Deal Me Out / Friendzy (The Loud House Season 3 Episode 10) - 'Toon Reviews 30

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Deal Me Out

We all have media icons we’ve held in high regard for much of life.  It’s not uncommon that at some point, the outside world claims you’re too old for it.  At my age, I believe that the real juvenile ones are people who make the claim that people have to give up certain things all because of their age.  Everyone has the right to indulge in what makes them happy and can express their love for it in any way, and it’s wrong for anyone to take that right away.  With all the conventions, fan work, etc. for various animated shows from networks claiming to aim for kids, this belief is supported.  This makes for a very relatable theme for this cartoon, although its execution isn’t exactly the smartest or most engaging take on the theme. 

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

For most the second season, Lincoln and his sisters have started getting along and working together more frequently.  That setup carries into this season as well.  The Loud siblings have become more of a caring, compatible unit compared to their dynamic in the show’s early days.  Their constant fighting over stupid things and everyone acting like they wanted to harm each other is why most of the older cartoons don’t hold up.  This cartoon does go back to those old less-pleasing standards, but them appearing once in a while is better than them being the norm. 

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.

If you would like to check out other Loud House reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.