Airdate: July 15, 2021 note , August 12, 2021 note , October 19, 2021 note
As Jimmy Jam's Scrambler Machine scrambles Odd Squad communication, the villains plan to unleash oddness.
Tropes:
- A Pirate 400 Years Too Late: A villainous pirate is among the villains seen at the gala.
- Big Eater: As shown in a Flashback, Orpita is capable of eating a rather large plate of nachos, with only a small glass of water as a drink. It's such an impressive feat that she gets her photo added to the wall of the restaurant. At the end of the episode, she and the Mobile Unit all share a large stack of nachos and get a photo of them added to the wall.
- Binocular Shot: One is seen when Orpita looks into the Villain Party Room.
- Black-Tie Infiltration: Orpita is forced to infiltrate a fancy "villain gala" in order to retrieve the map with the locations of every Odd Squad precinct in the world. She does this by donning a tuxedo and disguising herself as a waitress.
- Blunt "Yes": The Mobile Unit's response when Orpita asks them if they've heard the part in her "I ate a bunch of nachos" story where she got her picture hung on the wall for eating the entire portion.
- The Bus Came Back: Kevin Noisemaker, who hasn't been seen since "Villain Networking", returns in this episode as an auctioneer.
- Call-Back: This isn't the first episode to have a Scrambler machine — Tennifer also had a similar machine in "Down the Tubes", which she used to scramble the tubes at Tube Central Station.
- Oswald's ability to read lips, revealed in "Substitute Agents", comes back into play in this episode.
- In the Little O's story, her mission is to retrieve a map detailing the locations of all the Odd Squad precincts worldwide from a villain gala. "Undercover Olive" had a similar premise, with some differences — it was a map of all the tube entrances in the world, Olive had to retrieve it from a villains-only Rock–Paper–Scissors tournament, and she wasn't working undercover as a spy. Similarly, Weaksauce Weakness is used to defeat the villains in both episodes (ice cream in "Undercover Olive", paper and pencils in this episode).
- This episode shares quite a few similarities with "The Weight of the World Depends on Orla", being flashback episodes that showcase origins of a main character, with the flashbacks helping characters in the present day somehow. However, "The Weight of the World Depends on Orla" did not have a parody of anything, nor was it a Parody Episode, and was more of an Origins Episode than this one.
- Chekhov's Gun: Orpita's graph paper and pencils end up helping the Mobile Unit figure out what floor Jimmy Jam lives on.
- Continuity Cavalcade: A lot of villains seen in the background of "End of the Road" return in this episode. There are also villains who appear via mention, such as Randy Rounding and Marty Marmalade.
- Continuity Nod: A villainous pirate? Been there, done that, although Olive wasn't so much villainous as she was sick and under the influence of the disease's effects.
- First came the Super-Safe Room just a couple episodes ago, and now, there's a Super-Safe Secure Room.
- Cue the Sun: Inverted. The Mobile Unit has to stop Jimmy Jam's signal jammer before the sun comes up, otherwise numerous villains will begin to wreak oddness on the world.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Orpita is shown wearing all black clothing during her time as a Special Operations agent. Inversely, in the present day, she is shown wearing predominantly white.
- Frothy Mugs of Water: A common Running Gag with Orpita's disguise as a waitress is that villains are constantly asking her for Shirley Temple drinks. Since the episode is a kid-friendly parody of Mission Impossible, and since it is PBS Kids, it makes sense that the writers would substitute an alcoholic drink for something non-alcoholic (and as a bonus, Shirley Temples are often given to kids instead of actual cocktails). However, for someone unfamiliar with Shirley Temples, it may not seem like it at first glance.
- Group Picture Ending: The episode ends with a picture of the Mobile Unit and the Little O with their huge plate of nachos.
- I Can't Hear You: Jimmy Jam can't hear the agents due to him having headphones on and his signal jammer emitting a loud whirring noise. This benefits them, as they just take the signal jammer out of his apartment by dragging it along the floor, effectively defeating him.
