Guys I need to talk about BF! Cambam's character real quick and the genius of it
SPOILERS FOR BANNERFALL SMP FINALE (Specifically Cambam), and I guess mental health stuff tw?
I cannot express how much I love that Cambam wrote his character around mental health. He's already my favorite streamer, because I find him relatable in a sense.
The whole thing of inner demons and fighting for control over those negative sides of yourself is so powerful.
I struggled a lot with my mental health from the middle of 2024 to the middle of 2025, and the amount I related to the character is insane. I felt seen. I felt heard.
The whole thing with Sausage in the finale almost broke me. I had to pause when he died and Cambam tried to find him. I know what that's like. To go somewhere, expecting to see someone just to find out that they've left. That you weren't able to say goodbye to someone important to you. Knowing someone is going to die doesn't make it better when it happens.
You feel so left behind, and it can allow you to turn back to those negative feelings. Every time you pull yourself out, something drags you back in. Seeing that again with BF! Cambam is what really made me feel seen. Even after you've "beaten" your inner demons, you still feel the effects of what happened during that time.
Mental Health isn't just pulling yourself out. It's also staying strong when things drag you back, and often people can either give you strength or push you back into the hole.
I also just love that the way to defeat possessed Cambam was by being nice to him. Call it corny or cringe, but it works so well. He was struggling already, and couldn't bring himself to ask for help even when it got worse and worse. Even though he wanted to, something was keeping him back.
He wanted to confide in Scott that one knight, but he just couldn't. Words cannot express how many times I have been in that situation of desperately needing and wanting help, but something in your mind doesn't let you.
And when he was suffering, the people around him did one of two things: they either encouraged and failed, or ridiculed and succeeded. Even just in general, it is way easier to listen to the negative minority. But when you are already struggling, you only listen to the things that just confirm what you believe about yourself.
And oh my gosh there wasn't even a stupid allegory for suicide. Dude literally talks about it and tries to do it AGAIN. I'm lucky enough to have never had serious suicidal thoughts, but I've known people who have. Often, it's not always easy to get someone who has already attempted to not do it again. They need love and support, and to be shown that people will listen.
But if they don't get that. If things go back to normal. It can happen again. This is what I believe we see with BF! Cambam. He mentions in the dreamscape that "this is the tower where I tried...". And he does it again. But there was one line from someone else. I think it was Frogue? I don't remember. But it was along the lines of "if you do this then you're just giving in to him and he'll win".
I'll leave off with the flowers. The stupid flowers. It is so stupidly important to find something ANYTHING that can ground you. It was so clear that the lily from Scott and the cornflower from Kitty were things that grounded him. In the times when he felt himself giving in, just looking at those flowers brought him back out just a little bit.
But unfortunately, often what grounds you can end up being something that pushes you back down later. There comes a time in his arc where the flowers can't do anything. He begins panicking more and more as he isn't remembering things. The flowers don't work anymore, and now they're a constant reminder of what may happen.
AND ACTUALLY I LIED CAUSE I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING
Can we talk about Daniel? Aka BF! Cambam's friend from Meadowhall who died in his arms? That was so messed up but just adds so much. The feeling that you didn't do enough for someone, and that if you just did something different you could maybe have just a little bit of closure. Maybe you know you couldn't have saved them (which I think he knew), but you wish you could do more.
Honestly a lot of these things could probably be said about the other Bannerfall SMP members, but I've only watched Cambam's POV and the occasional Scott.
Knowing that this man is planning to work in the medical field in some way with his Ph.D. makes me hopeful for the future.
But yeah. Thank you for an amazing 2+ months Bannerfall. I'll miss you.
