Gwen loves Evan. However, she knows he isn't very helpful and doesn't handle conflict well. She can't even share those critiques without hurting his feelings. His ego gets bruised very easily. He maintains this sense of his own importance. In order for him to do something, he has to personally enjoy it. He's not a selfless individual. He enjoys routines. He's excited to perform "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals at the annual junior camping trip with Gwen. That's a priority for him. He's immediately distraught to learn his friends at school hung out without him. Gwen explains it was purely to help her boyfriend Nick dig a pool in the backyard. He is incredibly out of his depth on this project. He's completely unraveling after losing his job. Gwen offers her total support. Evan wants to feel like this friendship is the best thing in her life. He believes she would always invite him no matter what. He doesn't like to imagine a world where his friends purposefully exclude him. That stings. His reaction is still extreme. That too boils down to his inability to handle conflict. He preaches it to the students. He doesn't handle it well in his own life.
Evan truly believes Markie and Rick were invited to Gwen's house to have fun playing video games and eating pizza. Those activities came after the manual labor was complete for the day. That was the true purpose of this get together. Gwen knew Evan wouldn't be any help at all. And so, she chose not to mention it. Evan always wants an invitation. Gwen's home is open to Evan whenever. He is welcome in her life at any point. That will always be true. Evan still wants specific details. He wants invitations repeatedly to know that these events are happening. He won't always attend. He doesn't actually want to partake in this event. He just mopes over feeling left out. He takes out his anger towards Gwen. She shares intimate details about her life with him. This night helped ignite her sex life with her boyfriend again. Evan wants those details even though it's inappropriate for them to be talking about this on a school bus surrounded by students. They are both great teachers. In this moment, they don't have to worry too much about the kids. The drama is still present though.
Evan is the only one who knows Gwen has a latex allergy. That's awkwardly introduced in a bit of exposition early on. It's real though. It's not fantasy like Markie's sudden crush on his colleague. That's a somewhat fast and jarring development. One that still informs the setup for how Evan and Gwen resolve this fight. The elements are still barely introduced in order to inform this conflict. The viewer understands the importance of this particular friendship. Evan and Gwen work so well together. They bounce lines off each other in an entertaining and funny way. It's understandable why the show introduces tension. It only needs to be short-lived. It defines the story for a single episode. It doesn't need to be more than that. Evan is willing to throw it all away. That's how he reacts to any conflict whatsoever. It's not healthy. He eventually forges a stronger friendship with Gwen. It builds to the point where it's silly that Evan would even want to attend this kind of hang. The offer is what he wanted. That's all that he needs. Meanwhile, Gwen needs someone to save her life after having an allergic reaction. Evan knows her well. The plot mechanics to deliver that point are a bit too broad and obvious.
The source of the comedy largely comes from a parent chaperone who is very attuned to the possibility of sexual exploits on this trip. The teachers are more than capable of handling these students should anything happen. No trouble really comes up. Sure, two girls are fighting. They don't resolve things. They only sit together again because Evan and Gwen need to feel good. They need to believe that they made a difference. That's how they were the adults in the situation. Unexpected reactions still occur upon leaving the natural environment for these characters. That applies to this parent as well. Her obsession with preventing sex amongst the kids is fueled by her own desire to be satisfied in that way. She flirts with everyone. It makes her easy to manipulate once that attention becomes overwhelming. It doesn't end upon the conclusion of the weekend either. This may simply be who she is all the time. That's somewhat scary. She's blunt with all of this talk about sex. It's all she focuses on. She is also not quite living in reality. The themes of the episode relate to that. This is the broadest example. It goes to the extreme to put everything else into better context. It's funny. It also comes at the expense of trying to develop fully-realized characters. That's a struggle.
