User blog:AnimationFan15/Complex Episodes

This was originally a status update I made on DeviantArt, and I thought I'd share it here and expand my thoughts on this subject.

What do I define as a complex episode? To me, a complex episode is when the writing is so cleverly structured, it actually shows that there was a huge amount of effort put into the story in order to use all of its potential. One of my personal favorite examples of a complex episode is the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode "P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)". In that episode, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie return from a boat trip, angry at each other, and when Twilight tries to get the truth from them, they all present different variations of the same story that ends with the boat being capsized by a tidal wave. This episode uses a type of storytelling called "Rashomon". Originating from the 1950 Japanese film of the same name, it's when several individuals tell the same story, but they all have different viewpoints of what happened, leading to some contradicting elements to appear in all of the stories of those involved. To me, Rashomon is the most complex type of story to create, as you need to have all the stories be the same, make sure all the contradictions involved make sense in a way, and make sure what really happened stays relatively close to the stories.

Now that I explained what a complex episode is, what one of my favorite examples is and why I think Rashomon is an excellent example of complex storytelling, time to answer the question "What are some complex episodes in The Loud House?" I've only got a few examples, but I might expand this list if I find more.

Raw Deal
I've said this again and again, but "Raw Deal" is, in my opinion, one of the greatest episodes of the show (it's currently my ninth favorite episode of the whole show). While I have praised it for being really funny, one other reason why I like this episode so much is because of its story structure. In the episode, Lucy wants to use her new set of fortune telling cards to pass the time and proceeds to tell her siblings various fortunes. However, while the siblings interpret these fortunes one way, it turns out that that it was actually meant in a completely different way. Let's use Lori for example. Lucy told her that she will "go on a long trip", and Lori interprets that as her and Bobby going to Italy, when in actuality, Lori's "long trip" is actually her slipping on some oil, slide around for a bit, and finally trip and fall into a pile of garbage. To me, the complexity of this episode comes from what fortunes are presented and what they really represent. I also thought the twist with Lincoln and Lisa is another example of the episode's underlying complexity. Lucy told Lisa that she will make a scientific discovery before entering the park, and Lincoln was told that his day would end in tragedy (Lincoln theorized that if Lisa's fortune doesn't come true, his fortune won't happen either). While it seemed like Lisa's fortune was true, it turns out that it all was one giant hoax, which made Lincoln realize that all of his constant worrying was the source of his day ending in tragedy (in other words, Lisa's false fortune played a huge factor in Lincoln's fortune becoming true).

Butterfly Effect
This is my personal favorite example when it comes to complex storytelling in The Loud House. In this episode, Lincoln accidentally destroys Lisa's chemical set and believes that nothing bad could happen, but it turns out that this one little accident is causing the entire family to break apart. One major reason as to why I think this is the most complex episode of the show is because of the type of story and its pacing. This episode is one giant domino effect: something small happens, but will gradually get bigger as time goes on. To me, the complexity of this episode follows this format: something happens, it affects someone, their response affects someone in return, rinse and repeat. I bet Kevin Sullivan (the writer of this episode) has to carefully map out what events occur and how it affects someone in response. Not only that, but I bet he also had to make it consistent so it actually flows in a straight line. While it is revealed that this episode was all just Lincoln imagining a worst case scenario, that won't stop me from calling this episode complex and that's exactly why I think this is some of the best writing from Kevin Sullivan.

Friendzy
I don't know if many will consider this a complex episode, but I'd like to think of it as one. In this episode, the siblings are shown to be fighting, but we don't know why. It's only when a police officer arrives, that Lincoln decides to tell the viewers how he and his sisters got into their current situation. I'm not sure if it counts here, but I believe that this episode is an example of backwards storytelling. As stated by Lincoln, the entire episode is one giant flashback that explains why he and the sisters are fighting in the first place. To me, the complexity of this episode comes from the fact the story being told has to simultaneously have a strong buildup as well as make sure that the story ends to where the characters are now, which also has to make sense in a way. Another reason I like this episode's writing is because it actually makes every member of the Loud family responsible for all the damage that occurs, preventing the viewers from taking sides and providing equal balance. It's kind of a shame that this is regarded as a bad episode because of how everyone's so jerky, but I've seen people who hate the episode give credit for the story structure, so I'l give them that.