The New Guy

The New Guy is the 38th episode of the series and the 11th episode of the second season. It aired on December 22, 2005, in Canada on Teletoon, and on November 17, 2008, in the United States on Cartoon Network.

When Ron gets an assistant to help him with his security work, Mall Security ramps up its presence in the mall and begins enforcing all of the various rules and codes on everyone.

Plot
Ron is in his office with a new recruit, whom he is teaching the art of mall security. While the recruit doesn't buy in to Ron's proclamations of mall security being a higher calling, he does pay attention to Ron–especially when Ron points out the biggest threats to the mall, who just so happen to be six teenage friends who are blissfully unaware of the gathering storm. Blissfully unaware, that is, until Ron starts citing them for various infractions, ranging from loitering to conspiracy to ride a skateboard down an elevator.

None of the teens are happy with Ron's new behavior now that he has an assistant, and when they gather to vent about him they have their meeting broken up by an overbearing Ron. Ron quickly serves them tickets for disturbing the peace, misusing mall furniture, and simply because he doesn't like them. This only hardens the teens resolve, however, and soon Jonesy comes up with a plan to make Ron quit.

To get this done, he enlists Darth's help, having the nerdy gadgeteer build a device that will set off every alarm in the mall. Darth agrees, and once the device is safely in Jonesy's hands Jonesy uses it. Ron reacts to the alarms the only way he knows: isolating the source and attacking it. Ron knows that Jonesy was responsible for the alarms going off; however, what he doesn't know is that this is Jonesy's way of setting a trap for the mall cop.

When Ron arrives on the scene, Jonesy and Jude steal his cart and drive it through the mall. Ron gives chase on an elderly man's scooter, but they lead him on a predetermined path. First, they take him past the Khaki Barn, and there Nikki shoves a rack of clothes into Ron's way, where a bra blinds him. When he shakes the bra he finds that he's been led into an ice cream shop, where Caitlin sticks an ice cream cone into his face. When Ron finally clears his eyes he realizes that he's been led towards the bathrooms, and it's too late for him to turn.

Ron gets into a crash inside, and when he exits the bathroom he has a resigned look on his face. When he hears Jonesy and Jude planning the next day's chaos, Ron gives up and quits his job, and soon teenagers throughout the entire mall are partying. To make things even better, Ron's teenage assistant steps in as the mall's head of security, and unlike Ron, he is relaxed about everything the teens do–especially if it means that he gets to hang out with Caitlin.

However, not everything is perfect, as Caitlin learns when a disheveled Ron turns up at the Big Squeeze. When she talks to him, she learns that his job was his life, and Ron has nothing without his position at the mall. This breaks Caitlin's heart, and even though she knows she can't let Ron get his job back, she decides to try and get him a new job so that he can have purpose.

Caitlin's initial attempt is to get Ron employment at Frilly and Pink. When the store rejects him due to his personality, she tries again, this time at the Khaki Barn. While Nikki is resistant at first to the idea of Ron working in the same place as her, she changes her mind when she sees how Ron bosses the Clones around, and decides to let him stay. Eventually, though, Nikki realizes that Ron isn't right for the Khaki Barn when he starts planning military operations against competing stores, and she brings Ron to Underground Video. There, Ron manages to impress Wayne with his knowledge of war movies, and Wayne hires him to work in the blood-and-guts section.

Things only get worse for the other two employees at the video store, as Ron comes over to them and informs them that Caitlin set all three of them up to go see a movie. Neither Wyatt nor Jude are pleased to hear this, but when they confront Caitlin she refuses to change her mind due to how pitiful Ron is. Wyatt is then sent out to try and convince Ron not to hang out with the teens, but while at Grind Me he doesn't get a chance, as Ron first tries to convince Serena to go out with Wyatt again over Wyatt's protests, and then walks out before Wyatt can voice his objection to Ron hanging out with the teens.

With his back to the wall, Jonesy decides that there's only one solution: the group has to get Ron his job back. In order to do this, Jonesy hatches a plan. Once again, the plan starts with Darth, whom Jonesy enlists to put a virus into the mall's mainframe that will set off all the alarms. Once the virus is uploaded and ready to go, Caitlin steals Kai's keys while the security officer is distracted. As soon as the alarms go off, chaos hits the mall, and Ron instinctively rises from his seat. However, Ron soon sits down again as he realizes that he's no longer in charge–until Jen runs up and begs him to help. Upon hearing her plea, Ron realizes that even if he's not a mall cop in reality, he's a mall cop in spirit, and begins to sprint to the central security office to take care of the commotion. Along the way, the other friends encourage him, including Jonesy and Jude, who have stolen the cart again. This time, however, they use the cart to give Ron a ride, and when Ron arrives at the central security office he demands that Kai use his keys to turn off the alarms. When Kai admits that he lost his keys, Ron is on the verge of anger until Caitlin surreptitiously drops the keys in a corner and then points them out to Ron.

