Up the Creek

'''The two teams take their canoes to a nearby island and build rescue fires on it. Two campers also become closer due to the intervening of a friend, while an unlikely partnership ultimately wins for their team. Unaware of the consequences, somebody picks up a cursed idol and curses her team, while another contestant's past catches up to her, causing a sudden elimination.'''

Plot
The episode opens with Chris explaining the challenge to both teams. The challenge is for the campers is to paddle by canoe to Boney Island, portage their canoes through a two-hour venture in the deep forests of the island, reach the island's other side, where they would then build a "rescue" bonfire, which Chris himself would judge, and finally race back to Camp Wawanakwa in order to win the challenge and invincibility. Chris explains how Boney Island, their destination, has a legend stating that anyone who removes an item from the island will be cursed forever, and then dismisses the campers. Soon after this, Beth returns from the bathroom, having been absent throughout the explanation, and asks what she missed. Chris summarizes the entire challenge as "canoes" instead of repeating his warning. As the campers pick their partners to ride in the canoe with, Gwen and Trent look to each other with the intent of going across the lake together, but both are interrupted by Cody proposing Gwen the same offer Trent was giving. Irritated by his interference, Gwen responds by angrily injuring him. Meanwhile, Beth and Lindsay drag Trent off to paddle with them. Seeing this, Gwen reluctantly concedes to partner with Cody on the trip. Geoff is shown to be eager to have Bridgette as his canoe partner, but he is ignored, as she chooses to be partners with her friend Courtney. DJ offers to be Geoff's partner in her place. Geoff admits in the confessional that he feels as if Bridgette is fading out on him, but reassures himself that this cannot be the case. Duncan forces Harold and Sadie to be in his canoe group while Owen partners up with Heather, and Leshawna partners up with Izzy.

Meanwhile, DJ is worried about the canoe tipping over. This causes Geoff to comfort DJ, stating that it will be fine unless the water is rough. In the confessional, DJ says that he is hydrophobic after a horrendous diving board accident during his childhood. Owen is then seen happily throwing Heather into the canoe and pushing it into the water. Cody also tries to help Gwen by pulling the canoe into the water, but fails at doing so. As all of the canoes are in the water, Chris fires a gun to signal the start of the challenge, but accidentally shoots an eagle in the process. Bridgette tells Courtney that Geoff left her a present that morning in the form of a heart-shaped clay bowl with a torn group photo glued together to make herself and Geoff appear next to each other and an inscription on the back reading "I hope you think of me whenever you drop loose change into this." Both girls find this gesture unbearably corny, as does DJ when Geoff tells him about it. Since Geoff was supportive about DJ's fear of water, DJ felt he owed it to Geoff to give him love advice so that he could more effectively woo Bridgette. This would continue to happen in future episodes.

Cody attempts several times to ask Gwen out on a date while they paddle across the lake, only to get a rejection each time. He only gives up when she hits him in the groin with her paddle. Eventually, Cody realizes that Gwen is rejecting him because she prefers Trent. Gwen's attitude towards Cody greatly improves when he offers to put in a good word for her with Trent, with whom he is allegedly close to. Gwen admits she would owe Cody for doing this favor. Cody is then reminded of a bet he made with Owen, which he would win if Gwen would comply and give Cody one of her bras. This causes Gwen to ram her paddle into Cody's groin again, and he realizes that his request crossed the line.

The campers arrive at Boney Island, with all, but Izzy spooked by the mysterious mist hovering over the water and the general morbid atmosphere of the island. Eager to get the challenge over with, the two teams, holding their canoes over their heads, race through the forest to the other side of the island. Along the way, they encounter carnivorous woolly beavers, which chase the campers into a swamp-like area before they finally leave the campers alone. Owen ruins his underwear, and in the midst of asking for a spare, he farts, awaking giant birds. The campers again run for their lives. Cody then has an idea, pulling a packaged loaf of bread from his pants (which was originally intended to be for a romantic picnic for himself and Gwen) and throwing it towards the birds. This distracts the birds long enough to allow everyone to flee to safety.

