“Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous” Season 2 Review – A Bit Wonky But Still a Lot of Fun!

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous Season 2 showed our main group of kids not only surviving a dinosaur-infested island but other threats, too. While it didn’t reach the heights of the first season, the character-centric moments made the latest adventure quite enjoyable.

As expected, Camp Cretaceous Season 2 also got afflicted with the Jurassic Park franchise curse. The first installments in the series are incredibly fun. Jurassic Park 1 is a classic while Jurassic World 1 also had its moments. Seeing the (kind of) functional dino park breakdown has an attractive charm. The curse appears when the park has been destroyed and writers have to figure out what to do next.

Jurassic Park 2 and 3 as well as Jurassic World 2 were a mess. I also don’t have high hopes for the upcoming Jurassic World 3: Dominion. And while Camp Cretaceous, fortunately, isn’t as bad as those installments, the entire narrative felt like filler we had to watch before we can get to the actual “meat” of the story in the upcoming third season.

The third season of Camp Cretaceous hasn’t been announced yet. But after how things ended during the second season, we need it!

The premiere episode opened with Darius (Paul-Mikel Williams), Brooklyn (Jenna Ortega), Yaz (Kausar Mohammed), Sam (Raini Rodriguez), and Kenji (Ryan Potter) continuing to run away from dangerous dinosaurs. They finally decide to go to Main Street and that’s when they learn about an emergency distress beacon. There’s one problem, though. The emergency distress beacon is inside the T-rex’s nest.

I liked how the teenagers were able to distract the T-rex long enough for them to activate the beacon and send out a signal. It’s always fun to see the T-rex be a big threat in the Jurassic Park/World franchise. My only gripe would be that the animation team should have considered giving her a few scars to link to her battle with the Indominus Rex.

After sending the signal, the episodes followed the main group setting up camp and making the best of their situation while waiting for help to arrive. I mean, in all fairness, these kids should have been dead by now, but oh well.

I enjoyed the writers taking the time to build the core cast. We got to see certain characters spend more time together. Yaz’s conversation with Kenji was interesting. The two are very different. Yaz is all about being active while Kenji wants to relax and let others do the work for him. Brooklyn, Yaz, and Sam forming a three-girl team to uncover the origins of the cold coming from one of the air vents and learning about ‘E750’ was fun.

The second season of Camp Cretaceous also decided to put forth certain ethical questions about how the kids should treat dinosaurs. In episode 2, ‘The Art of Chill’, Brooklyn, Darius, and Sam find a veterinary station. They’re quick to unlock the herbivores the vets forgot about when the park was shutting down. However, Darius and Sam get into an argument about what to do with a caged Baryonyx. 

I get that this is a kid-centric animated series, and the writers can’t show the main cast being unkind to dinosaurs. But come on! Even the thought of unlocking another carnivore shouldn’t have crossed the kid’s minds. I rolled my eyes when Darius set the Baryonyx free and it regrouped with the other two in its family leading to the kids having to handle THREE of them. Wow! Just wow!

The human antagonists in this season appear in the form of two eco-tourists (a married couple named Mitch and Tiff) and their guide named Hap. Brooklyn’s immediately suspicious of Hap but her friends ignore her because Mitch and Tiff will be taking them off the island in two days.

The reveal about Mitch (Angus Sampson) and Tiff (Stephanie Beatriz) being hunters isn’t anything surprising. It just led me to think of them as quite incompetent. They were walking around the island as if they were on tour to hunt normal animals. I didn’t see an ounce of security around their large campsite. Also, after killing the dinos they wanted, how were they planning to carry the dino heads back to the boat? They didn’t even consider bringing a single bike or jeep on their hunting trip! And they’re okay with leaving the kids behind, but they couldn’t hurt or lock the kids away themselves?

Having said that, I liked a lot of character-driven choices the writers made. I understood why Darius was so willing to trust Mitch and Tiff. Mitch showed interest in Darius’s knowledge about dinosaurs which led to Darius beginning to look at Mitch as a father figure (for those who don’t know, Darius lost his father before coming to the island).

Darius not being able to save Ben also continued to haunt him. Darius’s motivation to save the rest of his friends played a big role in the plan he came up with to stop Mitch and Tiff from hunting dinosaurs at the watering hole.

Also, with how the writers brought back Ben and a grownup Bumpy, I think they shouldn’t have spoiled his fate during the finale of the first season. Already knowing that Ben was alive took away from the impact of the moment when Ben appeared to save Brooklyn and Kenji from a frustrated Hap.

Speaking on Ben, episode 5 was all about him and Bumpy. We got to see how he survived while being separated from the rest of the group. I think the kids have been on the island for at least two or three weeks, now? I’m not sure.

Compared to the rest of the characters, I think Ben went through the most drastic change in the second season. Surviving alone turned him into a warrior. He decided to take on a burned Toro (the main dinosaur antagonist from the first season) on his own. Frankly, Ben should have died during that battle before an adult Bumpy could run to his aid.

Seeing the group work together during the finale was very enjoyable. These kids are well-written enough for me to care about what happens to them. As someone who ships Brooklyn and Darius, I was glad when she decided to leave her seat in front of the surveillance monitors and went to support Darius against Mitch and Tiff.

The moment also showed Brooklyn’s growth. Throughout the second season, we have seen her working on unraveling the mystery connected to room ‘E750’. It’s safe to assume there’s some kind of dinosaur cryogenically frozen in there. But instead of running into said room, Brooklyn went to help Darius. Yay!

The rest of the ships sailed, too. We had the usual sweet moments between Sam and Yaz. Kenji and Ben finally reuniting was nice to see. Kenji kept Ben’s fanny pack safe until his return! My heart!

As for what can be expected from season 3, with Mitch and Tiff killed by dinosaurs (those moments made me smile!), I guess we should get ready to see the teens figure out a plan to get off the island. They’re done waiting for someone to rescue them.

Tiff’s boat looks anchored close enough to the shore. So, maybe the kids will use it? Also, the mysterious dinosaur is likely going to be the main villain during the third installment. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s something related to the Indoraptor. And Mantah Corp has to appear, right?

Even though Camp Cretaceous Season 2 didn’t have the sense of awe the first one had, it’s still an enjoyable installment for fans of the Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous animated series. 

I just hope the overall story comes to an end by the third or fourth season. How long will the writers have these kids be stuck on the island? Also, why isn’t Brooklyn’s pink-hair dye fading away?

All eight episodes (around 22 minutes each) of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous season 2 debuted on Netflix on January 22, 2021.

Let us know if you’ve watched them already.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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