Love At Worst Sight

Love at Worst Sight is the 71st episode of the series and the 17th episode of the third season. It aired on February 17, 2008 in Canada on Teletoon and on May 25, 2009 in the United States on Cartoon Network. Wyatt finds out that Marlowe has been hired at Spin This, which makes him uneasy because his ex-girlfriend works there as well. Meanwhile, Jonesy begins working at an optometrist's office, and makes up a blurry eye chart to sell more glasses and get commissions. And Jen starts noticing a guy who is always staring at her while hiding his face.

Main Plot
Marlowe is inside of Spin This, getting a new nametag affixed because Serena has just hired her to work there. Marlowe is happy to have a new job, and when she sees Wyatt walk past outside, she can't wait to tell him. She runs out and does so, and Wyatt is proud of her until he realizes that she works at Spin This with Serena. Marlowe is a bit put out by Wyatt's reaction to her new job, especially since it consists of him running off while loudly proclaiming that he's happy for her.

When Wyatt meets his friends, he tells them what his problem is: he's worried that Marlowe will find out how he acted after the breakup with Serena, and doesn't want that to affect their relationship. His friends understand this, and Caitlin proposes a solution: since girls bond over things they have in common and girl-bonding is reinforced by trust, his best hope for breaking up any chance Marlowe and Serena have of forming a friendship would be to ruin anything that might allow them to build trust. Jonesy then interjects, as he has a simpler idea: Wyatt can just slip a CD into Marlowe's bag to frame her for shoplifting, which will lead to Marlowe getting fired. Wyatt isn't happy with either of these options, however, so he opts for a third route: he'll just tell Marlowe how he feels. While Jonesy thinks that Wyatt's plan is nuts, he accepts that Wyatt has made his mind up; besides, Jonesy has news to share as well. Jonesy has gotten a new job at the mall optometrist, and they give out free eye exams. Soon, he is able to sign some of his friends up to take them, gratifying him because he works on commission. Jen then turns the conversation in a different direction, as she's just noticed a guy spying on her; however, her friends have to leave to take care of their various business.

Wyatt heads over to Spin This to speak with Marlowe. There, however, Marlowe isn't receptive to his attempts to get her to quit–for good reason, as she hated working at North Shore and thinks that she might become friends with Serena. This second statement shocks Wyatt, because it only goes to show that his greatest fears might come true.

Wyatt's response is to follow Caitlin's advice and strike at the bonds of trust. First, when Marlowe takes a bathroom break, he comes into Spin This to speak with Serena and drops a few nuggets of false information, including claims that Marlowe is forgetful and has a bladder the size of a pea. Later, Marlowe complains to Wyatt that Serena is being controlling and constantly reminding her of stuff; while Wyatt commiserates, he realizes that his plan is working, and when he sees Serena admiring a bunny in the pet shop, he takes the time to point out that Marlowe likes lizards. Later, while eating lunch at Burger McFlipster's, he tells Marlowe that Serena likes country when a song in that genre is put on the jukebox.

Later, he heads over to Spin This to spy on the girls and find out how well his plan is working. While there, though, he discovers that it's not working well at all, because Serena actually thinks lizards are cool and has a tattoo of one on her stomach and Marlowe has no problem whatsoever with country music. Marlowe than admits that she's kept this from her boyfriend, as Wyatt is incredibly hostile to country; this leads Serena to imitate Wyatt's pouty face, and they bond over that as well. Upon hearing this, Wyatt decides to take evasive action, and he puts a CD into Marlowe's bag. Unfortunately, as soon as he's gone, the CD slips out of Marlowe's bag and into the trash, where Marlowe notices it. Instead of being framed for theft, Marlowe has now managed to look like a hero in Serena's eyes, as she rescued one of Serena's favorite CDs from being thrown away. Things immediately get worse for Wyatt, as he accidentally tips over an aisle of CDs. As he runs away, the girls look after him suspiciously.

Wyatt goes back to his friends, but has a tough time getting an answer, as they're all wearing glasses yet somehow not seeing as well. Jen's still obsessed with the guy she believes is watching her, but the person she's talking about is now actually a basketball with a soda can in front of it. Soon, though, Wyatt is able to bring the focus of the conversation back to him, and Caitlin comes up with a different suggestion: Wyatt can hang out with Chad and see how Serena likes it if he hangs out with her significant other.

