Total Drama Review Week 18: Hook, Line, and Screamer
By: Justin Cummings
The tropes, oh the tropes. This was a genre episode, and a great one. They had a lot of fun doing this episode; all the jokes feel fun, it’s interesting, and it gets some character growth. As a kid, Izzy and Owen were one of my favorite TV couples, and they still are. This episode caught me off guard at first because I failed to see the foreshadowing, but rewatching it was kind of clear it would happen. Owen’s reaction to Izzy’s suggestion of making out was priceless, and made the whole moment even better. Izzy getting mad at Owen was deserved, and it’s good seeing the crazy girl stand up for herself. She may be absolutely strange at times, but it’s good to see she knows not to stand for that.
I want to talk about the other contestants before addressing the actual challenge here. Gwen was a true champ, and really guided the episode. It was cool to see her getting so much attention, and she basically stole every scene she was in. Duncan comes in close behind her though, and the hook prop coming back was very clever. Everyone else kind of just fell into their usual roles though: Heather being the mean girl, DJ being the kind jock, Geoff being the party animal, and Leshawna being the tough girl. Usually that would bother me, but for showing off the horror movie theme I was totally fine with it.
The challenge itself was wonderful. They basically made fun of every slasher movie trope while still having a real challenge that could have worked in application. The over the top reactions of people, the running sequence, and of course the twist ending all felt a bit hokey, but it felt done out of love rather than laziness. It’s not a great episode, but it is fun. The ending with DJ being eliminated was a bit rushed, but the group hug was sweet.
All in all I give the episode a 6/10. It would be higher if it had a bit more substance, but it was still fun and I love watching it. I’ll see you all next week for “Wawanakwa Gone Wild.”
Justin Cummings
I'm currently studying Communication at Lynchburg College with an emphasis in Electronic Media and a double minor in business and gender studies. I've been a huge fan of animation since I was little and thus have very eclectic tastes. Outside of animation I love Survivor, comic books, and a whole treasure trove of other things.
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