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Deal Me Out
Lincoln and Clyde have been known to be fans of the in-universe
superhero, Ace Savvy through cosplays, collecting action figures and comics,
and going to conventions. However, while
preparing for the annual Ace Savvy convention, they meet two boys their age who
act cool and brush off Ace Savvy as someone just for little kids. This hits Lincoln and Clyde hard and makes
them think that they’re too old for the superhero they idolize so much. To make this revelation more meaningful, we
see how important Ace is to the boys in a flashback of how they met dressed as
characters from the franchise one Halloween.
By the way, that flashback is probably the most adorable moment between
Lincoln and Clyde.
Anyway, the decision
is made that Lincoln and Clyde should just leave Ace Savvy behind in favor of
more “age-appropriate” activities.
Through doing so, this is where the execution of the relatable instance
starts falling a little flat. Instead of
just looking for activities kids their age do, Lincoln and Clyde follow standards
someone wrote for what 11-year-olds usually do and go with the first activities
they see. The problem is that it’s
completely obvious that the things they go with may allegedly be fun for most
11-year-olds, but not them. Plus, their
attempts at skateboarding, fishing, and working on fixing car engines with Lana
go very wrong, and they act like they’re doing ok with them when they’re
not. It makes it seem like doing Ace
Savvy is all they do when surely there are things they already like to do which they
can take up instead. With all of them
being brushed aside, it feels like the boys are making themselves suffer for
nothing. Things do perk up when they
notice young kids enjoy Ace Savvy and try to join them behind each other’s
back. That’s fine and shows what they
really want to do, but it also makes them look dumb with feeble excuses for
being gone so long and the other friend buying into them.
This may not be the smartest approach to the
topic the cartoon goes for, but the payoff is very satisfying. Through even more adorable flashbacks of
Lincoln and Clyde enjoying Ace Savvy in youth, they decide that they should
just do what they enjoy no matter what anyone thinks. They go to the convention as planned and are treated
to a nice surprise. It turns out kids in
Lori’s class are there and are big Ace Savvy fans too, sealing the deal that no
matter what the demographic, it’s acceptable for people to like what they
enjoy. It’s also a good twist since Lori
and the other Loud siblings once mocked Lincoln for liking Ace Savvy. What
would she say if she found this out about her friends?
While this isn’t the smartest way to teach
audiences to like what they enjoy, touching on the subject is much appreciated,
making this cartoon worth checking out.
B+
Friendzy
The conflict is fueled by the kids fighting
for certain privileges. When they fight,
they get absolutely vicious and filled with scorn. Sometimes their behavior makes sense when
fights are over something only one of them can have like the TV. Other times they look petty through showing
disdain for things like dinner or car music because it’s not what they
wanted. Surely they can still enjoy
what’s offered even if it’s not their choice.
Anyway, Lincoln finds a way around this when he sees Lynn get instant
access to the TV because she has a friend over.
He invites Clyde over many times to always get exactly what he wants. Because of how well this plan works,
the sisters quickly get annoyed. You’d think
they’d find out the strategy quickly since getting easy access to privileges
from inviting a friend was established before Lincoln used the rule to his
advantage. Despite that, they act like
Lincoln came up with the rule himself when that really wasn’t the case.
The rest of the cartoon is just the sisters
turned against Lincoln as they invite their friends over just so they can get
privileges. Then they all invite even
more of their friends to dominate other groups which includes the sisters
backstabbing each other. At least the
idea of inviting friends over to get privileges is an interesting concept as is
its execution where it grows into the house being overrun with random
kids. At the same time, it brings a
reminder why cartoons about the Loud siblings at odds with each other are not
the best loved works of the show. They
make them all look very unlikable and full of angst despite being a family and
look up to each other. Is it really hard
to settle the matter by just talking about it instead of spiting and
backstabbing everyone? Coming after so
many cartoons of bonding and teamwork only makes it worse. If that’s not enough, there are so many
friends appearing here, most of whom have played brief, but memorable roles in
the past. However, they’re just pawns in
the Louds’ messed up conflict over frivolity and show no character at all.
That’s not even counting how repetitive this cartoon gets. From how the fights are broken up to how the
kids find out they can’t have certain things because a friend has come over,
points are made with the exact same line.
That’s just a lazy way to get information across and can easily turn
people off.
For all these problems,
things actually work out in the end.
After the Louds’ actions makes a noise pollution scene, they’re all
appropriately punished for their stunt.
They also genuinely come up with a good strategy to settle their
conflict, feeling like something was learned by everyone from all this. I don’t see how they can maintain their
friendships after using everyone as pawns for their own gain, but I can buy
that their matters are settled off-screen.
This cartoon treads older territory that doesn’t work in the show’s
favor, but it’s nicely lessened by everyone learning from the experience. Plus, it’s a fine watch if you like cameos of
side characters.
C
The Ranking
1. Head Poet’s Anxiety
2. Roadie to Nowhere
3. Fandom Pains
4. Insta-Gran
5. Selfie Improvement
6. Net Gains
7. No Place Like Homeschool
8. The Mad Scientist
9. City Slickers
10. Missed Connection
11. Fool Me Twice
12. Deal Me Out
13. Teachers’ Union
14. Tripped!
15. White Hare
16. A Fridge Too Far
17. Friendzy
18. Pipe Dreams
19. Rita Her Rights
The next Loud House review is one of this season's many clueless endeavors featuring Lincoln and his friends, and the kids show true family love and compatibility by helping kind overly generous Leni be more assertive in getting what she wants.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "That Will Be All" from Steven Universe.
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