Of course they can, they ain't afraid of no creature.
Can You Wrangle It?Airdate: September 29, 2021 note , October 22, 2021 note , December 31, 2021 note
With the Big O in space, the Xs are checking agents' licenses for fighting oddness. Orla and Oswald must get their creature-handling licenses - fast!
Tropes:
- Big "NO!": The Mobile Unit agents give one just before Osemite throws the old energy cheese pyramid into a trashcan.
- Bottle Episode: The episode takes place entirely on the Mobile Unit van.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: The Grizzlegorp eats triangles, the Wriggler eats squares, and the Wrigglegorp eats triangles and squares.
- Call-Back: Another agent of the Task Force department, Xanthia, is introduced, following Xuxa and Xeno in "Overdue!" and Xavier and Xena who debuted in "Xs and Os".
- Orpita brings up Oprah going to space.
- Omar already having his creature handling license makes sense considering the events of "It's Not Easy Being Chill".
- Similarly, Osmerelda having her creature handling license also makes sense considering she had to go through the Odd Squad Academy to join, as revealed in "Odd Off The Press".
- When Oswald tells Orpita that he and Orla have proved themselves to be skilled at handling creatures, a scene of him in "Running on Empty" trying to catch the baby blob and failing is shown, followed by the scene in "The Thrill of the Face" of Orla being turned to stone by the Piedro de Guerrero and Oswald running away in fear.
- Chekhov's Gun: The energy cheese pyramid turns out to be what the Wrigglegorp goes after.
- Color-Coded Characters: The Grizzlegorp is yellow, the Wriggler is red, and the Wrigglegorp is blue. The gadgets used to catch the creatures have respective yellow, red and blue auras as well.
- Continuity Nod: This isn't the first episode to have a long gag involving sniffing.
- Orpita beginning to say the first part of the "something very odd has happened" Catchphrase, but not the second part, is reminiscent of the conversation that Oprah has with Olympia and Otis in "Villains in Need Are Villains Indeed". Both episodes even have an agent asking her if something very odd happened (in this episode's case, it's Oswald).
- The Ditz: Osemite may be good at administering tests and monitoring their takers, but when it comes to most anything else he tends to fall behind.
- Diving Save: Osmerelda does one to catch the energy cheese pyramid before it can hit the floor. She's successful, and even slides across the floor a little.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The Overly Long Gag of the Mobile Unit agents sniffing the freshly-installed energy cheese pyramid might draw some parallels to those who huff inhalants or other toxic things, especially in the way they enjoy the smell while Osmerelda is unable to smell it until cheese actually gets on her nose.
- Eating Pet Food: Osemite accidentally mixes up the two pouches on his belt, one that holds creature food and the other that holds his own food, and eats pieces of creature food instead. He ends up liking it.
- Edible Ammunition: When Oswald and Orla open the door to the Grilled Cheese Room, the Grizzlegorp pelts them with tiny grilled cheese sandwiches, which makes it hard to aim.
- Faster Than They Look: None of the Mobile Unit agents banked on Xanthia being a fast walker. Oswald and Orla haven't even gotten started on their first test by the time she reaches the 32nd floor of the van.
- Gone Horribly Right: Osemite intentionally releases a Grizzlegorp and a Wriggler as part of Orla and Oswald's test. However, he also unintentionally releases a Wrigglegorp and begs Orla and Oswald to catch it before Xanthia sees it.
- Hate Sink: Averted for Xanthia, who, like Xuxa and Xeno, is actually pretty nice and isn't meant to be villainous or hated on, nor is she an antagonist for the Mobile Unit agents. She also doesn't give them flak when she sees a creature loose in the van.
- Holding the Floor: Omar and Osmerelda stall for time by showing Xanthia all the rooms of the van.
- I Can See My House from Here: A variant — when flying in the air, Osmerelda points to a section of the sky and says, "That's my dentist's office!"
- Improbable Weapon User: The Wriggler attacks Orla and Oswald with fuzzy dice from the Fuzzy Dice Room when they try to capture it.
- Infrared X-Ray Camera: The Wrigglegorp's sight functions like this. It can't see through objects, but can detect pyramids as infrared rather than humans.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Oswald has an addendum to his usual Catchphrase when answering the phone, stating that he's a "former library-museum-person, soon-to-be creature expert". Omar bites back promptly:Omar: If you're an "expert", then why is there another creature loose in the van?Oswald: Osemite let a Grizzlegorp out as part of a test?Osemite: Some of my best work.
