User blog:Justsomeordinarydude/Yes-Man Episode Reaction

Yes-Man

This was an episode which seems to have exceeded the expectations of many people. Before this episode was released, I saw speculations which amounted to something like this: “All 11 sisters will get mad at Lincoln after he teaches them to convince the parents to give them money and it backfires, and then it’s 11 vs 1 and Lincoln suffers, damn!” You know, the typical mentality which has plagued certain portions of the fandom ever since the likes of those 2 episodes came about, where people are overly sensitive towards the treatment Lincoln receives from his fellow family members in any given story and oppose any form of antagonism towards him regardless of circumstance, justification or purpose. Well, as it turned out, that didn’t even happen in the episode. There was no instance in which the sisters were blaming Lincoln for any mishaps, nor any torture for the boy. In fact, the ending was just about the kindest, most generous and obvious forms of affection someone can reasonably provide to a sibling, but I’ll revisit that momentarily…

The episode was one that featured all the siblings and so had the task all episodes like that have of balancing the level of screen-time that each of them need in order to serve a worthwhile purpose within the narrative. Fortunately, through talented writing, this task was accomplished. Through the progression of the plot, there are scenes dedicated to each sibling, who follow Lincoln’s advice of “Playing to their strengths” with amusing results. Luna used her musical talent to convince her parents to give her the money she was after. Luan used her comedy to entertain them as her method (especially effective since Lynn Sr is known to actually enjoy Luan’s comedy, unlike the siblings, and correct if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe we’ve seen Rita react to her jokes before). Lynn got a chance to demonstrate her superb basketball skills, while Lucy setup an over-dramatic future funeral demonstration as a way to force her parents to give in. Then there was Lori and Leni, whose scene of them simultaneously ranting and gossiping at immense speeds reminded me of the character Vicky Pollard from the British sketch comedy, Little Britain. All of them received their moments in the spotlight when they took their turn to use their strengths to convince their parents to give them money, and all the instances were humorous, clever ways of using the shticks of each sister to invent moments of amusement. Much like 11 Louds a Leapin, this is one of those stories which is able to intricately balance the focus and prominence of each sibling in a short span of time, utilising their presence in a way that benefits both the progression of the plot itself and the comedic value of the episode.

Back to the ending, it was basically the 10 sisters going out of their way to show the affection and appreciation they have for their only brother. Part of me wonders if the writers placed this event into the episode just so they could have an ending sequence which basically served as an apology to the fans who hated BITF and NSL for how Lincoln was treated in those episodes and how they hated that the sisters antagonised him so relentlessly. While that is purely speculative, what is certain is this sequence is a clear reminder to those sceptical fans that in spite of the fact that sometimes family members will be at odds with one another, over various issues and dilemmas, they still love each other and will go to great lengths to help the other out. In this case, after feeling guilty for inadvertently costing Lincoln his chance to go to a Smooch concert, they not only recreate the concert in his front yard, but they also (somehow) manage to convince the band to appear for him personally. The whole song is pretty much the sisters praising Lincoln for being the best brother ever, who always helps them when they need it. Considering how many people still can’t get over how Lincoln is (supposedly) a butt monkey who always receives the sour treatment from the rest of the family, this sequence is basically a way to satisfy those people, and it certainly seems to have worked, as many have expressed how much they loved this ending.

So, this episode was certainly one that exceeded people’s expectations. There was no blaming, harsh treatments, threatening, or mean-spiritedness at the expense of the protagonist, the comedy was pretty solid, the balancing of the large cast was handled efficiently, and the conclusion was truly satisfying. If I had to nit-pick (and it could be argued I do, as I am a reviewer, after all), one minor complaint would be how the parents were portrayed, as they were shown to give in to the methods of “convincing” rather easily, multiple times. It was plausible when Luna used Lincoln’s advice to convince them the 1st time, but then they give in 7 or 8 times, to each sibling, on the same day. Not only does this make little sense because the Louds are supposed to be living on a tight budget (again, another negative continuity example, as how well off the Louds are vary from episode to episode, depending on the plot) yet they can afford to give unspecified amounts of money to each sibling before finally running out with Lincoln, but it also presents Rita and Lynn Sr as passive pushovers who give in to their daughter’s way too easily. Keep in mind, these are the same parental figures who stood aside and did nothing about their daughter’s aggressive behaviour in THAT episode. So, while the direction the narrative took did serve to supply great comedy and use of all the sisters, and lead to a great ending scene, it also had a (admittedly far smaller) downside, in that it possessed the side effect of portraying the parents as tools, to some extent. Also, how forced was it that they had enough money for all the sisters, but then they (conveniently or inconveniently, depending on how you look at it) ran out once it was Lincoln’s turn (of course…!?!), I mean, really.

But now I really am just rambling about practically nothing. This episode was still a superb piece of animated television with a lot of strengths and very few setbacks, and only minor ones at that. Small problems do not detract from the overall quality of a story in any significant way, and there were more than enough admirable qualities this episode had which enabled me to overlook any insignificant gripes. This is certainly one of the strongest season 2 stories so far.

'''Final Rating: 9/10. '''