| The Briefcase | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Season 1, Episode 11b | |
Production Information | |
| Air Date | December 9, 2014 |
| Written by | Ron Holsey |
| Directed by | Craig David Wallace |
Episode Guide | |
| Previous | Next |
| "How to Interrogate a Unicorn" | "Best Seats in the House" |
The Briefcase is the B-plot of the 11th episode of Odd Squad.
Synopsis[]
When Ms. O's important briefcase is stolen by the Shapeshifter, Olive and Otto must get it back.
Learning Goal[]
Measurement: comparing relative weights of objects
Plot[]
The episode opens with Olive and Otto on a case; they’re standing in a stairwell with a businessman, who explains that he has been unable to ascend the staircase to get to his office on the second floor. He demonstrates the issue by climbing the steps and somehow winds up coming out back on the first floor. Olive suggests that the man should try to use the elevator instead; he thanks the agents and they leave. The elevator door opens, and a clone of the man greets him; they both call out for Odd Squad.
Olive and Otto return to headquarters, where Ms. O gives them their next assignment; she sends them to a park. Otto immediately turns around to go there, but Ms. O tells him to come back because she is not finished. She tells them that Disguise Dan will meet them and give them a important briefcase to pick up. She then instructs the agents to bring the briefcase directly back to her without asking any questions. Olive asks what is in the briefcase, which is an example of a question. Ms. O is eventually finished and tells them to go. They head out on the scene and meet up with Disguise Dan, the guy who has the briefcase; he disguised himself as a park bench and hands the briefcase off to them before leaving.
Otto asks what is inside the briefcase. Olive reminds Otto that they're not supposed to ask questions. Almost instantly, Otto wonders what’s inside of the case; he tries to guess the contents based on the weight, but his assessment is rather vague and unspecific. Olive shows her partner that there’s a better way to estimate the weight of an object by placing the briefcase on a see-saw; she uses the playground equipment on a balance scale and explains that it can be used to compare the weight of two different things. The scale balances out after the pair adds a few things to the opposite side of the briefcase, and they learn that whatever’s inside of the case is equal to the weight of a traffic cone, a shoe, a pineapple, and a rock. The estimate still doesn’t give them any clue as to what that object is, though.
Suddenly, Ms. O appears from the top of a jungle gym and greets the agents in an overly-flowery tone, congratulating them on their findings; she takes the briefcase and tells the duo to take the rest of the day off, then departs. As she leaves, Olive’s badge phone rings; she answers it, and finds that Ms. O is on the other end of the line. She barks at Olive and demands to know where her briefcase is. Confused, Olive remarks that they just gave it to her. Ms. O says that’s impossible because she’s still in her office at HQ. Olive hangs up the phone and tells Otto that they have trouble. It turns out someone was impersonating Ms. O. She pulls a gadget from her pocket and fires it at the fake "Ms. O" as she walks away from the two. A circle of light blasts at her, and she changes shape into a fully grown woman with blue hair and a glowing, blue body; the woman growls and looks back at the agents.
Olive introduces Otto to the woman, The Shapeshifter: an infamous villain that regularly tries to steal from Odd Squad. Impressed by her abilities, Otto lists off various things that she could turn into, including a rocket, and the Shapeshifter turns into one, then blasts off. The agents take off in pursuit, with Otto regretting what he said and thinks that he should've said "snail" instead. Unfortunately, the agents lose her and Otto frets about how they’re going to get fired from the squad. He thinks out loud about potential new jobs and notices a gum wrapper discarded on the ground in front of them; he reaches to pick it up but is unable to due to the object’s weight and decides not to be a trash collector.
Olive points out that a gum wrapper should be light, not heavy, and remembers that the Shapeshifter can change the size and shape of things and herself, but not how much herself or other things weigh. This means that no matter what she turns into, she will always weigh the same. This also applies to a gum wrapper. She fires the gadget at the wrapper and it reveals itself to indeed be the villain. She growls and although they know a lot about her, she knows something about Olive, i.e. what her greatest fear is. With that, The Shapeshifter turns her head into a giant pie, which sends Olive screaming and cowering to the point of grabbing Otto's arm. The villain dashes off and Otto scoffs in disbelief that pie is his partner's greatest fear; Olive tells him it’s a long story, and the two start the chase again.
The agents follow the Shapeshifter into a warehouse and now Olive and Otto are wondering where the Shapeshifter is. Just then, Otto remembers that the Shapeshifter can't change her weight. Olive says "yes". Otto says that all they need to do is find whatever object doesn't weigh what it should. The agents spread out to find what object she could have transformed into. They pick up various items in an attempt to find her. It takes some time, but eventually Olive discovers a feather that she can’t lift. She fires the gadget, exposing the Shapeshifter once more. She calls Otto, saying that she found her. Otto asks where the briefcase is, and she says that she transformed the briefcase and dumped it somewhere within the warehouse. She also says she wishes she could help, but she has to catch a flight. Otto thinks that she's going to turn into a bird. She says she actually had an airline ticket, but finds out that turning into a bird is a much better idea and she turns into one and bids the pair farewell and flies away. Otto finds a see-saw and the pair sets to work creating another balance scale using the same stuff from earlier to weigh things against until they find something that is the same weight.
After weighing nearly everything in the warehouse, Olive is about ready to give up. Otto points out something that they haven’t yet weighed: a pie. Olive lets out another terrified scream, but Otto encourages her to face her fears. Persuaded, Olive shakily, but carefully picks up the dessert and tells herself that she can do it and walks it over to the see-saw. The scale balances out, and she once again fires the gadget, revealing that the pie was indeed the briefcase.
Olive and Otto return to Ms. O’s office and deliver the item. She assures them that the briefcase was very important and opens it, then proceeds to pull out her lunch, which turns out to have been inside the briefcase. Otto asks her if it was her lunch that was in the briefcase. She says "yes" and states that she forgot it at home that morning. As she unpacks the food, she thanks Olive and Otto for going out of their way to retrieve the item and tells them to take the rest of the day off. Remembering the words of the masquerading Shapeshifter, Olive fires the gadget at Ms. O just to make sure that she is actually who she says she is. Nothing happens and the pair are relieved until Ms. O revokes her offer of the day off.
Trivia[]
- This is the only appearance of Disguise Dan.
- This is the debut of The Shapeshifter.
- This episode reveals that Olive is really afraid of pies. The reason she is afraid of pies is shown in "Training Day".
Gallery[]
