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zwolanerd

I guess I just like liking things

Two weird things happened in this episode:

  1. Ted acts very un-Tedlike around his brother
  2. Veronica and Linda work together very well without Veronica hassling Linda (well, not much, anyway – she does say Linda isn’t up to being “bad cop,” but that rang more as an assessment of talents than castigation)

That first one started making sense to me after a while, though.  How often is someone the exact same at home that they are in public?  I was a cut-up and class clown at school, but not at home. I mean, sure, there weren’t as many opportunities at home, but you know what I mean. So seeing Ted revert to how he interacted with Billy growing up makes sense, even if it is initially jarring.

Billy seems pretty likable, too. I mean, not Ted levels of likable, but in that direction.  We know their dad was kind of a grump/jerk, so maybe their mom was responsible for them turning out mostly okay?  I say “okay” even with the knowledge that Billy can’t hold down a job/doesn’t know what he wants to do. From what we see in the episode, even when he’s messing things up, he doesn’t seem like a total screw-up. This episode reminded me of J.D.’s older brother on Scrubs, who similarly didn’t really know what to do with himself. I’m the youngest of two myself, and it’s weird to see these two relationships played like this, because it’s definitely not how things usually go. We youngers have a definite bent towards the Billy end of things, usually.

One of the things I like most about the Billy storyline are his brief interactions with Rose. She obviously loves him and really likes seeing him. I don’t get to see my own niece and nephew that much, and I like to think they enjoy seeing me as much as Rose likes seeing Billy, but who can say for sure?  What I’m saying is: there’s a lot of stuff I recognize in this episode!

Linda and Veronica’s Good Cop/Bad Cop was great stuff. You saw it coming, but Brett Fleming never did. I kind of think he got off easy. I really, really enjoyed Linda and Veronica working together like this, especially since it led to Veronica’s Emperor Palpatine impression, which was a twisted take on the whole “girls need mentors” idea of the charity they were earning money for. I tell you, folks: seeing writing like this makes me wonder how I ever entertained thoughts of writing scripts myself.

Plus, Linda headbutting Mr. Page was cathartic, because that dude needed headbutting.  I don’t know if he needed blackmailing, but it all worked out in the end, so I guess that’s okay?  Except now there’s an unaccounted-for body out in the woods somewhere, and that isn’t right. And, really, ends don’t justify means, people, so I don’t think the blackmailing was okay, either.  I’m still voting for the headbutting being fine, though.

Phil and Lem “dealing with it” was great, largely because it led someone on the Internet to create this GIF:

dealwithit

“Yeah, everyone’s dealing with things now, Ted.” – Lem

It’s also fun because apparently Phil and Lem will follow anyone with Ted’s genes. If the series had gone on longer, perhaps we would have seen them being ordered around by Rose.  And I’m just now realizing that Lem’s name could be short for “lemming” and “Phil” could sort of lead you to the word “follow,” but I bet I’m doing that myself and that wasn’t the plan. Or was it…? We may never know.  They do kind of mold themselves to whomever is the Leader in that particular minute.

Really, this was a pretty great episode. Lots of fun bits.

And, as a checklist for those keeping score at home, here are the things Veronica finds “deeply funny” in this episode:

  1. A dead body being pushed into an elevator of young girls
  2. Linda headbutting the President of the Veridian Foundation

That seems about right.

Bits and pieces:

  • “Yes, it was masterful. Like watching a chess game.” – Veronica
  • “I’m getting an award!” – Veronica
  • “I did all that research when I dressed up like Ted for Halloween last year.” – Lem
  • Ted’s great-grandfather was a cattle wrestler
  • “Please don’t hurt us. We’re not like you.” – Phil
  • “We can’t leave work in the  middle of the day. We’re not Somali pirates.” – Lem
  • Billy goes for the fist bump and Lem and Phil think he’s going to punch them
  • “Young Veronica… who was vulnerable, like a fawn in the woods. But tough, like a fawn in the woods with a machine gun.” – Veronica
  • “There’s really no middle ground with you. Either you don’t care at all or you care one hundred-and-crazy percent.” – Linda
  • How did Billy get them into the VIP club at the airport? He’s not a pilot or anything. This was a strange direction.
  • “We bought a cadaver from your brother, Ted. Deal with it!” – Phil
  • “There’s a new rule in the computer room. They just came up with it today. ‘No dead bodies in the computer room’.” – Lonnie
  • “I can’t believe my lower half’s letting my upper half hang out with it.” – Lem
  • “This isn’t about some stupid trees – these girls are living, growing things!” – Veronica
  • Ted had a pet possum
  • The guys named the corpse “Roger”
  • “You’re like a fire-breathing razor-back fawn.” – Veronica

Commercial:

The Veridian Foundation. Helping the world then telling people about it makes us feel so good. The Veridian Dynamics Foundation. Helping the world by telling people we’re helping the world.

Ideas/Inventions mentioned in this episode:

  • No inventions this week!  I think this is a first.  The robot family and the wind tunnel don’t count because they were just lab supplies purchased. But in case you’re wondering, it costs $3 million to figure out that robots don’t care about wind.

Coworkers named/seen:

  • Lonnie, who works in the computer room – I don’t think we knew that about Lonnie before
  • Brett Fleming in Marketing
  • Mr. Page, head of the Veridian Foundation

Next week: S02E12 – It’s My Party and I”ll Lie If I Want To

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