#Darius and Yaz vs. Kenji and Ben

[pokemon1oadvanced]

I need a situation where the gang splits up and gone into hiding and its all tense and Yaz shushes Darius and peaks around the corner and Ben just jumps out at them like

[neunhofferart]

fave scene u boarded this season?

Okay, MAJOR SPOILERS for Jurassic World Chaos Theory Season 2 incoming haha. It's hard to pick just one, so here's a bunch:

Favorite scenes that made it to screen:

The sucho vs. hippo fight (Though sadly I didn't request this one for my demo real because most of the boards are not very pretty/had to be cleaned up by someone else due to time. These panels below are some of the few that look nice enough to show LOL. Originally in the script, there were TWO hippos we called Orson and Welles, but it was just too much going on in that little set, so the whole thing had to be reworked from scratch halfway through the boarding period. My director Mike Mullen and our revisionist Emma Gilles contributed a LOT to this sequence and made my hastily redone roughs actually legible for everyone, and added/refined more after I had to move on in the schedule)

Ben freaking out while everyone piles more and more problems on Yaz

Kenji fixing his dislocated arm while Darius gagged

Santos sending Red to kill Captain Lang (I have permission to share this one in full, but I need to format it because it's in pdf form).

Favorite scenes that were cut or significantly trimmed down:

Extended scene of Brooklynn feeding Gordon that introduced more of an idea of her having lingering PTSD around dinosaurs, while also highlighting more of the connection between her and Gordon sharing a limb difference. It was a more contemplative scene, but the episode hit 30 or 35 minutes in the initial cut and it could only be 22, so a LOT was cut in the Brooklynn episode (I also have permission to share all of this one, but again need to format it first)

Extended Kenji/Brooklynn break up scene- The first half is still there, which leads into what Rianna originally boarded in 104. A stupid detail I'm proud of- when Kenji leads Brooklynn up the mountain by hand, it's the last time anyone ever holds that hand (in that way). HOWEVER- there was originally a bit more past what Rianna did in 104 that showed how their dynamic/what they both wanted out of their relationship wasn't really in sync. Brooklynn tries to defend her actions to Kenji, but Kenji feels that her work has grown important to her than he is, and Brooklynn actually winds up being the person to say 'Fine, then let's break up!' Which I doubt she mentioned to Darius haha. Anyway, this was again cut because the episode was too dang long.

[campbenji]

so apparently i predicted a small part of kenji's s2 arc with my abandoned s4 fix-it fic which is WILD so here's other things that happened in it just in case i'm right again (kenji and non-kenji related):

sammy and kenji heart-to-heart

darius barely surviving a dinosaur attack (it was the spinosaurus but i think that can't happen now) and driving the gang into such a state of panic

kenji breaks a leg while protecting one of his friends

yaz and darius heart-to-heart about how nublar changed them

nightmares galore

kenji and ben taking care of baby dinosaurs

kenji (responsibly) taking the lead and coming up with a successful plan

ben being a space nerd

older brother kenji moments (overall just a lot of bowmankon brothers moments)

follow-up (now callback) to "i wish i had learned... just about anything before coming here" and kenji pondering on what he has to offer to the team

boys adventure but two of them are pissed at each other and the third one is stuck as a mediator of sorts (originally darius vs kenji + ben, now kenji vs ben + darius)

"you're the only family i have" said by sammy or kenji

benji blowing something up together

[bendarius]

benrius fic idea post s2....ben avoiding darius specifically knowing that he would immediately crack under darius' eyes because he knows him so well....and now that darius knows what hes been hiding darius just. doesn't know how to feel. his supposed crush on brooklynn (that im still writing as comphet) vs ben keeping that from him. a mix of "how could you" and trying to see why he did it, getting into his mindset

this resulting in a cold shoulder as he tries to figure out his emotions (like when kenji came back) and ben just floundering and only having yaz and sammy supporting him since kenji is still so so hurt about everything that he will keep a grudge and darius? does not know how to feel. as always. he feels too much so he puts that on the back burner.

[airbender-dacyon]

Finally got around to filling this out. Forgot about it for a while, but decided to try and get it done before S2 dropped.

Benmina: Fav - They have my heart and soul, they're my Jurassic OTP. I'm perfectly happy with them just being a BROTP in canon, but I can't help that I wish something more could've come from their friendship. They've inspired me to write fanfic like no other ship has in a long time. I love them individually, I love their dynamic, their bond, I love their banter and teasing, I love that they're so comfortable around each other, I love that they can talk about their feelings with each other, that they trust and confide in each other. I think they an amazing friendship, each other's biggest supporters and champions (after Sammy for Yaz in canon, obviously), and I think there is true potential for something more than friendship in another life.

Yasammy: Love - Probably my favorite canon couple. I wasn't crazy invested in them as a ship originally in CC, but they've grown on me a lot in CT and I was happy to see them patching things up in S1 after their time apart. (In retrospect I also see some parallels between Yasammy to Kataang, so it's no wonder why they've grown on me.) I wish nothing but the best for them and all the happiness in the world.

Kenlynn: Love - Also wasn't crazy invested originally. I had no dino in the fight between the Kenlynn vs Darilynn debate. But then (kinda like Maiko), they broke up and I got more invested. I think there's more to them than a lot of the fandom likes to brush aside (for their preferred ships), but it remains up in the air - if the N6 reunite with Brooklynn - whether Kenlynn will sail again or sink below the waves permanently.

Samlynn: Love - This is the ship I don't talk about near enough, but I think had things gone slightly differently in CC, this could have been the big ship. Idk. I just had an idea for a fic with them and how different things could've gone at the start of their time at camp if _____ had happened. Just an interesting ship and dynamic, I think.

Benlynn: Love - No question here I've fallen down the Benlynn rabbit hole. I am hoping that if Kenlynn doesn't reconcile romantically, perhaps Brooklynn is actually Ben's girlfriend (not that he's aware) and even if it's a rocky start, maybe something romantic, something real will result down the road. Who knows. We'll just have to wait and see.

