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Recap / Total Drama: "Grand Chef Auto"

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The teams are merged and the castmates are given the task of using Chef's go-karts to tag three landmarks. During this, Scott uses his newfound information about Mike's multiple personalities to blackmail him.

Tropes:

  • Actually Pretty Funny: Chef finds Duncan's destruction of Mount Chrismore hilarious. Probably because he was mad at Chris for getting some of his things destroyed with little to no thought.
  • Almost Kiss: Mike and Zoey have one, interrupted by Chris giving Mike the Hurl of Shame.
  • And I'm the Queen of Sheba: With Scott's looming threat of exposing Mike's MPD, Mike wonders if it's not better if he comes clean himself. His main concern is what Zoey thinks of him, but he reasons that she'd be chill about his condition. The stress of it all makes Chester come out, who retorts that if Zoey will be chill about it, he will be crowned Miss Canada. To emphasize his point, he throws toilet paper over his shoulder to mimic a sash and starts singing horribly.
  • Badass Fingersnap: Part of the challenge is to acquire one of Chef's prized go-karts. Thing is, Chef is not okay with his go-karts being used for the challenge, so he goes all out protecting them. He introduces his main line of defense with a fingersnap: an army of hostile mutant squirrels.
  • Battle in the Center of the Mind: Mike has one with his multiple personalities for control of his body. The Power of Love turns it into a Curb-Stomp Battle.
  • Berserk Button: Chef doesn't like it when anybody smashes up his kitchen, or takes his stuff (like his vintage go-karts).
  • Be Yourself: What Mike ultimately learns when he explains his multiple personalities to Zoey.
  • Bird-Poop Gag: Two mutant seagulls have a laugh over pooping on Mount Chrismore, Chris's self-celebratory landmark.
  • Bittersweet Ending: Mike gets eliminated, but he finally asserts control over his multiple personalities and gets a Relationship Upgrade with Zoey.
  • Blackmail: Once Scott discovers Mike's secret, he uses it to make him his lackey under threat of telling Zoey.
  • Bullying the Disabled: Scott calls Mike crazy and a loser for his disorder, and uses Mike's fears of being ostracized for his own selfish gain.
  • Butt-Monkey: Mike is this during the majority of the episode due to being blackmailed into helping Scott. Even after conquering his multiple personalities and hooking up with Zoey, Scott has him eliminated.
  • Call-Back: Chris dragged Duncan into this episode for the disappearing act during World Tour, saying he owes the camera time.
  • The Cameo: Duncan, both at the beginning and the end.
  • The Cake Is a Lie: When Scott triggers Vito to front, Vito asks if he's seen Anne Maria. Even though Anne Maria was eliminated two episodes ago, Scott claims that he does and he'll take him to her if Vito tows him to the next landmark. When they arrive, Vito is confused and asks "where the club" is, to which Scott knocks him out.
  • Cane Fu: Chester can be seen hitting Mike with a cane (apparently summoned from Hammerspace) during the before-mentioned Battle in the Center of the Mind.
  • Cannot Keep a Secret: Cameron accidentally reveals Mike's multiple personalities to Zoey like he did to Scott, though it doesn't do any damage this time. He also accidentally reveals how to summon Vito to Scott. Cameron later reveals it to Zoey to keep her from breaking up with Mike.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Scott uses the knowledge of Vito appearing whenever Mike's shirt comes off later in the challenge.
  • Circling Birdies: Vito takes Scott to the final landmark, at which point Scott no longer needs him. When the other's back is turned to him, Scott clubs him down and leaves Vito lying out cold with four stars and several flashes circling above his head. Despite no birds being present, bird sound accompanies the stars.
  • Continuity Nod: The Chris dummy used by Chef is the same one from "Get a Clue", the only difference being that it's missing its right forearm.
  • "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: As Mike notes when he confesses, he should have just told Zoey from the get-go that he has a Multiple Personality Disorder. Lying about it just caused more trouble, and Zoey accepts him completely when she learns about his disorder.
  • A Death in the Limelight: Mike gets a tremendous amount of focus placed on his Battle in the Center of the Mind and his forced alliance with Scott. He ends up eliminated by the end of the episode.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Chris admits he should've seen Duncan running away after being released.
  • Enemy Mine: Fang teams up with Lightning after he mentions that he can get Fang to Scott if he lets him go.
  • Epunymous Title: The title is based of the video game Grand Theft Auto, with "Chef" replacing "theft" because it rhymes.
  • Eye Scream: Mike accidentally pours salt in his eye while searching a salt shaker for a key.
  • For the Evulz: Many of the things Scott forces Mike to do go beyond "helping him win today's challenge" and are clearly just Scott getting sadistic pleasure over having an excuse to torture someone. For instance, given how he barely looked in the broom closet, it's heavily implied Scott was already aware of the mutant cockroach inside and made Mike open it solely so the bug would attack him. Later, Scott pokes Mike with a stick to make him drive their go-karts faster. Mike asks him if the stick is really necessary, to which Scott shamelessly admits "Not really".
  • Freaky Is Cool: Zoey's opinion on Mike's multiple personalities.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • The gold key Mike found belongs to a car that has missing front wheels. Yeah, no wonder that key was in the garbage...
    • After Mike defeats his other personalities, a shadow can be seen on the wall for a split second. Say hello to Mal. For extra points, it happens after he says "This brain is under new management", foreshadowing Mal taking over Mike's body fulltime.
  • Gasp!: After she learns Scott decided to eliminate her boyfriend Mike, Zoey lets out a gasp in horror.
  • Hanging by the Fingers: To prevent Zoey from reaching the top of the totem first, Scott throws his spray can at her. It knocks her back and she can only prevent a serious fall by grabbing onto the totem's wing. She can't pull herself up and eventually her fingers slip, but she makes a reasonably soft landing on Cameron's go-kart.
