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Camp Fear is the fourth episode of Season 5 of Daria and the fifty-sixth episode of the series overall. It originally aired on MTV on March 12, 2001.

Synopsis[]

Daria and Quinn attend a reunion at their old summer camp, Camp Grizzly. Quinn looks forward to reconnecting with old acquaintances, but Daria has nothing but bad memories of the place and her fellow campers.

Meanwhile, Trent is thinking of breaking up Mystik Spiral because the band is "getting stale," but is inspired to keep it going after he and Jane visit a nearby rustic couple's home.

Summary[]

In the Morgendorffer home, Jake is looking for something that fell down the drain. Daria walks behind him and Jake tells her that his watch slipped off the counter. Quinn comes in holding a letter and says that Camp Grizzly, the camp she and Daria attended as kids, is having a fifth-year reunion. Helen enters with another invitation for Daria. Quinn says she's going and can't wait to see the friends she made when she was younger. Daria says she does not want to return to the place where she was known as "The Weird Kid." Helen tells Daria that she can stay home and help clean the garage.

At the Lane household, Mystik Spiral is set up to practice in the basement. Trent and Nick hold guitars, Max is behind his drums, and Jesse is seated on a cushion holding a sitar. The sitar causes disagreements among the band. Max, Jesse, and Nick argue as Trent walks away.

In Jane's room, Jane and Daria watch Sick, Sad World. Jane tries to tell Daria camp is not so bad. Trent enters Jane's room. He tells Daria and Jane that he believes Spiral is past their prime. Jane tells him he should think on it. Trent concludes that he needs to get away and think. Jane suggests that she and Trent give Daria a ride to the reunion. Daria replies there is just one catch, which is revealed to be Quinn coming along for the ride.

Later, Jane, Daria, Quinn, and Trent are driving in "The Tank." Daria and Jane are sitting in the back and Quinn is sitting in the front seat, with Trent driving. Trent says he believes Mystick Spiral has lost their inspiration and he always said he would get out of music before he became a cliché. The Tank turns off at a road sign for Camp Grizzly and Quinn tells them to stop, and exits the vehicle shortly before arriving. Quinn recognizes and greets three girls who look excited to see her. Their names are revealed to be Cindy, Tracy, and Tatiana. She asks them if she can have a ride home.

There is a transition to a flashback. A younger Daria, Helen, and Jake step out from a sedan in the same place The Tank is parked in present-day. Helen takes away Daria's book, saying that she won't make friends with her nose buried in a book. Younger Quinn expresses a reluctance toward going to camp. She notices a girl has the same backpack as her. She runs over to a younger Tatiana, Cindy, and Tracy. They question her on who Daria is. Quinn almost says Daria is her sister but catches herself, calling Daria her distant cousin instead. Daria is seen rolling her eyes and looking unhappy.

There is a transition back to the present. Daria is approached by Amelia. Amelia expresses gratitude for Daria being there, otherwise, she'd have no one to talk to. Jane jokes at the situation, finding humor in Daria having an older friend despite being known an outcast. They are approached by Skip Stevens who handz out Camp Grizzly shirts. Jane and Trent say that they better get going as Skip leads the Camp Grizzly chant.

At the Morgendorffer home, Jake and Helen go through the garage. Jake is wearing SCUBA gear. The gear reminds him of a Carribean trip that he and Helen were supposed to go on, but got postponed due to Helen's work. Jake says they never did reschedule the trip.

Jane and Trent are seen at the General Store. Earl, the man behind the counter, offers them homemade cookies. Earl tells Jane and Trent that he and his wife are trying to come up with the perfect potato chip and offers them to Trent and Jane. Jane is disinterested but Trent says yes.

At camp, Mr. Potts and Skip prepare the attendees for a hike. Daria retorts that she wishes Skip would be the one to take a hike. Amelia laughs and tells Daria she's funny. Daria decides to stay behind and tells Amelia to go ahead. Amelia wonders if the others would mind if she stayed behind as well. Daria tells her that she can do whatever she wants, as she is no longer a camper and just visiting. Amelia decides to stay behind and joins Daria at a picnic table. Amelia tries to reminisce with old camp memories, but only ends up bringing up negative experiences for Daria.

There is a transition to Quinn, Tatiana, Tracy and Cindy hiking with the other attendees. In a flashback, Quinn is doted on by three boys named Billy, Bobby, and Benjy during a camp game . Present-day Quinn looks back on this fondly.