- "I Know What We Can Do" Cut: When the mission is accomplished at the end of the episode, Oswald says that there's only one thing to celebrate. Transition to the Mobile Unit and the Little O at the restaurant the latter was previously at, with a big stack of "nachos!!"
- Impeded Communication: Jimmy Jam's signal jammer device causes Odd Squad badge phones and smartwatches to be unable to work.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: When she is given her mission, Orpita remarks that it sounds easy. The head agent tells her that she'll have to pass through a metal detector, meaning that she can't take any electronic devices with her — including her badge phone, smartwatch, and any gadgets on her person.
- Instant Messenger Pigeon: The Mobile Unit uses one to contact Orpita. Apparently, it's employed with the organization and bears the name and title of Agent O'Bird.
- IPhony: When Orla opens up her smart watch, a spinning rainbow wheel shows up to indicate that it's not working — something that's found on Mac computers (the Microsoft Windows equivalent would be a spinning blue wheel). This more or less confirms that the smartwatches in the show, like a majority of other technology, use Apple as an OS.
- Metal Detector Checkpoint: The auction has one which screens villains as they enter. A Running Gag involves a knight attempting to pass through, only to be rejected because his suit is entirely metal. However, he fails to realize this, and believes it's stuff in his pocket instead.
- Moment Killer: Oswald frequently interrupts the story to give clues as to where various villains live in proximity to Jimmy Jam, but doesn't give their actual locations, making him more of a hindrance than anything else (and presumably, a way to tell the audience that the Mobile Unit is present in the episode and is just as important to the plot). By the third interruption, Orpita has caught on enough that she's the one who stops her own story because she thinks he's going to give another clue.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Orpita had been quiet for the entirety of her mission, but her excitedly shouting that she got the map causes the curtains to open, revealing her and outing her true identity to all the villains.
- Not Quite Flight: It's revealed that the Little O has a hang glider stored in her Hammerspace spine that allows her to fly, which is activated by tapping her belt buckle.
- No Time to Explain: The head agent of Special Operations refuses to explain how the pencils and graph paper will help Orpita, saying that she has no time to do so.
- Overcrank: Used for the fight scene at the climax in Orpita's story.
- Parody Episode: A majority of the episode is basically one long Mission Impossible parody. However, to some, it can come off as a
Shallow Parody, with it playing out like a standard episode that just so happens to include a Special Operations team and a secret spy agent. It's generally very low-stakes compared to the Mission Impossible films, with very little action and violence in the form of Weaksauce Weakness, likely no thanks to PBS Kids' Standards and Practices — to say nothing of the fact that being an Odd Squad Special Operations agent feels like something better suited for Oprah than Orpita, given that the former has the experience, the age, and the skills that the latter does not. - Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The episode title references the Mission Impossible series of films.
- Running Gag: The tall plate of nachos and the numerous agents who eat them.
- Series Continuity Error: Orpita refers to her workplace as the "Big O Headquarters". The actual name for it is the Big Office, which is also the name of the department that agents who work there are in.
- Similarly, the smartwatch is repeatedly referred to as a "watch tablet". They were previously called "smartwatches", or just "watches".
- Spear Counterpart: Jimmy Jam might be one to Jamie Jam, with the only difference being that he deals with communication jams while she deals with the edible kind of jam (although Jimmy is shown making a sandwich with jam at the climax).
- Spy-Tux Reveal: Orpita does one when she lands outside the Villain Mansion, tearing off her skydiving attire to reveal a spiffy tuxedo underneath.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Averted when Orpita is talking to a villainous pirate and he tells her where the auction is being held — he begins telling her his drink order as he's looking away from the stairs, but we see her run upstairs while he's talking, and he doesn't notice she's gone until he looks back at the stairs.
- It's played straight when she's talking to a rain-oriented villainess, however. The villainess begins asking for cherries, and Orpita suddenly disappears the next time she looks back to her.
