odd squad and cartoon things

serendipity, at your service | 27f | aroace, autistic, and always aweary | odd squad connoisseur, lover of cartoons and anime including precure (manatsu my beloved) | loves meadows so much

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Cake Day" Episode Followup, Part 4

Getting into the last bits and bobs here. One part shy of the followup for "Should Odd Acquaintance Be Forgot". Now that's what I call efficiency!

Below the break.

...I'm...I'm sorry, what? A Time-Travel Department? She can't just do- the Big O and Little O SURPASS HER IN RANK WHY IS THIS A T H I N G . IT'S. I'M.

Oh my God. No. Them being co-Directors is more deserving than this. This is just Tim McKeon's final wish before he moves on officially to other projects.

It was...it was going so well...come ON I got ROYALLY fucked over by Star Detective Precure this week AND IN THE SAME FUCKING WEEK I get ROYALLY fucked over by Odd Squad UK. I'm so mad. I'm so disappointed. This would have me fucking going rabid if the rest of the episode weren't so good. But I just feel dead inside. I feel "thank God I don't have to hear of this again" but also dead inside like that one PSA that asks would you live or die in a nuclear explosion.

I know they can't be co-Directors, but fuck, man, make it happen somewhere. They honestly deserve it. Together. Chemistry be damned, it's fair.

And to solve problems in the past and the future? But Odd Squad exists in both timelines, and especially the future now because of the Butterfly Effect, so...why do they need to time-travel to solve oddness? It just makes no damn sense AND DOES NOT FUCKING COMPEEEEEEEEEEEL MEEEEEEEEEE.

Year 1 of never getting a name for this gadget that has been in use since right now in 2026.

But also, what in the British Harry Potter is this uniform? May be fitting for the past but not so much for the future. And what's the symbol of this department? Where does it stand in the hierarchy? These are very important questions, people!

Okay, not the best ending, and Orli and Ozzie being promoted is not the "this is THE final episode of the franchise" thing I thought it was, but...I mean...okay. Sure. Why the hell not. If the staff wanna be delulu and try and get another season, be my guest. All I can say is: good fucking luck, because you're gonna need it.

And your credits, for the last time. Look upon them. Admire them. I have nothing to say about them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

So...that's it. The end of Season 2 and possibly the franchise as a whole. I'm not going to go into detail on how Season 2 was for me; that'll be for a different Seren's Study I hope to eventually (ugh I hate myself and my stupid-ass procrastination) put out. In terms of the finale as a whole, though, it was pretty solid. Much better than the Season 1 finale by far, though there was still wonky pacing in places and could probably have benefitted from being about 44 minutes or even an hour long (the former minus PBS Kids promos, the latter adding them in). I'm also not a fan of Orli's and Ozzie's fates, but since the point was to shoo them out to make room for Omni and Osric (who, very shockingly, barely had roles in the finale), it makes sense. The Time-Travel Department will forever make absolutely no sense to me simply because Odd Squad as an organization exists in the past and in the future so there's no need to time-travel. And even so, that seems like what the Mobile Unit would do since their entire duty is to travel around the world helping precincts with oddness. Who's to say they can't time-travel too?

We also never get a proper resolution for Techie Tallulah -- no actual unfreezing of her, no punishment for her actions, nothing. She's just left suspended in midair. The point of her existence (besides, again, shitting on nerds) was to prove herself to be more competent than other villains perceived her to be. Whether she steams over her loss or shows remorse, why not have a resolution for her? Same would go for her henchmen too.

All in all, not the best finale, but it's still good. Do I want this spinoff to get a third season? Hoho no. Mm-mm. I think Season 2 of OSUK proved once again that the franchise has really run its course, in a time where PBS is actively getting screwed over by the US government, BBC Studios is holding the entirety of the kids TV industry on its shoulders (and struggling), and said industry is rapidly growing and changing. I don't care how popular it is in the UK, the US, or any other place in the world; it needs to die. It's run for 10 years. Don't make it a SpongeBob. Don't make it a Simpsons. Don't even make it an Arthur. Lay it to rest. Mentally, I can't handle my hyperfixation being constantly raked over the coals and shredded to bits and my only saving grace is that I have somewhat decent writing skills and can make fics out of it up the wazoo that people may or may not enjoy and may or may not care about.

I'm just...I'm tired, people. I am so tired. I want Odd Squad to be better but I just don't see it happening. The fandom can thrive forever, it can thrive long past my death, but the franchise? Please. I'm begging. Let it die. It can thrive by way of it being on streaming services, but...please, I want it to die. It was good for the first couple years with the original series, and then things shifted and the snowball got rolling and now I'm here.

*deep sigh* Okay, okay, I'll stop venting. I just don't know how much longer I've got with tolerating this show. I really do hope it gets better but...*gestures to the whole kids TV industry*

I'll see you in my Seren's Study recapping the whole season, whenever that may be.

Thanks for reading. Seren out.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Cake Day" Episode Followup, Part 3

We're now a couple minutes into Part 2 of the episode. Will the agents beat Techie Tallulah, or are they all sentenced to death by oddness?

(Okay, not really, but let me be delulu.)

Below the break.

Orwell, totally not giving a shit about being in laser jail and more worried about if he's ever gonna have cake again.

Least we know what his last meal will be. Or his last regret.

Said it once and I'll say it again: it's refreshing to see the henchmen smarter than the big bad for a change. Although...I hope these two don't pull a disappearing act like with Brutus and get beaten as well, because if they're smarter than Techie Tallulah and are her henchmen willingly, well...Tallulah is not the only threat here.

But...but Tower Bridge is...it's above the water...how in...what???

I mean okay, I'd buy they'd have a storage place for extra gadgets, but can we make it, y'know, not Ozzie's HQ that he's gonna be leading?

"You're telling me that was there the whole time?"

Blame's fully on the Oddmiral for this one since she's the one that promoted you to begin with, Captain. If you're a Director, you're meant to know the ins and outs of your HQ, top to bottom. The fact that the Captain didn't, and doesn't, is fully on the promoter.

And now we're ripping from "O is Not For Over" and holy fucking shit it's an amalgamation of every single previous finale to date. I know this may be the final season of the entire franchise, but please, Mark...originality. I'm begging you.

Oh fuck you. The fuck you mean Ozzie's leading a whole-ass bridge? C'mon now.

And why the fuck are they out IN THE GODDAMN OPEN AIR?????? Put those bitches back underground! I don't care how cleverly camouflaged the seal is, PUT THEM THE FUCK. BACK UNDERGROUND.

Wow, the White Trifler must have zoom-and-enhance abilities if she's able to see Ozzie and Orli from that far away. They are dead-ass specks. They could be any human being.

Had to throw in one more bending-the-knee moment for the network, didn't you, Mark?

She even makes the same joke as The Trifler did. And now you know part of why I call her the White Trifler.

It's my brain farting again but I feel like attacking villains with gadgets is a lot rarer than one would think. Mainly because this would probably constitute violence to S&P and they don't want the kids emulating that.

"A future without villains? So that's it? It's over for me?"

Well...I mean...you're gonna die someday, hon. It would have been "over for you" anyway eventually. It's either that or humans are such a biologically warped species in the Oddverse that no one can ever die, which, well...the future left it ambiguous for obvious reasons but I'm pretty sure Odd Squad and its inhabitants are deader than dead.

Yes, that includes the existing main characters. Have fun sleeping tonight.

No FUCKING way. I don't want to hear talk about how any of the finales are meant to end the show anymore. If there is a definite finale, a finale that says "we're getting canned and no more episodes", this is it. It's absolutely it. This is the pinnacle. If, by some miracle, there are seasons and finales after this, they will pale in comparison to this. This is like a war cannon with the world's biggest cannonball inside.

It'll end not with a whimper, but a bang heard 'round the world.

"They deserve a little cake."

"Do they?"

"No! Well, yes. But it'll cost them."

"Cost them?"

"Their lives. Cake's classified as a deadly weapon. One blow to their bodies will kill them on impact."

"That's horrible!"

"But it's a necessary kind of horrible, Opie."

I'm sorry, but I feel a need to point out before I forget: I was reminded that Katie Ball is 4'11'', hence the height disparity.

I'm about 5 inches, give a few.

Meaning I just had a flashback to how tall Dalila Bela was in 2014 and got a thousand-yard stare as I realize I could probably cosplay as Tallulah and no one would care.

...Yes I know the staff deems it wrong but fuck it man. I'm allowed. It's legal. Watch me.

We love a bitch who's so self-absorbed she fails to realize her two henchmen are smarter than her and ignoring them and throwing them under the bus will cause her downfall.

Okay, but how the MCFUCK did they all lug it up 100 floors?

*squints*

Industry plants, man. They get all the strength.

Not including Villain X in this is a crime because he was there in the premiere. Instead he got shafted for the Striped Bandit, and that is 100% a sin.

Or, y'know, maybe they asked him and he said nah because he's retired. I don't know.

Guys. It's 3 in the morning. I have my window open. And you don't know HOW hard I am fighting to not scream-laugh at the fact that this woman is just a cape, arms, hands, and a head in these few frames. Where the fuck is the rest of her body?!

This honestly would be cool if we didn't have 3 minutes left in the entire episode. God damn it, make this a whole hour special!

Okay, yep, this confirms it. She outright killed agents and Odd Squad as an organization. "Destroy" is S&P-friendly talk for "kill", has been for 10 years.

Not the first villain with a kill count, but the villain with the highest kill count by far on account of just how many agents are operating in the world. Mind you, the approximate world population as of this month is 8.3 billion. Make your own predictions as to how many of those are Odd Squad agents and then tally the kill count accordingly.

So the moral here is don't fuck with nerds.

...Okay, I wrote like three paragraphs on how what Captain O is saying doesn't make sense, but then I realized it's not "Never. Let anyone write the ending to your story..." but "Never let anyone else write the ending to your story". God bless closed captions and God bless me checking so I didn't look like a complete ass blabbering on and on before someone corrected me after I posted the followup.

With that misunderstanding out of the way...this is a good message, but it both ties into this finale being THE finale and also seems reminiscent of the writing team for the season. Like...a potshot? A reference? I don't know, but I just think they're connected.

God, where was this energy the last finale? Everything here SCREAMS "epic" in a way "Three is the Oddest Number" and "Should Odd Acquaintance Be Forgot" didn't.

I see Olive is not the only one that can do incredibly skilled diving saves.

I never doubted for a second these four wouldn't turn to the side of good because they're nowhere near redemption and actively don't want redemption. Something something healthy balance.

Sorry, her two what? Her two- oh it's guards. Haha okay, for a second I thought she said "two guns" or "two goons" but no, it's "two guards". Carry on.

I don't know...I'd deal with them too. Since, y'know, they're smarter than Tallulah by a landslide and thus are much more capable of pulling off committing acts of oddness effectively.

Oh my God there are 30 seconds. Holy shit guys. This is either gonna be the most abrupt ending of all time or Mark's gonna fire another fucking cannonball and it's off to the casiiiiiiiiinoooooooo~

(On to Part 4!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Cake Day" Episode Followup, Part 2

Is it weird I'm getting a tiny bit invested in this? Proof this show could really benefit from 22-minute episodes. It really is the best format. Work all those attention spans.

Below the break.

Ah. Yes. I see Darth Vader is in town with a stomach problem.

If this isn't Breeze Dango I will fly myself off a fucking cliff. Granted, I have not seen her in the Henry Danger movie but this sounds so much like her I'd be dead-shocked if it isn't.

You know the franchise is ending when we've hit the "my grandparents lived through the Odd Squad era and have stories to pass on to their kids, and those kids to their kids" point of "Odd Squad exists".

