Airdates: October 5, 2015 / January 4, 2016 note , May 23, 2015 note , June 14, 2015 note
When Olive turns into a pirate, Otto and Oscar must travel to different Odd Squad Lab offices to get the gadget that will turn her back to normal before she becomes a pirate forever.
Tropes:
- Aesop Amnesia: Olive doesn't remember what a rectangular prism is from the last time it was a mathematical Aesop. Nor does she remember the Aesop of 3-dimensional objects she taught to Otto in "Flatastrophe". In the case of the former, Otto even uses a tissue box to help demonstrate the 3 dimensions — the exact same tool Olive used in "No Ifs, Ands, or Robots".
- Affectionate Nickname: O'Quincy invokes the trope, as he believes people call him the "Favor Captain" because he's willing to do favors for people. Judging by his actions, however, a lot of people probably don't refer to him as such. The trope is later played straight when the Lab Director recites a story of how someone wanted to call him "Super Fun Man".
- Anything but That!: Oscar begins doing a Rapid-Fire "No!" and refuses to see Odie when Odelia suggests he and Oscar go there next to retrieve the final part. Otto begs him to do it for Olive, and he caves.
- A Pirate 400 Years Too Late: The pirate that Olive helps cross the street, and Olive herself, both fall under this. Although this is Odd Squad, so a pirate in the show's universe wouldn't look too out of place.
- Bait-and-Switch Accusation: Odie says with contempt that Oscar stole all of his beautiful designs. Otto is quick to angrily confront Oscar about stealing his gadget designs. Odie then reveals that he was referring to the other Lab Director stealing his hair designs.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Otto may be a Cloudcuckoolander and a guy with a positive attitude, but when his partner is the one in danger, he's not afraid to get serious. And God help you if you distract him, especially if it's a Race Against the Clock.
- By "No", I Mean "Yes": Olive asks Oscar if he has a gadget to cure her. He starts to say yes, and then he immediately backtracks.Olive: Please tell me you have a gadget to fix this.Oscar: Oh, yeah, sure! Kind of, not...really- no.
- Clingy Costume: All of the clothes Olive wears while turning into a pirate cannot be taken off.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Like with the balls of O'Brian (yellow) and Ms. O (purple), Oscar has a different-colored ball than Otto's when riding in the tubes to match his department: green.
- Continuity Nod: Otto remembers how Odd Squad has offices and precincts worldwide.
- Dr. O does the same "remind him of who I am" bit that she did with Otto in "Skip Day".
- Odelia visited Oscar's lab in "Worst First Day Ever". In this episode, Oscar visits hers.
- When Odie is flipping through the various hairstyles he and Oscar have had over the years, one is shown of Oscar's curly-haired afro seen in "The Trouble With Centigurps", which Odie also apparently had.
- Cool Sword: Olive wields one as part of her transformation into a Pirate Girl due to Pirate-itis.
- Diagnosis from Dr. Badass: Oscar is the one who diagnoses Olive with Pirate-itis, despite him not working in the Medical field.
- Disapproving Look: When Oscar begins stumbling over his answer of whether he can cure Olive, he begins to dash off the wrong way to the lab. Otto's response is a head-shake and some pursed lips in annoyance, while Olive shoots the Lab Director a look that screams more "I'm tired of your antics" than anything else.
- Dismantled MacGuffin: The goal of both Oscar and Otto throughout the episode is to find the three remaining pieces to the Un-Pirate-inator, which will turn Olive back to normal. The pieces are found in three different Odd Squad precincts, specifically their labs.
- Dodge the Bullet: Olive manages to dodge the Energy Balls fired by Oscar and his Un-Pirate-inator with ease by performing acrobatic moves. She then ascends to the upper floor by cutting a clothesline and using it as a rope, dodging the shots that Oscar throws there. Not even Otto intercepting her gets her to stay still, as she quickly cuts another clothesline and swings back down, causing a large sheet hanging on it to fall on Oscar and stun him for a few moments. Eventually, Olive's pinky finger fighting the Pirate-itis is what gets her to stay still long enough for Oscar to launch another attack, turning her back to normal.
- The Dreaded: Odie is this to Oscar, whom he describes as "difficult to work with". It isn't until the climax of the episode that we see why.
