Search and Do Not Destroy

**"Search and Do Not Destroy"** is the sixteenth episode of the first season of *Total Drama*.

*“Crap infinity.”*
―Owen when he is stuck under the bear
The campers have to find a key to open a treasure chest. Meanwhile, Heather ruins Gwen and Trent's relationship by kissing Trent, which makes Gwen cry, then Trent is voted off because Heather couldn't be voted off because she won immunity.

## Plot

The episode opens with a chipmunk waking up in its home in a tree. It takes a sip of coffee before the camera pans to Leshawna who exits her trailer after a good night's sleep in it. Meanwhile, Gwen and Trent are hanging out at the dock together. Gwen is sitting against a tree, sketching a picture of him. Trent, who had just climbed out of the water and onto the dock after taking a swim, asks Gwen what she is drawing, referring to her as "beautiful". She responds with "Nothing!" and bashfully hides her sketch pad from him. The drawing is revealed by a hidden camera to be a sketch of a shirtless Trent. Gwen then claims in the confessional that she "absolutely, positively does not have a crush on Trent." She then says she is over him and begins to say that she was only into him for a week or two. However, she is obviously lying, and gives up after only a fraction of the sentence.

The scene then switches to Chris in a pirate costume, who fires a cannon, then quickly covers his ears. The cannonball hits Leshawna's trailer and destroys it, much to her surprise and disappointment. He then announces that all campers need to report to the amphitheater for their next challenge in a stereotypical pirate accent. The campers enter the amphitheater, including Leshawna, who is dragging her charred luggage behind her. Chris, still in the pirate costume and with the accent, begins to describe the challenge, saying that it will be a "good, old-fashioned, treasure hunt." Gwen moans at the idea, while Chris continues on. He explains that the treasure hunt "has a twist" as what they’re looking for isn't hidden and isn’t treasure, which provokes Duncan to ask why he is dressed like a pirate if there is no treasure. Chris tells him that he had a good question and then he continues to explain that they will be looking for keys to treasure chests, which contain rewards. He then invites them up to pull clues out of a bucket, which is held out by Chef.

The campers do so, while Chris explains that the clues they pick will have a drawing that gives them a hint of where their key is hidden in the camp. Owen reveals that he had picked out the clue containing a picture of a bear, something he is extremely intimidated by. Chris interjects by saying that he had been hoping Owen would get that clue. Chris then looks at Heather's clue, which is of Chef's refrigerator. Chris then tells her that Chef brushes it every day for fingerprints, which also intimidates her. Geoff is looking at his drawing, which Chris reveals to be of the septic tank for the communal washrooms. Chris then tells the group to go find their keys and return with them by "6:00 pm, eastern standard time", prompting the campers then disperse.

Heather is then seen in the confessional, wondering who came up with the "stupid challenge" and also mentioned to Chris that, in her opinion, pirate tights are not flattering for his legs. Owen is then shown in the confessional, excited over the challenge, although he does admit the bears are "a little concerning," though he seems too excited over the prospect of treasure to dwell on the thought of bears too much. Next, Trent is shown working on retrieving his key from the man-eating shark-infested lake. He manages to lure the sharks away from the post where the key is by throwing a fish far off into the lake, before diving in and quickly retrieving it. He exits the lake and calls his challenge "too easy", while Gwen, who has been watching nervously the entire time, smiles and blushes. Meanwhile, Heather is shown to be trying to get her key from Chef’s refrigerator. She enters the kitchen nervously and walks over to the fridge, attempting to open it without being noticed. Once the door is ajar, she finds Chef, holding an exceptionally large knife, inside, looking at her menacingly. She slowly closes the door, frightened and shocked, and walks out of the kitchen.

Gwen is then shown attempting to remove her key from a skunk hole. She looks at it from a distance, covering her nose and moaning at the prospect of having to deal with the skunks. Trent then walks up next to her asking if she is okay. She replies that skunks "totally freak her out", to which Trent replies with an offer to help her, as he already has his key. She says that her challenge is "practically impossible," before Trent has the idea of pouring water down the hole, and flushing them out, which he does, successfully. Gwen then asks if skunks can swim, and when Trent responds positively, she responds with a dreamy "cool". The couple then smiles at each other. Meanwhile, Lindsay is shown helping Heather complete her challenge by lowering her by rope into Chef’s kitchen while Chef is sleeping. Heather manages to slip down without being noticed, and grabs her key. She is then slowly being pulled back up on the rope, when Lindsay sees a bug and lets the rope slip. Heather screams in shock, and ends up dropping her key, which she barely manages to grab again, before she and Lindsay regain control over the rope. Surprisingly, Chef is not awakened by this outburst, and Heather is able to exit the kitchen and keep the key in her possession.

