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Van of the Year Recap

Emily joins her co-workers on the balcony and sees someone flying overhead. Jackie rolls up the table umbrella and Sea Troll unleashes a wave of white powder, covering Emily while everyone else is protected.

Later, Van holds a retirement acknowledgement for Alma. He quickly wraps it up and gives her a $25 gift card. Afterward, Emily complains that Alma has been there for 40 years and all she got was a gift card. Her team anticipates that she's going to do something about it. She confronts Van and says that they need to give Alma a proper retirement party. Van warns her that if they ask Corporate for money, they start asking about what happened to the other money they sent. He explains that he's sucking up, not down, and tells Emily to get out.

Emily asks Jackie why Van doesn't appreciate his employees. Jackie advises her to look out for herself, but Emily explains that she plans to be the next Archibald Stiles, who runs the Wayne Foundation and all they do is help people. Jackie points out that Archibald gave her a charity donation as a Christmas present.

Teddy brings a box of motion detectors into the lab. Ron is testing a thought-controlled drone for his grandmother so she can take selfies despite her arthritis. Teddy figures that Ron could do something special with it.

Later, Emily takes Alma out to the balcony for her retirement party. They give her olives from the town in Italy that Alma grew up in, and Emily assures her that it was a group effort. Wendy wonders why Emily isn't taking credit for it when she did all the work, and Emily insists that it's caring for other people. Van comes out and yells at them to get back to work. Sea Troll attacks and Van hides behind Alma. A transmorphic beam hits her instead and turns her arm into a squid tentacle.

Later, Van tells the employees that because of what happened, the cafeteria is taking calamari off the menu and they're passing around a card. Emily says that they need to do something for her, and confronts Van. He says that he wants to give Alma a ton of money, and asks Emily for verbal confirmation that she saw Alma nobly shield him. Van admits that he's doing it to legally protect himself, and Emily tells him to write a check for Alma so that someone will keep quiet.

Ron is watching a newscast about Sea Troll's search for Blackbeard's Sword. In unrelated news, the National History Museum is holding an exhibit of pirate treasure. Teddy tells Ron that he's made a miniature version of the drone control, and Ron can make enough money to get out. Ron suggests that Teddy is projecting his fears onto him, and Teddy admits that he's been there the longest after Alma. He wants Ron to become rich and famous so he can come back and get Teddy out, and suggests that Ron is denying his dream. Ron admits that he's gotten complacent and agrees to Teddy's plan.

Emily spends the check to buy Alma get-well presents, and she got Wayne Security to provide matching funds. Van comes in and starts waxing poetic about Alma's sacrifice for the purposes of establishing his alibi. Emily claims that it was a team effort, just as Alma comes in with a PR agent from Wayne Enterprises. Van promptly jumps in and takes credit as the leader of the team effort, shoving Emily out of the way. He makes sure that the photo is of him and Alma, nobody else. Jackie points out to Emily that Van took all of the credit for everything that Emily did, and Emily insists that she do it for the credit. Archibald comes in and says that he was so impressed by Van's efforts that the Wayne Foundation is honoring Van with the key to the city. Van agrees, and Jackie cheerfully points out that Emily's personal hero is there praising Van for something that Emily did..

Later, Van shows the copy of the company newsletter heralding him as the "Van of the Year." Emily points out that other people in the office would like to get some credit as well, but insists that she doesn't want any credit. Van agrees to get them a table to the gala, and Teddy is glad to go as long as there's free food and booze.

That night, at the gala at the Natural History Museum, The greatest philanthropists in the world have come, and Jackie tries to get Emily to admit that it's killing her. Emily insists that it doesn't as she eats a toothpick. Meanwhile, Teddy tells Ron that it's the perfect opportunity to pitch the drone. They approach one man and demonstrate the drone. The man is impressed and says that if works then he'll write Ron a check that will change his entire life. Ron nervously flies it into a punch bowl and quickly walks off.

Archibald brings Van up to the podium and he insists that he cares about people. Emily watches in disgust, and Van calls up the person who deserves to share the credit. She figures that he's talking about herself and goes up, and Van says that he was talking about Alma. Alma goes up recites Emily's own lines. Emily snaps and yells that it was all her, and then says that it's all about Alma.

Sea Troll's henchmen break in looking for the Sword. A transmorphic beam hits Alma, reverting her arm back to normal. Van hides behind Emily, and she gets him to cover. As they hide under a table, Emily admits that she feels bad about her behavior. She insists that a good person shouldn't need credit, and Van tells her that superheroes brand themselves to advance their careers. Crimson Fox arrives, complete with her hashtag, and Emily admits that Van might be right.

Ron admits to Teddy that he didn't want to sell the drone, and he pretended to be happy to make Teddy happy because seeing Teddy makes him unhappy. He explains that he's not bored or frustrated because he get so work with Teddy, and they hug.

The next day, Van offers employee congratulations on things. Emily notices and Van says that Emily inspired him. He figures that he can get a lot if he cares about a lot of people. Jackie advises Emily to just take the win. Once Van leaves, Jackie shows Emily a newspaper an article about an "unsung hero" saving Van. Emily says that she might tell who she is, and that wanting credit doesn't make her a bad person. Alma comes over and thanks Jackie for driving her to the doctor, and Jackie quickly leaves before Emily can hug her.

Written by Gadfly on Jun 26, 2017

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