The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder ‘s Episode 10 traces Suga Mama’s roots and takes the Prouds to Oklahoma in a humorous and captivating season finale.
Even though the first episode didn’t really impress me, I have to say that for the most part this first season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder has been a total blast to watch and review. There have been plenty of standout episodes and even the episodes that I didn’t totally love had funny moments. This is probably the best revival of a childhood favorite animated series of mine in The Proud Family that I could’ve asked for. It has heart, and there has been plenty of love and care put into this series to create something that fans and newcomers can enjoy, no matter their age.
The season finale is the perfect example of just that, there’s a compelling story and good jokes for everyone.
In Episode 10 of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Trudy Proud (Paula Jai Parker) traces her Parker family roots before being inspired to do the same for her husband, Oscar’s (Tommy Davidson) family. This results in Trudy discovering that Suga Mama (Jo Marie Payton), Oscar, and Bobby (Cedric the Entertainer) have family in Oklahoma. Despite Suga Mama’s resistance, the Prouds go on a road trip to find that Suga Mama’s father, Pa (Glynn Turman), and her brothers are alive and living on their ranch.
Much like last week’s episode, the story of Episode 10 takes the focus away from protagonist Penny Proud (Kyla Pratt). However, rather than put one of Penny’s friends in the driver’s seat like Episode 9 did, writer Calvin Brown Jr. focuses on Suga Mama and her history. Shifting perspectives once again allows for further exploration of these characters and the world that they live in. It’s something that just couldn’t be done if Penny was the focus of this episode, because this simply isn’t her story, and telling it from her point of view wouldn’t really work. As mentioned last week, taking a break from Penny would be a welcome change of pace as long as those in charge don’t overdo it. The main plot of Episode 10 is funny, but it’s also intriguing because it introduces cool new characters, grows Suga Mama as a character (It even gives Penny’s grandmother a first name, Charlette), and takes audiences somewhere we haven’t seen to date in the series.
Another interesting part of Episode 10 ’s plot is the conflict between Suga Mama and Pa. While it initially appears like another “Character disgruntledly returns to the home they left” story, the reason for Suga Mama’s discomfort strikes a chord. Pa is blatantly sexist, refusing to let Suga Mama, even from a young age, participate in ranching activities because she is a girl. We see Suga Mama excel at these activities throughout and therefore, we’re just as hurt as she is by his putdowns. The issue of sexism is something that will always be relevant, and Louder and Prouder tackles it from the perspective of someone that’s old enough to be a grandmother, proving it doesn’t go away no matter your age. It’s heartbreaking also to see this character, who we’re used to seeing being so witty and sassy, being rendered speechless from the hurt her father causes her. Not only that, it’s anger inducing, because not only do we know Suga Mama is great at doing things on the ranch, but so do she and the stuck in his ways Pa. With Episode 10 being titled “Old Towne Road Part 1”, it naturally ends on a cliffhanger that I imagine will be resolved in the recently confirmed to be in production Season 2.
Episode 10’s subplot revolves around Penny and the other members of her family getting to know Suga Mama’s relatives. Honestly, it’s more about the other Prouds getting to know them rather than Penny. Our usual main protagonist spends most of the runtime worrying about her frenemy LaCienega (Alisa Reyes) cozying up to her boyfriend, Kareem (Asante Blackk) on a school field trip. Penny does this until her cousins, well, at least kind of, teach her about life without technology. Perhaps this will be better expanded on in Part 2, but Penny’s arc feels almost like a waste thanks to a lack of time. Oscar and Bobby have much more interesting arcs in the same amount of time, with Oscar bonding with Suga Mama’s father and brothers after surprisingly proving to be a natural cowboy. Bobby on the other hand meets everyone, gets to eat a ton of food and sings with Suga Mama’s nephew, June Bug (Lil Nas X). Bobby and June Bug’s duet is one of the best moments of Episode 10. Yes, it’s sort of randomly inserted in there, but it is just too much fun to cut. In spite of Penny’s half-baked arc, the subplot adds to the episode and even hints towards Pa’s sexism in a subtle way thanks to his immediate support of Oscar. Oscar and Bobby handle most of the comedy in Episode 10, and there’s just something about these two characters and their ability to make even the dumbest things funny. Oscar squealing at a death stare from his wife should not be as funny as it is, but Tommy Davidson finds a way to make it earn a laugh out of me.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder ends its first season with an interesting and funny Episode 10. I’m very curious to see what happens next after the first part of this two-part episode was pretty good. It’ll be interesting to see where Suga Mama goes from here and if this dual episode will have any lasting impact on her going forward. From the main plot to the subplot, this episode does a lot of things well and should provide an excellent spring board for Season 2.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder ‘s Episode 10 is now available to watch on Disney Plus.
