#88 "This Ain't No Summer Camp" (Season 5 #7)

Photo Gallery 1 (scroll to find correct episode once you get there)

Original Air Date: Nov. 24, 1990

Writer: Morgan Gendel

Director: Peter D. Marshall

Production Code: 16515

Things To Note: Opening theme mistakenly omits crediting Michael DeLuise, even though all other episodes containing Michael use the opening theme that has footage from this episode in it. He is not credited at all, anywhere.

Opening Theme: Hoffs, Fuller, Mac & D. Penhall (same as 84-86).

Closing Theme: Normal instrumental closing theme.

LOD: Joey to Jeremy when Jeremy wants to jump off the ledge: "The only problem was, once you did it, you found out you couldn't live with it. That's why you're coming apart...that's what's gonna save you, man."

Regulars: Doug & Joey Penhall, Hoffs, Mac. No Fuller.

Friends, Family & Guests: Leon Russom (Unknown), Zachary Ansley (Unknown) (Mr. O'Hanian, Jeremy Stowe), Jane Mortil (Diane), Jano Frandsden (Brickman), Andrew Markey (Tucker), Donna Peerless (Harriett Stowe), D, Neil Mark (Scott Arbogast), Katherine Banwell (anchor woman), Marrilyn Gann (Rosalie Arbogast), Terence Kelly (Edward Arbogast).


Episode Summary from The 21 Jump Street Episode Guide:

Doug and Joey enroll in a wilderness camp for troubled teens to investigate a murder that happened there and find themselves constantly in trouble with the ex-marine who runs the place. (NOTE: this is incorrect: Doug is undercover as a camp counselor. Joey is undercover as a camper - he befriends Jeremy and constantly gets in trouble along with him).


Detailed Episode Summary

(NOTE: I am doing these from the FX repeats. Email me with missing scenes & I'll add them).

Accidental Opening Scene/Teaser That Should Be Edited Out: Scene from later in show where O'Hanian tells Doug the story about his son being a decorated marine and he used the same methods on him.

Opening Scene: The first thing we see is a stream, looking down onto it from a high distance, with ominous music playing in the background. We're at the "Survival Search" reform camp - it's a beautifully forested area with paths through the trees. Mr. O'Hanian, the Survival Search director, is leading a group of kids on a jogging hike down one of the trails, yelling at them. One of them, Jeremy Stowe, stops and falls to his knees, and O'Hanian comes back and asks him what his problem is, jerking him roughly to his feet. He says he can't go on, and O'Hanian says that Jeremy doesn't know what he can and can't do, that's why his parents sent him here. The group crowds around to watch as O'Hanian asks his assistant counselor, Mr. Brickman, if he thinks these "lowlifes" merit a break. Brickman says no, but they will give them one anyway. O'Hanian says five minutes and walks off with Brickman and a female counselor, all of whom are wearing red "Survival Search Works" T-shirts. Jeremy goes over to a group of friends, and they congratulate him on faking out O'Hanian and getting them all a break so that Scott can escape. Diane asks Scott to take him with her, and he says no, and when he tries to kiss her, she holds his hand behind her neck instead. Tucker, another kid, gives Scott his full canteen, and Scott takes off, Jeremy watching him closely. The counselors agree that it's time to go, and Scott is immediately missed. O'Hanian grabs Tucker and asks him where Scott is. Tucker smarts off and reminds O'Hanian that the contract said no physical abuse, and O'Hanian twists his arm behind his back and reminds him that when he returns home housebroken, no one is going to ask how many times he had to be spanked. Diane says contemptuously that Scott's gone and they'll never catch him, and O'Hanian says there is no way out. A scream in the distance makes them all run to the ledge where they find the bridge collapsed and Scott's body smashed and lifeless on the rocks far below. Diane goes hysterical, and everyone crowds around.

