Review: Human Discoveries “And Then They Had Guests”

Overview:

Jane and Gary are holding a house warming party to celebrate them moving in together. Instead of inviting the whole tribe, they decide to be selective about who can come. After dealing with the moral dilemma of excluding their friends, Gary turns cheek quickly when invited guests arrive bearing gifts. When a new arrival makes his way into the camp, the whole tribe has to decide if they want to be exclusive. Ugg decides that he wants to leave with the refugee to the other tribe, where he finds a whole camp of like-minded hunters. But, when they want to pillage his old camp, he has second thoughts.

Meanwhile, the elk are trying a new approach to sharing a habitation with humans. Their new leader sends in a new animal to the human camp hoping that they will decide to hunt the dumber species over them. Unfortunately, for the elk, Trog gains a bond with the new animal, he adopts the dog and makes him his new roommate.

Our Take:

Human Discoveries has taken a lot of issues, mostly to do with our modern society and economy. This episode went a little deeper, taking a look at what it means to be friends, and how much value we put on being accepted. Putting a shine on this topic with the innocence and naivety of a prehistoric pride helps to put things into perspective. Whether it is Gary’s insecurity about excluding his friends, or his quick turn into selfishness when the gifts arrive, all the angles are covered. Some of us just want to know that we are accepted and possibly appreciated more than others. There are some that want to be recognized for who we are, not what we can offer. And, some others who don’t know what we want until we have it, or it’s gone.

As interesting of a deep dive into platonic relationships as this episode is, there isn’t much of a moral in the end. Jane, who is typically the guiding compass of the series, doesn’t really learn a thing. She begins the episode wanting to make her party exclusive, despite Gary’s aversion, she has a great time, and everything works out in the end for her. Gary, the other lead does nothing more than overcome his temporary greed. And, Ugg learns the value of bringing a gift to a party. Though lessons are not learned, that is unto itself a lesson about friendship. That each relationship we have with people will be different. That when the grass looks greener on the other side, it either isn’t or it’s just as green. And, only accepting each other for our differences is all we can do, because nobody is perfect.

The other significant story involving friendship was between Trog and his new dog. This one is just plain adorable. Who doesn’t love a story about a boy and his dog? Initially used as bait by the elk, the dog’s innocence and instant affection for Trog ends up winning his heart. There really isn’t much to say about this, I just wanted to mention it because it was so lovable. It’s one of those stories that doesn’t need conflict yet still works to melt your heart.

Overall this was an interesting episode. The plot is written well with branching plots that all work together towards the end. The character development was there, but there is nothing new, and it feels unnecessary at this point, we’re hooked on the show already. Compared to previous episodes, the humour was lacking. There wasn’t any big laugh out loud moments, and the scenes, including the more masculine tribe, was underutilized. Thank goodness for the elk, because this wasn’t the first time that they have carried the show in the humour department. When it comes to this episode, I think we have discovered what the par average is for the series.