User blog:Justsomeordinarydude/Roadie to Nowhere (The Loud House): A Reaction.

Roadie to Nowhere

After a whole season of being considered irrelevant and having very little involvement in the majority of episodic plots, Luna Loud has finally been given her first day in the limelight since the first season. So much so that she is one of the only two siblings in this episode to have any lines of dialogue whatsoever (the other sibling being Lisa, while the rest of them only appeared briefly during the climax, watching Luna perform during the Royal Rumble school event). Luna’s character was on top form here, and Nika Futterman’s voice performance really helped to bring the best out of the character. Luna’s energetic, enthusiastic and passionate personality and behaviour truly shined as she went through her arc and process of character growth via the eventfulness contained within the story. It is clear Luna is hurt, if not heartbroken by the sudden realisation (or more optimistically, belief) that it is not especially probable she will become a majorly successful rock star on the same level as Mick Swagger or one of her idols, after discovering her roadie Chunk went through a similar journey as she currently is during his youth. Yet her optimism and drive to continue finding a purpose and a pathway to commit to is legitimately admirable and really serves to highlight a strength of this Loud sister. Luna tries many different alternatives in order to find a practical solution to her problem, including finding other ways to share her love of music, to seeking work in other fields entirely.

It’s through this that we are able to bear witness to both the virtues and vices of Luna. A virtue being her enthusiasm, as well as her ability with computers (which makes sense, as many activities involving the interest of music, such as editing, downloading, etc. require competent usage of such technology nowadays). While a vice would be how overly enthusiastic and passionate she is about something to the point where it can become off-putting to others around her (hence why she was fired from working in the music store after a rather unappealing interaction she had with a customer). Ultimately, she learns from her mistake of making false assumptions by putting 2 and 2 together and having it equal five. While she believes Chunk was unsuccessful in pursuing his dream of being a rock star, it turns out he actually has his own band and regularly performs publicly, and contrary to her initial assumptions, he does not sleep in a van and has his own flat. Chunk also has his moments in this story, as well as his own hidden music career which we have been left to assume until this point he abandoned. He helps Luna realise that even if she doesn’t become a megastar performing in sold out arenas, that doesn’t equal a lack of success. As long as Luna is doing what she loves, is getting by, and is happy doing so, that’s what matters at the end of the day. This was a great character arc for Luna to progress through. Additionally, she was just very entertaining to watch, and made for an enjoyably lively and spirited protagonist; a kinetic rocker girl who you really wanted to route for as she endured her personal struggle and embarked on an emotional journey of self-reflection and realisation as she came to appreciate the true value of being rock star and why she should continue to pursue her greatest interest. She should continue to aspire to be a rock star and work towards it because it is her passion and what she likes to do, and even if she’s not the next Mick Swagger, that doesn’t mean she’s a failure or that it’s not worth it and her aspirations are hopeless.

The ending performance of Luna’s is pretty cool to watch and even a little heartwarming as Chunk comes in to help her out. While not quite as awesome as some of the other ending song sequences from previous stories, such as the song Luna and the other siblings sing to Lincoln in Yes Man or the Tricked! Song, it was still a neat segment to end on nonetheless. If I’m being completely nit-picky, the joke involving Lynn Sr trying to sounding British in front of Luna and Chunk near the start for the sake of an awkward humour moment did seem a little forced, and this wasn’t necessarily one of the funniest entries in the series (that being said, Luna’s energetic attitude and persona did provide the story with some additional entertainment value). But overall, this was a fantastic episode with a lot of admirable qualities. This story was a much-needed focal story for Luna, who unfortunately had to settle for being on the side-lines for an entire season and at this point, severely needed and deserved the narrative attention. But I guess good things come to those who wait, and while we had to wait for this overdue Luna episode, at least I can confirm it was certainly worth the wait.

Final Rating: 9/10