Remember when I said things got really weird in episode two, “Lunch”? Well, things get even more off the tracks in “Activities.” The conspiracy surrounding Xenstar, the company that is dumping toxic waste on Camp Firewood, took a new twist, while Lindsay finally found what will make her story relevant to her rock and roll magazine. All this makes Coop’s relationship drama with Donna feel insignificant.
“Activities” begins with Mitch still sinking into the toxic waste pit of his own creation, blurting out weird things to Beth and Greg. “Save the camp! Follow the money! Get the code!” This sends Beth and Greg on a mission to figure out the conspiracy behind the toxic waste and Xenstar. They come to the conclusion that they have to hack into the company’s mainframe with the code that Mitch told them to find. But how do they find that code, you ask? (You may also ask isn’t the fact that there is toxic waste on the campgrounds enough to prove that Xenstar is doing something bad, but apparently, you are wrong.)
It turns out that Jonas might know a way to get into the computer. When Beth and Greg confront Jonas, Mitch comes out of nowhere - now fully transformed into a can of vegetables. (This may change how we completely view Jonas/Gene in Wet Hot American Summer. That can really was talking to him!) Mitch explains that Jonas was in The ‘Nam. Jonas had repressed his memory of his time in the war, so he has to go back into his mind... way back into his mind. For some reason, Jonas learned a secret code which will allow Beth and Greg to gain access to the government secret computer network.
Beth and Greg run over to the only computer on the campgrounds (hey, this is 1981, remember!) to give the code to Steve (The Big Bang Theory’s Kevin Sussman). He plugs in the code, gets a bunch of numbers and Greg interprets the nonsense as meaning that President Ronald Reagan (also Michael Showalter) is somehow involved in Xenstar. (We also learn that Gail’s first husband, Ron [Judah Friedlander] is a Reagan staffer.) Reagan orders a mysterious operative called The Falcon (Jon Hamm, not Anthony Mackie) to kill Greg and Beth. Dun. Dun. Dun!
So what else was going on around Camp Firewood? Coop thought a shofar he received from Donna would prove that Donna really does love only him. However, Coop was saddened to find out that she gave shofars to everyone. Donna later gives him a hat and shirt and they kiss again. Aww!
Susie and Claude are struggling to get ElectroCity off the ground (Bradley Cooper must have been unavailable on that day’s shooting). Andy is also having trouble getting Katie to break off her relationship with Blake, which might happen sooner than later.
Lastly, Lindsay learns from J.J. that a mysterious has-been rocker who once went to Camp Firewood is holed up in the mysterious cabin. She’s got a story (and a new diaphragm)!
Check out my recap of the first two episodes right here!