#but also you really can't have Sorna be what it was or the enitre lore of the Jurassic World franchise goes up in smoke

[swan2swan]

So, where do we go from here? 

Camp Cretaceous Season 4 Prediction (LONG): 

As much as I’ve argued that we need to stay on Isla Nublar the whole time, turning right back around after that final sendoff would be too much of a forced “Return to Status Quo” for a story that has propelled itself forward so much. The kids did it. They won. They got off the island. I feel like we've explored almost everything we needed to (what's left? The bamboo forests? The gardens?), and though we never saw Triceratops or Stygimolochs or got chased by Gallimimus, we can't just go back after everything's increased. The only Big Challenge remaining on the island is the volcano, and that's six months out.

But the story’s nowhere near done, because we have four major plot threads that need to be addressed before the show ends:

1. Most immediately, we have the dinosaur in the closet. Is it a baby Scorpios? Blue? A Monolophosaurus? A Dilophosaurus? A baby Ouranosaurus? A baby Baryonyx? Jeanie? We don’t know, but odds are that it’s going to throw a wrench into the kids’ plans to return home. 

2. The state of Sammy's family and the ranch are still in flux; what will happen to them? Did they get all the money they needed from lawsuits? Does Mantah Corp have dirt on them? Are they going to try to interfere with Sammy because she Knows Too Much? They were set up as villains for a reason.

3. Darius and Kenji's strained relationship is a setup for future conflict.

4. We need to see Bumpy again. This isn't something that “needs” to come up, but the fact is that she's one of the main characters—bringing her back is essential to the story's quality, and we're not missing that thread. She either needs to get off the island, or we need to see that she lives afterwards.

Considering all of these things, I can rule out a lot of options: we're not getting chased right back by the Mosasaurus, and the creature in the ship isn't just going to wreck the engines and send them back. They're less than a hundred miles off of Costa Rica, so even if they're cruising at a cautious ten miles an hour, they should be able to see the shore within twenty-four hours, which means we're not going on an island-hopping adventure, either. You need dinosaurs, too, so nothing generic will happen.

Thus we can consider:

1: The kids are on the mainland of Costa Rica, and lost in the jungle or mountains. Just because they found their way back to mainland doesn't mean that they're going to find a port, and if their stowaway or the Mosasaurus causes problems, they can crash easily. If it's a Scorpios Rex baby, they'll have to hunt it and capture/kill it to finish their mission from this season. The problem with this option is that it just retreads the threat from the last season, which is boring; if it's a Monolophosaurus (or two), then it might not even impact things...so, I don't think the “kids in the jungle” plot is going to stick. I give this one a “D”.

2:  The kids run into a patrol vessel before landing. Isla Nublar is under quarantine. While they're on the boat, their rescuers/captors unleash the creature (which could be Scorpios!), and now there's a tight opening adventure on the boat. Thrilling, but not much of a big season if it's just a navy vessel...which leads me to:

3:  This is the only way I think we go back to Nublar, and that is if they meet up with a patrol boat, and then the creature in the hold (a small Scorpios???) rampages through the ship. They put it down, but the noise attracts the Mosasaurus, which wrecks the boat and puts them right back on Nublar—separated and with a bunch of adults alongside them. With a cast of much-more-plot-vulnerable adults to care about now (perhaps including Roxie, who joined the crew?), the stakes are higher and the kids are guides—maybe even separated at different points on the island. Not a big fan of this idea, though—again, it's retreading, and the number of excuses for “military-trained adults can't radio for help” is slim. So, I give it an “F”. But let's refine it a little further:

4: The kids get picked up by a patrol boat that is actually working for Mantah Corp—and they discover the dinosaur that has snuck aboard. Seeing an opportunity, Mantah Corp excitedly takes the kids to their secret base...on Isla Sorna. Though the dinosaurs on the island are mostly extinct and sick from disease, the abandoned island was perfect for a field laboratory. Specimens to study, buildings that already existed, a quarantine keeping prying eyes away...there's a whole organization here now. The kids escape from captivity (as they do) and find themselves wandering around a new island with new dangers: all around them are long-decayed skeletons of dinosaurs from the past, and hunting them are bizarre creations from Mantah Corp's labs. It's an island of ghosts now, and the kids need to escape...and perhaps, when they do, they find that they only have enough fuel to make it to one place: and it's the place they never thought they'd return to.

