User blog:Justsomeordinarydude/Head Poet's Anxiety: A Reaction.

Head Poet’s Anxiety

Luan and Lucy are a really interesting pair of characters to partner up for a story. As we saw in Room with a Feud, despite their seemingly opposite personalities, they actually bond well and have certain things in common (I.e. a passion for creative activities and the arts, an attachment to non-living objects like Mr Coconuts and Edwin, etc.). There is more in common between these two sisters than meets the eye, and that allows for them to have some great chemistry together as a duo and have meaningful interactions; a fact that this narrative does not take for granted and takes advantage of.

While Lucy is probably among the more popular of the siblings, Luan is a bit more of a base breaker, so an additional episode providing us not only with insights about her character but also some more relatable, sympathetic and even redeeming traits, is not an unwelcome gift. There have been stories in the past which have enhanced Luan’s likability, but some still dislike her due to the April Fools pranks. So, it is admirable to see the writers portray her as a helpful and caring individual, willing to teach Lucy all she needs to know in order to succeed as a poet to her audiences. Of course, she is a human character and has understandable flaws, mainly jealousy/envy after finding out Lucy gained what she never could, a chance to perform at the Royal Woods Theatre. But she overcomes her vice when realising what her younger sister was willing to sacrifice for her happiness, and actually encourages Lucy to go. This story presents Luan as a flawed yet still likable character, and that is an approach which is always great to see, as sometimes an episode can highlight all the wrong things about a given character without showing anything positive.

Lucy also shines in this episode. The fact that she was instantly willing to drop her big opportunity to perform at the local theatre just to please her older sister and mentor in the arts just shows how truly caring and selfless she is. In spite of her seemingly stoic and gloomy personality, Lucy is not a careless jerk in the slightest. She’s actually quite a pleasant person once you get past the projected darkness and cynicism. Her final poem to Luan also allows for a rather heart-warming moment and satisfying ending for the story. Lucy also has her fair share of entertaining moments, like when she roasts Lola after the latter criticises her poetry performance (as part of Luan’s setup to make Lucy develop thick skin against critique). Or when she starts reading a poem to the old folks on the bus starting with ‘the end is near’ only for Luan to stop her considering how bad that sounds in context.

Speaking of which, there are a number of humorous moments throughout. The scenes of 8 year old Luan performing her comedic routines to various audiences are cute to watch, even if she gets booed during them. Her face after finding out Lucy got to do the one thing she dreamt of doing and never got to (Performing at the theatre) was amusing. Though not all of the humour works. There’s a recurring brick gag where Lynn Sr keeps pointing out moments when Lucy smiles or hugs someone. But Lucy smiling or showing affection isn’t THAT rare. She’s not exactly Mandy from post-season-1 Billy and Mandy. Lynn Sr reacting in such an over-the-top manner to those moments seemed rather forced and silly. But now I’m just nitpicking.

Overall, it’s a really entertaining story with a lot to like. While some may find Luan’s jealousy towards Lucy’s success a little off-putting or poor in regards to the development of her character, she does learn to overcome said fault and the two sisters end their narrative journey on a high note. A few minor hiccups here and there, but ultimately this story stands as one of the stronger pieces of season 3’s content so far. On a side note, it was also nice to see Pop-Pop again.

Final Rating: 8.5/10