A Deconstruction of "A Real Boy" and Doof's parenting skills
Ok so A Real Boy is one of the most underrated episodes of the series. It is also one of the most important episodes to showcase Doofenshmirtz's character, and here's why:
So you all probably know about the whole thing about Doof's abusive childhood making him be overprotective and really sweet to Vanessa to make sure he never ends up like his parents. This starts at around "Finding Mary MacGuffin" where she starts to appreciate him more, and only continues for the rest of the series. While it is true that he tries to not be like his parents, he unfortunately, like everything else, fails.
In "A Real Boy", it's revealed that Norm wants a father, and as he is a robot, the closest thing he has to a father is his creator--Doof. Doof continually brushes him off throughout the episode, eventually escalating to the point where he tells him that Perry the Platypus is more his family than Norm is. (Which is probably true, seeing as A Real Boy took place in Season 3 and that's when the Perryshmirtz really started to get good, but unfortunately this post isn't about perryshmirtz).
The thing is, even though Norm is a robot, he has gained heaps more sentience from when he was just made to kill Perry. Because he is so sentient, as a robot he gains self awareness and wants a family, and in robot terms, his father is the one who created him. This means that Doof has 2 children: one he neglects and abuses, the other he loves and overprotects.
And which other characters do this?
Heinz Doofenshmirtz, in this respect, whether he likes it or not, is exactly like his parents. The only exception to this is that his 2 children, Vanessa and Norm, remain close despite--nay, because of this.
(Season 3 Episode 9b: A Real Boy)
And because of this, A Real Boy is a strong candidate for best episode of the entire series. Is it the funniest episode? No. Is it the most heartwarming? No. Does it have the best rapping? Probably. But it is certainly one of the best written, both for Norm and Doof's characters. And everybody ignores it.














