User blog:Justsomeordinarydude/Read Aloud - Episode Reaction



Read Aloud

The show has also been exceedingly good at taking characters who embody archetypes which are not necessarily the most likable or popular, and making said characters some of the most well developed and fleshed out in the whole show. Lola has already been given a lot of development and enhancement over the course of 2 seasons, and this episode continued the trend of highlighting how there is much more to this bratty princess than a first glance would suggest. While a forced premise, the plot is able to provide Lola with yet another instance of significant character growth, as this story adds multiple aspects to personality. In this story, we find out about her weaknesses (who knew that a diabolical mastermind of the enfant terrible variety, who was capable of ingenious forms of scheming, blackmail and manipulation, would find it difficult to read a simple sentence such as ‘once upon a time…’), her vulnerabilities (she never learned to read because she found it too challenging and thought she was too slow, even though she would like to, and seems to feel upset as well as ashamed about it when confessing this fact to Lincoln), and her stubbornness (evidenced by the lengths she goes to in order to avoid reading, despite all of her family pressuring her to do so, and she even gets into a physical fight with her older brother just to avoid having to read). We also bear witness to Lola overcoming one of her biggest faults, as she does learn to read in the end, even if it realistically takes time given the disadvantage she faces, and the Loud family failed in winning the prize as they desired. This experience is further evidence that despite Lola’s often aggressive, ill tempered, selfish and sometimes even downright evil behaviour, beneath it all is just a little girl who is insecure about herself and what she can do, and someone who wants to better herself, but just needs the right help in order to do so. Fortunately for her, Lincoln is a very helpful and caring brother who goes out of his way to help his family. That scene where Lincoln sits there and tutors and incredibly slow Lola to read, literally for hours, is very heart-warming and a true testament to how good of a brother he really is. Of course, Lola returns the favour by defending Lincoln and shifting the focus towards herself when the rest of the family begin blaming Lincoln for not helping Lola read a book in time to win the contest. This episode shows Lola at her most sympathetic, and well as at her most unusual, as she certainly doesn’t seem like her usual, violent, excitable and outgoing self. It’s always great when a show so easily manages to present the multi-layered essence of a character in an efficient manner.

While the premise does seem a little forced (all of the family instantly become hyped about the idea of entering a contest about reading books because Lincoln informed them the prize was a private night party at Spunky Pigeons Palooza, which is mostly video games and poor animatronics; seems like something Lincoln would be interested in more than the others), it is refreshing to see all the Louds working together so passionately in order to fulfil a common goal, even if it is a little strange for everyone bar Lola to be so overly enthusiastic about reading books. I must give bonus points to Lynn Sr here, who almost acts as an only sane man in certain scenes. For example, when Lola threatens to ruin the family’s chances at winning the reading contest, Lucy, in her typical gothic fashion, suggests chaining Lola up and locking her away somewhere and pretending she never existed. Lynn Sr actually comments that’s too extreme, only for Rita (who is supposed to be the caring and concerned mother, but I guess not when private party prizes are on the line) to argue otherwise. Seriously Rita, that was rather out of character for you, wasn’t it? In all honesty, I don’t see why the family couldn’t just apply for the contest without Lola. Just don’t put her name down when you sign up for it as a family. I doubt the people running it would go over to the house and check on if every single person living there is partaking in the contest.

Anyway, despite all that, this was still a highly enjoyable episode with a lot of development for Lola, who was given a relatable struggle to deal with in this story. The humour was decent, including a recurring gag throughout involving Lisa disguising herself when at the library because she owes them $50k for overdue books, and even a chase scene at the end when her cover is blown. So, while aspects of the narrative were forced, and this episode once again utilises the worn-out clichés of mob mentality and the blame game (against Lincoln near the end for a brief moment as well as towards Lola throughout, though with Lola, it’s justified since her refusal to read is what creates the obstacle the family is dealt with), that still doesn’t stop Read Aloud from being a very strong story. Once again, the writers, animators, voice actors and other talent have done a great job!

'''Final Rating: 8/10. '''