- Lampshade Hanging: Upon learning of the energy cheese pyramid, Osmerelda's first reaction is to ask why the Mobile Unit has something that could cause a large, devastating, and likely lethal explosion when dropped.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Osmerelda is unaware of who the X's are and what the Task Force department in general is, and is brought up to speed by Orpita.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Downplayed. Osemite has shoulder-length blonde hair. If it weren't for Orpita explicitly referring to him as a "creature guy", fans might mistake him for being female.
- Lured into a Trap: Orla and Oswald attempt to do this with the Wriggler and the Wrigglegorp. It doesn't work on either attempt.
- Mellow Fellow: This seems to be a very common trait among agents in the Creature Care department — Osemite is quite laid-back and enjoys kicking up his feet and relaxing while Orla and Oswald capture the odd creatures that he let loose.
- Midair Repair: Orla and Oswald manage to catch the Wrigglegorp and stop it from eating the energy cheese pyramid, and Osmerelda catches the pyramid before it hits the ground. Omar then takes it and puts it back in its rightful place, stopping the van from descending and allowing it to fly freely again.
- Near-Death Experience: The van ends up losing the ability to fly in mid-air due to power to the thrusters being cut off by the energy cheese pyramid being removed, and it begins to rapidly descend. Perhaps the scariest thing about the ordeal is the fact that Omar and Osmerelda are in the cockpit and are almost completely incapable of piloting the van because there's no way to steer the van through the sky as it's falling.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Osemite spots the moldy energy cheese pyramid sitting on a table and decides to casually toss it in a nearby trashcan. It ends up exploding into powder as soon as it hits the bottom of the can.
- Noodle Implements: Oswald's morning routine consists of something involving bananas, then volleyball, then something involving more bananas. He starts to go into his mid-morning routine with Osmerelda before he stops when coming across Omar and Orla replacing the energy cheese pyramid.
- Odango Hair: Xanthia has her hair styled this way.
- Overcrank: Used for the entirety of the scene where Orla and Oswald capture the Wrigglegorp.
- P.O.V. Cam: Just before Orla and Oswald suck the Wrigglegorp up, there's a shot from the creature's point of view with the pyramid that the agents made highlighted in orange, like a heat sensor.
- Power Source: While the Mobile Unit van relies on water for fuel in order to drive on the ground, it also requires a fresh energy cheese pyramid to be able to achieve flight. Taking the pyramid out of its slot while the van is in midair will cause the thrusters to fail and the vehicle to gradually plummet to the ground, and dropping the pyramid will cause a cheese explosion (which is initially stated to be devastating, but is actually very small in nature). Like with cheese as a food, it also gets moldy over time and needs to be replaced every once in a while.
- Rule of Three: Orpita asks the Mobile Unit agents if they have their van safety licenses, and they say they do. She then asks them if they have their gadget licenses and they say they do. Then she asks if they have their creature handling licenses...and while Osmerelda and Omar state that they have them, Orla and Oswald exchange a worried glance with each other as they find that they don't.
- Subverted when Osemite comes up to Oswald and Orla and Oswald asks him if he's going to ask them to catch a third creature, only for him to say no, and then beg the agents to catch a third creature.
- Queer Colors: Played with. When the Wrigglegorp removes the energy cheese pyramid from the monitor in the bullpen, the room is lit up in pink, purple and blue, the colors of the bisexual flag, and it remains lit up when Orla and Oswald work together to capture the creature. This is the second queer-related hint that has been related to Orla since the OddTube episode "The Button Song" depicted her as having rainbow-itis with the colors of the rainbow pride flag, but it's not confirmed if Orla is actually bisexual, or if she even falls on the LGBTQ+ spectrum at all. On that note, it's not confirmed if Oswald is bisexual either.
- Retcon: Having a van safety license wasn't discussed at all nor implemented by Oprah in regards to the creation of the Mobile Unit department and the hiring of Opal, Omar, Orla and Oswald — meaning that, like in "License to Science" with the sudden introduction of gadget and creature handling licenses (which do get continuations in this episode), the sudden introduction of required van safety licenses for the Mobile Unit appears to be an Ass Pull from the writers.
- Series Continuity Error: When Oswald says that he and Orla have proved that they're good at handling creatures, a scene from "The Thrill of the Face" plays to demonstrate the opposite, when Orla becomes turned into stone by the Piedro de Guerrero and Oswald runs away. It's cited as a source that he is terrible at dealing with creatures, but in actuality, he ran away from the Piedro de Guerrero when it attacked Orla not because he wasn't good at handling creatures (the Piedro de Guerrero getting loose wasn't his fault and he managed to mostly overcome his fear and return it to its original state eventually), but because he had no way to fight back and had to retrieve the Piedro-Reverse-inator gadget from the main room of the Museum of Natural Odd to even have any semblance of an advantage against the Artifact of Doom.
