| “ | Is the earth a rhombus? Now hurry up and grab your best gouging knife! | ” |
— Daniel | ||
"Camp Loser Says What?" is the 9th episode of the fourth season of Camp Camp, and is the 49th episode overall. It premiered July 27th, 2019 on the RT FIRST site, and August 3rd, 2019 on the Rooster Teeth website.
Official Synopsis
| “ | Camp Campbell falls to the Wood Scouts, whose new leader takes his agenda to extremes they might not be totally comfortable with. | ” |
—Episode description | ||
Plot
On a bright sunny day, everyone has gathered in the mess hall, watching a tense chess match between Neil and Space Kid already in progress. Space Kid confidently makes his move and says "king me", indicating he has clearly won. Without warning, the windows are shattered by two gas canisters spraying green fumes, and Pikeman kicks open the door, ordering everyone to get down while brandishing a "Pain-t Tech" paintball gun. Petrol and Snake slide in through the broken windows wielding guns of their own, and Petrol uses his to hit a charging Nurf in the face, taking him down instantly. Nerris throws some dice at Snake, calling a Magic Missile attack, but he easily deflects them with a riot shield. Dolph sits there rocking himself, screaming, "What is happening?!" Max orders Nikki to kill, and she leaps forward barking and frothing at the mouth; unfortunately she too is defeated- by Pikeman looping a dog snare around her neck- and tossed into a pile with everyone else. Jermy announces he found Quartermaster in the back, forcing him to move into the mess hall at paintball-gunpoint, and in a last-ditch effort he picks up a machete and starts swinging it, and his hook hand, blindly. The remaining Wood Scouts open fire and Quartermaster is gunned down, causing David to let out a dramatic, "Nooooooooooooo!" with tears in his eyes. Pikeman quickly counters with, "camp loser says what?" and laughs maniacally when David falls for it, triumphantly announcing to his pals that they've finally beaten Camp Campbell, with Snake adding that the camp now belongs to the Wood Scouts. Stunned, Max says this is impossible as they never win, and asks how they pulled this off. Pikeman simply says it was easy once they found the right leader, and the Wood Scouts step aside as the front doors open once more, revealing Daniel as he enters and merrily bids everyone good morning. In his room above the mess hall, Campbell is watching TV, and upon hearing everyone's screams of horror he flatly states, "I'm not touching that one."
Now within the stormy barracks of the Wood Scouts camp, the Campbell campers have now been outfitted with new uniforms, oddly enough resembling their old clothing but in different colors. Max states again he can't believe the Wood Scouts won, and Neil asks someone to pinch him as he must be dreaming. Petrol then comes up and punches him in the gut, causing Neil to crumple onto the floor. Pikeman tells them to drop the whining and act like men, to which Nikki points out not all of them are men. Gwen asks if they can get some female uniforms instead and is told by Pikeman that "the men will decide what's best for you." Max asks if they have any idea who they just put in charge of their camp, with David adding that although "Daniel may seem nice, caring, smart and handsome" he's actually a deranged cult leader that's tried to kill them. Pikeman states that's why they gave him the job, with Snake adding he's a "big fan" of Daniel's work. Pikeman continues that Daniel knew how to play them all like a fiddle, which he's quite good at, and that their first order of business is to keep their winning streak going. Daniel explains that because the Wood Scouts welcomed him, he in turn welcomed the Campbell campers, and so they must now help him in welcoming "the masses of the world - and other worlds beyond - to join us." The Wood Scouts clap and Max asks if they're just gonna ignore this massive red flag, which prompts Daniel to talk down to him, calling Max an "Ever-defiant little rascal." Unfazed, Max asks Daniel what his angle is, and is told that he only wants to "uphold and protect the values in this book", holding up a yellow Wood Scouts handbook. He explains that they must take precautions from "people who stand against what we stand for", now that they have twice as much campground, thus they'll need to build a moat. Snake is confused by this, and with a sinister smile Daniel replies that once word gets out about how great the Wood Scouts are becoming, everyone's gonna want a piece of them, grumbling "especially our neighbors." Pikeman realizes he's talking about the Flower Scouts, and he appeals to their no-girl policy by asking if they could imagine a Flower Scout getting into their organization. Nikki raises a hand to remind everyone she was once a Flower Scout, and is promptly locked in a cage. Daniel takes out a set of blueprints saying they need this moat ASAP, and orders Dolph to take a small group of people and oversee this project, which he uneasily agrees to. In a sing-song voice, he asks David to bring the bus around, as the rest of them have an equally important task to do. Gwen tries to reassure David that they'll get through this, and if he can, to try and hit Daniel with the bus.
