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In General
- The show starts off, exciting, but pretty light-hearted. Despite the death-defying moments, the counselors are still watching over them. As soon as the Indominus rex breaks out, the show takes a dark turn. From that point, the teens are seen getting more physically roughed up and increasingly desperate with each coming episode. While the group did bicker at first, it was all more or less light-hearted and petty; things that can be easily forgiven or put aside. But as the group survives each harrowing encounter, the fragile nerves and terror cause them to argue and shout at each other more often, all the while they are struggling desperately to survive the next moment. It's awful to see these kids devolve into moments of clear hysteria in comparison to the happier times at the beginning of the season.
- When they're being chased around by the dinosaurs, these kids are absolutely hysteric. They scream, whimper, cry, all terrified out of their minds. Their cries are shockingly realistic which really hammers home that these are just kids going through horrible experiences, ones that are likely going to scar them for life.
- This visual comparison between the kids in Season 1 versus in Season 3
. - Indeed, as of Season 4, Yaz starts to show signs of PTSD. She has nightmares about dinosaurs and, at one point, confesses how she feels they will go away if only they can each go home. Poor thing is so worried about whether her life will ever go back to normal.
- Dave and Roxie's plight through the series. They are understaffed and trying to take care of these cheeky kids. While attempting to get more help, they end up being permanently separated and the kids are sent into a literal hell. The counselors try their best to catch up to the kids. In the end, the two are forced to leave on the last ferry, leaving the kids they so desperately wanted to find behind. And then there's the issue of survivor's guilt traumatizing them for life; even after the kids do (finally) make it home, what are the odds of Dave and Roxie finding out?
Show
Season 1- Darius wanted to come to Isla Nublar with his dad, but he passed away before they could go together. In the first flashback, when he holds out Darius's necklace, we see the father's hand trembling. In the second flashback, Darius tries to fantasize about all sorts of ways they can accommodate his dad's deteriorating condition during their dream trip to Jurassic World. Sadly, Darius's dad soberly tries to get his son to accept he won't be able to keep his promise. All he can do is advise his son that what's best is for him to keep going, no matter what.
- When Brooklynn gives Sammy a chance to come clean (and even consoles her she won't get mad), she still denies she stole Brooklynn's phone. This leads to everybody nearly falling apart as they argue amongst themselves. Sammy's in such a bad position that she would rather risk the group falling apart than come clean about her reasons for being there.
- Darius losing the raptor tooth necklace his dad got for him. Although he acknowledges his memories of his father are still with him, it's still hard medicine to swallow.
- The group experiencing the scientist, Eddie, straight up taking their car and abandoning them. He then gets eaten by the ''I. rex'' right in front of them.
- Yazmina discovering that Sammy, the newly-made friend she stood up for, really did steal Brooklynn's phone. This is the girl who is too afraid to open up to people, and it wasn't too long ago that she learned to open up to her. It's only now that she learns she's essentially a spy. What's more, the reason why Sammy is even spying in the first place is that her family was financially put in a hard spot, causing Sammy to desperately seek out desperate means to save her farm.
- Kenji making a point when he asks Brooklynn, who is still holding a grudge against Sammy for stealing her phone, if there's anything she could say right now that could make the poor girl feel lower than she already does.
- Yasmina winds up holding a grudge against Sammy after this. When Sammy tries to warm up to Yasmina after she hurts her ankle, Yasmina coldly brushes her attempts to be friendly, still angry at her for using her as a cover for her spying. Sammy ends up curling up on herself, saddened by Yasmina's rejection. It even gets to the point where Yasmina is willing to risk hurting herself further rather than accept Sammy's help down a ladder.
- The kids end up just missing the counselors. If they had just waited at the lagoon just for a tad bit longer, they would have met up with counselors, they wouldn't have lost Ben, and they could have all left on the ferry together. Dave finds the empty kayaks and begins to panic when he comes to the conclusion that the Mosasaur had eaten them.
- During a quiet time on the monorail, the kids take the time to talk out their feelings now that it seemed like everything was in the clear, though the topics they talk about are rather sobering:
- Darius talks about how his own father had passed away and is still clearly torn up about it with the others looking at him in pity. And it doesn't help how he's aware of the bitter irony that his father dodged a bullet at seeing Jurassic World at its worst.
