'Toon Reviews 13: The Loud House Season 2 Episode 26: Snow Way Out/Snow Way Down + Final Thoughts

Snow Way Out

For the last two cartoons of this season, they're given the special treatment of taking place during winter, which almost always gives an appealing atmosphere, especially for slice-of-life shows like this.  At the same time, it offers impactful and genuine character growth and maturity for, of all characters, one of the younger Louds, Lana.  As one of the characters to get significant attention this season, Lana has been impressively utilized to show that while she’s a messy and eccentric little girl at heart, she’s filled with relatable childlike endearment.  This cartoon continues that trend by balancing out both sides with her character.  Her interests in messy mechanics are the driving force of the plot when she convinces her siblings to go to Burpin’ Burger to take part in a contest held by her favorite racecar driver, Bobbie Fletcher.  The goal is to find a special wrapper to earn a spot on Bobbie’s pit crew.  The catch is that when the kids go out to Burpin’ Burger, snow starts falling and gets heavier as the night goes on.  However, since Lana is so bent on finding the winning wrapper, even needing to pull off elaborate stunts to get more burgers when it doesn’t show up with the first batch, not only does everyone get sick of burgers quickly, but they also leave themselves at the mercy of the snow.  Through helping Lana, they don’t take the time they need to get back home to safety, and when Lana finally does get the winning wrapper, so much snow has fallen that the kids can’t leave Burpin’ Burger.  To make this dilemma even more intense, they’re left all alone and the power goes out, putting the Louds at the risk of freezing which makes for some emotional and legitimately threatening moments as they fear the inevitable.  Through it all, Lana puts in a lot of effort to rescue everyone whether it’s by using any random object behind the Burpin’ Burger counter, or relying on her knowledge of mechanics and animal senses.  However, during her attempts to free everyone, Lana’s endearing side to her character shines through when she sees how bad her siblings are suffering while freezing in the powerless Burpin’ Burger.  She realizes how putting so much attention to her personal desire put her loved ones in danger, and it’s an especially powerful moment on account that I believe that anytime a little kid recognizes that the world doesn’t just revolve around him/her is a beautiful sign of growing up.  This really applies to Lana when, after trying to avoid it through her own rescue attempts, sacrifices the very thing she went to Burpin’ Burger in a snowstorm for in the first place to get her siblings the ride home they need.  While it is true that the man she does give the wrapper to, Flip, has been a total jerk as usual and was partially responsible for trapping the Louds, it still shows that Lana is valuing her siblings’ desperate needs over her frivolous one, making her one of the most mature kid characters, further increasing her appeal.  Plus, her endearment proves even stronger when she even gets Bobbie Fletcher to safety after Flip passes her and her broken down car by, and her kindness is rewarded by her idol inviting her to join the pit crew when she’s 18 bring her development full circle.  As a result, this cartoon is a solid starring role for Lana that helps me appreciate her as a strong, lovable character even more, and through working in an effective snowy atmosphere and legitimate stakes, it’s a truly commendable entry for the season. 10/10

Snow Way Down

Following another winter-themed cartoon, and one that was similarly titled at that, we close the season with a cartoon built around a fairly basic plot which isn’t the best one to end with, but still stands out as pretty dang great for what it does for the characters involved.  The story is that Lincoln is going on a vacation with Clyde and his dads, Harold and Howard, to a log cabin in the mountains.  Now, it’s been shown in the past how orderly and loving of their son Clyde’s dads are, but it rarely felt like they’d be too extreme.  That, however, turns out to be the case here.  Every time Lincoln and Clyde set out to have fun in the snow, Clyde’s dads are always quick to stop them out of fear for their safety.  It’s in line with their established caring nature, but their protective ways get overbearing very quickly, not to mention really ridiculous.  They overdress the boys when they go outside, level the hills so they can’t sled down, block the boys’ snowballs destroying the purpose of snowball fights in the process, take the hot out of hot chocolate, and even put seatbelts on the couch.  Basically, Clyde’s dads’ safety precautions are constantly stripping Lincoln and Clyde’s activities of everything remotely fun.  It gets tiresome after seeing it repeatedly and doesn’t feel fair to Lincoln and Clyde who just want to enjoy themselves.  Thankfully, what’s been going on is seen as a problem which Clyde eventually understands, and the rest of the cartoon is set on getting his dads to let up on their protectiveness a little.  Clyde, who’s normally orderly and obedient, is firm with his dads about their issues stating that he can take care of himself, and they agree to try and let go.  However, when they’re still over-protective and interfere with the boys’ fun, Clyde is understandably fed up with this, and it would make sense for the audience to feel this way too.  At the same time, you have to wonder if Clyde is right to be against his dads’ over-protectiveness since he’s saying he can take care of himself without having proof which would make the cartoon concerning for saying Harold and Howard were right to strip the vacation of fun.  Fortunately, the rest of the cartoon provides that proof.  Lincoln and the dads eventually get word that Clyde is going to sled a dangerous ski jump built up through the whole cartoon called the Ramp of Insanity.  When they try to stop Clyde, they get stuck at the top, and Clyde is nowhere to be seen, allowing the cartoon to grow in intensity.  It turns out that Clyde stopped himself from doing something stupid when he saw how dangerous the ramp was.  However, with everyone else now trapped on the ramp, Clyde takes immediate action to climb up and save them.  What follows is an exciting sequence of Clyde braving the elements, taking precautions to prevent potential blunders on his way up, and when he reaches the top of the ramp, it all ends with everyone riding a sled down as the structure collapses and then falling to safety thanks to a parachute Clyde installed.  The scene is great fun, but it’s also rewarding to see Clyde at his most awesome and resourceful, as well as his dads seeing their son’s point, and it’s capped of perfectly by a final moment of them letting him and Lincoln have the winter fun they’ve been wanting to have.  The over-protective moments may be too much ridiculousness to take in, but the payoff that satisfies both sides with a few enticing intense moments makes what didn’t work earlier work in the long run.  In all, the cartoon ends the season with a fun adventure that builds itself up to become something noteworthy and impactful. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. 11 Louds a Leapin’
2. L is for Love
3. Pulp Friction
4. Frog Wild
5. Yes-Man
6. Party Down
7. Friend or Faux
8. Room with a Feud
9. Lock n Loud
10. Fool’s Paradise
11. Snow Way Out
12. Fed Up
13. Out of the Picture
14. Job Insecurity
15. Potty Mouth
16. Mall of Duty
17. Anti-Social
18. The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos
19. Spell it Out
20. Snow Way Down
21. Baby Steps
22. Shell Shock
23. Suite and Sour
24. Back in Black
25. Legends
26. Future Tense
27. Patching Things Up
28. No Spoilers
29. Not a Loud
30. Tricked!
31. The Whole Picture
32. Read Aloud
33. No Laughing Matter
34. Health Kicked
35. Garage Banned
36. Back Out There
37. The Old and the Restless
38. Kick the Bucket List
39. Intern for the Worse
40. The Crying Dame
41. Lynner Takes All
42. Cheater by the Dozen
43. Pets Peeved
44. Making the Grade
45. Vantastic Voyage
46. Change of Heart
47. ARGGH! You for Real?
48. No Such Luck
49. Brawl in the Family

Final Thoughts

With all the cartoons of this season officially covered, we now return to the previous question; did Season 2 of The Loud House improve from the previous season’s weak points and make the whole show better?  Well, not only did it improve, but surprisingly, it really improved with several strong cartoons and very few weak ones.  In fact, this season has so much great material, it’s hard to believe that it didn’t really start out that great mostly due to a major lack of consistent quality.  Some cartoons were great, with the first one of the season being the best of the whole series as of now.  However, when a cartoon missed, it really missed, capitalizing on everything that didn’t work in Season 1.  The biggest offender was “Brawl in the Family” whose plot was fueled by many mean and stupid moments that presented the world around Lincoln as opposing forces trying to make life torturous, Lincoln getting pitted against his own family for weak reasons, and an extremely unwelcome downer ending.  To make things even more unfortunate, one or more of these factors frequently showed up in various cartoons of the first half, even good ones.  It was really debatable if such an inconsistent quality would ever be evened out.  Miraculously, after “No Such Luck,” the show finally hit a consistently good streak, working more off the better cartoons of the first half and seeming to actively go against the setups of the bad ones.  Instead of Lincoln primarily being pitted against all the girls, there was more of him and the sisters functioning as a team.  Instead of a lot of Louds going crazy with what they do in life, there were times where they were considerate of how their behavior affected others.  Rather than being brushed off as a hindrance in sibling discussions, Lincoln was taken seriously as the man with a plan a lot more.  Finally, when one person, or many people, had a problematic approach to life, it was treated like a big issue to stop and not to be brushed off as a normal part of life.  These cartoons showed off the show’s main idea of how family members can get along despite their distinct eccentricities better than ever before, toning down the mean-spiritedness and making the family love aspect more apparent.  In a way, the new season is a representation of how the Louds have matured and grown closer together over the course of the series, and it makes you wonder how closer they’ll be in seasons to come.  With all this in mind, it’s commendable that this show has proven to be one to keep getting better, as well as one with an interesting look at family bonding.