Benrius: Like - If they end up going this route down the road in canon, I think they'll be upgraded to Love in my shipping chart. I think they're good friends and a good BROTP as it stands in canon, but given Darius' current feelings for Brooklynn and Ben having a girlfriend, I don't expect anything currently to happen between them.

Darilynn: Like - Had CC ended with Darilynn instead of Kenlynn, their spots on this chart would be reversed as well. And I think Darilynn is a fine ship and I do like their bond and dynamic, but I'm not really interested in them becoming anything in canon. I can't fault Darius for falling in love with Brooklynn, but at the end of the day, she's still his brother's ex-girlfriend and I don't think that situation would result in anything but pain for everyone.

Bowman Brothers: BROTP - Despite the rocky start to their situation in CT, I am happy to see them acting like brothers again. I just want them to be a happy family again and not be split apart by grief and romantic interests. Just let them be brothers. As someone who's only sibling is adopted, I found them going from strangers to friends to brothers an amazing arc. And Kenji's "You and me, we're brothers, right?" in S1 destroyed me.

Yazji: BROTP - Not as the others on this list, but so much of their dynamic, especially in S2 & S3 reminded me of dealing with my own sibling. I've identified most with Yaz and her dedication to responsibility while Kenji preferred to chill/slack off was pretty reflective of myself and my sibling at that age. Also I don't think after the "Get down here, dingus!" line in S3 I can picture them as anything other than sibling-like, though nowhere near the Bowman Brothers.

Samji: Neutral - This is a ship I've seen in some fanfics, but I'm not personally really invested in it. Given their personalities, especially in CC, it could have probably worked out pretty well though.

And I think that wraps it up for now. Anyone pairings not mentioned I either don't really see anything between or don't have an interest in.

made this for some friends but thought i'd post here too <3 no credit needed if used, have at it!

[swan2swan]

Okay, but...Season 5....

I’m REALLY looking forward to the NDA conflict that’s going to happen.

Becuase guess what? The kids MADE IT. They’re SAVED. It’s OVER. They can all go home to their parents!

All they have to do is sign six pieces of paper that say that they won’t mention ANYTHING about this island of top-secret paramilitary tech, the acquisition of Masrani and InGen assets, the attempted murder of a scientist, and the poor treatment of manufactured animals. With a quick stroke of the pen, they can not only go home, but Yasmina can have a new sponsor! Sammy’s ranch doesn’t have to close! Darius can have enough money so that the next time someone in his family gets cancer, they can afford medical treatment! Ben’s mom doesn’t have to worry about the whole “employer went totally bankrupt” thing! And Brooklynn can...make videos about the whole thing. 

All they have to do is swear not to tell anyone, and it will ALL. BE. FINE.

[ren1327]

*SPOILERS* Just finished Camp Cretaceous S5

So first, the things I had problems with

Would have liked more of Brand, Roxy and Dave, but I'm happy with what I got

...just that.

Things I loved?

We got Kash dead way early

More Ben and Yaz friendship

Plus that horrible accent, I loved it

EVERYONE shipping yasammy

Yassamy becoming canon

That amazing rage scene with Brooklyn

The Eaties playing and fighting together

Pierce being paternal to the babies

Sammy kneeing Daniel Kon, that's our girl!

That MF-er being arrested

Pierce Vs Spino!

Toro just...free to chill on secret island

That plan! Like what?!

Bran and Darius reuniting

Kenji Kon? No, no. Kenji Bowman!!!

Yassamy in TX~

Ben interning on SDI with Mae

Brooklynn most likely part of the DPG

The ending during the Lockwood Incident!!

[melyonza]

My opinion on Jurassic World Cretaceous Camp

I still don't like the Kenji x Brooklyn ship as I feel forced.

I liked how they raised the romance between Yaz and Sammy

I felt like I was watching Dino King

I loved the Spinosaurus vs. T-rex fights. Old references to Jurassic Park 3

Deaths bring back old memories of the franchise.

For me, Ben and Darius stood out the most.

[woodswalker96]

Favorite Moments of Season 2 ATTENTION: SPOILERS

you have been warned...

So, lets start talking about season 2. As the title implies, this will be a list of some of my favorite moments and things about season 2. The list will be a little disorganized in that I won’t be going in order of episode. 

1. The dinosaurs stampeding away from Ben, Kenji, Yaz, Sammy, and Bumpy doing a complete 180 at the mere sight of Rexy. That was perhaps one of the most insane moments to me, and I loved it. The herd of different species, many much larger than Rexy or certainly capable of standing their ground, simply said NOPE, and high-tailed (see what I did there) it out of her direction. Even the Pteranodons weren’t safe. I guess that whole “stand together” ideology from Disney’s Dinosaur doesn’t apply here.

2. All of the friendship moments/interactions. I know that character shipping is largely subjective, especially when there isn’t any canon pairings (yet, I say hopefully), and that shipping doesn’t necessarily imply a romantic pairing (sibling dynamics, parental dynamics, actual friend-shipping), so, in my case, these are the interactions I enjoyed seeing that I didn’t take as romantic. The interactions between Yaz and Darius was great, really felt that sibling dynamic there. Same with Darius and Sammy, it was cool to see them share common interests and have differing opinions, as well as seeing them work together. Kenji had some great interactions with Yaz and Brooklynn, offering his apparently sage wisdom and advice to them, as well as just being an understanding person. We finally got to see the girls hang out together and it was awesome, from Brooklynn feeling left out and opening up about her nonexistent social life to finding common ground with Yaz and Sammy. And of course I can’t forget about Ben straight up calling Darius ‘kid’ and Darius about to call him out on it. Gave me a chuckle.

3. The scene where the gang sans Ben and Bumpy finally tuck into a legit breakfast had me rolling. 

4. The conflict between Brooklynn and Darius over the thing she said. What can I say, I enjoy some good angsty conflict between characters, and I think it got resolved rather well.

