iCarly: iBuckled

Summary

Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, finally comes to terms with her feelings for Freddie, played by Nathan Kress.

Yes folks they are finally doing it, after constant hints since the revival the show looks set to soon make Carly and Freddie a couple, or will it? I think this can go one of two ways either they get them together soon and have the awkward nature of their romance play out this season, which is what I want, or they drag it out throughout the whole season, which I think after all the hints in the second season would just be irritating.

This episode on the whole was a fairly mixed bag, I liked a lot of the Carly/ Freddie stuff and the jokes therein, I thought there was a number of laugh out loud moments towards the end of the episode, but I also thought there were a number of really awkward and cringe moments in the episode as well. The whole reality show sequence is bad and it makes no sense that Pearl, played by Mia Serafino, would just sit there as everyone is talking about how Freddie and Carly should get together.

The subplot about Freddie’s mm getting engaged was fine, but honestly when thinking about the episode I barely remember the subplot at all that’s how forgettable it was.

Overall, it is nice to see Carly and Freddie finally seem as though they are getting together.

3.5/5

Pros.

Carly and Freddie

A number of good jokes

Josh Peck shines

The ending

Cons.

The teasing and the will they wont they stuff

Some cringe moments

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iCarly: iThrow A Flawless Murder Mystery Party

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, takes over party planning for Freddie’s birthday after everything Pearl, played by Mia Serafino, has planned goes wrong. This leads to issues within Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, and Pearl’s relationship.

Since the first season it has been obvious that the show was setting Freddie and Carly up and I for the most part have been onboard with it. I don’t like the fact they have dragged it out this long, with the characters only really talking about it in the final moments of this season finale, with the will they won’t they decision happening in the first episode of the next season if it gets renewed. I would have preferred to see them get together in the final frame of this season and then have next season be primarily focused on them as a couple, but no they just had to end with a cliff-hanger.

I thought the emotional stakes of the episode felt right, the scenes wherein Pearl is realising that her and Freddie aren’t a good fit are tough to watch and do feel sad. Though the show wants you to care about the possible Carly Freddie relationship, it also wants to give Freddie and Pearl and earnest send off.

The side plot about Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, and Harper, played by Laci Mosely, both trying to leave the party to meet their blind dates, with it actually turning out they were going to meet each other, was fun if very obvious.

Perhaps this show is gearing up to do a Friends and have most of its main characters in relationships with one another.

Overall, a good end to the season that leaves us wanting more.

Pros.

Will they won’t they Freddie and Carly

The drama

The jokes

Spencer and Harper’s B plot does provide some much needed comedic relief at times

Cons.

The cliff-hanger

It was very obvious Spencer and Harper were each other’s dates

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iCarly: iHit Something

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After getting pranked Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, joins influencer fight club.

I thought for the most part this episode was incredibly by the numbers. The premise of Carly joining a fight club feels like it was just shouted out when the writers were listing various different whacky situations they could put her in, furthermore this is reflected in the episode by the fact it is barely developed in anyway. Moreover, the justification for why Carly is angry, she was pranked, makes her look petty and the events of the episode feel like an overreaction.

The B plot about Millicent, played by Jaidyn Triplett, having a crush on a boy and then Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, and Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, worrying that he is just using her for school work feels very been there done that and for the most part there is nothing new added to this incredibly formulaic idea here. The best part of this side plot is a joke made right at the end of the episode that actually made me laugh out loud which was nice respite from the tedium that was the rest of the episode.

Overall, fairly meh.

Pros.

One funny joke

It is watchable

The fight club is an interesting idea sadly though they do nothing with it

Cons.

It is too safe

It is very been there done that

It isn’t funny for the most part

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iCarly: iDragged Him

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A bunch of pointless hijinks stuffed into an episode so that the season is long enough to meet requirements.

My, my in my last review I talked about how that episode felt like filler, well believe me I knew nothing then. This episode was a slog to get through and was the very definition of filler in almost every way. There is a flaccid a story about Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, and Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, going on a reality tv competition together only for Spencer to suddenly become competitive and a jerk. Again this season seems intent on ruining Spencer as a character, before this episode these uber competitive tendencies had never come up so why did they now all of a sudden? Simply put because the episode needed some mindless drama.

