User blog:CartoonFan14/Thoughts: Why Undie Pressure Succeeded

As I said in my blog defending Whipped, people typically hate stories with nobody on Lincoln's side, at least in terms of the sisters siding with him, and then pointed out Undie Pressure as one of the only examples of that type of story succeeding. I didn’t think much of it at first, but as time went on, I asked myself, why? What makes this episode a widely considered gem? It was hard for me to think about, but I think I finally have my reasons as to why my favorite episode of the series has struck a chord with so many people.

The Right Characters Learn Something
Look at these other episodes, do ANY of the siblings learn Jack Squat at the end of The Sweet Spot? All we see is Lincoln going after the Sweet Spot on the Couch, and the sisters just kind of feel sorry for themselves after learning the road trip is cancelled. A lot of these episodes just have the characters learn nothing, or when they have them learn something, it’s either the wrong message, is taught to the wrong character, or is presented the wrong way, look at Sound of Silence, it taught Lincoln not to ignore people, however, some thought the sisters needed to learn a lesson, others felt it wasn’t the right lesson, and almost everyone agrees that the idea of it being a prank was a horrible way to present the message. Meanwhile Undie Pressure doesn’t get that complaint because Lola is the one that needed to learn something, and she did, it was the right character, the right message, and the presentation was alright.

On Point Humor
Take all of these episodes where Lincoln's only teammate is himself, how many of them can say they manage to be hilarious, and have the working jokes be something other than filler? Only two that I know of: Undie Pressure, and It’s a Loud Loud Loud Loud House, and I may just be blindly defending the episode, but I think Undie Pressure is slightly better in the humor department than that episode. I loved It's a 4x Loud House’s slapstick, but most of the humor came from the sisters interactions and the floorboard gag. On the other hand, Undie Pressure had me laughing the whole way through, lightly at some parts and on the floor crying at others. It’s just amazing to see the girls trying to keep together and bring down Lincoln, but fail, and all the girls losing in outrageous ways, then there’s Lola’s descent into insanity, this episode is everything a comedy episode should be, and that's why it's so amazing.

Lincoln Wins
A lot of these episodes have this point, but with episodes like Sleuth or Consequences and Sound of Silence out there, It’s still something worth mentioning. It’s just satisfying to see what Lincoln goes through pay off at the end of it all. Lincoln goes through with the little bet, and he gets to keep his habits, and gets his victory underwear. It just something you love to see, because It’s always more enjoyable to see the protagonist come out on top when he deserves it.

How it's done
The point I came up with first, and the point I think means the most here, is how the 10 vs 1 is done in this episode, typically, It’s an all out brawl, or huge argument, but here, It’s just a bet, a friendly contest with one bad sport out of 11, it isn’t hard to watch, and doesn’t distract from the rest of the episode which is very solid. It’s refreshing to see this kind of episode without seeing the kids at each other's throats, and that’s why I believe Undie Pressure is a cut above the rest in this kind of story.

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