This plot covers pretty much every base—the stowaway, Mantah Corp, the relationships, and a chance to return to Bumpy—and gives them a proper, probable reason to go to Isla Sorna that isn't “Fate decided that it would be fun if they went to a different island”. I give this one “B-to-A” probability.

However...

There is one other major option:

Three. Year. Timeskip.

There are only two things holding me back from leaning into this: one is that it would deny us the sight of the kids reuniting with their families. We need that. We need some sort of triumphant return home. The other, simpler, more obvious problem is the monster in the hold; that kind of cliffhanger seems like it should come up. Obviously both of these problems can be solved via flashbacks, or a prologue, but...the need for new models and such would be an issue, because “budget” has always been a thing.

The other major problem, obviously, is the fact that the kids would need a reason to come back together. Maybe they all gather together for an anniversary and a dinosaur attacks them; maybe they're all being interviewed; but a far more interesting, compelling, and obvious motivation would be this:

Bumpy is alive and in danger.

Thus, all six kids (well...at least two would be adults now...) go running off to find and rescue Bumpy. They're bold and independent, rebellious and reckless: they each go to save their dinosaur friend, and they end up running into each other and ultimately facing Mantah Corp, who is one of the major power players in the prelude to Dominion.

This one has the ultimate story potential, in my opinon. You have Kenji and Darius meeting again with death glares because they left on poor terms. Ben has adjusted. Yaz and Sammy have had three years of yearning, notes, and problems (or maybe Sammy vanished...). And Brooklynn has had to forge a completely new life for herself, because she can't deal with internet fame anymore—everyone asking her about the island wherever she goes was just too much.

It directly sets the stage for Dominion, allowing glimpses of the world as it will be in the movie. Maybe the kids set more dinosaurs loose from Mantah Corp's (land-based in this one) laboratories as they free Bumpy. Maybe they become renegades and outlaws—forced to live in the wilds of California, Nevada, or Mexico. They're no longer looking for rescue, but for refuge. Maybe Claire has a sanctuary, a real one, that they have to get to. This would make it a full-scale adventure in a world filled with dinosaurs. Whatever they brought back with them is out there, too...and perhaps an old, scarred nemesis they never thought they would see again.

The biggest drawback to this is that the show hasn’t been running long enough for kids who started it to connect with the grown-up forms of the characters, but also...at the same time...it could work? I dunno, I give it “B” probability, A+ potential. 

Other thoughts that could work in any of these:

Roxie is working for Mantah Corp. She's unemployed, combat ready, and bitter at InGen...also, she'd look great in a uniform.

Brand is involved in any mainland shenanigans.

Dodgson. Dodgson. Can we get Dodgson here?

#jurassic world #camp cretaceous #camp cretaceous spoilers #camp cretaceous season 4 #mantah corp #look you don't give an organization that cool of a name without making them the focus #but I feel strongly like it's going to be the 'captured by mantah corp' option #gives the highest stakes #and a secret lab on sorna gets them there #because let's be real: them accidentally going to sorna would be stupid #it's not going to happen #BUT #if they're TAKEN there? #sure wonderful do it that's great #love it #but also you really can't have Sorna be what it was or the enitre lore of the Jurassic World franchise goes up in smoke #but also by GOING to Sorna #you can EXPLAIN IT for everyone #hence why I think this is the plan #but again: they're NOT JUST GOING TO CRASH THERE #that would be stupid and even if it happens I am GOING TO KEEP SAYING THAT #jw:cc