The b plots don’t fare much better, on the one hand you have Harper, played by Laci Mosley, styling some drag queens for some reason. I did enjoy the absurdity of the Reece Witherspoon theme and how they each wanted to be Reece from different films, however, the novelty quickly wore off. On the other hand there is a Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, and Millicent, played by Jaidyn Triplett, story about a model UN meeting. I think this was the best of the numerous vying plots in this episode as it had a nice message of being yourself and not changing for other people.

Honestly, even with a few redeemable features this episode is not one that you will want to finish.

Overall, if the episode number is too many for the producers and creatives of the show to handle they should cut the seasons down and produce less filler garbage like this.

Pros.

It is not offensively bad

The model UN sub plot has a nice message

Cons.

The continued ruining of Spencer

The aimless feel of the episode

It drags on

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iCarly: iBuild A Team

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Very much a filler episode that brought back Josh in a desperate attempt to bait audiences with nostalgia.

What more do I need to say about this episode? The a plot is a rivalry between Josh Peck’s Paul and Freddie, played by Nathen Kress, and the b plot is about Harper, played by Laci Mosley, losing her mojo and Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, facing off against a food critic who is actually an art critic. My, my what delights.

The a plot has a few amusing quips from Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, but basically boils down to a cliché jealous love triangle, not in a romantic sense, and a vague excuse to bring back Cosgrove’s co-star from Drake and Josh which reeks of desperation; but hey at least it wasn’t the other one they brought back.

The b plot goes nowhere and does nothing interesting with Spencer or Harper, it basically just kills time until the end. Spencer’s silliness is again dialled up too high to try and make this subplot more interesting but it doesn’t move the needle.

Overall, a weak episode that is clearly filler.

Pros

Carly has a few amusing lines

It is fine to have on in the background whilst doing other things

Cons.

The gimmicky return of Josh Peck

The jealousy arc is cliched and dull

The b storyline feels like filler

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iCarly: iCupid

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Feeling as though she has held back Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, from finding love Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, decides to try and set him up.

I will give this episode praise for calling out several things that needed to be. Firstly it points out how weirdly close Spencer and Carly are and then secondly it has Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, standing up to the women in his life and stop being a doormat who is easily pushed around by other people.

Within the a plot I liked that Spencer and Carly’s relationship was front and centre and that they developed it in a meaningful way, with Carly saying that Spencer was like a father to her. Rachel Bloom as Mckenna the matchmaker was okay, but bordered on the side of annoying, also I thought some of the ideas put forward by her character in the episode as to what constitutes a red flag were problematic and sent a bad message. Labelling being short as a red flag seems inherently discriminatory and is clearly example of heightism.

Within the b plot Freddie had to stand up to his mother, played by Mary Scheer, and his adoptive daughter, played by Jaidyn Triplett, and tell them they don’t get a say in his dating life. I found this to be a very cathartic character moment for Freddie as for a while he has done whatever those around him tell him to do and it is nice to see him asserting himself.

Overall, some good character, only made slightly worse by an annoying matchmaker and some questionable morals.

Pros.

Good character work

Carly acknowledging Spencer as a stand-in father

Freddie finally standing up for himself

Cons.

The heightism

Bloom’s whole character

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iCarly: iHire A New Assistant

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly’s grandfather, played by Greg Mullavey, shows up for a visit and becomes Carly’s new assistant.

I think a lot of this new season of iCarly has the same issue, either a really good a story and a terrible b plot or a terrible a story and a good b plot, this episode was no different.

I disliked almost everything about the Grandad Shay character, I thought he was annoying and used to make the same lame predictable jokes you would expect from an old meets young storyline. Moreover, through this introduction Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, becomes even worse as a character- this season really hasn’t been kind. Throughout the a story of this episode Spencer debases himself to try and get his grandfather’s love and then begrudgingly gets it at the end, this could have worked on some level, however, the ending of the episode doesn’t feel earned and instead feels written for convenience.

The saving grace of this episode comes from the Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, and Harper, played by Laci Mosley, side story wherein it seems like Freddie and Harper might be soulmates based on their birth charts. I thought this b plot was genuinely quite funny and the characters worked well within it, I thought that Freddie and Harper made for a good pairing and I would like to see more of them having their own adventures in the coming episodes.

Overall, the b plot manages to stop the episode from being bad and does provide some shielding, however, the whole Grandad Shay narrative was trite and I hope the show does not bring him back again.

Pros.

Freddie and Harper

A few good jokes

Cons.

Grandad Shay

The old man jokes were super obvious and lame

They made Spencer even worse

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iCarly: i’M Wild And Crazy

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, realises she is the boring one of the friend group and so asks Harper, played by Laci Mosley, to take her on a wild night out.