Trent and Gwen are then shown, putting Trent’s plan to flush the skunks out of their hole into action, laughing together while doing so. Their plan works perfectly, allowing Gwen to remove her key from the hole. Gwen is then shown in the confessional, saying that it was "moderately cool" for Trent to have helped her, acting like it is not a big deal to her and saying he is "okay". She then back tracks and excitedly says that he is "more than okay" and that he is "so incredible." But then says to the camera to not tell anyone she said that. Trent is shown in the confessional following her, saying that Gwen being "so smart and independent" and "incredible to look at" is making him nuts, and adds that she "rocks his world" and that he would help her any day. They then show Gwen and Trent standing together near the skunk hole, still smiling at each other. Gwen then quickly runs up to Trent and kisses him, making him look very surprised. Chris then pauses the tape during Gwen and Trent’s kiss, calling it a "trust-building, heart-warming, moment" before questioning if he "sees tongue" in their kiss. The tape then continues, with Gwen and Trent smiling at each other and walking away. The camera then zooms out to show Heather and Lindsay looking on angrily. Heather is then seen in the confessional, claiming that 'Boyfriend-Girlfriend' is "just another way of saying alliance," and claims that her alliance will be the only one in the competition. Lindsay is shown in the confessional next, although she has seemingly forgotten that she is in the confessional, and is using the toilet and reading a magazine inside of it.

Meanwhile, Duncan is shown completing his challenge fairly easily, as all he is required to do is retrieve his key from a flaming hoop, which seems to be a minor task for him. DJ is then shown climbing a tree, attempting to remove his key from where it is tied on one of the branches, without much success. Geoff is shown next, inside the communal bathrooms, where he is putting on a snorkel and stepping into the toilet, in an effort to begin his search of the septic tank. Lindsay is shown after Geoff, looking towards the beehive in which she is supposed to retrieve her key. Izzy then joins her and silently offers to help, walking towards the beehive. She returns several seconds later holding the key, but covered in bees, which then begin to chase Lindsay. Lindsay runs straight to the dock, and jumps off, in order to avoid the mob of bees, while Izzy wishes her luck. Owen is then shown attempting to confront the bear who possesses a key around his neck. While trying to quickly remove the key, the sleeping bear then forces Owen to become stuck next to it, when it wraps its arm around him.

Izzy is shown next, trying to talk to the snake which she needs to obtain her key from. She begins to tell it how cute it is when it bites her on the head, which leads her to call it "feisty". When the snake’s bite causes her to fall to the ground, Heather walks up next to her saying that there is "no time for that now" as they need to have an alliance meeting. Heather and Izzy are then shown meeting a bee-sting-covered Lindsay on the dock. Heather tells the two girls that they need to break up Trent and Gwen, and she begins telling Lindsay to write a letter to Gwen. Meanwhile, Leshawna is shown confronting her challenge, in which she needs to obtain her key from a glass, which is located under a rickety bridge and between two vicious-looking crocodiles.

Lindsay is shown walking into the Gopher cabin, holding the note to Gwen. She places it on Gwen’s bunk, but then hears Gwen outside the cabin, leading her to hastily hide underneath the bed. While Gwen reads the note, telling her to "meet Trent at the dock of shame for a little surprise," cockroaches build up on Lindsay, leading her to, as soon as Gwen leaves the cabin, run through the door, screaming. Later, Heather and Lindsay are seen meeting behind the communal washrooms, while Geoff cries for help in his search for his key. Heather reminds Lindsay of their plan, telling her to lead Trent to her then watch for Gwen. Lindsay replies that she can be counted on. Heather is then shown impatiently waiting on the dock, claiming that she “knew she couldn’t trust Lindsay". Soon after, Trent is led by Lindsay to the dock, where Heather quickly begins to fake cry. Trent walks over to her and asks what is wrong. She replies that Gwen has been “so mean to her” and that she "doesn’t get why". Trent then replies that Gwen is just hard to get to know. Heather then wonders out loud why he is defending her, as she says "horrible things about him". Trent is shocked as Heather continues to tell him that Gwen "really can’t stand him", and says that Gwen thinks "his music sucks" and that she is using him to get further in the competition. Trent believes Heather's lies, and admits that he had thought that him and Gwen had a real connection.