I say I never want to have kids one time and it comes back to bite me in the ass. Thank you, Mark, but my decision still stands.

This too. Having a "Master of Ultimate Oddness" is such an "OUR FRANCHISE IS ENDING" red flag you might as well thrust it into my eyeballs. You can't come back from a Master of Ultimate Oddness. Fuck are you supposed to go from there?

*blink* 'Scuse me, this organization didn't even survive the times of the cavemen? Tim, you're so invested in time travel yet you didn't bother to work with Mark to name a year or two where this takes place. Hurry the fuck up.

I honestly can't tell whether to slap a sign on this girl that reads "VILLAIN" or "NOT VILLAIN".

Ah, I see Mark wanted to get one more ripped episode out of the way, and that episode just so happens to be "The Creature Whisperer". Probably not as many funny moments here, though, but Orwell is meant to have a similar personality to Otis (but doesn't, that's the catch) so it's a clear rip to me.

See? The Oddmiral's in Management. The Big O and Little O are both above her in the hierarchy, and thus they should be handling this matter whether onscreen or offscreen. This makes no goddamn sense AND DOES NOT COMPEL ME.

And the Oddmiral is small just like the Big O pre-Oprah was, so that's another point in the Episode Rip Jar. You tried a little harder to be slick this time, Mark, but you can't beat my autistic brain.

LMFAO NOT OZZIE USING AN OLD MAN CANE??????

Ohhhhhh shit, that got me. Fucking hell, Mark, take your stupid cookie.

It's not a Sinking Ship show if you don't throw in as many dinosaurs as you possibly can.

It's also a reminder that the Dino franchise will outlive the Odd Squad franchise by a landslide.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA DO YOU GEDDIT. BCUZ FOOTBALL MEANS TWO DIFFERENT THINGS IN TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. ARE YOU LAFFING YET. START LAFFING. DO IT YOU MOTHERFUCKING COWARD.

I could tell just by the name that Ophelia was a former Odd Squad agent but this godly aiming of the weapon just proves it.

Look, it's not as enticing as the mystery of Star Detective Precure and Moria Luluka, but it's solid so far.

Yeah, Mark, I see that Sinking Ship logo up there. You definitely are not even trying to be slick with that.

But also, this continuity cavalcade would be more enticing if the episodes were actually good and made me give more than at least two iotas of a shit.

Honestly shocked it took us 8 minutes to get to Tallulah's part in all this and she's the Master of Ultimate Oddness isn't she. I'm so fucking stupid, guys, I was thinking of Darth Vader and then Sailor Moon when I saw this design hh-hh-hh-hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnngh

Wait wait wait, hold on, the two Mr. O's? We only saw one. Is she referring to the Niagara Falls Mr. O we saw in Season 1? Who's the other Director?

You can make her the Master of Ultimate Oddness all you want. She still exists to shit on nerds no matter what you do to her.

Also, I will once again repeat my gripes about not consulting upper management. Was she able to stomp out Captain O to get the orb? Orwell? Okra? The rest of the Security team that should be guarding it? The Oddmiral?

Mm. Mmhmm. Yep, I see where this is going.

has the oddness-beating shoes

still finds it too dangerous to go out there

Either she knows the shoes are horseshit or she forgot she had them on this whole time.

Yeah, y'know, I was wondering when the industry plants would show up. Lo and behold.

But also, we just had to rip from "Odd Together Now" one more time, huh? We gonna get a 10-year montage at the end and a neat cast shot to wrap it u- OH MY GOD FUCK THAT ACTUALLY COULD HAPPEN NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I genuinely can't tell if they're flying horizontally through the air or vertically into the air and that is the most wonderful news for people taking a puff of weed while watching this.

*clapping rapidly like what seals do with their tummies* MOTHERFUCKING RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN. RUN, BITCHES!! RUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!

*long sigh* Okay, all right, this may be a ripoff of when Oona baked a cake for Oprah and Otis to hide in but I'll admit that this is better than what was done there.

With this, we're shifting to Part 2 of the episode. I'll be putting a break on this followup when the 30-image limit is reached, so let's keep diving in.

And we start with a bit that genuinely got me to laugh. My God, Mark, where was this throughout the whole season? Were you just holding back or something?

This would be the equivalent of pointing to an insanely large bank on Wall Street and telling a robber, "I bet you can't get all the money in the vault of that bank right there." It's just stoking the flames and giving them a challenge.

Captain O I can buy because she got the Stupidity Lobotomy this season. Everyone else, not so much.

And this would be the equivalent of an entire police force drawing their guns and aiming them at three criminals. And I do mean an entire police force. These kids will shoot first and maybe ask questions later if the villains are in a reasonable state to do so.

It's...it's so beautiful, man...Mark, what the hell kickstarted in your brain to save all the goodness for the last episode? It's wrong, it's a sin, but...but it's like a light at the end of the tunnel...like waking up from a really good sleep...oh my God I'm gonna cry...

Okay, never mind. I kind of figured she'd do something like that. The downside of being in a PBS Kids TV-Y show is that these kids can't use their hands and feet and teeth to attack.

"Same goes for your badge phones and tube system, so there won't be any help coming."

Abandon all hope, ye who hoped any of the living legends would come back. I will respect your hope but also frown upon it for being unrealistic.

Honestly, if PBS Kids ever runs another best villain poll, this woman could beat Odd Todd and The Shadow singlehandedly for just how far she planned ahead. Gotta give props!

(On to Part 3!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Cake Day" Episode Followup, Part 1

So...I guess "Cake Day 2" is named that because it's split into two parts? Kind of stupid but I'm relieved it isn't a case of lazy titling. It's just CBBC being CBBC. Chances are it'll just be called "Cake Day" when it airs in the US. Crisis averted, people! False alarm!

In this case, though, I'll be listing each followup as "Cake Day" followed by Parts 1 onwards, same as with "Should Odd Acquaintances Be Forgot".

Anyway, let's go below the break for Now You Know What the Afterparty Was Like.

I'm forgetting...is this O'Pomp or is this O'Circumstance? Or is this someone else enti- it's someone else entirely isn't it. Well fuck in hell.

And of fucking course it's written by Mark because if he's gonna shoo out Orli and Ozzie then by fucking God he will do it his way in the most respectful but also disrespectful way he possibly can.

I mean okay. The man had one win. I'm not counting on him for another.

I see this guy works for Reddit.

...

Maybe he's a Reddit moder- OKAY OKAY FINE I WILL STOP IT IS A FUCKING J O K E MAN JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.

Does...anyone want to tell these guys that Orli being a Director is temporary? If this is supposed to be foreshadowing for the end of the season then this is a really shitty way of showing it.

Now, see, you know, when I moved away and went to a new middle school I got selfies taken with my classmates and posted on Facebook. That was special and permanent. I'm not coming back to that old school. I can't anymore because I'm a 27-year-old adult woman but also because it's being reno'd into something else now. May it rest in peace.

Oh, okay, so he did tell them. Good. I was afraid he'd forget about time for a second there.

*deep inhale and then exhale* Whoooooooooo okay. Sit down, I need to discuss Orli's attire here and I am going to discuss it at length because this is an issue that has persisted since the first season.

Let's start with a reminder that Director uniforms are not gender-neutral. They are different for boys as well as girls in many aspects. When a boy gets promoted to Management, he gets an outfit like what Orli is wearing here -- a tie and pants as well as a purple collared shirt with the collars folded outwards. Girls get the same jacket but a purple shirt with a low collar, a two-rowed purple-beaded necklace, and a knee-length skirt. This is because the suits are meant to fall into gender norms -- girls wear skirts and boys don't, boys wear ties and girls don't, etcetera.

In "The Potato Ultimato", Oren's fantasy of being a Director has him in female attire. This is probably just because they didn't care; it's a fantasy that will never happen, not the real thing, and if it did happen Oren probably wouldn't want a skirt.

In "O is Not For Over", Olive specifically asks if she can switch to pants instead of a skirt. This is due to the fact that she is a tomboy who does not like wearing traditionally feminine clothing. In my eyes, this is an example of a good change, because having the employee being promoted ask for an outfit change onscreen is a good indicator of character preferences as well as personality.

Fast forward to OSUK and Captain O. Her Director attire is very mix-and-match -- "A Dicey Situation" showed her in pants, but sometime offscreen she switched to a skirt, and she also has a white undershirt with a purple tie instead of a purple undershirt. I honestly have no idea why this uniform was chosen for her, but the only reasons I can think of are either pushing past gender norms or "we don't give a shit, sew whatever and we'll pick it up in 30". I'm fine with mixing-and-matching, but...at least give us something onscreen that tells us why she got this uniform. Like with Olive, it would be a big boost to her character and would also keep things in line with the more linear male and female Director outfits we got in Season 3.

Now, we have Orli in boys attire entirely for absolutely no reason beyond "we don't give a shit, sew whatever and we'll pick it up in 30". Or, y'know, the pennies this season was made on, but you can't tell me they don't have the jacket, shirt, and necklaces left over and could just reuse them again for Asha. Or for Shelley, for that matter.

...Yes, I did just go on a spiel about clothing. Yes, I could explain more. But it's been nagging at me for two years and I just got off work and my soul hurts. Give me some leniency and let's move on.

Opie has lost the ancient texts.

And by that I mean her Fallout throw pillow.

Christ sakes, Opie, you haven't learned from the last time you had to have a cake delivered?

I'm sorry, but this just doesn't have the same impact for me as OINFO did. It doesn't. It's sad, but it's not tear-inducing. Makes me go "aww", but doesn't make me do a death wail.

Five times. She's used the intercom five times over the course of the spinoff.

Still a sin.

See, and Ozzie is dressed in the boys Director attire too. And don't you tell me Captain O only has a Mr.-O-inator on hand because she absolutely has a Ms.-O-inator on hand as well. To me, it's both "we don't care" and "the budget ran dry" and I fucking hate it man. Just make a gender-neutral Management uniform and be fucking done with it.

I will once again reiterate that this is Olive and Otto's handshake and these two using it should be a crime punishable by death. These two do not nearly have the honor, respect, and accolades Olive and Otto do and to be really fucking honest...they also don't have the chemistry.

Stop trying to boost their chemistry, Mark. You are failing. Horribly.

ADDING MORE TO IT DOESN'T FUCKING MAKE IT UNIQUE, MARK. BE ORIGINAL.

"how many handshakes can you-" let me stop you right there. invent other friend greetings besides secret handshakes. problem solved. see you on tuesday.

Excu...what? I'm sorry, you let them say their hellos and then you drop a "you're fired" on them? That's not awkward, that's downright cruel!

Mind you, we have never seen her contemplate onscreen what she saw until now. Sure, Ozzie's promotion had a smooth lead-in, but what we got from this aspect was Captain O and Onom interacting with someone from the future and then absolutely not thinking about it, not even a mention. There is a reason why these kinds of episodes usually have an episode after it where the characters think about what they experienced and what they plan to do about it. This is just the Terrible Three all the fuck over again, meaning none of these writers, including Mark, have learned their lesson from how badly they fucked up there.

And if you think Captain O needed over 20 episodes to sit on it...no. No she doesn't. The solution is simple and given how much Omni and Osric are taking over the show firing Orli and Ozzie means that nothing of value will be lost.

On the other side of things...it does show the writers' willingness to kick Orli and Ozzie off the cast as characters.

I can understand why they can't have Millie Davis appear as the Big O, whether it's the real deal or they use AI to replicate her likeness (and I will never condone the latter)...but there is absolutely nothing wrong with mentioning the name of the character and what she did. Same goes for the Little O despite Shazdeh Kapadia being too old to reprise the role.

