In episode one, we're introduced to Ndbag and his environment. One would expect that the author would start slowly with his introduction, but he subverts our expectations and launches straight into a comment on the nature of friendship in a postmodern society.
Consider, for example, the hamper. At first glance, this is merely a repository for clothes. But one finds oneself asking about those clothes and, indeed, about their container. The hamper is in a closet, suggesting that rather than an intermediate resting place for the clothes before they're put into some manner of wardrobe or chest of drawers, they're kept there permanently. This parallels our own attitudes to friendship; we meet people, and are unaware of the precise transition of those people from acquaintances to friends. We simply find that one day those people are friends, and have been for some time. By the same token, no one starts out planning to keep their clothes in a hamper; as time goes by, though, what started out as a temporary solution becomes a permanent one. We only realise this when we stop planning on putting the clothes elsewhere, and automatically store them in the hamper.
The most insightful comment, though, is left for the last panel. We're immediately drawn to the question: how exactly do socks help us get comfy? Certainly putting one's feet up in front of the fire on a cold winter's evening affords a great deal of comfort, but there's more to it than that. We're told not to wear the sock, but to grab it. In realising this, we find ourselves questioning the very nature of the sock. And in questioning the sock, we question ourselves.
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