  • Hit Flash: Mike takes control over his body by beating up his other personalities. The violence is implied through a black screen that sequentially displays a forwards Hit Spark, a swiping Hit Spark, and another forwards Hit Spark that fades into stars.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Zoey tells Mike that he's so sweet "especially since he's stopped doing those crazy characters." Mike stops smiling, and considering the entire reason Mike doesn't want to tell Zoey he has multiple personalities is because he's worried she'll think he's crazy, that clearly hurt.
  • Kick the Dog: As if Scott blackmailing Mike throughout most of the episode wasn't bad enough, he also chooses Mike to be eliminated, just when he and Zoey officially start their relationship.
  • Loophole Abuse: Scott can't switch go-karts with Mike, but nothing says Mike can't pull both go-karts.
  • Loud Gulp: Cameron does one after being told he has to steal the go-karts from Chef.
  • My Friends... and Zoidberg: Chris dissolves the teams, mockingly declaring that now it'll be "every man, woman and Cameron for himself."
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
    • Zigzagged. Scott makes Mike root through the garbage, which causes Mike to find a gold, shiny key. However, Scott makes Mike trade keys...but then it's revealed the gold key belongs a broken car, while the kart Mike now has works just fine. But in the end, Scott gets his way by forcing Mike to tow him.
    • Scott knocks out Vito with a club, which also allows Mike to fight and defeat his personalities.
  • Not Me This Time: Chris assumes that Duncan is the one who made the contestants believe that Mount Chrismore is the last landmark to be tagged. He races to the mountain, but is too late to prevent it being graffitied. As he complains about Duncan's sabotage, Duncan shows up and reveals that it wasn't him. Then he blows up Mount Chrismore, gloating that that's his work. As Chef chuckles at the vandalism, Chris realizes he is the graffiti culprit.
  • Not-So-Innocent Whistle: Chef makes the campers believe that Chris added Mount Chrismore mid-challenge as the final landmark to be graffitied. It is his way to get back at Chris for endangering his collection of go-karts. Chris is confused and horrified to learn that Mount Chrismore is about to be vandalized. Chef just whistles as if he's innocent and he backs up Chris's assumption that it's Duncan's meddling.
  • Offhand Backhand: Mike fights his other personalities for control. He gets some control when he hears Zoey call out to him and gets up to face all but Vito, the strongest of them who's trying to sneak up on Mike from behind. With a clear goal set, Mike backhands him without taking his eyes of the others.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: It's quite obvious that the Chris that turns up on the contestants' GPS screens is a dummy, and that his dialogue is a number of recordings from previous episodes.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: As showcased in this episode, Scott thinks Mike is crazy for having a mental disorder, and uses blackmail as an excuse to treat him like a slave. He also calls Mike a loser for thinking he has a shot with Zoey, calling him "Multiple Mike."
  • Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title is a play on the game franchise Grand Theft Auto.
  • The Power of Love: Mike initially struggles against his personalities, but it's not until he hears Zoey calling out to him that he gains the power needed to win the battle.
  • Relationship Upgrade: Zoey and Mike officially get into a relationship when Mike reveals his multiple personalities, and try to kiss during the Hurl of Shame.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Upon being let out of his restraints, Duncan starts running and shouts, "Later, losers!"
  • Seesaw Catapult: Zoey is hanging from one of the wings of the totem and loses her grip just as Cameron drives up in his go-kart. She lands on the hood and Cameron gets launched all the way to the top of the totem.
  • Shout-Out:
    • Duncan's introduction in this episode is based on the depiction of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. He is also brought to camp similar to how Garland Greene is brought to the plane in the movie, Con Air.
    • Chester makes a reference to Miss Canada while using the confessional. He also sings a modified version of the Miss America theme song.
  • Shipped in Shackles: Delinquent Duncan is brought in as a classic competitor against his will. He's wheeled in tied to a trolley with a mask over his mouth, but has to be released so he can perform the demo. Of course, he immediately makes a run for it laughing madly and Chris admits this one is on him.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: Duncan blows up Mount Chrismore near the end of this episode.
  • Tap on the Head: After Vito has towed Scott to Mount Chrismore, Scott no longer has use for him. He grabs a thick branch and knocks Vito from behind so he can tag the challenge's final landmark.
  • Tragic Keepsake: Before Mike rides the Hurl of Shame, he gives Zoey a necklace with a picture of him on it to remember him by it.
  • Villain Ball: Scott opting to eliminate Mike at the end of the episode proves to be a really bad idea. Not only does he ensure he has Mike and Cameron's eternal enmity, he completely destroys all the good will he had with Zoey he had formed all season. Unsurprisingly, Scott is badly injured by Zoey next challenge and later voted out by her.
  • You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Mike's reaction to Scott ordering him to be a human shield, even though Zoey is in trouble. He goes along with it, though.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
    • Jo uses almost these exact words about Lightning.
    • Downplayed; it's not directly stated, but Scott eliminating Mike is implied to be partially because of this: since Mike revealed his disorder to Zoey, Scott had nothing to blackmail him with and thus no reason to keep him around any longer. (There's also the fact that Scott's treatment towards Mike this episode essentially guaranteed that he would be Mike's number one enemy and choice for elimination for the rest of the competition.)

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