- Driven by Envy: It's revealed that Oscar is envious of Odie — specificially, his hairstyles, all of which he's stolen over the years. Even after Odie gets a new (accidental) hairstyle, Oscar immediately becomes envious of it and mutters under his breath that he has to have it.
- Electric Joybuzzer: Odelia uses this as a prank on Oscar.
- Energy Ball: The Un-Pirate-inator fires these at whomever or whatever the user aims for. If they don't hit the intended target, they explode by themselves without harming anything.
- Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: During the final stages of her transformation into a Pirate Girl, Olive is shown wearing rings on each of her fingers, save her right pinky, which hasn't been infected with the Pirate-itis strain yet.
- The Exit Is That Way: When Oscar tells Olive and Otto to come with him to the lab, he begins to dash off...towards the other end of the bullpen, away from the lab. A few seconds later, he comes back, sheepishly points out that the lab is in the other direction, and heads over there with the partner pair in tow.
- Eyepatch of Power: Olive gets one over her left eye from Pirate-itis.
- Fauxtivational Poster: The classic "hang in there" cat poster is shown inside the tube lobby of the second precinct Otto and Oscar visit, only without text.
- Foot Bath Treatment: Parodied with Olive soaking her feet not in warm water, but gravy.
- Friendship Moment: Throughout the episode, Otto shows just how far he's willing to go to curing Olive of her Pirate-itis, to the point where he begs Oscar to face Odie in order to get the last part needed for the Un-Pirate-inator needed to turn her back to normal.
- Gibbering Genius: O'Quincy, whoo boy. He is the Lab Director of another precinct's lab who has no problem with talking your ear off. Oscar can't even get a word in edgewise up until he and Otto shout the Lab Director's name, at which point he snaps out of his ramble and greets them properly. When he starts up again after handing Oscar and Otto the sphere they need, the duo are quick to make his escape, and once he notices they're gone, he continues talking.
- Girls with Moustaches: Olive develops a Seadog Beard at one point, along with a thin black mustache.
- Hidden Depths: Odelia, who was seen in "Worst First Day Ever" as a helpful, friendly, and more experienced figure to Ori, is shown in this episode to be a prankster, who loves to pull practical jokes on her co-workers, but also knows when to be serious.
- I Just Want to Be You: Oscar reveals that the reason he stole Odie's hairstyle ideas was because he wanted to be more like him. At the end of the episode, the Lab Director is struck with envy when he sees Odie's new hairstyle, which is inadvertently caused by a bedsheet falling on him and him struggling to get it off.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: Dr. O does this to herself when the Main 3 head to her office to have her slow down Olive's Pirate-itis.Dr. O: You want me to slow down Olive's Pirate-itis? I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker.Oscar: So you can't do it?Dr. O: Of course I can, I'm a doctor.
- Improbable Hairstyle Sequence: A variant occurs with Odie flipping through various designs that he and Oscar have had over the years, which culminates to the present day, when both of them have nearly the same hairstyle.
- Instant Illness: Played with. It's implied that Pirate-itis is a fast-moving disease, and the Main 3 seek Dr. O's help in slowing it down. However, Olive doesn't become a nearly-full pirate until the climax of the episode, and even then, her pinky finger refuses to succumb to it.
- Insult Friendly Fire: When Oscar asks Odie if he has a rectangular prism part to complete the Un-Pirate-inator, Odie remarks that he does, but not for "that pirate". Olive then arrives in the lab as the Pirate-itis reaches its final stages of contamination. Otto explains to Odie that the "pirate" he's referring to is his partner. Odie then clarifies he wasn't talking about Olive — he was talking about Oscar, who stole his hairstyle designs.
- Literary Allusion Title: The episode's title is a reference to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which in turn is a reference to Silver Blaze, one of Sherlock Holmes' plays.
- Messy Hair: Odie gets a head of it as a result of the large sheet that fell on him during the battle, which ends up becoming his new original hairstyle, much to Oscar's chagrin.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Olive helps a pirate cross the street for seemingly no reason other than just to be nice. As a result, she contracts Pirate-itis, a disease wherein the infected person slowly begins to turn into a pirate over time.
