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OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

David and Gwen receive word that they’ve run out of funds to run the camp now that Cameron Campbell is going to jail. With seemingly no other options, and not wanting to destroy what little respect the kids have for them, they plan to hold a fundraiser to replace the Quartermaster’s stolen hook…which they have secretly stolen. Suggestions are thrown around, including a Sarah McLachlan-esque commercial showing the kids as abused (which isn’t that too far off), though Neil suggests using cryptocurrency. It doesn’t take long for Max to find out Gwen and David’s theft, and even less long to uncover the camp’s financial woes.

At the fundraiser, things start off well!…until the commercial airs, Neil goes shilling for his crypto coin, and Nikki uncovers a human skull. And to top off this crap sundae, Max exposes the crime in front of everyone, leading to a very public beat down by QM, with Max selling off tomatoes, throwing chairs, and general admission. And thus, the day is saved! Thanks to exploitive violent entertainment.

OUR TAKE

First off, I NEED a Quartermaster action figure with a thousand hook attachments. Amputees like me need representation, dammit! Or maybe make it a blind box thing? There’s money to be made here!

Also, shout out to the recast Preston, Nicholaus Weindel, covering for Georden Whitman, who I assume was too busy working on creating Nomad at the time to be able to do the role. They certainly picked the right guy to fill in the “odd spelling of an average name with the last name starting with W” department, and I’m sure I’ll get used to his version in due time, but I will still miss Georden’s take from the past two seasons.

But we’re here to talk about this premiere, which was definitely their strongest yet. David and Gwen’s double act is well oiled as ever, Nikki drops her Nikki-isms at perfectly timed moments, and we have a weird balance of dated vs soon to be dated comedy with the funding commercial vs the use of cryptocurrency. Though with all of this in mind, I have to admit I wasn’t really laughing through my first viewing…until we got to the climax and had Quartermaster calling out the sheer ridiculousness of it all, followed up by a hilarious beating. The whole “moral vs anti-moral” thing that the crew has mentioned in the DVD Commentaries also can be seen here, with the anti-moral being doing what might seem to be a minor crime to accomplish a seemingly greater good, while the real moral is that people will pay anything to see someone they hate to get their due. I’m not sure how true that moral is, but it sure makes for some pretty good comedy.

And we’re dealing with the after-effects of Cameron Campbell’s arrest last season, with the camp barely squeaking by and now having to actually adopt the show’s title to help rebrand. Though part of me feels Cameron’s probably not gone for good, and another makes me wonder about how much continuity this story is going to implement, because clearly certain big actions have larger and longer lasting consequences than others, but does that mean that summer will come to an end, along with the show? The latter know probably won’t be touched on for some time, if at all, but the former I hope we see some of this season if only to hear more of that smooth Travis Willingham croon.

Overall, a promising start to the season. Third seasons are usually where shows find their true grooves, and while I don’t expect every episode to be up to this standard, I think things will even out now that the writers and actors seemingly have a handle on this thing.

Score 8/10