- Taught by Experience: A couple villains that Orpita runs into immediately assume she's an Odd Squad agent with the sole reason being that she's a kid. They turn out to be right on the money, likely due to their own run-ins with Odd Squad in the past, but Orpita is forced to lie and say that she's really a waitress in order to maintain her ruse. Although she merely conjures up a tray from her Hammerspace spine to convince them, they buy it.
- Thinking Out Loud: While this occurs every time an agent is solving a math problem (and explaining it to the audience), one of Orpita's instances of doing so is unique in that she lampshades it.Orpita: I realize I'm talking to myself, but it's really helping me stay calm.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Orpita ends up distracting, and by extension defeating, the villains by using the graph paper and pencil that was given to her, since she doesn't have any gadgets to fight with.
- Wizard Beard: This is one of the items that is up for bidding at the auction.
- Worldbuilding: The Villain Mansion is introduced for the first time.
- Odd Squad Special Operations is also introduced. It's unknown if it's meant to be a department, or some kind of special division of the organization.
From sandwich to a viable threat.
Nature of the SandbeastAirdate: July 15, 2021 note , August 12, 2021 note , October 20, 2021 note
Dr. Dry steals the Sandbeast's golden egg.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Ineffective Barricade: The barricade protecting the electric fence with the egg has absolutely no purpose — if not because no cars are going to drive through, then because Dr. Dry could easily step over it.
- Apocalypse How: The Sandbeast plans to cover the entire world in sand as revenge for her egg being stolen.
- Artistic License – Physics: Quite obviously, one can't use whipped cream cans to fly. However, this is Odd Squad we're talking about...
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: Double-subverted. The Mobile Unit tells Dr. Dry that they aren't taking his eyes off him until he admits that he stole the Sandbeast's egg. He admits right off the bat that he stole it...but then says that he's not giving it back to them.
- Binocular Shot: One is shown when Dr. Dry spots the Odd Squad containment unit with the egg inside.
- Blank Book: Orla's dictionary is chock-full of Lorem ipsum text.
- The Bus Came Back: After having last been seen in "Villain Networking", Dr. Dry returns with a major role.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Typical of Orla to call a Segway a "horseless chariot".
- Call-Back: It's not the first time an episode takes place in a desolate area.
- A couple episodes ago, William Ocean was planning to flood the Earth with water. In this episode, the Sandbeast intends to flood the Earth with sand.
- Compressed Vice: Orla develops quite the inflated ego while telling her story of how Dr. Dry got the Sandbeast's egg, something she rarely exhibited in past episodes.
- Continuity Nod: Dr. Dry rides a Segway to the location of the egg. Oscar also rode a Segway in "Oscar of All Trades".
- Toast, the Running Gag for Season 2, makes an appearance in Osmerelda's recount of events when Dr. Dry uses it to figure out what half of 28 is.
- Soundcheck makes a return via mention for the first time since "Music of Sound".
- Time Sheep also make a return appearance after having last been seen in "Back to the Past".
- Dreadful Musician: In contrast to Otto, the agent he's an Expy of, Omar's singing voice is definitely not great.
- Similarly, Orla is in no way skilled at opera — which is quite weird, considering her yodelling duet with Opal in "Slow Your Roll" had her singing well.
- Freeze-Frame Ending: The episode ends with a still frame of Omar and Orla raising their shields and Osmerelda pumping her fist in the air, with a glow around them.
- Gold Makes Everything Shiny: The eponymous Sandbeast has a golden egg.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: The Odd Squad Security guard is very easily distracted.
- Happy Birthday to You!: Averted in Osmerelda's version of the story, where the Singing Telegram sings this song to the Odd Squad Security guard.
- Hero Stole My Bike: Inverted. Dr. Dry commandeers a tandem bike from a professional cycling champion and orders him to ride out to the middle of nowhere. He thanks him, but the cycling champion says that he ordered him to ride to the middle of nowhere. Dr. Dry's response is to simply give an Evil Laugh.
