The Loud House Nickelodeon
Episode 20a: Riddle School
And now the end is here and now we face the final curtain, more on that later. Spaghetti day at school, which Lincoln seems very excited about. (My bro, that's not Pizza day, what are you doing?) But there's a long line. Also there's a class called EAT, which exists. They end up getting Spaghetti so I guess episode is over. Wait, it's spicy? Weak. Spicy is fun. Oh good an overreaction to spicy food, tisk tisk.
The group gets message from someone who apparently made the food spicy and now apparently wants to get caught? Bold. The mysterious person called "The Swindler" (dun dun dun). Up next, flash flood. Another clue from The Swindler (dun dun dun) and his next prank is called "The Big One" (dun dun dun) The show has mentioned the Dewey Decimal System. (DW: Who's Dewey?) Then the gym for another clue. The Swindler (dun dun dun) has too much time on his hands.
SCIENCE is the word , the word is the bird, and apparently The Swindler (dun dun dun) lied and locked them in the science room. (He's rude) The Swindler (dun dun dun) had too much time on his hands to make all this happen. (He's a show man)
The episode is secretly teaching us things, I'm on to you episode, giving me factual things. They've figured out how to escape and have to find the Swindler (dun dun dun) and then we find out that the Swindler (dun dun dun) was Mr. Bolhofner. Espionage and Traps was the E.A.T class, that was something.
A fun episode, really fun. Every character in the group had a role and added something to the episode. That's a good showcase for the characters and how they work together and what skills they brings to something. I liked the creativeness of this episode and looking back there's some fun hints as to how it could be Bolhofner, You can see he refuses the spaghetti at first, he's a knowledgeable man, one of the clues was in his fish's tank. The mystery was fun and using clues that fit in the setting and using actual things we have was a nice touch. I liked that it was 652 in the Dewey Decimal code meaning it was Processes of written communication which fit well. Episode rewards rewatching too, nicely. I give it 9/10.
More after the jump
Episode 20b: Love me Tenor
The friends are walking back home to homes? Liam realizes that he left his retainer at Gus' Games N' Grub. Today I've learned something new about Liam. They hear a man singing well and are surprised -after beating him up- that he's a good opera singer. He's always wanted to sing opera, but apparently life had a different direction. He's so shy And he's much too good to let get by and he can't sing in front of a crowd. We have a plot! Lincoln and the others are going to help him.
They go and help him and try to find ways to help him get out of his singing shyness. They try part two with Stella and Lincoln helping him get a start and now he starts to sing and ends up an opera show. Well that was quick, guess the episode is over.
Wait apparently, Gus has the same budget as the pizza shop in "The Weekenders" as he's turned Games N' Grub into an opera house. They boys and Stella are sad that he's changed the place. Lincoln said gives it a chance. Episode makes joke that operas can be long. They didn't seem to like opera. There's a plot to make things a mess, but let's see... hold on... wait a second. eww... not that..umm. oh here we go, Gus um do you have something to say that will make them feel bad about the plan? You do? Well let's go. He dedicates a song to them to thank them for helping him and calling them friends. Abort plans.
Uh oh, the remote was taken and it also seemed to have broken, what are they going to do now? (laugh track) They are going to block the mess themselves with their own bodies. Also Gus sings his thankyou song using the music of Funiculì, Funiculà.
Gus saw the mess and the whole thing ends up with them telling him why they did what they did. He understands and gets an idea to convert it back with an Opera show too, with the crew going on to help with some spaghetti themed show. Funny how both segments had spaghetti. We also get closure on the retainer!
This episode was good. Wasn't expecting a Gus development moments episode because that was different. Did give us a change of pace for a friends episode to be outside of both solving a mystery [I know what I said in the last episode] and being in school. I think it was alright episode with most of th beats working out where they go. It's not a high stand out episode, but at least tells and interesting story. There are some funny moments and a nice touch of class. I give it 7/10. Let's go!