- Kenji sharing with the other kids that his own dad scarcely spends time with him. He also brags that he has a bowling alley, but sadly mentions that the staff always lets him win.Kenji: I could count on one hand the times my dad was ever there for me.
- Ben remarks that he's tired of being so scared all the time and remarks that he's even more saddened by the fact that he feels like he's holding everyone back.
- When Sammy tries to make a toast to the six of them being friends for life, instead of toasting like the previous times note , everyone goes quiet. And it's not just Yasmina trying to get over Sammy's 'betrayal': everyone soberly acknowledges that they've only known each other for less than a week. The way they see it, once they get off the island, there's no guarantee they'll all stay in touch.
- After Ben's heroic stunt which ends up saving the group, Ben gets attacked by a Pteranodon and falls to his apparent death despite Darius' efforts. It's even worse when you realize that Ben was begging Darius not to let him go and despite their best efforts to hang on to each other, Ben just slips out of his grasp.
- Sammy tearfully continues to insist that Ben is alive even though she had no proof he survived. She finally breaks down when Brooklynn says the hard truth no one wanted to hear, that realistically, they couldn't go back for Ben, lest they miss the ferry out of there.
- Darius eventually has to force them all to move along, realizing that there was just no time. Even though clearly shaken up, he tries his best to keep leading everyone. He can be seen looking at his hands and clenching them, blaming himself for not holding on to Ben.
- Kenji is seen strangely quiet and despondent, unlike his egotistic bombastic nature seen at the beginning of the show. He doesn't say anything whilst the others are arguing and is seen holding on to Ben's fanny pack, who he had put on himself.
- Thankfully Ben turns out to be alive and well, but the other characters remain unaware of this fact. As far as they know, Ben died just as they were starting to like him.
- Kenji's uncharacteristic Freak Out in the tunnels. He tries to lead the group down the tunnels but finds that every which way is blocked due to the lockdown. He loses his cool and repeatedly bangs on a locked door and uses an active cattle to try to break open a door, electrocuting himself. Eventually, the stress ends up getting to him and he blows up on Darius. He only really "calms down" after Toro shows up.
- Darius tries to offer Kenji his support after he electrocutes himself using a cattle prod to try to open a door, but Kenji, who is stressed out, just shrugs Darius off. Soon after, Darius looks quite taken aback by Kenji's behavior and seems apologetic about it afterward. It kind of hurts to see this interaction considering that despite his apparent jerkass nature, he had become good buddies with Darius and has been supportive of all of Darius' plans so far.
- When the way to the docks ends up getting walled up, Darius ends up breaking down, realizing that he's run out of ideas of what to do and is breaking under the pressure of leading everyone. Seeing him just lose all his composure, terrified out of his mind.Sammy: But you always know-
Darius: I don't know! (Grabs his head, curling in a corner) I don't know what to do. I didn't know what to do about Ben or Bumpy, or when the Indominus rex attacked…(Toro roars causing Darius to panic, banging on the concrete wall in a pointless effort to open it) - Despite everything the characters had to go through, they don't make it to the boats in time and are left stranded on Isla Nublar.
Season 2
- When Yaz remarks on how hungry she is, she unwittingly mentions Ben, leading everyone to go quiet at the mere mention of his name. It's possibly been less than 24 hours since his apparent death, and it must still sting to think of the one who didn't make it.
- Darius's Nightmare Sequence where he sees Ben still alive, only for the latter to bitterly guilt trip how he let him go and/or left him behind. When Darius's dream takes him back to the instant he tried to hold on to Ben's hand, he promises to save him. Only for Ben to change into Darius's late father and sadly ask "Promise?" Naturally, this takes Darius off-guard and he loses his grip.
- When the girls mention watching "Esther Stone", Kenji reveals that he watches the show too, mostly because he admires Esther's relationship with her father. It's hard not to read between the lines and see why Kenji liked that detail.
- During a conversation in the bathroom, Brooklynn accidentally compares Darius and Mitch's relationship to a 'wanna-be' dad, completely forgetting that Darius' father had passed away. Too hurt by what she said, Darius just walks away.
- After Ben blows up at Bumpy, he wakes up the next morning to find that she's really gone. He desperately searches everywhere, but she shows up at none of their usual "hangouts". He's lost her. That night, he has the (new) shelter all to himself for once, but he's alone. Like a worried parent, he looks at Bumpy's footprint and tearfully misses her.
