zwolanerd

“How did I get here? Because I like a girl…” – Ted

After Ted’s flouting of the rules last week, you wouldn’t think he’d be so quick to break more of Veridian’s rules this week, but the above quote sums up his reasoning pretty well. In other settings, Ted might be fighting dragons or arm wrestling goons to show Linda he likes her, but since we’re in Veridian’s world, moving some money around for a secret project that will make her happy will have to suffice.

I tend to get bored/irritated with “will they or won’t they?” plots in most shows, but 12 shows in to this one and I’m still okay with it. I think it’s because it gets handled differently than most. Rather than a bunch of flirting but no one actually stating what they want, Ted and Linda have both said they’re interested, but Ted has a valid reason for not pursuing it. I would say, though, that Ted should explain to Linda exactly what his fear is. It’s not like Linda is unaware of her desire to run off some times – she flat-out told him. Telling her would be the first step on them being able to work through it and on towards something that, really, would probably be a pretty good relationship for both of them. As it is, they both still know they’re interested, only Linda only knows that Ted has said “no” while still flirting with her. Honestly, she handles that better than a person probably would in real life. That would be frustrating!

Ted’s Jabberwocky cover-up story is the real highlight of this episode. Veridian always serves as the ever-present nemesis to various degrees, and the show gets good mileage out of skewering jobs where cubicle-dwelling is the standard. I rarely watch an episode without connecting it to Dilbert in some way, as they both have similar things to say about that environment. This episode, though, is a more pointed attack on the buzzword mentality that seems to be prevalent in large corporations like Veridian. (Side note: are large corporations really like this, or do we just think they are because we’ve seen it parodied so often?) There are two great aspects of this particular subplot: the presentation that says absolutely nothing but still gets everybody fired up, and everyone’s pretending to know what Jabberwocky is so they don’t appear out of the loop. Veronica, as usual, is the best part of both of these parts. In the presentation, she’s the more enthusiastic dancer (foreshadowing for next week’s magic assistant episode?), and in the other, she really is the main propagator of the Jabberwocky myth. Placed between Ted (the originator) and Chet (the next level up boss), Veronica still seems like she knows what she’s doing, even when she clearly doesn’t because there isn’t really anything to know. But even when Veronica knows there’s nothing to know, she still solves the problem confidently, and in the process, really seems to enjoy herself.

I think we can all agree that the two best things to come out of Linda’s “Greening the rooftop” project are the fire-squirrel and Linda’s getting Ted to drink formerly-urine liquids. It is nice to see Linda excited over something, as she spends many of her episodes beaten down by circumstances that are usually Veridian’s doing. In the end, the project helped her see how much Ted cared for her, which, again, I feel would be terribly frustrating for a real person.

Phil and Lem once again have to deal with disappointing Ted, but, once again, go on to greater success because they were driven by that desire to please him. I mean, sure, an unbreakable plate is cool, but bioluminescence is way cooler, right? I can’t be the only one who thinks that.

Bits and Pieces:

• Phil shooting the gun sideways and then talking “gangsta,” followed by Lem saying “When you talk like that it just makes you whiter.”
• Veridian stopped their logging operations… but only because they ran out of trees.
• “Are you working toward all of your dreams, Ted? Then stop pointing fingers.” – Veronica
• “If only bad things are confidential, then every time the labeled something as ‘confidential’ people would know it was bad.” – Ted
• Of course Veronica notices the missing money two seconds after it has gone missing.
• Jabberwocky Floor Cleaning is what inspires Ted’s name for the Not-Really-A-Project. You’d think people would have noticed the connection, as “Jabberwocky” doesn’t show up much in normal day-to-day.
• “You obviously know more about it than I do.” – Ted “And I always will.” – Veronica
• “My mom’s going to be so upset. She hates when we disappoint Ted.” – Lem
• “This lie is spreading like mayonnaise at a Baptist picnic.” – Ted
• “I can’t hear you, I’m going through a tunnel.” – Veronica, to Rick who is two feet from her
• “I wish I had the power to make everyone go away. Oh, wait. I do.” – Veronica
• “You need to work on your flirting.” Ted, to Linda, as she keeps making him drink liquids made from urine
• “When my mom hears you didn’t put us on Jabberwocky, she’s gonna change the locks.” – Lem
• “Ted hates things that light on fire.” -Lem’s conclusion about why they can’t get Ted a candle, based on the plate-lighting incident.
• “Fireflies: the flaming plates of the insect world.” – Lem
• “Oh, really, Ted? Is that your strategy: let’s make this Veronica’s fault?” – Veronica
• “Products are for people who don’t have presentations.” – Veronica
• Jabberwocky was scheduled for 2012. I wonder if the Japanese branch ever figured it out?

Commercial:

Veridian Dynamics. The environment: everyone likes it, and so we do, too. That’s why we’re committed to saving it. Veridian Dynamics is turning every one of our buildings 100% green. It’s ridiculously expensive, and spending money makes us sad. But we’re doing it because we love nature, even when it’s being mean or just acting stupid. Veridian Dynamics. Greening our world.

Ideas/Inventions mentioned in this episode:

• Unbreakable plate
• Teeth whitener (that would also kill all the world’s fish)
• Plove, a plate that is also a stove
• Bioluminescence (granted, they didn’t really invent this, they mixed firefly abilities with other things)
• Fire-squirrel (sure, it’s an example of the bioluminescence, but I feel it should get its own entry, especially since it was driven mad by its inability to get any sleep)

Coworkers named/seen:

• Chet!
• Alan, who ruined firing a gun in the office for everybody
• Kathy, the lady behind the desk where the flaming plate is set, and is also apparently the person Alan shot at
• Brett, who talks to Rick

Next week: S01E13 – Secret and Lives

Tags: Better Off Ted, LWST