- Out-of-Character Moment: Otto, who is normally regarded as fun-loving, doesn't enjoy the pranks that Odelia pulls on him or Oscar. However, he does say that she likes her for being a prankster.
- He later has another moment when he promptly breaks up the reuniting hug between Oscar and Odie — normally, Otto would be glad to see a touching friendship being rebuilt.
- Pirate Girl: Olive eventually ends up as one after gradually undergoing pirate-related transformations throughout the episode due to Pirate-itis. She is surprisingly athletic and gives Oscar a hard time with his aiming of the Un-Pirate-inator, and the only thing that gets her to stay completely still is her pinky finger, which hasn't been affected by the disease.
- Pirate Parrot: Olive has one that suddenly appears on her shoulder — and she is not happy about it.
- Plagiarism in Fiction: Oscar has stolen Odie's hairstyle designs for years and has never once had an original hairstyle, which is the main reason behind their feud. Oscar is well aware of what he's done, and has avoided Odie up to this point because of it. Similarly, Odie is aware of the thefts and refuses to help out Oscar and Otto. Oscar eventually reveals that the reason behind it was because he wanted to be more like Odie, and the two eventually make up, with Odie apologizing for doubting Oscar.
- Polka-Dot Disease: Downplayed; Olive has a sole black spot on the side of her face as a result of Pirate-itis.
- Recycled Set: Lampshaded in-universe by Otto, who remarks that the first Headquarters he and Oscar visit looks like their own. Oscar remarks that it's not the same; it's different, because it has a poster of a car and some airplanes taped to one of the walls of the tube lobby (which the main HQ doesn't have).
- Later on, Odie also remarks that "not every Odd Squad has fancy washing machines" when Otto asks him why there are clothes and sheets hanging everywhere. (Precinct 13579 does have its own washer and dryer, and the short exchange was likely put in in an attempt to avert the trope.)
- The Reveal: All of those hairstyles Oscar has had in past episodes? They aren't originally his — they were Odie's ideas. And Odie himself isn't happy about Oscar stealing his hairstyle designs.
- Sick Episode: The episode centers around Olive, who has caught a strain of Pirate-itis from a pirate she helped to cross the street. Oscar and Otto have to work together and go to various Odd Squad precincts' labs to retrieve the three parts needed for the gadget that will be able to turn her back.
- Somethingitis: Pirate-itis as a name definitely falls under this, but it's far from a fake disease.
- Super Cell Reception: The badge phones apparently have reception in the tubes, and agents can answer them with ease while using Tube Travel.
- Talk Like a Pirate: Olive talks like this early on as part of her transformation into a Pirate Girl. It proves troublesome to Dr. O when she attempts to look inside the agent's mouth using a tongue depressor, since she can only say "arrr" instead of "aaah".
- Tempting Fate: Dr. O reassures Olive that as long as a parrot doesn't appear on her shoulder, then she'll be fine for the time being. The second the medic turns around, a macaw suddenly appears on Olive's shoulder.Olive: (panicked) Oh...you mean like this one?
- Tranquil Fury: Otto, of all people, is furious with Odelia for her pranks, and comes very close to snapping at her when she asks him to hold onto a gadget that squirts him in the face with water.
- Typhoid Mary: Played with; while Olive does contract Pirate-itis from a pirate and has the disease, and while she does show gradual symptoms, she doesn't spread it to Otto, Oscar, Dr. O, or Odie.
- Where the Hell Is Springfield?: While the primary HQ of Odd Squad, and by extension the show, is based in Toronto, it's never stated where the other precincts Otto and Oscar visit are located. All three of them look like the Toronto precinct, however — and for good reason (it would be very expensive to rebuild three different laboratories from scratch, and/or the crew didn't want to go to the effort to do so).
- The precinct where Odie works at in particular appears to be based somewhere in Russia, if the Russian Soundcheck poster and the tube operator with a Russian name is any indication. However, it's not stated where in Russia it's located, exactly.
- Worldbuilding: This episode introduces a few other precincts, their labs, and the Lab Directors who run them.
"This is not the way I thought today was gonna go."
