adjusted, but at least he's not Tammy. He's just self-absorbed, criticism adverse, and an idiot kid that eats pistachios whole. He has a good heart deep down even if he has a lot to work on with himself like all teens do. He won't' be high in my top favorite Bob's Burgers characters but you can bet that he won't be the last either. Don't make JJ the bad guy and lose Zeke and Tina forever because he is clearly hopeless without them. XD
I love Zeke x Tina, but there's so much Jimmy Jr hate in the community. Like... guys, I get it, he can be a bit sour sometimes... but do you know why that is? He's a TEENAGE BOY, not only that, but his parents are divorced, his dad is very neglectful and puts him down, he looks down on his passion for dance and honesty just gives: "I am a toxic straight dad and when I see the slightest bit of creativity, it means pansy and you will be punished"; he's also said that he feels left out and lonely due to his little brothers being twins and being best friends. He's just a kid, a kid who likes to dance, leave him alone. In my head, in a world were Tina and Zeke end up together, Jimmy Jr would still be there, as the bff. The three of them can't be separated, are you kidding me????