iCarly Season 3 Episode 7 Review: iGo to Toledo

iCarly Season 3 Episode 7, “iGo to Toledo,” turns a house-flipping horror story into an unforgettable bonding experience for Carly and Marissa.

The episode is chock-full of movie references (“Here’s Mommy!” has to be the best!) and sentimental beats of reflection as Carly spearheads Marissa’s bachelorette party and Freddie throws Lewbert’s bachelor party together.

It’s an outlandishly fun time as the Paramount+ show ventures beyond Washington for the first time, instilling confidence that more time-bending (How did the bachelor party travel from Seattle to Toledo that fast?!) trips should be in iCarly‘s future.

Until then, “iGo to Toledo” gives the characters plenty to unpack — in the best way.

From Spencer’s Lewb Juice slips to the breakthroughs with Marissa, this episode finds the most hilarious sources of character exploration. Even Millicent’s resistance starts to play as more direct foreshadowing of what’s to come for her on iCarly.

It’s always a nice challenge to see how characters will communicate when confined to a single set and without modern technology. So, even though “iGo to Toledo” isn’t a bottle episode, it plays with its elements enough — specifically with the A story.

The show traps Carly and Marissa (and the rest of the bachelorette party) in a broken house, where the metaphor writes itself. Like iCarly Season 3 Episode 6, “iReunited and It Felt Okay,” the episode gets to that point by including the necessary exposition regarding Carly and Marissa’s dynamic over the years.

iCarly Season 3 Episode 3, “iMake New Memories,” making Creddie official adds a new layer to the tension that has been building between the two women for years. On the Nickelodeon show, Marissa is never Carly’s biggest fan, but Creddie’s step forward means a massive step backward for Carly and Marissa.

It’s a great choice on iCarly‘s part to take honest looks at how Carly and Freddie’s relationship impacts the people closest to them, and Marissa and Freddie have always had a super close relationship — at times, too close.

The seriousness of Creddie’s relationship sends an understandable ripple effect through Marissa, who feels her relationship with her son is permanently shifting — again. Danica’s line about Freddie being Carly’s boyfriend and Millicent’s dad perfectly and hilariously captures how Marissa feels about these changes.

Instead of letting that wound fester, “iGo to Toledo,” secludes Carly and Marissa until they break down their walls — literally.

Miranda Cosgrove nails the physical comedy of Carly battling her claustrophobia (The noise she makes hasn’t changed in over a decade!) to get to Marissa.

Their heart-to-heart is especially great after “iMake New Memories” makes strides in representing Marissa Benson as a fuller character. “iGo to Toledo” builds on that foundation with a genuine exploration of her emotions.

It’s endearing and so very iCarly for Carly and Marissa to embrace vulnerability in the perceived safeness of the walls of a house that may be better off knocked down than flipped. Their conversation takes some big swings — Carly admitting she may want to marry Freddie one day — and breaks new ground for the pair.

“Classic Carly” taking on a new definition by the end of “iGo to Toledo” is more than earned. iCarly is smart enough to know that Freddie doesn’t need to reiterate how much he loves his mother (though that may come later), so it prioritizes Carly and Marissa’s relationship — as it does Freddie and Lewbert’s.

That comparison works because of how unenthusiastic Freddie is about Lewbert and Marissa’s relationship like Marissa is about Creddie. While Carly is eager to build a bridge with Marissa, Freddie’s disengagement with Lewbert is undeniable at every turn — down to Paul being included in the bachelor party.

That split screen call between Spencer, Paul, and Freddie allows iCarly to optimize the runtime of its story. Each panel pulls attention in a silly way like Lewbert trying to get Freddie to drink the Lewb Juice.

Despite Spencer’s odd art project, the funniest part has to be that no one asks any questions about why Paul is in Spencer’s loft. “iGo to Toledo” knows the more pressing question is the one Spencer raises about his identity while under the influence of Lewb Juice. Jerry Trainor plays the shock of that unexpected vulnerability so well.

This season does a great job of approaching a real turn for Spencer — and Millicent.

iCarly Season 3 is all about change — embracing it, rejecting it, hiding from it, etc.

Carly changes Marissa’s opinion of her into one that is more respectable and reliable, even if Carly still has to work on her posture. Meanwhile, the episode teases that there’s still some change to occur between Carly, Millicent, and Freddie.

While Millicent likely won’t want to see her father and his girlfriend kiss, there is still more acceptance of Lewbert as “Pop-pop” than Carly as a serious partner for Freddie.

“iGo to Toledo” may just be playing with Millicent’s overall demeanor, but iCarly‘s impressive season encourages a deeper exploration of Freddie and Millicent’s dynamic, as well as that of Carly and Millicent. So, even as the show heads toward the end of its season, it continues to raise the bar in anticipation of what’s next.

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New episodes of iCarly stream on Thursdays on Paramount+. Try Paramount+ for free, right here.

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