User blog:Justsomeordinarydude/Rita Her Rights (The Loud House): A Reaction.

Rita Her Rights

Well, this was an episode and an experience I know many fans have been asking for, as Rita Loud finally receives her own day in the limelight. True, she has spent other episodes in a sharing protagonist or deuteragonist role, alongside her husband, but this has been the first occasion in which she managed to be the sole main character. This story succeeds in the point it tries to drive home to its audience, that being the difficulties, responsibilities and stress that comes with being the mother of 11 (chaotic) children. The very opening conveys this very well by showing a fast-paced montage of Rita tending to all the queries, problems and complaints of her family, all while somehow managing to keep a straight face and happy demeanor as a front. The Louds are, for all their faults considered, well-meaning and generally good-natured people, but it is hard to deny the fact that they are a handful to deal with. Here we are as fans, complaining that Lynn Sr and Rita are not very good parents (basing that off the neutrality to the sister fight protocol, their willingness to join in with the deluded notion that Lincoln causes bad luck, and even a recent comic strip where they revealed they allowed their babies to wreck havoc while expecting them to outgrow their faces, only for it to become apparent they never did), but in spite of all their shortcomings as parents, we really don’t give them enough credit. Nobody who has to deal with consistently raising 11 children (including a destructive prankster, mad scientist, violent sports nut, and enfant terrible, etc.) is going to do a completely perfect job, and the fact that it took until season 3 for Rita (probably the more responsible of the two parents, though she has been shown to have her own faults and fallacies) to finally breakdown and give in against this constant pressure is something which truly shows the strength of her character.

The plot is predictable but entertaining enough. Rita accidentally winds up with one too many parking tickets and has to opt for community service in order to avoid paying an excessive fine. But she discovers how much she enjoys the relaxation that comes with such a relatively easy job. Of course, without her, the house descends into chaos. Or at least, more so than usual, though some might argue the Loud House is usually so anarchic, violent and destructive that Rita’s absence didn’t really make any significant difference, and those people might have a point. I guess that argument devalues the purpose and point of this episode’s narrative direction, but it’s debatable as to whether or not the house is really that chaotic on a regular basis, or if it’s only in certain stories where the household is really that destructive and out of control (in other words, the Loud House is portrayed as either only moderately or heavily out of whack depending on what the plot demands). Either way, whatever control was still in tact when Rita was there quickly disappeared, and every time she returned home, all she could observe was violence, shouting, conflict, explosions, and mess everywhere. Rita goes through the relatable of struggle of returning to such a demanding and tiring role of responsibility after becoming used to having some personal, relaxing time away from it. A lesser story would have likely made Rita realize that she is needed and she would surrender to her obligation and go back to being a busy and overworked mother of 11 while completely ridding herself of any chances for personal relaxation, because the family cannot afford to lose her help.

However, the writers went for a smarter option when concluding this narrative. While Rita does eventually overcome her desire to keep relaxing, and does return to her usual role by the end of the episode due to her responsibility as a mother, this return to the status quo (for the most part) is not without some necessary change. It is not only Rita who reflects from the experience, but also the rest of the family. After realizing Rita was under so much pressure to the point where she was willing to break the law so many times just to get away from it, Lynn Sr and the kids decide to take more responsibility themselves, so that Rita’s workload can be a little more manageable and less overbearing. The start of that being that the rest of the family will wake themselves up and get ready independently in the mornings, allowing Rita a little extra rest.

The episode has its fair share of funny moments, such as Rita (unconvincingly to the point of humour) pretending not to know when she is committing a violation towards the female cop, just to receive more ‘relaxing’ community service. The kids have their moments, too, such as when Lana accidentally puked on her mother because she ate too many worms (for such a disgusting kid who seems to think she’s part wildlife animal, Lana sure is adorable). Then there’s the return of Lunatic Lynn from Space Invader, as well as her hitting a prison guard with a bat when trying to demonstrate her new bat swing. Also, Lincoln is apparently a little lazy and slow in the morning, being the last kid to rise out of his bed whenever Rita requests. I also appreciated how even though this was an episode from Rita’s perspective, the kids were not demonized to make her more sympathetic. The kids may be a handful by their nature, but they are not despicable by any means and never intend to make Rita’s role as a mother more difficult.

Not everything about this story was great, however. For all the times Rita ‘inadvertently’ broke the law for the sake of community service, the female cop (who receives little character development despite her significance in the plot, other than the final scene where she finally sympathizes with Rita and understands why she wanted a break) takes forever to get to the point where Rita’s scheming would logically take her, that being jail time. It got a little ridiculous when Rita was constantly committing violations and crimes for the sake of relaxing time, and it took ludicrously long for her to wind up with another, more effective punishment. Also, why she didn’t just confront her family at any point about her need to have a break instead of just resorting to a crime spree was a missed opportunity, and would have made sense to happen. Plus, there is the aforementioned argument that her presence doesn’t make any difference regarding the chaotic nature of the house, and some pessimists may even claim there is a BS element to this plot, as other stories show Rita and Lynn Sr to not be that responsible or hard working as parents. But now I’m probably just nitpicking, and overall, it was an enjoyable story with some solid character moments and instances of entertainment. On its own terms and merits, Rita Her Rights goes down as yet another strong story for season 3.

Final Rating: 8.5/10