User blog:Curshburger/Total Drama Island Review

Please note: This review is a work in progress.

Introduction
After watching Jayempee react to Total Drama, I thought it would be fun if I reviewed every season out there, and what better way to start than with this one? I’ve binged the entire season, and with all the episodes fresh in my mind, I’ll be able to cover every single episode, every single character, my personal ranking of each episode, and other random thoughts! I hope you enjoy!

'''WARNING: This review contains major spoilers. If you haven’t seen the season yet, and you are uncomfortable with spoilers, I would suggest watching the season before reading this reviews.'''

Not So Happy Campers - Part 1
Episode Number: 1

The episode in a nutshell: 22 16-year-olds arrive on the setting of Total Drama, and find out that they’ll be at a crappy summer camp for (at the maximum,) eight weeks, and will all be competing for a check for $100000. Chris splits the kids into two teams: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass. Once they meet the chef, Chris announces that the first challenge is to jump off of a cliff.

Fun Fact: Chris is 25 as of this episode.

My favorite part: Chef’s attitude

Quote: “Who will crumble under the pressure?” -Chris

My thoughts: There isn’t a whole lot to comment on here. I mean, it’s the series premiere. There’s no challenge, no elimination, no nothing. We spend the entire episode getting a glimpse at the characters’ personalities, and while some get more screen-time than others, this episode does a decent job at introducing 22 characters. We know Beth’s pretty much a geek, DJ’s a strong yet gentle guy, Gwen’s an impatient goth girl who has no desire to be on the island, Geoff’s a super chill dude who uses the word “man” in every sentence, Lindsay’s your typical hot chick, Heather’s the mean girl who means business, Duncan’s a dangerous man whose path you don’t want to cross, Tyler’s a clumsy jock, Harold’s a nerd kinda like Beth, Trent’s the normal guy, Bridgette’s a surfer chick, Noah’s a monotone dude who’s kind of a smart-aleck, Leshawna’s a girl that wants to be friends but also isn’t afraid to get violent, Katie and Sadie are the inseparable BFFFFFFs (and I used six Fs for a reason), Ezekiel’s an incredibly sheltered kid, Cody’s a flirtatious dude, Eva’s a ridiculously strong chick, Owen’s the funnest guy around, Courtney’s a very polite girl, Justin’s the very quiet yet attractive boy, and Izzy’s a quirky, talkative girl. Since the episode doesn’t really do anything wrong, but there also isn’t exactly anything to write home about, this is, in my opinion, an average episode.

Not So Happy Campers - Part 2


Episode Number: 2

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass face off against each other in the first ever challenge: jumping off of a thousand-foot cliff into shark-infested waters, and then building a hot tub out of wood. Since the Gophers were able to cooperate well, and the Bass fell way behind, the latter ended up losing. Courtney’s refusal to jump as well as her annoying reminders of her C.I.T experience almost got her eliminated, but it was Ezekiel that ended up getting voted off instead thanks to his misogyny.

Fun Fact: This episode and episode 27 are the only episodes in which all 22 of these campers are competing.

My favorite part: The contrasts in the ways the team functioned

Quote: “They can enjoy their little party all they want, but I am gonna win this competition! And no one is gonna stop me!” -Courtney

My thoughts: Heh, it’s funny how DJ jinxed everybody the way that he did...especially considering this episode features one of the most insane challenges in the season (maybe not in the series, but definitely in the season). There isn’t much to say about this episode either, considering it was focused on the teams being pitted against each other and not the characters within the teams. Like I said, I did like how the teams were participating in such different ways: having one team do well and the other one suck. The only thing I would’ve done differently is I would’ve spared Ezekiel and voted off Courtney instead. Yes, Ezekiel was sexist, but in a way, it’s not 100% his fault, and he did prove to be more competent in the challenge, as Duncan pointed out. Although, after watching episode 12, it does make sense why Courtney stuck around. Anyway, I consider this an average episode.