A few days later, O'Hanian, the other counselors (Brickman, the woman and Doug, who is now undercover as a counselor), and the rest of the campers welcome new kids to the camp, one of whom is Joey, who is using the name "Joey Deekins." O'Hanian points out that they're there because they failed elsewhere and he's going to correct that. He says that this isn't a summer camp, and he's not their social coordinator, their friend, their shrink, or their health club instructor. He says he's going to teach them the meaning of discipline and respect for as long as it takes, until they've earned the right to return home. Later, at a card table inside a tent, Brickman is going through Joey's bag and finds two boxes of cigarettes stashed inside some socks. Joey tells him to buzz off. O'Hanian comes up with Doug, who is slightly unshaven, and introduces Brickman to "Doug McQuaid." Brickman holds out his hand and says "'Nam, Rangers, '73." Doug says seriously, "Joliet, B & E, '84." (Joliet Prison, breaking and entering). He asks if Joey is coming or going, and Brickman says "Punk thought he could walk in here with cigarettes." Doug regards Joey curiously and asks him "don't you know that smoking is bad for your health?" Joey politely offers him a pack. Doug says they're going to have a lot of fun, and the only thing that's going to be smoking are the heels of Joey's boots. "Do your worst, Doughboy," is Joey's reply. Doug asks if O'Hanian minds if he starts now. O'Hanian agrees, and Doug grabs Joey, pushing him ahead of him and bellowing "Move it, monkey, move it!!" as he makes him run. They run down the path away from O'Hanian and Brickman, Doug yelling "Get on it! Get on it! Move! Move! Move!" and the second they're out of earshot, Doug asks quietly what Joey thinks of O'Hanian, his hand still gently guiding Joey along by his back. Joey doesn't think much of either O'Hanian or Brickman. They reach a small tent, and after Doug checks to make sure no one is inside to hear them, he says that's good, Joey is supposed to act intimidated. "Who's acting?" Joey asks, adding "and what's with you?" He imitates Doug's words about smoking boots and then says in his normal voice, "You sound like Lurch." Doug says he has to impress the boss, and Joey suggests ripping his arms off. They argue a bit about the case, Doug pointing out that O'Hanian is innocent until proven guilty and Joey saying that the state wouldn't have brought four charges of child abuse against him if he were just spiking the bug juice. Doug says that it's a private program, and a thousand kids go through it with an 80% rehabilitation rate. "Except one dies," Joey reminds him. Doug notices someone coming and tells Joey to give him 50. When Joey says he didn't bring any money, Doug says, no, pushups. Joey thinks he's kidding, but he's not, and as Joey begins doing pushups, Doug counting them off loudly, Joey asks if Doug ever wondered why he (Joey) is the camper and Doug's the counselor. "Noooo," Doug says. Joey asks him to guess. "Because I'm...bigger than you?" Doug guesses complacently. Joey, grinning, says that's a stupid answer. Doug says, "It's a good answer! Survey said Ding! 53, number one answer" and begins counting again with four, even though Joey has been continually doing pushups. In the boys' tent, Joey comes in and takes Scott's old cot. Tucker, who has the cot to the left of Joey's, introduces himself and they talk for a minute. Jeremy comes in and asks what Joey is doing, and when Joey says calmly, "Making the bed," Jeremy yells that it's Scott's bed and throws himself on top of Joey. Joey is stronger and pushes Jeremy over so that he's on his back, and then they both fall off the cot and continue their fight on the floor, Jeremy yelling for him to stay the hell off of Scott's bed. O'Hanian and Brickman come in and break up the fight, asking Joey what's going on. "Nothing I can't handle," Joey says brashly. O'Hanian orders Jeremy to do 50 pushups, turns to Joey and says that being new gives him no license to act stupidly - that he is to end everything he says with "sir" and not speak until he is spoken to, got it? "Yes, sir...sir," Joey says sarcastically. O'Hanian tells him to do 50 pushups, and he does, facing Jeremy and catching his eye challengingly as their eyes meet and they both do pushups.

