Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp is many things: a prequel, the weirdest series Netflix has ever or probably will ever order, and the most irresistible celebrity-cameo bait since Movie 43. But who would have expected it to be a superhero origin story? Yes, First Day Of Camp is also the story of how a modest camp director went from barely treading water to sinking into a puddle of decommissioned Nickelodeon Gak, thereby becoming The Amazing Self-Fellating Can Of Vegetables.
“Activities” continues the absurd story of what is hopefully Camp Firewood’s most eventful summer on record, beginning with what is a surprisingly literal backstory for Jonas/Gene’s confidente. Mitch’s transition into Can Of Vegetables is a cool callback in theory, but it’s also something I’d imagine is probably more fun for anyone coming into First Day Of Camp cold than it is for WHAS diehards. The movie is a logjam of comic non-sequiturs, and arguably the best of them is the moment when a can of vegetables suddenly speaks to Gene and affirms his sexual attraction to inanimate objects. It’s a joke that works best with as little explanation as possible, and while it’s still probably just as enjoyable for Camp Firewood newbies, the toxic goo backstory strips the joke of its WTF goodness for fans of the movie.
But Mitch’s ultimate sacrifice moves the plot along at lightning speed. “Activities” begins with Mitch urging Beth and Greg to find a code that will help save Camp Firewood from the evil clutches of Xenstar (a brilliant name for a shadow corporate entity), and ends with them in the crosshairs of a dangerous and rakishly good looking assassin codenamed The Falcon. (Then again, this is WHAS so let’s not assume The Falcon is a codename.) The Falcon may meet his match though, as Jonas’ mask is beginning to slip off revealing the badass fetishist beneath the soft-spoken, camp cook veneer.
“Activities” lays foundation for the rest of the season, but it’s a workhorse of an episode that doesn’t watch like one. It’s also really fun, in part because of what is probably my favorite exchange of dialogue of the WHAS universe: