User blog:Drchan/The Clyde Question

Let's not mince words here. Clyde McBride is the most polerizing character in the show. It's sad also because I personally find the guy OK and a good friend of Lincoln. But ultimately, I'm 50/50 on this. While I don't have this odd hatred some in the fandom have, I do agree with some of the grievances and do see his faults. This is ultimately a problem of the writers struggling on whether to make this a show about primarily Lincoln (hence the Clincoln eps) or the Loud clan as a whole. Which to be honest, Savino was part of the problem (his mixed record in animation shows this). I do hope they are trying to improve that in season 3 and with Savino gone, the rest of the crew have a golden opportunity to flip the script. But back to Clyde. As far as criticism goes, the two that most stand out are his crush on Lori and the lack of a defined character/purpose. I'm not going to sugarcoat this and will say that his crush on Lori is handled very poorly. I look at Dipper and Wendy's relationship in Gravity Falls for both comparison and inspiration. Dipper's crush on Wendy was also at times awkward and creepy with Dipper even hating on Wendy's actual boyfriend as well. But Gravity Falls handled Dipper's crush way better with him being more level headed. Most importantly, IT ENDED. The moment when Wendy broke Dipper's heart was heartening but necessary. Because on the whole, Dipper became a better character for it and was given the opportunity to be with other girls in later episodes. If it wasn't for him ending his crush on Wendy, Dipcifica wouldn't be a possibility and their moments together were both sweet and good character development. This is why Change of Heart was a monumental missed opportunity and I pray for the staff to end this crush in a later episode. Because I really find it cruel to have a guy stuck on this crush for a person who will never return the same back and I don't think the staff is going to break up Bori or retcon Bobby for Clyde to have a chance with Lori. So why continue this? Lori said it herself that any girl would lucky to have Clyde’s affection. If he gave other girls a chance and toned it down, he would reach Bobby levels of girl swooning. I implore the staff to take that chance. The other critique Clyde gets is that he lacks a defined personality and purpose. He’s essentially the dorkier version of Lincoln plus a satellite. I agree. It’s one thing to a create and develop a main character, it another to do the same for said character’s beast friend. Plus if that character is not or want be intended to be as developed as the main character, they won’t be shown much. This is Clyde’s dilemma. It seems like the staff want to make him like a main character as the Louds, but lack the effort to develop him as well. Again I look at another animated series for both comparison and inspiration. Clannad’s Youhei Sunohara was for a time similarly despised for essentially being the exaggerated version of the main character Tomoya. But overtime, Youhei developed into his own man and in the second season and OVAs, he grew to be beloved. I can see the same for Clyde. You don’t have to erase his nerdiness to give him a defined character as well. Plus, with a defined character and purpose, his common presence won’t be as opposed. I also hope the staff can look into this as well. In conclusion, although I don’t view Clyde as negatively as many in the fandom, I do think he is in much need for improvement. If two things happen: he ends his crush on Lori and is given a distinct personality from Lincoln and is not treated like his satellite, more people would like him. The staff have shown to listen to the fans. It’s up to us to make our voices heard and if we see a problem in Clyde like his crush or lack of development, respectfully let be known and who knows, Clyde can be a better character as a result.