Motivated by Lincoln's resilience, Dr. Renzetti takes initiative to take control of the rumbling Loud sisters. War is out there. But the experienced psychiatrist hatches an idea.
"Mr. and Mrs. L, do you have anything powerful? Something to get the attention of your children that will annoy them but convince them?" Dr. Renzetti asks.
"That's something unusual from a therapist like you," Mrs. Loud comments.
But Mr. Loud rebuffs her statement and clarifies from him, "What is it you're asking?""Something powerful like a noisemaker or a body controller or something," the therapist confirms.
And after the doctor lays down the details, Mr. Loud instantly grasps what he needs. "I just got the thing."
Moving on outside, the Loud sisters are still in a rampage after overreacting in a supposed simple game of trust fall resulted on them berating to each other. Every sister is at their most infuriated in this scenario. But additionally, every one of them receives a hurtful blow from each other. Lori gets kicked in the gut. Leni has her messily tweaked. Luna is punched in the face. Luan gets pummeled to the ground. Lynn has her face clawed. Lucy is attacked from her hair. Lana gets her hat dragged, causing her face to stretch. Lola has herself dragged by someone by her hair. And Lisa is knocked down from her head. And this is just the mild version of their childish fighting. Cartoon or not, the sisters really show their worst in this circumstance.
Suddenly, Dr. Renzetti enters the scenes and points a water hose to them, striking a jet of water that enables to stop their fighting. The Loud sisters try to fight against the stream of water, only for them to get soaked evenly. With that, they officially stop the fight.
Tired and baffled, the therapist declaims this to them, "Girls, your mom and your dad brought me here for a reason. And that is because they love you. I hope you can see that and treat this seriously. Now, outdoor activity's over. Let's…move on to the next one. Each one of you, get yourselves changed and wait on your porch. Okay?"
But the Loud sisters are speechless on Dr. Renzetti's stirring statement about them. Despondently, they do what he instructed them to do. Lincoln, having fixed himself when he went inside, witnesses his sisters at their begrudged but dismayed faces. It really seems that they find themselves in guilt territory from then on.
IV. ONE-ON-ONE
Moments go by, and with the Loud children finally having fixed themselves, they all converge by the porch for Dr. Renzetti's next activity. Three hours go on, and silent treatment reaches to them there, ever since entering their rooms. No one utters a word or interacts with one another. The only thing that they can do is do their usual mannerisms while waiting, like having direct contact to the floor, twiddling with their thumbs, swinging their feet, tapping the wall and checking their phones.
Finally, the doctor opens up the door from the inside, starting the activity. "Uhmm can I have Lincoln first?"
But the Loud sisters suddenly complain about this, out of boredom and impatience from waiting. They seriously want the program running but rebel against this choice.
"Girls, you'll have your turn. Now I need your cooperation. This is for your own sake, okay?" Dr. Renzetti persuades, "You can wait by the yard. Your parents are there to watch over you. But can I have Lincoln first?"
With that, Lincoln enters the house.
"Just literally great!" Lori grumbles.
"What makes Lincoln good enough to enter?!" Lola vents, triggering for the others to complain as well, but not as tense as last time.
As Lincoln enters the house, he sees the living room having a photo-shoot like set up, with the lights, the dim atmosphere and an SLR camera on standby. It is clear for him that the therapist has this set up for a question and answer portion for each of the siblings. Lincoln slowly walks to the couch, unnerved but sanguine.
"Lincoln, you can take a seat if you're ready," Dr. Renzetti says.
"It's okay doc. I'm ready where you are," Lincoln replies.
"Okay," the therapist utters, leading him to press for the camera to record and to initiate the interview. "Now Lincoln, this will be very simple. Just answer each question with all your honesty. Are we cool with that?"
"I guess so," Lincoln hesitantly responds.
"Lincoln, I dealt with many children for four years. I get to learn a lot of stories from them. And with those stories, I get to help them deal with their problems. Now, if you will, you can open your thoughts to me. Just be open, as if you're storytelling. You like that, don't you?"
"May…be I could get a hang of it.""That's the spirit. Now, tell me your nickname and age.""Lincoln. 11 years old."
"Okay. Now, how do you describe yourself?"
"Well, I'm a man with a plan. I always work hard to get my way out of my problems, even though some resulted for the worse, like this one. I love comics, videogames and hanging out but I take my time on my studies. I'm optimistic, helpful and resourceful. It's just my way of saying 'Seize the day.'""Good. How do you find life so far?"
"Good. Well not bad, just okay. I get to live and breathe daily. I get to wake up in the morning, go to school, hang out with Clyde, see the sights and spend time with my family, especially with my sisters."
"So far, going good. Okay, here's where you might have a hard time on. What do you think of your family in general?"
"Well, I have no problems about my family. I know I get along well with mom and dad and…my sisters."
"Hmmm okay. Then, how do you find your sisters?"
"That's a…tricky one. Well, as a brother, I don't find them bad."Then, the whole one-on-one interview runs in the same routine where Dr. Renzetti asks each sibling about his/her thoughts about their other siblings.
(The format will go by each question and the corresponding answer from each Loud children.)
How do you find your siblings?
Lori: "Ohh don't get me literally started with them."
