Pictured: two rivals completely unaware of exactly what they're fighting for.
Captain FunAirdates: May 29, 2015 note , May 16, 2015 note , July 19, 2015 note
Agents Otto and Oren compete for votes to become Captain Fun.
Tropes:
- A Day in the Limelight: The episode focuses on Otto and Oren in particular as they duke it out for the duty of being Captain Fun.
- Aesop Amnesia: Otto seems to have forgotten what a vote was from the last time he had to vote on something.
- Answer Cut: Polly begins to say the name of the last Odd Squad employee that hasn't voted yet. Whip Pan transition to said employee, which happens to be Oscar.
- Bad Job, Worse Uniform: Being Captain Fun means that one has to wear an embarrassing costume — something Oren and Otto experience firsthand when they are dressed up in jester and chicken outfits, respectively.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: Ms. O remarks that she knows of one person that can organize and handle the duties of an election. And that person is...Tap-Dancing Tina. Otto lampshades the exchange before he and Oren watch Tina.Otto: Ms. O, I thought you were gonna say Polly Graph.Ms. O: Me too, but I really wanted to see some tap dancing.
- Bait-and-Switch Credits: The episode's Precap shows quite a few things that aren't in the episode proper: Oren giving away ice cream to other agents and looking upwards, Otto remarking that giving stuff away to people in order to sway votes isn't fair, and Oksana saying that she and Otto need a new plan with less talking and more fun.
- Brick Joke: Tap-Dancing Tina is introduced as a character who appears when Ms. O states that there is one person that can help with the election. At the climax, Polly remarks that there's one person who hasn't voted, and Tap-Dancing Tina appears again, only for Polly to tell her that she can't vote as it's a kids-only competition.Oksana: Aaaaaaawk-waaaaaard.
- The Bus Came Back: Oksana, who was last seen in "Jinx" and the "Welcome to the Breakroom" videos, returns in this episode with a major role.
- Call-Back: The episode takes quite a few similar elements from "O is Not for Old" in terms of the mathematical Aesop, the election motif, and Polly Graph serving as a monitor among other things. There are some differences, though — Olive's absence and the reward being Captain Fun being two of them.
- Character Development: "Robert Plant" established that Otto is confident being alone without his partner on solo missions. This episode shows that Otto is fine being alone without his partner even when there's nothing odd happening or when the world isn't at stake. Regardless, Olive still frets over him, and has massive anxiety over leaving him alone in HQ while she has the day off.
- Comically Missing the Point: Otto, as Oksana so delightfully points out, you don't get people's votes by sitting and doing nothing.
- Competition Freak: Otto and Oren both become this as they compete to be Captain Fun. It's justified though, as they're rivals.
- Continuity Nod: Otto dances to "Up, Down, Left, Right" in order to persuade O'Higgins into voting for him.
- He also dresses up in his magician's outfit and performs a magic act to win over Orchid.
- While trying to win votes, Otto activates the water travel mode on his suit in order to knock down pins, tucking his head and arms in.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Otto lampshades the fact that he and Oren kept interrupting Ms. O throughout the episode when she was trying to explain the rules and duties of Captain Fun to them.Otto: We really have to let people finish their sentences!
- Department of Redundancy Department: Otto has this gem at one point:Otto: Time to fill the fun tank with a bunch of fun fuel and go into fun overdrive and push the pedal to the fun-edal!Oksana: [walking away] You're wasting time.
- Decided by One Vote: The winner of who gets to be Captain Fun hangs in the balance of Oscar, who is the only person who hasn't voted. However, when Oren and Otto accidentally break a gadget, Oscar decides to vote for neither of them, leaving the contest tied.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Oksana not receiving a "gesundheit" from Oren when she sneezed is what spurs her to help Otto beat him and Olaf.Otto: You're different, aren't you?Oksana: Very.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Olive consistently worrying over Otto at the beginning of the episode (giving him three copies of her number, telling him to see Dr. O if there's an accident, etc.) is strongly reminiscent of a parent leaving their child home alone for the first time.
- Election Day Episode: The episode revolves around Oren and Otto dueling against each other to see who will become Captain Fun. They must obtain the title by gathering and counting the votes of the 31 agents present in the precinct at the time. The entire event is explicitly referred to as an election as well.
- Face Palm: Otto does one when Oksana "seals the deal" with Orchid.
- "Getting My Own Room" Plot: Downplayed; Polly asks Ms. O for a room of her own, with ample space, good lighting, and pink drapes, in order to tally up the votes. Ms. O tells her she has a broom closet the girl can use, and Polly is happy to make do.
