Recap / Odd Squad S 1 E 34 Now You Dont See Me Moustache Confidential

...and now they do.

Now You Don't See Me

Airdates: November 26, 2015 ^note PBS Kids premiere, August 23, 2015 ^note ICI Radio-Canada premiere

Olive and Otto must stop Odd Todd, who has turned townspeople and Odd Squad agents invisible.

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Tropes:

• Abandoned Warehouse: The Re-Visible-inator's location, and Olive and Odd Todd's showdown, takes place in one of these.
• All There in the Script: While Rivka has been named in the credits of episodes where she has made previous appearances, this episode marks the first time her name is spoken in the show.
• Big "NO!": Olive and Otto give one in unison when Odd Todd asks them via a pre-recorded video message if they're enjoying the "game" he's playing.
  • Olive later gives one just before Otto falls for a Bucket Booby-Trap.
• Brick Joke: As seen in the above episode page image, an invisible Olaf gives Olive and Otto a fright when he makes himself known by shouting "Potato!" At the end of the episode, it's revealed that he doesn't want to be turned back to normal right away, and he winds up between Olive and Otto and shouts "Potato!" once again, managing to scare them.
• Bucket Booby-Trap: Otto falls for one of these, which happens to be full of invisible ink.
• The Bus Came Back: After last being seen as an illusion in "The Potato Ultimato", Coach Roberts returns in this episode in a voice-only cameo.
  • Baby Genius and Rivka also make a return in this episode, having last been seen in "Jinx".
• Comically Missing the Point: While there are numerous guesses as to where Odd Todd is heading (such as him skiing away — a ski resort, perhaps?), Otto comes up with crazy, out-there theories whereas his partner is quick to catch on to where the Evil Genius is actually headed.
  Otto: "Ski" rhymes with "knee". And when you clean, you're kneeling. The water tower is always super-dirty. I bet he's headed over there to clean it.
  Olive: Uhh, or maybe Todd's headed to the Bears' ski team practice?
  Otto: Sounds far-fetched, but sure.
  • This trope ends up being subverted in the second go-around:
  Otto: "Milk" and "moon" both start with the letter M. The moon controls the waves. Who likes going to the beach? [gasps] Baby Genius!
  Olive: Kind of a long way to get there, but I think you're right.
• Compromising Call: Olive gets a phone call just as she manages to narrow down the address of the building where the Re-Visible-inator is located to three addresses. She initially believes it's Ms. O calling her and tells her that she's getting close...only for Odd Todd to actually be on the other end of the line, wherein he responds, "Very close!"
• Continuity Nod: Olive anticipating where Rivka and Baby Genius are, only to be wrong? It's not the first time.
• Crowd Chant: All of the agents in the precinct chant Olive's name in unison as they carry her back to Headquarters.
• Death Glare: It takes mere milliseconds for Olive's face expression to turn from mild intrigue to scathing enough to kill when Ms. O mentions that Odd Todd is behind the cause of her Invisibility. Beware the Nice Ones indeed.
  • She also gets one at the climax when facing down Odd Todd.
• Delayed Reaction: A sort of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it version — Olive and Otto walk into the bullpen from the Trophy Room, the latter looks to her right, then in front of her, then to Otto a split-second before it dawns on her how empty the bullpen is.
• Derailed Train of Thought: This exchange occurs between the invisible Ms. O and the visible Olive and Otto:
  Ms. O: There you two are. Something very odd has happened. [spins around in chair] I'm invisible.
  Otto: Whoa!
  Ms. O: And it's all the work of...
  [Olive and Otto lean in; short Beat as suspenseful BGM swells]
  Ms. O: What was I saying?
  Olive: Oh, you were saying who did this.
  Ms. O: Right.
• Desperate Object Catch: Odd Todd throws the Re-Visible-inator as a distraction so he can get away. When Olive realizes that no one is in the area where the gadget is thrown, she attempts to catch it before it can hit the ground — and she does so, in a Diving Save.
• Did You Actually Believe...?: Odd Todd calls Olive out on thinking that she would just be handed the Re-Visible-inator.
  Olive: Hand over the gadget, Todd!
  Odd Todd: [laughing] You didn't really think I'd give it to you, now did ya?
  Olive: But you said as soon as I found-
  Odd Todd: I'm a villain! I lie!!
• Disapproving Look: In addition to the death glares Olive shoots in reaction to, or towards, Odd Todd throughout the episode, she also gives one of them complete with pursed lips when he makes his escape.