- One can only imagine how betrayed Darius felt when he learned Mitch (who he was starting to see as a dinosaur-loving father figure) was actually a poacher who intended to kill off and mount the very dinosaurs he loved. It doesn't help that not too long ago, Darius told Mitch about the watering hole and was about to show him. He did it with the intent that this "good" man would simply take pictures of them and peacefully leave them be. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
- Worse, Mitch and Tiff aren't just going to snipe a few dinosaurs: they're going to hunt them at the watering hole! At the one place where dinosaurs of all kinds peacefully come together to get water and feel safe. That's just pure evil!
- Hap's Heroic Sacrifice to save Brooklynn and Kenji from the Baryonyx trio. Knowing they can't all get away from the predators on the motorcycle being weighed down by the sidecar he's in, Hap tells the kids to live a good long life before using the cattle prod he'd been using to hold them off. Hap sends them off with a big smile and all Brooklynn and Kenji can do is honor his wishes and keep going.
- What makes this most painful is that Brooklynn thought he was the bad guy and couldn't trust him. It's only when he sacrifices his life that he finally earned her trust.
- Darius feeling pressure from being responsible for leading his friends and their lives. It's easy to tell that the whole thing is taking a toll on him; to the point that he rather try to pull a Heroic Sacrifice to save both his friends and the dinosaurs.
- Grim's abrupt death at the hands of Tiff. The rest of Grim's group, Chaos and Limbo, come over to Grim's dead body, quietly grieving. They then break into a rage and begin to hunt down Tiff in revenge. It feels worse when in a previous shot, the Baryonyx trio was seen sleeping peacefully together in a pile, for the last time.
- Just days ago, Grim was the one stuck in a cage, until they were reunited as a pack. And suddenly, thanks to senseless cruelty on Tiff's part, Limbo and Chaos lose their pack's third member for good this time; at least the pair can take comfort in that the human directly responsible for Grim's untimely demise can no longer do any harm.
- Mitch's death can have this effect. True, he ultimately resigned himself to potentially murder children and was hunting dinosaurs for sport alongside his psycho-bitch of a wife, but for the most part, he seemed more willing to negotiate with Darius and the others earlier before Tiff talked him out of it. He's ultimately abandoned by said wife while ensnared in a trap and spends his last moments begging her to save him before Rexy sinks his teeth into him. Regardless of his actions, it was a terrible way to go.
- In the Season Two epilogue, a moment is spent lingering on the torn rope that was holding him, making it all the more pitiful.
- Generally, there's something uncomfortable about watching Tiff and Mitch's marriage devolve from a Happily Married status to that of a couple bickering and arguing more than is necessary. One day, they were being Sickeningly Sweethearts calling each other pet names, and the next, they're practically at each other's throats. True, they are the villains, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch.
Season 3
- The fact that by this point in time, the kids have been stuck on the island for six months at least with very, very slim chances of escape, not to mention the constant battle for survival. It's no wonder they're all starting to lose hope.
- All the kids looked incredibly scuffed by now. All of their hair has grown and is tangled messes. Brooklynn's hair dye has faded and Kenji has even started growing facial hair. Heck, even Yasmina has more or less fully recovered from her sprained ankle.
- Ben and Bumpy's friendship. All throughout, it's clear that Ben was having mixed feelings about leaving the island, due to leaving Bumpy behind and the misguided feeling that he feels who he was here. Ben is seen trying to cling on to Bumpy as much as he could, but when she finds her own family with a local herd, Ben finally lets her go in a bittersweet farewell.
- On a related note, Ben decides to pull a Mowgli and stay back on Isla Nublar after the whole 6-month roller coaster ride. Even when Bumpy joins the herd. Sealed by the reactions of all the others.
- When hanging out in Kenji's father's penthouse, anytime his friends try to bring up his relationship with his family or about him, he steers the conversation in another direction. Whatever it is that bothers him about his family, he did not want to bring it up in conversation.
- Sammy finds a drawing Kenji did when he was 5 years old wedged in a photo album. Kenji tries to brush it off, but he is seen pretty fond of it, if not a bit forlorn.
- Darius, Kenji and Yaz exploring the interior of the first Jurassic Park Headquarters. One would think it would be nostalgic to see the place that started it all, the place once filled with so much promise. But instead, there's a heavy atmosphere of regret for what might have been, seeing the facility fallen into so much disrepair. Guess Kenji wasn't lying when he said this place was "haunted", haunted by bittersweet memories.