5. Brooklynn basically becoming a second-in-command/de facto leader in the later episodes. I was thinking that Kenji would’ve been this, but I feel that he actually plays off better as being largely a support role in the group, and it shows. Brooklynn and Darius in my opinion are the ones who really seem to take charge among the group in terms of overall decision making, with others playing to their own strengths. This can lead to some conflict between Brooklynn and Darius (ep 4), but when they come together, they work beautifully together (ep 8). Again, my opinion. 

6. Ben’s fight with Toro. When I first saw the screenshot of Tarzan Ben and grownup Bumpy, I didn’t know what to make of it, except for telling everyone who predicted such an outcome ‘congratulations, you successfully predicted what would become of Ben and how he would reintroduce himself to the group”. But watching the ‘Ben Alone’ episode allowed the transformation to grow on me. Then his battle with Toro was the icing on the cake. I am a sucker for a good ‘person with primitive weapon vs much larger and very dangerous animal’ fight. And seeing a grownup Bumpy was cool as it was seeing B&B tag team Toro. 

7. The fact that they acknowledge the Compies are venomous like in the novels. Makes the whole ‘how could a group of rat-sized dinos take out a full grown man’ scene from The Lost World much more believable.

8. Brooklynn rescuing Darius from Mitch and Tiff with a gyrosphere, then Brooklynn and Darius having a strong heart to heart with each other. Also Brooklynn calling him out on his heroic sacrifice. While I do love it when a character feels like they have do something of that nature, I really love it when characters with a strong bond with said character comes in a snaps them out of it. Sometimes it does not make sense to do a heroic sacrifice. Plus, them riding away from the dinosaur stampede in the gyrosphere is a neat callback to their season 1 experience in a gyrosphere in the middle of a dinosaur stampede. Also, their banter while stalling Mitch and Tiff was gold, and the elbow on the shoulder... If you haven’t noticed by now, I really ship these two characters.

9. Kenji, Sammy, Yaz, Ben, and Bumpy coming over the ridge, making noise, and booming Dave’s mixtapes to scare off the dinosaurs from the watering hole while Brooklynn and Darius smugly stall Mitch and Tiff was awesome sauce.

10. Mitch and Tiff getting eaten by the dinosaurs they ticked off. Note to self, don’t stick a taser in a T. rex’s nostril nor kill a member a Baryonyx pack or any dinosaur social group. JP/JW’s dinosaurs are apparently veery vengeful.

11. Rexy trying to devour Sammy and Darius. It was nice to see her actually be a giant, predatory, and indifferent force of nature instead of an anti-hero for once, not that I mind her anti-heroics. 

I think thats it, if there’s more then I’ll just make a follow up. Next topic will either be a detail on my ships in season 2, a write up on some things I may not 100% love, or whether my predictions for season 2 held up or not. Also, I might do some season 3 predictions. 

[pokemon1oadvanced]

How long do we think this phones gonna last?

[daisydoo90]

Alright I’m rewatching season 3 finally so here are my extra notes (I’m writing these as I watch)

•Idk Id be down to make a human catapult

•Kenji being happy to be in Sammy’s top five favorite people is super sweet but also kinda sad if you look into how Kenji hasn’t really been anyone’s favorite person, so even being a candidate for it makes him happy.

•Ben immediately assuming he’s being pranked because someone is showing concern for him is just-so sad.

•”you said you’ll be fine, which means your not fine right now” Darius, I love you

•God I love Dinostar

•Bumpy has her priorities straight just “This girls got food so she’s my favorite”

•Also Ben trolling Sammy is great

•Why did Mitch and Tiff have so many of those light up candles??

•Kenji really called his penthouse the p house and thought people would take him seriously

•Darius maybe after the first harmless dinosaur got aggressive, you should be a bit more careful with the second seemingly non aggressive dinosaur

•Bens face after drinking the diamond filtered water-

•Kenji drawing a mermaid has gotta mean something

•I like the subtle ways they show how Yaz being an athlete means she more agile than the rest of the group, like her being unaffected by climbing the flight of stairs or her being the only one to land on her feet after falling out of the vents.

•Idk why Kenji cares about that statue but I’m assuming it’s something angsty

•Compy’s the dinosaur equivalent of pigeons and I love that

•I feel very seen with Yaz being obsessed with theme park deaths. Me to Yaz, me to.

•Ben is tired of his boyfriends antics

•Darius finally kinda gets a break

•Honestly I don’t think Ben needs to ask permission to leave camp, but I can understand Kenji and Yaz’s worry.

•Yaz is a Benji shipper confirmed

•Ah Yaz, you dumb lesbian

•I love Kenji and Brooklyn’s interactions

•Kenji pretending to be a cow to comfort Sammy is just adorable

•Yaz stop breaking your ankle please

•Idk why but Darius and Ben getting into a physical fight feels so-weird? I understand that tensions are high, and I can maybe see Ben getting a little more aggressive. But Darius? I dunno, it felt kinda out of character.

•Ben got to blow shit up!

•everyone being disturbed by Yaz’s support is priceless

•I know I said in my first review that it makes sense for Bumpy to stay on the island and I still agree with that, but also I want her to go so she can be the groups support pet. Mb she could live on Sammys farm

•”Huh, Kenji forgot his hat”

•Poor baby!!

•The last two episodes are definitely my least favorite

•I forgot to talk about it in my last post, but I think the Darius vs Kenji argument is pretty complex, and I also think it speaks to Kenji’s character development. I understand both sides of the issue. Darius wants to do things efficiently, he wants to save Brooklyn and keep Dr Wu from getting the laptop. Kenji though, is more focused on saving Brooklyn then caring about if Wu creates another hybrid dinosaur. Kenji has gone from caring mostly about himself, to risking everything to save his friend. Personally, I feel both sides are valid in their arguments and I can’t pick who I agree with more.

This is less in depth than my last review, but I mostly wanted to get some of things I forgot in my last review.

[jurassicparkpodcast]

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 2 | SPOILER Breakdown & Review

Be advised – this article contains heavy spoilers for the second season of Camp Cretaceous. Make sure to check out our non-spoiler review before you read this piece. If you’ve seen the entirety of Season Two, please feel free to read this review.

