Recap / Odd Squad S 3 E 20 End Of The Road

"Olizabeth, how can you do all this after all I did to protect you?"
"All you ever did was protect me!"

End of the Road

Airdate: July 10, 2020 ^note ABC ME premiere, January 22, 2021 ^note PBS Kids premiere

With the help of The Big O and two Australian agents, the Mobile Unit must head "Down Under" to stop The Shadow from causing world-wide oddness.

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Tropes:

• Accidental Misnaming: Opal has a habit of mispronouncing The Shadow's name as a repeated dialogue error, calling her "Elizabeth" instead of "Olizabeth". The Big O also calls her by "Elizabeth" at the end of the episode.
• The Ace: Opal is called out on being this by Olizabeth, and it's all but stated that the villainess wanted to be this in the same vein as her older sister.
  Opal: So I was overprotective. That doesn't mean you become a villain!
  Olizabeth: I had no choice! You were the one who was good at everything. I had to leave Odd Squad to be good at the one thing you would never do: become a villain.
• All Your Colors Combined: To carry out Olizabeth's Evil Plan of sending villains' odd powers up the tubes and into Headquarters, the villains all funnel their powers into one cube placed at the center of the floor, creating a rainbow color effect as the powers go through tubes connected to the cube. Once the powers are accidentally released, it forms a destructive purple tornado.
• An Aesop: Apart from the typical mathematical Aesops in the episode: it's okay to be protective of your family, but there is a fine line between simply protecting them, and being overprotective. Know your boundaries.
• Arc Words: "All I ever did was protect her", spoken numerous times by Opal in an effort to defend herself, with the words twisted by Olizabeth so she says, "All you ever did was protect me!".
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Or in this case, Jaywalking, Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking — the reason why Australia is where Olizabeth (presumably) is located is because it's awesome there, Parks Observatory is home to the Odd Squad communications system, the Sydney Opera House is home to the Tube Central Station, and because the country has kangaroos.
• The Atoner: Olizabeth decides to make up for what she's done by apologizing to the Big O and personally handing her the box with the villains' powers.
  Olizabeth: Sorry about all the evil stuff, Big O. [she hands her the box] Maybe...this can set things right?
  • Similarly, Opal decides to make things right with her sister by staying in Australia with her and helping her reverse the damage she's done in the country, as well as other countries.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The creature that the group fights at the end of the episode towers over all of them, and Tube Central Station as well.
• Back to School: As punishment for disobeying the Big O, the Main 4 are sent to Orchid's School for Listeners. Olizabeth even nearly states the trope name verbatim when calling them.
• Badass Fingersnap: Olizabeth is able to generate security camera footage just by snapping her fingers. Not only that, but she can shut down the entirety of the Odd Squad tube system by doing it!
• Battle Boomerang: Orana attacks the Sand Queen using her Boomerang-inator, although it fails to even hit the villainess and only comes back when she, the Big O, and Oliver are trapped under sand. Bonus points for her being Australian, which the boomerang is seen as a symbol of by many.
  Orana: Stand back. I've got a gadget with my Boomerang-inator.
  [she takes it out and throws it, going right past the Sand Queen]
  Big O: That didn't work.
  Sand Queen: Yeah, that was way off track.
  Orana: No worries. The cool thing about a boomerang is it always comes back.
  [pause as the boomerang fails to come back]
  Sand Queen: [in a mocking tone] I don't think it's coming back!
• Big Damn Heroes: The Big O, Orana and Oliver arrive just in time as the tornado is growing more intense — and with the Mobile Unit's van, to boot. While the two Australian agents fight back the tornado to the best of their ability, the Main 4 convene with the Big O in the van to decide a course of action.
  • Olizabeth flies into the tornado in order to help Opal figure out the code to activate the reverse switch on the box. It's implied that she flew in through the top, since she tells her sister that her shoes have rocket thrusters on them.
• Big "NO!": Olizabeth gives one of these when the villains tell her to push the button to release their powers, followed by her telling them that she's not done explaining herself.
