Total Drama Review Week 24: I Triple Dog Dare You
By: Justin Cummings
I’m going to make a bold claim: this is the best episode of the season. There are certainly other contenders, but to me, this episode just feels like the best semifinal the show could have done, and the best it has in seven seasons. This episode didn’t introduce any big, new idea into canon, but instead rewards you for watching the show. Without having a single eliminated character appear on screen, they are able to use just photos and the dares they suggested to make the characters come alive. For instance, Cody is childish, he would suggest eating dog food.
The episode also functions as a series of flashbacks, to everything from Tyler’s fear of chickens, to Geoff having to go into the septic tank. The final dare, calling back to Heather’s threat to cut Lindsey’s hair off while she sleeps, is a great ironic and iconic scene. The pacing in this episode is incredible, and although the challenge takes up the whole episode, we don’t need character building anymore. We understand the final three very well, and we know their dynamics. Now that we have all this information we can focus on the challenge, and what a challenge it was.
The B-Plot of Chris and Chef running a bet over who would puke first fits the feel of this show perfectly, and made the random dares more fun. It was so cool just watching dare after dare get thrown at our campers, and even though it’s similar, I like this one better than “No Pain, No Game.” With just three people you can really feel the dynamics, and it doesn’t feel like eliminations happen out of nowhere. Everybody hangs in up until the very end, and the pacing of the challenge feels great.
The last moment worth mention is the opening montage. The cuts between Gwen, Heather, and Owen feel great. Owen’s pancake lines are hilarious, and the whole scene just summarized the season so well. All in all I give the episode a 9.8/10, and stand by it being one of the best of all time. See you all next week for the season finale, “The Very Last Episode…Really!”
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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