If you read my non-spoiler review of the second season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, then you may have noted my choice to refer directly to coming back to the spoiler section for several bits of key information. That is primarily because the events of this second season take place at a previously un-documented timeframe – meaning everything which occurs is ‘new’ – even if it may have nods to earlier and latter parts of the timeline. 

With that said, we’re going to use this article to talk about some of the juicier parts of the second season of the show. Let’s dive in.

The key part to the second series of the show is the idea of the emergency beacon on Main Street being used by the kids to summon some help to the island – making their rescue a possibility. I enjoyed how the beacon was uncovered by the kids within the Jurassic World Inside Guide – a nice nod to some of the real documents like the Jurassic World Staff Book we have in the real-world. I also enjoyed how this sequence was used as an opportunity to explain how lots of technology may be hidden around the park as ‘nature’ – helping to retroactively explain how the park may have functioned without us even realising in Jurassic World. We also get to see the Jurassic World Discovery Walk (a new attraction!) during this segment, building out the park a little more, and also spend more time in T-Rex Kingdom, which was a welcome addition. This sequence also features a gut wrenching flashback – with Darius having a moment where Ben’s fall from the train in Season One is replaced with his dad falling. This was a heart wrenching moment – and really sets up the guilt arc which is a key driver for Darius throughout the second season. Of note is the fact that the beacon message does change from ‘Sent’ to ‘Received’ – something which is not touched upon again in the second season. This sets up a couple of interesting options for a third season – something which we will discuss in another article here on the website soon.

The next interesting element I wanted to talk about is the implementation of the veterinary area of the park in Episode Two. This was a fun opportunity to peak underneath the hood of the functioning Jurassic World a little bit more – seeing where sick animals may have been quarantined and treated. I particularly appreciated how the animals in cages here included a Parasaurolophus and Stegosaurus – a fun nod to the same animals being caged by Ludlow’s team in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. I loved the way Grim, Chaos and Limbo were introduced during this sequence – and also loved seeing them squaring off with the Stegosaurs, showing that sometimes predators would rather leave groups of Herbivores than pick a fight where they would be outnumbered. This is a nice nod to the real palaeontological understanding that herbivores moved in larger herds to protect them from predators. Kenji and Yaz also got some interesting development in Episode Two, too – and I feel like the first two episodes were some of the strongest in terms of the areas of the park they explored, and also the animal behaviours which they showed throughout the moments we spend with dinosaurs in these episodes. This is continued in Episode Three, however – which introduces us to the watering hole, and some fun accompanying lore to flesh out the behaviour of the dinosaurs in the series a little bit more. 

Episode Three introduces us to the watering hole – and is arguably my favourite episode because of the time it takes to really bring back the ‘natural beauty’ element of the dinosaurs and the environments in the Jurassic franchise. During these sequences we get some interesting bits of information – including Darius sharing that Doctor Grant stated that predators and prey may be able to co-exist at a watering hole if the right conditions were met. It is nice to hear Grant name dropped to remind us of the universe we are in, and this is a nice way of explaining the Ceratosaurus also at the watering hole. During this sequence the Ceratosaurus also encounters the kids but chooses to ignore them and walk off – a nice call-back to the more docile behaviour we see exhibited from this animal in Jurassic Park III.  Of note during this episode is the idea that the Stegosaurus has shed its plate as it has grown and rubbed itself against a tree – something which Sammy compares to modern-day animals, and we also see a Parasaurolophus inhabiting a river – calling back to where they were located in the park. Although we don’t get much of it in the latter parts of the season, the steps taken to really add to the dinosaurs behaviours in the earlier episodes feels rewarding and helps to flesh them out as natural animals in their own right. 

Another interesting note in this episode is the fact that Brooklynn, Sammy and Yaz revisit the genetics lab where Doctor Wu and Eddie were in Season One, to find it now stripped back and empty. This suggests that, much like we see in the film, Hoskins may have ordered his people to extract assets from across the island – which does then call into question some moments which occur later in the season. During this sequence the trio find a key card in an envelope – alongside a couple of pieces of paper which appear to contain information, potentially to do with E750’s genetics given the fact that this name is on the envelope. E750 is, if you remember, the ‘confidential’ folder we saw on Wu’s Computer in Season One – implying that this is something big. At the end of this episode we are also introduced to a campfire on the island – indicating that someone else is on the island. In Episode Four we learn that these people mercenary-type character of Hap, and two Ecotourists – Mitch and Tiff. Mitch’s character design is an overt Alan Grant reference – designed to make us feel as though we can trust him, whilst Hap feels more akin to someone like Dieter Stark. Over the course of this episode we learn a few interesting details – including the fact that the group’s boat is away refueling at Papagayo. Interestingly, this is a peninsula on the North Pacific Coast of Costa Rica – in keeping with the geography of the series. The episode ends with Hap chasing the kids after they tried to break into his yurt – only for them to be rescued at the last moment by Ben and an adult Bumpy.

Episode Five takes the time for us to explore how Ben survived – showing how he attempted to escape the jungle but inadvertently wondered into Toro’s nesting ground. This sequence is cool as it shows Toro has been hunting animals since the end of Season One – suggesting he has been taking his aggression out on Nublar’s other residents. At a couple of different moments here we see Compys surrounding Ben as he cowers – helping to create the similar sense of vulnerableness that we see in Cathy Bowman. Eventually, after snapping at Bumpy and finding himself on his own, Ben stands up to the Compys and decides to go and fight Toro. This leads to a cool sequence where Bumpy eventually saves Ben and fights Toro – although I do feel like here the kids show side of the series takes over a little bit more, as I can imagine a kid with a spear not being much of a problem for a fully grown Carnotaurus. With that said, seeing a fully grown Bumpy showdown with Toro was a nice call-back to the cut Sinoceratops vs Carnotaurus fight from Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and I was quite excited to see Toro back for an episode as I wasn’t sure we would see this animal again in the series. 