At an expensive-looking home with a fountain outside, Hoffs and Mac are questioning Scott's parents, Edward and Rosalie Arbogast, who are divorced. Mr. Arbogast has a box of Scott's things, including a trophy. Mac asks if Scott had problems with the divorce, and they say no, though it happened right at the beginning of his teens. Hoffs points out that they still felt the need to send him to Survival Search, and they clarify that the past few months he had been staying with his mother, even though it was his father's turn to have him, because his father had been called away on business and couldn't keep him. Rosalie and Edward get some digs in at each other's parenting style, and Edward blames Rosalie for their son being "murdered in a high-priced concentration camp." Rosalie defends herself, and Mac asks if Edward has any knowledge that it wasn't an accident. Edward says that their presence there as police officers tells him that someone suspects something. Mac explains that it's just an investigation, and Hoffs quickly says that they'd appreciate any help, especially something specific. Edward says strongly that if he ever finds something that proves O'Hanian killed his boy, he'll make sure he never hurts anyone again. Mac and Hoffs meet each other's eyes, recognizing the threat.

Back at camp, Joey is hauling big rocks up a hill in a wheelbarrow so that Jeremy can put them together to build a fence. They have quite a bit done already. O'Hanian comes up to Jeremy, and Joey watches as he asks Jeremy if he was paying attention when he demonstrated how to build a fence. Jeremy says yes sir, and O'Hanian says he doesn't think so and kicks the wall, knocking a section of it down and making rocks fall backward so that Jeremy has to leap backward to avoid getting his feet smashed. Everyone stops what they are doing and watches. O'Hanian asks Joey what he's staring at, and Joey says "That wall looked pretty good to me...sir." O'Hanian asks if somebody made Joey an architect and tells him he can help Jeremy rebuild it, adding that it looks like they'll have to work through dinner. He finally leaves, and Jeremy thanks Joey quickly for trying to help. Joey tells him to forget it. Later, outside the boys' tent, O'Hanian calls Doug over to ask him what he thought of his first day. Doug says he didn't think he was being paid for his opinions. O'Hanian says to tell him anyway. Doug tentatively admits that these kids belong here but asks how O'Hanian knows how far to push them. O'Hanian credits experience and asks if Doug has any kids. Doug sidesteps this issue by saying that O'Hanian has read his file - his wife divorced him when he was in Joliet. O'Hanian says his boy was a decorated Marine and that people said he was lucky -but it wasn't luck, it was the same methods he uses here. Doug points out that not all kids are the same, but O'Hanian thinks they're all close enough. He tells Doug to wait until the day he gets to give the kids back to their parents all shaped up, saying that Doug has never seen anything like it and it's a beautiful thing to behold. Doug says he bets it is. O'Hanian snaps out of his reverie and says, "Welcome aboard, McQuaid." That night, Jeremy has a nightmare and sits upright, screaming. Joey slowly sits up and asks him what's wrong, and he chokes out, "nothing," breathing heavily. Joey asks quietly if he can help, and Jeremy says no, he'll be okay, and asks him to leave him alone. Joey looks away and lies back down with one last glance over at Jeremy.

A television crew is at the Arbogast house to interview Edward about Scott's death. Mac and Hoffs are watching. Mac asks why it is that Edward mouths off about O'Hanian and now they have to be there to watch his interview, and Hoffs says that if he says it once, he's mouthing off, but if he repeats it, maybe they should take him seriously. Mac asks why they couldn't just watch it on the tube, and she says, patiently, "because, McCann, interviews get edited." Mac, embarrassed, says quickly, "I knew that," and shuts up. The interview begins, and the reporter slams into Edward with questions about Scott being brought up on misdemeanor charges that Edward had taken off the books. Edward gets up and quits the interview. Hoffs tries to stop him, and he says to direct any questions to his attorney. Mac raises his eyebrows and says, "a little over-reactive, don't you think?" and Hoffs agrees. They leave.