Season Thoughts
That's another season wrapped up. Yes, it's shorter than the past seasons. The way it aired (in the US) was also interesting because it kind of spread out thin and that seems to be the way things are going there.
Season 7 was interesting. Let's start with the Road Trip arc. There was an ambitious idea to do a few episodes, including a half hour special with a continuous story or theme to bring them together. The family goes on a summer road trip. This was the first time the show had done something like this since season 4 and "The Casagrandes" arc, the difference being that was more like pitches for a spinoff that was happening and aired them versus this being a theme of an idea with some different plots. I say it's mostly good, but it does have some weak spots.
Starting with the special that kicks it off, it does set up the start of the journey pretty well, and has classic Lincoln wants to do something plans. Then the twist ends up being that Lincoln finds out that the place he wanted to go has closed down. The Bizarritorium -the namesake of the episode- is gone and Lincoln takes an object and then the episode decides curse time! It's not a bad episode, but a curse might be bother to some. The Louds then visit the White House, that episode was fine, you get classic family silliness and chaos but in The White House. A fun aspect of this whole arc was putting the Louds in different locations outside of their home and their town of Royal Woods. I like they did pick locations that were scattered about the nation. Sadly, no episodes in the south or Midwest. That is one reason why I feel the last episode of the arc "Hide N Sneak" weak because it took the Louds to a location where they've been before instead of using the slot to explore one more location. (Like Miami)
In terms of the plots of the arc, the episodes that use their locations the best were the ones in Colorado [not biased] and the White House. Overall, the arc was fun it had a couple weak episodes ["From Brad to Worse" and "Hide N Sneak"] but it did have some fun episodes too and moments with the family together and got some fun interactions with various characters and see how their version of the United States feels.
The start of the season seemed to start basic ideas. Lisa gets the starting episode, which as fan of her was nice, but her episode isn't as strong a start where she brings back a cave woman and it just gets weird, oddly not heavily memorable. The kind of feels like some of the episodes in general, they exist but don't have something to hook them in as memorable. The next episode where Lori gets into a prank war, and yeah.
The episodes post the Road Trip had a mixture. One thing that also seems noticeable is that this season has added more of Lincoln talking to audience again, a hallmark from season 1 that eventually got pushed out over the seasons, is more brought back in season 7. A few other season 1 flavors show up too. "Fluff and Foiled" has Lincoln working to do the family laundry but he really wanted to do something else and works to get out of that, but they do add in season 5 mode where Lincoln doesn't get in trouble, gets a win, and learns what he had to do in the first place. It's interesting to see that style come in. I do like the season 5 plus hallmarks of Lincoln getting wins.
"A Dish Come True" also seems to take some of the concepts of season 1 where it's Lincoln vs. sisters but it does a good job of a) cutting down how many sisters would be against and then breaking up the sisters to also be against each other. It's not the strongest episode, but it at least tried something a little different with the show's old ideas.
Action News Team aka. Lincoln and Friends episodes weren't as plentiful this season. For some, they might be happy about that. I like these episodes and concepts, but I do think they should play around with them for more variety. So not just focused on news team and also having maybe just a few of them at times instead of the whole group. It is a shame that a L+F episode had the worst episode of the season: "Too Cool for School". It least it wasn't forgettable. The components of that episode just didn't work. I think the friends group also gave one of the best episodes too "Riddle School" an episode where everything comes together well.
Going off those members, it has been good and nice they've decided to explore them more in individual cases. This I mean beyond Clyde, Clyde was the first to get that treatment. Liam has become the more explored case. In the previous seasons he was explored in a plot with Lynn, but here he actually gets episodes that start him from his POV. The way he's written is interesting where they try to keep him in a character personality spot but have forces try to corrupt that and see how he tries to fight against that or do it his own way. "Hunn-cutt Gems" has Liam finding fame and liking it but they avoid having him become a jerk or going off the rails to fit that. It's a nice touch. They do have the friends in the episode as either the whole group in 'Gems' where Rusty plays the role of jealous guy, and Lincoln and Clyde connecting in that start for "There Will be Mud" but Liam does get a nice shine in these.
