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Intro

Hello there! My name is Katapultman. I'm a tad new to the show and the community, having currently watched the series up to Season 5 as of this being published. If you've seen my name pop up, or it sounds familiar, that's most likely either because you've seen me on r/gumball because of my previous analysis (which is also based on a Richard-centric episode), or on one of the Discord servers. From the title, I presume it's already obvious I'll be analysing "The Man", then Richard's character itself. I'll try my absolute best to make this analysis as unbiased as possible, considering my personal favoritism towards Richard's character. And with that, let's move onto...

The Analysis of the Episode

As it is always is with TAWOG episodes, the first scene sets the tone for the episode, and with "The Man" it starts out comedically, but halfway through, the main conflict is set up alongside the comedy. This is played out in a timeframe of 4 minutes and 25 seconds. Whilst the scene may be a bit stretched out and lackluster, coupling Richard's obnoxiousness with his trademark comedic idiocy, along with some comments from the kids and Nicole, it doesn't fail to convey some character development for Granny Jojo by adding a romantic interest in her frankly dull life. Louie himself is proven to be a likable character in Season 4, through episodes like "The Check" and "The Signature" , but it's hard to laugh alongside him at first, considering he's just popped out of the blue, although that's remedied by how well-written and believable Granny Jojo and Louie's chemistry is. Both of them forward their relationship through their own quirkiness, and they make for a good dynamic.

There are only two other scenes in this episode that contribute to my main point, one of them being the intimate moment between Richard and Nicole , and the other one being the climax. I'll go through each of them thoroughly.

From Season 1 up until Season 5, we saw only brief glimpses of Nicole and Richard's past. The way they managed to blend this scene with the rest of the episode is admirable. It showcases the purity of their love (the same being done in "The Gi" ), and along with that, Richard's self-doubt for his actions. The tone in which he answers Nicole's plea for him to let his mother be isn't the one of a child being scolded; it's one of sincerity, as if though, for the first time in a long while, Richard feels regret for his actions, though this possible regret is immediately replaced with an instinctive reaction when he sees the gross display of affection from the two lovebirds.

And with that comes the climax, a moment that for some feels extremely powerful and engrossing, and for others, rushed and inappropriate. But before discussing that, I'd like to take a step back.

From the earliest of episodes we experience Richard's incompetence firsthand. We're meant to think he's just your stereotypical "Peter Griffin" archetype with no redeemable qualities, though this was disproven greatly in Season 2, with episodes like "The Job" , "The Authority" , and "The Hero" giving either insight into his character while still retaining his base comedic value, or exploring his relation to a certain character with a more a serious outlook. Seasons 3 and 4, however, also still manage to surprise us with episodes like "The Man" where his conflicted personality is shown through hints about his past. (I'll get to that later). Then comes Season 5 with "The Choices" that presents both Nicole and Richard's lives in one masterful sequence.

But back to the final scene. I understand why some people feel disappointed with it, as it does sort of come unexpectedly, but that's the interesting part about it. Looking back at "The Hero" for example, the episode either tried blending in comedy with emotional scenes or just kept them separate, which, as discussed before, both make for an unbalanced mess. Here, it works better, because the emotional moment builds off of a well-executed joke. Not only that, the topic at hand is extremely relatable, and even if it doesn't quite hit home for you, it's bound to at least make you feel sympathetic towards Richard, albeit in a slightly innocent manner.

The greatest part about the climax, and the episode as a whole, is how Richard's character fully evolves, because you don't see any of the aforementioned Richard centric-episodes brought up again, do you? That's why I respect "The Signature", where an old plot thread is brought back to make for some exquisite scenes. This is the type of continuity his character was missing all along; it’s not just a one-off episode to showcase his past and make the viewer question if he really is that shallow, only for him to then revert back to his old comedic self. For me, that's just another reason as to why I love "The Hero" and "The Man" (albeit, the former having a lot more problems than the latter).

Richard

So, here it is. This'll be the part where I try and sum up a general, short thesis about Richard's character, again, being non-biased.

So, in the end, who is Richard?

Richard is a broken man. A man who found true love, not because of fate, but because of his lover's choices. Richard is a man who finds a reason to live every day, not through his own will, but because of his family, his greatest achievement. Richard is a man who has suffered all his life: from parental abandonment, to hissons viewing him as a disgrace.

But on top of that, the most obvious - Richard is a man.That's why the last sentence of "The Man" is so paramount when it comes to understanding Richard. For a person, devoid of a father figure his entire life, he managed to build a family from the ground up, find true love and meaning with Nicole, accept his only parent's lover even though his conflicted past didn't allow him, raise three kids that are deeply proud of him, and last but not least, forgive his father who left him so long ago.

Outro

Oh boy, was that a hard one.As always, it'll be helpful to leave a comment so I can know if what I'm doing is actually right.

Speaking of which, ENORMOUS thanks to Mattalamode.Hadn't it been for him, I would've probably been still stuck on the second paragraph.From discussing the premise of the article, to overviewing my mistakes, he's truly a man to be respected.Insert audience applauding here.

Anyway, that's all from me.

Fin.