- I Can See My House from Here: In Omar's story, Dr. Dry says this as he's making his way over the electric fence.
- Literal Metaphor: When Omar suggests running from the Sandbeast, Orla says that the word "run" doesn't exist in her dictionary, followed by her pulling out an actual dictionary from her Hammerspace spine and showing it to them, explaining that it doesn't go past the letter L.
- Mama Bear: The Sandbeast is very protective of her egg and is willing to cover the entire Earth in sand if someone threatens its life.
- Not a Game: Orla asks Dr. Dry if the Sandbeast planning to cover Earth entirely in sand is "some sort of game to you". He responds that yes, this is indeed a game to him, and tells her, Omar and Osmerelda how to play.
- Not Quite Flight: Dr. Dry uses whipped cream cans to fly over the electric fence in Omar's story.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: In "Villain Networking", Dr. Dry was initially seen as someone that was harmless. This episode has him using an Unwitting Pawn to cause an Apocalypse How by covering Earth entirely in sand.
- Our Dragons Are Different: The Sandbeast acts very similar to a dragon and has small dragon wings that it uses to fly, but looks more like an extraterrestial alien than a dragon.
- Product Placement: Dr. Dry is shown riding a Segway, and it's revealed that it's how he got out into the desolate area where the egg was located. Hilariously, however, unlike the last time a Segway was shown, no one refers to it as a Segway. Omar instead refers to it as a "strange two-wheeled scooter", which may be a Take That! to the Segway's poor popularity.
- "Rashomon"-Style: Orla, Omar and Osmerelda all give different accounts of how they think Dr. Dry stole the Sandbeast's egg, guessing which parts are right. Each story builds on what Dr. Dry deems correct answers (such as riding a Segway), but the personalities of the agents leak into their stories. In the end, it turns out to be Oswald — who is busy packing his getaway bag and is hardly listening to the conversation — who gets the actual story right, down to every detail.
- Riddle for the Ages: How did Dr. Dry turn back to normal from when he was turned into a sandwich in "Villain Networking"?
- Exactly why is the egg being held in an Odd Squad containment unit? Is it because the Sandbeast is a dangerous creature, and if so, why keep it in the middle of nowhere to begin with instead of at an Odd Squad Headquarters nearby?
- Sand Blaster: True to its name, the Sandbeast can spit out a stream of sand at its enemies.
- Sealed Room in the Middle of Nowhere: Of a sort — the egg is located in a chicken coop guarded by lasers, which is guarded by an electric laser fence, smack-dab in the middle of a desert-like region that's explicitly stated to be the middle of nowhere.
- Seers: In Orla's version of events, Dr. Dry summons an oracle to help him figure out what half of 28 is, who in turn summons a time sheep.
- Singing Telegram: Dr. Dry uses one in order to distract the Odd Squad Security guard, which is given by a woman dressed in hotel bellhop attire.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Dr. Dry can easily summon the Singing Telegram just by telling her he needs her into a walkie-talkie.
- Talking Is a Free Action: Averted. Oswald knows that they don't have much time before the Sandbeast arrives, so his version of events is very condensed and rushed.
- Temporarily Exaggerated Trait: Oswald's Cowardly Lion tendencies flare up during this episode, as he's mostly seen being so fearful of the Sandbeast that he's already halfway through packing his bag when the episode begins.
- Tricked-Out Gloves: Dr. Dry has "shovel gloves", which he uses for digging, in Osmerelda's story.
- Tricked-Out Shoes: In Orla's story, Dr. Dry uses his "bouncy shoes" to get over the electric fence.
- Unwitting Pawn: Dr. Dry steals the Sandbeast's egg so she'll cover the entire world in sand, which is exactly what he wants. She is completely unaware it's him who stole it and isn't working with him whatsoever.
- Vocal Dissonance: Every single "how it happened" segment that Orla, Osmerelda and Omar go through with Dr. Dry has them depicting everyone involved in their own voice — for example, in Orla's segment, she voices all of the characters, instead of having the characters themselves speak.