The Big Sleep


Episode Number: 3

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass both run a 20k and then eat a huge, delicious meal, only to find out those were both set-ups by Chris to make the challenge (staying awake longer than any other camper) even harder. Gwen and Trent connect while Heather makes the first alliance with Lindsay and Beth. Afterwards, Eva is manipulated by Heather and the Bass vote off the former thanks to her impatience.

Fun Fact: This is the only episode that shows Owen’s butt uncensored.

My favorite part: Heather’s role in the episode

Quote: “Oh gross, it works! Dude peed his pants!” -Duncan

My thoughts: As I mentioned before, the first two episodes were mainly introductory. This is where things really start to get interesting. Not only do we get to witness a cool challenge, but we’re introduced to arguably the most iconic Total Drama villain ever, Heather. She manages to swing over both Lindsay and Beth and neither of them have any objections (well, at least not for now). Not only this, but we witness just how much of a force Heather is to be reckoned with when she exploits Eva’s anger issues, and in turn, is the direct cause of her elimination. It’s a nice way to give us a taste of what exactly we’re in for. I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with me and say that Gwent’s bonding is the highlight of this episode, but personally, I can’t say I’m a fan of Gwent. I have nothing against it, but there’s another guy I’d much rather ship with Gwen. Before I go off on a tangent, I’m going to rate this a good episode. The challenge was cool, Heather’s schemes were cool, and Owen’s farting around (pun intended) was cool.

Dodgebrawl


Episode Number: 4

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass both compete in a best of five game of dodgeball. The Gophers win the first two rounds, mainly due to Owen and Cody’s respective skills. However, when Duncan is awakened, he uses a strategy to completely turn the tables of the game. In the tiebreaker, Harold manages to give the Bass their very first win, much to everyone’s surprise. This leads to Noah being eliminated due to being too lazy.

Fun Fact: Noah is the third camper to never receive a marshmallow, with the first two being Eva and Ezekiel.

My favorite part: The challenge

Quote: “I’m glad someone is trying today.” -Heather

My thoughts: This is another episode that’s pretty uneventful. If you’re not a fan of Lyler or dodgeball, you’re likely not gonna find this episode to be all too interesting. Guess it’s a good thing I’m a dodgeball fan. This episode is one that brought development to both Duncan and Harold, and I find that to be pretty neat. However, this is essentially the only note-worthy thing I could find here, so I rate this an average episode.

Not Quite Famous


Episode Number: 5

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass compete in a talent show and a conflict ignites between Gwen and Heather after Heather reads Gwen’s diary to the entire world. After two good performances from the Gophers and two painful ones from the Bass, victory seems impossible until Harold amazingly beatboxes his team to the win. In order to avoid elimination, Heather convinces Beth, Izzy, Lindsay, and Owen to vote off Justin.

Fun Fact: Even after Harold’s beatboxing, the Gophers were still in the lead with 14-13. The Bass were given the win anyway.

My favorite part: Harold’s beatboxing

Quote: “Going home won’t be so bad...I could always work at the Surf Shack.” -Bridgette

My thoughts: There’s a lot to like about this episode. It’s this episode that turned Gwen and Heather into bitter enemies, which is a classic conflict that would go on to continue for the first two seasons. This is also the second consecutive time that the Bass end up winning because of Harold, which I think makes for another nice “underdog wins” ending. It’s not entirely perfect, though, because the writers seemed to forget how to do math in this episode. A good example of this is in the fun Fact I mentioned above, but there’s another goof that can be noticed. When Heather says she only needed to persuade four people to vote off Justin, then she would have five votes in hand. However, the Gophers had 10 members at the time, so if everybody else voted for her (which is pretty dang likely considering what she did), there would’ve been a tie. I guess there was somebody else that voted against Heather. I am pretty glad that Justin was eliminated here, seeing as how he didn’t say a single word since the first episode. Ignoring the writers’ bizarre math, I’d rate this a good episode.