- While Brooklynn gets caught up in the mystery of investigating Dinosaur E750, a livid Sammy snaps and has to remind her that the reason they were looking in the first place was to have evidence to fight against Mantah Corp and save her family's farm. Poignantly, she tells her that while Brooklynn is treating the whole thing as a game, her family's ranch is very much on the line, and the loss of it could render all her ancestors' hard work in vain.
- A couple of episodes ago, Sammy voiced her personal worries that she didn't really want to go home because she was afraid to find she and her family would have no home to go back to.
- When Sammy appears to have passed away due to the Scorpios rex's poison, the whole team is incredibly distraught. They all look absolutely devastated; thankfully Sammy does cough away a few moments later.
- It's especially much harder on Yaz. Before the Scorpios rex attacked them, while they were barricading their treehouse Sammy assures her they'll always be friends, but Yaz tells her they're not friends just strangers forced into a situation, and even if they get off the island they'll go their separate ways. So there is no point remaining friends when, in Yaz's point of view, they never were. The guilt is obviously eating her up inside as she flashes back to Sammy's friendship attempts with her. If Sammy had died, those would have been Yaz's Parting-Words Regret.
- When she gets to the lab and doesn't see the antidote, Yaz tears it apart, sounding on the verge of tears the whole time. Once she finally finds it, she collapses with relief. Her desperation and despair are tangible throughout the entire scene.
- The pilot's likely death in the penultimate episode. Just when she was coming around to the kids, a brachiosaur appears suddenly and throws the chopper into a tailspin. When the kids come to, there's no sign of a body anywhere, let alone anything to tell the camp fam what the hell happened. Doubles as Nightmare Fuel since we're never given clarity if she was flung out earlier or possibly eaten by a predator. Kenji even gives the wrecked copter a final look of forlorn before moving on. Along with Hap, that makes two sympathetic adults that tried to help the kids die in front of Kenji.
- Dr. Wu marveling at the bioluminescent dinosaur he created quickly turns poignant when Brooklynn points out that despite his "visionary" tendencies, his Scorpios ruined their lives, and he's at fault since he had a hand in this. For being an adaptional villain, Dr. Wu is clearly regretful that his monstrous creation destroyed something beautiful.
- At the end of the season, Darius tries to comfort Kenji and let him know that things are alright now, but Kenji refuses to accept that things are okay. He almost lost his friend and that seemed to have crossed the line for him. He brushes off Darius and doesn't seem willing to forgive him or accept the idea of risking his friends' lives, even if it was for the greater good. The countless almost-harrowing losses of his friends have not been kind to him. Needless to say, Darius and Kenji's relationship is currently on bad terms from this.
- Not helped by the visual of Kenji steering the boat from within the dark (as opposed to everybody who's in the sunlight), almost like it's reflecting how darkly he feels about Darius. Whether he'll ever forgive Darius or not is left up in the air for the time being.
- Despite destroying the laptop, Dr. Wu ends up getting a sample of the Indominus rex's remains anyway to continue his dangerous experiments, as shown in Fallen Kingdom.
Season 4
- Ben going back to his old panicky self after he accidentally leads the group into a sandstorm. He hates himself for this and needs to be assured by his friends that he's still useful.
- The poor mother T. rex being forced to fight her daughter when their food is drugged to make them act aggressive and feel no pain. Darn you, Mantah Corp!
- One scene briefly takes us back to Isla Nublar where Bumpy goes to the now abandoned Camp Cretaceous and roars for a response only to find that no one's there before she lays down and sleeps alone, separated from her human companions.
- Yaz is shown to be struggling with clear PTSD symptoms (such as recurring nightmares, freezing up in the presence of danger, etc.) after spending so long constantly struggling for survival, and it's very hard to watch. She finally breaks down completely after she and the others miss the Mantah Corp supply plane off the island, sobbing and saying she just wants to go home.
- Kenji finding out that his father is the President of Mantah Corp, a company that performers questionable experiments on the dinosaurs and forced Sam to spy for them, could be this. Plus, being so surprised to see his son would imply that he didn't even noticed he was missing or has quickly gotten over his death.
Season 5
- By a twist of circumstances, Brooklyn missing her date with Kenji, all in the name of uncovering what Mr. Kon is up to.
- Kenji's betrayal. Full stop.