• Don't Explain the Joke: Odd Todd threatens that Olive will never see her co-workers again if she can't rescue the gadget from him, then he goes on to explain the joke he just made (which sounded more like a legitimate threat than a clever joke).
• Double-Meaning Title: The title is both a reference to the phrase "now you see me, now you don't", and the film Now You See Me.
• Drinking Game: Take a sip every time Olive and Otto yell in fright or when someone pulls a Stealth Hi/Bye.
• Dwindling Party: A non-lethal example with the entire precinct, who has been turned invisible by Odd Todd's invisible ink. This includes Ms. O and Oscar. When Olive and Otto go to retrieve the gadget needed to restore everyone back to normal, Otto falls for a Bucket Booby-Trap and becomes invisible himself, leaving just Olive as the sole member of the Main 4 (and by extension, the sole member of the precinct) able to retrieve it.
• Gondor Calls for Aid: Odd Todd taunts Olive by saying that she'll watch him destroy the gadget all alone. Olive immediately proves him wrong by saying that she's not alone, and that she brought the entirety of the precinct along with her in their invisible states. The ex-agent is surprised by this revelation, and when he tries to make his escape, he manages to bump into numerous agents who quickly surround him.
• Good News, Bad News: Of the "Bad News, Worse News" variety. An invisible Ms. O, whose agents have been turned invisible by Odd Todd, calls Olive to ask for an update on the current situation. Olive responds with:
  Olive: Otto just turned invisible.
  Ms. O: That is not what I wanted to hear.
• HA HA HA—No: Odd Todd pulls one of these at one point after he gives the second clue.
  Odd Todd: But hurry up. Time is running out! [cue Evil Laugh] But seriously though, you should hurry.
• I Gave My Word: A variant occurs when Olive promises that she'll retrieve the Re-Visible-inator back and turn Polly Graph back to normal, giving the young entrepreneur her word and sticking her hand out for a handshake. However, Olive is unable to see that Polly wants a high-five instead of a handshake, and instead, Olive just remarks that she'll see Polly later. As it turns out, Olive does manage to get the gadget and turns everyone back to normal.
• Invisible Main Character: Every character except for Olive and Otto are invisible thanks to Odd Todd dumping invisible ink on them and making off with the Re-Visible-inator gadget needed to return them back to normal.
• Invisible Means Undodgeable: Olive and Otto run into a few invisible agents (who are packed like sardines in Ms. O's office) on their way to Polly Graph's hot chocolate stand. This turns out to be used to Olive's advantage later, when any chance of Odd Todd making his escape with the Re-Visible-inator is ruined by a swath of invisible agents who he keeps bumping to, including Ms. O herself.
• Invisibility Ink: Odd Todd uses this in order to turn everyone (bar Olive and Otto) invisible. The effect can only be reversed via the Re-Visible-inator, which the Evil Genius has made off with.
• Invisibility with Drawbacks: Since Olive and Otto can't see characters' bodies when they are doused in invisible ink, they have to resort to telling them what they're doing (such as Polly saying she's holding her hand up to form a high-five, or Coach Roberts pointing to the ground), which leads to some awkward moments.
  • When Otto turns invisible, he has trouble guiding Coach Roberts and his ski team back to HQ.
  Otto: Okay team, follow me!
  Coach Roberts: Okay, where are you?
  Otto: [groans in exasperation] Being invisible is hard.
• Ironic Echo Cut: Done without the use of a cut by Olive and Odd Todd, the former of who asks the latter for the next clue before the latter says, "Hopefully you've asked me for the next clue by now, so here it is!"
• Just Toying with Them: It's revealed that Odd Todd is doing this with Olive and Otto, leaving arbitrary clues about where to find the Re-Visible-inator, which has been hidden in a secret location somewhere in town. It's a Race Against the Clock for the partner pair, however, as the ex-agent is only giving them a small window of time to find out where the gadget is hidden before he turns every Odd Squad agent invisible.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: At one point, Coach Roberts asks Olive and Otto if they ever realize they do a lot of math. This wouldn't be the first time the show would poke fun at the fact it teaches math to its audience; "Slow Your Roll" would do it again 2 seasons later.
