| “ | So we'll be playing the unlicensed game "Cloak & Hunt". The last person I find will get their name on the Cloak & Hunt champion plaque for all time! | ” |
— David | ||
"Cloak & Hunt" is the 2nd episode of the fifth season of Camp Camp, making it the 62nd episode overall. It premiered March 8th 2024 on the the RT FIRST site, and March 15th 2024 on the Rooster Teeth site.
Official Synopsis[]
| “ | It’s the hottest day of the year at Camp Campbell! With the Lake “Out of Order” and the remaining camp money going toward a new compressor for the AC, the campers are forced to play the cheapest game imaginable. | ” |
—Episode Description | ||
Plot[]
On the roof of the Mess Hall in sweltering heat, a bird explodes into ash. Inside, the campers are strewn about the floor, complaining about the blistering heat. David is dying to announce that they're going to spend the day inside the newly-air conditioned Mess Hall and watch a movie, as Quartermaster drags in a rolling TV stand. He reads off a few titles of old VHS tapes - "Air Bud 6: Tae Kwon Dog", "The Muppets Take Zoloft", and "Scandinavian Natural Birthing", which Quartermaster takes away, muttering that it was taken off the "special shelf". David asks Gwen to pick the movie, and she declines, as she is only here to take notes and report on the camp. Her current writing job was originally going to send her overseas to write about poverty & human rights, however upon hearing about the awful conditions at Camp Campbell, she was sent there instead. Neil and Max wonder about swimming in the lake, which Nikki explains is "Out of Order" (ie. sizzling with toxic gas and cleanly dissolving the broken-off biohazard sign). David starts playing a movie called "Sasquatch 3", but the addition of the TV running causes the air conditioner to break immediately. QM announces the A/C is broke as the campers instantly start screaming. CJ says it needs a new compressor and wonders if small towns take bitcoin as he departs. David says this gives everyone to play a game; Cloak & Hunt, which is just a re-label of Hide & Seek, which they are apparently too poor to afford. Nikki pants like an excited dog, and Max is quick to pass on the game. David also throws in the additional prize of the only popsicle left, and completely ignores Gwen questioning how often he uses bribery on the campers. The moment David closes his eyes to start counting, everyone bolts out of the Mess Hall.
Out in the sweltering heat, which doesn't seem to affect Nikki, she's excited to have her chance to be immortalized at Camp Campbell. Max reminds her they've already graffiti'd their names onto everything, including the Platypus, and she leads them to a place known as Gory Cave. Neil and Max wisely ignore the warning signs plastered outside the cave entrance, but Nikki merrily skips in, singing as she goes. Barrelling down the highway in the camp bus, CJ searches for the aux cord to introduce Quartermaster to podcasts, however there are no electronics in the vehicle. They suddenly swerve around an unseen grey creature and pop the front-right tire. CJ wonders if it was an alien, QM says he wouldn't have swerved if it was, and CJ excitedly searches for the perfect podcast for the situation.
Down at the camp, David is carelessly "hunting" for campers behind a bush. His goal is to be slow in the search until CJ and Quartermaster return. Gwen asks how these budgetary restrictions affect his mental health, and he seems genuinely unfazed. They hear Nikki giggling inside of Gory Cave, which they are conveniently standing inches away from. David says he will forgo his severe claustrophobia to locate her, and Gwen follows along, both to make progress in her article and to be featured in a docu-series when they need to be rescued. Nikki is sitting on a rock, happily swinging her legs and vocalizing loudly, and is crestfallen to realize she's been found. With effort, David pulls out a warning sign that the area is prone to cave-ins, and the cave immediately begins to crumble. Gwen pushes the others out of the way of a rockslide that blocks out the entrance, and David meekly wonders if the docu-series involves them being rescued.
Back at the bus, CJ is finishing up a story about pedestrians being hit harder by a car he helped build, and the Eyepatch Squirrel exits the bus, dragging CJ's satchel, filled with sigma grindset literature and nootropic supplements. Quartermaster offers to go get it, as the mosquitoes "won't bite one of their own", and he promptly goes barrelling down a cliff and absolutely caked in mud. He seems disappointed that the mosquitoes definitely won't recognize him now.
Eventually, Neil makes a return to Gory Cave, and sees that the entrance has caved in. In response to no cell service from Gwen, Nikki says they will simply form their own society. David informs Neil that no one is hurt but that they are trapped, to which Neil says he'll rally the others and gather explosives to blast them out, and Davis greatly relieved that the children have access to explosives. Gwen can't believe she came back to the camp just to die.
Out in the woods, CJ is live-streaming his hunt for the Quartermaster, and instead he finds what he believes to be sasquatch. However, it's just QM covered in mud and groaning about back pain from his previous fall. Neil runs into the activity field, shouting about the emergency of people being trapped in cave. Max is dismissive as Space Kid got trapped in a submersible last week, but is fine. Space Kid is proud to have gotten out before having to eat human flesh, but cryptically states he's tasted it before. Everyone jumps into action upon learning that David has the key to the popsicle freezer; Nurf and Harrison getting a ladder, Nerris and Preston grabbing a crowbar and power drill respectively, all in a possible endeavour to clear out the cave-in. However, the supplies are actually meant for a handful of campers fruitlessly attempting to open the freezer. Crushed by their defeat, they ultimately decide to rescue David.
David is anxiously pacing inside the cave, haven taken Gwen's notebook to scribble on, as he is making a plan of action for potential situations that may be occurring at the unsupervised camp right now. Gwen says it's pointless to worry, however David is responsible for the kids, reminding her that they were once her responsibility too. He is aware that worrying won't prevent anything, but tries to rationalize that it might work this time. Outside the cave, Neil is explaining his plan to blow up the entrance, which Dolph points out could potentially cause death. However, Neil states that this is the quickest solution and that sometimes science demands sacrifice. Max wonders why this cave is still open, and Nurf says they need to rescue Nikki in order to passively-aggressively victim blame her. Preston sobs that losing Nikki would be like losing a sister, and Nerris gently pats him on the back to offer prayers & incantations.
Having made his way into town, CJ continues to live-stream outside the hardware store, while talking to a trio of townies who are believers in the sasquatch myth. Quartermaster emerges from the bushes, having surrendered his search of the satchel to the squirrels, and is instantly spotted as the group rushes towards him. QM jumps in the hummer ice cream truck parked nearby and peels off into the forest. Inside the cave, Nikki notices a carving on the wall reading "M and J CC 1996", and muses with Gwen as to the intent of these old campers leaving their mark here. David anxiously states that his phone is almost dead, the sun is setting, and that soon they will be in total darkness. He starts crying about being the worst counselor, but Nikki and Gwen assure him that the camp is brainstorming ways to save them. David perks up because ultimately everyone came back, however forced the return was for Gwen. A loud splash alerts everyone to the Platypus (who has Max's name carved in her bill) and realize that she swam in through a small lake in the cave. They rationalize that they can find a way out by going with the flow... by directly following the Platypus' path.
The sun has almost completely set, and the campers are still arguing over the most effective way to rescue David, Gwen, and Nikki. Neil and Ered agree that potential risk of death is acceptable, and Preston is selling buttons that go towards funding a docu-series on the experience. The missing trio immediately turn up, having swam their way out. The hummer comes tearing through the camp, causing everyone to scatter, before crashing off-camera. CJ's live stream concludes with the reveal that Quartermaster was the sasquatch, while Gwen hoses him off in the background. The kids have been given popsicles from the crashed truck, and David merrily announces that parts from the wreckage have fixed the air conditioner. Gwen laughs that CJ and his flunky followers believed that sasquatch is real, and David cornily says he believes in Camp Campbell, turning the hose on Max, Nikki, and Neil for booing at him. Somewhere up in the mountains, the real sasquatch is shovelling pills in its mouth while reading about the sigma grindset.
Features[]
Main Characters []
Supporting Characters []
Minor Characters[]
- Eyepatch Squirrel
- Nurf Nurfington
- Dolph
- Ered
- Preston Goodplay
- Harrison
- Nerris
- Space Kid
- Platypus
- Junker 2
Music[]
- "Camp Camp Song Song" (Opening Theme)
- "Cloak and Dagger" (Ending Theme)
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode to air after Rooster Teeth, the animation studio of Camp Camp, announced it will be shutting down.
- One of the signs outside of Gory Cave, depicting the Platypus holding a severed human foot in its mouth, was briefly sold as a shirt on the Rooster Teeth Store, although it was removed before this episode premiered.
- One of the ardent sasquatch followers that CJ encounters in Sleepy Peak is the blonde male simply known as Junker 2, who was first seen in "After Hours".
- The carving in Gory Cave reading "M & J CC 1996" is a possible reference to the show creators Miles Luna and Jordan Cwierz. 1996 is 20 years before 2016, when Camp Camp first premiered. However, some fans have theorized that in-universe it refers to Jasper and a second unidentified camper whose name starts with M.
- The teaser for the next episode involve audio overlay of David promising not to punish the campers, as this is an opportunity to have "The Talk". Visual scenes include Ered, Nikki, and Nerris seemingly alone together, Nurf instructing Dolph with some chalk drawings of Neil & David in a Virgin vs Chad meme format, and Nikki slathering some green cream on her face.
Cultural References[]
- The movies that David suggests watching include "Air Bud 6: Tae Kwon Dog" (a counterfeit instalment in the genuine Air Bud franchise), and "The Muppets Take Zoloft", an actual anti-depressant drug. The title is also a lampshade of the real movie "The Muppets Take Manhattan".
- The real-life movie tie-in for the fictitious "Reqiuem for a Dreamsicle" popsicle is "Requiem for a Dream".
- CJ has sigma grindset literature and takes Nootropic pills.
- Space Kid's tale of being trapped in a submersible is a reference to the tragic tale of the Titan submersible.
Continuity[]
- Gwen being sent to report on Camp Campbell is a writing job that she was given after the events of "With Friends Like These". However, it remains unknown what other writing jobs she has taken up in the months since last summer ended.
- The Eyepatch Squirrel makes a brief return, having been seen last in "Squirrel Camp".
Errors[]
- TBA
Transcript[]
- The transcript for "Cloak & Hunt" may be edited here.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Cloak & Hunt/Gallery
References[]
TBA