My point is, where does the Oddmiral sit in the hierarchy? No way they're a part of the Big Office department and if they're in a Management position they shouldn't have the power to -- and I'm going to make an ass out of me and not you here -- drag fired employees out of Headquarters when they can just walk out on their own. Especially not Orli and Ozzie, who aren't being too oppositional here and would probably walk out on their own because, y'know, they respect Captain O. I've asked this question since the first season but I'm asking it again and God damn it I want an answer.

In other news can we stop with the "agents getting fired" schtick? It's getting stale. Can we have an agent who is forced to quit on their own accord for outside reasons? Can we have an agent who mysteriously disappears because they were kidnapped by the big bad? It's just...guys, please. It was fun for like three seasons and now I'm tired. Move on.

Somewhere Steve Harvey is screaming "KILL" at the top of his lungs and the answer is, in fact, up there as "KILL THE CLONES".

"If Orli and I are doing this together, as partners, can't we do it in our old uniforms?"

...Implying co-Directors can't be partners and work together? Did this just fucking disprove something I've been thinking was true since 2016? Like, Olive and Otto are co-Directors but they can still be partners, right? Now co-Directors can't be partners?

It's a dumbass question, is what I'm saying. They're just gonna be Directors by the end anyway, even though they're not co-Directors. What is the point?

Year 10 of never getting a name for this gadget that's been in use since the Season 2 finale.

Hmm...60 minutes? It's almost like this finale is an hou- WAIT A SECOND NO IT'S NOT!!!

You can tell the OG staff were all whooping excitedly over this part like the world's loudest Black Friday shopper storm.

Yes, including Tim, who sat back with a coffee and gave a thumbs-up of approval afterwards.

it's way into the future

the items look straight out of the 80s

walls are made of brick

Something tells me these elder millennials and boomers don't know a whole lot about modern-day soci-

I fucking take that back because what the hell is this? It was funny in "Total Zeroes" because it was a haha gag but here it's just...wrong.

On the plus side, the Earth hasn't died as a planet yet, so...good things, I guess.

"But if you're looking to avoid oddness, our shoes can help."

Also known as the Phyllis Cloverleaf approach to marketing and selling products.

They didn't want to step on any toes in regards to future technology and have their episode age poorly so they focused on one innocent aspect: shoes.

I almost have to respect it.

Oh my fucking God it turned into a Famous Footwear. We got *wheeze* a fucKING FAMOUS FOOTWEAR- *long wheeze* FUCKING SHIT I CAN'T I'M SOBBING

Heh...ehe...well. How the Earth is still standing astounds me. You're tellin' me the environment, the layers of the planet, the living things on it aren't all dead yet?

Part of me wants to assume that's a scrapped Endlings character but in reality it's just a shriveled flying Gollum who sees Orli and Ozzie as his preciouses.

...Wait, shit, I've seen it before...isn't that a Sandbeast or am I wrong?

Ah! It is a Sandbeast! Knew it!

(On to Part 2!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "I Love It When a Plan Barely Comes Together" Episode Followup, Part 2

For a villain focus episode, I won't lie, it's on par with "VIllain Networking" as being tolerable. Not amazingtastic, not *retching*, just tolerable. Whether that will change depends on how the rest of the finale goes.

Below the break.

Free ASMR. Thank me later.

Now what in the Project Diva MV for "Teo" is this shit? At least it's a tiny display in the park, but still...it's screaming into my eyes, guys. I don't like it.

Tallulah, for fuck's sake, that's not his name. "Mr. O" is a title and the day the OG staff learn the difference between a title and a name is the day I'll go bungee-jumping off a bridge for the first time.

For the record, his name would be whatever his birth name is, whether it starts with an O or it doesn't. I don't care if she's half-assing this, I didn't succeed in English just to witness a PBS Kids show make English errors.

For about half a second I felt the hairs raise along my neck before I realized that Orli is not even in France. France and England are two different countries. We confirmed this in "Train of Fools", Mark, now stick with it.

"Unfortunately I only vacation in countries that start with an A."

Oh, Mark. Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark. Sweet summer child. Do you know how badly this line ages by the day? I don't even need to explain how. To anyone. Use your brain. Figure it out. I am not discussing it at length here.

I see someone watched "O is Not For Over" and decided "eh, what's another rip in the bag?"

Yeah, okay, Niagara Falls got a new Mr. O. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Angola, Austria, and Antiga

not America

I will very happily rest my case. Thank you, Mark.

This is what happens when you go down Wikipedia rabbit holes. They're not always a bad thing.

...Well, unless you end up on a cursed article. Then it's bad.

"But I gotta say, I've been getting offers for trips all day..."

There is no way someone smart wouldn't recognize Tallulah across all her disguises, so either he has face blindness or he's just really really stupid in everything but attacking.

Oh. Yes. I'm sorry. We're shitting on poor nerds. Poor nerds with no money management who ask "what's a credit card?"

Does...does Captain O know what a promotion is? To Management? It's a permanent thing. It can be temporary, but a majority of the time being promoted to Director is a permanent thing. Niagara Falls Mr. O isn't quitting; he's going on vacation. What Orli is doing is filling in for him. That's not the same thing as a promotion.

This is what happens when Directors don't receive proper training. It's also what happens when a writer has a brain fart and can't remember work terminology.

One of the things that has always bugged me about this franchise is that upper management is never considered in big bad villains' plans. For example, Ohlm wanted to destroy Odd Squad but forgot about the Big O, as did Odd Todd who neglected to consider that Oprah and the Big O were both higher in rank than Olive was. Here, Tallulah gets Ozzie and Orli out of the picture, but neglects to factor in Captain O, the Big O, or the Little O.

Really, what I'm asking for in a season is a villain that considers all of the factors in what they want to do and plans around them. And that is in a hypothetical SCENARIO WHERE I W A N T ANOTHER SEASON THANK YOU.

And your credits for this episode. I thought Matteo was spelled with one T and not two, but how wrong I was. And yes, Niagara Falls Mr. O did get a new actor. Still a replacement position-wise to me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's it. This was, to my surprise, a nice solid villain-focused episode. Probably the best episode in the entire season, which is saying a hell of a lot. I want to know where Tallulah got the henchmen, and of course, I'm not keen on her being used to send a "nerds bad" message, but I'm a tad bit curious. Just a tad. Mark better keep this streak goin' if he's writing the last two episodes too.

Speaking of, next up will be the second part of our three-parter, "Cake Day". If there isn't one Reddit reference in there I...won't be surprised. INB4 someone on staff asks "what's a Reddit?"

Thanks for reading. Seren out.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "I Love It When a Plan Barely Comes Together" Episode Followup, Part 1

So this is the finale...and what have you done...another season over...a new month's just begun and I can feel my brain being fried by watching this season. It's been taken over so much by Omni and Osric that it's hard to see what resolution is coming for Orli and Ozzie besides "we gotta get rid of them and fast and we can do that via promotion". Like honestly, there's "shoo out the actors, they're too old" and "shoo out the actors, they're too old, we got industry plants here and they're so much better". Whether Asha and Alexander are leaving willingly or not, it's cruel any way you slice it.

Mm...so, without further ado, let's jump right into Titles That Could Be Frasier Scene Title Cards.

And of fucking course Mark wrote this, because he will make sure Orli and Ozzie are sent off with the utmost love and care to make room for "will sell liver to network CEO for spinoff" Omni and Osric.

And because he writes most finales, but still. Point stands. There is something sinister under this innocence and by fucking God if I won't sniff it out like McGruff sniffs out crime.

I'm sorry, but what spot in London is that to the left of Orli's picture? Niagara Falls and the Canada calendar makes sense but I almost thought that was a place in America for a second.

(Editor's note: I'm fucking stupid as hell. It's the London Bridge. Give my brain some Gas-X, it keeps farting.)

I see Tallulah did the same "pick them off the street" method as the staff did for writers for this entire season. These are just two tourists.

...No, I'm sorry, scratch that, she has henchmen? After how hard Brutus got tossed into the trash I don't trust this franchise with henchmen with a ten-foot pole. I remember seeing Brutus and getting excited that henchmen existed. Now I can't bring myself to care. Justice for Brutus.

Just as a reminder that this character exists to shit on nerds. She has nerd glasses, she has a nasally voice, and she's addicted to technology much like the stereotypical nerd. Keep that in your brain as you watch this.

And if you don't believe me...if "Old Squad" was so bold as to shit on adult fans, exactly what makes you think they won't go after nerds, both child and adult? Tallulah's one "I still watch cartoons" away from really hitting the audience in the gut.

Is...is that the same actor? I can't say for sure but it looks like a different actor than what we saw in Season 1.

I mean either that or someone brought their kid, dressed them up in Management attire, snapped a photo, and sent the kid home with about $10.

Okay, this plan makes no sense. Yes, Orli does have the experience to run the Niagara Falls precinct for obvious reasons, but so does anyone else in Odd Squad. They don't do anything. They barely solve any cases. An agent-in-training could run it. The plan would be good if it were a more heavily-staffed precinct, but...it's not. What's stopping Niagara Falls Mr. O from getting someone from another such precinct to run it?

Ohhhhhhh, so this confirms why Orli was placed with Orly. I mean it's stupid but it still kind of sort of makes sense from a certain perspective.

I will admit, I do like how these henchmen fall into the trope of "big henchman" and "skinny henchman". LIke what you see in cartoons except this is a hybrid show.

Oh this has me ROLLING. No fucking way Tallulah and her henchmen have to use the storage room of a restaurant as a secret lair. I legit thought they had their own lair for a second so this is a great bait-and-switch.

(Actually...Tallulah did have her own lair, didn't she? Fuck happened to that?)

The only people who reasonably don't look like villains are Harry and Larry. Tallulah, on the other hand...well, she doesn't stick out like most other villains but she is a nerd and those are baaaaaaaaaaaad apparently.

Can't be a very big street if they're buying pizza for everyone on it. And if it is, Tallulah better plan out how she's gonna go about this without spending coin.

...Okay, I'm way too fucking stupid for my own good because for a second I thought I was looking at the Space Needle. Niagara Falls isn't near Seattle oh my Goooooooooooood.

Okay, I changed my mind. These two henchmen are just Of Mice and Men but in real life. Tallulah is...uh...well I don't know what she is, the point is that I'm watching another Of Mice and Men adaptation and I'm not sure if I'm liking it.

Wait! I got it! Edna Mode! She's Edna Mode! Ha, I'm so good.

The fact that she has a Holographic-Costume-inator -- where the name itself sounds like a gadget Odd Squad would have in its arsenal -- makes me think she's some kind of a former agent. I mean they wouldn't make a villain who just hates Odd Squad because they can and not because it's a personal matter, right? Lmao that's just stupid.

...

R-right? Guys, they're...they won't do that...I'm...ohhhhhhhh nooooooooo...

Close enough. Hello there, Pre-Kit Gloss. Hello, Mark who somehow got wind of Star Detective Precure mid-production and got inspired.

Yeah, that is 100% a different actor. I don't know what happened to the old one but I'm torn on treating this guy as an impostor or treating this guy as someone who replaced the old Niagara Falls Mr. O in terms of position.

"Tropical fruit smoothie" and it looks like an ugly slime color.

Or is...is that the cup? Yeah, that's the cup.

Methinks they might have left in the sounds of the fire truck sirens in the episode and didn't bother to edit them out. Or just, y'know...wait until the firefighters left the scene or the truck passed on by.

To be fair, though, they add some ambience to what's happening here, even if there is no fire.

Actually kind of refreshing to see the henchmen smarter than the main villain in this season. Wasn't the case with Brutus before.

If she wanted bonus points she could design the gadget as a walkie-talkie type thi- *frying pan clang* GOD STOP THAT IT HURTS!!!! JESUS FUCK-

Okay, but if Mr. O never specified what spot and what sport...how and why does the gadget come up with these options?