As the Bass take the lead, they come to a crossroads. Courtney suggests they take the left path, but Geoff says to go right, which Bridgette agrees with. Geoff looks back and smiles at her, provoking Bridgette to ask what he's looking at. The Gophers are not far behind as they see the Bass taking the right path, prompting them to take the left. Suddenly, Trent falls victim to a pit of quicksand, which was put up by Chris himself, much to his amusement. As he sinks, Lindsay resolves to save him, but only ends up getting stuck herself. Trent calls for help, to which Cody answers by swinging on a vine to grab Trent's hand. He fails to catch Trent and crashes into a tree instead, but the vine comes back to the quicksand area where Trent is able to grab it and pull himself and Lindsay out of the pit. Extremely grateful, Trent and Lindsay thank Cody for his efforts. Cody explains his rope-swinging abilities come from watching several movies.

Just as the Bass have the upper-hand, Geoff becomes injured and can no longer walk on his own. The "injury" turns out to be a mere splinter in his leg, but this incident is greatly exaggerated by all members of the Bass, even with Bridgette saying the sight of Geoff's injury was worse than seeing surfers getting eaten by sharks. Geoff's incident puts the Bass behind as he must now be carried on top of the canoe held by DJ and Harold. Eventually, both teams make it to the beach to start the second part of the challenge: building a bonfire. Though the Bass are behind, they quickly catch up thanks to Duncan owning a lighter, to which Chris states that there is no rule against carrying one (while the Gophers are forced to start a fire the old-fashioned way, with sticks and rocks).

During the fire-building competition, Trent and Cody have a brief talk about Gwen. Cody follows through on his promise to Gwen and informs Trent that she has a crush on him. Trent is reluctant to believe this at first, but seems relieved when Cody assures him that he is telling the truth. Before Cody can give Trent advice on how to handle the situation, Heather interrupts the two, reminding them that they are in the middle of a challenge. While looking for wood, Beth stumbles upon a tiki idol. Due to her being in the bathroom while Chris warned the campers to not take anything from the island, Beth is unaware of the potential curse she could bring about to herself and her team, and she secretly takes it as a souvenir. Meanwhile, Geoff is dragging himself with all of his strength to contribute to the Bass' fire. Following through on his promise, DJ encourages Bridgette to examine Geoff closely in case he has developed something serious, as she has first-aid training.

Courtney is dissatisfied with the size of the fire and orders her teammates to find more wood. In a panic, Harold grabs all of the paddles from their canoes and throws them into the fire, horrifying and angering his teammates, as Bridgette angrily asks how they would get home without them. On the Gophers' end, Izzy creates a home-made fire-starter made of tree sap and other assorted ingredients. She warns everyone to stand back as she tosses the ball into their fire pit, which triggers off a massive explosion. When Heather asks where Izzy learned this technique, she explains she spend a summer training with the Reserves and accidentally blew up the kitchen in a similar incident. She reveals that the RCMP (The Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are still searching for her, proclaiming herself "so totally AWOL." Chris declares the Gophers the winners of the fire-building contest, thus starting the final leg of the challenge: paddling their way back to home base. Before taking off, Cody uses the quicksand incident as an excuse to switch places with Trent so that he can ride with Gwen while Cody rides with Lindsay and Beth on the way back. Both Trent and Gwen are grateful for this.

The Bass are left helpless with their paddles burnt. While paddling away, Izzy suggests someone to flutter-kick all of the canoes together from behind. She is cut off by an angry Leshawna for giving the opposing team help, but the Bass do consider Izzy's idea. DJ is chosen to be the swimmer, being the only one strong enough to push all of the canoes at once. Geoff argues against it, knowing full well of DJ's hydrophobia. He volunteers to do it instead, but is not permitted to do so due to his "injury." DJ finally steps up to the plate and says he will do the deed for the sake of his team. With his teammates rooting for him, DJ manages to out-swim every Gopher canoe and make a wipe-out finish at home base, giving the Killer Bass the win and invincibility. Leshawna assures Izzy that she will be the one voted off tonight, since she was the one whom gave the opposing team advice that ultimately helped them win. Izzy seems not to be concerned about the danger she has put herself in, but is quickly chased off by Leshawna with a paddle.

During the campfire ceremony, Chris gives the marshmallows to Beth, Trent, Gwen, Cody, Owen, Heather, and Leshawna. The final marshmallow was set to either go to Izzy (who looks quite confident) or Lindsay (who is playing with her hair, seemingly not paying attention). However, before the call can be made, the RCMP abruptly make an appearance from a helicopter, shining their spotlight down on Izzy. Being the notorious liar she is, Leshawna asks Izzy if all the crazy stories she told were actually true. Izzy says that only the RCMP part was true, bids the group farewell, and screams at the RCMP that they would never get her alive. With that, she runs off into the distance, laughing maniacally while everyone else looks on in utter shock or amusement. Chris is the only one apparently nonchalant about the situation, and ends the ceremony then and there. Later that night, Cody finds a bra under his pillow; Gwen rewarded Cody for following through on his promise. He shows it off to Owen, and tells him to enjoy doing his dishes for the rest of the competition as per their bet rules.