At the Morgendorffers', Jake holds up a hiking backpack and says they never went on the hiking trip. He angrily brings up other vacations they couldn't go on because of Helen working.

There is then an exterior view of the country house with The Tank parked beside it. Inside the house Earl, Trent, and Jane are seated at a table. Barbra, Earl's wife, brings over sandwiches, which contain cheese that has the wrapper still on. When they are gone, Jane asks Trent why he agreed to try their potato chips. Trent responds it's because the couple is full of country wisdom and he thinks they can give him advice about the band. Jane responds that Trent and his band-mates need a break from each other.

Back at Camp Grizzly, Skip is grilling burgers for a barbecue. Daria and Amelia walk to the other side of the grill holding plates with hamburger buns. Daria takes a burger and puts it on her burger bun. Skip demands to know what she's doing and Daria retorts that she is hunting for her meal. Skip tells her nobody can take a burger unless he says so. He takes Daria's burger back with the spatula.

As they walk away, Amelia asks Daria if she's worried about making Skip mad. Daria explains that half of these people don't like Skip, they just don't want to challenge him and risk alienation. So, they follow the heard and end up leading lives of quiet desperation. Daria takes out her book and starts reading it. Amelia says at least they are not following the crowd and Daria points out Amelia has been following her all day. Daria says that she does not want to be part of a crowd, and she does not want to hqave her own crowd either. She advises Amelia to leave her alone and practice being an individual. Amelia gets upset, saying that she thought Daria was her friend.

At Earl and Barbara's, Trent tries the chips with a blindfold on. It is revealed the chips have no flavor or taste to them. Barbara reveals that the chips have no flavor so that they don't fight the dip. Trent is confused by this and Jane tells him it's simple backwoods junk food, which has nothing to do with music. Earl then asks if they would like to try their home bottled water and fills a water bottle from the tap.

At the Morgendorffers', Jake suggests that he wait in a rest home for Helen to retire so that she has time to spend with him. Jake kicks a box and picks up a black negligee with a blue ribbon. He asks what pre-paid vacation this was going to be for and Helen reveals that it was supposed to be a surprise. Helen tells him she still has some romance left in her and Jake tells her she's beautiful when she's angry. Helen asks Jake if he means it as she caresses his arm and pulls the keys from his pocket.

Quinn, Tracy, Tatiana, and Cindy sit at a picnic table. The girls reminisce about old times. Quinn reveals that years earlier, she went on a date with Alex Kroger, who Tracy then says was standing her up for a dance at the same time. Angered, Tracy tosses fifty cents to Quinn and tells her she can get a ride with Alex and leaves with the other girls,

Skip is seen on the porch with Mr. Potts. Amelia goes up to Skip and tells him that he's always talking and never gives anyone else a turn. There are scattered calls from the audience supporting Amelia. Amelia explains that ever since she started coming to camp she listened to Skip even when she didn't want to. Amelia praises Daria, saying she may be unpleasant, antisocial, and says whatever's on her mind without any regard for other's feelings, but that she thinks for herself and marches to her own drummer. Amelia concludes that she is going to start thinking for herself. She adds that she never wants to see the campground again, causing the attendees to cheer. Skip tells her she can't just rag on Camp Grizzly. He then tells her to hang out with her loser friend, Daria.

Amelia takes off her Camp Grizzly shirt and throws both it and the microphone at Skip. This prompts everyone else to also throw back their Camp Grizzly shirts at Skip. Skip tells Mr. Potts to make it stop, as the attendees are defiling the Grizzly name. Mr. Potts tells him that he takes camp way too seriously and advises Skip not to make camp his whole life. Skip whimpers that he wants to go home. Amelia and Daria make up. An unnamed girl walks up to them and thanks Amelia for telling off Skip. She turns to Daria and says she never knew she was such an inspiration. Jane and Trent enter and Jane says Daria was a camp darling and didn't tell them. Daria protests that she was never popular.

Trent says at least the trip wasn't a total loss. On the ride home, Jane tells Daria the story of the elderly couple. Trent writes a song about the experience with Jane and Daria giving suggestions. Trent says Mystic Spiral got their inspiration back. Jane says they might have forgotten something and Daria says Quinn got a ride from a friend. Quinn is shown riding with Skip, who is ranting about Amelia's speech. Quinn asks him to be quiet for a while, looking like she'd rather be somewhere else.

Errors[]

Trivia[]

Transcript[]

Camp Fear Transcript

Episode Guide[]

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