I can smell the "Odd Squad in the Shadows" rip from where I am motherfucking sitting, Mark.

Man, Mark must really love that Pre-Kit Gloss, huh?

Aaaaaaaaand there's the nerd plaid. Yep, we've hit the Shitting on Nerds Somethingfecta.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA BRO DIDN'T EVEN TRY. HE GAVE ONE SMALL SWING AND GAVE THE FUCK UP??????? ARE WE SERIOUS.

My God, this guy would LARP the shit out of golf.

Fun fact: several years ago when I was watching the Masters I saw this woman use this funny-looking tool to help a player win. I don't remember the player but I do remember the woman looked like this...

So apparently Mark is a golf fan because San Diego does in fact have golf tournaments.

We may disagree on a writing front, but I can respect a golf fan.

So the gadget does add the sports aaaaaaaaand that's part of the problem.

(On to Part 2!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Oddumentary" Episode Followup, Part 2

Thank you for enjoying our commercial break. Now back to The Office: Odd Squad Edition on BBC, below the page break.

Perhaps the biggest blow to an agent's ego is when they fuck up and the client asks if there's another agent available.

In this case, I'm getting a big stupid smile on my face.

This feels...I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing...this is just destroying any and all Dalila Bela had for comparing Odd Squad to the CIA.

They're cops. It's a police force. I've known it for 10+ years. He DROPS THE FUCKING "WE GOT A RUNNER" LINE. YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS.

He's filming a documentary about his 5k run...a villain we have never seen before...

Yeah, so to all the people who say Netflix documentaries are bad, do I got somethin' to sell ya.

...Okay, I meant the SpongeBob thing as a half-joke but once again I scream into the void and it answers me.

Omar, you're not supposed to cut to the film crew during a The Office reference. 'S not how that fucking works.

I just...I don't feel anything. Anything I felt was destroyed after he outright said his mistakes were all recorded. Buddo, I got a bridge to sell you and it ain't pretty.

Okra tensing up on camera like the icon she is.

...Oh my God, it's boiling down to sports rivalry. Are we being the fuck for real. God, where was this 10 years ago? Can someone write this but with Olive and Otto? Just...just because someone else can do it better than I can.

But no, really. An episode like this but with Olive and Otto would have made my entire day. Hell, it could have been the plot of "Bad Luck Bears" at one point in time!

...Okay, no. I can't buy this. I cannot buy that Florie is a fucking football fan. I can't. What are we even doing? We can't get Quarterback Quinn to do- ah FUCK, wrong sport.

Nope. Don't care how much she explains it. I can't pin her as a football fan. I can't. It's impossible. It's so stupid to me.

Yeah, I'm not feeling sympathy for Osric here, but...what filter was slapped on here? Why do these frames look like this?

...

Okay, I know why. It's because the production was half-baked the same as everything else about the season. Still looks fugly as sin.

Orpita's thrown-in ending in "Welcome to Odd Squad" held more goddamn weight there than Omni's speech does here. This really is just a poor man's "Welcome to Odd Squad" and as much as that episode sucks ass (I mean, it's a fucking clip show episode) I'd sooner just go rewatch that.

Omni's reaction here is goddamn hilarious, though. Like one lung exhale away from getting people to think she's about to get murdered.

And just like that, we got our nugget of gold.

See, case in point. The episode should have ended with Osric dragging Omni away. We don't need this scene of them sitting in the stadium but there's like 20 seconds left and we need filler damn it.

Watch PBS, Sinking Ship, and BBC Studios Kids and Family race to get the funds to make an Odd Squad spinoff titled The Life of Osric. You goddamn know it would happen for how much they're pushing Osric in this spinoff. Mimi is 11. Dalton is younger. The winner is clear.

We didn't really need an iris out, guys. My God, this is just "here's a transition in iMovie, now throw it in" levels of ending an episode.

And your credits for this episode. I really don't like how they give characters names in the credits that are never spoken in the episode proper. Whatever happened to "Man/Woman with Odd Problem"?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's it. This was...a very underwhelming episode, which I very much expected. The Office US held my attention a lot more than whatever this was and, to a lot of people, is a lot more amusing to boot. I'm willing to bet The Office UK is just as good, which confuses me even more. If they really were trying to emulate The Office, they did a piss-poor job of it. Never mind the fact that this is just "Welcome to Odd Squad" but somehow made worse despite that episode being a clip show. I didn't think that episode could get any worse and yet here we are. If you want something better...just go watch The Office. Go watch any mockumentary. You will have a much better time.

With that, we have hit the finale, and what may be the last one of the franchise (yeah yeah I keep saying that but I want to mean it this time). I'll be seeing the first part, "I Love It When a Plan Barely Comes Together", first. And I will apologize in advance for the absolutely insufferable miserable bitch I will become when shredding this finale top to bottom. If it somehow tops the rollercoaster I was on watching "Odd Together Now" I will be beside myself.

Thanks for reading. Seren out.

NOTICE: For the best experience, please play this from 0:27 onwards.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Oddumentary" Episode Followup, Part 1

NOTICE: For the best experience, please listen to this before reading this followup. Stop at 0:27.

Well...this is it. The last episode before the three-part finale. It took us 10 years to reach this point but apparently The Office is not a thing up in Canada (and I mean both versions) so we got it in the slop spinoff instead. I'll warn you now that my knowledge of the US version of The Office is limited and my knowledge of the UK one is nonexistent, so I will get things wrong and may make references to Gru in Despicable Me or something. I literally only know The Office US from memes and like three episodes I watched whereupon I determined that it probably wasn't for me. Listen, I cannot binge shows. My brain does not allow me to binge shows and thus I could not binge The Office US or UK in the span of two days Lord forgive me.

Anyway. Below the break for Mommy, Where's Steve Carell?

Man, it feels like so long since Omar's written an episode. He really got the short end of the stick for this season. Probably due to the sleeping schtick he put in.

Which means...aha...ha...either we're gonna see a cameraman fall or we're gonna see Osric fall. Asleep. On the ground.

*loud groan, followed by 9,259 groans from me played at once*

Literal-mindedness in this franchise is something I usually don't mind. Use it as a piece of social commentary, though, and it immediately becomes unfunny as shit.

...Okay, I just got to the part where Osric says "screens can be addictive" and for fuck's sake this kid could work at PBS Kids itself if doing so wouldn't violate America's (and Virginia's) child labor laws.

The fact that radio contests were mentioned tells me even more about the general age range of the entire staff. I mean they're still a thing...it's just that no one listens to the radio anymore. Unless Spotify is running contests or something but *snrk* you'd get these guys asking what a Spotify is.

I rest my case because what in the actual late 20th century is this radio. This looks more ancient than the GE alarm clock/radio I had as a kid two decades ago!

Hey Google when is the World Cu-

Oh okay cool thank you Google. Because the Ronaldo reference in Season 1 was not enough and you can't just edit out the industry plant repping one of the most popular sports in the UK.

If this episode airs in between those dates by some miracle I'm gonna weep until I sleep.

I'm...I'm sorry, Oddhem Athletic? United? What the fuck is even going on and what does this even remotely have to do with The Office?

...Wait, I'm reading the captions. It's Oddham United. Cursory search tells me it's referencing West Ham United, which is a soccer/football club that has played in the Premier League. Oddham Athletic, meanwhile, seems to be referencing Oldham Athletic, which is a pro soccer/football club based out of Oldham in Manchester.

Seriously, I thought this season was supposed to make sense to dumb lil' Americans like myself. I know nothing about soccer. I don't know who the local teams are. And for God sakes, is this not meant to be a mockumentary? Omar, we got 11 minutes, step it up!

Ohhhhhh okay, so she's not playing on the team, she's just a supporter. Can't have an Odd Squad season without some stereotype-flipping and what I'm being told is that yes, it is okay for girls and women to like sports and to go crazy about them like men do. Just...y'know...don't ruin a TV that's a good few hundred bucks.

I mean...okay, Omar, but I learned that forever and a half ago when I was hunkered in the third bedroom of my house watching golf on Saturday afternoons because there was nothing on. Didn't get as invested as Omni is, but I did buy a custom-fitted putter, so...yeah.

We are two fucking minutes i- Omar, my guy, did you do the fucking research? Did you? What is this? I don't want to hear this girl yap about football, I want to see some Office references!

Osric is not one I would pin as being a football fan, so...why does he have all this stuff? For emergencies? Or is he a secret fan in the privacy of his own home or something?

"Maybe I won't have a case today."

Okay, putting aside that Captain O is using her intercom for the fourth time this spinoff...Osric, don't tempt fate like that. You never tempt fate.

You laugh at Omni not knowing all four cardinal directions but I am a realist and that means I get to look upon this with depression as I realize Omni's generation would not, in fact, know what a cardinal direction is.

There's a magical device we call a "compass", Omni. Learn how to use one. For your own sake.

3. Fucking minutes. To get to the actual mockumentary part. Jesus Christ, if you had trimmed the cold open or at least made that part of the mockumentary it would have been so much better.

Reminder that two seasons ago we had a character in the Audio/Visual department who I firmly believe -- and this is my own crackpot theory -- is the personification of pandemic fatigue.

I'm just pointing this out because we won't get a character like that here.

We will, however, get a rip of "Welcome to Odd Squad" but referencing something that really should have been referenced forever and a half ago.

Also, Orpita being the narrator for her ad made more sense than Captain O picking Osric, a new agent, for her ad. Orpita was still fairly new to being Big-O-in-job-only but she was a solid choice for obvious reasons. Osric is like if you hired a guy and then threw him into a chair after a week to talk about his experience at work and why other people should apply for a job there. You gonna trust the guy that's been here a week or are you gonna trust someone who's been with the place of employment longer and has experience, boss or otherwise?

Yeah yeah yeah, I know they picked Osric because he's an industry plant, but that doesn't justify this.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA NO FUCKING WAY IN SHIT-LADEN H E L L THEY HAVE THE INTERVIEW PORTIONS TOO. HOLY FUCKING SHIT OMAR. YOU DID SOME RESEARCH DIDN'T YA BUD.

Ohh...shit, I thought they were going to ixnay the interview portions entirely even though this is just one big The Office UK reference. I was wrong. I will take my L.

Oprah really should consider the idea of trademarking her catchphrases. There's using them, and then there's claiming they're your own. Three or otherwise.

...Wait, does she know she's in a TV show? Does she know why she only has three catchphrases?

*X-Files music plays*

"I chose you as an example of a new recruit who's been knocking it out of the park!"

And because he's PBS Kids's mouthpiece but shhhhhhhhh we don't talk about that.

I just watch this, think of Olive, and think of how everyone on staff is smearing her legacy.

I won't lie, that is a crazy-looking forcefield. And I mean that in a good way. I like the design.

Being on Villain News was not enough for "I wanna be a staaaaaaaah" Captain O.

"Data is my specialty."

You know what also relies on and uses data as a measuring tool?

*sips Pepsi*

TV ratings.

Okay, I exercised leniency with Threesie Louisie but Threesie Makeesi is going way too far.

If you think that boom mic is the fault of the film crew for the mockumentary, you're wrong.

If you think that boom mic is the fault of the film crew for this very episode, you would absolutely be correct.

Anywhere else, this would be an amusing oopsie. Here, it's just indicative of the quality of the season, up to and including how fast they had to film this.

"Can't people wear black-hooded cloaks these days?"

Well, you could probably say it's a really long poncho, hon.

I'm just wondering how they found the time to pull aside Omni with her going around town screaming about her favorite football team while hoping to meet her favorite football team.

I see Captain O has been watching SpongeBob in her spare time and has deemed her favorite character Mr. Krabs.