• Big Sister Instinct: Exaggerated and deconstructed. It's revealed that the reason Olizabeth became The Shadow was so she could beat her older sister at something she would never do: villainy. Her memory of events while she and Opal were at the Academy, presented via Flashback, all feature Opal protecting her from harm in every possible way, even when there is no danger posed to her, like giving her a pair of finger cymbals instead of a bulky instrument like a tuba. This overprotectiveness caused Olizabeth to grow enraged, and it's implied that she dropped out of the Odd Squad Academy to turn to villainy instead while Opal graduated and became an Investigation agent. Once Opal realizes that her younger sister can handle things fine on her own, it facilitates her Heel–Face Turn, and she begins her first step towards redemption.
• Big "WHAT?!": Inverted — the Mobile Unit all give "Little What's" when the Big O tells them that they're off the case.
  • It's played straight a few seconds later when they (along with the Van Computer) have this reaction to the Big O saying she's going to confiscate their vehicle.
• Big Word Shout: When Olizabeth is about to push the button to release all of the villains' powers through the tubes, Opal tries to stop her by shouting "WAIT!!"
• Bittersweet Ending: Go ahead, try not to cry at invoked Opal leaving the Mobile Unit for good. If her deciding she's going to bond with her sister and help her make amends doesn't get you, her, Omar and Orla all crying — with their actors also feeling the pain of Valentina leaving — definitely will.
• Boomerang Comeback: Orana throws her Boomerang-inator at the Sand Queen, only for it to miss and fail to come back. Much later, when Orana, her partner and the Big O are buried in a pile of sand, the boomerang returns and buries itself next to Orana's head. She grips it in her teeth and starts using it to did herself out.
• Bound and Gagged: While not gagged, Orla uses the Rope-inator on Magnet Maggie and William Ocean, leaving them tied up.
• Breaking the Fellowship: Opal leaves the Mobile Unit in order to help Olizabeth reverse the damage she caused in Australia and other countries, and while it effectively still leaves a Main 4 (only with the Big O in her place), their leader leaving causes a shake-up in the core group.
• Buffy Speak: Brutus employs this when explaining Olizabeth's ultimate plan to the other villains.
• The Bus Came Back: Orchid, who hasn't been seen since "Slides and Ladders", returns in this episode, and is revealed to be a teacher at the Odd Squad Academy with her own class, Orchid's School for Listeners.
  • Orson also makes an appearance after having last been seen in "Odds and Ends". While Orchid did imply that he was an Investigation agent in "Slides and Ladders", this episode depicts him correctly as an Odd Squad Director, as he was promoted to the role at the end of the Season 2 finale.
• Call-Back: The episode ends the same way "Odds and Ends" did, with having all of the agents fire gadgets at a looming threat in a Freeze-Frame Ending. In this case, the Main 4, the Big O, and Olizabeth fire gadgets at a large creature that emerges from behind Tube Central Station.
  • The climax of the episode takes place at the Tube Central Station in Australia, a location previously established and visited in "Down the Tubes".
  • Coordinates serve as one of the mathematical Aesops of the episode. The last episode to have this as the main aesop was "Reindeer Games", all the way back in Season 1.
  • The Main 4 use the ice cream truck spaceship from The Movie in order to get to Australia, which is piloted by Orson.
  • Opal uses her Captain's Log to try and convince her sister to redeem herself. The entry she plays from it is from "The Sandwich Project", and a flashback shows her recording the entry.
• The Cameo: Toni Collette makes a cameo appearance as the Sand Queen.
• Captain's Log: Opal uses her "captain's blog" in order to convince Olizabeth that she can do great things, by playing back an entry for her that proves her point.
• Capture the Flag: Opal and Olizabeth, as well as the other recruits at the Odd Squad Academy, are ordered to play this by their teacher. However, there is a mass disparity between the two teams, with the two sisters forming one team and five other agents-in-training forming the other team, and the stakes are raised by having an attacking laser chicken on the field. None of the students move until Professor O tells them to, due to the laser chicken.
