User blog:Fedora Kid/Backstabbers Ahoy! Review

For the second time in a row, the recap features an interruption for a hilarious joke; this time involving more Dakota suffering. Yep; this definitely proves that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and that as long as she’s here, we’ll be able to laugh at her pain.

Right off the bat, we see what it’s like for the Rats to have Brick on their team. More hilarious military humor from our favorite cadet. This Brick/Guy Rats interaction is already enjoyable.

We’re also finally seeing someone catch on to Mike’s MPD, in the form of our favorite bubble boy. This furthers the whole story of Mike trying to keep it a secret, and how he, and everyone else, will react when (and if) Cameron spills the beans.

Brick, meet Dawn. Dawn, meet Brick’s childhood through his aura. Classic.

Jo and Brick’s first interaction as rivals was absolutely epic, riddled with killer jokes, clever dialogue, and witty puns, this just proves that Brick and Jo will be even more hilarious as enemies than they ever could be as teammates.

Lightning’s going right back to his old, ego-filled self. I knew it wouldn’t last long. And he’s already paying for it, courtesy of the giant, mutated raccoon. And Scott’s already going to work with sabotaging Brick through some clever accusation (or possibly implication?) of him being the reason for Lightning’s “protein” vanishing. This allows us to see a more devious side of Scott, and that he is, in fact, capable of diabolical schemes besides just throwing challenges.

Cameo Number Three: Bridgette. Just as brief, hilarious, and enjoyable as Izzy’s and Owen’s. If the cameos continue on in this kind of pace and fashion, they’ll all be enjoyable.

For the first time, Zoey does something that irritates me. She ends up displaying just as much stupidity and obliviousness as Bridgette and Lindsay; standing on the air hose while Mike is clearly pumping it right next to her. Hmm. Perhaps she’s not as smart as previously thought. But this was more or less compensated by further development with her and Mike, and finally, at long last: The first signs of a conflict between her and Anne Maria. At this point, once again, Anne Maria seems to be winning, but we must still have faith…

OK, so we go from a very slight implication at the beginning to a very big plotline later in the episode. First it’s Lightning’s “protein,” then Jo’s whistle, then Scott’s lucky shark tooth, and then Anne Maria’s hairbrush. Something’s definitely going on here, and the cool thing is: It’s genuinely hard to tell who’s behind it. The plot thickens.

For the first time since episode one, we see some more interaction between Dawn and Zoey. While their first interaction was much more awkward, this was much more meaningful. Dawn reaches out to Zoey and comforts her, also subtly hinting at Mike’s MPD, and then, in true Dawn style, vanishes like a specter. Priceless.

At this point, my first complaint of the overall season is the clear overkill of “McLean-Brand this” and “McLean-Brand that.” It’s an ego trip fairly reminiscent of Total Drama Action that I would prefer not to see again. But it is fairly minor, so I shouldn’t be complaining too much.

The return of the beloved seagull cannon. Ahh…memories. Dawn’s and Sam’s reactions were priceless, as was the revelation of the newly-mutated seagull/snakes.

The entire boat chase scene was a perfect blend of physical comedy and witty dialogue, with such hilarious interactions as (but not limited to): Jo and Zoey, Anne Maria and Mike, Cameron and Anne Maria, Scott and Lightning, Dakota and Fang, and Mike and Fang. The scene was also full of Dawn at her best, including scolding Scott for shooting seagulls and a mention of a class field trip to a chicken nugget factory. Absolutely hilarious.

There goes more Jo throwing Cameron for the team at his own expense. But at least Lightning suffered, too.

At long last, Dawn has her big moment. In her one and only confessional, she makes such a powerful statement and challenges Scott. Bad move, sister. Bad move.

By the end of the challenge, there are four members of the Rats incriminated for something and strong candidates for elimination: Lightning (accused by Scott of being lazy while driving the boat), Brick (for supposedly stealing the items), Dawn (with Scott saying that she wouldn’t let him fire any seagulls), and Scott (accused by Dawn of throwing the challenge). But in the end, the suspense and mystery of it all comes crashing down on none other than Dawn. At long last, after three straight episodes of Scott simply throwing challenges, we finally see a truly clever, dastardly, scheming antagonistic move: Incriminating a threat to himself and the others for a crime she didn’t commit, fairly reminiscent of Eva’s elimination in TDI or Beth’s elimination in TDI. Scott’s evil laugh certainly helps, too. I already love Scott, but to all Scott haters out there: You have to admit that this was a big plus for him, right?

The elimination. By far the most shocking elimination, if not the most shocking moment overall, in Total Drama history: Dawn’s elimination. Dawn. The girl that so many put their trust and faith in. Dawn. The girl who received the most supporters (6) in the TDR Survival Table. Dawn. The girl whom so many predicted would last the longest out of all the females, and might even make it to the final two. Eliminated fourth. Forget Heather’s TDA elimination; this knocked my socks right off, for starters.

And also, at long last, the revelation of the McLean-Brand Chris Head; AKA, the Immunity Idol. We also saw yet another devious trait of Scott; not only did he find the idol, but he has revealed himself to be a master carver/whittler, and carved the fake one (and perhaps more) to fool people such as Dawn. Dawn’s rant post-elimination was…unusual, at most. It seemed rather out-of-character for her to freak out like that, when she had been so cool, calm, and complex up until this point. First, she rants about being in such a “perverse” game. Then she rants about “victims” of reality TV and the poor mutated animals, which she wants to start a sanctuary for. Then, finally, just like Harold in TDA, she attempts to make a last-minute revelation of the true traitor, but is taken away before the beans can be spilled. A martyr, yes. One of the most symbolic martyr eliminations in TD history.

I thought that the epicness of the last episode simply couldn’t be beat, but I was wrong. This episode was just as good with the development as the previous one (featuring new interactions such as Brick and the Rats, as well as reviving old/less-seen interactions such as Zoey and Dawn), and had about the same level of physical comedy. What was unique about this episode was its strong use of witty lines, puns, jokes, and insults constantly hurled back and forth between various contestants, which was priceless. It also, of course, finally featured Scott acting like a true antagonist, committing acts that definitely reminded me of Heather. He’s still not nearly as good as Heather was, but if he continues on in this fashion, he could rise up to match her level of antagonism. The episode was thick with a plot that had the viewer questioning it throughout the episode; in this case, the mystery of who stole the contestants’ various belongings (or, in the case of those who already suspected it ahead of time: who was Scott going to frame for the stealing?). It also featured the eliminee at their best in their final episode, without too much overkill of the character that more or less implies that they’ll be the one eliminated (as was the case with several contestants in the past). Truth be told, Dawn’s targeting for elimination was a last-minute revelation that horrified the viewer with its implications, leading up to the devastating shock that was the elimination of a definite fan favorite. This episode was just as good as (if not better than) the previous for many of the same reasons, and for just as many different reasons. 10/10.