"Season's Cheatings" is the second Christmas episode of the Nickelodeon animated series The Loud House, produced as the first segment in the eighth episode of the show's fifth season (though it was the season's seventh episode to air).
Synopsis
It's once again Christmas time at the Loud house, and Lincoln is in his room, telling that viewers that it's time for the family's annual gift swap. Every year, he and his sisters each pick one of the others' names out of a hat, and have to buy a gift for whichever sibling they picked. Lincoln then tells us that this year, the Christmas present he wants most is a Rip Hardcore backpack that doubles as an inflatable raft, shield and jetpack, but he's going to have to make sure that his name ends up in the hands of the sister who is most likely to give it to him (through past experience, he knows that it isn't Lucy or Lisa). He has figured out that his youngest sister, Lily, would be the best choice to be his Secret Santa, explaining that, since Lily is only a preschooler and can't actually buy anything herself, their parents are the ones who actually buy the gift that's supposedly from her. Therefore, Lincoln tapes his name-card to the bottom of the hat so that Lily, who goes last in the pull order, will definitely pick him.
Later, the Loud siblings each pick the names from the hat, with Rita picking Lori's card for her since she's at college and won't be home till Christmas Eve. Just as Lincoln planned, Lily pulls his name out of the hat. But then Rita and Lynn Sr. announce that, since Lily's growing up a little, she's going to give a gift of her own to her recipient rather than let the parents buy it, and that her gift will likely be one of her finger-paintings. Needless to say, this does not sit well with Lincoln, who promptly goes out to Vanzilla to scream in frustration, after which he begins preparing a backup plan.
That night, Lincoln sneaks into Lisa and Lily's room to take the card with his name on it. He plans to switch it with the name-card picked by Leni, since she's also good at picking out gifts for her loved ones and is also easy to convince. Unfortunately, Lynn Jr. is the recipient on Leni's card, and she tackles Lincoln before he can make the switch, telling him that she is not letting him swap. After venting his frustration inside Vanzilla again, Lincoln decides that the next best choice for his Secret Santa should be Lori. Disguising himself as Rita, Lincoln calls Lori, who's studying for her finals, to tell her that she's going to be his Secret Santa. Lori agrees to this, but since she's so busy right now, she tells "Rita" that the only thing she can give to any of her siblings is a Fairway University coffee mug. Lincoln then decides to try getting Luan to be his Secret Santa, since gift-giving is the one thing she takes seriously. This time, he disguises himself as Lori and convinces Luan to swap with "her". Luan says she'll give Lincoln the backpack, but then her ventriloquist dummy, Mr. Coconuts, intervenes, saying he wants to be the gift-giver instead and that he's giving Lincoln fake dog poop. Finally, after much deducing, Lincoln settles on getting Luna to be his Secret Santa, but decides to simply ask her upfront if she'll switch her Secret Santa name-card (which has Leni's name) with Lily's. Fortunately for Lincoln, Luna agrees to this deal, since he filled in for one of her bandmates at her band's last gig.
On Christmas Eve, Lincoln is delighted when he sees Luna placing her gift for him under the tree and calls Clyde to tell him about it. Clyde congratulates his best friend for his good fortune, but then asks him who he's giving a gift to. Lincoln then realizes that, with all the time he spent making sure he got the backpack, he has forgotten to get a present for his designated recipient - Lola. Not wanting to break his little sister's heart, he immediately rides his bike to the mall, but it closes the minute he arrives. Lincoln then goes to the Burpin' Burger, figuring maybe he can at least get Lola a gift card. Unfortunately, there is a long line of last-minute shoppers also buying gift cards, and when he gets to the counter, Grant tells him they're out of gift cards. As Lincoln is leaving the restaurant, his rival, Chandler, suddenly appears, saying that he can help him for a price. Chandler presents a suitcase containing something that ended up at the sewage plant his father works at and that Lola would love, but he tells Lincoln that he will need to offer a payment. With no other choice, a heartbroken Lincoln gives up his Rip Hardcore backpack to Chandler, who then gloats that he now has two of these backpacks and flies off with it. Unbeknownst to the two, Lily is watching Lincoln's sacrifice from the window and feels sorry for her big brother.
The next morning, as the sisters are opening their presents, Lincoln admits to his parents that he "opened [his] present early", but thanks Luna for it. He then tells Lola to open the gift he's given her - a pair of diamond earrings. Lola absolutely loves the earrings and thanks Lincoln for them. Afterward, Lily then comes up to Lincoln and presents him with a new gift she made for him - a finger-painting depicting her giving him the backpack. Shedding tears of joy, Lincoln thanks Lily, who wishes him a merry Christmas. Outside, we see Chandler still flying around with Lincoln's backpack when he crashes into the tree in the Louds' front yard.
Availability
The episode was made physically available in the manufacture-on-demand DVD A Loud House Christmas Collection (which also includes the show's other Christmas/winter-themed episodes and the movie A Loud House Christmas), released exclusively on Amazon.com on October 29, 2024.
Cast
| Voice actor | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Asher Bishop | Lincoln Loud |
| Catherine Taber | Lori Loud |
| Liliana Mumy | Leni Loud |
| Cristina Pucelli | Luan Loud |
| Nika Futterman | Luna Loud |
| Jessica DiCicco | Lynn Loud Jr. Lucy Loud |
| Grey Griffin | Lana Loud Lola Loud Lily Loud Cheryl Farrell |
| Lara Jill Miller | Lisa Loud |
| Brian Stepanek | Lynn Loud Sr. |
| Jill Talley | Rita Loud Mall announcer |
| Andre Robinson | Clyde McBride |
| John DiMaggio | Bud Grouse |
| Grant Palmer | Grant |
| Daniel DiVenere | Chandler McCann |
Gallery
"Merry Christmas, Lincoln."
Videos
See also
- "11 Louds a Leapin'"
- "A Flipmas Carol"
- "A Very Casagrandes Christmas"
- A Loud House Christmas
- "Snow Escape"
- "Twas the Fight Before Christmas"
External links
- The Loud House Encyclopedia: Season's Cheatings
- "Season's Cheatings" / "A Flipmas Carol" recap at TV Tropes