• Character Development: Opal learns that she doesn't have to be so overprotective of her little sister, and lets her go to save the other villains when all of their powers are released.
  Olizabeth: Opal, this box has a reverse switch. Get it in the center of oddness, push it, and you can suck all the oddness back into it.
  [the ground rumbles]
  Opal: What about you?!
  Olizabeth: I need to get Brutus and the other villains to safety. Go, I'm fine.
  Opal: I know.
• The Chase: The Big O, Orana and Oliver chase the Sand Queen through an Australian amusement park.
• Catchphrase: The Big O's use of "There you four are, something very odd has happened" is lampshaded by her.
  Big O: Yeah, that's just something I like to say whenever I see you.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: At the end of the episode, the group fires off gadgets at the creature, with the beams in different colors.
  • Olizabeth: Green
  • The Big O: Yellow
  • Omar: Red
  • Oswald: Orange
  • Orla: Purple
  • Opal: Blue
• Comically Missing the Point: William Ocean gives this gem at one point.
  Magnet Maggie: Ha! The Shadow's plan is working!
  William Ocean: Wait, does that mean we don't get one of those free Australian bus tours?
  Magnet Maggie: We're here, so, probably not.
• Compressed Vice: It's revealed that Opal is very overprotective of those she loves, and often goes to extremes in keeping people safe. While she has showed concern for her teammates in particular before, she has almost never displayed extreme overprotectiveness, except for a rare few times, such as in "Jeremy". It may be justified, however, since Olizabeth is family, while none of the Mobile Unit agents are familially related to Opal in any way (and the fact that there appears to be very little chemistry between them as opposed to those like Olive and Otto).
• Continuity Cavalcade: Like in the past two episodes, there are a lot of villains from past episodes, such as Mr. Lightning. However, not all of them get prominent speaking roles.
• Continuity Nod: Oprah pilots her own helicopter again, with its last appearance being in "Odd Beginnings: Part 2".
  • Also from "Odd Beginnings: Part 2", the Villain Internet is brought up again by Oprah, and if her comment is any indication, it looks to be a parody of YouTube (complete with the pre-roll ad mentioned below that takes 5 seconds to be able to skip).
  • Another one from the same episode — Orla uses the Rope-inator gadget she used on the rest of the Main 4 to tie up William Ocean and Magnet Maggie.
  • An advertisement for Doug's Arctic locations, seen in "Teach a Man to Ice Fish", plays before the video that Olizabeth has uploaded to the Villain Internet.
  • Opal expresses delight at getting to solve a case with Oprah, like how Olympia got excited when she and Otis were going to solve a case with her in "Behind Enemy Mimes". However, this time around, the Mobile Unit doesn't get to solve a case with her at all.
  • The No-Tattletale Code is brought up again by Magnet Maggie.
• Create Your Own Villain: It's revealed that the reason Opal made Olizabeth who she is (as the villainess keeps insisting) is because Opal became too overprotective of her. Unfortunately, the Mobile Unit agent doesn't grasp her overprotectiveness and what she's done until the climax of the episode.
• Cuteness Proximity: Orla, Omar and Oswald all take a moment to fawn over the kangaroos with Orana and Oliver before Opal gets them all back on track.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Opal is so used to relying on the Van Computer for driving and other menial tasks that she fails to realize that the ice cream truck spaceship is manually operated by a human driver until after Orson coos.
  Orla: That is a strange Van Computer.
• Deadpan Snarker: Make no mistake — when Orchid snarks, she snarks hard.
  Opal: [regarding her winning Capture the Flag for her sister] Why would she be upset about that?
  Orchid: I'm upset we're still talking about this.
• De-power: As part of Olizabeth's plan, the villains all lose their powers, as they funnel them into a cube placed in the center of the station. Even after the tornado created with all the powers is contained, they still don't get them back, as by this point Olizabeth has pulled a Heel–Face Turn and has given the cube to the Big O for her to deal with.
• Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: The Big O arrives at the tornado with the Mobile Unit van, and the van honks part of the theme song.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The strife between Opal and Olizabeth will hit home with those who have older siblings that feel they need to be kept safe from all harm.
• Do Not Touch the Funnel Cloud: The villains' powers all originally manifest into a purple beam that shoots straight up through the roof before turning into a large, powerful tornado once it hits ground. While the Main 4 try to enter it physically, they are unable to do so due to the high winds, and it takes the Big O coming just in time with their van in order for them to be let in.
• Everybody Cries: Not only does Orla start crying when Opal tells her that she's staying behind, but so does Omar. Then Opal starts to cry. The only one who isn't shown with any visible tears is Oswald.
• Evil Gloating: Subverted with Olizabeth in her video, where she says that they're not getting a monologue — they're getting a poem.
  Olizabeth: I bet you're expecting a big evil speech. But you're not getting one!
  [the Main 4 give relieved reactions]
  Olizabeth: You're getting a poem instead!
  [the Main 4 become unnerved again]
  Olizabeth: Odd Squad is finished. And the Mobile Unit too. Boo hoo hoo, for you. Buh-bye, Odd Squad!
  • She plays the trope straight in all other instances, however — and boy howdy, does she do it a lot.
• Evil Plan: Olizabeth's ultimate evil plan is to wreak havoc on every single Odd Squad Headquarters in the world by funneling every single villain's powers into the tube system at Tube Central Station, then releasing them into the Headquarters.
• Expy: Ozzy looks quite similar to Odd Todd — which is fitting, considering that the actor who plays him is Joshua Kilimnik's brother.
• Final Battle: The climax of the episode has Omar, Orla, Oswald and the Big O fighting off oddness inside a tornado made out of the villains' powers, while Opal tries to activate the reverse switch on the cube to have the tornado be sucked into it.
• Fingerless Hands: Averted for Lady Bread when her powers are gone, as she is shown to have normal human hands.
• Forced into Evil: Olizabeth explains that due to Opal's status as The Ace, she had to leave Odd Squad to be the one thing her older sister would never be: a villain.
• Forgiveness: Opal and Olizabeth both forgive each other for their wrongdoings, and share a very invoked heartwarming hug that even Brutus has to acknowledge is sweet.
• Freeze-Frame Ending: The episode ends on the Main 5 (now a Main 4 with Opal's departure, leaving Omar, Orla, the Big O and Oswald) and Olizabeth firing various gadgets at a large creature.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Opal lampshades the trope as she tells Olizabeth that even though she was far too overprotective, it isn't an excuse to become a villain and destroy all of Odd Squad.
• Funnel Cloud Journey: The Main 5, including the Big O, drive the van into the center of the tornado so they can suck all of the villains' powers making up the tornado into the cube. They do this by going through a vortex, which starts to disintegrate seconds after they exit the van.
• Group Hug: Per show tradition, the Main 4 all share a hug while crying over Opal's departure from the Mobile Unit. It's arguably moreso a invoked Tear Jerker than past seasons' group hugs, which didn't have any characters (or actors, for that matter) crying — they were sad, but no tears were shed.
• Heel–Face Turn: With some encouraging words from Opal and the rest of the Main 4, Olizabeth realizes that what she's doing is wrong, and decides to turn to the heroes' side.
  Opal: I was way too protective. I just got scared you'd get hurt...and I care about you so much I never wanted that to happen. I'm sorry.
  Olizabeth: Well that's just great. Now I feel bad for doing all this evil stuff.
  Omar: You can still fix it.
  Oswald: Totally. You collected all the villains' powers into a single box.
  Orla: They can no longer cause oddness.
  Opal: Deliver the box to the Big O and we can start all over.
  Olizabeth: Can we maybe hug first?
  [Opal and Olizabeth hug]
• Hidden Depths: Apparently, Olizabeth loves vans.