- The way he disowns the Camp Fam as his Family of Choice, all the while with a cold joyless expression that speaks volumes of how he's come to view his precious friends as his enemies now, despite everything they've been through.
- Mr. Kon manipulating Kenji, corrupting him bit by bit into turning on his friends, to the point that without question, he won't hesitate to have them locked up in a cell.
- Following this, everyone instantly deciding they didn't know Kenji like they thought they did. In their minds, they understandably see Kenji as just an extension of his father. They even wonder if Kenji the loyal friend was even the real Kenji.
- Despite giving Kenji the benefit of the doubt and understanding his father is the true mastermind of the whole thing, Brooklyn eventually gives in to the idea that Kenji is just as awful as Mr. Kon. And the hardest part to swallow, this is happening just as they were starting to become a couple.
- Building on the above, things also aren't going smoothly for Kenji either. Bit by bit, he's discovering that siding with his father might've been a mistake.
- When at the penthouse, Kenji looks back on the events of Season 3 where his friends were enjoying the amenities. For a moment, these memories (including Brooklyn) make him happy, until he realizes he's alone and potentially thrown it all away.
- Fridge Sadness: If Mr. Kon's insult towards his son (every time he "embarrasses" him) is any indication, the reason Kenji was ever so lazy in the first place was because his dad never gave much in the way of encouraging words, and he therefore saw no reason to ever try.
- Later, he voices to Mae that despite his best efforts to continue getting more love and approval from his father, he's quickly gone from being his father's mature and dependable golden child to being his embarrassing and disappointing kid-son all over again.
- Mae being disillusioned by Mr. Kon, to the point she doesn't protest when he tries to blackmail her further. As she later shares with Kenji, she's disheartened by how the world is full of "Mr. Kons" who will "take something pure and twist it for their own gain".
- Kenji even notes she's far less enthusiastic than when she worked with dinosaurs as living creatures than merchandise.
- The sight of poor Bumpy being mind-controlled and later, abused by two of the mean-spirited mooks.
- Given this is the turning point where Kenji realizes his dad truly is the bad guy, it must've been devastating on two levels. First, it tells him that despite his efforts to please him, his father can't be bothered to respect his boundaries and leave Bumpy out of this whole operation. Second, it must've dawned on Kenji that he disowned his loyal friends and his newfound girlfriend all for his cruel and unloving father.
- If you thought Kenji was shocked to see Bumpy mind-controlled, imagine how Ben must've felt at seeing his beloved ankylosaurus in such a state. When he's alone with her, he tries to greet and her feed her like nothing's happened, but nothing elicits a response of her own free will.
- Brooklynn's anger and sadness upon witnessing Kenji smiling while controlling Toro is truly heartbreaking to watch and hear. Jenna Ortega has undoubtedly given her character the most visceral voice performance.
- Big Eatie's Disney Death. She is wounded by the Spinosaurus and left for dead. She was attacked right in the same spot that the Bull from III was as well. Unlike the Bull, she was an established character introduced in the previous season. The campers are devastated, and Little Eatie leaves in sadness.
- Kenji having to give a sobering speech about how he doesn't expect trust or forgiveness to come so easily. He can do little more than explain how he was tempted by the hopes his dad was a good person, all the while the kids who were once his friends give him begruding glares.
- The very instant he meets up with Ben, the latter tackles Kenji, believing it was his idea to control Bumpy.
- Later, Kenji and Darius (the last one yet to forgive him) have a sad heart-to-heart about why Darius took the betrayal the hardest: because Kenji always had his back before, and taking his father's side felt like an abandonment on his part. Kenji can't even deny that yes, he turned on his best friend in his greatest hour of need.
- When faced with a hard choice between leaving his son on a death-bomb island and staying by his side, Mr. Kon ultimatley chooses to leave. If Kenji ever had any doubts he father never cared for him, they probably ended right then and there. And the thing is, he was never in danger at all (it was all fake). In the end, Mr. Kon's love for his son was only conditional.
- Kenji being the only one without a family to return to (now that his father is arrested and his mom is gone). If it weren't for Darius and his family having the generous nature to adopt him, it could've been a hollow victory for Kenji to return to civilization when he had no one to return to.
- The boat ride home, despite being the moment they've been dreaming of, having bittersweet undertones when Kenji soberly looks back on the nature of how he's fatherless.
