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Description
Writers: Colleen McAllister, Katie Hood, Maha Tabikh

Directors: Angelica "Jelly" Russell & Nick Sumida

August 27, 2022

Synopsis: "Alia gets distracted while doing a job."

It's time to take it nice and easy. The episode has Arlo asking Alia to pick up a special sign for him. However, she gets distracted very easily. The episode has a solid message on how you should find out what works for you so you can do what you need to do. Let's go break this down.

First Half:

Things start out just the way you'd expect. As Alia chases around a shining light from Marcellus's opera glasses, we have everyone else repairing the boardwalk, and Arlo overseeing how everything is going. So, she's shown to be distracted rather easily. It doesn't help that when Arlo asks Tony where Alia is since he has a job for her, he says it's a bad idea since she can't get things done. Well, he can be rather critical of others, so it's no surprise. Contrast this with Arlo, where he's more about seeing the good in others. He even says how she's very dependable, unaware of how she's coming in, and wonders what's up. Now this is where things get interesting. Both Bertie and Tony talk about how she hasn't been the most dependable. She once asked her to help plant flowers, but she just dug some holes and shouted "ice cream" before running off. She says this delicately since she doesn't want to hurt her feelings. A week before, Tony asked her to repaint his shop sign, and she didn't even finish painting the T. He's more critical when saying this, showing how he's all about getting right to the point no matter what. As for why Alia was distracted, it's certainly interesting. She did intend to help Tony, but she got too sidetracked. She ran out of brushes, so she had to ride the bus to get some more. Then it got a flat tire, and she had to go to the auto shop to fix it. She was so distracted by the mirrors that she was there for a few days, and put everything in her car. So she had the intent to do good, but she was hyper fixated on everything around her and not wanting things to go wrong. You can at least feel bad for her since she at least put in the effort to do her job, and wasn't being lazy or anything. This is especially the case when Tony says that she's like a fruit fly on caffeine, and that she's a lost cause. Harsh dude.

Arlo says that he still believes in Alia and wants to give her the biggest job. He tells her to pick up the foundation sign from the sign store that says "Welcome To Seaside". Ansel apparently ordered the sign from The Sign King, and she just has to bring it back. At least they make this sign meaningful since it's a gift from family, and is meant to symbolize what it means for the town. It's no surprise he trusts her since he likes to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Despite some trippy distractions (like the flies, bouncing pizza, pigeons, and other odd things), she says she's up for the job. Of course, even with how she tries to give herself a pep talk, it doesn't really go as planned. She gets briefly distracted by pizza, and has a snack before heading out again. Well, it's a quick scene, and she at least tried to get back out there. Then it gets into really distracting territory when she gets a sauce stain and asks for help from Bertie. She takes her to a vegan festival, again making her distracted, though she didn't mean to distract her. She then remembers her job, but gets distracted by pepperoni and takes a nap in her bag that lasts all night. Yeah that is really stretching it. We see that she's taking even the smallest of issues and turning them into big adventures. It's not intentional since she at least tries to go back and do her job. It also shows how she has great attention to detail to what's around her. She goes out again, and tries to avoid distractions like wind chimes, a bird, and a box. Even with how she tries to avoid distractions, she sees a guy with a pumpkin head painting a mural, and also does one. She then gets off course in thinking about getting business cards, going on all night with this. Yeah, she's really getting off course here, getting rather distracted. At least she distracted in trying to help someone, and doesn't think that getting the sign is a low priority.

Second Half:

It's morning and she's still not back yet. Arlo says he trusts her despite Tony saying he'll get his aunt to help out. You want to know how distracted she's become? She calls up Arlo, and she was apparently so distracted that she's now working the water taxi, doing triple shifts. That is insane. At least she was still trying to help, and shows enough common sense to ask for help. Their conversation is pretty nice. She talks about her feelings and how bad she feels for always getting distracted when she sees something. It shows a nice self awareness to the fact that she tries so hard and wants to help, yet she's always moving without taking the time to just slow down and do what needs to be done. Arlo says that she's great and that having a hard time now doesn't mean she won't be able to get it. She just has to find something that works for her. It's so reassuring to see him being so supportive of her. It fits well because of how he sees the best in others and thinks more about the potential they have rather than just wallowing in sadness over what doesn't work.

Now we get an interesting moment. Alia says that she feels like she can see and hear everything. Some examples include a dopey eyed seagull and a man on a floatie about to eat a pretzel. Arlo is impressed by this, and says how he likes how she can notice things that the rest of them forget to appreciate. It shows that Alia having tunnel vision can lead to problems, but it can also show that she's good at paying attention to the world around her. She just has trouble with focus.He tries to compliment her more, but she gets frustrated from being distracted by the world around her again. You really feel for her. He then says that she just needs to find something that works for her. She carries over getting distracted by the baby turtles as he's talking, which sparks an idea. He then says that she should follow them if that's where her mind really is. The baby turtles take their time to get to the beach, and if they get off course, they just refocus. They're just slower when doing things. He says that she should be the turtle. It's with this where she sings "Focus". She watches the turtles and slows down so that she can concentrate. Despite this being a song about slowing down, it goes more into a loud rock score with great energy. It works since it symbolizes how she sees things differently when it comes to calmness. The rather trippy visuals that come about as she tries avoiding distractions is a sign of this. She walks on the boardwalk and sees visuals of her distractions, but she's able to get to the store and get the sign. She slowed down and honed in on her goal. That's pretty cool. Though she struggles, she gets the sign and has it put on the statue, earning praise from everyone. That helps make this a pretty good episode in my book.