• "I Know What We Can Do" Cut: When Opal tells her teammates that they have no way to get to Australia, Orchid tells them that she has an idea. Whip Pan transition to the Big O's office, where the ice cream truck spaceship sits.
• Inescapable Net: Brutus traps Orla, Oswald and Omar in one of these. Opal, however, manages to step out of the way just in time, but instead of catching her, Olizabeth simply advances on her as the agent tries to defend herself. Eventually, Olizabeth, Opal and Brutus work together to free the other Mobile Unit agents once the former defects to the side of good.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Oswald laments about how it will take hours before someone recognizes the other villainess in Olizabeth's video. A second later, the Mobile Unit gets a call from Orana and Oliver in Australia, as they tell them about the villainess.
  Oswald: Walked into that one.
  • When the Big O, Orana and Oliver are shown still being trapped in the sand, the Big O says that they need to find a way to escape the trap and that a solution isn't just gonna fall out of the sky. Sure enough, Orana's Boomerang-inator flies right back to them and lands smack-dab between the two girls, allowing Orana to start using it as an improvised shovel.
• Kick the Dog: Opal defends her repetitive overprotectiveness as "that was one time" or "that was two times!"
• Kids Driving Cars: The Main 4, as well as the Big O, all drive the car into the tornado made out of the villains' powers.
• Kill the Lights: When Olizabeth calls the Mobile Unit at the Academy, the lights begin to flicker and the power goes out.
  • They later go out at Tube Central Station, albeit it's due to the villains funnelling all of their powers into one cube, dealing damage to the building's electricity.
• Land Down Under: Averted. Apart from it being stated to play an important role in Odd Squad as an organization and the agents having Australian accents, no stereotypes can be seen.
• The Leader: If previous episodes didn't canonically establish that Opal is the leader of the Mobile Unit, this episode definitely sets it in stone, as Omar comments that there wouldn't be a Mobile Unit if it wasn't for her.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Main 4 all use their shields to protect themselves against William Ocean's attacks.
  • Omar, Oswald and Orla, along with the Big O, later use their shields to deflect the oddness that flies towards them while they're in the middle of the tornado (with the Big O being revealed to have her own shield in white and with her logo instead of the Mobile Unit's brown ones), since it's a No-Sell to any gadget-related attacks.
• Magnetism Manipulation: Magnet Maggie has the ability to suck anything magnetic towards her that she wishes. This includes the Main 4's Freeze-inators, leaving them defenseless aside from their shields.
• Meaningful Background Event: As Olizabeth is taunting the Mobile Unit, a villainess can be seen in the background looking at the camera as she walks by. This villainess is known as the Sand Queen, whom is later found out to know about Olizabeth's whereabouts.
• Meaningful Echo: The end of "Odd Beginnings: Part 2" showed the Mobile Unit van flying away from the Big O's office with the Main 4 in it, about to go solve their first case. This episode has a shot of the ice cream truck spaceship flying away from the Big O's office with the Main 4 in it as they go to stop a villain, since their van is confiscated.
• Meanwhile, Back at the…: The show introduces a unique Idiosyncratic Wipe for this trope, with the jackalope in the Odd Squad seal saying "Meanwhile, in Australia..."
• Mix-and-Match Critters: The creature seen at the end of the episode looks like an octopus alien hybrid creature, with a bird beak for a mouth.
• Moment Killer: Olizabeth venting to Opal about her struggles is interrupted at one point by Brutus telling her to push the button to release the villains' powers into the tubes and into Headquarters around the world, then the other villains cheering in agreement.
• Mood-Swinger: Villains won't get their powers back until after the ultimate plan is successful? They complain. Brutus entices them with a free bus tour of Australia? They go right back to being cheerful and upbeat.
• Motor Mouth: The Big O becomes this briefly when apologizing to the Main 4 for punishing them.
  Big O: Sorry I took you all off the case, I wish I could buy you ice cream right now to show you how sorry I am but we don't have that kind of time.
