A kung fu showdown kicks off on set as the boys and girls go toe-to-toe in a martial arts challenge. One castmate, cast out from the action, must act as a shadow warrior to sabotage both teams for extra drama, but his attacks miss their mark. Another castmate tries to strike a new alliance, while two others begin to find balance and harmony in their conflict. However, the saboteur’s sneak attack disrupts the budding peace, and an unexpected underdog sweeps the competition, earning a grand banquet worthy of a true kung fu master.
Plot
The episode opens with Beth complaining about how exhausting the previous challenge was in the girls' trailer.
 Courtney |
“ | It was selfish and thoughtless of Lindsay to leave so close to the finals, now there's three guys and only two girls! I'm basically being forced to form an alliance with Beth. | ” |
Before Beth goes to sleep, Courtney asks her if she wants to watch a romantic comedy on her personal digital assistant or eat cheese puffs. Beth says that it's tempting, but then says that she's never going to form an alliance with Courtney, and irritably tells her to try and find another "sucker."
 Beth |
“ | I've fallen for enough fake friendships to know better! They lure you in with the promise of chocolate and before you know it you're jacked up on cocoa butter doing all their science homework. Never again! | ” |
The camera then goes to the boys' trailer, where Harold is telling his "blankie" to stop tickling him. Harold then wakes up and realizes that he's covered with snails, much to Duncan's amusement. Harold then asks Duncan when he's going to stop making his life so miserable, to which Duncan replies, "When it stops being funny."
 Duncan |
“ | As in never. | ” |
Afterwards, Harold frees all the snails, except one, which he says sounds and looks like Leshawna.
 Harold |
“ | She even looks like Leshawna. See? Same soft eyes. Same hard shell. Same lusciously rounded booty. They could be twins! | ” |
Harold names the snail "Leshawna Jr." and places it in a matchbox next to him and says that he is too excited to go to sleep, though he ends up going to sleep right after.
The following morning, the cast awakens to a loud gong. Unfamiliar with the location, Owen asks where they are, to which Duncan responds that they are back at Camp Wawanakwa. Chris then comes in, "flying" in the lotus position, and doing some kung fu moves. He announces that this episode will be a reward challenge and that today, he'll pit the boys against the girls. Courtney complains that there are three boys and only two girls, to which Chris replies that Owen won't compete in the challenge, since he "snuck off set to go skateboarding." Owen then momentarily forgets that he is in a secret alliance with Chris, but then says that he flagged a taxi, and went to the local skate park. Owen then attempts to do a 720 degree trick, but breaks the board in half. He later changes his mind, and says he went to get some food at a local food court, which the other castmates believe.
 Owen |
“ | Chris wants me to spy on the two teams and pick one to sabotage, which bites! I only agreed to be a mole 'cause they offered me enough cash to pay off my mom's debt on that cheese cellar. And I hate being so sneaky and underpanted, but getting out of challenges rules! (chuckles) | ” |
Chris then says that in each kung fu movie, the fighters train with choreographers, so for today's challenge, each team will have a "fighter" and a "trainer." After Harold goes through a variety of fighting styles, Duncan lets him be the fighter.
Duncan |
“ | It's about time the nerdling learned how to fight, and I'm more than happy to teach him. Of course, the best way to learn how to throw a punch is to get punched, repeatedly. | ” |
"Be one with the pain."
The scene changes to Duncan, making Harold wax the Lame-o-sine. Chris then comes by to see how they're doing, and asks Duncan if he can make Harold wax his car too. Duncan asks Chris which his car is. Chris then says "all of them," and the camera zooms out to reveal a parking lot full of Chris' cars, as Chris and Duncan laugh together. Meanwhile, Courtney is training with Beth, who has to wax Chef's chest hair. The two teams also do push-ups. Duncan stands on top of Harold as he does his, so to outdo Duncan's training, Courtney puts a rock on Beth's back, and then stands over the rock. Duncan then retrieves a moose off-screen and puts it on top of Harold, in order to one-up Courtney. Courtney is then seen training balance skills with Beth, while Duncan serves Harold "lunch." Harold then takes the lid off his lunch, to reveal a swarm of bees, which proceed to attack him.
