While Fritz is on vacation, Tylor and Duncan accidentally cause a power outage, and try to hide their involvement when an inspector arrives to investigate.
Tropes:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Duncan already has a high opinion of himself in general, but when he (temporarily) gets Fritz’s supervisor job, he does everything he can to belittle and boss around his fellow MIFTers, Tylor especially. At one point Tylor even has to announce Duncan’s arrival as if he’s royalty.
- Assumed Win: Before and during the spin, Duncan adds the "Temporary" label to his nameplate before the realization that the wheel landed on Val.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: When the group are finally confronted by Mike and Sulley for their cover-up, both Tylor and Duncan try to defend each other’s actions and take the blame themselves.
- Call-Back:
- The 'vacation doors' which lead to isolated places where there are no humans around are similar in concept to the door Waternoose banished Mike and Sulley through.
- The vehicle Mike tries to bribe Argus with is the same one he used in the short Mike's New Car.
- Chekhov's Gun: After the accident, Tylor struggles to take down a canister that’s lodged in the ceiling and eventually gives up. Later in the episode, the canister finally comes loose and hits Argus on the head, knocking him unconscious.
- Comically Missing the Point: The entire "Mike's Comedy Class" segment ends up making a joke out of a joke when Mike tries teaching the monsters to make knock-knock jokes. The simplicity of it goes right over Chuck and Carla's heads; they think he's lying to children, and he ends up having to be carried out on a stretcher in sheer shock that they're not getting it at all.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Played for Laughs, but Mike tries flexing his authority to bribe Argus and bend the rules for himself in this episode. Sulley has to keep Mike from going too far before they both get in trouble.
- Continuity Nod:
- When the temporary supervisor promotion is being decided, Duncan sneers at Tylor's name being on there. He has to remind Duncan again that he not only doesn't want this position, but he signed a contract promising that he wouldn't. Duncan again doesn't listen.
- In the pilot, Mike mentioned he wouldn't use his new position for personal gain, only to immediately want to give himself a raise or a company car. The episode shows him as trying to bribe an inspector with very expensive items, and it ends with the revelation he was taking a supposed-to-be-shredded door that Fritz was using for vacation to his office for the same purposes...after he said he was going to shred it immediately.
- In addition, one of those bribery items was tickets to a Monstropolis Creepies game, which was the subject of the third episode.
- Distinction Without a Difference: When Duncan suggests hiding the evidence, Val points out that it sounds like a cover up. Duncan says it's just a thing where they all conspire to avoid accountability for their actions.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Duncan may be an opportunistic Jerkass, but he sounds genuinely affectionate and proud when telling his mother, both through writing and over the phone, about his (temporary) promotion.
- Eye Scream: The eye orbs are... well, disembodied eyes that roll around on the ground must to everyone's disgust. They also go through a lot of damage as MIFT tries to catch them - most notably Duncan stepping on one of the orbs and accidentally popping it.
- Gory Discretion Shot: When Duncan steps on one of Argus' eye orbs, the camera cuts away to Duncan and Tylor's disgusted reactions as we hear the eye pop underfoot. The eye is completely flat in the next shot.
- Gross-Up Close-Up: After MIFT gathers up all of Argus' eye orbs and puts them back in their case, we get to see just how damaged and irritated the eyes are from the chase.
- Hypocritical Humor: When telling off the group at the end of the episode, Mike lists all the things they’ve done during the incident, including attempting to bribe Argus. Sulley points out that it was Mike himself who tried to do that last bit, but Mike just ignores this.Mike: Stay on point, Sulley, stay on point.
- In the Style of: The Monsters, Inc. theme in the credits is done in a Caribbean-style manner.
- Insistent Terminology:
- Val and Tylor both constantly try to remind Duncan that he’s only the temporary supervisor while Fritz is on vacation. He refuses to listen.
- After the accident that causes the outage, Duncan repeatedly insists that the group’s plan to hide the evidence of their involvement is not a “cover-up”.
- Literal-Minded: In Mike's comedy class, Chuck and Carla begin questioning 'knock-knock' joke's necessity since there isn't a door around to knock on.
- Pet the Dog:
- When Val wins the position of temporary supervisor, she and the others see how disappointed Duncan is. Val turns the wheel so it falls under Duncan’s name instead, granting him the temporary promotion. Needless to say, it backfires terribly.
- Argus writes up MIFT, but as thanks for helping him loosen up it is only with a warning. Given banishment is considered a reasonable punishment for what happened with the power, Argus was super generous.
- When Tylor steps up to try and take the brunt of the punishment from Sulley and Mike, Duncan steps up to take the blame himself.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Mike and Sulley are convinced to give MIFT a break, in spite of what they did almost getting the factory shut down, but very narrowly so.
- Roll Out the Red Carpet: As temporary supervisor, Duncan makes Tylor do this for him as he enters the office, to Tylor’s chagrin.
- You Didn't See That: After Argus is knocked out.Duncan: We never speak of this again, we take this to our grave, nobody saw nothin'!
Tylor: Well...
Duncan: NOBODY SAW NOTHIN'!
