User blog comment:Dragonzako/Is Clyde a main character?/@comment-4618045-20180114220848

While I don’t think prevalence of Clincoln McLoud episodes should be understated, I agree with you. The overarching theme of the show is family and how it will always be there for you. Regardless of your opinion of Clyde, his role in promoting that theme is secondary to that of Lincoln’s actual family.

While you can certainly argue that Clyde does factor into the big family question, most of his appearances don’t tap into this. Instead of spending the bulk of time discussing how their mutual bond fulfill a brotherly role both Lincoln and Clyde lack in their home life (among other things), most of his screentime is spent on repetitive shenanigans that are neither funny nor enlightening. There’s a reason why people complain that there are too many Clincoln McLoud episodes: aside from their generic quality, they don’t further the theme of the show or flesh out the characters most greatly tasked with carrying out that theme.