- I'm Standing Right Here: When Polly is explaining the concept of the fifth tally mark to Otto, he pulls Oksana aside and has a private conversation with her, telling her that Polly doesn't know what she's doing. Oksana assures him that she does; the tally marks help her count faster. Polly then butts in and says that she can hear them talking inside of the small broom closet.
- I've Heard of That — What Is It?: When Ms. O tells Oren and Otto that they need to gather votes to earn the Captain Fun title, Otto understands completely...before asking what a vote is.
- Jaw Drop: Otto has this reaction when he sees just what he's been fighting for the entire episode: to be on a rusty ship filled with trash bags (and those are filled with empty juice boxes).
- Misfit Mobilization Moment: Oksana tells Otto that while they've had their differences (something he's unaware of), Oksana has more differences with Oren. Said "difference" reveals to be Oren having not said "gesundheit" to Oksana when she sneezed.
- Missing the Good Stuff: Played with. The end of the episode shows Olive watching Otto and Oren from the Security section of headquarters, and remarking how "that's the last time I'm taking a day off!" Whether this is due to being jealous that she missed out or it's due to the worry that she showed for Otto at the beginning of the episode (where she seemed very protective towards him and wanted him to stay safe) is left ambiguous.
- Montage: One is shown with Otto and Oren trying to win the votes of the agents who haven't voted yet.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Say it with us, oddballs: "Frozen Yogurt Friday Dance Party!"
- Nice Job Breaking It, Rivals!: Otto and Oren fighting over Oscar's gadget causes it to break, and also dissuades the scientist for voting for either of them...meaning they both win the title and duty of Captain Fun.
- Non-Indicative Name: Both Otto and Oren take the title of "Captain Fun" to mean who is the most fun agent of the precinct. However, Ms. O has a much...different idea of what "fun" is.Otto: How is this fun?Ms. O: The ship takes away all my empty juice boxes for recycling.Oren: Followup question: how is that fun?Ms. O: I get new juice boxes!
- Not So Above It All: However much of a Nice Guy Otto is, he still takes Oscar's gadgets without signing them out.
- Pick a Card: Otto does this in order to persuade Orchid to vote for him. However, the trick fails due to Orchid not picking a card to begin with.
- Poor Communication Kills: Oren and Olaf both interrupt Ms. O when she tries to tell them what the duties of being Captain Fun are. She isn't very persistent, and leaves them to their own devices once she explains that they need to gather votes to earn the title and duty. Sure enough, the duty of being Captain Fun turns out to be delivering Ms. O's empty juice boxes to a recycling plant via an Odd Squad-branded boat...dressed in a silly costume. Which is what Ms. O points out.Ms. O: I was trying to tell you both, but you wouldn't let me finish talking.
- She also attempts to warn them about the "fun uniforms" they'll be wearing while steering the ship. However, Oren and Olaf immediately latch on to the mere mention of uniforms, and refuse to let Ms. O finish.
Oksana: Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go again. - Pronoun Trouble: While it's more of a line-speaking slip than anything else (that somehow bypassed editing), Oksana refers to Otto with the "she" pronoun at one point, despite Otto being male and being referred to with male pronouns.
- Rousing Speech: Parodied when Orson gives a speech to convince others to vote for him. It manages to win Oscar's vote, and somehow inspires Olaf (and causes him to shed a tear or two!) despite it being a 5-second babble.
- Sadist: Downplayed in the case of Orchid, who remarks that she likes seeing Otto struggle with his Pick a Card trick. Considering her aggressive personality, though, whether she actually is a sadist is up for interpretation.
- Series Continuity Error: It's been continuously stated that Otto is terrible at sports. However, during the Montage of him and Oren attempting to win over agents, he is shown skillfully dribbling a basketball and getting a strike by bowling over pins. May be justified by the fact that Filip Geljo, Otto's actor, is rather athletic in real life.
- Serious Business: Polly Graph takes elections very seriously — fitting, considering that she expresses desire to become the President one day at one point.Polly Graph: I don't kid around when it comes to democracy.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Oksana may be one of the more scarier examples of this trope as it applies to this show, as she manages to scare Otto into dropping his magazine by simply appearing right behind him, even though she wasn't in the previous shot.
- Not only does Ms. O do this (this is one of her skills, after all), Polly does this too at one point after the votes have been counted.
- Take a Third Option: When Oren and Otto break Oscar's gadget, he decides to vote for Orson instead, despite the baby agent not being an contender for Captain Fun (nobody except Oscar and Olaf knew he was competing).
- Temporary Substitute: Oksana fills in for Olive while the latter has the day off, and sides with Otto to help him win Captain Fun (to match Oren, who has his partner as his prime ally).