The Sucky Outdoors


Episode Number: 6

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass are tasked with spending an entire night in the woods. Katie and Sadie get lost and end up in a quarrel, and Izzy manages to scare her entire team by dressing up as a bear. Both teams end up sleeping in the rain thanks to Izzy’s prank and Bridgette’s clumsiness. In the end, when the Bass vote off Katie, Sadie is left incredibly sad.

Fun Fact: The pizza delivery man looks very similar to Duncan’s original design.

My favorite part: Duncan’s evil laugh

Quote: “Hey, are you okay?” -Izzy

My thoughts: Sooooo this episode focuses a lot on Katie and Sadie and really not much else. There’s the Gophers’ plot with Izzy dressing up as a bear, but that’s pretty much it. Since the spotlight is on Katie and Sadie a lot and nobody else is around to contribute to their plot, a lot of this episode felt kinda boring to me. As a kid, I used to think their friendship was touching, but I now realize that since that’s essentially all they’re about, their characters are pretty one-dimensional. And having one-dimensional characters be the focus of an entire episode just doesn’t fare well. As classic of a reputation this season has, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to rate this a bad episode. This episode isn’t really all that bad, but it’s just not enough for me to consider it just another episode. At least Katie’s gone now.

Phobia Factor


Episode Number: 7

The episode in a nutshell: After Katie’s elimination, everyone gathers and states their worst fears, only to have to face them the next day. While some campers fare well, others (such as Courtney, Bridgette, and Tyler) don’t, to say the least. The Killer Bass end up voting off Tyler due to his ridiculous fear.

Fun Fact: Even if every camper had succeeded in this challenge, the Screaming Gophers still would’ve won with a score of 9-8.

My favorite part: Seeing each camper’s worst fear

Quote: “Actually, if you do the math, you can’t possibly win. The score’s 7-3.” -Cody

My thoughts: Another pretty uneventful episode in terms of plot. One thing that’s interesting to think about is how different campers were forced to face their fears for longer amounts of time than others, like how Bridgette was alone in the woods for six hours but Tyler only had to last three minutes with the chickens. You can definitely sense something’s up with the challenge. I also like the fact that Tyler’s going home. I know there are people who like Tyler, but truthfully, I just can’t recall him doing anything memorable at all. The way that he left was somewhat questionable, though. Courtney’s technically the one that lost the challenge for the Killer Bass, and yet she got spared, which didn’t make much sense because she didn’t make any friends after yelling at DJ. But that’s about it. I’m rating this an average episode.

Up The Creek


Episode Number: 8

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass travel by canoe to Boney Island. Gwen and Trent grow closer thanks to Cody, and DJ literally pushes his team to victory. Meanwhile, Bridgette begins to appreciate Geoff more despite his bizarre gift. While on the island, Beth brings home a little something that ends up “cursing” her team, unaware of Chris’ warning. In the end, Izzy’s past comes back to haunt her, and she leaves the show of her own volition.

Fun Fact: This is the first episode that Chef Hatchet doesn’t appear in.

My favorite part: Cody and Gwen’s interactions

Quote: “You’ll never get me alive!” -Izzy

My thoughts: There’s a lot that happens in this episode, to say the least. First and foremost, it’s really nice to see Cody care so much about Gwen being happy that he’s willing to help her get close to Trent. It’s admirable, and it makes me like Cody more as a character. I should also admit I’m pretty neutral to Gidgette, so their plot I didn’t really pay much attention to. One thing I will say is that I didn’t find the gag with Geoff’s splinter to be funny at all. I get that the joke was that all of the Killer Bass were supposed to overreact to it, but the thing was barely visible on-screen, so it just made all of them look like huge wusses. Finally, there was Izzy’s elimination, which I guess was...something. If you ask me, she probably would’ve been gone either way. I can’t think of anything Lindsay did wrong this episode. I’ll rate this a <font color="Cyan">good episode, but honestly, that’s only because Gwen was able to tolerate and even appreciate Cody from here on out.

Paintball Deer Hunter


Episode Number: 9

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass play paintball, with some campers being hunters and others being deer. Beth stands up to Heather and quits her alliance, which causes the Gophers to lose. Interestingly, Cody gets voted off after being mauled by a bear.