- Omar and Osmerelda only show Xanthia 87 floors, which barely scratches the total amount of floors that comes in at 932-and-a-half — meaning that they didn't have to show her the main room after the 87th floor, and could continue the tour by roaming the halls in further floors until Orla and Oswald caught the Wrigglegorp and passed their test. Of course, then there wouldn't be much of an episode.
- Shout-Out: Orla and Oswald capturing all the loose creatures using a machine that functions like a vacuum and sucks them in is very similar to Ghostbusters.
-
Spiritual Successor: To both "The Creature Whisperer" and "License to Science".- A Creature Care agent accidentally lets creatures who eat triangles and squares loose, and they must be caught before someone important coming to Headquarters spots them. The difference between this episode and "The Creature Whisperer", however, is that Osemite doesn't really help Orla and Oswald catch the creatures because he doesn't have to worry about Xanthia chewing him out, and because it's a test given to them specifically. There are also three creatures for them to catch instead of just one.
- An Odd Squad employee must take a test in order to obtain a license from an agent in the Task Force department, or else they will be fired. The difference between this episode and "License to Science" is that Orla and Oswald aren't completely terrified of taking their test like Oona was, nor are they bad at taking tests. Furthermore, the Task Force agent in question administering the test was initially going to be Xavier, but he was replaced with Xanthia instead in the final product.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Osemite pops up the second after Orpita tells the Mobile Unit that she knows a "creature guy".
- Verbal Backspace: When Orla and Oswald receive a call from Omar, this exchange ensues.Orla: I am Orla.Omar: There's another creature loose in the van.[the Wriggler passes by]Xanthia: What was that?Osmerelda: Uhh, he said, "Here's another feature useful to the van!" Like this light! [taps it twice] Super bright, hehe...
- Vulgar Humor: The Mobile Unit agents get moldy cheese powder all over their faces and absolutely no one bats an eye as to how disgusting it is — it's just Played for Laughs.
- Weapons That Suck: To catch the various creatures loose in the van, Osemite hands Orla and Oswald gadgets that function similar to vacuums and gradually increase in size.
- Worldbuilding: This episode shows the entirety of the Creature Room in the Mobile Unit van, whereas it was only barely shown before.
We haven't gotten to the point where print media predicts the future yet. But Odd Squad has!
Ahead of the TimesAirdate: September 29, 2021 note , October 25, 2021 note , December 31, 2021 note
The Puppy Master plans to turn everyone into puppies - including the Odd Squad Mobile Unit!
Tropes:
- All There in the Script: The newspaper stand owner who tells the Mobile Unit agents about Ahead of the Times is never given a name in the show, but the credits list him as "Newsie Norman".
- The woman who stops Orla and Osmerelda at the Talent Bonanza is named "Rhoda Block" in the credits.
- The man who stops Orla and Osmerelda at a bowling alley is named "King Pin Mike" in the credits.
- Anime Hair: The hair of the Potato Museum curator that Oswald meets has blonde hair that's styled so as to resemble popping kernels of corn, with one big kernel as the centerpiece. And it's threaded through a French fry box, no less. It's by far one of the craziest hairstyles ever seen on the show, and that's saying quite a lot.
- Arc Symbol: The sundial makes an appearance again in the form of the same gag used in the previous episode, Orla having it as a watch in place of her usual, and more high-tech, smartwatch. The fact that it appears suddenly without any warning is even lampshaded by Oswald.
- Beyond the Impossible: In the world of Odd Squad, there exists a newspaper that predicts events happening in the future...and manages to be correct every single time. Of course, since Time Travel is a thing as well, it might not be so impossible after all.
- Big Eater: Oswald, naturally. He's in love with the Pancake Palace's "nine-pancake stack" — the pancakes are comically huge and topped with butter, maple syrup, and a heaping helping of explodium. He also expresses desire to go to the Potato Museum on Prince Edward Island and is the only one out of his teammates to go.
- On that note, so are Orla and Osmerelda, seeing as how they're just as eager to eat the stack of pancakes at the end as their partner is.
- Big "NO!": The Puppy Master gives one upon seeing her Puppy Ray turned into a large meaty bone.