Duncan |
“ | How was I supposed to know that bees would swarm? It was supposed to be like a lesson from Muhammad Ali: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. | ” |
While Beth is seen training with a punching bag made out of hay, Harold is training with a punching bag with Duncan's face on it. After Harold punches the punching bag weakly, Duncan tries to motivate him, saying that he kissed Leshawna. Harold is so enraged to the point that he punches a hole through the punching bag and starts choking Duncan. Both teams are seen standing next to a kung fu temple, where Chef proceeds to reveal two fighting robots. Chris explains that the fighters go inside the robot suits, while the trainers operate them with two joysticks. After two minutes of learning how to control the robots, Chris appears, saying that the fight will begin once the "beautiful geisha," who is in fact Owen in a geisha suit, sounds the gong. Harold attempts to lecture Chris in Japanese and Chinese culture, but Duncan makes Harold kick himself to get him to be quiet.
Geisha Owen helps out Courtney, in order to create drama for Chris.
Owen then goes to the boys, and tells them to watch out for Beth's "killer roundhouse kick." Courtney then whistles for Owen to come to the girls' side, which he does. After being pressured, Owen tells them to watch out for Harold's left hook.
Courtney |
“ | If Owen is willing to help, maybe he'll join my alliance with Beth! You know, once Beth says yes. Oh, why won't she say yes?! | ” |
Beth and Harold fight in their robot suits.
Owen finally hits the gong and the match begins. Harold, at first, gains the upper hand over Beth, but Courtney makes Beth hit Harold in the face. It turns into a fight between Duncan and Courtney using Beth and Harold, as they begin to make the two hit each other with force. Duncan then presses the joystick with such force that it makes Harold propel towards Beth. Courtney attempts to respond to the attack, but her joystick breaks. Harold then knocks Beth out of her robot suit, winning the challenge. Chris then calls the medics to tend to Beth.
After the break, Chris announces Duncan and Harold as the winners, much to Courtney's displeasure. Harold asks to be unstrapped, and Chef uses his sword to free Harold.
Harold |
“ | Chef's sword gave my nose hairs a wicked trim. Sweet, huh? | ” |
Chris then announces the second "exciting" part of the challenge, which Courtney and Beth are freed of. Chris then says that Duncan and Harold must carry a cup of water to the Mount Banshee, which is actually the cliff. They must retrieve a bonsai tree, which is guarded by a "kung fu master," who is actually Sasquatchanakwa. The first one to bring the bonsai tree down the mountain wins the challenge, and the day's reward. Chris then says that since the girls are not in the challenge, they'll have to be on kitchen duty.
The scene skips to the boys and Owen, in front of the Cliff. Harold asks Owen if he can take care of Leshawna Jr., to which he agrees. As both Duncan and Harold begin to climb the mountain, Owen is hoisted up by a rope. Meanwhile, Beth and Courtney are arguing in the kitchen. Chef then comes in to tell them they'll be preparing a "warrior's meal," which is kung fu noodle soup, using noodles, and the seven most dangerous fishes known to man. Owen tries to convince Duncan to prank Harold, but he refuses to. Owen then goes to Harold, and tells him that Duncan can barely hold his cup of water, and that he could knock it out with a left hook. Harold refuses, saying that the mountain, the water, he, and Duncan are all the same. Harold almost drops his cup of water, but Duncan prevents that from happening. Harold then says that if he and Duncan work together, they can split the prize, to which Duncan agrees. Owen is then hoisted up the mountain by Chris, who says that if he doesn't stop the "lovefest," he'll be sent home, without the money he was promised. During this, Beth and Courtney attempt to cook the fish, only to fail. Beth then says that she's allergic to live fish, but Courtney says she's seen her eat fish before, to which Beth tries to justify by saying she's only allergic to them when they're alive.
Beth |
“ | Hey, this is what she gets for trying to manipulate me into forming an alliance. Two can play that game. | ” |
Courtney then says that she can work on it alone, when she is suddenly grabbed by a tentacle.
The scene cuts to Owen, who is wondering how he can break up Harold and Duncan's "dynamic duo." Suddenly, he pulls out Leshawna Jr. and asks Harold if he heard what Leshawna Jr. just "said." Owen says that it sounded like Leshawna Jr. wanted Harold to beat Duncan to a pulp. Harold says that Leshawna Jr. taught him to be better, so he won't do it. Courtney is then seen being attacked by jellyfish, while Beth wonders if she could call Brady on Courtney's PDA, not paying any attention to Courtney's dire situation.