Fun Fact: Leshawna is near-sighted.

My favorite part: Beth standing up to Heather

Quote: “Bring it, dweeb!” <font color="Indianred">-Heather

My thoughts: Beth in this episode. Wowzers. Like Lindsay said, her standing up to Heather. So much so that I was interested in seeing just how far Beth could go when not being held back by Heather. It’s a shame that the very next episode ended up ruining that, though. The low point in this episode was definitely how Cody’s elimination was handled. Obviously, since Heather’s the antagonist of the season, it only makes sense for her to be in the final four, so no way would she be gone yet. However, having Cody leave was a real cop-out way to get her to stick around. He might’ve gotten mauled by a bear, but he did have a lot of friends on the Gophers’ team. As of this episode, Heather’s only “friend” was Lindsay. But, aside from that, this is still a <font color="Cyan">good episode, and one that definitely made me start rooting for Beth.

If You Can’t Take The Heat...


Episode Number: 10

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass each cook a three-course meal. Since Harold leaves his dirty underwear lying around, he becomes a victim of several relentless pranks by DJ, Duncan, and Geoff. Meanwhile, Heather and Leshawna’s conflict escalates further after Heather anointes herself head chef. This leads to Lindsay teaming up with both Beth and Leshawna to lock Heather in the fridge. After a third consecutive loss to the Bass, the Gophers agree to vote off Beth for “cursing” their team.

Fun Fact: Leshawna is allergic to pineapple.

My favorite part: Heather getting locked in the fridge

Quote: “Oh, what’s that, Mr. Ribs? You feel a bit lopsided?” <font color="Cyan">-Owen

My thoughts: I feel as if everything Harold had to go through this episode was super uncalled for. Yes, he left his underwear lying around, but DJ, Duncan, and Geoff I believe took it too far and had so much fun with “teaching him a lesson” that I truly believe it’s borderline sadism. Leshawna and Heather’s catfights were interesting, and I did find it to be funny when she got locked in the fridge. But in the end, the Gophers end up voting off Beth for a really dumb reason, truthfully. Were they really so superstitious that they thought her tiki doll was the cause of their losing streak? It wasn’t Beth’s fault Izzy gave pointers to the Bass, it wasn’t Beth’s fault that Cody got mauled by a bear, and it definitely wasn’t Beth’s fault that Owen ate all the ribs. This is another example of Heather easily avoiding elimination. And like i mentiomed before, obviously this isn’t supposed to happen, but it was handled so badly. Because of this, and Harold’s treatment, I’d unfortunately have to say this is a <font color="Orange">bad episode.

Who Can You Trust?


Episode Number: 11

The episode in a nutshell: The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass partake in a challenge where trust is key. DJ asks Geoff to watch his bunny, but the latter fails to do so. However, DJ ends up just fine with a new bunny, courtesy of Duncan. The Killer Bass eliminate Sadie after a clumsy performance, but she realizes she gets to reunite with Katie.

Fun Fact: This is the only episode in the entire season that has more Bass than Gophers.

My favorite part: Duncan getting DJ a new bunny

Quote: “When I say someone goes down, they go down.” <font color="Dimgray">-Courtney

My thoughts: I’m pretty surprised by the fact that the Killer Bass decided to keep DJ around after he took off his blindfold. What’s really easy to notice is that everybody’s quick to vote off the person (or one of the people) that screwed everything up, with a few exceptions. But hey, no complaints here, because Sadie became so incredibly bland and forgettable once Katie left that it leads me to believe the writers forgot she existed up until this point. Don’t believe me? This is the first time she’s spoken since episode 7. Aside from that, not much to note, so this is an <font color="Gray">average episode.

Basic Straining


Episode Number: 12

The episode in a nutshell: The campers are forced to endure Chef Hatchet’s brutal boot camp. After screwing around too much, Duncan is sent to the boathouse. While he’s there, he starts dating Courtney, who is voted off the next night thanks to Harold.

Fun Fact: Chris doesn’t mention Sadie’s elimination in the recap.

