Elise finds an old box filled with memorabilia. After showing it to Chris and Dan, Dan tells the story of their time at the summer camp run by a sadistic camp counselor and revealing how Chris and Dad met and became friends along with providing the major instance that would set Dan on his lifestyle of vendetta.
This episode contains examples of the following Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Seen both in how Dan is kicked off to camp without even a farewell, and how he can only guess how a mother's hug would feel like.
- Adults Are Useless: Dan acknowledges how he did what kids are supposed to when faced with bullies: go to an adult. That adult was Mr. Tedesco, so his requests for help were ignored and belittled.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Dan drops by to rant about his latest grievance (electric socks blowing up his shoes), only to be distracted by the Camp Atrocious mementos.
- Bad Liar:
- When Elise receives a call from her boss during the story, she claims it's just a watch alarm to let her know to get laundry from the garage.
- When Chris chastises him trying to outright kill one of the bullies, Dan stammers he's just using the bow and arrow to create a distraction.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Mr. Tedesco wanted the weaker kids to toughen up and that's exactly what happened.Dan: We're coming to get you, Mr. Tedesco!
- Big Eater: Chris is so hungry that he's tempted to eat pine bark and leaves. The leaves turn out to be poison ivy, and he's still tempted to eat it.
- Brains Evil, Brawn Good: Mr. Tedesco's stated philosophy — he punishes Dan for gaining the spirit stick through cunning and subterfuge, rather than through brute force.
- But Now I Must Go: The other kids are content to stay at the camp to torment Mr. Tedesco, but with the job done, Dan and Chris intend to hike to the highway and go home.
- Death Glare: Dan suggests the Papooses steal back their stuff from the Warriors. The effort leaves them all tied up and hung upside down from a tree, prompting all the kids besides Chris to glare at Dan.
- "Die Hard" on an X: Briefly after Dan and Chris escape the tennis court. They subdue the different Warriors with tricks and tactics so that they can free the other Papooses before facing Mr. Tedesco head on.
- Dirty Coward: For all his Social Darwinist talk, the moment things go bad for him, Mr. Tadesco tries to flee the camp.
- Evil Laugh: Dan's reaction to Mr. Tedesco's claims that he's not scared of the kids striking back.
- Flashback: Aside from all the summer camp scenes, there's a brief one of a young Elise in a training room.
- Flashback Within a Flashback: When Mr. Tedesco explains the origins of the spirit stick tradition dating to the beginning of Camp Atrocious (aka two years earlier). We see the various campers brawl over it before Alec successfully claims it.
- Freudian Excuse:
- The entire episode is basically an examination of the catalyst that would set off Dan's life-long thirst for vengeance along with his distrust and scorn towards authority figures. In his own words, Dan used to be a rather 'play-by-the-rules' kid, but his experiences with the bullying cabin and Mr. Tedesco convinced him that pursuing vengeance ruthlessly was the main way to deal with the various obstacles in his path. While not the only reason Dan ended up as he did (given the implied Parental Abuse), this seems to the single biggest incident where it all could be traced back to.
- The same events are possibly why Chris follows him. He went through the same stuff Dan did and also Dan gave him an award for all his help (which was what young-Chris wanted in the flashback). Dan may drive him crazy, but the episode does seem to show that he knows Dan often has a point (and why they stick together.)
- Friendship Moment:
- After being locked in the tennis court, Chris reveals he stashed Brutus the teddy bear away under his shirt and gives it back to Dan. Dan refers to this as the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him.
- Dan manages to find a way to slip out under the fence, but Chris gets stuck. Dan says he won't leave his best friend behind and pulls him through, albeit still telling Chris to not get mushy over this.
- Dan made Chris a "Best Sidekick Award" to show off to his parents. Even Elise is touched to learn this.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Chris is so hungry that he wants to eat poison ivy. Dan responds by shouting this while repeatedly slapping Chris. Chris points out this didn't dissuade him; it just made his face hurt.
- Gone Horribly Right: Mr. Tedesco's attempt to toughen Dan up does work, but that doesn't make Dan any less furious about his abusive methods; it just teaches him how to retaliate against them effectively.
- Greek Chorus: Elise makes assorted comments throughout the story, such as being confused over why Dan remembers this experience fondly and asking what the supposed scalp in the box means.
- Heroic Vow: After getting his teddy bear back, Dan promises to find a way to get the Papooses out of lock-up and to make Mr. Tedesco pay for his actions.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: How Dan and Chris become this is shown:Dan: I can't do it alone, Chris. Are you with me? Friends for life?
Chris: Friends for life!