Captain O seeking a new catchphrase is almost as useless as Oscar seeking a new catchphrase in "Jinx". And I say "almost" because maybe she wants one that doesn't pin her as Ms. Exposition, but Oscar wins by virtue of him being more goofy and klutzy going about it.

Bro has such an unhealthy obsession with data it'd be teetering on special interest if he were actually autistic.

...

He's not, guys. If you think he's autistic, fine. To me, he's a neurotypical industry plant who's one step away from being a remote employee at PBS Kids.

(On to Part 2!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Stop and Smell the Roses" Episode Followup, Part 2

If they wanted to make this episode really accurate they could show us Monsieur Rapide's nervous system. Just...just scare 'em straight, y'know?

Below the break.

Mark, speaking from experience, some people don't have a choice to slow down. There is a reason I started getting gray hairs in my early 20s.

Seeing these two make up is sweet, but Sarla is supposed to be the more stupid one of the duo, so I can see why she always gets blamed. Not really an excuse, but I felt a need to point it out.

What is Mark's beef with Sarla's powers? She's one of the most OP villains of the entire fucking show and he's somehow regretting that why??? Jesus fuck, Mark, Sarla existing is a sign of good creativity and we need more villains like her!

The concept of the secret handshake in the franchise is dead. The world you live in no longer exists.

A message from Mark.

I don't care if this message is meant to be innocent. It's hinting at society and I don't fucking like it because of circumstances that are out of my control.

...Talk to my doctor two decades ago.

And your credits for this episode. Nothing really of note here, again, but it's nice they got the actors for Rapide and Sarla back.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's it. This was really nothing special; Rapide and Sarla weren't utterly butchered as characters but besides that there was nothing that held my interest. It's an episode that Mark is using as a mouthpiece to scream at society and tell people to slow the hell down. We know that, bud. The problem is that the message may be lost on some. The "total gas" thing was funny, though.

Next time I'll be taking on the final pre-finale episode, "Oddumentary", meant to capitalize on the success of the UK and US versions of The Office far after they became popular but not so far after that another country's version came out. And I may not have watched many episodes of America's The Office but something tells me this episode will paie in comparison to the impact that version left.

Thanks for reading. Seren out.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Stop and Smell the Roses" Episode Followup, Part 1

We've finally hit the last episode in our second batch, and coincidentally, it's also the semifinal episode before the three-part finale. After this it's just The Office UK: Odd Squad UK Edition.

So anyway, I got off watching Star Detective Precure for the week so to qualm my impatience about waiting a week to see what's in a plot-relevant letter I'm going to watch slop. Maybe not as much slop here, but honestly -- they butchered a majority of past villains this season and I don't trust them to not butcher Monsieur Rapide and Single-Serving Sarla.

Can we make them rap again though? Just...just curious.

Below the break for They're Telling You to Touch Grass, Jim.

Okay, either Mark got mad he wasn't able to write more episodes in Season 1 and he's making up for lost time or he really wants to make sure Rapide and Sarla aren't shredded to hell and back by another writer on the team. It's one of the two. No gray area.

Although Tim and Adam not writing episodes means they probably aren't involved in the franchise anymore from a writing aspect, and that's the saddest thing about this.

...Okay. I take that back. He's on board with the industry plant agents. Dead seriously, he wants Orli and Ozzie gone and the only thing stopping him from just killing them off in an episode is PBS Kids S&P.

"Do you know who this is?"

"IT'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!"

"*sigh* It's Monsieur Rapide-"

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!"

This feels like someone played Sonic Riders, noticed Sonic had goggles on, saw they didn't do much, and decided to incorporate it into the show.

And yes, this will be the last Sonic joke I make. Two decades ago I had the Sonic autism and that part of me just never died.

LMAOOOOO NOT CAPTAIN O DEADPANNING WITH THE FACT HE LIVES TWO STREETS AWAY. God, Shelley, please come back for Season 3/Season 6. I'm begging.

"Kind of a weird power, if I'm being honest."

Osric, Sarla is OP. Maybe your industry plant mind can't understand that because to the execs and the show staff, you are OP.

The difference is that Sarla is legit because she can conjure literally anything she wants to with the caveat she can only do it once.

"Also known as the person you always blame when our plans to cause oddness fail."

Well, I'm glad someone sticks with continuity in this damn season. See what happens when you actually watch the show? The hell do you think I can't write good MLP fanfic? Because I need to rewatch the show. In full. The whole Gen 4.

Monsieur Rapide: faster than email?

Oh good, we're sticking with the continuity of Opie being a part of the Mail department. Doesn't justify her switch to the Department of Help, though.

No, no, I get it. My feet feel sad when I walk, too.

But it could be worse. He could be talking to them. And talking to his shoes.

Yeah, remember when Olive and Otto were having a conversation about walking and the former advised the latter to get some exercise by walking and to use walking sticks?

Mm, well, this is similar, but falls flat because Osric is just an industry plant.

Oh man, if Omni had said yes I'd be seething right now. Because I don't know, I subscribe to the theory that agents' badges give them access to the tubes.

"Are we there yet?"

"We haven't even left yet."

Huh. Didn't realize Are We There Yet was getting remade as a TV episode. Kind of weird but okay.

320 kebabs when she could really just conjure up 320 kebabs of her own. Can't say she doesn't buy local.

I'm sorry, but the gag of someone interrupting Osric's incoming-call catchphrase will never not be funny. Bro answers the phone like he's a goddamn telemarketer and people don't want to deal with goddamn telemarketers.

50/50 chance she's trying to drag out a corpse that got killed by severe head injury.

I'm...I'm sorry, is this implying you can open up a smartwatch with a fucking book and it will show you the book on the smartwatch? Motherfuckers reinvented the e-book? My God, years of thinking "well maybe I should buy a Kindle" and then going "naaaaaah" have led up to this and I want to hate it but I can't BRING myself to hate it.

If I really wanted to, I could take this at face value as a metaphor for kids enjoying things really quickly and needing to slow down every once in a while.

Of course, the metaphor is DOA because this spinoff was made for those with attention spans the size of doorstoppers. I shit you not, compare Season 1 with this spinoff in terms of pacing and see which one does it better.

Omni, I hope the title gets dropped right square on your goddamn head. Especially since you don't even bother to explain the phrase for the kids that, you know, have tiny brains.

Son of a bitch me thought the phrase was going to be taken literally but nooooooooo I can't have good things because I deserve fucking nothing for what weights I've lifted with this franchise for 10 years. Can I just get 11 minutes of agents sniffing roses and getting pricked with thorns? Can I? Please?

As much as this episode is sluggish and repetitive like all the rest of 'em in this spinoff, this gag is still funny.

If the boxes are being treated as some kind of water equivalent and thus they can all drown, then I'm not sure Captain O has that much to worry about. Water is not the only deadly substance in the Oddverse.

Was about to shit on Rapide for this but realized that he can just go to the beach to see the sunset in the warmer months and go to the library to read them in the colder months. Balances out.

I'm sorry, did she just say "total gas"? As slang? Mark pulled a "how do you do fellow kids" on us by including Gen Z slang? My guy, sometimes being chronline can be a good thing if you take the time to touch grass too. When you've been on Twitter as long as I have you can get somewhat of a good idea what all the latest memes and slang are and how they change. "Gas" is something I can't even remember as being slang but apparently it is nowadays (as opposed to back in...the 70s? 80s?) and also it is apparently slang to describe good weed which is already egregious for a show where more than one person has said they watched it while high.

I just...guys, I can't. This might be Mark's greatest contribution to this entire spinoff. If you have heard the word "gas" be dropped as slang in real life please tell me because now I'm curious.

Mind you, the actual definition for the phrase "total gas" means that something is excellent. Omni's not using it correctly here because she's using it in a negative context, and that tells me all I need to know about how out-of-touch Mark is with the kids.

(On to Part 2!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Being Onom" Episode Followup, Part 2

For being in the title of the episode, there sure is a surprising lack of Onom actually appearing. Though the title kind of checks out. (Robbed of a reference to Oddmented Reality though. I think even the OG staff forgot that exists.)

Below the break.

I'd ask if this guy is in charge of all five parks but given how they all seem to be in close proximity with each other it checks out.

Perhaps the most sinful part of this is the fact that Captain O should probably be on equal footing with this creature, if not surpass it strength-wise. I guess the Oddmiral's training doesn't involve boosting physical strength, which is dumb considering physical strength is needed for journeys at sea.

I was so close to commenting on why Opie brought pieces of carpet and then I saw Captain O's expression and I fucking can't guys. Long live Shelley. All hail Shelley.

A Creature Care agent would be able to solve- oh son of a bitch they picked Onom because he looks like Ocean's relative didn't they. You can't fuckin' tell me they don't look to be at least somewhat related. Good God. Just get Creature Care back in here! My God, IMDB pins Joel as part of a script and continuity department but not even he can get shit straight!

"I think it wants me to go with it."

And absolutely nothing of value will have been lost...for everyone but network execs and prodco employees, who will have to go to the gyms nearby to blow off some steam after work.

Sadly, though, the value will remain.

I didn't want to end with musical theater and yet because I'm just trapped in hell until the season is over this is what I have to be tortured with.

And your credits for this episode. Nothing spectacular here either, unfortunately.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's it. This was also a pretty weak episode, mainly because it was just a mishmosh of a handful of other episodes strung together to try and make a story. It could have done something interesting with Onom, maybe something like Ozzie in "Odd Jubilee" where we get to see what he does outside of work, but nope, pure missed opportunity and that's a damn pity. The episode that's meant to be about finding Onom instead barely seems to focus on him, which...I mean I can't even say "what?" because that has an answer and it's "no one cared enough to try".

Oy...well, next time I'll be taking on "Stop and Smell the Roses", the last episode in this batch before the rest of the episodes drop. It's about Rapide and Sarla, so here's hoping they'll be as good there as they were in "Odd Way Round".

Thanks for reading. Seren out.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Being Onom" Episode Followup, Part 1

Ah yes, 11 minutes of the character that got a lobotomy for this season and two characters doing something that the Creature Care department should be doing but y'know who gives a shit about departments amirite. Siiiiiiiiiigh.

Below the break for Being Stupid: My Life Story.

AH!!! NEW WRITER ALERT!!! HIT THE DECKS!!

...No, seriously, hit the decks. They brought on a motherfucking script editor whose only other work besides this spinoff is The Primrose Railway Children. I don't think a script editor is the same as a writer. Same umbrella, but not the same position.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting anyone new. It just surprises me when a new name appears that isn't from the old writer base.

I can see how the industry plants are slowly but surely taking over from Orli and Ozzie and even without the knowledge they'll be promoted that's just a giant red flag the size of Jupiter being thrown up. I mean seriously, it feels like they've appeared more than Orli and Ozzie have in this entire season, and that's a tad bit unusual for alleged side characters.

Haha lmao. Yeah okay, this is just "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Dimension?" but if you removed all the instances of agents serving as adoptive parents.

So in other words, that episode but a lot more boring. I mean, "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Dimension?" wasn't great, but it had spice and it taught something new to boot. This episode...'scuse me while I wheeze.

Opie, stop trying to make fetch a musical happen. It already happened.

Again, this should be something that Onom should...well, he should at least collaborate on with Creature Care, in a teamwork sort of thing. But Joel did not see the original show two years ago and he certainly hasn't watched it the whole way through now.

"What do agents do on their day off" is a question that really needs to be answered more. But...I mean...not with Onom, man. Show me what Orli does. I'm more invested in how many naps she takes a day.

Onom is like that obnoxious coworker who is weaponizing their PTO and is shouting it on every floor of the office as loudly as possible.

The key word is "obnoxious". No one likes that coworker.