- Tempting Fate: Otto assures Olive that nothing will happen due to it being quiet. Sure enough, the second the automatic doors close after she leaves, Ms. O summons Otto and Oren and pits them against each other to see who should be Captain Fun.
- Villains Want Mercy: When Oren finds out the true meaning of being Captain Fun, he forfeits and allows Otto to win. However, Otto forfeits himself and allows Oren to win. The two agents go back and forth for a bit before Ms. O interrupts and says that forfeiting is not an option anymore, and whoever wins the last vote will have to steer the ship that carries her empty juice boxes.
- Vote Early, Vote Often: Subverted. Not only do Olaf and Oksana vote for their respective allies (Oren and Otto), but Otto votes for himself. However, neither he nor Oren end up winning at the end and instead become tied.
- Won't Take "Yes" for an Answer: Orchid is willing to vote for Otto if he teaches her how to tie her shoes. However, Oksana doesn't stop there, and instead launches into other things that Otto will do for Orchid if he votes for her — empty her trashcan, sharpen her pencils daily, clean her desk, bring her lunch, and buy her a puppy.
- Written-In Absence: Olive is absent for a majority of the episode due to having the day off, and only appears at the beginning and end of the episode.
"Buckle your brains in."
Switch Your Partner Round and RoundAirdates: May 29, 2015 note , May 16, 2015 note , July 19, 2015 note
With the help of the "What-It-Would-Have-Been-Like-inator" helmets, Olive and Otto discover what it would have been like if they had different partners.
Tropes:
- Amusing Injuries: Olive, Otto, Oren and Olaf all receive some when they fall to the ground as a result of Oren and Olaf attempting to piggyback-ride their partners. Despite the short fall, however, they still receive some injuries.
- Babysitting Episode: Downplayed. During the second activation of the helmets, Otto is revealed to have had Orson as a potential partner — however, Orson is a baby, requiring Otto to babysit him and transporting him in a baby holster. Needless to say, Otto does a terrible job.Otto: I don't think I'm responsible enough to be partners with a baby.
- Bait-and-Switch Sentiment: This episode has one in a similar manner as "Blob on the Job", with reversed roles:Olive: I know where the blob is. [points to Otto's chest] It's right here.Otto: You're right! It's on my suit!Olive: Actually I was gonna say all you have to do was look inside your heart, but your idea's better.
- Beat: One occurs after Oksana says that she didn't have a dentist appointment. She gives no reason for ratting out Olive.
- Buffy Speak: After coming out of mind control for the first time, Olive remarks that what they imagined was horrible. Ms. O remarks that it could have been "way more horribler". Otto lampshades it:Otto: Is "horribler" even a word?Ms. O: Nope, just made it up.
- Clueless Boss: Ms. O witnessed Olive and Otto getting bullied by Oren and Olaf, but did nothing to stop it. Even when Olive and Otto protest by saying that the bullying happens all the time, Ms. O does nothing more than praise the partner pair for putting up with them, stating that they're "rough around the edges, but they're good agents", and they have no choice but to go along with her ruling.
- Continuity Cavalcade: The activation of the What-It-Would-Have-Been-Like-inator helmets shows images from past episodes, only with different partners in place of the usual (Otto rescuing Olaf instead of Olive in "Skip Day", for example).
- Crazy-Prepared: Ms. O happens to have two What-It-Would-Have-Been-Like-inator helmets available and ready to use when Olive remarks that she can't imagine what working with Oren would be like.
- Oren also carries a potato around at all times for Olaf.
Olive: Who carries a potato around?Oren: Who doesn't? - Deadpan Snarker: Ms. O herself gets in on this at one point when telling Olive she was going to be partnered with Orchid.Otto: Who was I going to be partnered with?Ms. O: [deadpan] I gave you magic helmets and you're seriously asking me that?
- Don't Celebrate Just Yet: When taken out of mind control for the third time, Olive and Otto remark that they don't understand why partnering them up with Oksana and Owen, respectively, worked out horribly, considering they appeared to have great chemistry. Ms. O tells them that she took them out of mind control too soon, and launches back in so they can see what happened: Oksana and Owen rat on them, which causes Ms. O to send them (Olive and Otto) to Blobsylvania.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: The episode ends on Olive and Otto laughing as they get repeatedly hit and covered in blob.
- Friendship Moment: At the end of the episode, Olive and Otto vow to never turn on each other if they ever become partners, and come up with their Secret Handshake to boot. While it does turn out to be an illusion (as the pair are under mind control), seeing them throw blobs at each other, laughing and having fun despite their "punishment", is quite heartwarming, especially considering that they were on primarily neutral terms up to that point.