The next episode reveals why Tiff and Mitch are truly on the island – because they are Big Game Hunters. In the yurt which was off limits Darius finds a lot of hunting tools, including a bear trap, and brutally – the head of a Sinoceratops. I was genuinely shocked at how morbid this sequence was – and think this reinforces the idea that this isn’t purely a kids show. Whilst this was mainly implied as the whole head is not shown under the cover it has over it, it was enough to shock me. I really enjoyed this reveal as I didn’t expect it – I thought it would be easy for this to be Mantah Corp, but obviously, as The Lost World shows us, there will be people out there who want to hunt these animals for a challenge. Interestingly, Mitch justifies hunting them as preserving their memory, saying that the UN will soon forget and abandon the island. I appreciated this attempt from the writers to show how the character would justify his actions as it helps to make him slightly more compelling – even if I would argue that the writing for both characters is weak here. In this episode we also see the death of Hap – who stays behind to distract the pack of three Baryonyx so that Brooklynn and Kenji can escape on a motorbike following Ben’s rescue. This was an interesting moment as it is clear Hap was written to fit the ‘villain’ stereotype and then flip it. Interestingly enough we don’t see Hap die – so whilst surviving an attack from three Baryonyx is improbable, it is possible he could return. I would argue that he was the best of the three new characters introduced in the second season of the show. We end with Yaz, Darius and Sammy at the mercy of the pair of hunters – who now want Darius to show them the watering hole so they can kill more dinosaurs. This makes sense – but may have benefitted from being slightly more fleshed out in my opinion.

This idea carries over into Episode Seven – where Darius falsely leads the pair to main street in a desperate bid to escape. There is a really cool sequence on main street here where Darius and Sammy are avoiding the couple in a way which almost mimics the Velociraptor kitchen sequence from Jurassic Park  - with them moving from cover to cover in a slow fashion. Whilst this unfolds, Brooklynn, Kenji, Yaz and Ben find an emergency bunker when Brooklynn follows a hum she has heard throughout the series – pointing to something still being operational underground. The Bunker facility appears identical to the one which we see in Jurassic World Aftermath – which poses some interesting questions for where that latter entry slots into the story given what else unfolds here. We learn that this room connects to a room where a sample is cryogenically frozen – and Kenji inadvertently begins the process of awakening it. I enjoyed everything we saw on the computer screens on this sequence – including the location of the watering hole, which appears to be near Gyrosphere Valley. This then leads into the second sequence we get with the Tyrannosaurus Rex in this series – which is, unfortunately, a sequence which suffers from the necessity for plot armour to carry the antagonists through to the final episode. Rexy tries repeatedly to bite Tiff and Mitch and misses – allowing them to escape and eventually being distracted from Darius and Sammy by lights and sounds the rest of the crew activate in the command centre. Seeing Rexy unable to kill either Tiff or Mitch when they were out in the open is one of the moments which breaks the realism of the series, in my opinion – making it a little bit harder to accept at face value.

The finale starts with Tiff and Mitch heading to the watering hole whilst the rest of the kids attempt to stop them. During this sequence we get a brutal moment where Tiff kills Grim with a single shot – reminding us that this animals are not nearly as resilient as the Indominus Rex. This stood out to me as it reminded me how easy the dinosaurs which are rampaging during Jurassic World Dominion would be to deal with – implying that something more serious may happen to prevent authorities around the world from dealing with the animals so quickly. This moment really was brutal – as although Grim was technically an antagonist, the death had a similar effect to that of Zara, with it not feeling earned. Eventually the kids manage to stop Tiff and Mitch from killing any of the other animals – and both die in ways which homage different parts of the franchise. Mitch steps on his own snare and is eaten by the Tyrannosaurus Rex whilst hanging from a tree – a fun nod to the death of Cooper in JPIII who has a similar fate at the hands of the Velociraptors. Tiff, on the other hand, makes it onto her boat (which has been moored at the dock the whole time) – and makes it on in time to escape before the kids can get onboard. As she begins to sail away it is revealed that Limbo and Chaos have made it onboard – sealing her fate, and providing a moment of Karma for the brutal execution of Grim earlier in the episode. This also serves as a fun nod to the novel – where Velociraptors were able to board the Isla Nublar supply ships. This then ends with the kids practically in the same position as the end of Season One – which does, in some ways, negate the events of the second season as it feels as though no real progress occurs. 

Overall, there are some fun sequences in Season Two of Camp Cretaceous – but it feels as though there are less memorable moments than the first season, and many of them are over-exaggerated and therefore leave you questioning their realism within the canon. Whilst the show should be granted additional freedom due to its target demographic, this undoubtedly is a canonical piece – and I feel like the second season pushed the boundaries of being a canonical entry in the series a little bit too far at times. Whilst some sequences, like a stampede sequence in Episode Seven and the Baryonyx attack in Episode Two feel well executed, other sequences, like the chase in Episode Six, feel a little bit too extreme. With that said, I think kids are definitely going to love these set pieces, so I can look past them for the impact they may have on younger fans. 

I also didn’t enjoy the lack of any presence for Mantah Corp in Season Two. Whilst I appreciated Mitch and Tiff not being agents of the organisation, as that would’ve been easy to do, I do think that having some kind of reference – whether it be another drone, or mention of another boat off shore – would have been a nice way of tying in the fact that Mantah Corp are still an active threat in this universe. Whilst I have no doubt that they will return in the future, the complete lack to acknowledge them beyond Brooklynn and Sammy name-dropping them a couple of times did seem like a shame considering the focus that was placed on season one. The issue which irked me most, however, is probably that of E750 – which is being thawed out. We will have a separate video speculating what this could be, but my biggest issue is how this sits within the canon. As per JWFK and Jurassic World Aftermath, we know that teams were sent back to recover assets and extract them off of the island – so if E750 was such a big project for Wu, then why did he leave it on the island? This makes little sense to me right now and is, in my opinion, one of the bigger issues with retrospectively building this mystery specimen into the Jurassic timeline.

