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zwolanerd

I guess I just like liking things

Chet is one of my favorite auxiliary characters on this show. He’s a doofus, but a dangerous one – a boss who is a doofus is still a boss, and a boss can make your eight hours a day pretty miserable if he chooses. Chet is a weird mix of clueless and knowledgeable: matters of personal interaction seem slightly outside his ken, but he seems to know everything about everything at Veridian. Compare him to Dilbert’s Pointy-Haired Boss: they’re both positioned to be the immediate bosses of the groups in question, but PHB is totally clueless about everything, while Chet at least seems to know what he’s doing work-wise. Maybe I’m reading too much into Chet because I enjoy the character.

Regardless, since Chet’s the boss, it makes sense that both Veronica and Ted would want to have an in with him. If I understand the company flowchart, though, the line goes from Chet to Veronica to Ted, so it makes sense for Veronica to be a little worried about Ted have the natural connection with Chet through their daughters. She might like Ted, but she likes he position more, I’m pretty sure. It all leads to more interaction between Veronica and children, which is always good for some chuckles. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating – Veronica can not be trusted to have a child’s best interests at heart.

Meanwhile, Phil and Lem have again read social interactions completely wrongly. Everyone knows that it’s a bad idea to loan money to a friend you want to keep, but these guys are absolutely sure the only way to prove friendship (in this particular situation) is to loan money. [Side note: Linda’s initial refusal of the money leads to Phil and Lem ashamedly bowing and backing away, a bit I absolutely love.] But, of course, it all goes wrong… but not for the normal reasons. This show has a great history of taking standard/normal storylines and tweaking them to great result. Letting us see Linda’s behavior from Phil and Lem’s point of view leads us to the same general conclusion that there’s something not quite right, so we’re ready for there to be more to see, but having it be an intervention that the guys bust in on?  No one saw that coming. Yazoo, indeed.

The lie detector box ties the episode together quite nicely, I feel. Yes, there are the standard “we find out things are different than we suspect”  bits, but those get turned on their heads, too. Phil’s pleas to the box to buzz to save him from embarrassment, to the reveal that Linda still likes these jerks who have messed very badly, to Veronica and Ted reconfirming they’re a good team – all of those are nice little touches, and all from a little black box that buzzes.

Bits and pieces:

  • What’s wrong with Ted’s tie? Linda doesn’t like it. I don’t know much about fashion.
  • “Okay, every day I am incapacitated by fear. I don’t know where the magic comes from and am terrified that one day I’ll wake up and it will all be gone and I”ll end up alone living in my brother’s basement with his trains.” – Phil
  • “Every spring, on a remote island, Sean Connery and I hunt the most dangerous game: man.” – Veronica
  • “I’m able to will myself to believe whatever I say.” – Veronica, in a very character-revealing statement
  • “I’ve gotta get back upstairs and put some more evil into the world.” – Chet
  • “Schmugs Schmunny.” – Ted
  • “Whatever the kid equivalent is… probably something with poop.” – Veronica, on the Kid Mafia
  • “I’m sure he lives in constant fear.” – Chet, laughing
  • “You’re special at screaming really loud.” – Rose, on Chet’s daughter Olivia
  • Ted in jeans, a T-shirt, and a hoodie, with his normal stubble looks a little… hoboish.
  • “If one of us bowls a higher score than the percentage of cheese, then we get blasted.” – Lem
  • That burp Rose does is pretty terrible
  • “I’m going to go grab my lunchbox. When I come back, you try not to be weird.” – Rose
  • “Might I suggest ‘The Veronica-meister’?” – Veronica
  • “Thanks, Linda. You really are a girl.” – Ted
  • I want to know what Ted did to make Phil and Lem start bringing him coffee and a bagel every morning and then stop.
  • Veronica with her hair down at the party looks odder than usual, and I can’t figure out why. I know the normal tight ‘do is so very Veronica that anything else looks strange, but this one looks more off than normal to me.
  • “I put a hat on her face. Hats don’t belong there!” – Chet
  • Linda’s brother’s name is Justin
  • So did Linda’s family all move from Wisconsin? I’ve gotten the impression from previous episodes that Linda is no longer in Wisconsin, but her family still was. Would they all fly to wherever Linda is for this intervention? I need more information on this.
  • “Peanuts, people crying, a priest? That’s a party, baby.” – Phil
  • “Take it off, Father Sexy!” – Lem
  • “I’ve always wanted to tell a giraffe how stupid it looks.” – Veronica
  • “There may be other applications beyond insulting animals.” – Ted
  • “Maybe [Rose] has been murdered.” – Olivia
  • “All this talk of murdering Rose has got me spooked.” – Chet, with a line that made me laugh out loud for more than 10 seconds
  • “We recalibrated the lie detector so not even Veronica will be able to fool it.” – Lem
    “Or any sociopath.” – Phil
  • “It’s weird watching beautiful people fight. It’s like watching the Hope Diamond yell at a sunset.” – Lem
  • Phil, Lem, and Linda dancing is a joyful, strange thing

Commercial:

Veridian Dynamics. Lying. It’s always wrong. But sometimes companies have to say things that aren’t 100% true. Is that wrong? No. When companies aren’t truthful, it’s not because we’re bad. It’s because we understand things that you don’t. Veridian Dynamics. People lie. Companies protect their interests. It’s different.

Ideas/Inventions mentioned in this episode:

  • Lie Detector
  • The Galaxy Omega project, which will change the way we communicate with animals
  • A pill that makes people shop

Coworkers named/seen:

  • Joe, who has muttonchops and is the president of the Virginity Club at his church
  • Chet!
  • Other Joe, who got sent to Nigeria

Next week: S02E13 – Swag the Dog

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