  • When Olive asks Odd Todd why he's sitting in a white rectangular box (which is the background setting for his pre-recorded videos), he replies that he found it better than the green box and calls it tacky. Said green box looks quite similar to a green screen, which is something that the show heavily employs for its animation.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: A few invisible agents are able to lift Olive a considerable length off of the ground. While Olive is very athletic and likely has muscle of her own behind her (not to mention her overall weight), the only one who should be able to lift her up off the ground is Ms. O. May be justified by the fact that it's likely the combined strength of every agent in the precinct lifting her up, which may include Ms. O; we just don't know who.
• Noodle Implements: The table of holiday hats, which Olive points out when Otto suggests it's a holiday, raises more questions than it answers.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Done confusingly in the case of Olive and Otto when they're inside Ms. O's office (and later at the end of the episode) — they apparently have Olaf standing between them, but they stand side-by-side as though no one is there, when there would actually be a wide space gap between them (since Olaf is bigger than they are).
• Oh, Crap!: Olive has a moment when she realizes that no agent is near the thrown Re-Visible-inator, and is forced to try and catch it herself. She does so successfully.
• Orbital Shot: Downplayed; there's a 180-degree shot of the bullpen as it looks to be completely barren aside from Olive, Otto, and a table of party decorations.
• Pie in the Face: Odd Todd takes a sip of hot cocoa, and comes up with a whipped-cream moustache (and a bit on his nose, too).
• Race Against the Clock: The quest to get the Re-Visible-inator becomes this at the climax when Odd Todd gives Olive 5 minutes to find the gadget before he destroys it.
• Rain of Something Unusual: When Olive and Otto resolve the issue of the Cold Open client having water rained down on her every time she takes a sip of water, she's grateful...up until she takes a bite of her salad, at which point spinach leaves rain down on her.
  Woman: I try to be healthy...
• Shoe Phone: Played for Laughs with Odd Todd's phone, which happens to be a fish. With an antenna sticking out of it.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Par for the course with Invisibility in play — this happens enough times that one could make a Drinking Game out of it and be hospitalized with alcohol poisoning as a result.
• Stock Sound Effects: The Odd Squad Warehouse apparently has a red-tailed hawk lurking about in the shadows somewhere, which gives off a screech as Olive is walking through it looking for Baby Genius.
• Subverted Catchphrase: Lampshaded by the client in the Cold Open, who asks this of Olive and Otto when she gets splashed with water:
  Woman: Aren't you gonna say "whoa"?
  Otto: No offense, but we've kind of seen this before.
• There Can Be Only One: There is only one number that is the location of the address on Main Street where the Re-Visible-inator is hidden. In order to find out what number it is, Olive and Otto eliminate numbers from 1-100 until they pinpoint the right one.
• Visible Invisibility: This is played straight for characters like Ms. O and Coach Roberts (and his team), who have items that move to signify their own movement, but it's averted for others, who only have their voices for other characters to rely on.
• Water Torture: Played for Laughs with a woman in the Cold Open, who has water dumped on her every time she takes a sip of water.
• What Does This Button Do?: Otto quotes the trope nearly verbatim, substituting "button" for "string" as he tugs on a string lying next to a sign. Doing so triggers the Bucket Booby-Trap Odd Todd set up, dousing the agent in invisible ink.
• What Would X Do?: When trying to figure out the gadget's location, Olive asks, "What would Odd Todd do?" As it turns out, asking this question is what helps her to figure out that Odd Todd likes odd numbers, and she is able to figure out that the location of the hidden gadget is 35 Main Street.
• You Are Too Late: When Olive remarks that she and Otto need to warn the other agents of Odd Todd's misdeeds, Ms. O remarks that it's "a bit late for that" as other invisible agents make their voices heard.
• You Go, Girl!: While not stated in response to Olive winning a game, the phrase is directed towards Olive anyway when she figures out the location of the gadget — invoked and it's incredibly fitting, considering that Olive is an athlete and a Passionate Sports Girl.

