This episode picks up where the last one left off. Veronica is lying in the grass, still unconscious. Cobalt hangs around for a couple of minutes before fucking off back to camp. It’s unclear if Cobalt was trying to get help, or if he was sick of Veronica’s company, but I’m going to assume it was the latter. This is finally enough for Max to clock that Veronica is missing, and he heads off to find her. The Saddle Club decide that Max needs their help, too, and tack up their horses to head out onto the trails as well. Phil insists on going with them. He also admits that he was pulling the girls’ legs a bit with his talk about wild animals in the area, but admits that the wild dogs are real. (This is important for later.)
We cut to Veronica, finally waking up. She potentially has a head injury, but that doesn’t stop for from immediately exclaiming that camp is terrible and she wants a refund, like a little mini Karen.
The Saddle Club plus Phil are out searching for Veronica. Stevie and Phil start bickering about whether they should look for her on the main trail or go off the path. I feel like their endless bickering is intended to come across as cute banter, but it honestly reads more like they deeply irritate each other. Carole diplomatically suggests they try out both ideas, causing Stevie to storm off in a huff, with Phil going after her. Lisa continues to have trouble with Patch, and falls off him again. She proceeds to have a a bit of a pity party, but Carole comforts her by explaining that she also struggled with her first Mountain Trail Overnight, which brightens Lisa right up.
While all of this is going on, Veronica is wandering out in the forest and monologuing like she’s doing Shakespeare in the Park. In between talking aloud about how she’s going to run straight to her parents, and threatening Pine Hollow with legal action, she also manages to fall down a rocky hill and injure herself further. We then hear growling in the distance, which means … The Saddle Club accurately used foreshadowing? A wild dog approaches her, all growling and menacing, but luckily for Veronica, Stevie and Phil arrive in the nick of time to chase the dog off, but he returns — with a friend! They try to fend them off with sticks, but Phil explains that, if the dogs are protecting their den, they won’t leave until the kids are all dead. I have to say, that’s a pretty grim line for a children's show.
(Now. I’m sorry, I need to go on a tangent here. I do understand that the realities of filming meant that the director couldn’t just throw a bunch of actual, feral dogs into a scene with child actors but the ‘wild dogs’ that attack Veronica are German Shepherds! I know the show technically takes place in Nowhereland because the location in never specified, despite nearly all the adults having Australian accents, but we all know it’s taking place in Australia. There are not packs of purebred German Shepherds roaming around countryside Australia! That’s just not a thing!!)
Back on topic! Stevie and Phil eventually embrace death and give up fighting off the dogs, but fortunately their screams for help are overheard by Carole and Lisa. The girls arrive just before Veronica, Phil, and Stevie are torn limb from limb, and Lisa uses her emergency whistle to scare the dogs off. Max finally shows up and gives Veronica a ‘Lucky the Saddle Club arrived in time to save you’ speech. Personally, I think he should’ve been self-reflecting and giving a, ‘Why do so many near misses keep happening to the children in my care?’ speech, but what do I know? I don’t run Pine Hollow. (I think I also need to start a running tally of ‘Times a Child Almost Died While in Pine Hollow’s Care. Anyone?)
Running Tallies
Times a Child Almost Died While in Pine Hollow’s Care: Four times. One count for Veronica falling while riding unsupervised and being unconscious for an amount of time that, in real life, would have almost certainly resulted in a brain injury, and one count for three kids getting jumped by ‘wild dogs’ — both times while Max was nowhere to be seen. (Seriously, the lack of adult supervision at Pine Hollow bugs me. Maybe this tally should instead be called ‘Times the Child Safe Standards Did Not Apply to Pine Hollow.’)
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