My favorite part: Harold’s revenge on Duncan

Quote: “You guys think you’re sooo funny. Let’s see how ya like it when someone messes with your love life.” <font color="Blue">-Harold

My thoughts: So, in case you weren’t able to figure it out by my summary, the main focus of this episode is Duncney. That means, if you’re like me, and you’re not a Duncney fan, this episode likely won’t be all that good to you. I seem to be the only one bothered by the fact that Duncney’s first kiss was no less than 30 seconds after Courtney threw up. That’s pretty gross. I have a feeling I’m gonna get a lot of shade thrown my way for saying Harold voting off Courtney is my favorite part, but I really do like the fact that he was able to stick up for himself (even if it wasn’t directly) and show Duncan that if you go against the deals you make, there are consequences (because if you remember correctly, Duncan agreed to stop harassing Harold two episodes ago and he’s still at it). One defense I heard from a few people (my sister included) was that Harold should’ve targeted Duncan instead of taking it out on Courtney, but I really don’t think that would’ve had the same effect. He probably wouldn’t have minded it as much, seeing as how he wasn’t exactly overjoyed to be staying on the island in the first place. Even though I really like what Harold did to Duncan here, I’m just not crazy about Duncney the same way a huge part of the fanbase is, so I’ll be rating this another <font color="Gray">average episode. Please don’t crucify me Duncney fans.

X-Treme Torture


Episode Number: 13

The episode in a nutshell: For the challenge, Chris has the campers do X-Treme Sports. Gwen and Bridgette ignite a quarrel over a letter they each believe is for them. Meanwhile, Harold accidentally sees Heather’s chest and becomes distracted. This leads to his elimination, right after some romance from who he wrote the letter to, Leshawna.

Fun Fact: This is the only episode in the season where there are more males than females.

My favorite part: Lesharold

Quote: “You two know anybody else around here with a booty as luscious as an apple?” <font color="Tomato">-Leshawna

My thoughts: Now this is more like it! An episode about a couple I like! What kinda amazes me is how Leshawna goes from ready to really mess up Harold in episode 1 to them kissing by the end of this episode. A couple can come a far way in only half a season. I always, always, ALWAYS laugh whenever Leshawna says the above quote. That always cracks me up! I didn’t like how Harold was eliminated in this episode, but his elimination did have a valid reason behind it and he was able to get some closure before he left, so it’s fine by me. This is a <font color="Cyan">good episode.

Brunch of Disgustingness


Episode Number: 14

The episode in a nutshell: The campers are divided in a battle of the sexes. Heather and Leshawna’s conflict forces Bridgette to choose sides. The campers are forced to ingest several stomach-turning meals to win a two-day stay at a five-star resort. In the end, it is Owen that snags the win for the guys.

Fun Fact: Bridgette is a vegetarian.

My favorite part: The conflict between the girls

Quote: “Let’s build bridges, not walls.” <font color="Deepskyblue">-Bridgette

My thoughts: Now, I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m usually not a fan of non-elimination episodes. I think it’s a little frustrating to see that the season essentially doesn’t progress, especially if there’s a character (or multiple characters) in particular I really want to see out of the game. But there is some notable things that do happen in this episode, so I guess it’s not that big a deal. This is certainly one episode that you’ll want to watch on an empty stomach if you’re easily grossed out, but aside from the lack of an elimination, I didn’t find anything to be bad. The conflicts between the girls are entertaining to watch if you ask me. Overall, an <font color="Gray">average episode.

No Pain, No Game


Episode Number: 15

The episode in a nutshell: The two teams are disbanded and Eva and Izzy return. Eva has a bone to pick with Bridgette, the only other female Bass left. The final 12 are now all competing against each other unless they have an alliance. After facing a very painful challenge, Leshawna wins the challenge, and Eva is voted off again.

Fun Fact: This has the exact same name as an episode of Survivor.