- Happiness in Mind Control: The helmets Olive and Otto wear place them under mind control at the mercy of Ms. O, who wields the remote used to operate the gadgets. At the end of the episode, they're shown to be perfectly content being in such a state, to the point where Ms. O and Oscar leave them sitting in the former's office overnight.
- It's a Long Story: Defied by Ms. O when Oscar begins to recount how the blob escaped.
- Jerkass Ball: A majority of characters juggle it in this episode — Oren, Olaf, Oksana, Orchid and Owen all act like jerkasses to Olive and Otto in some way, with Oksana and Owen having it bad when they turn on their partners and send Olive and Otto to Blobsylvania instead of themselves. Ms. O also takes ahold of it at one point for teleporting Olive and Otto to Blobsylvania without any sort of hesitation.
- Kids Are Cruel: Played for Laughs with Oren, who is absolutely terrible at insulting Olive and Otto. Their Lame Comeback isn't even a comeback, and instead they take pity on him and finish his insults by listing off their flaws — Olive having a fear of pie and Otto being terrible at sports. Oren is content with this and begins to walk away.
- Malicious Misnaming: Oren refers to Otto as "Ottawa". Both Olive and Otto correct him in unison.
- Orchid refers to Olive as "Sherman", Otto as "Dave", and Orson as "Donna", although this example is downplayed slightly due to misnaming being her Character Tic.
- Mind-Control Device: The What-It-Would-Have-Been-Like-inator helmets serve as these, and can only be activated via a remote.
- Noodle Incident: Olive is rattling off a series of solved cases to Otto at the beginning of the episode, including a bike turning into a cantaloupe, a woman with squirrel hair, and a man whose lawnmower ran out of gas.
- Non Sequitur: Olaf and Oren both shout one as they attempt to piggyback-ride Otto and Olive: "potato" and "seven", respectively.
- Nothing Personal: Owen uses this as an excuse for offering Otto to go to Blobsylvania instead of him, saying that he has a dentist appointment.
- Piggyback Cute: Inverted and defied by Olive, who refuses to let Oren piggyback ride her. However, he still attempts to do so, and the two partners fall to the ground. Similarly, Otto is unable to carry the much-heavier Olaf, and the two of them fall down as well. Naturally, everyone ends up in pain from the incident.
- The Power of Friendship: Deconstructed. Two of the show's Central Themes are teamwork and friendship, and this episode explores the meaning of partner chemistry and how Olive and Otto work well together despite their differences (since they're also best friends and support each other regardless of what is thrown their way). When placed with different partners, they perform poorly, and don't mesh well with anyone (Olive with Oksana and Otto with Owen did work for a time, but was overall unsuccessful). However, when they are sent to Blobsylvania to count blobs together, they befriend one another and have a good time. Similarly, Oren and Olaf are shown to be very compatible with each other, as Oren serves as a Translator Buddy for Olaf and, like Olive and Otto, are best friends.
- Pun: Oren marks his departure with "Let's roll-laf", as a pun on Olaf's name.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Orchid develops an attachment with one of the cups of blob that she, Olive, Otto and Orson captured, calling it Blobby. When Olive asks her about it, she responds with "It's Mr. Blobby to you, Sherman!"
- Secret Handshake: Olive and Otto are revealed to have one of their own in this episode. "First Day" would later reveal that having a secret handshake between two partners is a sign of positive chemistry and indicates that they work with each other well.
- Series Continuity Error: Played with. The episode reveals that Ms. O didn't initially pair up Olive and Otto, and considered other agents to be paired up instead. However, Ms. O suggested Otto for Olive, without considering any other options, shortly after Todd was fired in "Training Day". Considering that Otto was still at the Academy even during the pienado, though, it's possible that either Ms. O became hesitant about pairing him and Olive up initially, or Otto was merely one of her options alongside Oren, Orchid and Oksana.
- One of the stills shown during the activation of the helmets is from "My Better Half", when Otto had half of his body removed due to his name being symmetrical — instead, it shows Oren having half of his body removed. However, Oren's name isn't symmetrical at all, and Symmetric Al wouldn't do anything to him.
- Orchid also appears in the same still in place of Oren on the second activation, despite her name also not being symmetrical.
- Sequel Episode: Of a sort — per the show's social media, this episode is a "sister" episode to "Blob on the Job", and the overall plot is the same case from that episode, only with a What If? twist as Olive and Otto are paired with different partners that weren't in the first episode.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Orson does this with ease, as he's able to disappear from the baby holster that Otto is wearing without him noticing.
- What If?: This episode reveals that Ms. O didn't initially pair up Olive and Otto at first — Olive had Oren, Orchid and Oksana as potential partners, while Otto had Olaf, Orson and Owen. It explores what life would be like if they had these partners while on a case.