Leni: "Ooooh I think they shine so bright. But I'm not a fan. But I like the jewelry." (But Dr. Renzetti clarifies to her, "I meant your siblings, your brother and your sisters. Not see-blings.") "Ohh, now they don't shine so bright."
Luna: "Give me a break, dude."
Luan: "By calling them names. Hehehe. Get it?"
Lynn: "Well, I can say there are worse things than my sisters."
Lucy: "What utter disgrace I see, no one I can identify or call free."
Lana: "They don't understand the art of plumbing and mud pies."
Lola: "Hah! What load! At least we all agree who is the fairest of them all. And that's me."
Lisa: "Sometimes, I plan to bribe the state office to officially declare myself not their biological sister."
Why do you find it hard to understand your siblings?
Lincoln: "We are way too different to each other. But that doesn't mean we cannot compromise."
Lana: *picks her nose*
Lynn: "Probably they don't want sports as much as I do."
Leni: "Maybe I cannot understand. Is that bad?"
Lisa: "My intellectual capacity is beyond reproach for my biological kinsfolk that they would not understand the word 'reproach'."
Luan: "Their sense of humor hasn't been felt yet. Hehehe. Get it?"
Lori: "They just literally don't see the respect that I need to have from them so I can understand them."
Lola: "They need to understand me first. That's how I get in the same page. Help me, help me."
Luna: "Sometimes I get myself the creeps. Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me."
Lucy: "The need for empathy becomes poison in my soul."
Who among your siblings you are having a hard time with?
Lincoln: "This is kind of hard. To be honest."
Lola: "Luan for being a try-hard."
Lynn: "Ughhh…this is so hard. I dunno. Probably Leni?"
Lisa: "At least Leni got me applying basic knowledge. I would say Lori for being a sluggish vapid unit."
Leni: "I don't wear jewelry. So…" (Dr. Renzetti then replies, "Leni, again, it's not about blings. It's about your brother and sisters. Who are you having a hard time with from them?") "Hmmm…Lana? She's the one with no front teeth right?"
Luna: "Lola. That dudette just creeps me out."
Lucy: "Luna, for being the loudest among us."
Lana: "Lisa. I couldn't understand her equators."
Lori: "Lincoln. The outsmarter, if there is a word."
Luan: "Lucy. No doubt. Ironic that I'm the light of their lives and she's from the dark. Hehe."
Lincoln: "…Lynn. I have to be honest. She is a natural bully."
Are there any hard moments you had with your sibling/s?
Lincoln: "Easily the moment when my sisters meddle me when Ronnie Anne's bullied me. I try to rest my case but they keep making things worse."
Lisa: "A group tutorial. Leni made grape juice for the study group and accidentally spilled it to the modules. A biological history is amenable to support the case of her hereditary klutziness."
Lucy: "The moment where my secret is about to get exposed. And I'm faced with pressures to how will my brother and sisters react…" (Dr. Renzetti asks, "Can you tell me what secret it is?") "It's a secret. I can't tell anyone. Besides, my soul will be demoralized if I unleash the weakness that pierces my heart."
Leni: "That time when I tried to learn how to drive. I get that my brother and sisters wanted to help me. But I wanted to make them happy with me driving for them. But I just can't learn. I want to."
Luna: "The Royal Woods Fair Family Talent Show. No doubt. I know we are not all musicians. But they could have at least been serious about it. But we have fun, and that's what it's about."
Lola: "The time we dared Lincoln for quitting his habit of him just wearing his underwear. I tried to take control but couldn't. WHY?!"
Luan: "Hmmm…I think it was right after last April Fools. The family fixed the whole house after the pranks were pulled off. And since the day's not done, they feared that I might pull off another prank. I didn't. But they still retained their frowny faces. They could at least prank me for sparing them. Hehehe. Get it?"
Lana: "I tried to ask anyone if they wanna play with me in the yard. Or slide with me in the mudslide. But no one did. Olny Charles did. And he left a trail of mud while we're playing."
Lynn: "I remember when we are about to do our family picture. And my sisters asked me to pull down my ponytail since Luan did. I said 'no way Jose'. But they outnumber, so what I know? Then, I became angry throughout that day."
Lori: "A lot in my head but I can think one time when I introduced Bobby to the family. And literally, things went the wrong way. Lucy frightening Bobby. Luna playing loud that it literally shattered the glass. Luan throwing him puns. Lola and Lana meddling him. Lisa wanting to use him as a guinea pig. All. Just all!"
But even with the downs you have with your siblings, do you still love them, unconditionally?
At that question, Lincoln is the only one who confidently answers with no shadow of a doubt. "Yes. Yes and yes. I love them with all my heart. I wouldn't trade the world for them."
As for the rest, they each have their own troubles and getting through the question and finding a suitable response to it. Lori tries to dig deeper for such an elementary question. Leni scratches her head, trying to ponder what Dr. Renzetti asked. Luna resorts to overthinking. Luan turns her smile upside down, upset on the fact that she does not know how to answer that question. Lynn lowers her head in despondency. Lucy just sits still, not muttering any word since she is the ever quiet and lonesome Lucy Loud. Lana becomes upset by this, while Lola tries to shake her head in attempt to find a textbook answer or a way out. And Lisa mutters no word from this.
Still, Dr. Renzetti feel that is a good moment for the Louds to settle things evenly. On board to the next session.