"And so it begins."

Also known as the perfect descriptor I would have told April 6, 2026 me if I went back in time.

...No, scratch that. I would have told 2014 me that before the original show began.

something bad always happens when onom takes a day off

she lets him have a day off anyway

I mean unless the law stops her from giving him no days off that's honestly really kind of her. Stupid, but she's got the spirit.

Somewhere up in space, Oprah is watching this and laughing into her space fruit punch.

Captain O, you're abusing the Stealth Hi/Bye powers you have. You cannot abuse them. That's the law.

This time, though, is an exception. Omni brought that on herself.

For all the HQs Oprah has destroyed, I'm willing to bet none of the ones she was forced to move her and her agents into involved sharing space with a fucking supermarket. A motherfucking supermarket! Now that's what I call illegal child labor.

(It's either that or they committed acts of burglary and got away with it because the police here don't deal with burglaries. You have to pay for food in the supermarket. 'S how it works.)

That's the creature? Joel, that's a mouse with FedEx colors. God sakes, it could be a damn mascot for FedEx.

...Wait, you mean that's hair? Not a tumor? Oh. Okay. Carry on then.

"I thought it might want to stretch its legs."

Opie, that carrier is well big enough for this thing to stretch its legs inside and you damn well know it.

Ah. I see Joel knocked the "O vs. the Ballcano" spice into the pot. He may not have watched the episode but he got a basic plot summary and just like the rest of the writers that's all he needs to make slop.

So, he...Onom made a VR headset but instead of the player controlling themselves they just see through his eyes and not control him?

I mean that's just downright stupid. Funny, but stupid.

...And "Switch Your Partner Round and Round". Barely, but it's there.

Hyde Park...as in...Boston?

Oh, wait, no, there's one in London too.

No, actually, sacrifice this one. Sacrifice this one the same way Olaf's potato went down in the sea of plastic balls.

I see that, just as with Oswald dressing up in a dog suit, Osric is identifying himself as a furry. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Osric is somewhat of an Oswald expy.

"...and Osric looks just like his mother."

I'm...I'm sorry, who is "his" referring to here? We saying Osric came out of the womb of a furry cosplayer who showed up to the hospital in full costume or we saying he looks like the creature's mother?

I just...I want to make sure because if it's the former then I need to sit and contemplate...many things.

Oh! Okay, it's the creature's mother. Gotcha. Okay. Good. Crisis averted. Carry on.

Could be worse. Could be people it's eating.

And "In Your Dreams" which is an episode I do not want co- really, does this episode have any originality in it and that is a rhetorical question thank you.

Good news everyone! ABC rebooted Pan Am! Yippee yay wahoo!

I had to double-check this creature's name and I'm sorry, they're trying so hard not to get sued by Ferrero that they had to resort to a butchered version of Laffy Taffy. You know, the Wonka candy you'd see advertised all the time during Saturday morning cartoon commercial breaks?

I mean it's a rightful reference to make since Willy Wonka is actually a British character (though the adaptations range in terms of the setting), but they just can't reference it directly so they had to take an alternate option.

Me, I'm just thinking of the time I got sick from my ex and had to stay home and miss my high school science final and throw up into a double-layered bag while watching Johnny Depp's Wonka. That was not a fun time but at least I was only sick for a day.

Here, we rip from "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Dimension?" yet again. Osmerelda and Omar did a dance to try and lure the laser chick to them, and here we have agents doing the same thing but with musical theater. I actually made a pretty good meme with the former that lined up pretty well so it has my vote on the spot.

Yeeeeeeeeah, something tells me Dalton's talent doesn't quite lie in music. He tries, and I respect it, but he's certainly no professional.

(On to Part 2!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Train of Fools" Episode Followup, Part 2

If "fools" is meant to describe Onom, you might want to change that to a singular noun.

Below the break.

Orwell's had it up to here with Onom's stupidity the way I've been up to here the entire damn season.

hehe do u geddit. bcuz the spinoff was made for the 10th anniversary of odd squad. do you geddit. why r u walking away. do you not geddit. are u some kinda loser.

...Okay look, I was wrong, but the point still STANDS I WAS CONFUSED OKAY.

...So I see two gays- *frying pan clang*

NO NO WAIT PUT THE FRYING PAN DOWN. LOOK AT THE GUY IN THE TOP LEFT. 100% GAY. THEY PUT TWO GAY MEN IN THIS FUCKING SEASON. GOD BLESS.

...Yeah no. When Mikuru does it in Star Detective Precure it's funny. When it's done here, not so much.

And there's the nugget of gold, folks. If the sleep Captain O had in the Season 1 finale was the "best sleep I've had in years" then her circadian rhythm must be nonexistent.

Alternatively: old people amirite.

Honestly, if these guys' schtick is making people go left or right then I have to wonder why they would target a train, since we haven't seen it at any forks. It's been running along a straight track with some curves.

...Wait, I'm realizing that one of these guys attaching a box to the train is the equivalent of attaching a bomb to a train. Okay, Jon Lightning Owen, you can have this one.

Okay, I have to ask, why is it always these two with Captain O? The correct alternative would be to have assistants as bodyguards, and a Security agent is the next best thing, but she was just fine being on her own last season, so...

I see Orwell's first priority upon getting out of his icy prison is to throw Onom onto the tracks and run.

He'll check for oncoming trains first, of course. Can't be held liable for murder.

Yeah, case in point about "Train of Thoughts" being much more enjoyable. That one at least had Orla reading Detective Shmumbers and getting inspired and, well, the twist villain. This one just had...next to nothing. It was a nothingburger like the rest of the season. I don't care if you two industry plants didn't get to do anything fun. See you in 2028.

Something something Mirai Days, something something I don't really care just end this already.

And your credits for this episode. The audio is apparently cut out for the first several seconds, which I'm fully blaming on whoever uploaded the episode to the iPlayer. It may or may not be fixed when the episode comes out in the US, but for a second I was waiting for a little "disconnected" message to sound in my headphones.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's it. This episode was just all-around boring. Onom's and Orwell's antics I kind of enjoyed, and we did get a general location as to the show's setting, but that's about it. It's basically Guess Who: The Game: The Episode but with the same boredom you'd expect one to get from playing Guess Who (well, at least it's boring to me). If you want something better, go watch "Train of Thoughts". Doesn't have the best writing but this episode makes that one look like a Season 1 entry by comparison.

Next up will be "Being Onom", which does look interesting but whether it is is another story. At this point I'm just dragging myself along until the finale so I can really rip into it. Soon, guys...soon.

Thanks for reading. Seren out.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Train of Fools" Episode Followup, Part 1

Really, if we're all watching this season...are we all on a train of fools?

*cacophony of noises*

Okay, I partially kid. That was bad. But I don't expect anything mindblowing out of this one because it's "Train of Thoughts" but British. So expect a lot of comparisons.

Below the break, let's see Train of Thoughts: Industry Plant Edition.

Ohhhhh, it's a John Owen Lightning McQueen Wilson episode. Yeah, I'm not putting too much stock into this o- is that a fucking Grammy over there or some kind of replica and also why are these two here?

...No, seriously, why are these two here? Did we fucking forget about the concept of departments?

"...but Opie and I are looking to expand our community outreach."

Yeah, here's the thing, though: Scientists don't have "community outreach" because they rarely go on cases. That's the whole point. Just stick with Orli and Ozzie, man. Have Orli go solo, even. I don't care. Just not these two.

Comedy is subjective, but I have to ask...did they screen these jokes to people before putting them in the script? I mean I get the pun, but it's just not a good pun to me.

0/10 because I want the cool music back from "Train of Thoughts" during these establishing shots. Also because the industry plants are not going to airdrop from the sky into the train.

Okay, but the real question is, why are they the only two people on this train? Even "Train of Thoughts" had more people, even in the dining area!

Oh okay but when I go to the Amtrak station and tell them I should get a free ticket because I founded the Odd Squad fandom they look at me like I'm crazy and make me pay full price. Motherfuckin' industry plants, man.

If I squint hard enough, this could be a Dinosaur Train reference. At the very least, someone in the PBS Kids office did a "hold up" when they went through this episode.

The sin here, of course, is not letting Craig Bartlett write this episode. Especially since the Oddverse has dinosaurs. Missed opportunity, again.

Are we...ever gonna find out who this guy is? Because 10 cookies tells me his identity will remain a secret and that's a damn pity because "Train of Thoughts" had Rainbow Robyn appear at the end for a nice little twist I never saw coming.

Honestly can't believe Omni's just handwaving this shit with "nah, we can escape from it". My God, she needs to study up on the death potential in this franchise!

Gotta give 'em credit for not recycling Canadian villains this time around, which, y'know, is because they have more UK villains now...but I also just want it to be Techie Tallulah with a voice modifier like when there's a hostage situation and the kidnapper disguises their voice over the phone.

...

It won't. I'm saying it won't. It won't. Stop it.

...Oh my God, it's fucking Guess Who. It's 11 minutes of a goddamn Guess Who game. I'd sooner watch 11 minutes of these two playing Uno or Skip-Bo than a game I played once or twice but didn't really enjoy. Jesus Christ, Jon Lightning Owen.

I see Omni got the Stupidity Lobotomy procedure this episode, because this is just the Oddverse equivalent to a stranger telling a kid they're filming beach scenes for a movie and they're an extra or a stranger with the classic white "candy here" van. I know "stranger danger" is a relatively dead phrase and isn't even taught anymore (not to my knowledge, anyway) but let's make an exception for Omni. Just this once.

As much as I want to question Osric's hat...is his entire schtick just saying things that parents would actively say out loud while watching this? Because the writers got tired of people like me bringing up all the faults?

I mean lol. Lmao even. That's funny as shit. But I'm still gonna find flaws because I got the Odd Squad autism and it's a lifelong disorder, motherfuckers.

"We hardly ever get to do fun stuff outside of work."

Recontextualize this line with any main partner pair and it would actually mean something. But here, this is not evoking sympathy within me because again, these two have weak chemistry and were the byproducts of Captain O not knowing how partnerships work. It's like if I got partnered up with a classmate I didn't even know for a class project. I'd hate it to the bone the way I hate this to the bone.

Odd Squad UK: treading right on the edge of LGBTQ+ but not leaping off the cliff because they know there's a sea of angry LGBTQ+ phobic assholes at the bottom and there is no escape.

Yeah yeah yeah, male villains have had black nail polish for a while now, but remember the weight this season has on its shoulders and what it has to do to bend the knee. The Oddverse you know no longer exists.

I'm...I'm sorry, is this meant to be a play on "Captain's log"? As in the very thing that Opal used in OSMU when finding clues as to The Shadow and her identity?

Oh fuck that shit and fuck you Jon Lightning Owen. Ka-chow yourself into the fountain again, my guy. Just because it's an actual Captain this time, that doesn't make it better. Primarily because Opal's logs held weight and this is just hee-hee horseshit.

*slamming table repeatedly* FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK I WAS RIGHT IT'S GUESS WHO: THE EPISODE MOTHER OF FUCK WE'RE MAKING BOARD GAMES INTO EPISODES NOW. STOP IT. ENOUGH. I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH BOARD GAME MOVIES DON'T YOU FUCKING D A R E -

Post-mortem note: Seren died writing this. Funeral's on Saturday. Please bring Precure merch. She never got to buy Precure merch.

Oh look, it's like the van going into the Lake of Goo but it's a portal and man if I want something better I'll just go watch "Train of Thoughts" again. It's not good but it's better than this shit.

Of course, that also includes both episodes having a rather geeky conductor character. I'm...man, please. Can't believe we are nearing the end of the season, and possibly the end of the series as a whole, and we are resorting to this.

