User blog:StrangerAtaru/Wawanakwa Gone Wild! - Where Beavers are Still a Dam Good Hat

-I really don't want to get into this episode heading into it. The reason is obvious: even with all the weird things going on in this show, this episode is probably one of the ones that doesn't even feel like TD at all...well TDI at least. Then again for the most part I seem to dread doing the more "animal based episodes" considering they always seem to be the worst, such as this, "Top Dog" or "Picnic at Hanging Dork". But...it would be an incomplete collection so suffer I must.

-First thing I have to say is the obvious: I think Chris still remembers the history of Canada considering what he pulled on the national symbol. But hey, they're used to doing that to beavers.

-For such a "loving" and "caring" couple, Izzy and Owen really isn't as happy as people seemed to make it out to be in later seasons. Then again, I still don't even know/remember what Owen did to make Izzy even mad considering everything she pulled the previous challenge with the Psycho Killer. (well...Chef)

-There really should be another means to introduce a trapping challenge than...you know, snaring one of your biggest competitors and throwing the rest in a cage. You probably should have expected Chris to be the one in there but he's the mastermind of this insanity. Then again, he also gave some sort of bizarro intro involving throwing bears into random playgrounds.

-Most of the animals selected by the campers seem to be either notable throughout the season or seems to either hint or look back at something that happened prior, particularly the choices for Duncan (see the second-season special...though I don't get that if Duncan really doesn't do well this time and Beth got a raccoon in "Top Dog", why the heck would he and Courtney have one of them as a kid?) and Izzy and Heather. (those two I'll get into in a bit since I had a weird realization when we get to the end that probably needs further explanation) The punishment, though, seems like one specifically made to make sure they do the challenge...even if it ends up screwing everyone.

-I really don't quite get why the heck Duncan would once again be trying to hit on Heather. He tried in the first episode and failed miserably. Not to mention that considering she is not similar to him (such as Gwen) or someone who is the exact opposite he can get on the nerves of and "break" (Courtney...yeah, somehow I think the whole attraction between those two was based on that and Courtney was played but that's my weird mental pattern), seeing Duncan and Heather this whole episode gets creepy.

-One of the biggest problems in the episode I assume tried to make it funny but ended up screwing with it is making the animals seem to be too pop-culture induced. The duck being a bit like the Road Runner wasn't too bad...if the racoons didn't turn out to be "Procyon Prime" and we get a random "My Little Pony" in the woods, which went a little too crazy. I know this series gets a little crazy but sometimes too much of it takes away some of what makes it good.

-Somehow I really should probably have also made a mention of the family of beavers Geoff ends up discovering, but I think that as weird as that was, it could explain where Izzy ended up living during her whole time away from the show. (well according to her)

-Everyone seems to have bear problems this season, since it's like you aren't a character on this show unless you encounter one of the bears. Of course, Heather's encounter is more typical similar to what Katie and Sadie went through...then something like Owen back during the camping challenge.

-And speaking of the dynamic duo, I think somehow Izzy and Sadie went to the same shooting school considering their bad shots on getting everything but.

-Owen's problems with the chipmunk isn't something to really complain or cheer about, but it did feel more Owen-like compared to most of the bizarre actions in this episode. Same goes for Leshawna and the frog...which was just a means to get her dirty I guess. (that shower from "X-Treme Torture" would have come in handy after this)

-Assumably, Gwen wins this challenge since she got the duck first...somehow or another. Of course, her obsession with duck related food really has nothing except just to say "I hate that duck, let's fricassce it after all the heck I went through with it. Yet for some reason she was in the "final two" of elimination regardless...which makes no real sense.

-And now we get to essentially the climax of the episode and the really weird incident that seemed to echo to the past episodes but in a way that mostly just did so to get a joke that we didn't see prior. I really don't get why the heck Duncan, who for some reason still thinks he can work with Heather, would make her get back into the "deer costume" from "Paintball Deer Hunter". The last time she was in that, she spent most of the episode sitting on a rock bossing Lindsay and Beth around. It's really hard to say whether or not bears even eat deer...I think it was mostly done because Heather looked good in it and Duncan thought he could get some hot cosplay out of her like he did with Courtney. And then there's Izzy...who not only ironically is looking for a deer...but strangely enough had been eliminated (the first time) prior to "Paintball Deer Hunter". Of course, this time Izzy is running around with a tranq gun and is probably not one of the best shots around with it. Of course, with Izzy the hunter and Heather with her butt in prime target...yeah, that's pretty much what it was aiming for: utter calamity for Heather.

-BTW: the other episode I was thinking of with this for some reason could have been the other outcome of this episode: as Heather dressed as a deer in "Paintball Deer Hunter", Izzy dressed as a bear in "The Sucky Outdoors". I guess though that if it went the other way...well, I'll get to that in the next line.

-The elimination...as I mentioned prior, it's a weird one that makes no real sense. Geoff got the first marshmallow even though all he did was catch civilized beavers. You would think Gwen would get the first one since she caught her duck first, but I think beavers are just really, really valued at Wawanakwa...and on this show. And then there's the real two prone ones...and here's where I think history could have changed. As you know, neither Izzy nor Heather caught their animal. Of course, the animal they were going after was one that the other once dressed up as: Heather as a deer (in "Paintball Deer Hunter"), Izzy as a bear ("The Sucky Outdoors") Now imagine if Izzy dressed as a bear again...Heather could have caught that instead of the real one and it would have been her eliminated instead of Izzy. The main reason Izzy was eliminated I guess wasn't just she was insane but she ended up (via Duncan, who probably did it either intentionally or unintentionally) capturing a fellow camper. And while Heather isn't really one that anyone likes, this could have been a way to remove her at this point. But of course...considering Izzy came back to rile up things and she did so in her own weird way, it was her who had to go this time. That's a rule on this show: if you "come back" or "join in progress", you're mostly there for more drama, not because you have a chance to win. Though her dissappearing act was a bit much...but so is most of this insane episode.

-As for the end...well, Heather got tranqued and Duncan paid her penalty by cleaning the bathroom, both with her mentally out...and pretending to be mentally out. I still don't quite get, though, why Duncan would still try to communicate with Heather after being shot down in episode 1 but...this episode is over at least.