• Multi-Part Episode: The seventh one of Season 3. Unlike "Odd Beginnings", however, this episode is a 22-minute episode that isn't explicitly split into two parts (i.e., "End of the Road: Part 1" and "End of the Road: Part 2").
• Nice Job Breaking It, Rivals!: When Opal and Olizabeth are bonding, Monsieur Papier-Mache takes the time to grab the box from its stand, and taunts Odd Squad by saying that he and the other villains are keeping their powers. Confetti Betty then grabs it from him, and the two engage in a brief tug-of-war before the box falls and breaks, causing a purple beam to shoot out from it, which contains all of the powers.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: For attempting to stop Olizabeth herself, the Big O punishes not just Opal, but Orla, Oswald and Omar as well. This is despite the fact that she told the Mobile Unit two contradicting statements in "Follow the Leader" — to call her for backup if things go wrong, and that Olizabeth should, under no circumstances, be let out of their grasp. Not only that, but the reason Opal disobeyed her boss's orders was because she feared that she wouldn't get to Minnesota in time from wherever her office is located.
• No Listening Skills: Orchid's School for Listeners is an Odd Squad Academy class specifically designed to teach people how to avert the trope. Ozzy, however, an agent in the class, plays the trope entirely straight. It doesn't help that Orchid's assignments involve her whispering unintelligibly, and when asked about it, she tells her students that they aren't listening.
• No Name Given: The Professor O seen in both Opal's and Olizabeth's flashbacks isn't given a name.
• No-Sell: While the Main 4 are impervious to William Ocean's attacks, he claims that he can get as many fish from the sea as he wants, implying that they can't defend forever. Magnet Maggie, however, manages to rip the Freeze-inators they use to attack with clear out of their grips, since they're magnetic. However, Orla decides to fire back with her own gadget made of stone.
  • Downplayed when Orana and Oliver use gadgets on the tornado — it doesn't affect it in the slightest, but it is just enough for the van to drive directly into it via a vortex.
• Now That's Using Your Teeth!: Since none of the trapped agents can use their hands, Orana resorts to using her teeth to hold the Boomerang-inator in order to use it as a shovel.
• Oh, Crap!: Numerous times in the episode — most notably when the Big O, Orana and Oliver become trapped in sand, and when the Mobile Unit watches the purple beam break the roof of Tube Central Station.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: Orchid knows about The Shadow and her true identity, and she does not waste time in calling Opal "the agent who made her sister turn evil".
• Once More, with Clarity: When the Mobile Unit attends Orchid's class, a flashback is shown from Opal's perspective that shows her and Olizabeth as agents-in-training at the Academy, where they are ordered to retrieve a flag while dodging the blasts of a laser chicken. Opal, reassuring Olizabeth that she can get it and ordering her to stay safe, manages to make a run for it and gets the flag without getting harmed, while Olizabeth cheers for her excitedly and tells her classmates that "that's my sister!" Later on in the episode, when Olizabeth traps the Mobile Unit sans Opal in a net, we get a flashback from her point of view about what happened, which shows that she wasn't happy about Opal ordering her to stay behind as she felt she could get the flag herself. We then get more scenes in the flashback that show Opal taking away items that she feels could harm her sister, and replacing them with harmless dud items instead, along with Olizabeth growing more and more angry — meaning that Opal wasn't telling the whole truth about protecting her sister.
• Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?: A non-romantic and non-sexual variant. When the Big O sees the creature emerging from behind Tube Central Station, she says that "Boy, am I glad to see you!"
• Orcus on His Throne: Instead of fleeing the amusement park after trapping the Big O, Orana and Oliver behind a coded drawbridge door, the Sand Queen decides to sit back and relax in her sandcastle as they take their dear sweet time solving it, knowing that she has the upper hand, even managing to startle them as they enter the sandcastle. Before she actually leaves the amusement park, she traps the agents in sand that nearly covers their entire bodies.