- Birthday Episode: Downplayed. Orla and Osmerelda visit the Prince Edward Bowling Alley, where the birthday party of Theodore Smithsonville is taking place. Theodore is elated that they've come and asks them to play Pin the Tail on the Unicorn with him, but when Orla tells him that they're at the bowling alley on Odd Squad business, he becomes saddened. They then have a change of heart and decide to play with Theodore and the rest of the party guests.
- Bullying the Disabled: Played with. The photo of the Puppy Master receiving a high score at the Prince Edward Bowling Alley and being shown laughing at a boy who is in a motorized wheelchair may initially come off as this to some considering she's a villainess, but as the show isn't one to make fun of disabled people and it's been shown that Even Evil Has Standards, it's more likely that she's laughing with the boy who is congratulating her rather than laughing at him because he can't bowl.
- The Bus Came Back: The Puppy Master returns in a major role after having last been seen in the second half of the Season 2 finale.
- Similarly, Olaf makes an appearance via mention after his final physical appearance in "Where There's a Wolf, There's a Way".
- Call-Back: Oswald knows about the museum because Olaf told him about it. The two are apparently friends with each other — which makes sense, considering that Oswald was a Pen Pal for Opal and likely had others while working in the Museum of Natural Odd, which probably included (and still includes) Olaf.
- This isn't the first episode to have the threat of people being turned into puppies. It never comes to pass in this episode and no damage is ultimately done, but a photo of Orla, Oswald and Osmerelda as puppies is shown in one issue of the Ahead of the Times newspaper — and Orla is a German Shepherd, the same breed that Otis was turned into. Coincidentally, both Orla and Otis are the focus of their seasons' Story Arcs.
- Compressed Vice: Orla displays a lack of understanding when it comes to telling time despite not showing any signs of being incapable of doing so in past episodes. This is for two reasons: to push the Arc Symbol throughout the half-season of a sundial, and to push the episode's Aesop of clocks and time.
- Continuity Nod: The magician outfits of Orla and Osmerelda are both similar to the one Otto wore in "The Great Grinaldi". Similarly, it's not the first time an Odd Squad agent becomes a magician, although in Orla's and Osmerelda's case, they're merely posing as magicians.
- Cool, but Inefficient: The Talent Bonanza sounds cool, right? And there should be plenty of tickets being sold for how many seats are in the theater. But nope — if you can't secure a seat out of the eight (yes, eight) that are available, then you're outta luck, as Orla and Osmerelda find out.
- Crazy-Prepared: Odd Squad seems to have taken a lesson from the events of "And Then They Were Puppies" and has an Un-Puppy-Ray-inator in its gadget inventory. Orla just so happens to have it stored in her Hammerspace spine, which she uses to turn the Puppy Master's Puppy Ray into a rather large and rather meat-filled bone, effectively defeating her.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Orla calling Oswald to have "one last meal" together with him before she is turned into a puppy draws parallels to someone knowing they're about to die and wanting a final moment with one of their loved ones or friends.
- Easily Impressed: One man in the audience of Orla's and Osmerelda's magic show sees them carting away their "disappearing box" with the Puppy Master still inside without using magic to do so, and is completely floored.
- Evil Is Hammy: The Puppy Master has been known to be hammy in past episodes, and this episode is absolutely no exception.
- Eyes Never Lie: Looking into the Golden Potato's eyes will allow it to, according to the Potato Museum curator, "look deep into your soul and speak truths no one has ever spoken to you."Oswald: Which ones? You have so many...
- Faceless Eye: The eye doctor that Omar visits has an eye for a face, which fits in well with the literal metaphors and objects that the show is known for.
- Failed Future Forecast: Averted. Newsie Norman's Ahead of the Times newspaper accurately predicts what will happen to people and at what time. From what we see, it's never wrong.
- Food End: The episode abruptly ends just before Osmerelda, Oswald and Orla cut into the pancakes, with Newsie Norman taking cover using his newspaper as a shield.
- Foregone Conclusion: Given that Ahead of the Times states that everyone on Prince Edward Island will get turned into puppies by the Puppy Master, including Orla, Oswald and Osmerelda themselves, it's only natural that they would end up stopping the villainess before any damage could be done.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The text on the Ahead of the Times newspaper is a long-winded explanation about "Occidental".
- Gold-Colored Superiority: The Golden Potato is a powerful potato that speaks truths to those that look into its eyes and requires special glasses to see it.
- Good-Times Montage: One occurs at Theodore Smithsonville's birthday party, with Osmerelda and Orla joining in on the festivities.
