The 22 contestants.
Our twenty-two campers arrive, learn just how bad the camp is, and get to know each another.
Tropes
- Abhorrent Admirer: Cody to Gwen, and the other girls to a lesser extent. Neither Heather or Lindsay are receptive to Duncan's advances either.
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Duncan doesn't care much for the introduction session and distracts himself by restraining a deer around the neck and giving it a noogie.
- Bitch Alert: Heather arrives at Camp Wawanakwa wearing intimidating sunglasses. When they come off, she gives the island and her fellow campers alike a Death Glare.
- Bookends: Cody attempts to greet Eva by giving her a high-five, but she coldly ignores him and drops a bag filled with dumbbells on his foot. In Gwen's version of "The Very Last Episode, Really!", Eva and Cody high-five in celebration of Gwen's victory, although Eva's unchecked strength knocks over Cody.
- Cute, but Cacophonic: Gwen covers her ears when Lindsay whines about the communal washrooms. Shortly thereafter, Lindsay screams bloody murder when she finds a cockroach in the cabin.
- Cliffhanger: The campers find out the first challenge is a cliff jump to the only non-shark-infested part of a shark-infested lake.
- Disproportionate Retribution: When Geoff asks Chris if they could order pizza, Chef Hatchet throws a meat cleaver at Geoff.Geoff: (after Chef throws a meat cleaver towards him) W-W-Whoa, G! It's cool! Brown slop is cool. (laughs nervously while Chef glares at him with another big knife in hand) Right, guys?
- The Dreaded: Heather, Duncan, and Eva establish themselves as this almost immediately.
- Establishing Character Moment: 21note of them in a row, though DJ's doesn't really say much about him.
- Everyone Meets Everyone: Everyone, save for Katie and Sadie, meet for the first time here.
- Faints in Shock: Sadie throws her arm over her forehead and swoons when the hunky Justin joins the competition.
- False Reassurance: When Lindsay asks if Chef's food would go against her diet, Gwen sarcastically responds that it wouldn't.
- Feet-First Introduction: Of the campers making their grand entrance, Lindsay, Heather, and Eva are introduced feet first. Lindsay's and Heather's come back to back. They're the conventionally sexiest female campers, and while the sweet Lindsay's pan shot upwards is accompanied by a sultry jazz tune, the wicked Heather's flash shot is marked by a threatening aerophone and drum. The violent Eva also gets a flash shot and her intro tune starts with a bang that subsides in a threatening aerophone.
- Foreshadowing: Chris' warning to Ezekiel to "don't say much and try not to get kicked off too early" foreshadows Ezekiel getting voted off first after unintentionally offending his female team members with some sexist comments.
- Getting the Boot: Like a genuine creep, Cody follows Gwen into the girls' side of the Gopher cabin to flirt with her. She's none too pleased to find him standing behind her and she throws him out to eat grass in the next shot.
- Handshake Substitute: Chris high-fives DJ, Leshawna, and Cody and fistbumps Geoff, Trent, and Justin in greeting when they arrive at Camp Wawanakwa.
- High-Five Left Hanging: When Eva arrives at Camp Wawanakwa, Cody raises his hand for a high-five to greet her. Instead of taking it, she dumps her bag filled with dumbbells on his left foot. This forms a Bookends with Gwen's version of "The Very Last Episode, Really!", in which Eva does take Cody's high-five in celebration of Gwen's victory.
- Hurt Foot Hop: Eva drops her bag filled with dumbbells on Cody's foot when she arrives at Wawanakwa. Cody pulls the foot free and hops in place while holding it.
- Innocently Insensitive: Harold apparently thought it would be a good idea to tell Leshawna that she's "big and loud", which naturally sets her off. He likely intended it as a genuine compliment.
- Introdump: This episode introduces Chris, Chef, and the 22 first-generation campers.
- It Came from the Fridge: The first meal the campers are served includes sloppy joes consisting of red slop with the occasional hair. While all the food is disgusting, the sloppy joes actually move. The sloppy joe Noah is given wraps itself back onto the spoon it was scooped from and, when Gwen complains that hers moved, Chef fixes the problem by splattering it with a meat mallet. When all the camp have settled down at their tables, one sloppy joe makes a run for it, but only Duncan and Sadie care to notice.
- Last-Second Photo Failure: All the contestants are told to move to the end of the dock for a photo shoot. What happens next is that when the picture was taken, the dock crumbles and everyone is in the water.
- Let Me at Him!: Harold welcomes Leshawna to the island by calling her big and loud. Naturally, she takes offense and gets ready to batter him to his knees when Bridgette and DJ jump in to hold her back and save Harold.
- Love at First Sight: Geoff immediately falls for Bridgette when he sees her.
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: DJ is the only one who retains a neutral expression when Justin arrives on the island.
- Not What I Signed Up For: Gwen in her Establishing Character Moment.
- Perpetual Frowner: Eva is the only camper who doesn't smile in the group photo, though she still says "Wawanakwa" along with the others.
- Plank Gag: Bridgette twice nearly hits Duncan, Harold, and Trent with her surfboard when first Geoff asks her attention and next Beth.
- Plot Allergy: Noah's first line when he arrives at Wawanakwa Island is to ask Chris if he got his memo about his life-threatening allergies. With the exception of an allergy to panda dander in "Super Crazy Happy Fun Time in Japan", none of these allergies play a role in the story going onward.
- Pun-Based Title: The episode's alternate title is "The Not So Great Outdoors - Part 1", a play on the phrase "the great outdoors".
- The Scream: Lindsay screams bloody murder when she finds a cockroach in the cabin.Leshawna: Oh man, that white girl can scream.
- Ship Tease:
- Geoff/Bridgette, Gwen/Trent, and Lindsay/Tyler all get blatant ones.
- Harold/Leshawna and Owen/Izzy get more subtle ones.
- Duncan/Heather get pretty obvious Ship Tease in the premiere, but it is never picked up on afterward.
- Shout-Out: When Duncan kills the cockroach with an axe, it squeaks out "Help me".
- Tempting Fate: DJ tells Katie that it's the first challenge; how hard could it be? Turns out it's a cliff jump to the only non-shark-infested part of a shark-infested lake, ending the episode on a cliffhanger.
- There's No Kill like Overkill: Duncan kills the cockroach in the Gophers' cabin with an axe.
- Vader Breath: Harold makes his entrance breathing heavily and creeping the others out.
- Very False Advertising: Camp Wawanakwa was advertised as a four-star resort to the campers auditioning. Naturally, it isn't.
- Welcome Episode: For the campers as a whole, introducing just about every element of the competition and a handful of plots for the season.