Joey is sawing a branch in half, and Diane comes down to introduce herself and flirt with him. She says she does just enough to make O'Hanian think she's shaping up and asks Joey if he thinks she needs shaping up. He says no, she looks just fine, grinning at her. Diane is pleased. Joey asks her how much longer she has to stay, and she says another three weeks, adding that she wishes Scott would have agreed to let her go with him. Joey plays dumb about Scott and draws her out. She says Scott was always talking about escaping and everyone had known he was going to try, and Jeremy helped him do it - they were really close. Just then, Doug calls out for Joey and motions for him to come up to talk to him. Joey tells him to wait a minute, and Doug says he means now. He goes up to talk to Doug. As they go down a trail, Doug says Diane's pretty healthy. Joey says she has a serious hormonal imbalance. Doug asks if he got any information, and Joey exasperatedly points out that he was "until I got interrupted, by some dimwit." Doug says he's got to grab him whenever he can, and they stop at the ledge where the bridge had been connected. Doug says this is where Scott died, and Joey pulls up the dangling rope. The end is bushy and frayed, but the edges are relatively even, and Joey holds it up to ask Doug if it looks right. Doug has no idea, adding that O'Hanian said the kids knew the bridge was off limits. Joey says that wasn't important to Scott, he was trying to escape. He points out that Diane told him O'Hanian was being hard on Jeremy (when? not in the conversation we just saw), and Doug is not convinced. Joey asks him to look at how hard O'Hanian is being on Jeremy - he's having nightmares. Doug says, "nightmares is a far cry from just breaking wide open." Joey says "you hope." They gaze down at the bridge, which still lies limply on the rocks below. A bit later, Doug and Joey drive up in a brown pick-up truck - they're bringing back bags of cement. A couple walks out of the woods holding hands, and it means nothing to the plot and no one seems to notice - wonder what they were doing out there? Jeremy, a towel around his neck, walks toward the truck from behind the cabin, and Brickman notices him and tells him to come over there. Joey gets out of the truck and hoists a bag of cement onto his shoulder to pile it next to the cabin where Brickman is. Brickman asks Jeremy if he knows how to mix cement, and Joey says he's not going to do it and says "as if a lousy sign is gonna make everything all right after what happened to Scott." Joey stops on his way past and says softly, "don't worry, Jeremy, I'll help you out." Jeremy looks at Brickman and says "I'm not doing it." Doug, on the other side of the truck, watches as O'Hanian approaches Jeremy and calmly tells him that he's going to mix the cement, put it in the tires and make a couple of sign posts. He says that it's his privilege to complain, but he's going to do it. Brickman takes the third bag of cement from Joey and tosses it at Jeremy, who reels backward with the impact but remains on his feet. Jeremy hurls it back at Brickman defiantly, and Brickman catches it. Jeremy smarts off some more, and Brickman, livid, comes toward him, but O'Hanian stops him merely by saying his name. Jeremy runs off. O'Hanian says that Jeremy will come around to their way of thinking eventually and, just as Joey has decided to make himself scarce, tells Joey that Brickman's got a job for him. Joey stares at Brickman and flashes him a mirthless grin that just as suddenly disappears. Brickman throws the cement toward Joey, and Joey manages to catch it, stepping back a bit as it hits him in the chest. He looks back at Doug, who shrugs, conveying that they can't do anything about it yet.