- Guinness Episode: Downplayed. The episode opens up with Orla, Oswald and Osmerelda attempting to get into the Odd Squad Book of World Records, presumably for the tallest cup stack. However, they pick the table in the middle of the bullpen as their (very inopportune) place to try and break the record — meaning that when Orpita calls them and the monitor descends, the cups fall to the floor.
- Hidden Depths: Osmerelda is surprisingly very skilled at magic, even when faking being a magician onstage.
- How Did You Know? I Didn't: Orla and Osmerelda manage to accurately guess the name of the guest of honor at the private birthday party being held at the Prince Edward Bowling Alley, even though they flimsily made it up as they went along.
- Idiot Ball: Orla grips the ball when she asks if the Puppy Master ate at the Pancake Palace at 6:00 in the morning or 6:00 at night. She's well-aware of the schtick of the Ahead of the Times newspaper by that point, making her moment of idiocy an excuse to pedal another lesson related to the mathematical Aesop in.
- Ignored Expert: Newsie Norman informs Orla, Osmerelda and Oswald that they shouldn't eat the stack of nine pancakes because it'll explode like a volcano when they cut into it. They disregard his warning, saying that it's Worth It.
- I Never Told You My Name: Parodied when Oswald asks about the Golden Potato and the Potato Museum curator becomes suspicious as she asks him how he knows about the Golden Potato and if anyone followed him to the Museum.
- Last Request: A non-lethal variant — Orla calls Oswald so the two of them, along with Osmerelda, can share a final meal together before they're all turned into puppies.
- Lovely Assistant: Orla becomes one to Osmerelda on the duo's first attempt to find and capture the Puppy Master. The Puppy Master herself also becomes Osmerelda's assistant during the show.
- No True Scotsman: Orla shows shades of this when Oswald points out a photo in Ahead of the Times of the Puppy Master eating pancakes at the Pancake Palace at 6:00 and she responds that since pancakes are a breakfast food, the photo had to have been taken at 6:00 in the morning. As it turns out, the Pancake Palace serves all-day breakfast.
- Out-Gambitted: Orla and Osmerelda decide to pose as magicians and use magic to trap the Puppy Master. They initially succeed by trapping her in a magic disappearing box, but she somehow manages to slip out and escape without the agents ever being the wiser. Osmerelda says it best:Osmerelda: [groans] She used the trap door to out-magician the magicians!
- Rapid-Fire "No!": Oswald, Osmerelda and Orla all give these when Orpita calls them and the monitor descends to the point where their cup pyramid comes apart.
- Serious Business: The Potato Museum curator takes protection of the Golden Potato very seriously, to the extent that she makes Oswald sign a waiver just to see it.
- Shout-Out: The Ahead of the Times newspaper is a reference to The New York Times.
- Spiritual Successor: To "And Then They Were Puppies". Same general premise, same villainess antagonist, but a different set of agents and a more complicated way to reach the villainess in question, which disproves any notion of this being a Sequel Episode.
- Stage Magician: Osmerelda and Orla disguise themselves as these to try and trap the Puppy Master. She ends up seeing right through their disguises, presumably because she knows that they're children and not adults.
- Stealth Pun: The woman at the Talent Bonanza remarks that the magician she hired was rehearsing her disappearing act and the woman hasn't seen her since.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: The Puppy Master simply leaves the Pancake Palace upon her defeat, with no agent attempting to catch her. May be justified since she hadn't actually turned anyone into puppies by that point.
- What Have We Ear?: Osmerelda pulls this on the woman at the Talent Bonanza in order to get into the theater, with her taking a coin out from behind Orla's ear. The reaction of the ancient agent is a deadpan "Ouch."
- World Tour: Orla, Oswald and Osmerelda visit Prince Edward Island in this episode.
- Written-In Absence: Omar is absent from the episode, attending an appointment with an eye doctor (who is a doctor with a singular eye for a face).
- You Can Turn Back: The Potato Museum curator gives Oswald a warning before he goes to see the Golden Potato. Oswald disregards it and decides to see it anyway.Potato Museum curator: The Golden Potato will look deep into your soul and speak truths no one has ever spoken to you before. If you are not ready to hear those truths, I advise you to turn back.
- You Say Tomato: Although interrupted by Oswald, the Potato Museum curator has a greeting that goes as follows.Potato Museum curator: Some say potato, some say potahto, some say spud, tater, tuber-Oswald: Sorry to interrupt, but where do you keep the Golden Potato?
- You Shall Not Pass!: Downplayed. Although he's not helping her, one of the employees at the Prince Edward Bowling Alley stops Osmerelda and Orla from catching the Puppy Master because they aren't allowed to be near the lanes without bowling shoes on.