Description
Writers: Colleen McAllister, Katie Hood, Maha Tabikh

Directors: Angelica "Jelly" Russell & Nick Sumida

August 27, 2022

Synopsis: "Alia gets distracted while doing a job."

It's time to take it nice and easy. The episode has Arlo asking Alia to pick up a special sign for him. However, she gets distracted very easily. The episode has a solid message on how you should find out what works for you so you can do what you need to do. Let's go break this down.

First Half:

Things start out just the way you'd expect. As Alia chases around a shining light from Marcellus's opera glasses, we have everyone else repairing the boardwalk, and Arlo overseeing how everything is going. So, she's shown to be distracted rather easily. It doesn't help that when Arlo asks Tony where Alia is since he has a job for her, he says it's a bad idea since she can't get things done. Well, he can be rather critical of others, so it's no surprise. Contrast this with Arlo, where he's more about seeing the good in others. He even says how she's very dependable, unaware of how she's coming in, and wonders what's up. Now this is where things get interesting. Both Bertie and Tony talk about how she hasn't been the most dependable. She once asked her to help plant flowers, but she just dug some holes and shouted "ice cream" before running off. She says this delicately since she doesn't want to hurt her feelings. A week before, Tony asked her to repaint his shop sign, and she didn't even finish painting the T. He's more critical when saying this, showing how he's all about getting right to the point no matter what. As for why Alia was distracted, it's certainly interesting. She did intend to help Tony, but she got too sidetracked. She ran out of brushes, so she had to ride the bus to get some more. Then it got a flat tire, and she had to go to the auto shop to fix it. She was so distracted by the mirrors that she was there for a few days, and put everything in her car. So she had the intent to do good, but she was hyper fixated on everything around her and not wanting things to go wrong. You can at least feel bad for her since she at least put in the effort to do her job, and wasn't being lazy or anything. This is especially the case when Tony says that she's like a fruit fly on caffeine, and that she's a lost cause. Harsh dude.

Arlo says that he still believes in Alia and wants to give her the biggest job. He tells her to pick up the foundation sign from the sign store that says "Welcome To Seaside". Ansel apparently ordered the sign from The Sign King, and she just has to bring it back. At least they make this sign meaningful since it's a gift from family, and is meant to symbolize what it means for the town. It's no surprise he trusts her since he likes to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Despite some trippy distractions (like the flies, bouncing pizza, pigeons, and other odd things), she says she's up for the job. Of course, even with how she tries to give herself a pep talk, it doesn't really go as planned. She gets briefly distracted by pizza, and has a snack before heading out again. Well, it's a quick scene, and she at least tried to get back out there. Then it gets into really distracting territory when she gets a sauce stain and asks for help from Bertie. She takes her to a vegan festival, again making her distracted, though she didn't mean to distract her. She then remembers her job, but gets distracted by pepperoni and takes a nap in her bag that lasts all night. Yeah that is really stretching it. We see that she's taking even the smallest of issues and turning them into big adventures. It's not intentional since she at least tries to go back and do her job. It also shows how she has great attention to detail to what's around her. She goes out again, and tries to avoid distractions like wind chimes, a bird, and a box. Even with how she tries to avoid distractions, she sees a guy with a pumpkin head painting a mural, and also does one. She then gets off course in thinking about getting business cards, going on all night with this. Yeah, she's really getting off course here, getting rather distracted. At least she distracted in trying to help someone, and doesn't think that getting the sign is a low priority.

Second Half:

It's morning and she's still not back yet. Arlo says he trusts her despite Tony saying he'll get his aunt to help out. You want to know how distracted she's become? She calls up Arlo, and she was apparently so distracted that she's now working the water taxi, doing triple shifts. That is insane. At least she was still trying to help, and shows enough common sense to ask for help. Their conversation is pretty nice. She talks about her feelings and how bad she feels for always getting distracted when she sees something. It shows a nice self awareness to the fact that she tries so hard and wants to help, yet she's always moving without taking the time to just slow down and do what needs to be done. Arlo says that she's great and that having a hard time now doesn't mean she won't be able to get it. She just has to find something that works for her. It's so reassuring to see him being so supportive of her. It fits well because of how he sees the best in others and thinks more about the potential they have rather than just wallowing in sadness over what doesn't work.

Now we get an interesting moment. Alia says that she feels like she can see and hear everything. Some examples include a dopey eyed seagull and a man on a floatie about to eat a pretzel. Arlo is impressed by this, and says how he likes how she can notice things that the rest of them forget to appreciate. It shows that Alia having tunnel vision can lead to problems, but it can also show that she's good at paying attention to the world around her. She just has trouble with focus.He tries to compliment her more, but she gets frustrated from being distracted by the world around her again. You really feel for her. He then says that she just needs to find something that works for her. She carries over getting distracted by the baby turtles as he's talking, which sparks an idea. He then says that she should follow them if that's where her mind really is. The baby turtles take their time to get to the beach, and if they get off course, they just refocus. They're just slower when doing things. He says that she should be the turtle. It's with this where she sings "Focus". She watches the turtles and slows down so that she can concentrate. Despite this being a song about slowing down, it goes more into a loud rock score with great energy. It works since it symbolizes how she sees things differently when it comes to calmness. The rather trippy visuals that come about as she tries avoiding distractions is a sign of this. She walks on the boardwalk and sees visuals of her distractions, but she's able to get to the store and get the sign. She slowed down and honed in on her goal. That's pretty cool. Though she struggles, she gets the sign and has it put on the statue, earning praise from everyone. That helps make this a pretty good episode in my book.