With these issues highlighted, I think Season Two of Camp Cretaceous was good, but it fails to follow-up on some of the more interesting parts of the first season, and strays a little close to the boundaries of the pre-established canon present in the universe. Whilst I appreciate it is a kids show, and I can allow more due to this, I do feel like the E750 storyline has the potential to raise more questions about the rest of the lore, depending on the direction it takes – and this is a problem which can occur when retroactively building a multi-media timeline. I am interested to see how this unfolds in a third season – and I do wonder how much more we can explore on Nublar before it begins to feel stagnant. There is certainly more of the island I would like to see and explore – so I hope we get to do this in future instalments. 

I think it is fair to say I enjoyed the second season of the show – but, perhaps not as much as I did the first season, which I felt gave a little more to adult fans and those of us more familiar with the lore. With that said, I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you thought of Season Two in the comments below, and stay tuned for more Camp Cretaceous content on The Jurassic Park Podcast in the near future.

Written by: Tom Fishenden

[bendarius]

it took me an hour to play through HA and basically i can sum it up as three alt endings: campers chill in the bunker w all they can eat, campers go back to camp w nothing, campers go back to camp w food

the two split choices that will determine the first vs the last two routes is taking the roller coaster or the car to escape

now for my thoughts:

ohhh it was so cute while there were sound errors (voices not syncing up) i loved seeing more of their interactions and then the gyrosphere scene w benrius (Seriously the “you smell” quips and then the “Trust me” and him being right). Also a huge fan of the kenji and darius hugs they brothers fr. also at the third ending ben is the only one who grins at darius when he jokes about going back…one of my fav scenes is def when ben accidentally rams into yaz bc he was distracted and she goes in a fit of road rage and darius apologizes to her even tho he wasn’t the one driving ahhhhh. gahhhhh what a nice episode.

[bendarius]

the way the initial reaction to s4 was blown to be because of brooklynn and kenji. not saying it isn’t justified as i get ppl can be uncomfortable w it, but the fact is that it wasn’t about how darius wasn’t really given the space to show emotion even as the main character. he’s the youngest and has the overwhelming pressure of being leader while dealing with loss and the season told us no he did not notice other people having nightmares implying that he doesn’t have them (they could’ve said “wait, the others are having nightmares *too*?” but they didn’t). for gods sake dreamwork’s post about “this is what a natural born leader looks like” That boy is traumatized beyond belief

why are they so afraid to show us him suffering the traumatic effects of the events that have happened so far. And anyways i started off with mentioning the fan reaction at first because when i first watched it i didn’t notice it until someone pointed it out. and man, when that was brought to my attention…the proportion of people angry over the ship vs over how darius was treated in writing. like i like camp cretaceous for diversity. i love the fact they have a black character as the main one. but they’ve been treating darius like he’s indestructible. He’s 12/13 how are you going to treat the main kid like this

1.) the responsibility of keeping 5 other people alive. he’s just a kid and even older people would have that eating away at him. did no one try and comfort darius about ben aside from yaz. no one just asking how he was doing sure they brought ben up but more as a “we all think about him” moment. knowing how critical darius is of himself why weren’t we given moments where it focused more on his guilt. we got one nightmare in the first episode and it being brought up in the reunion but…the lack of clarity we have on his feelings aside from the one-off Yeah he feels guilty okay back to survival really bugs me the more i think about it bc it clearly stuck w him enough to affect his self sacrificing mindset

2.) nearly died on the boat! he almost drowned and got eaten by a mosasaurus and i know the boat ship wrecked immediately after and they’re all “used to being at risk for death” but why did they all agree to let this kid down. no one but kenji jumping in to save him like it’s nice that they show him as not the one that always saves people but. Him being the first to ask if they’re alright when they wash up on the island. no one asking if he’s okay after suffering the water (honestly howd they all get on the island without drowning or getting eaten they were pretty far but that’s another thing).

3.) bringing up his dad only to have darius use him as a device in his lie and having kash discount that as a lie! i get that man is terrible but doing that to darius esp w us knowing he’s still grieving (cause there’s no way he’s gotten over it even if it’s been 6 months. stacked trauma on grief = Not Processed Properly!). and having darius only bring his dad up for that purpose when grief is still fresh. Man. Man i just think about it and i get pissed

4.) was held hostage by a white man. i get it. he’s bad but the amount of times darius had to appease that man made me so sick. the simple act of being held hostage is traumatizing in itself and he was with this horrible ass man who tortures dinosaurs (one of the last connections he has to his father), being watched over by robots nonstop even when he’s trying to sleep, knowing that if he makes one wrong move kash could easily decide to kill him; this emotionally volatile man, Almost having to contribute to the project before brooklynn hacked BRAD-X. it’s like they can only show him be vulnerable if he’s in physically precarious situations where his knowledge can’t save him

5.) during that part we dont see darius process the situation in his own time. sure there might’ve been a crunch where it would’ve interrupted the plot but you know what? we didn’t need all those brooklynn and kenji scenes either. s3 worked so well bc we had equal time in all the dynamics they wanted to show us and from the start of s4 that was clearly skewed (the fact that romance wasn’t ever a big factor in jwcc and just. the amt of screentime). we didn’t get to see darius being comforted by someone other than brooklynn for less than a minute about the tension between kenji and him, and we don’t even see ben and darius interact. not even through ship goggles. yaz and sammy were shown talking aside from the large chunk that brooklyn and kenji took up. Why not darius feeling distraught over how kenji is treating him. i’m just saying if there was a time issue and bc of that not being able to focus on how darius is feeling, MAKE TIME. that’s how i’d understand b/k being brought up as much as it did; bc it intrudes on darius’ time and the equal spread of dynamics. they couldve added in a moment where darius had time to himself in his designated bedroom while hostage (which we don’t get to see. why) and thinking to himself. What was he eating during his time there. all we are shown is how much he’s suffering bc of the things he’s forced to do to survive under kash but he still doesn’t break. he has to keep going

