OJ (Inanimate Insanity)
Apr 26, 2024 17:20:11 GMT
tangerines, treasuredguardian, and 3 more like this
Post by Exit on Apr 26, 2024 17:20:11 GMT
OJ is by far my favorite Inanimate Insanity character. I like him so much that I won't even burden you with a paragraph about it before I jump into talking about him.
Season 1
At the very beginning of this season, it's evident that OJ is not a character who has had a lot of forethought put into him. He doesn't speak until S1E2 (A Lemony Lesson), and little to none of his personality is displayed until S1E4 (One-Shot Wonder); said personality is considerably different from the one he would develop later on. In this episode, he seems distractable and a little dim, paying little mind to Balloon's conspicuous plan, and electing not to participate in the challenge in favor of hanging out with Bomb/ordering Chinese food.
One could argue that he begins resembling his present pragmatic, focused self in the episode immediately following (S1E5, The Stacker), where he exhibits considerable skill during the stacking challenge, but S1E7 (Sugar Rush) is the more obvious "introductory" point of this incarnation. OJ openly opposes MePhone's "antics," pairs with Bomb, who he has a decently established friendship with at this point, focuses on the challenge, and minds the need for an alliance in light of Ballon's elimination. Overall, he's exceedingly normal--which is exactly what would stick about him.
The following episodes continue to see OJ take a grounded approach to pretty much everything. Even past challenges, the competitors he chooses to align himself with or against are all judged realistically. Balloon is an asshole, so he starts disliking Balloon. Bomb screws him over in S1E10 (Double Digit Desert), so he starts disliking Bomb. Paper screws him over in S1E15 (The Tile Divide), but apologizes sincerely, which is enough for him to consider him a friend and ally.
His role as a presence of reason is well-cemented by the end of the season, and in my opinion, justifies his victory well. I appreciated the final challenge pitting possibly the weirdest, most frequently logic-defying contestant (Taco) against the most normal one (OJ). OJ's use of his prize is a sweet reflection of the personality he's developed; despite the competitive nature of the show, he understands most of its other contestants as his friends. His victory also sets the stage for Taco's role in S2, something that I consider one of the latter season's highlights.
Season 2
OJ isn't a massive presence in Season 2--which is completely fair after winning the season directly prior. Still, there are two episodes that place some considerable focus on him, both of which ultimately contribute to an interesting new concept that this season adds to his character.
The first is S2E7 (Everything's A-OJ). There's a more dickish side of OJ on display in this one. Upon being put in charge of hosting, OJ immediately disregards Suitcase, then deceives both teams into cleaning his hotel, deciding on a coin toss as the actual "challenge." I'm going to defend him by pointing to the catalyst of these events: MePhone. The potential liablity of having several contestants kept in his closet without his knowledge, combined with the effort he has to go to to take MePhone to court and assume responsibility for his show for him, are understandably pretty severe irritants. He eventually agrees to take some responsibility--at least housing—for the eliminated contestants of S2 anyway. Keep this in mind going forward.
The second, S2E9 (Rain On Your Charade), is different. OJ has an interesting little talk with Balloon about the latter's desire to apologize to, and be accepted by, contestants of S1. Despite OJ's individual understanding of why Balloon behaved the way that he did, he still turns him away in the end, explaining that nobody else understands what OJ does, and that Balloon should focus on making friends in S2. This is the first intriguing thing that he says in this moment. OJ doesn't take it upon him to welcome Balloon just because he personally understands him; instead, he prioritizes the attitudes of the rest of the residents of his hotel. It's a utilitarian decision: He prioritizes the cleanest, most desirable outcome for the majority in the situation.
The second and more intriguing thing that he says has to do with roles. In expressing his understanding of the role Balloon was playing in S1, OJ describes his own present role in life as "the caretaker." This is observable; as of Everything's A-OJ, he operates his hotel not just for the good of others who he sees as friends, but for the eliminated contestants of S2, some strangers to him. This even benefits MePhone, who is absolved of the responsibility of housing his eliminated contestants, and the ensuing liability of doing it improperly.
S2 newly casts OJ as someone who, whether he has a personal investment in it or not, is responsible for a very important part of this competition. Even after having his hotel destroyed by MePhone in S2E1, then used without his permission for something of dubious legality from that point until S2E7, he agrees to work with MePhone and shoulder a part of the former's show.
