Summer Camp Island Review: Tub on the Run / Spotted Bear Stretch

"STOP THE PRESSES!"

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I'm beginning to notice a general trend in Season 2, and a good one. There's always a sense, going from the first season to the second of any show, of reassessing what worked and what didn't, and subsequently correcting the sorts of things that fell flat or left a lot to be desired. Some shows slip this up and go off the deep end, burning off the promise they bore, but a smart show takes everything in stride, and without fail, I'm seeing Summer Camp Island making the right sort of choices, especially in these two episodes. Even if they're not anything too lavish, they're signs that the show's got an upgraded agenda and it's ready to play.

I'll be the first to admit, for instance, that the mere idea of "Tub on the Run" gave me some pause, as I have a lot of conflicting feelings about the relationship between Hedgehog and Max that emerged towards the back of last season. It felt very quick and unexpected, barreling through three or so episodes with on-and-off infatuation and culminating in Hedgehog being turned down without feeling like there was ample time for her feelings to develop or take form.

"Tub on the Run" works to frame that, though, as part of the point. Adolescent romance is weird, and SCI is content to demonstrate that in a pretty subtly progressive way. Right off the bat, the episode reminds us that this is the first time that Hedgehog and Max have hung out since the events of "Spell Crushers," and things start from a place of relative awkwardness, with Hedgehog getting flustered as soon as Oscar brings up the circumstance to her attention. Even so, though, relatively little time is taken before the episode crystallizes into yet another zany day on the island, putting the two at task in a strange quest to return a runaway bathtub.

It's an incredibly fun affair, if not one that exceeds your expectations—the delightful average for a patently un-average show. While Oscar recedes into the background, becoming part of a fun recurring gag built from his obsession with examining people's interiors, Max and a lot of the show's more peripheral cast get to come to the forefront as he and Hedgehog run from place to place, interrogating residents that might be of use: Paulette of the Heartford Herald, Mrs. Goose, and ultimately Alice, the person who put the "help wanted" ad in the newspaper anonymously. SCI's cast, as I've said before, is as fantastic as it is generally untapped, and it's great how this season has found ways to utilize a lot of supporting players who didn't get a ton of screentime last season... and if it's any demonstration of their excellence, every character on display here has a shining moment, whether it's Mrs. Goose finding rubber ducks offensive or Alice's wistful guitar song.

Of course, the idea of this being the first time that Hedgehog and Max have hung out in a while isn't lost on the show; it's actually an idea that exists firmly along the outskirts of the entire episode, with practically the entire camp asking Hedgehog if things are weird at every chance they get. I feel like that was a best way to address the elephant in the room, though: simply letting it manifest in nosey societal pressure but not in the actions of the characters in question. It's a nice way to acknowledge that just because stuff like this can happen, that doesn't mean things can't move on, and it's a really nice, basic lesson for the show to teach that so few other shows, inundated with nail-biting relationship drama, could ever muster.

"Spotted Bear Stretch," meanwhile, continues Season 2's road to self-improvement with, like "Acorn Graduation," another Susie episode. While that idea filled me with a certain amount of hesitation in the first season, she's proven to have quite the range, with her unceasing prickliness occasionally giving way to vulnerability and self-awareness.

It definitely needed that, too, to enable its set-up to work: Oscar and Pajamas have an impromptu sleepover at Susie's when he fails to pick Pajamas up from a play date on-time on the eve of the Spotted Bear Stretch—the one night a year that the island is overrun by the sleepy but deadly carnivores. While that initially plays into a bit of regressive characterization from Oscar, as soon as the stakes are set, the game of the episode is established: Oscar and Pajamas are trapped in Susie's house with her and Jimjams, and have to operate under her selfish authority with complete and utter silence.

Oddly enough, though, "Spotted Bear Stretch" demonstrates that, more than anything else, it wants to use this to examine Susie's insecurities. While there's a lot of fun to be had in Oscar and Pajamas' ability to entertain each other regardless of their limitations (SCI, fortunately, is very well-versed in silent action), all of that becomes a further tool to dissect her narcissism and perhaps even frailty. Having Jimjams operate as the mediator between both sides, as well, was a great way to deploy his character as someone who is generally loyal to Susie but weathered down enough from her peculiarities to have almost an all-seeing eye over everything that's going on.

I think perhaps the most interesting moment of the episode, and something that I wish "Spotted Bear Stretch" was able to prod at more deeply, was the moment where Susie feels legitimately, emotionally-wounded by Jimjams readjusting their plans for the night to make room for Oscar and Pajamas. It's an interesting way to challenge the character without her even being wronged while affirming that, to an extent, her instincts and reticence are her own worst enemy... though sadly, that seems to be shuffled away from the episode's priority about as quickly as it emerges when a Spotted Bear scratches itself against and farts on her cabin.

While I don't think that the climax of the episode is able to properly address the sort of baggage that "Spotted Bear Stretch" proposes, either—with Oscar, Pajamas, and Jimjams having to haul a sleep-walking Susie back after she wanders out of the house into the bear-infested danger zone—it at least puts Susie in the uncomfortably vulnerable spot of having to acknowledge that her life was saved by Oscar and co. (even if they play it off to make her feel better about it). It's not a watershed moment for Susie by any means, but it's interesting to see her in that sort of compromised position that undermines the sort of integrity she presents. Hopefully, as the season progresses, we'll get to see more of those layers peeled back, too.

There's nothing too showy or defiant about "Tub on the Run" or "Spotted Bear Stretch," but they both demonstrate that the series is heading in the right direction. I know that's probably something I've repeated ad nauseum, but I just get excited to see a show I appreciate as much as SCI succeeding and expanding its scope to as much of a degree as it has been.

FINAL GRADES:
"Tub on the Run": B+.
"Spotted Bear Stretch": B.

On Saturday: Oscar tries to unearth a secret society, and Puddles and the King get married.

For my review of the last two episodes, "Acorn Graduation" and "Dungeon Doug," CLICK HERE.

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