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Without his moustache, he's a man of constant sorrow.

Moustache Confidential

Airdates: November 26, 2015 ^note  PBS Kids premiere, August 23, 2015 ^note  ICI Radio-Canada premiere

When Agent Obfusco's moustache is stolen, it's up to Olive and Otto to get it back.

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Tropes:

• 10-Minute Retirement: Obfusco throws in the towel when his mustache is stolen, as he believes he can't solve cases anymore.
• Accidental Misnaming: Otto reads "Good Cop/Bad Cop" as "good cop, bald cop".
• Aesop Amnesia: Surprisingly averted for Otto and the mathematical Aesop of tally marks — since the events of "Undercover Olive" (where he forgot what tally marks were entirely), the lesson seems to have stuck, as he explains what they are to Obfusco alongside his partner.
• Bearded Baby: Obfusco has apparently been growing his mustache since he was 2 years old.
• Blind Shoulder Toss: Olive and Otto do badass ones with their water cups — and both make clear shots into a wastebasket located behind them (after a ton of misses). They even do it in unison.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Ms. O effectively serves as this, as she is crossed off of the list of suspects when Obfusco mentions he argued with her the most, only for Olive to tell him to stick to agents. By the end, she turns out to be the one who stole his mustache.
• The Coats Are Off: Olive and Otto have their jackets off at the climax of the episode, although it isn't for the purpose of looking badass moreso as it's due to them being under stress from being unable to find the suspect.
• Comically Missing the Point: This exchange ensues between Olive and Otto after the former returns to the interrogation room with a basket of clean laundry.
  Olive: This is horrible!
  Otto: [holding two water cups] I know! I can't tell which cup is mine.
  Olive: And the case. The case is horrible.
  Otto: Yeah, that too, I mean we haven't gotten anything yet!
• Continuity Cavalcade: Olive and Otto have pictures of agents as seen in various past episodes pinned to a wooden bulletin board, including Ori from "Hold the Door", Orchid from "Picture Day", and Oren from "6:00 to 6:05", among others.
• Continuity Nod: Otto was supposed to get Orchid a puppy. He's on negative terms with her. So who does he get a puppy for instead? Ori, who he happens to be best friends with.
  • Obfusco once again does the cha-cha when exiting a room — only this time, both Olive and Otto join in the dance.
• Cool and Unusual Punishment: Otto and Olive are both punished by Orchid and Oren, respectively, for accusing them of taking Obfusco's mustache. While Orchid gives Otto her entire stack of paperwork to do, Oren takes the punishment a step further by not only having Olive say she's sorry twice (once to his face and once into a recorder), but having her do Orchid's laundry for her.
• Death Wail: Downplayed; Obfusco doesn't wail, but he does give sorrowful moans to express his grief over the loss of his mustache. Doubles with Overly Long Gag, as well.
• Deliberately Cute Child: Olive, who isn't usually this by nature (she has her dorky moments, but "cute" isn't really the first adjective one would use to describe her) invokes this twice when ordered to give an apology to Oren. She puts on a nice facade to apologize to him, then goes right back to being her usual self.
• Disapproving Look: Olive gives Otto one when he gifts Ori a new puppy...during a high-stakes, Good Cop/Bad Cop interrogation. She later follows it up by giving a groan and burying her face in her hands in exasperation.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The scene of Olive taking away the markers that Obfusco has is strikingly similar to a parent taking away something from a child (although Olive has to wrench the first marker out of Obfusco's grip, something a majority of parents wouldn't really do).
  • Similarly, the way Olive asks Obfusco if he has another marker in his possession may also be reminscent of a parent taking drugs or a weapon away from their child, asking them if they have more, then attempting to take those items away.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: At the climax of the episode, Ms. O reveals that she was the one who stole Obfusco's mustache, in order to teach him a lesson about relying on it as a good-luck charm of sorts to solve cases. While Obfusco is rightfully upset, he eventually decides to forgo the mustache.
