User blog comment:Weavillain/Is Clyde Too Similar To Lincoln?/@comment-4618045-20170611163917/@comment-4618045-20170611185324

Admittedly, a lot of it comes down to personal preference.

On one hand, they do a decent job at establishing his presence within the episode. He was meant to be a boy on the outside, his house acting as an end goal. I'll take that over a complete cop out.

But on the other hand (and I realize that people will disagree with me), I don't think that episode was the place for a non-Loud to shine. It's already been established that Clyde knows a thing or two about caring for others (not just having the heart, but also the ability and resources to do so). And besides, by the end of Season 1, there had already been a number of episodes out there for Clyde to be a pal to Lincoln (which is a fact that I don't think anyone would deny).

In my opinion, what "One Flu Over the Loud House" needed more than show Clyde being a supportive pal (once again) is teach Lincoln that his sisters are individuals and that they are very much able to set him straight on an individual basis (rather than force him to learn a lesson by having a mob-like entity beat him down). This episode should have strived to strictly be a Loud-centric episode with a sister focus (if you know what I'm getting at). By seeing that Leni is willing to not only stand up against Lincoln in the midst of this plague but ACTUALLY care for and restore all of them back to health by herself, we allow her to do something of genuine merit and to allow Lincoln and all the other people that tried to shut her down respect and admire the work she does. And as a result, the show continues down the path of making the sisters ten individuals that are indispensable rather than being a cog in the wheel of some massive, dehumanized blob that Lincoln has to appeal to or feel the full and unified blunt against.

So I guess to clarify what I meant: while I don't think Clyde was entirely useless in the episode presented, his presence and the fact that HE was the one that saves the day presents a missed opportunity for the show. Sure you could make it work, but then there's disappointment when Season 2 goes on to have an abundance of Clincoln McLoud episodes while leaving us waiting for another chance to see these sisters grow as people.