Recap / Odd Squad S 3 E 21 Odd Off The Press

From mere Running Gag to an Ascended Extra of an Odd Squad agent. Now that's growth!

Odd Off The Press

Airdate: July 12, 2021 ^note PBS Kids premiere, August 9, 2021 ^note  TVO Kids premiere, October 11, 2021 ^note CBBC premiere of Part 1, October 12, 2021 ^note CBBC premiere of Part 2

OSMU holds a press conference to introduce a new member.

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Tropes:

• Accidental Misnaming: It's revealed that Orla, Omar and Oswald have been calling Esmerelda Kim by just that on sheer accident, when her actual name is Osmerelda Kim.
• The Alcoholic: While it's well-known that Oprah is a G-rated version of one, this episode takes it up to eleven with her love of juice boxes being a job requirement. For the top dog position of Odd Squad, no less.
• Anime Hair: Odd-skateer #1's hair is definitely crazy-looking compared to the hairstyles of most characters we've seen. It's even got coils in it.
• Ascended Extra: Osmerelda was initially introduced under the name "Esmerelda Kim" as Season 3's Running Gag, only appearing in a couple episodes. This episode has her becoming an Odd Squad agent, being placed into the Mobile Unit department, and joining up with Omar, Oswald and Orla as a main character.
  • Orpita was a one-shot character from "It's Not Easy Being Chill" who was an agent-in-training still at the Academy, being assigned to the Mobile Unit for a class assignment. This episode shows that despite not finishing the assignment, she graduated and has been promoted to an agent, being in the department of the Big Office as the Big O's assistant. At the end of the episode, she is promoted to the position of the Big O, albeit it's temporary, as the current Big O is in space on a mission with the Odd Squad Space Unit.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Although she is no longer preoccupied with a vast amount of responsibilities, Osmerelda still fits the trope due to now being busy working for Odd Squad and keeping her mature personality.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When the Three Odd-skateers leave, reporters begin hurling a ton of questions at the Mobile Unit. One reporter asks what they plan to do, another asks how they plan on stopping the villains, and another one asks how he can find love.
• Bait-and-Switch: The Big O appears to be calling the Mobile Unit from the Big Office, and tells them that she can't help them because she's in space...and then two of her assistants reveal that the Big Office background was merely a backdrop, and she's actually in a space station.
• Batman Can Breathe in Space: Oprah is able to be in space without a spacesuit of any sort, which retcons the events of Odd Squad: The Movie, where Olive, Otto, Olympia and Otis didn't have that capability and had to roll up the windows tight in the ice cream spaceship to breathe. Similarly, there appears to be gravity present in the Odd Squad Space Station, as Oprah, in addition to a couple assistants, are shown moving around freely.
• Big Damn Heroes: Defied when Oswald confidently asks if the Big O will end up coming to his and the rest of the agents' rescue if they wind up in trouble, only for him to be told that it won't happen because the Big O is in space.
• Big "WHAT?!": The Mobile Unit's reaction to finding out that the Big O is in space.
• Bittersweet Ending: The Three Odd-skateers are defeated and Reporter-ville is at peace again, but the Big O is still in space and won't be able to contact the group while in deep space.
• Bound and Gagged: Orla ties up the Three Odd-skateers in the climactic battle with her Rope-inator gadget.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: Orpita has her candidates break a board, a cinder block, and a board and a cinder block together.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: A hilarious subversion occurs when the news anchor looking for love gives a recap of what happened in the first half of the episode, then it's revealed that he's actually talking to Orpita, the Big O, and Denver Mr. O.
• Brick Break: To test their strength, Orpita has the four candidates chop boards and cinder blocks. Belgium Ms. O and Denver Mr. O do it with ease, but Arctic Mr. O can't chop either of them.
  Orpita: Now, chop those boards and those blocks.
  Arctic Mr. O: With my hands?
• The Bus Came Back: Orpita, who hasn't been seen since "It's Not Easy Being Chill", returns in this episode with a major role and joins Osmerelda, Omar, Orla and Oswald on their adventures, creating a new Main 5 group.
  • Arctic Mr. O also returns for the first time since "The B Team" (or, barring flashbacks, "Teach a Man to Ice Fish").
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Orla refers to her braces as "tooth armor".
• Call-Back: This isn't the first time the Mobile Unit has had to hold a press conference for something — in "Music of Sound", Opal, Omar, Oswald and Orla held one to assure Soundcheck fans that they were working to get the band back together, which ended up turning disastrous when they accidentally insult a woman asking them what glasses they like better on her.