Meanwhile, Gwen is approaching the dock, and Lindsay sees her quickly attempting to give Heather "the signal". Heather does not hear her, and continues to tell Trent that he is "too nice for her to let him get used by Gwen". Lindsay then attempts to notify Heather again, which this time she hears. Heather then tells Trent that she thinks he is "really talented" and kisses him. Trent appears angry and shocked at first, but then closes his eyes just as Gwen sees them. Gwen, horrified, quickly flees the scene in tears, dropping and stomping on the card that was left for her. Trent, meanwhile, breaks the kiss between him and Heather, and hits himself on the forehead in frustration, walking away.

Trent and Gwen are then both shown, on different parts of the island, letting out screams and cries of anger and frustration. Meanwhile, Owen is shown still attempting to free himself from the bear, without success, as the bear wakes up in the process. Then, Gwen is shown crying into a pillow, when Leshawna walks into the cabin, holding her key, and questioning what is wrong. Gwen then tells her the story about what occurred between her, Trent, and Heather. Leshawna is then shown, running from the cabin, saying Heather is "so off the island." Leshawna is then shown telling the remainder of the players who would listen what happened between Heather and Trent. She consults Geoff, (who then says in the confessional that he can’t believe what happened), DJ, Duncan, and Bridgette. Chris is heard shortly afterward, announcing to the campers that it is time to return to the campfire. Leshawna is then shown in the confessional saying that she has “done her part" and that "either way one of them is history".

The campers are then shown at the campfire. Geoff is shown with visible odor fumes, as he had spent hours snorkeling in the septic tank, while Izzy still has the snake on her head, which continues to bite her. Chris, still in costume, tells them that it is time to claim their rewards from the chests. The campers with keys then walk forward and open up a chest. Duncan receives chips and a candy bar, to which he asks if that is the best they can do, and Chris replies by nodding. Owen is then shown not being able to open any chests with his key, which angers him. He then requests they do something about the bear, which, at that point, had the majority of Owen’s body in its mouth. They then tranquilize the bear but accidentally hit Owen as well. Gwen is then shown looking over the toaster she had received, while Heather pulled out a gift basket with an ‘Invincibility card’ included in it, earning her many glares. DJ and Bridgette are shown empty-handed due to failing their challenges.Trent is then shown receiving two wine-like bottles, but when he turns around, Leshawna (holding a leg-shaped lamp as her reward) glares him down; Lindsay watches nervously, biting her lip and holding the accordian she won. Geoff is then shown receiving ‘Cleaver body spray', which Chris claims "cuts through the stink". Geoff appears to be happy with the cologne.

Then, Chris says he hopes the campers found the treasure they were looking for, and more, but then mentions that it is the time to vote someone off the island. Then comes a steady stream of confessionals: Leshawna, confidently saying that it looks like Trent is going home. Next is Owen who, still under the effects of the tranquilizer, simply states "Trent". It then cuts to Duncan, who addresses Trent and says he “messed up.” In Bridgette's she sadly says "you leave us no choice". Trent is then shown in the confessional talking about how hard it is to vote someone off, as he felt like he had so many friends there. Lindsay is then shown; again using the confessional as a restroom, but this time realizes her mistake and quickly covers her face with the magazine. Heather's confessional is then shown, talking about how she is "really getting into the game."

Later, the campers are shown at the campfire ceremony. Chris, after explaining the circumstances, quickly states the safe campers in a quick list and tosses their marshmallows without stop, rather than pausing for the bottom two like usual. Trent does not realize he's been skipped until a somewhat sympathetic Chris tells him he is leaving, leaving him shocked, while Leshawna tells him to take his “two timing ways” off the island. Trent then says that he was getting along so well with everyone, before Heather told him, without a hint of remorse, that he must have been wrong. Gwen then accuses her of not caring, to which Heather replies that she is “just playing the game." Trent then asks her why she cares, saying that he heard she thought he is a cliché, which they then also tracked down to Heather’s doing. Gwen then admits that she didn’t vote him off, despite what he did. Trent then asks why he is being voted out, to which Leshawna admits fault. They then realize that they were played, greatly upsetting Gwen. Trent then tells her that it’s okay, and asks if "they" are still okay, to which Gwen replies yes. Trent then gives her a pep talk and they attempt to kiss again, but Chris intervenes. After a sad goodbye from all (except Heather), Heather leaves to go take a shower. In an effort to get back at Heather, Leshawna rearranges the shower’s pipes, leading to Heather getting covered in sewage. Heather then screams and the camera zooms out, thus ending the episode as a pleased Leshawna walks away.