Okay, I'll admit, this guy's scream being a train whistle is so funny. But it also spurred an unrelated thought that they could do a Thomas and Friends reference if they wanted to but y'know they won't because *gestures to this whole spinoff*

Had I known this was going to be a thing, I'd have watched more train safety PIFs because there are horror stories out there that would blow these kids' minds. You try seeing CCTV footage of cars and people getting smashed head-on by oncoming trains, or people getting shocked by electrical currents while playing on top of train cars. It's a thing. But these kids think this shit can slow a fucking moving train.

Bringing a whole new meaning to "see track, think train".

Yeeeeeeah, maybe don't let a kid whose IQ points have been docked try to slow down a moving vehicle.

Ahhhh yes, the kind of Orwell that should be on all the time but isn't because of bad writing. Need more of this kind of Orwell.

I'm really hoping this guy got some training before he stepped onto the train because if not then I've got a manager to speak with.

...I...um...that- that is how it works, right?

"Suspicious? He's adorable!"

The Puppy Master is sliding into the chat.

*long sigh* Mother of fuck, it's not Tallulah. It's someone else entirely. It's the woman on the third row, first square.

Believe me, Star Detective Precure makes me think more than this shit.

What...that's not even the Science department logo. It's meant to be a flask because it's the fucking Science department. Holy shit, I can't even be surprised but I can be mad because how do you fuck up this badly even on a baby budget?

And if you tell me "it's a regional choice" I'm going to flip your car twice. It's not a regional choice. Like I said, some Odd Squad aspects are universal. Department logos are one of them.

I see someone has some beef with Elon Musk and Starlink, because...why in the absolute- no, actually, I can't fault them for that when aliens exist. I can buy the organization has a satellite.

However, based on the proximity of this red dot, I can roughly place the location at around the Manchester or Sheffield area. Map for reference:

A bit hard to tell exactly where they are, but I tried lining up the map and the dot's location as best I could. Whether this is where the precinct is or this is just where Onom and Orwell are located now is another story, but I'm willing to bet the precinct itself is in that general area. Make your own conclusions.

(On to Part 2!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "The Other Orly" Episode Followup, Part 2

Well...still better than "Old Squad". By miles. Thank you for the bleach, Mark. For my eyes.

Below the break.

How would this woman, who lives in Britain, know Orly who lives in America? Do not tell me we are taking the "in the world" part literally. No one takes "in the world" literally!

"Just a teeny-tiny welcome party for Orly."

Ooooooooohhh so this is permanent. That's why Mark took charge of this episode.

...Nah, I don't like it. Sure, Orli and Ozzie don't leave a lasting impact as partners but putting the two Orlis together is only for the hee-hee and not anything deeper and that's a goddamn sin.

Making the most LGBTQ+ sister not stupid was perhaps the smartest decision Mark could have ever made.

But also, with how repetitive this season is, you'd think he would have stuck with Taylor.

Okay, getting real tired of the "best agent in the world" schtick, especially since Mark is writing this and he knows the other 13 agents and their feats. This girl hasn't done anything nearly worthy of that title and I don't see that changing if she appears in more eps.

I mean I could go on all damn day about their feats but people reading this will probably get the gist.

"And I was worried about standing in your shadow!"

Bull and SHIT, my friend. No you were not. Orli has more basis for her issue than you do yours. You told her off about rushing through the case and yet she did it anyway. I wouldn't call that "being afraid of standing in her shadow".

N E I T H E R OF YOU ARE THE BEST AGENT IN THE WORLD. N E I T H E R. THAT IS N. E. I. T. H. E. AND AN R.

"Odd Squad agents are like a family."

This has more impact with Orpita telling it to the Mobile Unit than it does with Captain O telling these two. Mainly because Orpita and the Mobile Unit are more close-knit. This family's more dysfunctional than my own goddamn family!

...Huh. Introducing fact families is a brave move, Mark. But talk to me when you get brave enough to throw in algebra.

Okay, Captain O interrupting this long-winded math lesson is downright hilarious. It's a lesson that needs to be long-winded, but apparently Mark remembered the target demo is iPad babies and children and backtracked.

"I could swear they were sisters."

*low groan*

C'mon Mark. You have to do it for Omni too. Fucking commit, my guy.

I'd ask "how did the Sisters, dumb as bricks, build that machine" but something tells me Techie Tallulah is involved and this will be another Terrible Three situation but with a lot more involvement.

I'm...I'm sorry, did she just fucking threaten to call their parents? Holy fucking SHIT I'm wheezing. That's beautiful. Imagine being a cop and the first thing you tell a robber is that you're gonna call their mother. It's just as glorious here as it is there.

And there we have our nugget of gold for this episode. Nice going, Mark. I was afraid you wouldn't put one in here.

Wow, a secret handshake. Already better than the one Orli did with Ozzie because this one is a new partnership and not an established one.

...Yes, I know Olive and Otto's partnership is established too, but they have good chemistry. Orli and Ozzie, not so much.

...We got a whole minute. What are they gonna do to keep Orly he-

...Wait, the fuck do you MEAN she's not staying here? To fight oddness in Bermuda?! What?!?!

I'm not sure how a bronze statue of you will help with whatever is making those ships disappear, Orly, but sure. Why not.

Not since the Season 1 finale have I seen an ending this abrupt. It's almost like we're about to cut to-

OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU- nah I'm kidding. This didn't actually happen. This isn't even Britain's emergency alert system. Gotcha sucker.

...However, allow me to add that to my list of Things I Can Recreate by Video Editing to Scare Myself For Reasons. It's a growing list.

And your credits for this episode. Nothing too spectacular to note here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's it. This was a pretty okay episode. Orly didn't get nearly as much pizzazz as I thought she was going to get; by all accounts she is a perfectly normal agent who just got assigned a very special mission. Should have stayed in the UK precinct, though, with backstory as to why she had to leave Texas beyond "well we're hirin' her now". Didn't necessarily like the "haha look they're sisters" joke either but maybe that's because I learned Ela was Asha's other sister. Not bottom-of-the-bin though, which is honestly a huge relief given what I went through.

Next time I'll be taking on a "Train of Thought" rip, "Train of Fools". If I remember correctly, this will feature the industry plant agents, and really, nothing's gonna top Orla and Oswald or Opal and Omar. But they're welcome to try.

Thanks for reading. Seren out.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "The Other Orly" Episode Followup, Part 1

Wow, they actually went with continuity in this one? And it's good? Surprising! You know what's not surprising, though? How much money I saved by switching to GEI- *explosion*

So after the last episode (*retching*), I'm hoping this one will at least be better. "Better" as in "surpassing unnecessary-potshot slop". I don't think this episode is going to take potshots at Orly...but having this one right after "Old Squad" is downright insulting because kids will not remember Orly from Texas being name-dropped two years ago but those older certainly will.

Below the break for Other Olympia: British Edition.

...Nah. After the last time Mark wrote for this season, you really expect me to yahoo over this? He probably asked to do this one solely because he was the showrunner in OSUK Season 1 and he didn't trust any of the other, more inexperienced writers to fumble The Very Important Piece of Continuity That is Orly From the United State of Texas.

Doesn't mean this'll be good, though. But anything has to be better than "Old Squad". I'd take fucking Cocomelon over "Old Squad". I'd take an hour of ads over- oh no wait I already watch those willingly. Never mind.

I'd have died laughing if she had hit that button and out came a "That was easy." Staples exists in the UK as an Internet retailer. She could totally buy an Easy Button if she wanted to.

Not as innovative as Oprah throwing the confetti at Olympia, though.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT A MINUTE THEY BROUGHT BACK THE OTHER SISTER!! THE LGBTQ+ SISTER!! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIT HON I THOUGHT YA GOT WIPED OUT OF EXISTENCE!!!! YAHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

No, but seriously. Why she didn't show up for "The Triangle Cafe" but did for this episode will forever baffle me. But it does disprove my theory about her not being in the second season because of The Gay. Thank you Mark.

"We've taken a break from our singing careers to cause triangle oddness."

...Really? This is what you bring back Orly for? Not, y'know, a Techie Tallulah threat? Mind you, this is supposed to be a self-proclaimed "best agent", being wasted on three villains both Orli and Ozzie have stopped before. Twice!

Perhaps the most unrealistic part of this is this obviously one-way street somehow allowing parking on both sides. I have lived in the city, people. I know my one-way street. What the hell is this?

Toyota and Volkswagen both confirmed canon in the Oddverse.

Look, one makes sense for a UK spinoff. The other, not so much.

(That's also a Prius on the left, for the curious. V or C, I couldn't tell you which one unless I saw the back. But it's baby.)

I see we're getting a whole Three Oddsketeers situation.

"You might be wondering, 'Who's my partner for this mission?'"

10 years ago, Mark, you didn't have to ask that question because partners were not something freely interchangeable like your boss picking two random coworkers to go fetch some Dunkin'. Now they're freely interchangeable and that ruins the entire fucking point of the concept of partners in this franchise.

Is...is Ozzie just...gone from the show now? That's it? Because damn, man. Imagine if Olive just up and vamooshed from the show mid-season. It'd give Otto some more focus but it may also ruin a perfectly good season AND I SAID MAY GET YOUR KEYS AWAY FROM MY CAR.

I've always thought Directors taking agents from the Odd Squad Academy into their precincts counts as hiring but this is the first time I've heard the act be named in such a way. It's honestly impressive.

Yes, I know Orli wasn't taken from the Academy. Point still stands.

"She's the best agent in the world..."

Once again, Mark, I have 13 living legends who would heavily disagree with your statement.

This is honestly a plot that would have fit back in Season 1. Did we not have a whole entire episode about Orli feeling like this? "Part of the Furniture" was similar -- didn't cover the "stuck in someone's shadow" thing but it did cover Orli feeling inferior the same way she's gonna feel soon enough.

That's more of a nitpick though. This is not a true rip of that episode...at least not yet.

Would've happened to Olive, Otto, and Oscar in the first movie if anybody gave a shit. Pure missed opportunity.

There's also the matter of Oscar specifically because he is revolutional in the field of Science. Dead shocked no one's blinded him with cameras to the point where he had to up the prescription on his glasses.

That's...that's just fucking Orli but with red scrunchies. No, no, never mind the fact that it's Asha's second sister, they couldn't commit to giving her a different hairstyle like they did with Omni? Are we deadass?

C'mon man. We know it's Asha's sister. I know it's Asha's sister and I only found out about Ela's existence a short while ago!

(But also, shit did Ela get the short end of the stick. Her sisters play a main character and an industry plant and she plays a one-shot. I'd be pissed.)

0/10, doesn't have the Southern accent and Carla didn't even make Ela try, Mark git gud.

"Wow, you two even look alike."

Yeah, yeah, that's fuckin' funny when it's me and my mother at the Home Depot or fooling a scammer on the phone. You know where it's not funny? Here. Here it is not funny. We GET IT. ASHA AND ELA ARE SISTERS. WE DO NOT NEED REMINDERS MARK.

...Actually, where this would also be funny is that agent in Orchid's class in the OSMU mid-season finale being compared to Odd Todd, or Orville mentioning Olive in "The Jackies". That would be good because you genuinely may not be able to tell they're siblings (and I certainly didn't).

I don't have any issues with Orly as a character yet, but I have the same exact problems with her "best agent in the world" title as I did in 2024. As well as a new one: she's a one-shot character whereas the actual 13 best agents lifted their weight for a season or more. Just as a reminder, she's only been mentioned twice in this entire spinoff and seen once, right here.

I won't lie, it'd be interesting if Orly were portrayed as an egotistical bitch but I'm guessing Mark didn't want to piss off the hypersensitive Karens of the world whining about how Odd Squad agents made their kids brats.

"...for my new partner, Orli."

