#scoutguest

[mistermiku]

Jason drawing bc im probably getting surgery on my hand soon...! Luckily its not my dominant hand but I need 2 hands 2 draw (like holding my phone n crap) but the recovery hopefully won't be 2 painful 💔 why is there always SOMETHING wrong with my body smhhhh

[deenabeck]

Scoutguest

I want to talk about an episode of Craig of the Creek that I’m so so thankful and proud to have been able to do: “Scout Guest”

I’m just gonna go through bits and pieces of the process, and I apologize if it’s a little disjointed or messy as I do.

Back in 2020 I made these tweets:

I was so simultaneously happy and saddened to read how much this resonated with so many people. But also I’ve been thinking about these things… my whole life! Trying to navigate the messiness of childhood, family dynamics, love, nurture, care and self worth. Everyone on Craig of the Creek has always been open to listening and exploring people’s stories that they wanted to tell and this was a topic I wanted to talk about, it just took a while to figure out a way to do it that made sense for the show and our characters. I think I pitched a couple ideas here and there but nothing was quite working out yet.

Then I finally pitched an idea revolving Jason, one of our characters I got to play around a lot with in previous seasons. They liked it, and asked me to write up a little run down of what I envisioned the story would be. This is what I sent them:

The amazing writers took this idea and ran with it and when the time came for the outline to be handed out, I was so thankful I also got to board this story as well. They brought in the super talented Danny Cragg which I was so thankful for, too ‘cause I really felt like he’d be able to handle this kind of story with care.

Here are my original boards from that episode most things stayed the same but it’s fun to see the little bits that got changed or cut.

Boards_ScoutGuest_part1.pdf

from

DeenaBeck

Boards_ScoutGuest_part2.pdf

from

DeenaBeck

It took me a while to figure out how to frame a story like this while also maintaining the POV being with one of our main characters. So I thought about a time in my life from the perspective of a kid outside looking in and having to interact with the messiness. I shared a little bit of that over on twitter as well:

 So, in a way, through Jason, I got to tell a little bit of my story. I know when we did the first pitch of the boards one of the things that came up was the question of what IS the reason Jason can’t be at home that night? And I purposely wanted it to be unanswered. I wanted to cast as wide of a net as possible for anyone that maybe didn’t have the same story as me, or someone else, but that we all could understand the FEELINGS that Jason has. I wanted as many people as possible to be able to see themselves in Jason in that moment. 

Again, I am so glad and yet so saddened to know so many of you resonated with this story. I’m sorry it’s a story that needs to be told, but I’m so very thankful we got to tell it.

[xivvany]

"what else are friends for?"

[saccharinescorpion]

me watching The Champion's Hike: haha Craig of the Creek is so funny

me watching Bored Games: haha Craig of the Creek is so funny

me watching ScoutGuest: [stunned, serious silence]

me watching My Stare Lady: ahaHA Craig of the Creek is REALLY funny

me watching Silver Fist Returns: haha Craig of the Creek is so funny

[calciumcryptid]

Warnings: Spoilers for Craig of the Creek Scoutguest, Discussions of Child Abuse

I recently watched the twenty-third episode in season four of Craig of the Creek, and I've noticed a lot of discussion around Craig's attitude in it being described as meanspirited or rude.

While I do agree that the episodes placement feels wrong, I find Craig's behavior to be a realistic reflection of a child's reaction to hosting another child they don't really know well.

Let me explain.

In Scoutguest, the audience learns Jason undergoing child abuse in the form of neglect. While this fact isn't outright stated, the audience is able to infer this information throughout. Not to mention, this revelation has been alluded to many times in the series. Particularly in the episodes The Great Fossil Rush, The End Was Here, and in Alternate Creekiverse.

As Craig of the Creek is meant to be viewed episodically, I do not blame anyone who did not see this revelation coming as it is a drop in an ocean of content.

That being said, the writers clearly thought out this episode if the interactions between Jason and the other characters are anything to go by such as him flinching at Craig and Bernard's arguing, apologizing to Nicole Williams, and his confusion about the family eating together.

The beauty of these interactions is how each of the Williams show real world reactions to a child who is undergoing abuse.

Bernard and Jessica are blissfully unaware, noting how mature a person is compared to the rest of their age group due to their survival instincts in different ways. Jessica takes a shine to Jason's knowledge, and Bernard to Jason's obedience.

Nicole understands fully what is going on, and tries to provide a comforting environment and support system as temporary escapism. Duane is similar in this way, even if he was confused at first.

That leads us to Craig's reaction, which is the most interesting due to how realistic it is. Craig knows Jason as an antagonistic force, and suddenly he has to start treating him nicely without a reason why.

This is emphasized constantly with Craig insisting the two are simply acquaintances for most of the episode, and being grumpy about having to host Jason despite knowing his antagonistic side.

Cause Craig doesn't pick up on what the audience knows, so he doesn't know that his parents trying to get him to play nice with Jason are from a place of genuine concern for the boy.

After all, children are a lot smarter then we give them credit for but they speak in the truth. Children are brutally honest, so without explicit reason Craig is left confused.

TL;DR: Scoutguest showcases realistic reactions to a child who is undergoing abuse, and Craig is realistic in the sense he has to play nice with someone he has viewed as an antagonistic force essentially solely experiencing the negative sides of Jason's mental health.

[citrusella-flugpucker]

((Craig of the Creek Scoutguest spoilers

What if the number Jason gave Nicole was his mom (that is, his biological mom I mean, the one who gave birth to him) rather than, say, his dad or stepmom who he lives with?

What if he specifically did that because he sees her as more approachable despite her not living with him? (And despite potentially witnessing arguments between her and his dad prior to a divorce, given the way he seems to flinch when an argument crops up between Bernard and Craig.)

And what if she actually is more approachable but can’t do much about what’s going on without, like, going to court over it because she doesn’t hold main custody (or maybe even lives far away)? But she can still talk with Nicole and technically give the go-ahead regarding giving permission/asking the favor of Jason staying the night?

Like, IDK, I just get the vibe he didn’t give his dad or stepmom’s number.))

[crewofthecreek]

Scoutguest - Title Card

Designed & painted by W. Scott Forbes

Craig finds himself with an unlikely house guest when Jason the Junior Forest Scout sleeps over.

Premieres on July 13th at 6pm on Cartoon Network!

[fencecollapsed]

yknow I have a thought about Scoutguest too actually. I do understand the idea that it was a little misplaced in the timeline, since Craig's warmed up to Jason a little in the past and trusted him enough to be a double agent in Capture the Flag. but considering this is probably the first time he's actually hung around Jason without his other friends there, his behavior does make a little more sense, I think

like, even if you have gotten on better terms with someone you've been at odds with in the past, that doesn't mean you're necessarily close, or even really friends. you can get along/learn to work well with someone without considering them a friend, and given their history calling Jason an acquaintance isn't entirely unreasonable. and it is a little awkward to host someone in situations like that without a friend you're more comfortable with present to act as a buffer. especially if you're a kid who doesn't understand what's really going on under the surface

obviously this doesn't justify Craig's behavior, that's the point of his growth in the episode. but with this in mind it's maybe not as out of nowhere as it might feel on first thought