• Ear Ache: Olive and Otto are subject to this when their eardrums come into contact with the sound of a loud car alarm from the Cold Open client's lamp. While for Olive it may be justified (since she may have hyperacusis, which is associated with PTSD), for Otto, the trope is played completely straight.
• Evil Laugh: Orchid does one throughout the episode as a sort of gag, although it falls more under HA HA HA—No than anything else. invoked Funny enough, The Shadow invoked would be revealed to have a similar "wa-ha-ha" laugh two seasons later.
• Flashback Cut: One is used to show how Obfusco's mustache becomes stolen.
  • Another one is used to show Orchid's and Obfusco's friendship.
• Forgettable Character: Odessa, an agent who made a non-speaking appearance in "Odd Outbreak", makes another non-speaking appearance in this episode as one of the suspects interrogated. She's forgettable enough that even Olive — a longtime agent of Odd Squad — doesn't know who she is. To make matters worse, she isn't even listed in the credits.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: A blink-and-you'll-miss-it frame from when Olive grabs Otto's razor shows that said razor has the Science department symbol on it.
• From Bad to Worse: After Olive remarks that Obfusco's mustache being lost is for the best, Ms. O remarks that it isn't for the best, since she's down an agent. She then says that it gets worse: Olive and Otto are assigned to work with him.
• Fury-Fueled Foolishness: Olive initially believes that the reason Obfusco's mustache was stolen was because he got into an argument with someone due to the way he talks, which would cause them to steal his mustache.
• Girls with Moustaches: Ms. O wears Obfusco's mustache at the end of the episode.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop: Olive and Otto engage in this in order to narrow down suspects, with Otto as the good cop (if you can even call him good; he's moreso incompetent) and Olive as the bad cop. While Otto asks questions of the suspects that are completely irrelevant, Olive is more straightforward.
• Good Luck Charm: Obfusco's mustache is essentially this to him, although whether it actually is one is up for interpretation (after all, Obfusco isn't in the most healthy mental state due to the loss of his mustache).
  Olive: Uh, just so we're clear, it's not lucky.
  Obfusco: Then why'd I just drop this mug? [drops the mug]
  [cue Disapproving Looks from Olive and Otto]
  Obfusco: Bad luck!
• Heroic BSoD: Obfusco is sent into a depression for a majority of the episode due to his mustache being stolen. Olive and Otto, not being on good terms with him, are forced to use Teeth-Clenched Teamwork in order to help him find out who stole it. It gets to the point where he is willing to do anything and everything to retrieve any semblance of his mustache. He begins to get better as the episode progresses, and snaps out of it entirely when Olive, Otto and Ms. O all remind him how good of an agent he is without his mustache.
• Homoerotic Subtext: While the impact is slightly lessened due to the fact that these are kid characters played by child actors, there is some to be found with Obfusco telling Otto to shave his hair so he can use it to make a new mustache, right down to his wistful tone of voice as he eyes the agent's hair with awe. However, Otto himself doesn't return the favor, finding the sentiment disgusting, and him shaving his hair never actually happens. While the show has had many Ship Tease moments with characters of opposite genders (O'Donahue flirting with his boss in "Totally Odd Squad", for example), this is the first time any Ship Tease has been given with two characters of the same gender.
• Innocently Insensitive: Olive and Otto believe that Obfusco's missing mustache is for the best. They don't realize that Obfusco is distraught, and their words merely only serve to add insult to injury.
• It's Personal: Otto takes the mantle in finding and confronting Orchid, whom he shares an implied negative history with. Considering their previous interactions, them being arch-rivals isn't too surprising.
