While Cameron Campbell struggles to adjust to his new life of community service at camp, Max is determined to prove to David that Campbell is incapable of changing.
Tropes:
- Character Development: The episode is devoted to discussing the concept, with Max out to prove that Campbell is incapable of changing in an attempt to disprove the others' claims that he himself Took a Level in Kindness. The end of the episode reveals that David has undergone a less positive version of this, being more willing to resort to underhanded methods to reach his goals thanks to Max's influence.
- Continuity Nod: Neil and Nikki, discussing Max's Character Development, mention the time he raised enough money to save the camp by getting David and Gwen beaten up.
- Contrived Coincidence: Subverted. Max points out the unlikeliness that a situation in which Cameron Campbell would have to do some actual good and save the day would just so happen to occur right after he and David had been discussing whether or not Campbell could change and Max's opinion that he couldn't seemed to win out. Indeed, the whole thing was a ruse by David.
- Flat "What": This is Max's only reaction when Campbell is hailed as a hero after "stopping" a robber.
- Food Fight: The episode starts with one, caused by Campbell's complete disinterest in keeping the children in check.
- Foreshadowing:
- When the robber shows up threatening the camp, David sounds slightly stilted when declaring who he is and asking what he's there for, asks loudly who could have that exact amount of money, and then reminds Campbell that he got fifty dollars from the mayor. This foreshadows that the robber was actually hired by David to pretend to threaten the camp in order to goad Campbell into doing good for its own sake.
- The aforementioned Continuity Nod above is in itself foreshadowing. In that episode, David and Gwen stole Quartermaster's hook to disguise the actual reason for the fundraiser. While David did eventually break and confess to the ruse, the David at the beginning of the series would never think of doing such a thing, let alone consenting and going along with it for almost an entire day. In hindsight, that episode was the first sign that David was changing like Max, except not for the better.
- The Golden Rule: David brings this up to Campbell as an example of how to be good. When Campbell offhandedly mentions that he'd like twenty dollars and Space Kid gives them to him, he declares the rule works.
- Good Feels Good: Subverted. Campbells claims to feel this, but he actually just enjoys the adoration and rewards he gets for doing good, not the acts themselves.
- Literal-Minded: Campbell admits that Max is right about evil being in his blood... so he decides to take Max's blood instead to remedy this.
- Noodle Incident:
- Campbell accidentally turns the kids' dreamcatcher-weaving activity into a sweatshop, and judging by his reaction when David points it out, it's not the first time that's happened.
- While mapping out how Max Took a Level in Kindness with Nikki, Neil mentions that Max once got the Wood Scouts labeled as a domestic terrorist group.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: During community service, Campbell goes to a store that's currently being robbed to collect their garbage. The robber, seeing Campbell's "C.O.P." badge (for Community Outreach Program) and hearing him say he's "here to take out the trash" and "trying to clean up these streets", assumes Campbell's there to arrest him.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Ultimately, David does prove that people can change; however, the fact that he did this using underhanded methods leaves the whole camp upset with him, and he's left haunted by the implications that he's becoming more like Max.
- Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: Campbell decides that merely putting his clothes on is enough to merit him a break.
