The episode is divided into three segments corresponding to each Belcher child's report: Louise's (Kristen Schaal), a Terminator-inspired science fiction story; Gene's (Eugene Mirman), a musical act parodying Rock 'n' Roll High School; and Tina's (Dan Mintz), a piece of zombie "friend fiction" which pays homage to Night of the Living Dead.

"The Frond Files" received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its humor and pop culture references, and was later cited by Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard as one of his favorite episodes of the series.

He reveals that the robot was built in retaliation for a prank which Louise will pull off on the day of her eighth-grade graduation ceremony: placing a brownie on Frond's chair, which he sat on thus making him appear to have soiled his pants, which drove him to quit his job from the embarrassment.

While pleased with this revelation, Louise chastises Darryl for not bringing back any useful equipment to stop the robot and providing nothing more than a "bucket load of exposition and a stupid mustache."

The scene cuts to the Belcher siblings sitting at a picnic table in a beach in Mexico (or Belize, as Gene claims), where they have been forced into hiding, as Louise finishes writing her journal.

Tina, Gene, Louise, Darryl, Jimmy, Jr. (Benjamin), and Zeke (Bobby Tisdale) escape and try to take refuge in the teacher's lounge—the only room in the school with a lock—only to find that Mr. Frond has locked himself in and is unwilling to let them in, as he needs to survive to rally the survivors.

Bob and Linda try to console him and give advice about relating to children, and a rejuvenated Frond decides to deliver a speech to the superintendent, though still refusing to display the reports.

[1] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard cited "The Frond Files" as one of his favorite episodes of the series and stated: "Again, the fantasy life of the kids—being inside their heads for so long is really fun for us.

"[2] Bouchard revealed that producing Gene's musical number in the episode's second segment "was such a fun indulgence" for the Bob's Burgers crew.

[12] It marked the series' return after a two-month hiatus, along with its debut at new earlier 7:00 time slot to make way for airings of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

[9][13] The episode was watched by 2.21 million viewers and received a 0.9/3 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic, becoming the fourth most-watched program of the Animation Domination block for the night.

Club gave "The Frond Files" a grade of B+, writing that the episode was "incredibly funny and reminded [her] of why the Belchers are [her] favorite family currently on television.