My Better Half is the A-plot of the 3rd episode of Odd Squad.
| My Better Half | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Season 1, Episode 3a | |
Production Information | |
| Air Date | November 27, 2014 (US) June 26, 2015 (UK) |
| Written by | Alex Fox Rachel Lewis |
| Directed by | J.J. Johnson |
Episode Guide | |
| Previous | Next |
| "Double Trouble" | "The Confalones" |
Synopsis[]
When symmetrical objects become vandalized and half of Otto's body disappears, Olive must figure out why.
Olive's Random Slide[]
This...is a waning gibbous moon.
Learning Goal[]
- Geometry and Spatial Sense: identifying symmetry
Plot (contains episode spoilers)[]
The episode opens on Olive and Otto in Ronnie and Donnie's living room. The duo listens to Ronnie explain what odd thing happened to his brother Donnie this time, and he says that Donnie was so into the TV show they were watching that he literally got into the TV. Ronnie indicates the television set, and they see that Donnie is knocking on the glass from within the box. Otto uses the TV-Get-Outinator gadget to free Donnie and the agents depart, having resolved the issue. After they leave, Ronnie asks what happened to the remote and Donnie sheepishly points to the inside of the TV, where the remote is floating.
Olive and Otto barely arrive back in headquarters before Ms. O sends them out to the local park to talk with Mayor Macklemore. Once they arrive, Otto meets the mayor, who remarks that he likes Otto better than Olive’s last partner. Olive brushes the comment off and asks what the odd problem is. Mayor Macklemore shows that several objects in the park have been split in half and are missing one of their sides. The items struck include snowmen, benches, and even his special star sweater. Olive assures the mayor that they’ll get to the bottom of what’s causing it, and the mayor thanks her and leaves. Otto wonders why everything is being split in half, and Olive points out that not everything is. She highlights that the trees are still whole, and because of that, she thinks she might know what’s happening. The two head to the Math Room to make sure.
In the Math Room, Olive observes that all of the objects cut in half were originally symmetrical, meaning that both sides were the same. She also notices that the trees in the park were not the same on both sides, which is why they were spared from being cut in half. The pair brings their findings to Ms. O, who deduces that a villain named "Symmetric Al" must be behind the crimes; Al loves symmetry, and wishes to take half of anything symmetrical so he can be the only symmetrical thing left in the universe. Olive cautions that Al might want to go after half of Otto’s name, because the letters in it are symmetrical. Right after Ms. O finishes elaborating on what Olive said, she glumly holds up a mirror and shows Otto that he has actually been “cut” in half and that half of his body has disappeared.
In Oscar’s lab, Otto asks the scientist if he can fix the problem. Oscar admits that he can’t, and that only Symmetric Al is capable of doing it. Ms. O sets Olive up for the mission of finding the villain, and shakes a rattle at the agent, which is her way of telling her to go speak with Baby Genius. Terrified, Olive initially refuses, but caves in after hearing Otto’s crying.
Olive arrives in a dark warehouse by herself and carries a gift bag with her. Baby Genius and his Russian nanny Rivka appear suddenly, and Olive informs them that she needs help finding Symmetric Al. She pulls a stuffed unicorn out of the gift bag as an offering for the baby’s help, but the child refuses it. She tries again with the comb, but gets nowhere. Finally, she states that she only has pocket lint left, and the baby accepts it. Rivka hands Olive a piece of paper with an address on it, and states that if she goes there she’ll find Al. Olive looks at the paper and is puzzled to find that the marking on it isn’t an actual number. She inquires about the address, but when she looks up again Rivka and the baby are gone. After some thought, Olive realizes that the number was probably symmetrical. She pulls out a mirror and lines the address up with the surface. The mirror image makes the numbers read “138”, and heads to Main Street to confront Al.
Olive enters a restaurant and demands to know which one of the guys in front of her is named "Al". All three of the men raise their hands. She then asks which one of them loves symmetry, and once again they all raise their hands. She sighs, and brings all three suspects back to headquarters to figure it out. With the help of Ms. O, they are able to pick out the real Symmetric Al from the lineup. The villain restores Otto to his full-bodied self, and Oscar takes the man away to fix the rest of the town. The episode ends with Otto enjoying a bowl of soup while Ms. O and Olive watch in confusion and slight disgust, remarking on the strange manner in which the agent consumes the food.
Trivia[]
- In the background during the scene where Ms. O tells Olive and Otto about Symmetric Al, several agents and scientists can be seen performing a conga line in the hallway.
- At the beginning of the episode, Olive and Otto went to Ronnie's house just like they did in Soundcheck. This is the first and only time where the agents solve a case at the beginning of the episode at least twice in the same place in at least two different episodes.
- This is the second time Olive and Otto solve a case in the beginning of the episode involving Ronnie and Donnie as well as the same place the case is solved.
- These are the first appearances of Rivka and Baby Genius.
- This episode reveals that Baby Genius hates unicorns, but he likes pocket lint.
Gallery[]