This season also has its own distinct strengths mainly through its developments of several characters, which is especially good for the Loud family as a whole.  In the prior season, Lincoln was the main focus with his sisters mostly playing supporting roles who at times, acted antagonistic towards him, making it seem like Lincoln was who the show was all about and the only character good enough to follow.  There were times when a sister got a staring role, but Lincoln easily dominated them all.  However, since the show is called The Loud House and not The Lincoln Loud Show, Lincoln's Chaotic Life, Hey Lincoln, or Lincoln: The Loud Boy, it’s just as much about the Loud sisters as it is about Lincoln.  This is why it’s great that we see a lot more cartoons with the sisters, offering different points of view on life in the Loud House and further depths of the characters.  We see Lori as a more considerate and vulnerable oldest sibling as opposed to a bossy one from her introduction, Leni’s ability to get what people like the best, Luna’s bisexuality, Lisa’s lack of social skills, and more eccentric sisters like spooky Lucy, messy Lana, and bratty Lola as endearing little kids with relatable anxieties.  The sisters getting significant starring roles make life in this big family more interesting than ever since they’re all interesting characters and offer more perspectives than those from an everyman like Lincoln.  It’s not just the sisters who get a lot of development.  We also start seeing a lot more of the parents this season, right down to their faces being completely shown after being hidden throughout the first season, which when you think about it, didn’t make much sense to happen since they showed the faces of the other adults.  Because of Mom and Dad being allowed to openly express themselves now, it’s easy to follow them and sympathize with them in cartoons where they strive to get relaxation from raising 11 kids or try to make them successful in the future or even share outrageous yet creative birth stories.  Dad is the parent who stands out the most though, getting cartoons completely devoted to him.  We learn more about his passion for cooking, watch him personally bond with the kids, and witness him go through events to help him be a better father.  The season’s great use of character even goes beyond the Louds through expanding the appeal of the show’s universe by developing supporting characters.  Many cartoons show a lot of Clyde’s attempts at self-improvement, Ronnie Anne’s lifestyle preferences, Flip’s jerky business practices, the teamwork of Lincoln’s other friends, Mr. Grouse being a grumpy yet loyal neighbor, and many more.  We even get new interesting and entertaining characters with lots of potential for the future like the Casagrande family which Ronnie Anne and Bobby move in with, Lisa’s new friend Darcy, and Luna’s love interest Sam all bringing out new sides to the respective characters.  Through focusing on characters apart from Lincoln, old and new, the show is vaster than ever and sure to entice newcomers to check it out.

As you can tell, after such a shaky start, this season really pulled through and turned out to be really great constantly playing to the show’s strengths with little to no bad cartoons for the remainder.  It’s not perfect mind you since it still has noticeable flaws in some cartoons. Some characters like Lori, Dad, Clyde, and the younger Loud sisters got way too much screen time leaving little room for starring roles for other characters, especially Luna despite her apparent fan favorite status within a year of the show’s premiere.  Other characters were perfectly set up to get background on their personalities like Lynn in “Lynner Takes All” and Luan in “No Laughing Matter,” but by the end we’re left without reasons why Lynn needs to win and why Luan is so obsessed with making jokes respectively, leaving them in desperate need of development they never get.  Many plots also seem to rely way too much on characters reacting to misunderstandings or Dad going crazy with something new (sometimes with Mom) forcing the family to snap him out of it.  However, compared to the flaws the season had before, these are very minor that don’t hinder the viewing experience much.  While I would like to see more characters get more focus and development in later seasons, so long as the story and moments of the characters present are successfully entertaining, the show will remain as great as it’s been.  However, despite this season making this show grow to be something so great, it’s debatable if this greatness will continue.  A few months before the season ended, the creator of the show, Chris Savino, was fired for reports of sexual harassment.  It’s not that I blame Nickelodeon for letting him go.  He was causing harm to people in the workplace and deserves to pay the price for it, so we can at least say that the people working on the show now have a safer job environment.  Even so, being the creator, Chris was the heart of the show and oversaw the production of every cartoon, even directing the majority of them.  Yes, he also oversaw major duds like “Brawl in the Family” and “No Such Luck,” but since the show majorly improved after those cartoons, he was involved in the consistently good quality that remained all the way through.  Without him, the quality could very well go down as more seasons are produced.  However, it must also be known that Chris didn’t write or storyboard that many cartoons, meaning other people dreamed up most of the story ideas and character developments.  Given that many cartoons following the biggest disasters appeared to try and go against everything that didn’t work in the show in the past, this seems to suggest that the crew can get by and allow the show to remain good even without the original creator.  For all we know, the show could get even better with him gone, and considering many of the Season 3 cartoons that have aired at the time of this posting, this seems to be the case.  After all, Chris may have thought of the idea for The Loud House, but he probably wasn’t the best person to be in charge of it, and not just because of his sexual crimes.  Again, it’s debatable if the show will continue to work off of the greatness set by this season, but it’s still easy to have hope that the crew Chris left behind will remain strong and talented and never stop improving.

At this point, it’s more of a personal preference that The Loud House isn’t in my top 10 favorite animated shows of all time, but after Season 2, it’s pretty dang close to that status.  The stories are more interesting, the characters are strong, and there’s apparent effort to improve from prior flaws and become something better than ever.  I had a lot of fun with this season, and I bet that if you liked the show the first time around, you’ll like it even more after watching the second set.  So look into an eventual DVD release and/or purchase the season’s highest ranked cartoons on digital, and I’ll be looking forward to talking about the next season and many more to come, hopefully regarding just how great the show will potentially get.

Highly Recommended

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And with that, another set of Loud House reviews has successfully been shared.  The show will be visited again some time after Season 3 is completely finished airing.  For the next set though, we'll be covering several episodes of my pick for the greatest animated series of all time via its first DVD volume.  What show is it? You'll just have to wait until the first review is uploaded.  Until then:

Stay Animated Folks!