Wyatt decides to go with this, and sets up a double date at Grind Me. However, he soon discovered that he can't really communicate with Chad, and soon gives up. He once again appeals to Marlowe to quit her job, but Marlowe refuses, seeing his request as selfish and thoughtless.

He then goes back to his friends, defeated. His solution is going to be that he takes Marlowe out to a concert until Jude provides some unlikely advice: since what he's been doing so far hasn't worked, he should do the opposite. This convinces Wyatt that he should give the tickets to Marlowe and Serena so that they can go together, thereby supporting their friendship. Wyatt does so, and impresses both of them–especially Serena, who can't help but feel let down when she compares Wyatt to her current boyfriend.

The success of this latest ploy at getting Marlowe on his side cheers Wyatt up, and he stops by the Big Squeeze to thank Jude. He then leaves his backpack at the table so that he can use the bathroom and heads off. While he's gone, Serena comes by and drops a note in his backpack. Wyatt is informed by Jude of it when he comes back; however, when he reads the note, he's surprised to discover that Serena apparently still likes him and wants to give their relationship another shot.

While this news would have been excellent for him to hear a long time ago, Wyatt doesn't have feelings for Serena anymore and really likes Marlowe. Wyatt heads to Spin This to confront Serena about what she wrote in the note, but the note ends up falling out of his pocket just as he enters the store. Marlowe finds the note and reads it, and then goes to confront Serena about it along with Wyatt. Serena confirms that she still likes Wyatt, and when Marlowe questions why Serena went behind her back to do it instead of just coming to her first about it, Serena claims that she felt it was Wyatt she had to be honest with and claims that he's a great boyfriend. But Wyatt points out that he's Marlowe's boyfriend and not Serena's boyfriend. Marlowe quits her job on the spot and she and Wyatt leave the store together. Marlowe apologizes to Wyatt for not listening to him about Serena and tells him that he's a great boyfriend for herself.

Sub-Plot One: Glasses
Right before Jude is scheduled for his appointment, Jonesy's boss leaves for a conference and puts Jonesy in charge of the store. As soon as he's gone, Jude arrives with Jen and Caitlin. Jonesy gives Jude his test, and surprisingly enough, Jude fails completely as he's unable to read even the top line of the Snellen eye chart. This means he has to get a prescription, so Jonesy sets up the tests and diagnosis Jude's eyes. Soon enough, he has sold Jude a pair of glasses, and Jen and Caitlin are willing to come in later for their tests. As soon as they leave, another man arrives and self-diagnoses himself as in need of new glasses because the eye chart is blurry. Upon hearing this, Jonesy realizes how the test works, and figures out a way that he can use it to his advantage.

Soon, he has made up a chart where the letters are all blurry, and begins using this to make everyone–including Jen and Caitlin–believe that their eyesight is failing and that they need new glasses. While this nets him a lot of commissions, soon the side effects begin to make themselves clear, as all around the mall people find themselves bumping into things because they're unable to see with their new glasses.

Eventually, Ron starts to get suspicious, and he investigates the optometry office. There, he discovers the real eye chart and the forged one, and soon tracks down Jonesy. The end result is that Jonesy gets fired and his prescriptions get recalled–except for Jude's, as he truly failed the eye exam. Oddly, Jude's glasses seem to be hurting his vision, so Jonesy lets him see the chart again, where Jude's inability to pass is explained: Jude tried to read the chart as a single word rather than as a random sequence of letters. Everyone around the table laughs, as Jude can actually see well, even if his reading of the eye chart is unclear.

Sub-Plot Two: Jen's Spy
As Jen heads to the optometry practice with Caitlin and Jude for Jude's eye exam, she spots the guy who was spying on her again. This starts to make her paranoid, and when she sees a basketball with a soda can sitting in front of it, she mistakes it for being the guy. Later, she spots him again, this time with a bag of chips obscuring his face. While she's sure that he's been spying on her, Nikki isn't, and thinks that Jen may be overreacting. Jen doesn't believe this, however, and when he moves to leave she tries to follow him but only ends up falling over due to her impaired eyesight causing an accident. After she removes her glasses upon the reveal of Jonesy's trick, she spots him again with a pizza slice over his face and once again heads over. When she gets to him, she slaps the slice down only to reveal that it was covering up a huge zit he had, and that he wasn't spying on her at all.

