User blog:Justsomeordinarydude/Friendzy: A Reaction.

Friendzy

This is another of those stories which focuses on the entire sibling group. While these have been criticised because of how close to impossible it is for stories of this format to provide anyone with meaningful character development or interactions, there are at least some instances in this episode which do serve to provide significant additions to these existing characters. For instance, despite being the pageant queen of the group, Lola apparently has an addiction to prison dramas, and has many devious concepts in her head about exacting vengeance over someone, or one-upping them. Also, regarding the main plot, I found it quite interesting that of all the main siblings, Lynn (considered amongst the dumber and more one-note of the siblings) was the first one to play the friend card, which them prompted Lincoln to repeatedly do so with Clyde and then for the sisters to follow in their influence. It appears she’s smarter and more tactical than we’ve given her credit for.

There were also a few moments of solid humour throughout. Like the aforementioned parts of Lola bringing up ideas such as sneaking up on people after dark, due to her new interest in pageant prison. Also, Leni leaving along with the rest of the crowd during the episode’s climax after the police come in to break up a massive brawl was so typical of the delightfully dumbfounded blonde. Not to mention, all the squinted eyes and smirks shared between the sibling group at various points after they constantly outdid each other at playing the friend card. It was a fairly funny episode, at least, depending on your sense of humour (but then again, isn’t laughter always dependant on that?).

The main plot was fun if generic and predictable. If they are going to do loads of these stories focusing on the entire sibling group at a time, at least if they are fun ones then that’s fine. Even though I would like more stories concentrating on one or a few siblings at a time to allow for more growth and fleshing out, particularly for the ones that still need more of it, stories with this format are still welcome from time to time. As you would expect, the narrative plays out as thus: the siblings catch on to the advantages of playing the friend card, each one keeps bringing in more and more friends to “win” the competition and gain the privileges in the household, only for the situation to spiral out of control and for chaos to ensue, before the situation is resolved by force (by the police and the parents). Many plots of this show tend to be predictable, though that’s probably because our generation has been exposed to countless movies and TV shows, as well as the information contained in sites like TV Tropes, to the point where we have practically encyclopaedic knowledge of all the techniques and directions employed within the writing process. So, I guess predictability is as much our own fault as it is of the show. Besides, just because we can make consistently accurate estimations on how a story is going to proceed, that doesn’t mean viewing cannot be a fun and enjoyable experience.

This episode will be a treat for many fans, as it includes several popular side characters who make cameo appearances in this story as the friends of each respective Loud sibling. Most notably, Sam Sharp (who was hyped up crazily to appear in this story to the point where she was the most talked about thing about this episode, despite her small role in the episode and the series as a whole). Also, we had Haiku, Margo, Giggles, Darcy, Lola’s pageant friends, the entire Morticians club, and many more. Of course, for those of you who don’t especially care for these minor ‘Ensemble Darkhorse’ characters, this aspect of the story probably won’t do a lot to impress you.

Overall, it’s fun and entertaining. While not spectacular, fun is all it really needs to be. Some may be turned off by this story because it’s yet again another narrative about the siblings fighting for stupid reasons, but remind, they are siblings and small children in a small, chaotic household. That’s the very essence of the show, whether you like it or not. At least it never becomes unnecessarily mean-spirited or overblown. It’s just a harmless dose of violence and conflict, that’s all. The siblings at least learn a lesson, even if the resolution is a little rushed, and while the parents are shown be a little useless, allowing the problem to escalate until the police arrive at the front door to resolve the conflict, it’s nothing that hinders their reputation too badly (compared to previous examples). Probably the second strongest episode this week after Head Poet’s Anxiety (which is, to be fair, one of the strongest episodes of season 3 thus far).

Final Rating: 8/10