Courtney |
“ | Look. I'll do anything to make this alliance happen. Of course I know Beth's trying to counter-manipulate me, but that's okay because I'm counter-counter-manipulating her! It's called a counter top. Hello! | ” |
The scene changes back to the boys, who are almost to the top of the mountain. As they climb up, Owen asks Harold what he misses the most about Leshawna. Harold responds that she misses her delicate beauty, to which Duncan says that she is as delicate as a freight train. This angers Harold so much that he tosses the water into Duncan's face, and knocks him out with a punch to the face. Harold makes it to the top of the mountain, where he dumps the water to the floor, and then kicks Sasquatchanakwa twice in the face. Harold retrieves the bonsai tree and starts going down the hill, as Sasquatchanakwa attacks Owen.
Later at dinner, Harold is seen enjoying his noodle soup, as Owen pours some more into his bowl. Owen then poisons himself by drinking the soup, as Courtney offers Beth some more tea, referring to her as "best friend." Beth then asks Courtney if she ever thought of making a girls' alliance, to which Courtney responds that it is a great idea. The two girls then make their alliance. Harold then thanks Leshawna Jr. for helping him win the challenge. At Leshawna Jr.'s "request," Harold releases it back into the wild and starts crying as "she" leaves. Chris then ends the episode by asking the viewers if next time they'll come up with something more exciting.
Exclusive clip
Duncan admits that "the student became the teacher."
Duncan |
“ | Yeah, Harold banished me from the sushi feast, one of the perks of winning the reward. Can you believe how fast the student became the teacher? Little twerp wad did me proud. [to Sasquatchanakwa] Fine, you can eat the tuna steak but then go home. No, there's no extra room in my trailer. You can go sleep in the woods like a normal Bigfoot. Okay, okay, sorry. I didn't mean to suggest you're abnormal. Calm down, geez, so sensitive. | ” |
Cast
| Voice actor | Role(s) |
|---|---|
| Christian Potenza | Chris |
| Sarah Gadon | Beth |
| Clé Bennett | Chef Hatchet |
| Emilie-Claire Barlow | Courtney |
| Drew Nelson | Duncan |
| Brian Froud | Harold |
| Scott McCord | Owen |
- Sasquatchanakwa has lines; however, it is unknown who voiced him.
Still in the running
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Trivia
General
- This is third episode in the series to reference a character's name in the title. The others are:
- Action: "The Chefshank Redemption," "Super Hero-ld," and "2008: A Space Owen."
- World Tour: "Aftermath: Bridgette Over Troubled Water."
- Revenge of the Island: "The Treasure Island of Dr. McLean" and "Grand Chef Auto."
- All-Stars: "Zeek And Ye Shall Find."
- Pahkitew Island: "Scarlett Fever" and "Sky Fall."
- This is also the only episode to reference two characters' names.
- Courtney tries to form an alliance with Beth in this episode, despite their conflict.
- Duncan and Harold make a temporary truce in this episode, but Owen interferes.
- A black version of the Sasquatchanakwa is seen in this episode at the top of the cliff.
- This Sasquatchanakwa is shown with blue eyes, even though they're usually red.
- Chris mixes Chinese culture with Japanese culture throughout the episode.
- In this episode, Beth is seen sleeping with a picture of her boyfriend Brady.
- This is the last episode of the season to feature a reward challenge.
- This marks the first episode in Total Drama Action where the forest is shown.
Continuity
- After refusing to form an alliance with Courtney, Beth brings up her past alliances with Heather and Justin and their insincere friendship towards her.
- This is the first episode since "3:10 to Crazytown" where there are more male contestants than female contestants.
- This is the fourth episode overall to have a non-contestant/non-crew member use the confessional. The others are:
- Loon in "Not So Happy Campers - Part 1."
- Bear in "Paintball Deer Hunter."
- Killer in "Hook, Line, and Screamer."
- This is the second episode of Total Drama Action that takes place at Camp Wawanakwa.
- The first is "Beach Blanket Bogus."
- The drumming music which plays before Harold and Beth fight is the same music heard in previous episodes:
- When Harold faces off against Owen in "Dodgebrawl."
- When Chef Hatchet and Izzy fight for the first time in "Hide and Be Sneaky."
- When Courtney fights Duncan in "Million Dollar Babies."
- This is the first time that a male contestant wins a reward challenge.
