Breaking Dad

"Breaking Dad" is the twenty-third episode of the third season, and the one-hundred-twenty-fourth episode of The Loud House.

Plot
Dad has Mr. Grouse watch Lily while he goes to a concert, but things quickly start to go wrong.

Synopsis
Lynn Sr. is getting himself ready for Cowbella, a music festival dedicated entirely to cowbell music. Rita informs him that he needs to drop Lily off at the daycare center first before he and Kotaro can head off. However, while waiting for Kotaro, Lynn Sr. is informed that the daycare center is closed due to one of the babies clogging the toilet with a whole diaper, leaving the place flooded. When Rita is unable to babysit, and not wanting to skip out on Cowbella, Lynn Sr. realizes that he could get Mr. Grouse to babysit for him. Initially, Mr. Grouse denies, saying that he has no experience in babysitting, but when Lynn Sr. promises he'll make five trays of lasagna for him, Mr. Grouse promptly accepts. At that moment, Kotaro arrives in his van, and he and Lynn Sr. depart for Cowbella.

As Lynn Sr. and Kotaro have a fun time at Cowbella, Lynn Sr. frequently gets calls from Mr. Grouse whenever Lily starts misbehaving, but Lynn Sr. gives him the right advice on how to calm Lily down. After a successful of day at Cowbella, Lynn Sr. and Kotaro arrive back home, and Lynn Sr. is happy to see that Lily and Mr. Grouse have gotten along pretty well. After making seven trays of lasagna (Mr. Grouse demanded one extra tray if he had to do something he didn't like), Mr. Grouse leaves, but Lily frantically looks for him while calling him "da-da". At that moment, Rita arrives home, and Lynn Sr. confesses that he had Mr. Grouse watch Lily while he went to Cowbella, and as a result, Lily doesn't remember who he is. However, Lily immediately recognizes who Rita is, making Lynn Sr. break down.

The next day, Lynn Sr. announces to his wife that he'll be skipping on Cowbella so he could spend the day with Lily, in hopes that Lily would recognize him. Throughout the whole day, Lynn Sr. tries to appeal to Lily in any way he can, ranging from reading a story, making her food, go to the mall to get presents, and swing on the swing. However, no matter how hard he tries, Lily keeps referring to Mr. Grouse as her "da-da". Realizing that he just lost Lily, Lynn Sr. decides to call up Mr. Grouse if he wants to come over for dinner, and he accepts (as long as its lasagna).

Sometime later, Mr. Grouse arrives, and gives back a sweater he borrowed yesterday. Suddenly, Lily begins calling Lynn Sr. "da-da", making him and Rita realize that the reason why Lily kept thinking Mr. Grouse was her father was because he was wearing Lynn Sr.'s favorite sweater. While Lynn Sr. is happy to know that Lily never stopped loving him, Mr. Grouse, who didn't hear what Lynn Sr. was talking about, promptly begins eating the lasagna that was meant for dinner.

Cast
Lincoln, Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lucy, Lana, Lola, and Lisa have no lines in this episode.
 * Grey Griffin as Lily
 * Brian Stepanek as Lynn Sr.
 * Jill Talley as Rita
 * John DiMaggio as Mr. Grouse
 * Phil LaMarr as Kotaro

Trivia

 * The premise of this episode is extremely similar to "Two Boys and a Baby", as both episodes involve someone taking care of Lily with comical results.
 * According to this episode, Lily can only identify someone based on their clothing.
 * This episode takes place after "Potty Mouth", because Lily was accepted into the daycare center Rita and Lynn Sr. were trying to get her into.
 * Although all the Loud kids appeared, they only appeared in the form of a fight cloud.
 * Also, this is the third time Lincoln appears, but doesn't have any dialogue, right after "Roadie to Nowhere" and "Scales of Justice".
 * Innuendo: When Kotaro asked if he should get the van so they can head back, Lynn Sr. replied "Bell, no", which is a pun of "hell, no."

Running Gags

 * Lynn Sr. eagerly wanting to go to Cowbella.
 * Mr. Grouse taking Lynn Sr.'s advice on how to babysit Lily.
 * Lily calling Mr. Grouse "da-da".
 * Lynn Sr. making bell puns.
 * Lynn Sr. trying to make Lily recognize him as her father.
 * Mr. Grouse wanting lasagna.