  • The B-plot of Orpita attempting to find a fitting replacement for the Big O also takes inspiration from the Season 2 premiere, where Oscar and Dr. O conducted interviews to find someone capable of running Precinct 13579's new Creature Room.
  • The Big O mentions departing for the Odd Squad Space Unit. "Broadcast Five" of the Odd Squadcast previously had the Big O and Oort, another Odd Squad agent, discuss Odd Squad's space division (although it wasn't referred to as the Odd Squad Space Unit), while "Broadcast Four" revealed that there are alien Odd Squad agents in existence.
  • Speaking of the Big O departing for the Odd Squad Space Unit, "Dr. O: Party Time, Excellent" had Dr. O leaving for the Odd Squad Space Station. While it's unclear if both the Space Unit and the Space Station are the same location, both characters end up leaving in similar ways (although the Big O's departure was far more grandiose).
  • Just before the Big O leaves for deep space, Oswald offers a scrapbook filled with pictures from past episodes, such as "Odd Beginnings: Part 2".
• The Cameo: Olive, Otis, Otto and Olympia all make appearances via mention and in photos when one of the reporters from Reporter-ville asks Osmerelda if she'll be the serious agent of OSMU or the fun agent.
• Chaste Hero: Downplayed. While not a hero, one of the Reporter-ville reporters asks the Mobile Unit how he can find love. Surprisingly enough, it's Orla who responds aptly.
  Orla: Love is not something you find. Love is something that finds you.
• Chekhov's Gunman: The Big O tasks Orpita with finding an agent to temporarily replace her as the new Big O. No guesses as to who ends up being her replacement.
• Clothes Make the Superman: The Three Odd-skateers wear suits that, when charged fully, give them access to their powers. They are unable to use their powers if the suit is not charged nor can they use them without the suits on.
• Cone of Shame: The Three Odd-skateers all wear one, although there's nothing wrong with their necks — they wear them as part of their outfits.
• Continuity Nod: Orla's "Wait one tiny little notch on the sundial" phrase makes a return from when she previously said it in "Train of Thoughts".
  • Arctic Mr. O's schtick of failing to realize that his glasses are on his face, first introduced in "Odd Beginnings: Part 1", returns in this episode.
  • The background music playing during the interview scene is "Probably", a Soundcheck song which was first heard in "Party of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1".
• Crazy-Prepared: The Big O's office is equipped with a total of forty-eight phones to handle incoming calls about odd problems.
• Crossing the Desert: The Sticky Sisters do this to reach an ancient Odd Squad Headquarters located in the desert, where Olando lives and works.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: More like "Desperately Looking For Where She Fits in the Team", but same concept. Osmerelda spends a majority of the episode figuring out what role she plays in OSMU, as she never got much character growth when she was a Running Gag. Her roles range from weird (being the "intense" one) to downright ridiculous (being the "spooky" one).
• The Ditz: Arctic Mr. O, natch. The only quality he matches out of the five presented is that he has the ability to play tennis with a platypus, and he absolutely fails at the other four qualities.
• Family of Choice: When Osmerelda laments still not finding her place on the team to Orpita, she tells her that she doesn't have to figure it out on her own, as Odd Squad is a family despite almost none of the agents having any familial relations to each other. Past episodes have also revealed that other agents also feel the same way about the organization.
• Foreshadowing: Orla asks Orpita if she's the Big O's replacement, and in response, Orpita laughs it off and tells her that she's not and that she's just an assistant to the Big O. Naturally, she ends up getting the job at the end of the episode.
• Gadget Watches: Like Odd Squad agents, the Three Odd-skateers have watches of sorts embedded into the wrists of their suits that allow them to pull up graphics. Funny enough, they appear to be far more technologically advanced than the smart watches agents use.
• Green and Mean: The Three Odd-skateers are all affiliated with green color schemes.
• Group Hug: As is tradition when a character leaves the show permanently, the Mobile Unit all share one. It doesn't last long, however, as they're interrupted by Orpita.
• Harmless Freezing: Omar uses his gadget to freeze Odd-skateer #3's hands.
• Haunted Headquarters: According to Omar, the Mobile Unit van is haunted by a ghost. However, he, Oswald and Orla aren't scared of it in the slightest and treat it as though it's a normal thing (although he questions why it keeps happening, implying that the van gets haunted often).