That evening, in the boys' tent, Joey looks at a picture of a pretty girl, asking if Jeremy has been going out with her long. Jeremy says it's his sister. Joey asks if he has any brothers, and he says no - his sister and his mom are his whole family. Jeremy asks about Joey, and Joey says "I got a brother." When Jeremy asks if they're close, Joey considers this. "Getting there," he finally concludes. Joey asks why he's at Survival Search, and Jeremy clams up, saying he needs to get some sleep. When everyone is asleep, O'Hanian and Brickman enter the tent, shining a flashlight around until they find Jeremy's cot. Joey springs up from his cot, instantly alert. O'Hanian and Brickman find Jeremy and yank him up from the cot, wrap him in a blanket and tie a rope around him. As he yells and struggles, O'Hanian pushes his face up to Joey's and warns him, "Stay out of this, Deekins." Jeremy yells for them to stop, and O'Hanian says that one way or another, Jeremy is going to learn to get with the program. Joey watches warily, looking as if he wants to stop what's going on and arrest them right there, and O'Hanian yells "McQuaid! Open that flap!" Joey turns to see Doug, looking as if he can't believe Doug is letting them do this to Jeremy, but Doug shakes his head, silently warning him to stay out of it and let it happen. Joey gazes at them as they drag Jeremy out of the tent. We see Jeremy tied with his back to a tree, wearing only his underwear and a T-shirt (earlier in the day they could see their breath, so I'd imagine it was pretty cold). It's the middle of the night, and he's tied in the middle of a lit clearing. In the counselors' cabin, Doug asks if O'Hanian does this a lot. "Define a lot," O'Hanian says a bit sharply, but then he mellows a bit, saying calmly that he does it once every couple of groups. Doug looks out the window and says "Kind of a last resort, isn't it?" O'Hanian says that it's not even close and says it's not too rigorous, he'll just lose a night of sleep. He hands Doug a cup of coffee and says it's his version of solitary confinement. Doug, doubtless remembering being taken to the mental hospital after a very real fit of claustrophobia ended his undercover assignment in the juvenile detention center (#44 "Swallowed Alive"), says that in prison he knew a lot of guys it didn't always do a lot of good for. O'Hanian says he checks on him once an hour and adds that it's the best thing for a man to be alone with his thoughts...or the worst. Doug smiles slightly in acknowledgment, glances out the window again at Jeremy and drinks his coffee.

Back outside at the tree, Joey crawls out from a trail and snaps a branch. Jeremy, frightened, asks who's there, and Joey whispers that it's him and asks if he's all right. He comes out into the clearing, staying low, and asks if Jeremy can breathe, checking his ropes and trying to loosen them a little bit. Jeremy says he can breathe. Joey sits on the side of the tree opposite the counselors' cabin and tells Jeremy to keep his head down so they won't see him. Jeremy says that he's scared. "I know, but I'm here with you now," Joey says, adding that he will be there till sunrise. To get him to stop panicking, Joey asks him again about his family, asking what his sister's name is. Jeremy tells him her name is Peggy, and Joey asks if they're close. This time, Jeremy says it's just him and his sister, that his mom smiles a lot but that's about it. Joey laughs softly and asks about his dad. Jeremy bitterly says that no one knows and he sends a card once a year, and that he feels the same way about kids that O'Hanian does but at least he leaves them alone. Joey says at least his mom must care or she wouldn't have sent him to this expensive camp. Jeremy says he guesses so, seeming to relax a little bit. He asks Joey jokingly if he's going to stay out here all night, and Joey says yes. Jeremy thanks him, all joking gone.

At the Arbogast house again, Edward isn't there this time, and Rosalie is more willing to open up. She says that when Scott was alive it made sense to call the judge and have the charges dropped - any parent would. Mac asks how soon it was after the incident, and she says it was immediately, right after the girl made her statement. She says Scott didn't hurt the girl, and Hoffs asks if that's what the girl said. Rosalie says that their statements matched exactly. Scott shoplifted a few things and talked the girl into going with him when he stole the car, adding that it wasn't exactly as if she were a hostage, she was just shaken up about being stopped by the police. Mac asks if that's when she sent Scott to Survival Search, and she says it was, and that he didn't want to go and laughed at her. They ask how she got him to go, then, and she says that for an extra fee they will send people to take the child away whether he wants to go or not. She sits down and hugs a pillow, saying that she sat right there while they took Scott out and that he wasn't laughing anymore, and then, in tears, she says that he was always so strong and she never thought he'd try to run. Hoffs consoles her and says she was trying to do what was best for Scott. This upsets her even further, and she confesses that she didn't do it for Scott's good, she did it to punish Edward, and now her son is dead.

