Review: Camp Camp “Panicked Room”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

David and Gwen decide to turn Cameron’s old mansion into an escape room for the camp — trapping him inside until he completes it. However, Penelope Priss is also present, as she was looting the place for wine bottles. David panics, as he reveals to Gwen that Cameron and Penelope have a long-standing history with details that they’ve “never spoken about.” Gwen pushes David to let the shenanigans ensue.

Cameron and Penelope berate each other using intimate details about one another before Penelope reveals Cameron “ghosted” her in their relationship. He insists it was just a break (a 17-year one.) As they attempt to figure out the puzzles, they continue to make bitter remarks about one another — but when they gaze into each other’s eyes, there’s clearly still chemistry.

At the peak of the puzzle, Cameron confesses that he ran away to Thailand and “ghosted” Penelope because of how hard he fell for her and that he was afraid of the finality. Penelope tears into him, saying that he should have communicated that so that she could’ve moved on. She calls him a coward, but finds an old picture of them at “Puerto Drinko.” They realize the escape code is “Pinot Roar” — the wine brand they drank. Cameron tells Penelope that he wants to officially end their break, but Penelope laughs at the notion that he expected her to wait 17 years for him.

They don’t get back together, but they do stay in the escape room to bang (at David’s expense.)

Our Take

Well, well, well! Lore comes when you least expect it. It was a pretty engaging way to develop Cameron Campbell, as well as another character who seemed to be nothing but pageant-winner stereotypes up until now. It seemed like, despite the previous episode where Cameron vowed to change and then went right back to his old mode of thinking (“Cameron Campbell Can’t Handle the Truth Serum”) this time around, he seemed sincere. There didn’t seem to be any ulterior motive about his confession to Penelope. In a way, this is the most honest he’s been the entire show.

Moving on to Penelope, though, while it’s great that her character got some added depth, her vocal performance seemed weak in comparison to Cameron’s. Granted, not many people can match up to the fantastic voice acting stylings of Travis Willingham, but it’s very clear that Penelope is supposed to be an old character, trying everything in her power to look young. Just because she botoxes doesn’t mean she should sound younger, too. Her voice could use a lot more maturity to it, as it’s one of the only voices in the show that doesn’t quite match up to the character.

With two episodes left in the season, perhaps we’ll finally get to see just how serious Cameron is about his commitments to change. It was a pretty surprising moment to hear that he hadn’t once been with anyone aside from Penelope in the 17 years they were apart. Perhaps Cameron does have some honesty in him. Even if they don’t get back together, seeing further interactions between the two of them could help Cameron’s character feel more genuine — and even more likable.