## Characters

* Bridgette
* Chef Hatchet
* Chris
* DJ (*no lines*)
* Duncan
* Geoff
* Gwen
* Heather
* Izzy
* Leshawna
* Lindsay
* Owen
* Trent

## Trivia

### General

* Here is a list of every camper and what they have to do to earn their key:
	+ Owen: His key is attached to a bear. He needs to sneak in and get his key without waking the bear.
	+ Lindsay: Her key is in a bee hive. Izzy got her key for her, and they are both attacked by the bees.
	+ Heather: She needs to sneak in Chef Hatchet's kitchen to obtain her key. Lindsay helps her obtain it during Chef's nap.
	+ Gwen: Her key is in a skunk hole. Trent helps her get the skunk out of the hole by flushing it out with water.
	+ Leshawna: Her key is in the center of two vicious alligators guarding it.
	+ Duncan: Between the flaming hoop. He easily takes it, using his resourceful skills he learned at juvenile hall.
	+ Izzy: Guarded by a snake. She easily grabs it, and doesn't mind the snake biting and poisoning her.
	+ DJ: His key is on a tree branch. He does not retrieve his key due to his fear of heights.
	+ Bridgette: Her key is guarded by a bunny. She does not retrieve it due of being scared of the bunny's vicious teeth.
	+ Geoff: His key is in the septic tank for the communal washrooms. He goes inside (with a snorkel) to retrieve his key.
	+ Trent: His key is guarded by three sharks. He obtains it with ease by throwing a fish to the sharks.
* Here is a list of rewards the campers receive from their treasure chests:
	+ Duncan: A bag of chips and a candy bar.
	+ Geoff: A bottle of cologne called Cleaver, which is a parody of the real-life cologne.
	+ Gwen: A toaster.
	+ Heather: An invincibility pass along with a gift basket (which is revealed to have Lindsay's favorite grape soda in the next episode).
	+ Izzy: An ink pen kit.
	+ Leshawna: A leg lamp similar to the one from *A Christmas Story*.
	+ Lindsay: An accordion.
	+ Trent: Two two-liters of carbonated soda.
		- Bridgette and DJ do not retrieve their keys, and thus, receive nothing.
		- Owen's key does not unlock any of the chests. Therefore, he is rewarded with nothing.
* With Trent's elimination, Owen is the only male camper from the Screaming Gophers left in the competition. The other remaining males are from the Killer Bass.

### Continuity

* This is the first time Heather wins individual invincibility.
* This is the second time that Geoff had been stricken with a repulsive, lingering stench. The first time is in X-Treme Torture, when he fell into a pile of dirty socks.
* This is the first of three pirate-themed episodes, the other being Mutiny on the Soundstage and The Bold and the Booty-ful.
* This is the first elimination ceremony where Chris does not stop handing out marshmallows to announce the bottom two campers, and instead passes them all out at once.
	+ It's also the second non-conventional elimination in a row, as the previous episode lacked marshmallows and relied on Confessional footage to determine votes.

### References

* This episode title is a parody of the phrase, *Search and Destroy*.
* The vicious killer rabbit that is guarding Bridgette's key in this episode is a reference to the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog guarding the Holy Grail in the famous 1975 comedy movie, *Monty Python and The Holy Grail*.
* The leg lamp Leshawna received from the treasure chest is a prop from the famous 1983 Christmas comedy *A Christmas Story*.

### Goofs

* Izzy is missing while Chris is explaining the challenge but reappears after taking the campers grab their clue.
* When Geoff receives his clue, the picture on the plank is black and white. Later, when he is in the washroom and the shot is zoomed in on the scene, the picture is colored.
* When Izzy finds the snake, it has a rattle (indicating that it is a rattlesnake), but later it is missing the rattle.
* When Heather is waiting for Lindsay at the dock, she has a pink watch, but when Trent comes, it disappears.
* In this episode, DJ is afraid of heights, but in the next episode he climbs onto a roof showing no fear whatsoever. He may have conquered this fear off-screen in this episode.

* When Duncan asks what they are searching for, his nose piercing is missing.
* When DJ is first shown climbing the tree with his key, the branch is curved and bent with the key being very close to arm's reach, but a few seconds later when he is on it, it is straight and the key is further away.
* At the beginning of the Campfire Ceremony, Chris only has nine marshmallows, despite the fact that ten campers will be safe.
	+ Additionally, when he starts passing them out, he only has eight marshmallows.

### Running Gags

* **Gwen's running gag:** While sketching a picture of Trent on her notepad, a hidden camera shows up behind her and Gwen immediately shoves it away. Later, Chris interrupts Gwen and Trent as they were just about to kiss before Trent walked the Dock of Shame.
* Lindsay using the confessional booth as an actual toilet rather than making a confession.
* Geoff spending his time in the septic tank.