The Curious wanders in an empty classroom.
Jack is addicted to a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game called Kingdom of Teven. Although this has begun to cause problems for him at home and school, he doesn't seem to care. Jack is in awe of an online buddy known by his handle "The Paladin", who is an incredibly skilled player and always seems to be online. After staying up late to play, Jack is so exhausted the next day that he accidentally insults his crush Carrie; but his best friend Carlos comes to Jack's rescue by inviting Carrie to a party where Jack will be. However, The Paladin talks him into playing and Jack gets so caught up in it that he completely forgets about the party. He teaches Carrie to play Teven, but after his friends log out for the night, he gets absorbed in the game and plays long into the night. When his mother angrily wakes him in the morning, Jack is shocked to discover it's a month later than he thought it was.
Jack's mother and friends do not believe that he doesn't remember the events of the last month at all. He has skipped 10 days of school by falsely claiming to be sick, is failing every class, alienated his friends, and insulted Carrie - who's now dating Carlos. Before, Jack did well in school, always treated his friends well and was always nice to Carrie. Jack apologizes to his friends and they agree to play Teven with him that night. Jack pretends to go to bed at a reasonable time, but then gets up to continue the game. The Paladin excitedly tells him that, after five years, they have finally completed Teven. Jack is shocked to see that it is indeed five years into the future. He is now a high school senior, his little brother Aiden a teenager, and the family has moved out of their flat into a big house with his mother's new husband.
At school Jack discovers that Carlos has drifted away from him and is still dating Carrie; another close friend has moved away. Jack soon learns that today is important because he is to complete his senior finals - but he can't answer a single question on the exam. He suffers a breakdown and has to be taken home. Aiden believes that Jack really doesn't remember anything, and offers to go out to dinner with him and talk about it if Jack can stay away from the new Teven update. The Paladin calls out to Jack from his computer and Jack angrily asks who The Paladin is. The Paladin responds that he is Jack. This is why he was always around and always knew when Jack was bored or upset. He says that Jack will always be an outcast and Teven is where he truly belongs. As Jack sits down at his computer, Aiden enters and says that Jack has a choice. The Paladin encourages him to play, "just for one more minute."
The Curious writes on the blackboard in Jack's old classroom, and the narrator warns that we may not find out when "one more" is too many until it's too late.
This episode contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Ending: Jack's final decision is not made clear to the viewer.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Aiden as a child.
- Cannot Tell a Joke: Jack has this problem.
- Cassandra Truth: Jack tries to tell his friends and family about his amnesia, but they refuse to believe him because to them Jack has just been a cold, distant Jerkass during these periods. Aiden does believe him after the five-year Time Skip, recalling hearing Jack tell his mother the same excuse when they were younger.
- Embarrassing Cover Up: Jack lies about missing the party because of an upset stomach.
- Future Me Scares Me: Jack is upset to discover what a loser he's become as an adult.
- Just One More Level!: Jack lives on this trope.
- The Mirror Shows Your True Self: After the five-year Time Skip, Jack seems not to have aged, until he looks into a mirror and sees the person he's become. Young Jack's actor continues to play him for the rest of the episode, with a few brief exceptions.
- New Media Are Evil: A subtler version of this moral than usual, encouraging the audience to think about the consequences of becoming addicted to technology rather than straight up warning that it's bad.
- No Ending: The episode ends without revealing if Jack gave into the game or not.
- Rapid Aging: This is caused by Jack skipping through time by five years.
- Shout-Out: Jack passes by a poster advertising Ace's circus act from previous episode "Sideshow".
- Split Personality: The Paladin is Jack, luring him into playing the game and causing his amnesia.
- Time Skip: Jack suddenly jumps forward a month while playing the video game and later jumps forward by five years.
- Title Drop: Said a couple of times by Jack.
- Wicked Stepmother: Subverted. Bob, Jack's stepfather, feels that Jack sees him as this, although in reality Jack has no feelings about him, since he doesn't even remember the guy.
- Year Outside, Hour Inside: Jack plays his video game for what does not feel like a long time, but in reality a month passes, followed by five years.