Quotes
Serena: That we've both dated Wyatt? Not unless that makes us weird. Wyatt: Twice. Caitlin: (talking fast) Good. Girls are friends with other girls they can trust. You need to break down that trust. You know them both intimately so you'll need to use that to your advantage. (She whines.) I can't believe I just sold out my sisters! Nikki: Uh, how are we supposed to know a guy that you don't know if you know? Penalty Box Customer: Well um, uh, yes. Jonesy: Blurry eye chart? I'd be loaded in no time! Serena: Thanks so much! I would've been bummed if I lost it! I'm so glad you're working here. Marlowe: Really? Serena: Totally! (Wyatt facepalms, only to fall into the shelves and knock them over.) Serena and Marlowe: Wyatt? Wyatt: (laughing nervously) Hey, uh, yeah. You should probably fix this. (He runs off.) Marlowe: Yeah. Actually, I gotta head out. See ya tomorrow, Serena? Serena: Definitely! Chad: See ya! Wyatt: I can't take this, Marlowe! I don't wanna hang out with Chad! Marlowe: You're the one that suggested it. Wyatt: Can't you just get your old job back at North Shore, please? Marlowe: Wyatt, I can't believe you'd ask me something so selfish and thoughtless! Wyatt: Selfish, maybe, but I've given it a lot of thought! Marlowe: Goodbye, Wyatt! Jude: Maybe he's hiding from the freaky chick that's spying on him. Nikki: So a certain level of chaos is acceptable? Ron: Not now, son. That kind of talk just adds to the pandemonium. (He leaps under the table.) Who's there?!? What was that?!? (He starts sniffing.) I—I smell fraudulence. Jonesy: It wasn't me, dude! Ron: I've got my eye on you, punk! I see everything! (He falls into the fountain.) The horror! Swim for the shore, men! Swim! Swim for the shore! Ron: You mean the kind of bad boy who would do this? (He reveals Jonesy's eye chart scam.) Jonesy: Uh oh. Caitlin: It's kind of hard to read. Ron: That's because this maggot blurred out the letters to sell more glasses. Jonesy: It's not what it looks like! Nikki: Actually, it's exactly what it looks like! I can't believe you would stoop so low as to sell glasses to people who don't need them! People like your friends! Jen: What happened to "the optician verifies all prescriptions"? Jonesy: He was out of town...I was gonna tell you, I swear, as soon as I got my commission check. No hard feelings, right? Jen: Actually, the floor was pretty hard when my head landed on it! Jonesy: Not even the top line? Jude: (trying to read the eye chart) E...fpt—E...fptozlped—What kind of a word is that? Doesn't make any sense, dude! (The rest of the gang share a laugh.) What? Jonesy: You might not get it, bro, but you can see just fine.
 * Marlowe: Listen, it's not weird that-
 * Caitlin: Girls bond over things they have in common. (talking fast) Hobbies, music, shopping, clothes, magazines, shoes, accesories, boys. Did I mention shoes?
 * Jen: What is with that guy? Do I know him?
 * Jonesy: Wait a sec. Blurry eye chart means you need new glasses?
 * Marlowe: Hey! Isn't this your favorite mix CD? It must've fallen off the counter into the trash.
 * Wyatt: I'm done. Marlowe, can I talk to you for a sec?
 * Nikki: Caitlin, pass me your sunglasses before I'm blinded by Wyatt's intense sincerity.
 * Jen: What is with that guy?
 * Ron: Enough! We have reached an unacceptable level of chaos!
 * Jonesy: I thought girls liked the bad boys.
 * Jude: Still can't read it.

Trivia
Reason for firing: His boss found out about his blurry eye chart scam, resulting in customers receiving their refunds.
 * Jonesy's job: Four Eyes Only's assistant optician

Episode connections

 * This episode marks the second time Caitlin wore glasses. In the episode "Smarten Up, she wore a pair to make herself look smarter.
 * Wyatt refers to the episode "Insert Name Here" when he mentions Marlowe getting mad at him because he unintentionally called her "Serena."
 * The episode serves as a conclusion to Wyatt's plot from the episode "Awake the Wyatt Within". In that episode, Wyatt tried to reconcile with Serena, but in this episode, he sees who she truly is and swears off her for good.

Cultural references

 * One of the albums Marlowe picks up is by the band "Public Nuisance." The band name is a reference to the rap group Public Enemy.
 * One of Wyatt's lines references the song "Achy Breaky Heart" when he insults Serena as he and Marlowe leave Spin This.