Laugh It Off
Episode 7 of Daybreak begins with Sam and Ms. Crumble in class as canned laughter sounds and we’re greeted with a post-apocalyptic sitcom. After freeing her from the crazed shackles of her mind, Ms Crumble snaps back to reality and asks for Angelica’s help. With Sam still alive, Eli and Wes are tied up for lying to him. Angelica stands up to Josh though and admits the truth, prompting him to boot all three of them out the mall. As the exiled group all go their separate ways, Barry, the remaining member of the Golf Team, laments his luck as Mona confronts him and tells him to up his game. It’s here she tells him that Gary was set up by Turbo and reveals her name could be Mary. Desperate to find Angelica, Josh gives Ms. Crumble directions and lets her go out into the wilderness in search of her. After another sitcom segment, she’s stopped and surrounded by the Cheermazons where she reveals to them that she cracked their code. As they ask for the trinket to allow entry, she reveals a myriad of different random items until finding the treasure they seek. Sensing this is where Angelica is, she heads in just in time for orientation. This consists of three tasks to satisfy those in charge and as Angelica and Ms. Crumble find themselves face-to-face, they discuss what to do next as they go through the trials together. She pleads with Angelica to stick with her as she’s the only one who can keep her sane. However, during the second trial she reveals her truth to the other girls as she pounces on an innocent victim and begins picking away at her flesh. This prompts the girls to gather and ask her just who or what she is. Meanwhile Mona speaks to Sam at Turbo’s headquarters and they discuss a coup for overthrowing his reign. This leads them to Principal Burr, knowing they need some stability in their leadership, and offer him a deal in exchange for his cooperation. While Josh sees the error of his ways, courtesy of a heart to heart with Eli’s girlfriend Mavis, we cut back to Angelica who happens to have passed the gauntlet for being honest. With her officially becoming one of the Cheermazons, Ms. Crumble and her sing together as another montage starts up. As the singing fades to an instrumental, we cut back to Josh who reveals he broke up with Sam in the past. Although most of the episode revolves around Ms. Crumble, the sitcom segments involving Principal Burr and their relationship is a nice stylistic tick but ultimately feels at odds with the emotional storyline. It’s quite jarring at times too, especially given the dramatic weight put on Ms. Crumble’s mental condition and need for stability with Angelica. Still, despite this the episode does do well to keep things interesting and the final reveal around the break-up with Sam certainly throws a spanner in the works. Quite what the latter half of Daybreak has in store for us remains to be seen but right now, the series is doing well to keep things moving in a consistent manner.
