User blog:AlexKawa/Episode Review: Ruthless People/What Wood Lincoln Do?

Alright, so I'm back! Haven't reviewed an episode in almost a month, but I'm back in action, ready to get back to the show I love! So, I have five episodes to catch up on from last week, and I watched two last weekend. Those are the two I'm reviewing today, so let's get right into it!

Ruthless People
Wow! I heard so many bad things about this episode! I dreaded pressing play on this one. I had seen so much hate for it, some even saying it was worse than Brawl in the Family and No Such Luck! And, while I have defended NSL as much as I can, I will not do the same for the atrocity that is BITF. People called Lana a bigger jerk in this episode than Lynn in NSL. At this point, I was scared! I had to watch this on my birthday, too! That would have to be the worst birthday experience for me ever! To be excited that a show I love has a new episode out, only to find out it's absolute crap. But, I guess I had to try it before I knocked it. So I hit play, and here's how things played out:

[About two-thirds through the episode, when Lincoln is trying to swap places with Lisa so she can go to Sunset Canyon]

Me: "OK, this isn't so bad so far..."

[Cut to the Rest of Lynn Sr.'s group making deals with the rest of Rita's group]

Me: "OK, this is a pretty good concept! What was everyone complaining about?"

[Lynn Sr.'s group find termites Lana left behind at Aunt Ruth's lake house]

Me: "Ah, I see now. But Lana's 6 years old, and you could tell she felt bad the termites would get killed.  She's still a little naïve, given her age, so I guess I can't really hold too much against her.  It's not like she did it with malicious intent."

[Cut to the ending]

Me: "OK, why did I dig that episode so much?"

Yep, you heard me right. I love this episode! You guys were exaggerating on supreme levels! I mean, there's a lot to like about this episode. I know, I know, Lynn Sr.'s team always gets the short end of the stick when they make bets to swap with Rita's team, but it does teach the audience about being careful what you wish for. I mean, we have had at least four episodes that have taught that lesson (One of the Boys, Garage Banned, and The Mad Scientist), but I can overlook that for a couple reasons: 1) it is conveyed differently here than in those episodes, and 2) these episodes, for the most part, are few and far between. And I thought the idea was pretty good: one team is in a terrible situation, so they try and swap with the other team, only to find out they would've gotten something good out of it had they stayed. It's not like the episode was conditioned against Lynn Sr.'s team; these things happened and they suffered because they tried to leave too quickly. They also tried to get the other half of their family to suffer in these terrible conditions. If you ask me, I don't see too many problems with it. And honestly, a lot of it was hilarious! Especially the deals they made with each other, and Lynn Sr.'s reactions to the other team having fun when he expected them to suffer. Now, onto where you guys were exaggerating:

"Oh, Rita's team were jerks because they didn't help Lynn Sr.'s team when they were suffering!"

I think I saw one or two people who said something along these lines, or at least them complaining that Rita's team didn't care for Lynn Sr.'s team's suffering. Well, how were they supposed to? Lynn Sr. never told them about it! And where in the entire episode did Rita's team brag about it, as I may have seen someone say? I saw no point in the episode where they did that. I even read over the script to make sure, and I still turned up nothing.

"Oh, Lana's such a jerk for bringing the termites to Aunt Ruth's lake house and making Lynn Sr.'s team miserable!"

Like I said, Lana's 6 years old. Now, I'm not saying she can't make rational decisions, but I believe her love of animals guided her to save the termites from extermination. It's not like she tried to torment her family. So, I don't fault her so much here. As far as this being worse than Lynn in NSL, well, I don't see there actions as terrible. I mean, yeah, Lynn was very impulsive to throw that shade at Lincoln, but it didn't fuel the raging fire. It probably would've eventually blown over, probably never would've caught on, had Lincoln not escalated the lie. So, I don't really blame Lynn there, and I don't blame Lana here. So, let's just agree to disagree. How does that sound? Good? Good.

So, in conclusion, this episode is great! I really see no major faults to it. Now, there is one flaw that keeps it from being one of my favorites, and it's been going on for a while now. So, in the past, the show has used Lynn for gross-out humor, but the only two episodes before this season where it really happened were Space Invader and Lincoln Loud: Girl Guru, as far as I remember. Now, this is the third time they've used Lynn for it in June alone! First, Head Poet's Anxiety (even though I watched that early back in May), The Mad Scientist, and now this! What is with this show's obsession with Lynn and gross-out humor all of a sudden? I don't know, but it's not a huge deal. Other than that, though, the most underrated episode of The Loud House without a doubt.

Rating: A

What Wood Lincoln Do?
Phew! I'm frickin' exhausted from writing all that! But, I gotta power through this one, too. So, this episode. I'm not gonna lie, I am gonna keep this one to a minimum because, not only am I tired from writing the review for Rutless People, but I really just don't have anything to say about this one. While it isn't the WORST episode ever, I mean, if I were forced to watch it, I wouldn't exactly be running for the door to escape as fast as I can, it is the worst TYPE of episode to review: the type of episode where there is nothing to talk about. I mean, Lincoln has to do a woodworking project for school, but he can't, so his mom does it for him, then he takes an already-made birdhouse to pass it off as his own, then his teacher asks him to build a dresser, so he buys one to pass it off as his own, but it breaks and he's forced to admit the truth, so he builds his own step stool to try and show his teacher he tried, and she forgives him. Oh, I'm sorry, did I fail to grab your attention? I did? Well, I'm glad we can both agree. Too bad The Loud House didn't! Seriously, what kind of episode is this? It does nothing to distinguish itself from the countless number of other episodes that use this trope, not Lincoln's reactions to woodworking are just nonsensical and exaggerated, and I don't mean that in a good way. And Clyde really wasn't needed, which is my biggest problem with these "Clincoln McCloud" episodes. While I don't outright HATE them, a lot of the time, Clyde really has no purpose to be there. And that's painfully obvious here. Honestly, of these two sister episodes, I will never understand why it wasn't THIS one that got all the hate. I mean, I guess it isn't offensively bad, like, it doesn't kill anyone's character here, but they could do so much better! It's just boring, and in one of the worst ways possible. I liked this episode when I watched it last weekend, and while I haven't rewatched it since, looking back in retrospect, I don't remember why I liked it. OK, the scenes with Walt were really funny, I'll give the episode that, so that does bring it up a notch or two, but I really just can't get excited about this episode for any reason other than that. It's just bad. If you like it, good for you. I'm happy you can enjoy it while I can't. Like if you do, it's perfectly fine, but feel free to tell me why you do. Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Rating: D

Conclusion
So, overall, not bad. I was, obviously, pleasantly surprised by Ruthless People, but completely bummed out by What Wood Lincoln Do?. Hopefully, the other three episodes this week will be better than WWLD. But, still, you guys were way to exaggerative about RP. But, all opinions will be respected by me. Comment down below your thoughts on these episodes, and I'll see you guys later. Take care!