At the counselors' cabin, Doug is on the phone and says lovingly, "Hi, honey, how ya doin'?" Mac says "ooh, Dougie!" and adds, using a sexy accent, "you're turning me on, baby." Hoffs, on the other line, laughs. They're at the Chapel. Doug replies, "I miss you too." Hoffs tells him about Scott's prior arrest for "joyriding, shoplifting and endangering a minor" three months ago. She says he had no priors and no one was hurt. Mac explains that Scott's dad had the slate wiped clean in exchange for a stiff fine and full restitution. Doug asks "what minor...thing are we talking about?" looking around and trying to be careful what he says. They fill him in, saying that the girl's name was Margaret Carrera. Hoffs asks if they can nail O'Hanian on the abuse charges, and Doug says sweetly, "No, I don't think I can do that." O'Hanian yells that his three minutes are up, and Doug turns away, telling them softly about Jeremy Stowe, saying that he's freaked out about Scott's death and he thinks there might be a connection. A bit louder, he giggles and says "Oh, stop it. Come on, cut it out, you know how that makes me nuts!" He continues for O'Hanian's benefit, saying "No, I'm not gonna say it, you say it, then I'll say it. Okay, I love you too. All right, bye-bye." Mac holds the receiver to his chest and smiles, saying dreamily, "Think he likes me?" Hoffs shrugs and hangs up her receiver, rolling her eyes and laughing. Meanwhile, Joey is loading more big rocks into the wheelbarrow again, and Diane comes down the path. She stands by him, thrusts her chest out and says there's better ways of working up a sweat. He deflects her, saying, "Yeah, like laying by the pool with a beer in my hand," and continues loading the wheelbarrow. She says that isn't what she means, and he replies, "Oh." She suggests having sex right there in the woods. Joey puts the rock down and asks her if she has to come on to every guy she sees. She scoffingly says that he sounds like O'Hanian, who always says she should try to find some value inside herself. She has, and she plans on sharing it every chance she gets, she informs Joey, playing with the sleeve of his jacket. Joey asks bluntly if she thinks that's going to make people like her, and she gets tough, asking why not, it works for her mom, she's always got some guy around. Joey asks if any of them are special, and she says she doesn't know. Joey suggests that she ask her mom sometime. He then asks her if Scott was special, and all her toughness dissolves. She looks away then, saying it doesn't matter, he left - they all leave, and she almost cries. Joey takes off his glove and touches her chin gently, lifting her face to make her look at him. He says that O'Hanian's right about her finding something, because it's there. She watches him go.

In another part of the woods, Jeremy is kneeling down working on the wall again, and O'Hanian's boot rests itself on top, at Jeremy's face level. O'Hanian asks if he had a good night, and Jeremy says he got through it. He asks if he got any thinking done and if he's going to get with the program. Jeremy says he's been trying. O'Hanian says that he's going to have to try harder, and then he asks if he's got it in him to try harder. Jeremy says softly that he doesn't know. O'Hanian moves in closer and informs him softly that he's going to make Jeremy his pet project from now on, that he's going to get lots of attention, and when Jeremy leaves here, he's going to be the best graduate he ever had, "even if it puts both of us away. You understand?" Jeremy, his voice shaking, says "yes, sir," and O'Hanian tells him to get back to work. Jeremy picks up the shovel and slams the end of it into the dirt over and over, and then he stands, breathing hard. Later, Doug exits his cabin with some paperwork and goes into O'Hanian's cabin, entering a private room to find O'Hanian sitting at a table that is covered with candles and pictures of a boy in a Marine uniform. He takes this all in and then says that he came to bring the day's reports. O'Hanian stands up a bit sheepishly and takes the papers. Doug asks firmly what happened to O'Hanian's son, and O'Hanian asks what makes him think anything happened to him? Doug points out that people don't build shrines to people who are still alive. O'Hanian says his perception certainly wasn't dulled in prison and tells him a story of coming back from Vietnam determined that his son would not be in the military. He gave his son too much freedom and didn't even know he had started using drugs. Doug nods, this is a story he's obviously heard many times from bewildered parents. O'Hanian says that when he finally found out, his son was beyond help. He was in and out of institutions, and nothing helped, and then one day he overdosed. Before that happened, sometimes his son's mind would clear and he would say that his father would be better off without him. He rubs his forehead and says that he's not. Doug says, "so this camp is..." and O'Hanian finishes the sentence: "My atonement. My penance." Doug says "It could be your deliverance, if you let it be." O'Hanian concedes that he might be right and tells Doug good night. Doug leaves.