Now in town and under the watchful eye of Petrol, Preston and Nerris are holding a script, attempting to sway a couple into joining them while looking visibly terrified. Satisfied, Petrol leaves, and the two desperately ask the couple to save them and call the police, frightening them into running for their lives. Pikeman thinks that this is going well, and Max demands to know how they don't see that this is obviously a bad idea. Pikeman says they're just acting like a bunch of sore losers, and Jermy asks if they can just let him have this as he's only won 3 things in his life. Exasperated, Max says they're missing the point, and asks if they have any idea what Daniel is capable of. Confidently, Pikeman notes Daniel is good at drawing a crowd, and indeed Daniel is standing atop a barrel preaching to a large crowd of gathered townsfolk. He boasts that not only do the Wood Scouts sell the best popcorn, "but they are a fundamental part of the history of this great planet, a planet that we all know was rescued from the Negabytes' fortress by the all-powerful Xemüg." Snake is perplexed by his dialogue, and Pikeman reasons that it doesn't matter if he goes a little off-script so long as they're getting new recruits. Daniel arrives to announce he's got 3 new recruits; Dirty Kevin, a guy with a blonde mullet and pink hat, and Weird Larry who spouts off "all hail Xemüg!" Snake initiates a quick huddle, saying that they shouldn't associate with these characters as the Wood Scouts have a lackluster reputation as it is, and Jermy adds that none of them are children so this should be a non-starter. Blinded by the promise of more recruits, Pikeman says reputation doesn't matter as long as they've got numbers on their side, adding "there were four of us this morning, but now look at us!" He reasons that despite Daniel getting a little weird from time to time, they're still getting what they want, which Snake openly questions. With a tad more hesitancy, Pikeman replies that he is fairly certain that they are.
An overhead view of Camp Campbell shows that a moat has been successfully built, which Daniel proudly describes as being in his top 4 favorites. Sweating and covered in dirt, Dolph thanks him, standing alongside an equally disheveled Nerris and Nurf. In a fond tone, Pikeman says, "Fresh moat, gloomy skies, this place is just a roll of barbed wire away from feeling like home." Max flatly asks if his old home had this, pointing to a large ceremonial dais at the edge of the shore, made of cement and adorned with four massive wings. Snake asks about it and Daniel, engrossed in his blueprints, says that all the best moats have them. Pikeman muses about not having known that, and Max gets right up in his face to remind him Daniel's lying, yelling as to why they don't care at all about any of this. Daniel says he's been telling the truth from the beginning, repeating that his only goal was to "uphold the values in this book". He shows the Wood Scouts handbook again only to reveal that this was just a sleeve, and that the real title of the book is "Xemüg's Guide to Eternal Salvation - Kids Edition" with a likeness of him on the cover, and a flash of lightning and thunder ring out for dramatic effect. Snake realizes that Daniel was only in this to promote "his own questionable agenda", and Pikeman whines "who could have seen this coming?" Every single person from Camp Campbell yells that they all did.
Stepping up to the dais, Daniel announces that it's time for their reward since they've all done such great work today, and calls out to "bring in the sacrifice!" The three men Daniel had recruited arrive with Nikki, still caged, and she unenthusiastically asks if Daniel's revealed his plan yet, to which Neil remarks they're in the middle of it. David shakes his fist and says that Daniel won't get away with this, and his response is "Oh but I already have!" as he snaps his fingers and the area behind the dais immediately bursts into flame. Weird Larry spouts off "all hail Xemüg!" again, and the other two men brandish their spears at the denizens of Camp Campbell. Daniel shows them a large diagram in his book, which is translated as a rough diagram of the Sleepy Peak area, indicated to the viewer by being superimposed over a geographical map of the landscape. As extremely unsettling music plays, Daniel states that "once the ritual is complete, Xemüg himself shall be summoned to consume our world and take us into the next phase of the Great Design, and it's all thanks to your sacrifice, literally!" The Wood Scouts stand stunned for a moment, and Jermy proposes another quick aside.