Oscar the CouchAirdates: January 4, 2016 note , May 23, 2015 note , June 14, 2015 note
When Oscar accidentally turns himself into a couch, Olive and Otto try to turn him back before Ms. O finds out.
Tropes:
- Because I Said So: The exchange between Olive and Oksana in regards to Oscar-as-a-couch goes like this.Olive: That's not your couch.Oksana: Yes it is. You can tell it is because I have it.Olive: But I need it because-[Oksana goes back to applying gems to the couch]Olive: Because I just need it!
- Beyond the Impossible: Orchid somehow manages to take Otto's socks off of his feet and out of his shoes without even touching the shoes themselves. Not only that, but she somehow manages to place Otto's glasses on his face without even touching them. Otto even asks her how she does the former before she Hand Waves it with "Relax, I already gave you back your glasses."
- Big "NO!": Olive and Otto give one in unison when Ms. O declares that the couch be thrown out.
- Blatant Lies: Olive lies to Ms. O about who the couch belongs to by saying that it belongs in the lab. Cue Owen becoming upset that the Scientists now get a couch, instead of Security agents.
- Bungled Hypnotism: While Olive and Otto are able to hypnotize Dr. O and Orchid with ease by following Oscar's instructions, they don't know how to undo the hypnosis, as Oscar didn't tell them. As a result, both of them resort to clapping their hands two times and saying "uncouch alert", which ends up working.
- Continuity Nod: Word problems are used as the mathematical Aesop again.
- Yet another character is revealed to wear glasses — and like with Ms. O, Otto is never seen wearing glasses at any point during the show.
- Otto once again attempts to reassure Orchid that everything is okay after a scary situation occurs. However, this time it turns out to be a subversion, as Otto tells Orchid that she helped him out, and for once, she's glad to be reassured.
- Delayed Reaction: Otto passes Orchid in the Trophy Room and greets her. A second later, he realizes that Orchid is the agent he's looking for.
- Didn't See That Coming: Otto remarks that having Oscar turn into a couch was not how he thought the day was going to go for him.
- Didn't Think This Through: Oscar has an Un-Couch-inator gadget that can turn him back to normal. The only thing preventing him from using it is the fact that it's locked inside of a briefcase that requires a passcode to open it, which he's forgotten. Olive hangs a lampshade on the trope by rightfully chewing Oscar out.Olive: Maybe it would make more sense to lock up the gadget that turns you into the thing...instead of the gadget that fixes you!
- Disapproving Look: Otto delivers quite a few of these throughout the episode, combined with a few Death Glares — one towards Olive
when she tempts fate by saying how thieving agents can be, another towards Owen when he attempts to steal Oscar's briefcase (along with Olive, who also gives one), and one to Oscar when he explains how he put the Un-Couch-inator in a briefcase. - Distinction Without a Difference: This exchange ensues between the Main 3 (bar Ms. O) right after the Cold Open.Oscar: Hey guys, so we got a couple new gadgets for you, uh, here's the Snow-Go-Away-inator, and here's the Snow-Disappear-inator-Otto: Wait! Aren't those two the same thing?Oscar: No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no. This one [the Snow-Disappear-inator] has a handle.[Olive gives an exhausted, snark-filled Disapproving Look]
- Do You Want to Haggle?: Otto bargains with Owen in order to get the couch back. The agent offers to clean Owen's security monitors for a week, then Owen drives up the price insanely high by offering 18 years. Otto brings it back down by offering to clean the monitors for 2 weeks, which Owen agrees to.
- Dragged by the Collar: Oscar yanks Olive and Otto closer to him by their shoulders shortly after he zaps himself with the Couch-inator.
- Everyone Has Standards: Otto may be a Big Eater, but when it comes to other people's messy eating habits, he's not too fond of them.Owen: Just watch out for the gum.[Otto slowly pries his hand off of the couch as it's covered in chewed gum]Otto: (groans in disgust)
- Facial Dialogue: This episode has some of the most high-quality face expressions to date, especially amongst the Main 4. For example, take this expression of Otto reacting in horror to Oscar's gradual transformation, whereas in most episodes, Wild Takes aren't usually his thing (the last time he pulled a Wild Take was back in "Training Day").