My favorite part: Witnessing each of the campers’ voted

Quote: “Here’s a toe-tag, surfer girl. You’ll be needing it for later.” <font color="Navy">-Eva

My thoughts: Returns. Not very fond of them. It’s unfair to the people that made it this far, and it’s also unfair to the eliminated contestants. And I probably wouldn’t have chosen Izzy and Eva out of who’s been voted off so far, either. Also, Eva’s elimination this episode really makes me wonder why the writers decided to bring her back at all. I mean, if you look at the elimination table, you might get a laugh out of Eva’s row, but other than that, it made no sense to me. Thirdly, I know this is a minor thing, but why is Gwen still mad at Trent? It’s been eight episodes at this point; I figure she’d at least be a little bit over it. After the criticism I’ve given everything’s here, I do believe this is a <font color="Orange">bad episode.

Search and Do Not Destroy


Episode Number: 16

The episode in a nutshell: The final 11 search for keys to treasure chests. Heather kisses Trent, temporarily ending Gwent and causing Gwen to be very upset. After Leshawna hears about this, she attempts to have everybody vote off Heather, but Trent is voted off instead due to Heather winning invincibility.

Fun Fact: This is the first of three pirate-related episodes in the series.

My favorite part: The gag with Lindsay using the confessional

Quote: “We need you in the alliance so we can vote off Heather. She’s playing around with Gwen’s boy Trent.” <font color="Tomato">-Leshawna

My thoughts: Well this was an interesting one. I gotta say, I’m sure there’s a lot of Gwent fans that probably don’t like this episode, but I do think it was entertaining to watch for reasons that I honestly can’t put my finger on. It was probably her strategy. Imagine if she hadn’t gotten that invincibility pass. That’s probably the only thing I didn’t enjoy about this episode. Why did only Heather’s chest give her invincibility? It seems quite biased. But whatever, I’d still say this is a <font color="Cyan">good episode.

Hide and Be Sneaky


Episode Number: 17

The episode in a nutshell: The final 10 play Hide and Seek with Chef, who has a water gun. Duncan forms an alliance with the other males as campers are slowly found. Leshawna wins invincibility thanks to her hiding spot and Heather wins invincibility by joining the dark side. In the end, Bridgette is voted off by the guys’ alliance.

Fun Fact: This is the first episode of the series that Cartoon Network did not edit.

My favorite part: Izzy’s interactions with Chef

Quote: “Here’s to the guys alliance. Geoff?” <font color="Lime">-Duncan

My thoughts: So, the guys’ alliance never strikes again after this episode. They vote off Bridgette and don’t really do anything else but talk strategy. It’s very peculiar. Speaking of voting Bridgette off, this elimination is likely the most controversial one in the series because people have no clue who Geoff voted for. My theory is he lied and voted for Bridgette. But this episode was interesting to watch and it had a neat challenge, so I’d say it’s a <font color="Cyan">good episode.

That’s Off The Chain!


Episode Number: 18

The episode in a nutshell: The final 9 build their own bikes and race them. Izzy tests out her bike and takes Leshawna along for the ride. Shockingly, Heather betrays Lindsay, causing the latter’s elimination.

Fun Fact: Lindsay is the first camper to not leave the camp at night.

My favorite part: Lindsay telling off Heather

Quote: “You really ARE mean! And all that bad stuff people say about you is true, like how you’re a two-faced, backstabbing, lying little <font color="White">CENSORED !” <font color="Gold">-Lindsay

My thoughts: I think the most notable thing about this episode is definitely how ridiculously flawed the challenge is. In every single sudden-death challenge, Chris still says the winner has “invincibility” as if there’s actually going to be an elimination ceremony. And with all the talk Heather and Lindsay have about being safe and getting their respective marshmallows, they sure seem to think that’s the case for some reason, but it isn’t. The only goal of sudden-death eliminations is to avoid being eliminated, and if being “invincible” is the only reward, I personally don’t think that’s enough motivation. Think about it: if there’s no bonfire ceremony, isn’t everybody but Lindsay technically invincible? They throw that word around way too much in this episode. And we all know that Lindsay’s elimination was nothing short of ludicrous either. The writers send her packing even though she finished in second. They don’t eliminate Duncan or Owen, even though the obviously finished last. They don’t eliminate DJ, Geoff, or Gwen, even though they they were eliminated in the first round. Heck, they don’t even think to eliminate Izzy and Leshawna, and they’re NOWHERE to be found. So if you think about it, all Lindsay had to do to avoid elimination was throw the challenge. I’d say this is an <font color="Gray">average episode. Lindsay’s retaliation is obviously the only reason I didn’t give this a bad rating.