The four boys lean into a circle, and Jermy proposes that they bail. Pikeman is offended, as they've come so far, and Snake says that he's starting to think everyone was right about Daniel. Pikeman hotly insists that Snake isn't Wood Scouts material, and both he and Petrol take off their sashes, renouncing their affiliation. Jermy tries and fails to remove his, so instead opts to just leave with his fellow ex-Wood Scouts. Downhearted, Pikeman picks up their sashes and looks upon them. Daniel cheerfully calls out to him and gestures to Nikki, who is looking extremely bored within her cage, despite the flames. Pikeman asks if they really have to sacrifice anyone, and Daniel replies that they have to sacrifice everyone, and the guards jab their spears at the Campbell campers - with the exception of David and Max, who aren't in the group. Panicked, Pikeman asks if he's serious, and Daniel replies, "is the earth a rhombus? Now hurry up and grab your best gouging knife!" Finally, Pikeman has come to his senses, and he leaps in front of the group, saying if he's going to sacrifice the others, Daniel will have to sacrifice him too. Unperturbed, Daniel agrees, as "the more [sacrifices] the merrier!", to Pikeman's humiliation. Daniel advances on him, brandishing his gouging knife, saying he's sorry that Pikeman's unhappy with the way things turned out, but to look on the bright side as he finally won, and winds up to stab him.
"DANIEL!" a loud voice booms, and from the flames comes a massive grey head with two antennae, purple-and-blue eyes, pointed eyebrows and nose, elfish ears, and a Fu Manchu mustache - the exact likeness of Xemüg shown on the front of Daniel's book. Nurf loudly asks "what the fuck?" After his eyes widen in awe, Daniel addresses the giant head, asking what he's doing here, as his sacrifice hasn't even begun. Xemüg says he no longer requires a sacrifice, which Daniel questions, but the head roars not to question him, prompting Daniel to drop to his knees and bow, agreeing with the Ultralord. Daniel is told to leave to Antarctica and build a temple in his honor, with the promise of taking him to his "thousand planets" if he does. Suspicious, Daniel says he thought Xemüg had 10 million planets, and the head uncertainly says this was a test of faith, which he passed. Completely oblivious, Daniel compliments himself for "being on fire", and the head tells him once more to get out of here and that Daniel was always his favorite, before backing into the wall of fire. As the flame promptly goes out, Daniel says "Well, you heard the Ultralord. It's been fun everyone, but I'm afraid it's time we parted ways. Farewell, and may Xemüg bless your path!" and strolls away merrily, waving at the group. As soon as he's gone the skies clear up and everyone looks around in confusion, while Pikeman thanks god for the miracle. "Don't thank god, thank the fact that Daniel's an idiot" says Max, as he is shown standing with David, the rest of the Wood Scouts, and the giant prop Xemüg head. Pikeman is incredulous that this entire thing was their doing, and Snake says that despite the fact that they're enemies it turns out they can do pretty much anything if they work together. Still shocked, Pikeman asks who did the voice, and Petrol clears his throat with a coy smile. Max says that, in return for saving his shitty life, he should let them have their shitty camp back.
A moment later, the Wood Scouts depart the shores by motorboat, and Pikeman sheepishly says he owes them an apology; he should've never put Daniel in charge. Snake asks if this means that the Campbell campers are their allies now, and with alarm he replies "Oh god no! They're our sworn enemies from across the lake," adding that they may have gotten rid of Daniel but they'll never get rid of the Wood Scouts. He places his foot on the bow of the boat in an attempt to look grandiose, and Jermy salutes while saying "god bless America."
Transcript
{{Transcript}} would go here.
Features
Characters
Main Characters
Supporting Characters
- Billy Nikssilp (aka Snake)
- Jermy Fartz
- Petrol
- Nikki
Minor Characters
- Gwen
- Neil
- Nerris
- Nurf
- Space Kid
- Preston Goodplay
- Harrison
- Ered
- Dolph
- Cameron Campbell
- Weird Larry (first appearance)
- Dirty Kevin (non-speaking) cameo
- Xemüg (puppet) (first appearance)
Music
- "Camp Camp Song Song" (Opening Theme)
- "Xemüg's Song of Eternal Salvation" (Ending Theme)
Gallery
- Main article: Camp Loser Says What?/Gallery
Trivia
- Due to the fact that Quartermaster has killed before and isn't blind, he was most likely swinging his weapons near Jermy to try and scare him away, rather than actually hurt him.
