User blog:AlexKawa/Why Can't We Move on From Bad Episodes?

So, this is something I've been thinking about for awhile. It always seems like whenever there's a bad episode, it gets constantly trashed on by the fandom for months, maybe even a year, on end. So, why is it that we never seem to let go of these bad episodes? I'm here today to give some reasons as to why that might be, and also to maybe give some ideas to keep in mind when you want to talk about a bad episode.

First off, I want to clarify that I don't think every episode I'm about to talk about is bad. I'm just saying that these episodes are generally not liked by the fandom. Anyway, the first reason as to why I think people constantly talk about bad episodes is that they get sucked into the hype surrounding such a despised episode among the fandom. Take Kings of the Con, for instance. Even well past its release date, over three months ago, people STILL talk about how much they hate it. And look, I'm perfectly fine with people not liking it. And you guys reserve the right to criticize it. But when an episode like that is so disliked by a lot of fans, I think a lot of people think it's cool to just never shut up about how bad it is. And again, I'm not saying these people necessarily think the episode isn't bad, I'm just saying they probably think it's cool to go on and on about how bad they think it is because it fits in with mainstream public opinion.

The next reason kind of ties in with the last one, and it's that sometimes, it's easy to hate an episode and to go on and on about it. When an episode gets a lot of hate from the fans, it's easy to get caught up in it and to not form your own opinion. That's something I've tried to avoid throughout my time with the show, and I think I've done a pretty good job finding the best parts of hated episodes, which make me not hate them as much as most people do. This includes No Such Luck, where the moral was good and the progression of Lincoln getting more and more bored with his free time was done very well, Ruthless People, where I honestly found most of it funny and engaging, and I didn't hate the ending as much as most people, Out on a Limo, where some of the scenes were genuinely funny, and Kings of the Con, where the fight scene was straight-up brilliant. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some episodes that deserve the hate they get from the fandom, such as Brawl in the Family and One of the Boys, but even those episodes aren't the worst to me, and I'm still able to find their redeeming qualities (even if they may be very limited). But overall, when there's an episode that a lot of people don't like, I always try to see what's good about it and wonder, "wow, was that episode actually not terrible?" This is a mindset I think it's important to have. Again, it's easy to be cynical and say, "this episode sucks," but if you look deeper into it, you might think about if it's really that bad.

Finally, I think people just are upset whenever a show they like makes a bad episode, and they reflect that disappointment a lot. Now, this is a very appropriate and understandable mindset to have, and one I definitely have when I see a bad episode of this show. But sometimes, I think people are almost incapable of accepting that not every show is perfect and that there will be missteps along the way. Again, a bad episode of a good show leaving a bad taste in your mouth is nothing new and completely fine. It's happened to me before. But when it's all we focus on, it really takes away from what's great about the show in the first place. For me, what matters is learning from the mistakes made and moving on from them. That can be done by a future episode trying to redeem the characters destroyed by a bad episode, giving the characters who made that episode bad karma, or just making an all-around fun episode to wash the taste of the previous bad one out of the viewers' mouths. The Loud House has done all of these in the past, and very well, might I add. Sometimes, it's best to just understand that no show is perfect, and there will be bad episodes. It's happened before, it's happened here, and it's going to keep happening until the end of time. Bad episodes don't have to end a show. I mean, I'm willing to put April Fools Rules behind me, even. For as horrific, reprehensible, rotten, and spiteful as that episode is, I've seen several examples of the show redeeming itself from it. And that's really all that matters. Mistakes will always be made, the crew can't change the past, so just move on. Sometimes, that's the answer to dealing with a bad episode.

So, those are three reasons why I think the fandom gets so hung up on bad episodes, and how we can move on from them. I hope you enjoyed this post, and again, I want to clarify that it's totally fine if there are episodes you don't like. I'm just giving advice on how to handle your dislike of them. If you have anything to add to this discussion, please let me know down below, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about this. And until next time, thank you for reading, and have a great day!