6.) i’m hoping this overt treatment was only for this season bc they did show his dad feelings (if only for a little s1-2) and his feelings of guilt toward ben (s2-3) but while this can be interpreted as him repressing his emotions for the sake of keeping the group going, we haven’t been shown that in a specific moment. this is all still speculation even as obvious as it seems to me as a viewer i’m just trying to make sense of what they’ve given us in canon. can we have darius show us how he himself is feeling without having it based off another person

the one thing i enjoyed is darius having been given space to finally have to choose between dinos and his friends. he may have had his eyes set on the obvious choice back when he was arguing with sammy about releasing that dinosaur, and i can see how he’d be stuck between the big picture of the right thing vs the local right thing (although it’s strange how thatd usually be a choice made in a healthier mindset where you’re given the space to think abt morals rather than a need to survive in which the obvious choice would be to save your friends. perhaps it can be explored as a way for darius to hold onto his sense of self/his father) but i’m glad they showed there’s not always a compromise which is what they had darius do in the past 3 seasons. that was a nice moment, i had thought….until immediately hes in the hostage situation, having to lie about his father, and deciding to stay in the hostage situation (seriously. ben and yaz the only ones logical enough to say NO to his plan…my favorite trio for real). and you know it’s nice that they gave us ben and darius’ arcs reflecting off one another, but the fact that ben feels like he progressed more than darius (from his identity confusion to finding himself, and from “i don’t want to hurt by leaving dinos behind again” to “i will open up despite the vulnerability”) having two different starts and endings…i don’t know. feels really off. technically all the kids are main characters but darius was introduced as the main main one. s3 gave us some emotional vulnerability when he was fighting to save ben, desperate not to repeat his mistakes, and this was one of the times where he gets to confide in someone (the other being sammy while he was being critical of himself before she tries to say it isn’t his fault and he immediately counters her with Get to the boat. so. not rly) and while it’s a Woo ben and darius bonding moment giving fuel to how they can understand and confide in one another, i just wish that wasn’t the only instance and we had another one where darius got to talk about his dad and all the complex feelings he must be having. it makes sense for him to repress it to keep moving forward in fear of not being able to function but that’s all speculation. as a kid whose brain is still malleable (like the others but since he’s the youngest) he should NOT be left to do this i just know he’s fighting inner demons

my point is: even if he wasn’t a COMPLETE plot device in this season like how people are saying (not complete bc as little as they were we got peeks into his psyche. Even if it was only for a minute total adding up), i totally get why they do say that because the ratio of his inner struggles vs what the show focuses on is so skewed. as the main character, shouldn’t we have more insight on how he’s feeling aside from having to speculate off things given to us in s1? and from the way the fanbase treats this boy sometimes, like multiple people saying they didn’t know that darius was the main character because of how much of the fandom is focused on other things…yeah. alright. like 2 people i saw talking abt his treatment this season whats w that. maybe this fandom treatment in itself is a sign of how much the show itself doesn’t flesh him out as much as it should, but i can easily counter that considering how much the fanbase fills in the blanks with other topics. i’m holding out for s5’s treatment in hopes they actually spend some time exploring his feelings and that this was just so they could have space to introduce elements, but it’s a flimsy hope because they had the space to explore other campers feelings and just. urghhhhhh.

[bendarius]

ok continuations off spiderman au with exploration bullet points of either ben or darius as spiderman and just a general exploration of the world cause they would just be aus in the same set up

spiderman!darius

pros

-brooklynn the best friend. met her thru internet kinda like carmen sandiego situation and her internet presence is lower so she actually has time to work behind the scenes to help darius. not sure if i want them to be irls or not tho i would want them to meet up at one point. maybe school trip

-still loves dinosaurs. if he faces the lizard hes def gonna be like Holy crap real dinos (not sure if JP is gonna be a canon thing in this verse)

-ben being his irl childhood buddy still germaphobe (gets better as they age so not as extreme as before but are still traces) but maybe darius shows up injured/some spiderman situation happens and it kinda forces him to overcome it at that moment which jumpstarts the process of getting thru it. maybe multiple situations where he has to come thru for darius and one would be facing a villain straight up (hostage situation??) and he flexes it after lowkey but like “i did this holy crap but well i mean you save lives everyday and deal w bad guys so this isnt big”

-they eventually get together after one too many close calls. idk when he would find out abt spiderman darius would prob keep it to himself until an injury is too obvious and ben confronts him so he gives in cause he’s physically and mentally weak and that ends in a hug. confession happens when hes not mentally drained or injured. unless darius just tells him and they freak/geek out over it together

-ben screaming his head off when darius takes him swinging basically petermj happenings. darius just laughing and telling him to live a little. “NEVER DO THAT AGAIN” idk if hed be obsessed w finding out the id of spiderman but he’d def want to find out why darius is suddenly acting so distant and the cause of the changes (this is if darius doesnt just straight up tell him basically mj in mcu) 

-kenji/yaz sibling figures w sammy in the friend group basically the camp fam is a firend group but only brooklynn is aware of darius’ identity at the start at least. darius just introduced brooklynn as an internet friend n she fit right into the group

-kenji green goblin would be crazyyyy esp since it fits w osborn stuff. he wld be against spidey, yaz would be neutral, and sammy would be a fan. Ben thinks spiderman is cool but also gross for the webs (darius defending spiderman’s honor)

-i think the bite situation would be on a school trip and he’d wake up feeling all weird. classic spiderman beginning scenario. not sure how old i want him to be i dont want to put a 12/13 year old thru this. Maybe 15 atp god thats still so young but you know how the spidermans roll. he’d probably think that its really cool but also yo wtf

-ben is 16 (theres a point bday wise in the year where ben is a year older and he makes sure to flex this. darius turns a week or two after) theyre in the same grade. kenji and yaz are 17 while brooklynn and sammy are also 16. kenj/yaz are sophomores, brooklynn is homeschooled but advanced learning so fresh-soph curriculum, and sammy is a freshman like the other two (yaz and sammy meet through a club)

-not sure abt the web fluid here darius is smart but not sciency smart but maybe he can overhear abt some process in science class and work on developing some. maybe kenji’s dad is working on some serum like that. maybe he comes up w the concept of swinging by webs on his own based on common sense of spiders being able to do that. maybe he just goes without it 

update: just read up about the spidermans web fluids throughout all movies (and noticed amazing spiderman’s was basically the serum thing i mentioned up there) and i think both ways are equally plausible (organic vs synthesized) organic would solve a lot of issues tho on how to make it but synthesized would make things so much more fun