• Out-of-Character Moment: This episode has Baroness Goo as part of the villain group. "It Takes Goo to Make a Feud Go Right", her debut episode, had her on friendly terms with Odd Squad, being in a similar vein to the Featherites, as it's implied that she may serve as a sort of ambassador.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: The classic trademark "For Odd Squad!" one-liner is used to end the episode, and the first half of the season.
• Put on a Bus: Notably averted for Omar, Oswald, Oprah and Orla — a few behind-the-scenes pictures showed that they would be returning to the show for the second half of Season 3, unlike past main characters' actors who have left the show for good.
  • Played straight with Opal, who leaves permanently in this episode and isn't seen again for the rest of the season.
• Pyrrhic Victory: The Mobile Unit traps the tornado with the villains' powers in the box, and Olizabeth performs a Heel–Face Turn and joins the heroes' side, but it comes at a cost of Opal leaving the group to help Olizabeth fix the damage she's caused.
• Repeat Cut: When the Sand Queen leaves her sandcastle after trapping the Big O, Orana and Oliver in sand, she raises her arms up briefly and pumps her fists in celebration. Cut to Orchid, who has her arms up in the air, but not in victory — she's dropping a book.
• Rocket Boots: Olizabeth's shoes are revealed to have rocket thrusters, which is how she is able to enter the tornado to help Opal.
• Running Gag: Esmeralda Kim shows up one final time at the end of the episode, offering to take Opal's place in the Mobile Unit following her departure. While the agents are hesitant, she tells them to let her know of their decision. A teaser image, likely from "Odd Off the Press", reveals that they seem to have accepted her offer, as the episode revolves around them recruiting her into the Mobile Unit and taking the place of Opal following her departure.
• Sand Blaster: The Sand Queen has the ability to attack with sand, and can trap agents in a pool of it. She can also create sandcastles.
• Save the Villain: As the building begins to shake and the lights begin to flicker, Omar, Oswald and Opal run to the main room of Tube Central Station where Olizabeth is, leaving the tied-up Magnet Maggie and William Ocean behind. However, Orla stops to free the two villains and tells them to get to a safe place.
  • Later on, when the building shakes more violently as a result of the villains' powers being released, Olizabeth, who had previously done a Heel–Face Turn, leads the villains to safety away from the threat before coming to help the agents.
• Series Continuity Error: Olizabeth shuts the Odd Squad tube system down, which is quite contradictory to her ultimate plan that requires the tubes to work. She's not shown turning them back on upon arriving to Tube Central Station.
  • Played with in the case of Orson — while he is shown in Odd Squad Director attire after Orchid had previously implied he was an Investigation agent in "Slides and Ladders", Oswald still refers to him as "Agent Orson", rather than by the correct title of Mr. O.
• Series Fauxnale: This episode is the final part of the three-part mid-season finale. However, like the Season 2 finale, the ending makes it as though this is the Series Finale when it's not.
• "Sesame Street" Cred: The Sand Queen is played by Toni Collette.
• Suddenly Fluent in Gibberish: Oswald can translate Orson's baby talk with ease, which earns him weird reactions from his teammates.
  Oswald: Am I the only one who understands baby talk?
  Orla and Omar: Yes.
• Status Quo Is God: Orla hangs a lampshade on the trope by asking if Odd Squad should still be around since there are no villains to fight and stop. As soon as she says that, a large creature emerges from behind Tube Central Station, proving that while there may not be villains to stop, there will always be odd creatures who cause oddities for agents to defeat. ^note  Villain University, from "Down the Tubes", also comes into play, since as long as villains go to and graduate from the school, there will constantly be villains for Odd Squad to stop.
• Stern Teacher: Orchid may be a tough teacher in the classroom who isn't afraid to scold her students, but she does offer to help them out when it's needed.
• Take Cover!: The students at the Academy in both Opal's and Olizabeth's flashbacks are shown hiding behind two inflatable balloon obstacles.
