User blog:AustinDR/Review: Toads and Tiaras

So, "Toads and Tiaras." After Lola gets into an accident, Lincoln, in his desperation of winning two tickets to Dairy Land, decides to train Lana in her place. As you may have guessed, it was rather difficult to teach Lana to be prim and perfect, and unfortunately for Lincoln, Lana relapses into her old habits. Can they still win despite the fact that Lana is seemingly unqualified?

"Toads and Tiaras" was one of those episodes that I frequently watched as I felt that everything seemed to fit perfectly. For one, I liked how Lincoln and Lana bonded throughout the episode which ultimately leads to Lincoln realizing that it was wrong to make his sister into something that she was not. He acknowledged that Lana's differences were what made her who she was, and even encourages her to be herself despite knowing that they'll most likely forfeit the tickets. Yes, he's willing to sacrifice his chances of going to Dairy Land just so his sister wouldn't feel burdened about trying to be like the other girls. Even Lola had a few good moments in this episode. Despite being enraged by their plan, she actually congratulated Lana for winning, and allowed her to have the tiara. It's pretty nice to see Lola and Lana get along rather than constantly being at each others' throats. Though it begs the question: Sounds of Silence establishes that all of the bad stuff that Lola did to her sisters were merely fabricated. So why then did this episode enforce the idea that Lola was a sociopathic brat? I mean, I was actually thinking that she was going to bludgeon Lincoln to death with her crutch before learning that Lana was the winner.

But in all seriousness, I loved this episode. The more I watch it, the more that I admire the interactions between the characters, and it did have a good message in that you should be yourself. It reminds me of that quote that the late Dr. Seuss once said about how you were born to stand out. I honestly can't find any fault with the episode. Everything seemed to fit in nicely, so I can't really think of anything bad to say about it. However, while I absolutely love the Loud House, I do have to point out that this episode introduces a formula that will be employed in future episodes. Overall, this episode, besides 11 Louds a Leapin", was one of my favorite episodes of the series. It's one of the few episodes that I don't mind watching a few more times.

Final score: 5 out of 5 stars