Change of
Heart
While I feel this season has gotten over a good number of the
weak points from the previous season by toning down the mean
moments and downer endings, there’s one point that desperately needs to be
worked out. There’s a well-known running
gag in this show where Clyde crushes on Lori, and his love for
her is so big that he completely breaks down with robot impressions and
nosebleeds whenever he sees her. The
thing is that even though Lori is way too old for him, Clyde takes his
obsession on her way too seriously, actually thinking it can work, and as of
now, unlike other plots involving crushes on older women which show off how
unhealthy it is, Clyde just keeps at his obsession. That’s not even mentioning him developing
closer bonds with girls his age like Lucy’s friend Haiku or Penelope from
“Shell Shock” and nothing being done with them in the present. This is why it’s admirable that Clyde makes
an attempt to break his habits and act normal around Lori in this cartoon. At the same time, what he does brings out the
most appealing qualities of Leni’s character.
She may majorly lack intelligence, but this cartoon reveals that through
her kindhearted nature, she knows a lot about social skills. She has unique ways of talking normally to
people that perfectly correspond to Clyde’s tendencies whenever he’s near
Lori. Leni’s tactics sound like they’re
from the heart and it makes sense for them to work. For a while, when Clyde
tries them out, it appears that he’s successfully acting normal around his
unrequited crush. Speaking of his
unrequited crush, Lori herself becomes subjected to yet another
misunderstanding plot for this season.
She sees Clyde do all the things he normally does around her around Leni
and gets the idea that he’s crushing on Leni now. Of all the cartoons that use this plot, this
one mirrors the big flaw of “Ties that Bind” the most. We as an audience already know that what Lori
thinks is not so, but we have to endure her believing false information for so
long when there’s no tension to make what she’s put through engaging. It also makes it frustrating that she never
directly confronts anyone until the end to find out the truth. Plus, her
constant inner monologues, while fun at first, get incredibly overbearing and
grating, save for one humorous scene where her siblings are freaked out of her
actively talking to her inner monologue.
That said, Lori still comes out endearing here when her beliefs, false
as they are, help develop her character.
Clyde’s behavior might not be healthy, but Lori does see the genuine
goodness and thoughtfulness in his affection for her, so she shows
legitimate appreciation for his likable traits, even when she learns exactly
why he was with Leni. Lori may turn out
good overall, but what happens with Clyde ends up being this cartoon’s
downfall. Even after all that training
and showing legitimate progress, in the end, Clyde STILL obsesses over Lori and
doesn’t show any signs of moving past it.
Leni’s teachings shouldn’t even be blamed because they were completely
believable. Clyde just seems too
stubborn to really change. Why is it
that for getting over all the flaws with the show, the people behind it won’t do the same with this
one? At least Lori is happy with this,
but if the show wants to be the best it can be, it has to have Clyde get over this
unhealthy obsession. After this performance, I don’t know if
that will happen and that frustration prevents me from loving this cartoon, but
with a great portrayal of Leni and a fine if flawed portrayal of Lori, it’s at
least worth one look. 7/10
Health
Kicked
One of my biggest problems with Season 1’s “The Loudest Yard”
was how the parents forced Lincoln into excruciating exercises when he wasn’t
up for it. With this cartoon, the tables
have really turned when they themselves need to exercise which in hindsight
makes them hypocritical, thus making “The Loudest Yard” even worse. Speaking of how this cartoon puts the other
one to shame, when Lincoln notices how out of shape Mom and Dad are, he
convinces his sisters to encourage them to exercise not for the sake of it, but
so they can be healthier and live longer, which is much more considerate and
worth getting behind. Each of the kids’
exercise methods is mostly unique for relating to their
interests. Even when the
exercising starts off too intense, they willingly tone it down to
easier methods like tai chi, jump roping, and even guitar playing (which,
if you think about it, has a lot of arm movements to it). Basically, the kids really make exercising
doable and are careful to not get too overbearing with their parents. However, the same can’t be said for Mom and
Dad who decide that they like exercising so much that the whole family should
do it everyday. The catch is that they
don’t just stick to what the kids taught them.
They also add on ridiculous methods of staying healthy like starting
extremely early in the morning, having everyone lift weights (including the
baby), and only allowing the kids to eat grubs and onion water. From this perspective, it’s pretty clear that
the factors that hurt “The Loudest Yard” haven’t been completely shaken off,
though Mom and Dad’s attitude towards exercising here feels more like they’re
doing it for fun instead of trying to force it on others. This part of the cartoon also shows that
while exercising is important, it’s also important to take it easy so you don’t
make yourself tired and miserable. This
is why the kids, through plans designed by Lincoln, try and trick Mom
and Dad into thinking that they’re stronger than they really are to get them
off the health kick which is also a nice demonstration of how Lincoln has made
his status as a man with the plan clear.
To think it seemed like the show was moving away from that concept
earlier in the season. Some might not
think it’s so since Lincoln’s plans here backfire, but the thing is, the plans
do work, just a little too well. Plus,
even with the backfires, such as one that leads Mom and Dad to take part in a
dangerous exercise event, the sisters still trust Lincoln to put everything
right. So, we get a nice conclusion
where the kids save their parents from said event, both Mom and Dad are touched
that they did what they did to ensure they’d last longer, and they all form a
better exercise routine that’s productive and pleasing, all interestingly
visualized by them going for a jog while chasing the ice cream truck. As a result, the cartoon comes out very good
being big on heart, family values, and ideologies on exercise worth getting
behind. 9/10
The Ranking
- 11 Louds a Leapin’
- L is for Love
- Pulp Friction
- Frog Wild
- Party Down
- Room with a Feud
- Lock n Loud
- Fool’s Paradise
- Fed Up
- Out of the Picture
- Job Insecurity
- Potty Mouth
- The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos
- Spell it Out
- Baby Steps
- Shell Shock
- Suite and Sour
- Back in Black
- Patching Things Up
- The Whole Picture
- Health Kicked
- Garage Banned
- Back Out There
- The Old and the Restless
- Kick the Bucket List
- Intern for the Worse
- Cheater by the Dozen
- Pets Peeved
- Making the Grade
- Vantastic Voyage
- Change of Heart
- ARGGH! You for Real?
- No Such Luck
- Brawl in the Family
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where we meet the Yates family who inspire Mom and Dad to push the kids to be "well-rounded" in "Future Tense," and Lynn turns out to be either annoying or hyperactive, depending on your point of view, during game night in "Lynner Takes All."
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