Zach also got a lead role, again, while I'll still enjoy "Zach Attack" (season 5) more, I think "Tough Guise" was good and having him befriend a group who were bullies in a season 5 episode was a nice touch. Rusty also getting some exploration is interesting too. I like that they do that, I think there's worth in that invest in why people should care about those characters.
Lucy's friends which do have a diving line of fan ship on them to tend to gloam together as one goth feature. They try something different where Dante was front and center. The episode wasn't that strong in my view, but at least they tried something. Having Morpheus vs. Rusty was pretty fun.
I do think there was a nice break from Lucy being glommed with her friends in her birthday episode. The show did another one. Here were you do see something a little different about Lucy getting an emotional core of really finding out she appreciates her family's caring about her birthday when she makes it disappear. It's also an interesting use of supernatural that the show has decided to add, even a little more so this season, but it worked for the story's main core.
The season I'd say was mostly good, there weren't many episodes I felt were outright bad, minus Party Fowl, where I will probably never feel positive about Sergio's character and "Too Cool for School". There are episodes that felt alright, but kind of just were there and parts of that is fine for a show that delves in to slice of life , but didn't feel that memorable.
I am mixed on the Christmas episode of the season. It's not about them having more than one, in that sense it was fine to have one to mark the new timeline, but having many is too much of a good thing. It should have been a Thanksgiving or something. I think the flaws of the episode are the reason why Lynn and Lance have a fight, and the introduction of another Loud family almost felt not naturally added in but trying to squeeze in something. The line of Lincoln saying every year they try to get their dad to talk to his uncle hasn't been before so why here now? I feel like they could have had a better reason of the disconnect and even use the idea of being awkward around each other because maybe they hadn't seen each other because of Lance's travels or something.
My top episodes, not in order. "One in a Million" That one was just plain fun and memorable. I like that it had Lincoln and Clyde VS. Chandler in a fun away. I will mention I think Chandler was right that Flip really did rip them off, but it was also nice Flip rewarded Lincoln and Clyde for their hard work getting him costumers. It was fun, slapstick is fine to have it is a cartoon, it's fine.
Earlier in the season, I give my hat to "Leave No Van Behind". This episode explores the van and 3 generations of Louds, the guy who it first - Grandpa Leonard, the guy who currently owns it- Lynn Sr. and hopefully the future owner- Lana. The episode has three them work together to save something they love and episode gives something of van lore. It's the best van episode of the show (read other van episode is 2nd worst episode of the series) It's fun to see these three together and believe in something everyone else gave up on.
"Riddle School" might be my top of the season as it was a really a fun episode, invests in the clues and hints and make them all really work, using real life Dewey decimal system makes the clues even better. The friends are well done components. Great work.
Leaving my tops. Luan got a fun episode with her solving a mystery. I'm actually interested in what they do with Luan when they are using her for jokes or pranks. She had an episode in the Road Trip arc where she had to wonder if she should give up Mr. Coconuts because the original owner had lost him and wanted him back. They've had interesting ideas for her character and better for it. She got a strange episode where she runs a prank school and had Ronnie Anne there, it was fine, but do like her investment beyond pranks and jokes.
I give the edge to "Sponsor Tripped" for Lynn's two episodes, "Can't Lynn 'em All" was fun, but I enjoy the idea her and friends trying sponsorships and seeing maybe it's not good for them. At least in their town.
I do appreciate that Lincoln gets more wins now, but I do hope they don't forget to make things fun and give him challenges and places to stumble. "Beg, Borrow, and Steele" was a good chance of that showing him getting into a big deep hole, but still ending with a win. That's fine.
"Out of Step" was a fun Clyde episode where it was him up against Chandler, the twist was fun.
Overall I give the season 6.6/10.
That's it for now, tune in next time when we see Gus go bankrupt from all the work he did on his place twice!
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