- Harold states that Leshawna Jr has her namesake’s “lusciously rounded booty,” a callback to the love letter he wrote Leshawna in the uncensored version of X-Treme Torture, where he says she has a “booty as luscious as an apple.”
- The poisonous fugu blowfish and the jellyfish return in this episode.
- Owen is poisoned by the blowfish, like Trent was in "Who Can You Trust?" (Island).
- Coincidentally, both characters are voiced by Scott McCord.
- This is the first episode since Courtney arrived, excluding Aftermaths, where she does not mention her lawyers or lawsuit.
- This is the first episode in Total Drama Action and the third ever in the Total Drama series to be a "boys vs. girls" challenge.
- The other times this occurred was in "Brunch of Disgustingness" and in "Are We There Yeti?" (both during Island). It also almost happened during "Monster Cash," in a key-searching challenge, but was cancelled when Owen ate the prop food.
References
- This episode's title is a reference to the Chinese film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
- There are several references to John G. Avildsen's movie, The Karate Kid, in this episode:
- Courtney's line "wax on, wax off."
- Harold waxing the Lame-o-sine and Chris's cars.
- Duncan attempting to make Harold to catch bees using a pair of chopsticks.
- The Sasquatchanakwa in this episode is wearing clothes like Raiden from Mortal Kombat.
- Duncan mentions boxer Muhammad Ali in the confessional, after he was training Harold to fight. This is the fifth time that a real person has been mentioned in the Total Drama series.
- The first time it was Céline Dion back in "Phobia Factor."
- The second time it was Stephen Hawking in "Who Can You Trust?"
- The third time it was Friedrich Nietzsche in "X-Treme Torture."
- The fourth time it was Frank Gehry in "Beach Blanket Bogus."
- The controllers resemble those of the video game console, Atari 2600.
- The robot costumes resemble two-player action toy and game, Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots.
- This is the first of two references to Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots in the series.
- The second happens in "The EX-Files" (World Tour).
- This is the first of two references to Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots in the series.
- When Chris "flies" away after telling the contestants to train, he exclaims "Excelsior" which translates as "ever upward" or "still higher" in Latin. This is word is also used by Marvel Comics creator/writer, Stan Lee, as his catchphrase.
Goofs
- On Australian digital televisions the information states that the episode is called "Crouching Courtney, Hidden Gwen."
- When Chris points to the camera at the end of the episode, his fingernail is missing.
- Even though the mountain is at Camp Wawanakwa, there is no rocky path or cave on the cliff in Total Drama Island.
- When Beth is talking to Brady on top of the table, the knives are not there. However, in the scene before, they were there.
- When Courtney and Beth open the door to go to bed, it's still daytime despite them just coming back from the previous Awards Ceremony.
- Early on in the episode, Duncan states that they are at Camp Wawanakwa, but throughout the episode, the contestants are either at the film set or the island.
- When Chris explains the challenge, he refers to the liquid in the glass as water, however, later in the explanation, he refers to it as tea.
- When Owen is spying on Beth and Courtney, he says Beth has a powerful powerhouse kick, but when he tells it to Duncan and Harold, he calls it a roundhouse kick.
- Despite telling the girls to cook the seven deadliest fish known to man, the jellyfish and killer octopus are not fish.
- When Courtney talks about how Lindsay's elimination left her and Beth outnumbered (at three guys and two girls), she disregards the fact that she voted off Lindsay in the previous episode.
- Also, she claims that she did not want the girls to be outnumbered, even though she helped Duncan eliminate Leshawna in "Super Hero-ld."
Gallery
See also
- "Monster Cash"
- "Alien Resurr-eggtion"
- "Riot on Set"
- "Beach Blanket Bogus"
- "3:10 to Crazytown"
- "The Aftermath: I"
- "The Chefshank Redemption"
- "One Flu Over the Cuckoos"
- "The Sand Witch Project"
- "Masters of Disasters"
- "Full Metal Drama"
- "The Aftermath: II"
- "Ocean's Eight—or Nine"
- "One Million Bucks, B.C."
- "Million Dollar Babies"
- "Dial M for Merger"
- "Super Hero-ld"
- "The Aftermath: III"
- "The Princess Pride"
- "Get a Clue"
- "Rock n' Rule"
- "Crouching Courtney, Hidden Owen"
- "2008: A Space Owen"
- "Top Dog"
- "Mutiny on the Soundstage"
- "The Aftermath: IV"
- "Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special"