• Lame Pun Reaction: While helping the client in the Cold Open, Otto remarks that he has a bright idea. He then pulls out a gadget from Hammerspace with a lightbulb on top of it, followed by a Disapproving Look and a light scolding from Olive.
• Lights Off, Somebody Dies: Invoked by Ms. O, who turns out the lights and manages to steal Obfusco's mustache just before he's about to eat a sandwich.
• Littering Is No Big Deal: Numerous crumpled plastic cups are shown littering the interrogation room from Olive and Otto, yet neither one of them acknowledge them or clean them up.
• Medium-Shift Gag: When Ms. O puts on Obfusco's mustache at the end of the episode and begins dancing, an animated still is shown of her wearing the mustache, complete with a jackalope-logo-shaped branding iron used to make an indent in the image.
• Mistaken for Thief: Otto and Olive believe that Orchid and Oren stole the mustache, and respectively confront them. When the partner pair are proven wrong, Orchid has Otto do all of her paperwork for her, while Oren has Olive do Orchid's laundry for him as well as apologize profusely.
• Mustache Vandalism: Obfusco does this to himself at one point out of sheer desperation, causing Olive to confiscate both of his markers.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Rivals!: Downplayed; while it doesn't wind up broken, Olive and Obfusco fight over the latter's second marker, wherein this exchange ensues:
  Olive: [turns around and sees Obfusco has another marker] Hey! Okay, give me the mark- give me the marker!
  Obfusco: No, please! I need it!
  Olive: No you don't need the marker!
  Obfusco: Yeah!!
  Olive: Give me the-
  [sudden scene transition]
• Noodle Incident: Otto apparently lost his gloves at the zoo sometime in the past, and he wants to be sent there so he can find them.
  • When Olive asks Oren why he's doing Orchid's laundry, he begins to explain, but is cut off by Orchid herself suddenly appearing next to Olive and saying his name. Oren then says that he's said too much, and takes off, before Orchid launches into an Evil Laugh that's cut off by her skipping away in blissful innocence. It's never explained why Oren has Orchid's laundry, nor is it explained what tricks the small agent has up her sleeve.
• Obsessed with Food: Otto once again returns to this in full form, as he pinpoints the pastrami sandwich as a culprit amongst a few other agents, and later starts to leave to ask said other agents what they had for breakfast before Olive stops him.
  Otto: Hey, it was in the Breakroom. I just want to make sure we cover all the angles.
• Oh, Crap!: Olive has an absolutely amazing moment just before Otto turns on the razor he's pulled from Hammerspace and takes it to his hair to give himself a Traumatic Haircut. See for yourself.
• Only One Plausible Suspect: Otto pins Orchid as the "number one suspect" in the theft of Obfusco's mustache. Unfortunately, he could not be more wrong.
• Perma-Shave: Parodied, as the plot centers around Obfusco losing his trademark mustache he's been growing for years. It's later played straight when it's revealed that the culprit was Ms. O, and Obfusco refuses to take the mustache back.
  Obfusco: [to Olive and Otto] How are you guys not cold underneath your noses? [shudders]
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Olive and Otto will need to bring every suspect into the interrogation room. One. By. One.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: This episode was the original idea of Jaeden Noel, Obfusco's actor, who suggested that his character's moustache should "run away".
• Round Table Shot: It's not around a table, but the scene of Olive, Otto and Obfusco at the climax uses this filming technique, switching between the three of them as they speak in a similar filming manner to Modern Family.
• Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Ms. O verbally recites a Sting when she tells Olive and Otto they are staying in HQ to investigate a crime.
• Screen Shake: Seen in the Cold Open when Otto uses a gadget with a lightbulb on it on a woman's lamp.
