| Swamps 'N' Gators | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Season 1, Episode 37b | |
Production Information | |
| Air Date | January 18, 2016 |
| Written by | Mark De Angelis, Tim McKeon |
| Directed by | J.J. Johnson |
Episode Guide | |
| Previous | Next |
| "Oscar of All Trades" | "There Might Be Dragons" |
Swamps 'N' Gators is the B-plot of the 37th episode of Odd Squad.
Synopsis[]
Olive and Otto get trapped inside a board game called Swamps 'N' Gators.
Learning Goal[]
- Recognizing the number of items in a set without individually counting (subitizing)
- Numbers and Operations: adding and subtracting
Plot[]
The episode begins with Olive and Otto at their desks. Ms. O calls from above to meet her in their office, instead of hers. Ms. O then appears beside them and says something very odd has happened. She introduces the pair to Mrs. Kansas, who is ferociously blowing her nose. She explains her son, Bradley made a board game called "Swamps N' Gators," and he won't stop playing it for some reason. Olive and Otto decide to come over to her house to check it out, but Mrs. Kansas is really busy, so they'll help out in about three weeks.
Three weeks later, the agents are invited in and greeted with Mrs. Kansas' son, Bradley whom is shaggy-haired and standing over some kind of contraption. Bradley tells them he built the machine to zap himself inside Swamps N' Gators. He shows it off to Olive and Otto...by transporting them inside the game.
Once their inside, Olive yells at Bradley for how to get out. The way to escape is by going around the entire board, then ending back at the start. Bradley gives them each two dice blocks to advance through the game. Bradley also tells them they have to finish Swamps N' Gators before the sand timer runs out and their trapped inside forever. Olive, clearly frustrated decides its their only choice, being encouraged by Otto, who is more open to playing the game.
Their pieces represented by their altered suits: blue for Olive, red for Otto. Olive and Otto take their first turn, with Otto unfortunately landing on a mosquito space. Olive lands on a bonus square, where she has to dance with an alligator whom has magically appeared. Otto rolls again which makes him land on the bonus square. He gets a plus one card which Brad explains he can use whenever he wants. Otto decides to hold it, because the space in front is another mosquito swarm.
After some time playing, Olive and Otto near the end, only five spaces to go. Otto rolls snake eyes and moves two ahead, to a vine space that traps him. Olive manages to roll five, and she's teleported out of Swamps N' Gators back in the Kansas' living room. Otto still needs to escape however, and time's running out. Otto rolls four and he misses the end space, which is where he originally started. Going backwards isn't allowed, so going around the board again is Otto's only option.
After the repeat roundtrip, Otto is almost back to the start. But Otto very unluckily rolls a three instead of four, and he can't roll a one because he has two dice. It seems like it's over, but Otto remembers he still has a plus one card, so he uses that to escape with seconds to spare. Everything seems fine, but the alligator, Gary, somehow made it out too. Olive and Otto are OK with this and end the episode by once again dancing with him.
Trivia[]
- The title is a pun on the board game "Snakes and Ladders"/"Chutes and Ladders".
- Mrs. Kansas's sons are named "Milton" and "Bradley", which is in reference to the Milton Bradley board game company. Perhaps coincidentally, the game the episode's title is based off of (Chutes and Ladders) is made by that company.
- When she and Otto get sucked into the game, Olive remarks, "I have a feeling we're not in the Kansas' living room anymore." This is a twist on the famous line uttered by Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
- The board game can be seen in the episode "Agent Oksana's Kitchen Nightmares".
Gallery[]