• Talking the Monster to Death: When Brutus traps Orla, Oswald and Omar in an Inescapable Net, Opal tries to convince her younger sister that she doesn't need to be a villain to become The Ace that she's always wanted to be. While Olizabeth is initially unreceptive, she eventually lets loose and vents her struggles to Opal, but still refuses to let up until after Opal shows her her Captain's Log.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Confetti Betty goes to grab the box with the villains' powers inside, and refers to Monsieur Papier-Mache as "Paper Man", causing him to angrily correct her that it's "Papier-Mache".
• This Cannot Be!: Opal asks her sister how she can trap her teammates after all she did to protect her younger sister. Olizabeth fires back by saying that all Opal ever did was protect her.
• Trick-and-Follow Ploy: The Sand Queen intentionally appears in Olizabeth's video so that Odd Squad can find her, since the Sand Queen is the only one who knows where the other villainess is. When the Big O, Orana and Oliver get to where she's located, she ends up trapping them in sand as she reveals her true intentions, saying that by doing what she did, Olizabeth could get away and put her Evil Plan into motion. Also doubles as a Batman Gambit, as Olizabeth knew that Odd Squad agents would think the Sand Queen was some big clue in finding her, when that isn't the case.
• Turn in Your Badge: Played with. It's not explicitly stated whether the Big O is demoting the Mobile Unit down to agents-in-training or not, and they aren't shown wearing the uniforms agents-in-training usually wear (instead keeping their original Mobile Unit uniforms), but they are sent to Orchid's School for Listeners, which is a class at the Odd Squad Academy. Opal's comment to her teammates about getting "back on the Squad" also implies that they were demoted.
• Villain Reveals the Secret: The Shadow performs The Reveal of her true identity by putting out a video for other villains to see, where she talks about who she really is and explains how Opal is her sister. The reactions of other villains aren't seen, but regardless, they still treat her like a viable villainess despite her relations.
• Violence Is Not an Option: When the Big O resolves to punching her way through the wooden drawbridge door, Oliver becomes an Aesop Enforcer and suggests that the trio use the lockpad on the wall to open it.
• The Watson: Orla slips into this role again when asking what coordinates are.
• We Will Meet Again: A heroic variant — Opal tells Orla, Omar and Oswald that she's positive that they'll see each other again. However, she leaves the show permanently in this episode and isn't seen again for the rest of the season, meaning that if she does see her teammates again, it won't be shown onscreen.
• Wham Episode: Naturally; it's the final part of a mid-season finale. Olizabeth performs a Heel–Face Turn, and Opal leaves the Mobile Unit for good.
• Wham Line: Opal delivers a few at the end of the episode.
  Big O: Everyone, load into the van.
  Opal: You guys go on without me.
  [the Main 3 give "Wait, what?" reactions]
  Opal: I need to stay here in Australia to set things right with Olizabeth. And in other countries where she did a lot of other odd stuff that needs fixing.
  Olizabeth: [to the Big O] I got a little carried away.
  • There's also this line from her before she and the rest of the Main 4 go for a Group Hug.
  Opal: [tearing up] What I wanted was an adventure. And you guys gave me that.
• Wham Shot: Omar, Orla and Opal crying all qualify as their own individual wham shots, being notable for the fact that no main character has cried onscreen in a finale up to this point (and it's implied that the actors themselves are actually crying, versus using artificial means).
• What Happened to the Mouse?: O'Shaughnessy, the Tube Master General, isn't seen at all when Olizabeth goes to enact her Evil Plan, nor is she mentioned.
• Worldbuilding: This episode shows a few locations and classes at the Odd Squad Academy, such as Orchid's Class for Listeners, a band class, and an activity on firing gadgets, among other things.
• World Tour: The agents bounce around to a few different places, but the bulk of the episode takes place in Australia, specifically in Sydney.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Opal tells Olizabeth that she always knew her younger sister could do whatever she wanted to, because she's the smartest person the agent knows. Olizabeth doesn't see truth in the words.
• You Are Too Late: Olizabeth tells the Main 4 this when they attempt to stop her at Tube Central Station, as by that point, all of the villains' powers are in the cube.

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