This was a nice episode for the most part. I enjoyed seeing more of Harper and Carly’s friendship on screen and have them both get some much needed character development. I thought it was nice to see the series reference back to Harper’s breakup and her processing period rather than just move immediately past it and act like it never happened. I thought both Cosgrove and Mosley were on top form here as well.

However, the b-plot about Freddie, played by Nathan Kress, and Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, coming to blows over there business partnership was not only dull but it also brought out the worst in Spencer as a character. I have written before in other reviews about how I dislike that the show treats Spencer as a constant get out of jail free card, with his undetermined wealth allowing him to do practically anything, it feels like lazy writing and it is on perfect display in this episode. The conflict between Spencer and Freddie comes about as Spencer buys them an old smoothie bar as an office location for their business and then slowly loses interest in their start-up and instead wants to restore the old smoothie bar. Within this conflict not only do we get yet another lazy set up paid for by Spencer’s magical wealth, but also Spencer being his most childish and ridiculous. These last few episodes have really gone out of their way to show that as an adult Spencer is a failure, he can barely function in the adult world and just throws money at things to make them go away, and though I never thought he was the most efficient character ever, I did think he was more competent than this. It is sad to see the character reduced so much.

Overall, a better episode than the last but the show needs to decide what it want to do with Spencer as a character.

Pros.

Carly and Harper’s friendship explored in more depth

Cosgrove

Mosley

The references to Harper’s break-up and the character growth

Cons.

Spencer is being reduced to a poor cliché

The b-plot serves no purpose

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iCarly: iObject Lewbert

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Several old faces from Carly’s past return in an effort to end her web show.

My, my how do you go from a first episode that by all accounts was very good and pushed the show as a whole forward to this? Quite frankly, this second episode might be one of the worst of the revival.

The most egregious thing is just how badly this episode wants to milk nostalgia, bringing back all of these old familiar faces to try and sue Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, thereby forcing in member berries in a way that couldn’t be more blatant. The court trial simply serves as a means to be like oh remember this person from this episode? Remember?

Moreover, this is only added to by the worst ending of an episode of iCarly possibly ever, whereby when it looks like Carly might have to face some consequences for her past misdeeds Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, just buys her way out. The reason why this sucks is because it could have been an actual emotional moment which could have led to some character development for Carly or at the very least a shift in perspective, but no.

Additionally, this episode forces in a Harper, played by Laci Mosley, and Millicent, played by Jaidyn Triplett, side-plot that is the definition of time wasting. It goes nowhere and undoes a lot of the great Harper work the first episode does, reducing her back into the loud, obnoxious stereotype.

Overall, a sorry state of an episode made worse by the fact it followed such a good one.

Pros.

A few funny jokes

It is watchable

Cons.

The nostalgia baiting

The terrible ending and message of it

Reducing Harper back into a stereotype

Seemingly doing it best to stop any kind of character development

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iCarly: iGuess Everyone Just Hates Me Now

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After the events of the first season’s finale Carly, played by Miranda Cosgrove, is facing an ice queen image online and so in order to combat it decides to fake date Freddy, played by Nathan Kress, to show that she can indeed love.

I thought that this was a strong start to the second season, it was an episode that was firing on all cylinders and that advanced the Carly/ Freddie will they won’t they romance sub-plot somewhat. Admittedly, in the latter regard it is all just a tease and those of us who want to see Carly and Freddie get together for real will have to wait a while longer, though they do share some sweet scenes here.

I also enjoyed that this episode humanised Harper, played by Laci Mosely, and gave her more of a dramatic arc, which was a nice change of pace from the very over the top, loud and brash way she is often presented. I thought her brief scene with Double Dutch, played by Poppy Liu was both sad as well as a little touching, it got me a little misty I won’t lie.

The only reason I haven’t given this episode full marks is because I found the humour a little dumb at times, such as when asked to throw a grown up mature party Spencer, played by Jerry Trainor, puts together a funeral- albeit unknowingly. This joke bothered me because Spencer is supposed to be a grown man, who moves in the art world so him being unknowing and unable to put together a sophisticated party seems stupid and the visual joke doesn’t land.

Overall, a strong return for the series only let down by a few iffy jokes.

Pros.

Carly and Freddy

Giving Harper an emotional arc

It follows on nicely from last season

The ice queen recurring segment

Cons.

Spenser was really quite dumbed-down here

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