-idk if spiderman would exist in both universes but it wouldnt make sense if it wasnt a multiverse thing right....unless. ok if it did id have both of them inspired by the webs there and figure out how to cope by using the comics as an instruction manual

-idk how he’d tell brooklynn abt it maybe he went to some anon messaging site and texted her but also i want them to be established friends before the whole debacle so maybe therye friends but nothing too personal and no personal info so darius confides in her and shes like youre not pranking me right. ok cool can i be your girl in the chair i have skills

-his family would be worried abt his sudden change in demeanor cause the loss of the dad is still strong so they might think its a side effect of grief. maybe darius is so psyched and into it and taking it in stride bc it distracts him from his feelings but it also makes them intense in a way (cause new spider feelings too!) so we will have an emotional breakdown where the camp fam doesnt know whats happening but pick him up afterwards anyway

-school dance also happens here but its more of Finally a normal date that wont be interrupted and its a school dance /r rather than the spiderben scenario (it gets interrupted. maybe. both ways would cause angst if i made a preventable situation happen bc if darius went then ben would question his place in the way of a hero’s + his personal desire not to see darius hurt. if darius didnt go bc he didnt know there’d be some self blame for sure)

cons

-weight of the world once again even tho he’d be older

-spiderangst....even tho its a diff world where he didnt go through the stuff in jwcc (with his family situation the same in canon of course. not gonna kill off anyone) i dont want him to suffer sobs

-thats it really i think i came up w more stuff for spidey darius in terms of dynamics than i can for ben but lets see

-update ive delved more into ben’s state of mind than darius bc well. ben is something too personal too me to not do so so i added in the last pros bullet point to be fair but also cause ben not taking in in stride just gives me more to work w. however i assumed darius would take it in stride without giving it much thought which while he would there’d def be underlying causes for that so boom

spiderman!ben

pros

-so i think he’d def have a moment at the start where he just tries to ignore the stuff happening to him after getting bit. (he fainted on the school trip when he saw the spider on his hand and the bite) he’s like maybe im just paranoid that was just a common spider...but when things start sticking and he’s jumping way too high hes like oh goddddd esp one day where he wakes up on his ceiling bc his mother dropped a plate downstairs

-giving him the natural web fluid out his wrists would be so funny he’d pass out if that happened But spidermans usually dont have natural web (tobey exception) so ig he’d have to figure out how to make web shooters. after my update on reading up web origins for spidermans tho i think both would be plausible but organic web fluid is the best route for ben just for the initial reaction. darius would be like DUDE. HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK

-i think the dynamics will be similar from above since theyd be taking place in the same world just diff aus in it ^^ childhood best friends benrius, pincusfadoula siblings (not sure if i wanna canonize it like step siblings or lost siblings or adopted...), good buddies with kenji, sammy is a new addition to the grp by yaz and gets along well w kenj....ben and brooklynn prob wouldnt talk much they’d be friends like in canon. i mean the prev spidermans didnt have ppl to help so i think ben would go that route just cause he thinks this is too much but he has to get through it alone cause he’s read hero books....he knows about secret identities and how important they are

-the ignoring his new abilities lasts for a week darius + camp fam def notice. yaz gets to him before darius does (pincusfadoula siblings...) and he’s just like im going through some changes itll be fine

-darius ben convo goes like the s3e1 one except ben just snaps and is like a lot of things are happening in my life okay and you cant help me no one can

-awkwardddd tension in the group after cause they all heard it and ben knows and just walks off its a bad day even worse when this old lady nearly gets hit by a truck but ben just doesnt think and speedruns her out of the way and hes like holy crap. i actually did something. this feeling is great (bc another reason why hes against being spidey is bc he doesnt think he can affect anything despite the powers he has now. his cleanliness is an attempt to keep himself safe from the rest of the world in a way bc if he cant affect the world might as well not let it affect him at least physically)

-he apologizes to darius after he gets himself in order + what he wants to do and obvs welcomed back w open arms

-one day darius just corners ben and is like okay i thought after getting space you’d be back but youre still acting off and atp ben is knee deep in spiderman things and hes like uhhhhh and he just lies his way out of it. darius is hurt obvs bc he can tell but he stops pushing. theres just a weird gap between them now cause they used to tell each other everything. this kinda happens in spiderdarius au too but cause of injuries rather than the purposeful isolation

-one day too close of a call ben swings into darius’ room riding on an adrenaline rush and is like darius its me im spiderman and i almost died today so i really need to tell you that i like you So thats how that confession goes contrary to spiderdarius’ tender comfort/healing moments. darius has to sit down and process these two drops of news

-darius would find the swinging fun but ben would be swinging way too much for his own stomach so he needs to take a breather at the top of a building and darius is like whoa check out this view!! ben’s like i’d rather not

darius: but youre spiderman arent you used to heights by now

ben: im working on it....

-they dont rly start dating since the i like you was served alongside of the identity reveal which is Huge but just small hints darius gives that he likes ben back. school dance comes up they get to go ben asks darius as a way of An Official More Thought Out confession (w yaz’s help)

-the preventable situation during the school dance...if i did go thru w that and not let them have a normal night. it would basically be the same emotional turmoil happening as i stated for spiderdarius bc hero’s guilt is universal yada yada

cons

-honestly none aside from the fact we miss out on spiderdarius cause we cant have both at the same time sobs

-id make sure not to overshadow other’s characterizations bc of my bias on ben and some on darius. the thing is i never want to focus on a ship so much that their interactions become unnatural even if my ideas stem from these two most of the time

idkkkk i kinda wrote all this to get out combined brainrot but i like what ive conceived of this world i could see it as a dual series like. idk which one of these would be the “original” and which one would be its “au” cause i dont want to give the og title to either so maybe if i ever wrote anything for it itd be similar summaries. yeah its swag. congrats if you got this far my brain just spits things out while i black out in a trance and then i come to and realize how much ive written