Camp - Recap: Let Go or Be Dragged
Recap and review of Camp - Season 1 Episode 9 - CIT Overnight:
I've been pretty high on Camp all summer, but this is the first episode that's left me feeling cold, even despite my general fondness for some of the romantic plots on the show. Of course, my lack of enjoyment for this episode is kind of hypocritical on my part: I've always praised the series for being enthusiastically low-stakes, yet the lack of any real stakes is what keeps this episode from really doing anything for me. It's a weirdly shallow episode filled with the kind of empty relationship drama that does nothing to compel drama. In fact, it isn't until the latter half of the episode, when it becomes apparent that this is really a story centered less on relationship drama than it is centered on letting go, that "CIT Overnight" becomes even remotely worthwhile. With that said, once that latter half kicks in, it starts to feel a lot more like the Camp I've been falling in love with all summer, filled with humor, heart, and a message that, while treacly, is well-observed.
The main plot involves the CIT overnight trip, a rite of passage for the young camp counselors-in-training. With no chaperones or supervision of any kind, the CITs are left to navigate Bear Mountain on their own, camping for the night, and finding and writing their names on a landmark called The Lion's Head the next day at high noon. But interpersonal drama quickly gets in the way of the trip going smoothly. Kip (Thom Green) wants to come clean to Chloe (Natasha Bassett) about his relationship with Marina (Lily Sullivan), but it's difficult given the developing friendship between the two girls. Worse, Chloe is still "in mourning" over the end of her relationship with Kip, sporting a black sun hat and dark sunglasses. But as the trip goes on and Chloe shows no signs of making it easier on the couple, they decide to come clean, with Marina breaking the news that she's dating Kip. Naturally, Chloe completely flips out and storms off into the woods, prompting the couple to chase after her. When they catch up with her, Kip explains that Chloe will always have a place in his heart, since she was his first kiss and his first girlfriend. But they just weren't meant to be together, he insists. Kip and Marina are able to help Chloe move on from her heartache, but in the process they are separated from the rest of the group, which causes them to miss a crucial, heartbreaking moment...
Credit: NBC
Buzz (Charles Grounds) has been looking forward to the CIT overnight trip, as it will allow him to display his awesome wilderness skills. Even better for him, Zoe (Carmel Rose) is back, and she's just as into him now as she was when she left, meaning that Buzz may finally achieve his summer-long goal of getting some action. The storyline starts out as a simplistic love triangle, illustrating the adorable bond shared between Buzz and Grace (Charlotte Nicdao), before throwing Zoe into the fray to muddy things up. But the story quickly takes a turn that results in an infinitely more engaging episode than we'd been getting. Buzz's decision to get revenge on some Ridgefield bullies earlier in the episode -- by stuffing a banana into the tailpipe of one of their ATVs -- comes back to haunt him when the bullies return for revenge. With no supervision, no one is around to stop the three boys from pummeling Buzz, tying him up to a tree and writing the word "Balls" on his forehead with a sharpie. When Kip and Marina arrive, they're too late to do anything, and Buzz is virtually inconsolable.
Credit: Vince Valitutti/NBC
Charles Grounds is tremendous here, communicating the anger, sadness and frustration of a powerless kid who always seems to end up getting the short end of the stick. It's a powerhouse performance that is impactful precisely because so much goodwill has been built up for the character as a lovable goof, in addition to the fact that things seemed to be finally going his way before everything turned sour. I'm not sure it would have worked as well for anyone else, but even without all the ingrained goodwill towards the character, I think Grounds proved he would have been able to carry off the performance just as passionately, regardless. As for the aftermath, Buzz can't let the incident go upon returning to camp, and he refuses to talk to Mack (Rachel Griffiths) about what happened. He angrily scrubs away at his forehead, crying the entire time, and it isn't until Cole (Nikolai Nikolaeff) comes in to talk him down, revealing that the same thing used to happen to him as a kid, that the teen starts to calm down. With the help and emotional support of Grace, Cole, Kip, Marina and his mother, Buzz is able to show the maturity to let the incident go. He travels with Kip, Marina and Grace to finish the trip. They locate The Lion's Head and write their name on the legendary stone, and share the afternoon together, letting go of the past, letting go of worrying about what the future may hold, and instead simply living in the moment. It's a beautiful capper that just about redeems the elements of the episode that don't entirely work...
Credit: NBC
For example, now that Robbie (Tim Pocock) and Sarah (Dena Kaplan) have broken up, we now have to deal with two weak plotlines instead of just one, as they go on separate paths and have their own individual stories. This week, both of the stories are underwhelming affairs that detract from the moment of the episode. In the first, Sarah forms a friendship with a successful swimmer staying at Ridgefield. The quick and easy bond between the two prompts Sarah to reveal all the lurid details about her affair with Miguel. Of course, the woman isn't the friend she appears to be, spreading a rumor throughout the camp that Sarah had genital warts, which caused Miguel to dump her. When Sarah confronts her, the girl gets lippy and a fight breaks out between the two, resulting in Sarah angrily quitting her job with Ridgefield. It's a relatively weightless storyline with little other purpose than to get Sarah back to Little Otter, as she asks for her old job back and Mack happily agrees. So on that level, it's a success. At the very least, it's more successful than Robbie's storyline, in which he meets two French backpackers and ends up doing drugs and, presumably, having a threesome with them. When Robbie returns to Little Otter the next day, he's suddenly got a whole new lease on life, and seems uncharacteristically chill towards Sarah. If the only purpose of the story was to get Robbie to a point where he could forgive Sarah, then I'm all for it, if only so that their storylines can be joined together rather than separated.
Credit: NBC
Meanwhile, the other major storyline of the episode sees Mack struggling to decide whether or not Roger (Rodger Corser) is a good guy after all. She accepts his offer of a real date, and seems pretty excited about it until she learns that he's responsible for cutting down a chestnut tree that had been in her family since she was a little girl. She's disappointed in Roger, but not nearly as disappointed as she is with Cole, who lies to her about a "jackhammer"-like pain in his tooth in order to get out of working...so he can meet with Roger to discuss the details of the Alaska job. When Mack freezes him out and implies that he isn't welcome back at Little Otter, Cole astutely brings up her stern advice during Todd and Raffi's wedding reception, saying that she was the one who pushed him to grow up and seek opportunities for a real career. He admits that he hasn't exactly been handling that transition into adulthood all that well, but he's sincere about trying. It shows honest growth in Cole's character, and while Mack can occasionally come across as petty, her virtue has always been in hearing people out and giving everyone a fair shake. Much like her son, she finds a way to let go of the slight against her.
Yet there are other things Mack needs to let go of before she can move on from her troubles this week. One of the camp's oldest and most loyal attendees passes away, and the end result is Mack getting philosophical about the nature of life and death. She has letting Buzz go further into adulthood. She's also having a hard time letting go of the memories represented by the family chestnut tree, which Roger explains he had cut down due to a dangerous fungus covering the tree. It's Roger who helps her move past her grief over the perpetual state of change, and with his support, Mack is able to let go of her issues, delivering a moving eulogy of the late camper, and planting a tree in his honor, replacing the old chestnut tree with a vibrant symbol of hope for the future.
Credit: NBC
"CIT Overnight" was rough in the early going, due to an overemphasis on low-stakes romance plots, but once the episode engaged the theme of letting go (through the respective storylines of Mack and Buzz), things picked up considerably. Next week's season finale brings to a close one of the most fun first seasons of a TV show in recent memory, in my opinion. Camp isn't perfect, but there's joy in all the things it does well. When it's firing on all cylinders, I can't think of a better show with which to unwind.