So it’s a big pay off when Yaz finally admits she’s been falling for Sammy all along. The series has laid clues from the very beginning of their friendship that these besties could also become romantically involved. For Yaz, who prior to camp only ever crushed on boys, that means figuring herself out—or letting herself be okay with not figuring herself out. Surprisingly, her best relationship advice comes from Ben, whose lack of experience means that his sage wisdom comes only from observing his friends—and genuinely caring about them. And as in the season four responses to Kenji and Brooklyn’s relationship, the glee from all the campers about two of their members pairing off is sheer, uncomplicated joy. (Brooklyn’s “You two are finally official” is just as filled with celebration as Darius’s clueless “I had no idea,” a character-consistent response for both of them.)
Dino Battle!
In one of the strongest Mantah Corp island episodes, the campers recreate Isla Nublar’s watering hole, where dinosaurs gathered in peace, in order to consolidate and protect the dinosaurs from the expected return of Mr. Kon. The resulting paradise becomes the battle ground for the climactic encounter between the campers and Kon’s cronies. With Kenji’s help, Kon and his thugs captured several dinosaurs from Isla Nublar, implanted mind-control chips, and brought them back to Mantah Corp island. As the kids try to keep the dinos safe, the two Tyrannosaurus rexes, Big Eatie and Little Eatie, decide they’ll stand their ground. In defending their territory, the Mantah Corp dinosaurs also defend the campers—and the campers spend the battle trying to free the Mantah Corp dinosaurs from their mind control chips. The result is full scale battle that includes a Baryonyx, a Kentrosaurus, two T. rexes, a Spinosaurus, the season one Carnotaurus the kids named Toro, several flying reptiles, and more, all frequently changing targets and going from enemy to ally as the battleground shifts.
When Big Eatie is injured at the end of the penultimate episode, and the campers think she’s been killed, it’s heart-wrenching. It drives home the stakes of this series (and a larger message in the franchise): preserving dinosaurs from the human monsters that seek to control them. It also serves to raise the risk for the kids: if Kon is willing to kill a T. rex he’s invested a lot of money in, what’s to stop him from killing them?
But while Big Eatie’s injury looks severe, Kon isn’t willing to lose that investment after all, and by the finale, she’s healed just enough to save the day in one final battle for dominance—and to protect a human she’s come to (sometimes) identify as a friend.
Ben and Bumpy Reunited
While the best reunion of the season has to be between Ben and Bumpy, that human/dino duo who had to part ways when the kids finally made it off Isla Nublar, there are several payoffs from previous season hooks that the season finally brings back into play.
When Mr. Kon decides to capture Bumpy—even after Kenji begged him to just leave the Ankylosaurus alone—it’s a turning point for Kenji. And when Kenji tries to help Ben rescue Bumpy, it’s by telling Ben to use the mind-control device to get Bumpy away from the bad guys. But Ben’s not willing to take away Bumpy’s free will, and while it looks for a few moments like that choice will have traumatic repercussions when one of the thugs turns Bumpy against Ben, it turns into a triumph. When the mind-control chip forces Bumpy to hurt Ben, it goes so deeply against her nature, that she’s able to free herself from the chip’s control. Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous has always treated Bumpy like an intelligent, intuitive character, and this elevates her to an even more heroic status.
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