Camping Review: Up All Night Season 1 Episode 4
On Camping Season 1 Episode 4, “Up All Night,” Jandice’s attempt to help Kathryn sleep backfires. Miguel breaks the news he doesn’t want to get married, and Nina-Joy encounters some familiar faces.
Camping continues to drudge tediously along in spite of Kathryn’s manic night, and her resulting antics after Jandice mistakenly slips her an Adderall instead of an Ambien.
To emphasize how unbearable Kathryn is to not only her “friends” and family, Camping introduces three female acquaintances of Nina-Joy and Kathryn’s who happen to be glamping it up nearby: Allison (Busy Philipps), Nia (Hari Nef), and Beth-Ann (Nicole Richie). These three women are ingratiating and not fans of Kathryn (at this point, who is?)
Kathryn continues to be clueless or ambivalent regarding her off-putting behavior, and the Adderall serves to completely eradicate any filter Kathryn has left when it comes to polite social interaction.
Of course, this couldn’t happen with a worse group of people as Allison, Nia, and Beth-Ann are stereotypical mean girls who are out in the woods because they love irony and view Kathryn with a mix of condescension, bitchiness, and contempt.
It’s beginning to feel as if the show’s creators and writers don’t like women very much, or in the very least, only want viewers to see them in the worst possible light.
Even if Kathryn wasn’t suffering adverse effects due to the medication, there’s no doubt she would still take the opportunity to reveal to these women her litany of health concerns. This overshadows Kathryn’s occasional attempts at humor which are cringe-worthy at best.
Carleen wanders into this hornet’s nest and feels the brunt of Kathryn’s bitterness because of her ability to conceive. So, at the core of Kathryn’s unlikability is her anger and envy of anyone who has the capability to be a mother but remains — either by design or circumstances — childless.
Kathryn does finally reveal a huge clue about her falling out with Nina-Joy. Kathryn was Nina-Joy’s confidant while she cheated on George, and, apparently, Kathryn may have been instrumental in George finding out (the details remain sketchy).
Carleen finally shows some backbone when she calls Kathryn out for her behavior, but Kathryn is either unable or unwilling to concede that she possesses this uncanny ability to hurt those around her and show no remorse. Kathryn views herself as honest and misunderstood — a victim.
On Camping, Kathryn isn’t the only one whose unhappiness causes her to obliterate the lives of those around her. Jandice, who feels rejected by Miguel, flirts shamelessly with Joe. Her goal is to feel wanted, but she stops just shy of allowing Joe to act on his desire for her.
Why must women always be portrayed as competitive with one another? Jandice’s previous attempt to empower Carleen is wiped out when she preys upon Joe. It’s sadly predictable that Jandice would inject herself into one of these couple’s deeply dysfunctional relationships.
Kathryn’s need to overcompensate for what she feels she’s lacking drives her to be the best at everything from flag football to human suffering.
What did you think of this episode of Camping? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Camping airs Sundays at 10/9c on HBO.
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Jennifer Lind-Westbrook
Jennifer has been working as a freelance writer for six years, contributing to BuddyTV, Screen Rant, TVRage, Hidden Remote, Gossip On This, and PopMatters. She prefers binge-watching old episodes of The Office (British and American versions) to long walks on the beach. She's still holding out hope that Happy Endings will get a revival.