Hook, Line, and Screamer


Episode Number: 19

The episode in a nutshell: The final 8 are tasked with surviving an IRL horror movie. Chef the Killer eliminates them one by one, except for Gwen and Duncan. Although Duncan was the last man standing, Gwen was the one to win the challenge by fighting a real killer. In the end, DJ leaves the island for freaking out at the sight of Heather.

Fun Fact: This is the first episode to take place entirely at night.

My favorite part: Gwen taking on the Killer

Quote: “Someone lose this?” <font color="Lime">-Duncan

My thoughts: Just like the last episode, the only notable thing I found was the sudden-death elimination. I really don’t get why DJ had to be the one to leave and the campers weren’t able to vote. Sure, he did horribly in the challenge, but I don’t think that’s a valid enough reason to send him home altogether. And just like last time, Gwen wins “invincibility” even though everybody else but DJ technically has invincibility as well, which makes her win almost entirely pointless. As for the rest of the episode, pretty uneventful outside of the challenge. This one’s an <font color="Gray">average episode.

Wawanakwa Gone Wild!


Episode Number: 20

The episode in a nutshell: Each of the final 7 must capture an animal and bring it to a cage unharmed. Gwen gets a delicious meal for being the first to capture her animal, while Duncan and Heather from an alliance. Heather ends up getting very bad luck, including getting shot by Izzy. This leads to the latter being voted off again.

Fun Fact: This is the first episode where invincibility cannot be received by winning, as Gwen was in the bottom two despite her victory.

My favorite part: Heather’s misfortune

Quote: “No, chocolate duck.” <font color="Darkcyan">-Gwen

My thoughts: There isn’t a whole lot here, just like the last episode I guess the most notable thing would be Gwen being in the bottom two. Why wouldn't she have invincibility in this episode? I really don’t get it at all. Oh yeah, and this is yet another episode where everybody has a chance to vote off Heather, but they pass it up yet again. At this point in the season, it’s not really even that surprising anymore. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with the episode per se, but it’s also not the most memorable, so I’ll say it’s another <font color="Gray">average episode.

Trial by Tri-Armed Triathlon


Episode Number: 21

The episode in a nutshell: The final 6 divide into three teams and must complete a triathlon using teamwork. Geoff and Gwen end up being the only team to get along. At the end of the challenge, Chris reveals there’s a three-way tie and nobody is safe. Although Gwen assumed she was going, Duncan, Heather, and Owen all decided to vote off Geoff.

Fun Fact: As of this episode, Duncan is the only Killer Bass member left.

My favorite part: Geoff teaching Gwen to loosen up

Quote: “Mama always said if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, in which case Heather would say NOTHING EVER! SHE IS THE BIGGEST, THE MEANEST, THE NASTIEST <font color="White">CENSORED IN ALL OF KALAMAZOO!” <font color="Cyan">-Owen

My thoughts: Yadda yadda yadda, they missed another chance to vote off Heather, yadda yadda yadda. If they wanted to vote off the nice guy, they should’ve targeted Owen instead of Geoff anyway. Aside from that, I do like this episode. This proved to be a turning point for Gwen and from here on out, we start to see her slowly but surely lose her goth girl image. Kudos to Geoff for making that happen! I also like how Duncan and Leshawna started to bond as the challenge went by (although it does irritate me how Courtney went behind Duncan’s back and told Leshawna about DJ’s bunny after she said she wouldn’t). But the rest of this episode is pretty solid, so i guess it’s not that big of a deal. It’s a <font color="Cyan">good episode.