• I Am Very British: Invoked by Osmerelda, who believes that she can be the British one of the group despite not being British and demonstrates it by saying "Off we go then, Guhvuhnor!" in a British accent. The rest of her teammates are visibly confused.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Osmerelda believes that she can be the "fun" one of the Mobile Unit. Orla shoots her down, saying that she's the "fun" one. Cut to Omar, the actual "fun" one of the team, who shoots her a look of sheer confusion.
  • Directly after that, Oswald believes that since the Three Odd-skateers completed their triangle, they're done causing oddness. Then the villain trio appear a computer monitor and tell them that no, they certainly are not done causing oddness.
  • When the Big O discusses beating the Three Odd-skateers with Orpita and Denver Mr. O, she tells the latter that his job is to make sure they don't spread out to nearby towns. An alarm then sounds, and Orpita says that they've spread out to nearby towns.
• Kindhearted Simpleton: Say what you will about Arctic Mr. O, but he cares enough about his agents to ask if they're feeling okay and try to stop them from going out onto the field if they're sick or aren't feeling well, wanting them to take a day off. Unfortunately, he demonstrates this kindness during his interview when reciting Oprah's catchphrase and it's met with an absolutely stoic look from Orpita as she tells him, "I would try that again."
• Last Words: Osmerelda gives the Big O some that really hit hard, both for the fans and the characters.
  Osmerelda: I kinda didn't wanna go last because I only got to work on one mission with you, which is the one we just did. So technically I only got to work with you for about an hour, and that's not a lot of time to foster a meaningful-
  [the other Mobile Unit agents clear their throats]
  Osmerelda: But the truth is, I feel like we've been friends forever. And that's because of you, Big O. Every agent you meet, you make them feel special, because you see what each one of us is capable of. And because of that, all of us are able to go out there and solve anything strange, weird, and especially odd. I know I'm just doing the saying, but...I really do mean it.
  • Just before that, Orla gives some final words of her own.
  Orla: Big O, you have taught me many valuable things, like how to take my time when solving a problem, and how to open a can of tuna without bashing it on a rock. Thank you.
• Leader Wannabe: Pretty much every Director candidate Orpita interviews is this to some extent, but Arctic Mr. O takes the cake by far — he believes that he can simply walk in, exchange a few words, and suddenly get the job, when quite obviously, that's not the case. He continuously asks if he got the job throughout his interview, and even when he doesn't get the job, he's shown lingering in the Big O's office, believing that if you "hang around long enough, things work out".
• Locked Out of the Loop: Osmerelda has no idea who Orpita is since she wasn't present in "It's Not Easy Being Chill", and is brought up to speed on the events of that episode by her three teammates.
• Media Scrum: Reporter-ville is absolutely full of this, as is the Mobile Unit's press conference. When Osmerelda Kim debuts as the newest member of the Mobile Unit, reporters are quick to hound her about her role on the team and compare her to previous agents like Olive and Olympia, something she doesn't take kindly to.
• Moment Killer: Orpita interrupts a very emotional moment following the Big O's permanent departure by performing a Stealth Hi/Bye and scaring the Mobile Unit.
• Multi-Part Episode: The eighth one of Season 3, which is also the mid-season premiere.
• Nervous Wreck: Denver Mr. O turns into one when he's promoted to the position of the Big O.
• Overcrank: Osmerelda Kim's reveal as she walks onstage makes use of this.
  • It's also used during the climactic battle against the Three Odd-skateers.
• Power Nullifier: Omar, Oswald and Osmerelda aim their gadgets at the Three Odd-skateers' hands, which prevent them from using their powers.
• Promotion to Parent: While it's never directly stated what relation the Odd-skateers have with each other, Odd-skateer #1 seems to take on a parental role to the other two Odd-skateers, which is made quite evident when she gets fed up with their incompetence (realizing that something always comes up when they solve oddness alone) and decides to drag them along with her so they can attack one area together.
• Pubescent Braces: On the way to the press conference, Orla received braces, or "tooth armor" according to her. Of course, this is due to Alyssa Hidalgo also having received braces during filming.
• Pun-Based Title: The title is a pun on the phrase "hot off the press".
• Put on a Bus: In what is perhaps the most notable departure of the entire show, Oprah leaves her post at the Big Office in order to help the Odd Squad Space Unit, in a similar vein to Dr. O, who also departed for the Odd Squad Space Station in "Dr. O: Party Time, Excellent", although Oprah will remain the Big O and is not stepping down from her rank. By extension, Millie Davis also departs from the show due to growing too old to continue playing the role, meaning that she is the final original character from the show (aside from Olive, Otto and Oscar, who all departed sometime in the past two seasons) to leave.