Hold on, hold on. This is fucking permanent? Mind you, Orly was meant to be hired because the UK precinct was short on agents. That doesn't seem to be a problem anymore even with Orli getting hired instead.

Shit, even Ohlm being partnered with Otto made more sense than this, and I'm not talking about his villainy.

Shit, this mean Orly knows she's in a TV show?!?!

*X-Files music but make it analog horror plays*

"Some agents think they have to solve things really fast to be as good as the best agent in the world."

Valid complaint, but this episode is really just Study Up on Odd Squad History You Dumb Brainless Brits: The Episode. I'm just going to point to Olive because she was made inferior by Odd Todd solving problems fast whereas she couldn't. She still doesn't, and yet she's one of the actual best agents in the world.

Also, Best Agent could probably be classified as a title, buuuuuut that's given by Directors to a specific agent. Did Texas Mr. or Ms. O give Orly the title and people ran with it or?

"Quite a bit" and it's been two fucking times.

I think Orly may be surpassing you, Orli.

You laugh but I guaran-goddamn-tee this has happened to at least one of these two in real life. Whether they enjoy it or not is a different story entirely.

Me when I make my Miis T-shirts in Tomodachi Life.

But, y'know, crappily drawn.

Mm...this is gonna bite everyone right in the ass when Orli gets promoted. She will absolutely have the last laugh and I am living for it.

Behold: the Triangle Bible, and...uh...whatever Trina is holding.

God is a triangle. Tell a priest.

I'm not sure if I like this episode portraying Taylor as the stupid one when every single sister was stupid in "The Triangle Cafe". Did we play darts in the writers room to pick which one would get their IQ points reduced, Mark? Did we?

MARAJAWANA IS A GATEWAY FOOD IF YOU TAKE THE MARAJAWANA YOU- *wheeeeeeeeeze* FUCK I CAN'T I'M SO SORRY MY MIND IS ROTTED

More tolerable than when the adults did it last time. And it checks out because Orli would be the one to rush through things while Ozzie slows down.

"But this is my town."

I see Orli doesn't know the wisdom of former President Bush in that you don't mess with Texas.

(On to Part 2!)

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: OSUK S2 -- "Old Squad" Episode Followup, Part 2

I am halfway into this and I'm still wondering who the target demographic is. This might be the most senseless episode of the entire season and I am not exaggerating.

Below the break.

I know police don't really exist in the Oddverse, but they do exist in the form of traffic duty officers and that really just makes these two policemen going to apprehend a criminal.

...Shit, I need to read up on Britain's rules regarding warrants and such.

I'm sorry, I can't get over how this woman wears two glasses. How can she even see? Are her black ones for reading or does she actually need them to see because if she needs them to see then I see no way in which this is possible in terms of improving eyesight.

INB4 "it's in the context of pain" but any mention of killing in Odd Squad is something I have to respect, backs or not.

Dumbasses not only don't think of buying smartwatches but they mistakenly call them "watch tablets". If even the adults can't stick to the proper terminology then that's a problem.

can't go and buy smartwatches

resort instead to using motherfucking iPads

There is an entire reason why smartwatches were invented and part of the reason is so people don't have to lug around a big tablet or their phone in an easily-jostled pocket to track step count or see what their heart rate is. It's worn on the wrist for convenience the same way a regular watch is to tell the time quickly. That is the entire fucking point. And yes, even the stupidest adults can understand this because a portion of stupid adults buy any new Apple product as soon as it hits the shelves regardless of if their technology works fine or not.

Also, case in point about toning down the "all adults st00pid" rhetoric. You don't straight-out insult the target demo unless it's written well for the sake of a comedic bit and/or is satirical. This falls into neither. If you're gonna insult me and other adults who watch and overanalyze a kids show then I'm just gonna not support you anymore.

*snrk* AI...oh, shit...AI PISS FILTER *wheeeeeeeeeeeeze*

There's something insulting about the adults turning to criminals for assistance vs. kids who can solve this on their own.

I have 5 minutes left on this. Laurence's only good contribution was the cold open. Should have left it up to someone else beyond that.

Any, uh...any relation to Halfsie Harriet or are we going back to the Bin of Unoriginality?

And of course, because repetitiveness = humor without question to these writers, I'm saddled with it for this episode and it's just as annoying as in every other episode.

I keep comparing Odd Squad to Cocomelon as a good example of what it's not. At this point though it's being dragged down to the same room in hell.

Genuinely gobsmacked the decision was made to sideline industry plant agents for shitting on adults as a demo instead. You'd think it would be the other way around.

The thing about OSMU is that, since it's a bigger group, it's broken off into two teams that have good dynamics, so we get nice comedy, quirky stuff, and the repetitiveness being less annoying, all in spite of tons of bad writing.

This spinoff, however, is like if PBS saw Netflix's approach to making TV for the ones with low attention spans among us and ordered the prodcos to follow that to the letter when making it.

I'm pausing this all the time and not even watching it all the way through and even I can tell you that this schtick was done before. What are we even doing here?

The way the camera's blocking this guy's lower half you'd think he only had one half of his bo- aaaaaaaaaahh he's got only one half of his body doesn't he. Mmmmmm.

...Son of a BITCH. But it'd have been so good though! Just watching this guy float and clean his car and wait why is he only washing the right half? As in...the half the passenger sits in, not the driver, in the UK? My God, he's setting his ass up for an accident and all because Laurence doesn't bank on Americans knowing the driver's seat is on the right side of the car and not the left in Britain!

"Guys, how much longer is this story?"

Yeah, same here, Omni. You know what's up.

We are not equating this shit to Osric and Om- wait a second they're drinking juice? Like...alcohol?

...Shit, the correct answer would be "it's a metaphor for adults drinking alcohol" but the actual answer is "they're man/womanchildren". Could have had something good going there but this spinoff has to destroy all that is good.

"Wow, this could be us in like 80 years' time."

I'm sorry, I want to laugh at Orli banking on these guys being elderly when they're not, but instead I'm just asking exactly how Investigation agents age. This imply they age slower or are they talking about when they hit their 90s? We got Oprah, we got hints of Olive, now you're gonna leave me hangin', Laurence? Damn it!

Nope. This is not the heartwarming moment the writers want us to think this is. When "Recipe for Disaster" did this it meant something because Olive and Otto were a good pair. These two are industry plant agents whose existences will either ultimately mean nothing or will be the result of the worst money management skills performed by someone in the TV industry in modern times.

999,999,999 cookies this won't even fucking stick for the rest of the season. This means nothing, the same way my time means nothing enough to commit to watching this slop.

No. No you do not make a great team. You make a great team because your teaming-up is manufactured.

Case in po- look, if I have to keep being proven right about my points in these followups then that just takes all the fun out of it.

I don't want to hear anyone butt heads with me about the writers not even trying. We got Halfsie Harriet, we got Tommy Twosie, and now we got Quarter Quinn. Just...man. If everyone just stuck with normal and non-conspicuous names it'd make this so much better. Like, North America can have the alliteration. Europe can have the normal names.

I honestly cannot believe we are ending the episode on this. We have a little over a minute and this could be cool if we had more time but we don't. We fucking don't.

...Oh. He's dressed like an actual quarterback. I mean yeah, okay, the UK does have football (and I don't mean soccer), but let's be honest, this is a guy on an NFL team. He's even got a mouth guard in. Be the fuck for real.

I don't know why but there's something both funny and unsettling about bro's man buns. Probably because those same buns are on Orli and they actually look fine because Orli is a girl and this is a trope mainly seen on female characters.

"See you at the game on Sunday!"

BECAUSE AMERICANS HAVE SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL DO YOU GEDDIT. ARE YOU LAFFING YET. WHY AREN'T YOU LAFFING. OKAY I HAVE YOUR LOCATION WE DO KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Ah, there's the nail in the coffin. You're over the age of 18 and you are really into Odd Squad as a hyperfixation? You fucking dumbass! What about your job? What about your taxes? What about scheduling appointments, taking care of family, getting your car repaired, shopping for groceries? You're abandoning all of that to pursue your love of a kids show? Lmao what a loser. Go touch grass. Grow the fuck up. So says show staff.

And to Laurence and the rest of the writers and network and prodco execs this passed through, allow me to extend a diarrhea-laden middle finger to you all. I can love kids shows and still do adult things. I do love kids shows and still do adult things. I bust my ass every goddamn day trying to live in this shitty-ass world and yet I can sit that same busted ass down to go watch the final season of Dogs in Space or go rewatch Steven Universe or chill out with some Elinor Wonders Why. And if that's such an anomaly to you...well, sucks to suck. That goes for whether I go in full suit-and-tie as an agent or if I just rock an Odd Squad shirt and a badge. It's all about having whimsy and not being a miserable fuck.

"Jeremy" as an episode did not spark vitriol in me because I am not a child and I was not the target. I was disappointed, but not outright spitting rage. Here, I am the target, and I am full of motherfucking fury. If I want a better episode I'll just go rewatch "Jeremy" and see Opal try way too hard to impress a kid and Orla not understand how modern vehicles work.

And before you tell me "that's not the intent"...tell me why this episode was made, then. I'll wait. It's not for a hee-hee reason. It's for the same reason "Jeremy" as a concept was birthed. Having Omni and Osric halfheartedly say "that's too bad" when the two adults say they can't solve cases anymore only further proves my point. It's the good guys shitting on the supposedly bad guys. What more do you want me to say?

I was expecting some kind of dumbass comment from Omni and Osric and not a high-five. But anyway, your credits for this episode. I think Sir Rup's actor is the same from Season 1, same as Miss Information, so that's good that he gets another round in the spotlight even if it's not with the Pancake Palace.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's it. I think the followup itself speaks for itself when it comes to what I think about this episode. I could write an entire Seren's Study on this episode if I had the time and motivation, but instead, I'll just say that this is not how you write an episode about the target demo of your show.

I'm going to use Bluey as an example, and forgive me as I just barely started it, but part of the reason it resonates with kids and parents is because both the kids and the parents that are the main characters of the show are written well and not written with the intent of beating down kids and parents watching the show. O'Susan and O'Jeff, on the other hand, are written with the sole purpose of beating down on adult fans, especially since we have no mention of either one of them having kids (in which they would be written with more kindness and care towards parents watching the show, for obvious reasons) and Omni, Osric and Captain O are all keen on insulting them at various points. It's like Tim McKeon's comment of "when the kids dress up in agent suits it's cute but when the adults do it it's creepy" was given an entire episode and that comment was made a long time ago so who knows if he still believes in that sentiment now or what.

If you have a show or a movie made for kids and you find it has an adult fandom, you don't beat down on the adults. I could point to quite a few people in the kids TV industry that are examples of this -- Dana Terrace, Alex Hirsch, and Matt Braly are three that spring to mind despite all of them having Disney shows (it's a small pool and I'm sorry but I'm tired) -- but it's just basic common sense. The point of PBS Kids shows in general is so parents can watch with their kids and enjoy it. If you attack the parents, that's not going to make them keen on watching it with their kids. That's going to make them keen on either closing the app or changing the channel on TV.

Whooooo...okay, rant over. I'm sorry for going on and on, but this just makes me so pissed off. I was never a fan of this episode when I first saw it on CBBC's schedule but seeing it in action just makes me angry and hurt as someone whose teen years, young adult years, and adult years were shaped by Odd Squad as a franchise. I hate that, out of the batch of five episodes released this week, this is what I was hit with first, but...c'est la vie. It's over with, and I never have to watch it again. Thank God.

Next time will be the hopefully much tamer "The Other Orly". Can't wait to see everyone on the writing team collectively get "Odd Ones In" amnesia besides, y'know, Orly from Texas.

Thanks for reading. Seren out.