Season 3
Despite being a contestant, OJ is around even less in S3. Again, I think this is fair, given that he's already won the only finished season of the show. Being eliminated early on, his character is left unscathed by the writing issues that haunt the second half of S3; what raises an eyebrow about him instead is the light that he's cast in.
S3E4 (The Overthinkers) is the most direct example of this light that I can imagine. OJ's team, The Thinkers, has a very unfortunate addition in Yin-Yang. II3 had an extremely unfortunate addition in viewer voting for character immunity. Despite Yin-Yang shitting up the challenge for the entire episode, and earning the would-be fatal ire of his team, he cannot be eliminated. OJ ends up elimianted because of a plan concoted by Candle and Silver Spoon, with Silver explaining that because Yin-Yang couldn't be eliminated, but would get voted for anyway, Silver and Candle alone voting for OJ would be enough to have him eliminated.
This is the part where OJ's "detached leadership style" is cited. Unfortunately, spending an entire episode showing how indecisive and sometimes dysfunctional his team is is a poor way of framing direct executive action as flawed. It would have been a lot better to present a scenario where his leadership style is genuinely unnecessary, but in this case, it wasn't so. The resulting episode makes it feel like OJ is being punished just for his pragmatism.
It seems like he was always destined for an early elimination, something that I firmly agree should have happened, but it's hard to imagine that there wasn't a better way of showcasing his flaws.
Additionally...
For the sake of some brevity (any at all), I won't go on about his Exit Interview or anything like that. A few more thoughts about him:
It fascinates me that fanworks so often reflect what OJ himself expresses he believes he is bound to as of S2. The only element they lack is some degree of awareness. What I'm getting at are things like ships; it seems like most content shipping OJ with another character makes the dynamic such that he simply looks out for and hears out that other person, assisting them with some specific facet of their life; he is rarely presented as needing or wanting anything in turn (at most, there's some throwaway comment about how busy his job makes him). It seems that even real people are intent on making him shoulder things in the same way that the characters in-universe do.
Taylor Grodin was exceptionally fit for OJ as a role. I wouldn't hold it against AnimationEpic whatsoever if they kept OJ silent (as he was in his recent Season 3 appearances) in his absence. It doubles as a decent reference to early plans for him. :-P
My novel is complete. Drop off whatever thoughts about OJ you want. They don't have to be as positive as mine are--or positive at all! :-L
Season 1
At the very beginning of this season, it's evident that OJ is not a character who has had a lot of forethought put into him. He doesn't speak until S1E2 (A Lemony Lesson), and little to none of his personality is displayed until S1E4 (One-Shot Wonder); said personality is considerably different from the one he would develop later on. In this episode, he seems distractable and a little dim, paying little mind to Balloon's conspicuous plan, and electing not to participate in the challenge in favor of hanging out with Bomb/ordering Chinese food.
One could argue that he begins resembling his present pragmatic, focused self in the episode immediately following (S1E5, The Stacker), where he exhibits considerable skill during the stacking challenge, but S1E7 (Sugar Rush) is the more obvious "introductory" point of this incarnation. OJ openly opposes MePhone's "antics," pairs with Bomb, who he has a decently established friendship with at this point, focuses on the challenge, and minds the need for an alliance in light of Ballon's elimination. Overall, he's exceedingly normal--which is exactly what would stick about him.
The following episodes continue to see OJ take a grounded approach to pretty much everything. Even past challenges, the competitors he chooses to align himself with or against are all judged realistically. Balloon is an asshole, so he starts disliking Balloon. Bomb screws him over in S1E10 (Double Digit Desert), so he starts disliking Bomb. Paper screws him over in S1E15 (The Tile Divide), but apologizes sincerely, which is enough for him to consider him a friend and ally.
His role as a presence of reason is well-cemented by the end of the season, and in my opinion, justifies his victory well. I appreciated the final challenge pitting possibly the weirdest, most frequently logic-defying contestant (Taco) against the most normal one (OJ). OJ's use of his prize is a sweet reflection of the personality he's developed; despite the competitive nature of the show, he understands most of its other contestants as his friends. His victory also sets the stage for Taco's role in S2, something that I consider one of the latter season's highlights.
Season 2
OJ isn't a massive presence in Season 2--which is completely fair after winning the season directly prior. Still, there are two episodes that place some considerable focus on him, both of which ultimately contribute to an interesting new concept that this season adds to his character.