[Cut back to the present]
Elise: Wow, one bad decision early on. - Hoist by His Own Petard: When the Papooses under Dan's leadership overthrow Mr. Tedesco, their final punishment is to tie him up and attempt to shoot an apple off his head with an arrow. They point out that it's just too bad that Tedesco never let them practice archery beforehand...
- Hypocrite: Mr. Tedesco holds to his Social Darwinist ideals only as long as he's the one in power. He has no problem breaking his own rules when they stop benefitting him:
- He uses a lot of war terminology and insists he wants to toughen the kids up, but he objects to Dan getting the spirit stick through tactics instead of just brute force.
- As things get out of hand, Mr. Tedesco tries to call the police. Dan re-wired the phone lines, though, and mocks Tedesco for needing someone else to solve his problem.
- I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: It ain't called "Camp Atrocious" for nothing. Chris says it was actually even worse than the name implies, what with the abusive leader and violent bullies. One of the reasons Dan refuses to simply run away in the end is because he believes this horrible place needs to be shut down for good.
- I Want My Mommy!: Chris covers one of the Warriors in glue and then throws poison ivy on him. The panicking kid is heard shouting this, while running by the mess hall.
- Jerkass: Mr. Tedesco.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Dan says Mr. Tedesco is right that they have to learn to stand up for themselves, though in terms of force rather than tactics.
- Misery Builds Character: Mr. Tedesco strongly believes this, to the point of starving children.
- No One Gets Left Behind:
- Dan helps Chris escape the tennis court and get to the woods, but he refuses to simply escape the camp. He intends to come back to free the other Papooses once he figures out how to pick off the Warriors.Dan: I'm not leaving you in the hands of these sadists. You're the best friend I've got!
- Subverted when Alec finds one of his cohorts hanging upside from a branch. He's about to free him when he sees a tomahawk hit the tree. Alec immediately runs to Mr. Tedesco's office, lying about how he'll come back for his friend later.
- Dan helps Chris escape the tennis court and get to the woods, but he refuses to simply escape the camp. He intends to come back to free the other Papooses once he figures out how to pick off the Warriors.
- Nostalgia Filter: Downplayed. Dan is well-aware of Camp Atrocious's various problems, but he looks back on the overall experience fondly because it's how he met Chris and learned to stand up for himself.
- Not Helping Your Case: In the process of yelling at Dan for the hornets stunt, Mr. Tedesco blames him for his face being swollen and ugly. Dan retorts he can only blame him for the first part.
- Origins Episode: Dan recounts to Elise how he and Chris met and how he embarked on his first revenge mission ever against the corrupt camp director, Mr. Tedesco.
- Parental Neglect: After starting a fire:Dan: Warm like a mother's hug... at least how I'd imagine a mother's hug.
- Person as Verb: "We better get outta here before they William Tell you."
- Properly Paranoid: Elise immediately suspects that Dan did something horrible to the campers that bullied him.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: Dan's plan to get the spirit stick was to throw a hornet's nest into the bullies' cabin. It worked... until a badly stung Mr. Tedesco took it away from him.
- Series Fauxnale: Not exactly a proper finale, but it ends the show by explaining a couple key fundamentals instead of just ending on a random episode.
- Shout-Out: One of the mistreated kids dons a hockey mask before going after a camp counselor.
- Skyward Scream: Done by Dan, as he does Once per Episode. Implied to be the first one he made in his life.
- So Proud of You: The only time Mr. Tedesco compliments one of the Papooses is when one of the kids expresses hope that he'll become a Warrior one day and get to beat up weaker kids.
- Social Darwinist: Mr. Tedasco believes this and it's how he justifies his bullying.
- Start of Darkness: Dan's dedication to the art of vengeance, hatred for authority figures, tendency for violence and natural talent for arson all originate to his time in Camp Atrocious.
- Summer Campy: The entire flashback episode.
- This Cannot Be!: Alec, as the situation spirals out of control for the Warriors.
- Uncertain Doom: Dan isn't sure what happened to Mr. Tedesco, and the final flashback shows him about to be used in William Telling. Even if he survived, its likely that he would have been arrested for Child Abuse.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Chris so badly wants to win a camp trophy, which he says will make his parents proud of him. Apparently, his "Most Improved" trophies failed to impress the folks.
- Whole Episode Flashback: With a few scenes old Dan, Chris, and Elise talking in the modern day.
- William Telling: The Warriors tie Dan up and put an apple on his head, intending to use it as an archery target. However, Chris unties Dan before practice begins. (It's stated that the Warriors regularly do this to the smaller children, and implied that children have died that way in the past summers.) At the episode's end, the mistreated children subject Mr. Tedesco to the same treatment.
- "You!" Exclamation: The stung and swollen Mr. Tedesco does this when confronting Dan for the hornet attack.