- Gem-Encrusted: Oksana is shown applying gems to the couch in order to "make it more me." Similarly, the wrench she's using to do so is also bedazzled with gems. When Oscar turns back to normal at the end of the episode, the gems are stuck on one half of his body.
- Gotta Have It, Gonna Steal It: Owen and Oksana end up stealing the couch right from under Otto and Olive's noses, respectively (they are unaware the couch is actually Oscar). When confronted about stealing it, they explain that their departments don't allow them to get a couch, and think that because Olive and Otto are of a higher ranking than them, they get to have a couch (O'Callaghan doesn't steal the couch, but has the same complaint). Eventually, Ms. O resigns to attempting to first get rid of it, then cut it into four pieces.
- Hidden Depths: Oscar is revealed to be quite skilled at hypnotism, having hypnotized Dr. O, Orchid and Obfusco into remembering the three numbers in the passcode to unlock the briefcase. Similarly, Olive and Otto show themselves to be quite apt at sending Dr. O and Orchid into respective trances, simply by clapping their hands twice and saying "couch alert" (Otto in particular gains the knowledge to clap twice to have a hypnotized agent repeat themselves).Otto: You can hypnotize people?Oscar: Yeah!Otto: (whispers in amazement) That is so cool.
- Beneath her Emotionless Girl exterior, Oksana reveals that she has a thing for bling.
- His Name Is...: A non-lethal variant — Oscar turns into a couch just before he can tell Olive and Otto why Ms. O shouldn't find out about the incident. Unfortunately for him, Ms. O does end up finding out...but it's only because she realizes there's a couch in Headquarters, not because she realizes the couch is Oscar.
- Hypno Fool: Averted; neither Olive nor Otto become hypnotized themselves from Dr. O or Orchid.
- Hypocrite: Ms. O confronts Olive and Otto about bringing a couch into Headquarters and remarks that no one gets a couch...yet she has two couches in her very own office, as well as other comfortable seating.
- Insane Troll Logic: Oksana believes that her making food falls under the realms of science, security...and tube-operating.
- I Resemble That Remark!: Olive remarks that people will take anything in HQ if it's not nailed down. As Otto helps her move the couch, Owen attempts to take the briefcase containing the Un-Couch-inator gadget.
- Iron Butt Monkey: Oscar endures a lot throughout the episode, and yet is still standing when he's turned back to normal. Ms. O doesn't even bother to punish him because she can see what he's had to go through.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Olive begins to tell Dr. O what Oscar turned into, but manages to catch herself just in time and disregards the sentence.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Oscar accidentally presses a button on the Couch-inator that he is showing to Olive and Otto, which gradually turns him into a couch and kickstarts the plot of the episode.
- Owen and Oksana are also guilty of this trope for what they do to Oscar while he's a couch.
- Olive and Otto manage to rip Oscar-as-a-couch while guiding him through a narrow hallway.
- Offscreen Reality Warp: This occurs numerous times throughout the episode, more notably when the camera cuts away from Oksana lying on Oscar-as-a-couch while Olive gives her Rousing Speech (with the camera cutting to a close-up of Olive at one point), only for the agent to turn around less than five seconds later to find that Oksana has pulled out the hideaway bed and is already covered in a blanket.
- Oh, Crap!: Quite a few throughout the episode, with two of the most notable being Oscar accidentally zapping himself with the Couch-inator, and Olive and Otto giving looks of horror when they manage to rip Oscar-as-a-couch.
- Only Good People May Pass: Oscar took extra security measures to protect the Un-Couch-inator due to it being a powerful gadget that, if it fell into the wrong hands, would cause destruction. Said security measures include hypnotizing three agents into remembering the passcode to unlock the briefcase that contains it, which also prevents them from telling any random agent the passcode unless said agent knows how to get them to fess up (clap your hands two times and say "couch alert").
- The Pig-Pen: Owen is an absolute slob when it comes to eating on a couch. It becomes even worse when one realizes the couch is actually Oscar.
- Playing Doctor: Subverted by Dr. O, who claims that she's doing this with a patient, then says that she's not playing doctor because she's an actual doctor.
- Prim and Proper Bun: Olive sports one of these while dressed as a cafeteria worker.
- Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Otto has a pair that Orchid gives back to him — however, throughout his time on the show, he is never shown wearing glasses, or even having any sort of vision problem.
- Rousing Speech: Olive gives a short one when trying to convince Oksana to hand over the couch.Oksana: I see. You think agents deserve a couch more than the cafeteria workers? Or should I say worker? There's really just one of me.Olive: No! That's not what I mean. [turns and dramatically walks towards the camera] Every department is important. We're all part of one big family, working together. [sighs and begins to turn around] Can you- AAAH!!
- Ship Tease: There is a ton of it to be found with Owen and Oksana and how they treat Oscar-as-a-couch. It's somewhat justified by the fact that they are unaware that the couch they are using happens to be Oscar.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Debbie pulls this twice with Olive and Otto in the Cold Open, using her issue of reappearing outside whenever she enters a customer's house. The second time, however, she reveals that she came out the side door and scared the partner pair that way.
- Stolen by Staying Still: Played with. The couch is stolen by both Owen and Oksana right as Olive and Otto aren't looking, and the selective camera angles make it seem as though the couch simply disappeared. However, the partner pair find that the couch hasn't gone very far — Owen has it set up in the Security control room (which is right next to the lab), and Oksana has it set up in the Breakroom.
- Take That!: The episode makes a subtle dig at those who like pineapple on pizza, as the house Debbie is entering is a "No Hawaiian Pizza Zone", meaning it kicks her out the second she enters it. Once the pizza is turned into a cheese pizza, she's able to go inside and deliver it to the customer.
- Tempting Fate: Otto and Olive both do this twice, making remarks about the couch just before it's stolen.Olive: I'll go find out the numbers, you guard the couch. [runs off]Otto: What do you mean, "guard the couch"? It's a couch, where's it gonna go? [muttering] Olive...[turns around to find the couch gone]Otto: Oh no!Olive: Good news: I got one number. Just two more left to open the briefcase. [starts to run off]Otto: Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa! [Olive comes back] This time, I'm going to get the numbers, and you're staying here, to guard the couch. Trust me, it's...it's way harder than it looks. [he walks away]Olive: What do you mean, "way harder"? [sighs][turns around to find the couch, you guessed it, gone]Olive: Oh no. Oscar? [looks around the lab] Couch?
- This Is My Chair: Quite a few people claim Oscar-as-a-couch as theirs, including Owen and Oksana. They, along with O'Callaghan, all make complaints to Ms. O about why they should get a couch, while Olive and Otto figure out the final number in the passcode. Eventually, Ms. O decides to end the argument by splitting it in four pieces, but doesn't get very far before Otto turns Oscar back to normal.
- Time to Move: Parodied with Otto and Olive moving the couch along a narrow hallway. Naturally, Hilarity Ensues when both agents complain about it, even more so when Otto manages to create what is implied to be a big rip in the couch.Otto: Are you even lifting at your end?Olive: Of course I am!
- Wager Slave: Oksana lets Olive have the couch if she takes her place as the sole Odd Squad cafeteria worker and does the dishes while Oksana gets a well-deserved nap. The agent is fine with the deal...until she sees just how high the pile of dirty dishes is.
- We Have Ways of Making You Talk: Dr. O refuses to tell Olive the first number in the passcode to open the briefcase and denies any knowledge of it. What does Olive do in response? She immediately hypnotizes Dr. O by using the instructions Oscar taught her: clapping her hands twice and saying "couch alert".
- What the Hell, Hero?: Olive and Otto unleash a hell of a lot of this on Oscar for not only locking the Un-Couch-inator gadget inside of a briefcase, but for forgetting the passcode to open said briefcase.
- Olive also has a moment of this when Otto accidentally rips the couch.
- Olive gives Oksana a non-verbal example of this trope when the latter asks, in all seriousness, if the now-restored-to-humanity Oscar is going to be cut into four equal pieces.
- What Were You Thinking?: Olive has this reaction when she finds out that Oscar hid the number within a word problem that he gave to Dr. O.
- You Are Too Late: Olive and Otto manage to just barely miss Obfusco, whom they need to obtain the final number in the passcode. Regardless, they still manage to figure out the number on their own and successfully open the briefcase.