The first is S2E7 (Everything's A-OJ). There's a more dickish side of OJ on display in this one. Upon being put in charge of hosting, OJ immediately disregards Suitcase, then deceives both teams into cleaning his hotel, deciding on a coin toss as the actual "challenge." I'm going to defend him by pointing to the catalyst of these events: MePhone. The potential liablity of having several contestants kept in his closet without his knowledge, combined with the effort he has to go to to take MePhone to court and assume responsibility for his show for him, are understandably pretty severe irritants. He eventually agrees to take some responsibility--at least housing—for the eliminated contestants of S2 anyway. Keep this in mind going forward.
The second, S2E9 (Rain On Your Charade), is different. OJ has an interesting little talk with Balloon about the latter's desire to apologize to, and be accepted by, contestants of S1. Despite OJ's individual understanding of why Balloon behaved the way that he did, he still turns him away in the end, explaining that nobody else understands what OJ does, and that Balloon should focus on making friends in S2. This is the first intriguing thing that he says in this moment. OJ doesn't take it upon him to welcome Balloon just because he personally understands him; instead, he prioritizes the attitudes of the rest of the residents of his hotel. It's a utilitarian decision: He prioritizes the cleanest, most desirable outcome for the majority in the situation.
The second and more intriguing thing that he says has to do with roles. In expressing his understanding of the role Balloon was playing in S1, OJ describes his own present role in life as "the caretaker." This is observable; as of Everything's A-OJ, he operates his hotel not just for the good of others who he sees as friends, but for the eliminated contestants of S2, some strangers to him. This even benefits MePhone, who is absolved of the responsibility of housing his eliminated contestants, and the ensuing liability of doing it improperly.
S2 newly casts OJ as someone who, whether he has a personal investment in it or not, is responsible for a very important part of this competition. Even after having his hotel destroyed by MePhone in S2E1, then used without his permission for something of dubious legality from that point until S2E7, he agrees to work with MePhone and shoulder a part of the former's show.
Season 3
Despite being a contestant, OJ is around even less in S3. Again, I think this is fair, given that he's already won the only finished season of the show. Being eliminated early on, his character is left unscathed by the writing issues that haunt the second half of S3; what raises an eyebrow about him instead is the light that he's cast in.
S3E4 (The Overthinkers) is the most direct example of this light that I can imagine. OJ's team, The Thinkers, has a very unfortunate addition in Yin-Yang. II3 had an extremely unfortunate addition in viewer voting for character immunity. Despite Yin-Yang shitting up the challenge for the entire episode, and earning the would-be fatal ire of his team, he cannot be eliminated. OJ ends up elimianted because of a plan concoted by Candle and Silver Spoon, with Silver explaining that because Yin-Yang couldn't be eliminated, but would get voted for anyway, Silver and Candle alone voting for OJ would be enough to have him eliminated.
This is the part where OJ's "detached leadership style" is cited. Unfortunately, spending an entire episode showing how indecisive and sometimes dysfunctional his team is is a poor way of framing direct executive action as flawed. It would have been a lot better to present a scenario where his leadership style is genuinely unnecessary, but in this case, it wasn't so. The resulting episode makes it feel like OJ is being punished just for his pragmatism.
It seems like he was always destined for an early elimination, something that I firmly agree should have happened, but it's hard to imagine that there wasn't a better way of showcasing his flaws.
Additionally...
For the sake of some brevity (any at all), I won't go on about his Exit Interview or anything like that. A few more thoughts about him:
It fascinates me that fanworks so often reflect what OJ himself expresses he believes he is bound to as of S2. The only element they lack is some degree of awareness. What I'm getting at are things like ships; it seems like most content shipping OJ with another character makes the dynamic such that he simply looks out for and hears out that other person, assisting them with some specific facet of their life; he is rarely presented as needing or wanting anything in turn (at most, there's some throwaway comment about how busy his job makes him). It seems that even real people are intent on making him shoulder things in the same way that the characters in-universe do.
Taylor Grodin was exceptionally fit for OJ as a role. I wouldn't hold it against AnimationEpic whatsoever if they kept OJ silent (as he was in his recent Season 3 appearances) in his absence. It doubles as a decent reference to early plans for him. :-P
My novel is complete. Drop off whatever thoughts about OJ you want. They don't have to be as positive as mine are--or positive at all! :-L
🌤️