Mac and Jeremy have asked Jeremy's mother to come in for questioning. Mrs. Stowe, a shabby-looking woman with frizzy bright blonde hair sits, and Hoffs brings her some coffee. She tells them she is the receptionist at the Au Natural Beauty Salon down the street, and Mac and Hoffs share an incredulous look. Before they can question her, she starts in, saying that she supposes they want to know how Peggy's doing. Seeing their confusion, she explains - "Peggy" is Margaret Carrera, who kept Mrs. Stowe's first husband's name after the divorce. She tells them that Margaret is doing fine, coming out of the depression, but no one has any idea why she tried to kill herself. Hoffs and Mac are completely baffled. "It all started after she went joyriding with that Arbogast boy," Mrs. Stowe points out, "but she said nothing happened." Hoffs asks if Mrs. Stowe has a son named Jeremy, and she says yes, Jeremy is Margaret's brother. He had a hard time handling what happened to his sister, so they all agreed it would be a good time for him to go on that Mexican archeological dig that he'd been saving up for years to go on. Mac asks if she has ever heard of Survival Search, and she says no. Hoffs tells Mac he'd better get Doug on the phone.

At camp, Joey emerges from the tent and says that Jeremy's gone. Doug asks if he's got any ideas, and Joey tells him he'll head for the ridge and tells Doug to go get O'Hanian and meet him up there. At the ridge, Jeremy at the collapsed bridge and then at a picture of Peggy. Joey runs up and stops at the head of the trail, which is above the ridge's edge. He laughs nervously and says, "what are you trying to pull here, man?" Jeremy says, "stay the hell back, Deekins." Joey says that his real name is Penhall, and he's a police officer. Jeremy says he had wondered about the Boy Scout act and guesses that he was on to him this whole time. Carefully edging his way down to Jeremy, Joey says no, they were sent there to investigate O'Hanian and he was really trying to help him. "No help to be had," Jeremy says. He looks down at the bridge again. Joey gulps and says "it's about Peggy, isn't it?" Jeremy asks him angrily, "You want to know what he did to my sister?" and Joey quickly says yes. Jeremy yells that Scott raped her and then told her if she said anything, he'd kill her, and when she turned up pregnant, she didn't know what to do, so she tried to commit suicide. Joey guesses correctly that when Jeremy found out Scott had been sent to Survival Search, he decided to come in after him, and Jeremy says that he got in tight with him, found out he was going to use the bridge, and cut the rope the night before. Joey digests this, and Jeremy yells "I killed him. Okay? That good enough for you? I killed him!" Joey makes achingly slow movements toward him, telling him that once he did it, he started coming apart because he couldn't live with the guilt. Jeremy agrees quietly and says all he had to do was put in his time and get out of here, but he couldn't do that. Joey says that is what is going to save him (genuine remorse) and moves closer, but Jeremy says no and looks down, saying that that is what's going to save him. Joey reminds him of his sister and his mom, and Jeremy says they'll be better off without him. "Wrong," O'Hanian says, coming up another trail with Doug close behind. He tells him that his son thought that too, and he was wrong. Jeremy asks why he doesn't bring him here and run his tail off. O'Hanian says heavily that he wishes he had, so that he could have shown him that someone cared enough to make him take responsibility for his actions. Jeremy looks down at the bridge again and says that's what he's going to do. Doug says that's just running away from them, and as he's arguing with Jeremy, Joey edges down toward him again, but Jeremy yells for everyone to stay away, and Joey stops. He turns and jumps, and Joey grabs his arm, and he can barely hang on as Jeremy dangles over the edge. Joey screams for Doug, and Doug and O'Hanian helps Joey pull Jeremy up onto the ledge. Joey and Doug collapse back onto the slope, and Jeremy falls into O'Hanian's arms, sobbing. O'Hanian tells him it's all right, and then he gazes off into the distance and says "it's all right, son." He stands there and rocks Jeremy, while Doug and Joey sit and breathe, looking up at them