Ron picks up the keys, shuts the alarms off, and retakes his job as head of security. His first act is to fire Kai for losing his keys, and soon everything is back to normal at the mall. Everything, that is, except for the Khaki Barn, as Kirsten has begun bossing the other Clones around the same way that Ron did in his short tenure at the store.

Quotes
Kai: Can't everybody? Ron: (ignoring the question) Next. Jen, Codename Gym Sock. She appears to be an average girl. But it's the quiet ones who always surprise you! Kai: Who's the fox? Ron: Caitlin, Codename: Cupcake. Oh, she's got the cutie-pie routine down good. But she's just like the lemonade she serves. Full of sugar! And lemons. (He pauses.) Moving on! And now the hard cases. Repeat offenders. These dudes are hardcore. Criminals. Kai: Can we go back to Cupcake? Ron: Negative! Concentrate! Jude. Codename: Hang 10. A clown, who takes every opportunity to flout authority. But he's just a stooge compared to the chairman of the board over there! Jonesy, aka Maverick. He's a walking crime wave. After a few years on the job, you'll have the tools you need to take these lollygaggers down. Now, ready for your first bust? (Kai shrugs.) Good! Because as of today, we're going on a blitz, soldier! Let's roll. Ron: Contempt of a security officer! That's a violation of– Jen: Oh just give me the ticket. Jude: I was carrying it, dude. Ron: But you were thinking about how good it would be to ride down, huh? Jude: (thinking about it) Awesome. Ron: (holding out a new ticket) Conspiracy to ride a skateboard down the escalator! Gotcha! Jude: (gulping) I have to go to the bathroom? (Serena runs out of the store screaming.) Wyatt: Serena! Ron: You can thank me later.
 * Ron: Security isn't just a job. It's a way of life. It's a vocation, like becoming a priest or a heart surgeon.
 * Ron: This isn't a ship! You will address me as Officer Ron! Or by my code name, Viper.
 * Ron: Nikki. Codename: Nosering. She's mean, she's tough. She'll kick you when you're down and eat macaroni and cheese on your grave. Wyatt, aka Coffeepot. Don't let the floppy, sad puppy look fool you. He can read.
 * Nikki: And who's the little mini-you? Shouldn't you be teaching him to pull his pants up to his chest?
 * Jen: Why don't you find some real criminals? Oh yeah, it's because you're not a real cop!
 * Ron: (holding out a ticket) No riding skateboards down the escalators!
 * Ron: I don't like you. You got anything to say about that...bro?
 * Ron: (punching an old man) I'm commandeering this vehicle.
 * Ron: Great choice, ma'am. That dress is good for so many reasons. It's sleeveless, making it great for grappling and close combat. And the lining makes great compression bandages for seeping wounds. (He holds out a pair of pantyhose.) Get a pair of these, and you can use them as a garrote. You're all set for urban assault, soldier.
 * Nikki: I tried the Khaki Barn, but I had to get him out of there. He was planning an amphibious assault against Banana Village.
 * Ron: (calling out to Serena) What is your major malfunction, soldier! He loves you! So fall back in love with him! Do you hear me!
 * Kirsten: You call that a fold? Gimme twenty! Now!

Trivia
Reason for firing: Unknown, but near the end of the episode, Jonesy stated outright he had been fired.
 * Jonesy's job: Strudel Station employee

Errors

 * Near the beginning of the episode, Nikki asks about the plot for a film called Jumping Off the Boat. However, when Serena talks about the same film, she erroneously calls it Jumping Off a Boat.
 * Kai accidentally calls the Frilly and Pink store "Pink and Frilly."

Episode connections

 * When Ron cleans out his office, in his box can be seen the "mankini" photo from "It's Always Courtney, Courtney, Courtney!"
 * At one point, Starr says "Wow, you're really flexible.", similarly to how she said it to Jen in the episode "In a Retail Wonderland..."
 * Jonesy tells Wyatt that Wyatt is better at breaking the bad news to people than he is. Strangely, though, he later started a "breaking bad news service" when he realized that he was excellent at that exact duty.
 * Not only that, but he actually volunteers to tell Wyatt that his girlfriend wants to break up with him in Date and Switch.
 * Ron's asking Serena what her major malfunction is is a reference to Full Metal Jacket.
 * Kai reappears in a cameo in "Dirty Work." Interestingly, he is once again a Mall Security officer.

Cultural references

 * Darth references the folktale Hansel and Gretel when he suggests that Jonesy's tailor is "Hansel from Dusseldorf."
 * When Ron first appears in civilian clothing, "Taps" plays.
 * This episode, and the sister episode Bring It On, are both the names of two films starring Eliza Dushku.