• Rank Up: Denver Mr. O gets promoted to the Big O after conducting an interview with Orpita, but only for a short time, as he proves himself to be incapable at the job and quits.
  • Orpita is promoted to the position of the Little O, serving as a second-in-command of sorts to the Big O.
• Running Gagged: Deconstructed. Esmerelda Kim was a girl who frequently appeared throughout the season as someone wanting to join the Mobile Unit on their adventures, but being unable to due to other commitments. This episode has her joining the Mobile Unit, and by extension Odd Squad, replacing Opal in the core 4 group, making her no longer a Running Gag. Although she was initially set to replace Orla in one of the Flashbacks of The B-Team", this episode has her joining permanently. However, the crux of the episode is that Osmerelda — as that is her real name — isn't sure what role she takes up within the group, alluding to how she never received much Character Development when she was a Running Gag, and tries to find a role that is best suited for her. She ends up being a driving force in taking down the Three Odd-skateers, and is deemed the "out-of-the-box thinker" of the group.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: As soon as he accidentally activates all the emergency protocols and turns the sprinkler system on, Denver Mr. O is quick to step down from his position of the Big O (and by extension, his department of the Big Office) and make a run for it, realizing that he can't handle the pressure.
• Sequel Episode: To both the mid-season finale "End of the Road" and "It's Not Easy Being Chill". The A-plot has Omar, Oswald and Orla, and later Osmerelda Kim, holding a press conference regarding Opal's departure from the group, with Orla explaining the events of the episode. The B-plot has Orpita, now an assistant to the Big O, attempting to find a suitable replacement for her boss, who is departing for the Odd Squad Space Unit.
• Series Continuity Error: Omar and Orpita refer to the latter's Agent Report as a "book report", despite the fact that the two are separate things and it was never addressed as a "book report" in "It's Not Easy Being Chill".
  • Strength is among one of the things tested as part of Orpita's interview to find a substitute Big O. As revealed in "O is Not For Over", strength training is a required element for all new Directors upon promotion, meaning that testing the candidates' strength is fruitless.
  • The Big Office is mistakenly referred to as "Big O's Headquarters" throughout the episode.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: "It's Not Easy Being Chill" ends up being one of these as revealed in this episode, as Orpita tells Osmerelda that she never finished her Agent Report.
• Share Phrase: Oprah's catchphrase of "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" is passed on to Orpita as the Little O — fitting, considering it's the catchphrase of a majority of Odd Squad Directors as well (and is part of the required training for newly-promoted Directors, as well as a prerequisite for becoming a Big O).
  • The Mobile Unit also direct the phrase towards the Big O as her connection with them is lost and she departs for the deep part of space.
• Shout-Out: The Three Odd-skateers are an obvious reference to The Three Musketeers.
  • The Big O changing backdrops draws some very striking parallels to a common feature of the video-conferencing application Zoom, which exploded in popularity over the course of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: Odd-skateer 1 delivers a powerful, hard-hitting message to Osmerelda that only serves to twist the dagger of her trying to find her place in OSMU even deeper.
  Orla: Fear not, reporters of Reporter-ville. For we shall stop him.
  Oddskateer 1: On Osmerelda's first day? She doesn't even know what her thing is yet. Good luck.
• Siblings in Crime: While it's unclear how they're related, the Three Odd-skateers appear to be siblings who happen to be villains.
• Sleep Mask: Orpita has the candidates wear these in order to test their juice box knowledge.
• Space Station: The Odd Squad Space Unit appears to be one, although unlike most space stations, it's moving throughout space.
• Spear Counterpart: Olando appears to be a male Expy of Orla, being an Odd Squad agent from ancient times that is unfamiliar with the modern world who is also a guardian of an ancient Artifact of Power.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Typical of someone working under Oprah, Orpita has this ability and definitely isn't afraid to use it.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Denver Mr. O proves to be completely incompetent at being the Big O, for two major reasons that collide into each other in a sort of snowball effect.
  • Orpita comes up with five things that each Director must have in order to be the Big O: if they can properly recite her Catchphrase, how strong they are, how much juice box knowledge they have, their math knowledge, and how good they can play tennis against a platypus. Denver Mr. O checks every single box barring the last one. Being very strong and being good at math are two skills that the Big O should have, but the other three hold very little merit. Being the head of all Odd Squad organizations also requires keeping a cool head in all situations, being respectful and kind to agents in all departments, and having a vast amount of knowledge of Odd Squad as an organization, which are three out of the many prerequisites that could, and should, have been offered to the interviewees.
