Hello! Another episode of Dead of Summer has premiered and this episode completely blew me away. It was definitely a step up from last week’s episode. It was action-packed, creepy, thrilling, and just so good. On my scale, I would give this a 99.5%. It was definitely the best episode so far! If you still aren’t aware of this amazing series, then let me enlighten you. This is a new horror series on Freeform that is set at Camp Stillwater in 1989. This show is fabulous and I highly recommend it.
That is the end of the non-spoilery section, so if you haven’t seen this show, you should leave or you will get spoiled for the events of this seventh episode. If you have seen this episode, keep reading and we can discuss it!
** SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS EPISODE, DO NOT READ ANY OTHER PART OF THIS REVIEW**
Characters:
Amy Hughes: Props to the actress who plays Amy because her character went through some creepy, batshit crazy stuff in this episode. I can’t really explain how much development she has gone through, but her actress did a phenomenal job and I commend her for that. She made it believable!
Joel Goodson: We don’t see a ton of screen time for him, but it does go a little bit into his brother’s story, which shakes him up.
Alex Powell: I love how concerned we see Alex is about Amy and also how willing he is to get answers and stop Holyoke. It was really touching, even if we didn’t see to much of him in this episode.
Blair Ramos: We see some major character development with Blair in this episode. We see his drive to help his friends and how he looks past Drew being transgender and just accepts him. And he kisses him!
Jessie Tyler: We really see her being worried for her friends and wanting to find who took Amy. She wants to help everyone and that really showed through in this episode.
Drew Reeves: We finally see him trusting people in this episode and taking action to keep Amy and everyone else safe. It was really refreshing to see this!
Garrett Sykes: Garrett really changed with this episode. He killed his mentor and his father’s murderer. We saw how much he cared about the camp and how much he wanted to save Amy. We really got to know him with this episode and I really appreciated that.
Deb Carpenter: With this episode, we really see how much she cares about the camp and her campers. It was really refreshing to see this side of her.
Plot:
The episode starts off with a flashback of a young Garrett Sykes goading a boy named Damon into smashing up the principal’s car. Garrett is the one who smashes up a window and that’s why his dad sent him to camp. Garrett is telling his partner, Deputy Boyd, that someone will die at camp that night. Boyd agrees, so they come up with a plan.
In this plan, Amy is to act as bait since the group’s sights are set on her. Damon and his friends are having a meeting. They call the vessel (Amy). Damon then cuts out the tongue of one of his friends and spreads the blood on a bone. They then start going after Amy.
In another flashback, young Garrett meets Jessie. Michael, Joel’s older brother who committed suicide, is their counselor. There is a tug of war game and Garrett fights a kid who insults his mom; this is the first time he is called Townie. Jessie and Garrett fight and then she calls him Townie and he calls her Braces.
Jessie is worried about Amy and is not all that comfortable with the plan. Amy is gathering items for the game for the kids when she hears her name (This was when they were calling the Vessel). Boyd sees masked figures. Garrett expresses that he doesn’t believe Holyoke is actually there, just a group of Satanists. He finds out that Amy and Boyd are missing. Amy is walking like she’s in a trance and she joins the masked figures.
In another flashback, we see Garrett’s dad shows up at camp because Michael is talking to voices and having visions. Blair and Drew are both on patrol when Deb sends out a message for everyone to get back to camp, but they don’t get it. After seeing a mask posted to a tree, Blair trips and sprains his ankle. Joel, Jessie and Alex find Garrett and show him a picture that Anton drew, meaning he is still talking to Holyoke.
It’s a picture of a cave, the same cave that Michael drew in 1982. It’s of Golden Grove, but it doesn’t have a cave, so the cave must be beneath it. Garrett refuses to let them go with him, so he goes alone to rescue Amy. All of the masked figures are gathered around Amy who is loosely tied to a noose. She willingly slices her arm open because they need blood. Deep in the woods, Drew is helping Blair walk when they finally get Deb’s message and start heading for the mess hall.
In another flashback, Garrett tells Boyd that his dad is here because of Michael. Back in present day while Garrett is running to find the cave, Amy is being lowered into the bloody water. As soon as she touches the water, she snaps out of the possessed stupor and starts flipping out. We get another flashback of Garrett playing capture the flag with the rest of camp. He is cornered by a bunch of kids from the opposing team, which was simply a distraction so Jessie could grab the flag.
Back in present day, Garrett finds the cave. It seems almost like Damon was trying to talk him into joining. Damon says that when their blood mixes with Amy’s, they will live forever. They all then slit their throats and Amy falls into the water. There is another flashback in which Jessie and Garrett carve their names on the bench and kiss. This is also when Garrett finds out his dad is dead.
Back in present day, Garrett dives for Amy and a creature has a hold of her leg. A rope dangles down for them, revealing after they are out of the water, that Jessie saved Amy’s life. Amy was unconscious at this time, but woke up. They make it back to camp and Boyd is there. He is completely fine. After talking for a few minutes, Blair kisses Drew. Boyd and Garrett go somewhere alone. And what do you know? Boyd is the teacher. He tries to kill Garrett then asks him to join him. Garrett then kills the Teacher. The episode ends with another freaking masked figure watching.
My Thoughts:
Wow, this episode was fantastic! I did not see that ending coming. The entire episode, I was on the edge of my seat, scared for Amy’s life. It completely took me off guard when Damon and everyone just killed themselves! And when Amy’s leg was grabbed by some creature, I was like, “WTF WAS THAT.” It completely creeped me out. It also seemed a bit weird how possessed Amy was. I am still not sure if she was possessed by a creature or just because she is a natural vessel and that is the vessel’s spirit inside of her. If you have any theories about that, please feel free to comment down below. I just thought the plot line was super interesting and the character development and cinematography were on point. I am super excited to see where the show will go next and how the show will wrap up within the next few episodes!
What surprised you the most about this episode? Comment down below. What surprised me the most was definitely who the Teacher turned out to be. I just never expected Boyd of all people to be the Teacher. But there you have it. That is the end of this review. Thank you all so much for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, and I will see you next time.
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