- Despite the fact that the original Wood Scouts all wear the same uniform, the Campbell campers got to wear re-colored versions of their normal clothes instead - with the exception of Nikki, who was given the standard uniform.
- Daniel acting as a leader for the Wood Scouts is the first time an adult is shown managing things at their compound. Any counselors they may actually have are still unknown at this point.
- Pikeman says that Daniel is great at playing the fiddle (shown in "Cult Camp"), so it's possible Daniel has played for the Wood Scouts. However, his fiddle-playing skills are absent in this episode.
- Pikeman also says there were only 4 of them that morning, implying that Daniel swooped in to become their leader that very day, just as he did in his initial appearance "Cult Camp".
- The fake sleeve of the Wood Scouts handbook is shown to have been written by Peter Freuchen, a real-life explorer and anthropologist known mainly for exploring the arctic.
- Funnily enough, Xemüg sends Daniel to Antarctica at the end of the episode.
- There are a couple of things in the book that Daniel shows the campers, which contain a fair amount of information regarding his religion.
- In the top left-hand corner (chapter 4), there's a small blurb about a couple simply called The Smiths and their "very real, not at all fictitious summoning."
- At the very bottom, halfway across the screen, reads "Figure 1.A - Pictured is the summoning circle required to call forth Xemüg. One incorrect stroke could mean summoning Yemug, and no one" (the text is cut off at this point). Yemug has yet to be mentioned in the show and his/her/their/its relationship to Xemüg is completely unknown.
- Figure 1.B shows a traditional sacrificial blade, which Daniel has been shown to wield in both his previous appearances as well as this episode.
- The right-hand side of the page is a step-by-step guide to summoning Xemüg, and step 2 specifies that one of his favorite "looks" is Greco-Roman, which influenced the look of the summoning dais. Step 3 also reads, "The 4 wings represent the 4 bufallo [sic] BBQ wings leader Zyeo was eating when he received the vision of the summoning dais from Xemüg. The fire is because they were very spicy."
- The very bottom-right corner shows a simple star that is said to be a "summoning design" dated back to the Millennia Wars (which Daniel spoke about in "Cult Camp").
- And of course, the very center of the page shows an amalgamation of circles and symbols that he interpreted as the general geographical area of Sleepy Peak. The left shows Camp Campbell and their moat with smaller circles representing the mess hall, activities field, ampitheatre, campers' tents, and counselors' cabin. Spooky Island is represented as a single mountain within a circle, the Wood Scouts' compound with their moat in the top corner is represented by a square with an illuminati triangle in the middle, and the river that feeds in and out of Lake Lilac runs straight through the middle of the map.
- Despite the undeniable similarity, there have not been any instances of illuminati triangles being used at the Wood Scouts' camp, though it is easy to see why Daniel interpreted their large tent in the center of the barracks as the triangle within a square.
- One final note, the entire map of Sleepy Peak shown here is almost entirely covered in pine trees with a few brown mountains around the edges. Weirdly, a good chunk of the radius around Camp Campbell has far darker and more pronounced trees than the rest of the landscape, which could potentially indicate the radius of the supernatural aura around the camp.
- This is the first episode that has an actual speaking role for Petrol, although it's off-screen.
Cultural References
- Magic Missile is a real attack used in Dungeons and Dragons, although Nerris does misuse it here by throwing her actual dice at her opponent.
- The fake sleeve of the Wood Scouts handbook is shown to have been written by Peter Freuchen, a real-life explorer and anthropologist known mainly for exploring the arctic.
- Because of his dialogue in "Cult Camp", it is possible that Daniel could be from the cult of Scientology, as he talked about the Galactic Confederacy, and of "Xemüg" which is an obvious parody of Xenu the evil dictator who committed genocide of his people in the beliefs of the Church of Scientology.
- The story of Xenu is often called "The Wall of Fire", which is referenced in this episode with the fire that Daniel created on the sacrificial dais.
- David and Daniel's exchange of "You won't get away with this!" "Oh but I already have" is a common trope in movies, TV shows, and comics, and is most often used for a typical exchange between a superhero and their enemy.
- In the bottom-left page of the book that Daniel showed everyone, there's a hooded figure with the writing "is this a pigeon? If Xemüg says so!" This is a direct reference to the is this a pigeon? meme.
- Daniel believes that the earth is shaped like a rhombus (a diamond shape), which could potentially be a jab at the flat-earth theory taken to an extreme.