  • Denver Mr. O may know how to run an Odd Squad precinct of a select group of agents, but when it comes to running Odd Squad as an organization, with numerous precincts and agents worldwide, he cracks under pressure and starts developing anxiety. Just because an employee is good in one position doesn't mean that they'll be good in a higher position, let alone when that position is being the CEO. Having better prerequisites, as stated above, would likely have helped to prevent putting an incompetent Big O in charge.
• Tally Marks on the Prison Wall: Olando marks how many days he's spent guarding the golden sundial in his ancient Odd Squad Headquarters by using a rock to draw tally marks on the wall.
• Telepathic Sprinklers: Denver Mr. O ends up letting his anxiety get the best of him and mashes all of the emergency buttons on the two panels under his desk. Not only are all the emergency protocols in place activated, but the sprinkler system goes off, drenching the entirety of his office and ruining the monitor that the Big O is calling him on.
• Tempting Fate: When the Mobile Unit goes to stop the Three Odd-skateers, they shout their Catchphrase of "Odd Squad, Odd Squad, stop right there!". The villain trio simply brush them off and laugh at their supposedly futile attempts...just before the agents give a Curb-Stomp Battle to them.
• Terrible Trio: The Three Odd-skateers, who appear to have the standard odd powers of conjuring up odd objects and making them rain down on people while wearing superpowered suits.
• Title-Only Opening: Surprisingly, the episode has no Title Sequence and instead opens with the Episode Title Card. This was not the case for past season premieres, as Oprah would handle narration for the opening sequences in place of Olympia and Opal in order to not spoil any twists regarding new characters.
• Token White: The third Odd-skateer is white, whereas the other two Odd-skateers are black. Interestingly, he's also the dumbest one of the group, falling in line with the Women Are Wiser trope that is often played straight in the case of villains.
• Tyop on the Cover: Some PBS stations refer to the Mobile Unit as "Mobil Unit" in synopses for this episode.
• Vocal Evolution: Omar's and Orla's voices are much deeper than in previous appearances.
• Weird Weather: The powers of the Three Odd-skateers seem to be making odd things rain from the sky, whether it's guacamole, shoes, or beach balls.
• Welcome Episode: The episode centers around a press conference being held to welcome the newest employee of Odd Squad, Osmerelda Kim, who is attempting to find her place within the group.
• Wham Episode: Naturally, for being the mid-season premiere.
  • Esmerelda Kim's real name is revealed: Osmerelda Kim, which makes her eligible to join Odd Squad — and that she does, taking the place of Opal following her departure in the previous episode.
  • Olando, another ancient Odd Squad agent, is introduced. He is shown attempting to guard another ancient Odd Squad Artifact of Power — a golden sundial, in another ancient Headquarters located in a desert region. Subsequently, the Sticky Sisters are both re-introduced, with the red-haired Sister Sally revealed to have survived the collapse of Orla's ancient Odd Squad Headquarters in "Odd Beginnings: Part 2", and the other Sister Sally making her first on-show appearance since "Villain Networking". Both of them are shown plotting to break into the ancient Headquarters and steal the golden sundial for their own benefit instead of working for The Shadow, now that she has pulled a Heel–Face Turn.
  • Oprah, and by extension Millie Davis, departs the show to go to space. Orpita, from "It's Not Easy Being Chill", is revealed to have graduated from the Odd Squad Academy and serves as her assistant for a majority of the episode before being promoted as a substitute Big O in Oprah's place, gaining the title of "Little O" and a spiffy new suit to boot.
  • It's revealed that many villains who weren't in Australia during the events of "End of the Road" still have their odd powers. Three such villains are the Three Odd-skateers, who promptly use their odd powers to wreak havoc on Reporter-ville.
• Wham Shot: Omar attempting to fight back tears as he attempts to gift one of his souvenirs to Oprah, but her realizing that he doesn't want to give it to her, definitely qualifies.
• Worldbuilding: The city of Reporter-ville is introduced, which is where all the reporters of the world reside.
  • The Odd Squad Space Unit is mentioned by the Big O, who departs for it at the end of the episode.
  • Another ancient Odd Squad Headquarters is revealed, located in a desert region. Based on its Sphinx-like appearance, it's possible that it's located in Egypt, although its actual location isn't revealed.
  • Some functions of the Big O's office are revealed, including 48 phones and two panels consisting of a total of 128 emergency buttons.
  • The position of "Little O" is created. While still in the Big Office department, the agent who is the Little O serves as a Number Two to the Big O.

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