Glass is heard breaking as the scene cuts to the Bass girls' cabin to see pieces of Geoff's change bowl all over the floor. Upon reflection, Bridgette has a change of heart, and finds it sweet. She asks Courtney for some glue to mend it, despite Courtney's objection, saying that no one would want to fix it, which Bridgette said she might will. Beth is then seen reading by herself, with her tiki doll secured next to her. Ominous lightning strikes as the cursed object is focused on, and the screen fades to black.

Cast

 * Duncan, Harold, and Sadie appeared, but they had no lines, although they were heard cheering when the Killer Bass won the challenge.
 * A member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police spoke. However, it is unknown who voiced him.

General

 * Cody made a bet with Owen before this episode began that if he could get his hands on Gwen's bra, Owen would do all of Cody's dishes. Cody wins the bet, but ironically, he gets eliminated next episode, due to getting mauled by a bear. Despite initially being against it, Gwen does give Cody one of her bras, which he is shown to still be in possession of much later on in Total Drama Action, where he shows the bra during the first aftermath.


 * Before the RCMP came, the final marshmallow was supposed to go to either Izzy or Lindsay. Izzy might not have been eliminated, as Chris had not yet said whether she or Lindsay were safe before the RCMP showed up and Izzy ran away.


 * Throughout the episode, Lindsay is seen wearing blue shorts instead of her orange skirt. She is wearing a red top, which she wears at all times, but, her brown vest is missing. This is fairly strange, as the campers usually wear the same outfit throughout the season.

Continuity

 * This episode marks the first irregular elimination in the show's history, where a camper left the show without being voted off.


 * Water is the third phobia DJ admits he has. In previous episodes, he has stated that he is afraid of both heights and snakes.

Goofs

 * There are several goofs in the scene where the campers are approaching their canoes. Most of them feature some of the campers in their swimsuits, yet wearing their regular clothes in the next scene.
 * When Owen is approaching Heather to be her canoe partner, he is wearing his trunks. Yet when they approach their canoe, he is back in his regular outfit.
 * DJ is in his trunks and missing his cap when he and Geoff approach their canoe. Yet he is in his regular outfit in the very next scene.


 * After Trent and Lindsay escape the quicksand, Cody walks across the quicksand without sinking into it.


 * When the campers are listening to Chris at the beginning, Gwen has bags under her eyes, yet they disappear in the next scene.
 * This is fixed on the DVD and iTunes release.


 * When Izzy is seen talking to Leshawna about killing a koala bear, the symbol is the Killer Bass symbol instead of the Screaming Gophers symbol.


 * As the Killer Bass pass by the Gophers after the latter's escape from the giant geese, Bridgette and Courtney are noticeably absent.


 * When one of the woolly beavers scares Leshawna and Izzy, Duncan, Harold, and Sadie are in the background. But they're on the Killer Bass, and shouldn't be with the Screaming Gophers.


 * If you look close enough when Lindsay gets up to hug Cody, she is wearing her regular outfit instead of her alternate one that she wears in this episode.


 * Toward the beginning of the episode, Lindsay is shown wearing half her bikini bottoms and half her shorts, although in the next scene, it changes back to just her shorts.
 * This is fixed on the DVD and iTunes releases.


 * At the beginning of the campfire ceremony, Heather's hair is in a ponytail, but the next time she is seen, it is down.


 * When Lindsay is braiding her hair during the elimination ceremony, she is wearing her regular outfit again instead of the outfit she had been wearing, and it switches back in the next shot.
 * Unlike the other time when her outfit was incorrectly changed, this goof is not fixed in the DVD or iTunes releases.


 * In Total Drama Island: The Complete First Season's subtitles, Boney Island is misspelled as "Bony Island" throughout the episode.


 * After Harold throws the oars into the fire, Duncan is seen with his eyebrow ring on the wrong side.


 * When Bridgette scolds Harold for the scene above, Geoff, who was unable to stand in the previous scene, is seen standing as if his leg is perfectly fine.