• Security Blanket: Obfusco's mustache is most definitely one for him. He goes into a severe depression just from the loss of it, and even grieves over it as though it were a loved one — at one point, he even hallucinates tally marks as little mustaches, despite them looking like nothing of the sort. By the end of the episode, Obfusco realizes that he doesn't need his mustache to solve cases and that he does just as well without it.
• Series Continuity Error: It's revealed that a key is needed to turn off all of the lights in Headquarters, which is only in the possession of Ms. O. However, neither Otto nor Oscar had any trouble turning off the lights in "The Trouble With Centigurps" — all it took was Oscar reaching behind a panel in one of the control rooms and pulling out the cantaloupe, then putting it back to restore power.
• Shout-Out: The book that the Cold Open client is narrating is A Tale of Two Cities.
• Skip of Innocence: This is Orchid's primary gait throughout the episode.
• invoked Squick: An in-universe example — Olive and Otto are rightfully grossed out by Obfusco remarking that he can use Otto's shaved hair to make a new mustache of his.
• Slow Clap: Ms. O does one when she reveals herself as the criminal, just before Obfusco gives this hilarious gem of a line:
  Obfusco: But, why would you- [annoyed] Can you stop clapping?
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Orchid does this at one point when Oren begins telling Olive why he's doing Orchid's laundry. He doesn't get very far.
• Talkative Loon: While Obfusco falls into this trope by nature, it's subverted for a majority of the episode — without his mustache, he can speak coherently, and he, Olive and Otto believe that his mustache is the reason behind his Meaningless Meaningful Words. However, when Ms. O is found to be the culprit, she and the partner pair remind him of how good of an agent he is without it, and he goes back to playing the trope straight.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Invoked by Ms. O, who forces Olive and Otto to work with Obfusco to get his mustache back at her behest, since they were the only ones out of Headquarters at the time when it was stolen (even she knows that he can be insufferable to work with). She eventually reveals that she stole it, and had Olive and Otto work together with Obfusco to remind the latter that he doesn't need it to solve cases.
• Temporarily Exaggerated Trait: Otto appears to be more incompetent in this episode compared to past episodes, where he has been shown to be quite competent even without his partner.
• That Poor Car: Played for Laughs with the Cold Open client's lamp, which makes a car alarm sound whenever she tries to turn it on.
• That Poor Cat: A yowling cat is heard amidst all of the commotion when the lights go out.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Olive has a brief moment when Obfusco tells her that listing every single argument he's had with every single agent is going to take a while.
• Traumatic Haircut: Olive effectively defies this when Otto begins to take a razor to his head.
• Trickster Mentor: Ms. O stole Obfusco's mustache to teach him that he doesn't need to rely on it to solve cases and that he's a good agent even without it. Olive and Otto side with her and explain to Obfusco how he helped them find out who the culprit was even without his mustache. Their combined efforts snap him out of his Heroic BSoD, which causes him to revert back to his trademark Word Salad Philosophy speak.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: It's revealed that Obfusco and Orchid are these, as they show how much they like each other by arguing over various matters, such as who is the best agent.
• We Have Ways of Making You Talk: When Olive asks Ori how many cases he solved last week, Ori responds that he can't remember. Otto decides to bribe him with a present: an adorable puppy.
  Olive: Otto, you don't buy people puppies!
  Otto: [in a low voice] See, this is why you're the bad cop.
  Olive: [after shooting him a Disapproving Look] This is going to take forever. [groans before burying her face in her hands]
• When It All Began: Hilariously defied by Orchid when Oren begins his story with "It all started when..." before he's abruptly cut off.

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