- The voice of Xemüg/Petrol is credited as Rico Bonet, although this is an alias used by a voice actor named Richard Steven Horvitz. Horvitz is best known for voicing the titular character Zim from the cartoon "Invader Zim who, like Xemüg is also an alien.
- Pikeman's pose while in the motorboat is meant to mimic a moment in US history known as George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River.
- This likely caused the next line "God Bless America", an American patriotic song.
Continuity
- Nerris uses Magic Missile again, something she uses in "Quest to Sleepy Peak Peak" against squirrels, however this time around she's unsuccessful in her attack against Snake.
- Nikki's ongoing penchant for acting like a dog continues here, growling and barking at Pikeman when ordered to attack. Pikeman uses a snappy snare to keep her down. This is a real tool commonly used on dogs to leash them, and is most often used by animal rescuers to secure a dog.
- In Jermy Fartz (episode)", Pikeman states that he won't rest until Camp Campbell is under the control of the Wood Scouts, and he actually achieves this goal (with some help from an outside source) in this episode.
- A skeleton can be seen resting directly between the Mess Hall ceiling and the floor of Cameron Campbell's room. It is holding a spoon and the words "Chuckie was here" are carved into the wood. Chuckie was previously mentioned in "Reigny Day" - according to David, there was a bad accident the previous summer but he did survive, and in the next scene Max mentions he misses Chuckie, confirming the two were friends. How he got trapped, and how long he was in there before dying, remain unknown.
- As with all of his previous appearances ("Cult Camp" and "Arrival of the Torso Takers"), Daniel is shown not to blink.
- Pikeman's misogyny is displayed once more when he tells Gwen that "the men will decide what's best for you." He previously showcased this trait in "Follow the Leader" in telling Sasha that "this is America, where men take charge!"
- The fact that the Wood Scouts are aware of the fact that Daniel tried to kill the Campbell campers is surprising, as he hid his previous murder spree from David and Gwen when first applying for the counselor job in "Cult Camp". However, his foiled attempt to murder them here shows he overestimated how much animosity the Wood Scouts had for the Camp Campbell campers.
- Despite Neil saying Daniel attempted to kill them "several times", he and the rest of the general camp have only been targeted once, which was in Daniel's first appearance in "Cult Camp". Max and David were specifically targeted for murder in his next appearance, "Arrival of the Torso Takers", and although it could be argued that Daniel intended to finish off the rest of the camp once that specific task was completed, it was never explicitly said.
- Daniel appeals to the Wood Scouts' no-girl policy by asking if they could imagine a Flower Scout getting into their organization. This is reminiscent of a line from "Scout's Dishonor", when Sasha asks Neil to imagine if a Wood Scout were to try and do what they do.
- In this episode Nikki raises a hand to remind everyone she was once a Flower Scout, which we also first learned about in "Scout's Dishonor".
- Gwen telling David to try and hit Daniel with the bus is a callback to the first episode, "Escape from Camp Campbell", wherein David was run over by it 3 times. He's been hit a couple of times since, but not by the camp bus.
- Daniel references the Wood Scouts' popcorn sale, which was first mentioned in "Gwen Gets a Job", and subsequently stated to be a failure in "Operation: Charlie Tango Foxtrot".
- The unnamed man with the pink hat and blonde mullet that Daniel successfully recruited has made a previous appearance in "Cookin' Cookies", shown to have a massive addiction to the cookies laced with "cane sugar".
- Dirty Kevin, the "Mexican cane-sugar" dealer who was first introduced in the same episode, is also one of the recruits.
- The fake knife used by Tabii (as Juliette) in the episode ""Romeo & Juliet II: Love Resurrected" looks similar to the real knife that Daniel almost uses on Dolph at the end of "Cult Camp". It is also seen again in Daniel's future appearances in "Arrival of the Torso Takers" and this episode.
- This is the first episode where Daniel isn't defeated through injury (having chugged toxic Kool-Aid and ingested expired milk in his two previous appearances).
- It is the third time where Max and David teamed up to defeat Daniel (as everyone else had either been brainwashed or too far out of range), although everything happened off-screen.
- It is also the first time that the two of them teamed up with the Wood Scouts (with the exception of Pikeman) to defeat Daniel.
- It is the third time where Max and David teamed up to defeat Daniel (as everyone else had either been brainwashed or too far out of range), although everything happened off-screen.