Closing Scene: It's graduation day, and Hoffs and Mac are at camp along with lots of parents. A girl flies by to hug her parents. Mac sees Doug and Joey, saying, "Oh look, Mother. There's our boys now." Joey grins back at him, and he asks "Theodore" and "Wally" if they learned any new outdoor skills. Doug says "This ain't no summer camp," and Joey asks about Jeremy. Hoffs says that when they left Jeremy, he was still in his psychiatric evaluation, and when his sister corroborates his story he might get a lenient sentence. Mac asks what's going on up here, and Doug says that social services might close the camp temporarily because they feel that the screening process needs to be examined. Joey bumps up against Doug's arm and says "maybe so, but it ain't all bad." We see Tucker hugging his parents and a freshly-scrubbed Diane hugging her mother. O'Hanian looks on, beaming and proud. Doug looks at them and then back down at Joey, agreeing finally, "Not all bad."


Commentary:

Cyndi Glass: What a breath of fresh air Joey Penhall has brought to this show. You can see Joey's instincts here - he's dying to arrest O'Hanian in the tent when the counselors take Jeremy off to be tied to the tree, but he looks to Doug and accepts his silent warning. We see the same tough act Joey has always put on with Doug - but, unlike Doug, we see beyond it in this episode - we see him reach out to persuade Diane to stop giving her body to everyone, as well as sitting out with the tied-up Jeremy so he won't be afraid. As for Doug, it's easy to see his experience playing into things here - Joey's hunches are usually right based on what he knows, but Doug has learned to let things play out and not cut the case short, to get the most information and evidence possible, because, with his experience, he knows that it's usually not as simple as trusting your first instinct. Jeremy asks if Joey and his brother are close, Joey puts it perfectly - "Getting there." - we can see the awkwardness. But we can also see Joey relaxing with Doug and learning to trust his judgement, as well as feeling comfortable enough with him to tease him and treat him like a brother, not walking on eggshells around him.

A big problem with this is that so much of the plot rests on things that two kids did in the past - two kids that we barely even see. Instead, we are seeing the aftermath. This might have been even better if they had tied it into an actual Jump Street case that we were familiar with from the previous season or something. We see Scott in the opening scene, and we see that Jeremy has a picture of his beloved sister, Peggy, but to keep the suspense going, no one finds out that Peggy was raped and impregnated by Scott until almost the end of the episode. With Peggy being Peggy sometimes and Margaret sometimes, Peggy having a different last name from Jeremy, and the airtime given to Scott's parents and Jeremy & Peggy's mother, it's almost too confusing to keep track of if you only watch it once. It's hard to care about any of them when the writers are intentionally trying to make you think that O'Hanian is actually the criminal here and indeed showing that he is more than a little unbalanced in some ways. I can't tell if Joey intentionally has the same conversation with Jeremy twice or if that's a writing mistake, and someone should have told everyone how to pronounce "O'Hanian," because it's pronounced two different ways consistently throughout the show, even by Doug and Joey. The ending, with O'Hanian hugging Jeremy and finally gaining atonement for his neglect of his own son, could have been done so much more subtly - but instead we get O'Hanian hugging Jeremy and staring off into the distance as he says, "It's all right...son..." and the whole thing just gets unbearably maudlin.

It IS nice to see all four officers finding pieces to solve the case - Hoffs and Mac can't be overlooked as they are the ones who accidentally find out about Peggy and learn about Scott's hushed up criminal past, while putting that together with Jeremy's motivation for revenge, and Bendetti adds humor to Mac in a few scenes with facial expressions. Doug's phone call back to the Chapel to discuss the case with Hoffs and Mac is pricelessly funny, and it took me that long to realize that Fuller was completely absent. They also show us that just as Doug is teaching Joey, Hoffs is teaching Mac. Another thing I noticed is that during the past few shows, they had fallen into a formula where the opening scene would be the guest stars, then the theme would run, then we'd be at the Chapel, with Fuller telling them what to do. That scene is completely skipped here - after the theme, we immediately see Joey and Doug at the camp. The point of the episode, though, is to show the four of them working as a unit, particularly the Hoffs/Mac partnership and the Doug/Joey partnership and brother relationship, and that aspect is handled well enough that the episode is very enjoyable.


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