Originally uploaded 30/6 via DeviantArt
This was a passable if unremarkable episode. For those who have feared Lincoln’s presence in the show is diminishing and he is becoming less relevant as time goes on, this must have been a refreshing treat, as he is the sole star of this story (his name even being in the title and all). Lincoln, as always, is a fun and likeable, if flawed protagonist (he isn’t a saint, after all, in spite of what some fans may try to have you believe). It is discovered he has difficulty with completing practical tasks like woodwork construction (this may also extend to any physical job including constructing or inventing things, but this isn’t completely covered in the episode). Giving in to his fear, Lincoln opts for every shortcut he can find in order to complete the assignment and gain a decent grade for his work, including getting his mother to do it for him, and purchasing a ready-made wood stool to pass off as his own work. Unfortunately, if predictably, Lincoln’s deceptive tactics land him in greater trouble as Mrs Johnson asks him to use his falsely assumed excellent woodwork skills to make items for her, and of course, his efforts at lying fail (primarily thanks to the bird, whose birdhouse was stolen by Lincoln as one of his methods of bypassing a woodwork assignment). The liar is then revealed (painful cliché, I know) and Lincoln owns up to his deception and then makes an effort to redeem himself. Lincoln may be flawed but his position is understandable. The episode does a decent job at portraying just how uneasy he feels committing to woodwork and while his lying and deceiving his teacher and taking the lazy and cowardly option for most of the story, it’s never done to the point where the character is deemed unlikeable.
For the most part, he’s still an enjoyable lead. Plus, to his credit, Lincoln learns his lesson (even if it takes circumstance to force him to) and he readily owns up to his lies, even if Clyde offered him another way out (showing he is a truly loyal and helping friend, despite all his annoying tendencies to counterbalance that, perhaps relatively improving the image of Clyde in the eyes of some). He then sucked up his fears and actually committed to the effort of constructing a wood stool (his original assignment), and Mrs Johnson passed him for his efforts. Speaking of which, Mrs Johnson was a very reasonable authority figure in this episode. She praised Lincoln when she witnessed what she honestly believed were his outstanding project successes. She was firm but not overly angry when Lincoln confessed what he had done to her during the climax. She was quick to point out how disappointed she was in him, and rightfully so, but did not hold a grudge over it. In fact, when Lincoln finally completed the assignment the honest way, Mrs Johnson realised how hard he worked in the end to achieve the completion of said task, and awarded him accordingly. Rita was also a very responsible parent. She was willing to offer a helping hand to a son who was clearly struggling with him assignment, but was also there to discourage his thoughts of taking the easy way out. She only did the work for him once, with the intention of him learning from the experience and committing to it independently the next time around, and does not hesitate to make him stick to that arrangement when he asks her a second time. As such, the story is solid enough and does represent the featured characters in a very satisfactory light.
But beyond fulfilling the basic requirements of storytelling and portraying its characters, the episode doesn’t really excel any further. It’s solid television and has some admirable traits, but it’s not especially entertaining (at least not when compared with some of the other, stronger entries in the series) or amusing. Very few jokes, if any, are present here and as strong as the message is, it’s been done. Besides that, I just found the premise very uninteresting from the start. I guess, though, for a rather mundane and mediocre concept, the writers took it and done about the best they could with it. So that is to be appreciated on some level. But as I said, it’s an idea that has been done before (I remember the series Johnny Test, from several years back; a show most people look back on poorly but I reluctantly admit I used to watch it occasionally several years ago during the height of its popularity, and I remember an episode where the titular character went through the exact same scenario concerning an inability to complete woodwork assignments for school as Lincoln did here). As such, while it succeeds in its fundamentals, those being telling a coherent narrative and providing the characters with workable material throughout the story, the episode does little more than that to impress. Still, it is what it is, and it certainly was far from poor.
Final Rating: 6.5/10