Survivor Boy

Wyatt Perkins is out in the woods of McAlester Park trying to film the first episode of a survival series, though he can't quite tell whether his camera is even recording. He has read that most people are unprepared for a survival emergency, and since the website he learned from has no videos, he wants to make some himself and maybe save lives. Jay Smouse wanders by, teases him about his lack of screen presence, and then offers his services as director, editor, and personality coach. Jay admits his motive isn't noble: he's applying for an editing internship and needs a popular channel for his credits. The two strike a deal, and Jay dresses Wyatt in camouflage, a leather jacket, and a bandana, announcing, "Behold, Survivor Boy is born." According to Jay's invented backstory, Wyatt is the youngest survival expert in North America, trained by a Marine Corps father and off on a week-long solo wilderness trip. There is no actual trip, of course; it's all pretend.

The timing works because Wyatt's mom is away at a conference, leaving his older sister Bridget in charge. Bridget, meanwhile, is doing some pretending of her own: she keeps staging photos of herself and Wyatt on bike rides and doing homework so she can send them to Mom as proof that she's spending quality time with her brother, then serves him leftover donuts for dinner.

The fake videos pile up. Wyatt films a snowstorm report in his bedroom using a box fan and shredded packing foam for snow, and Jay edits fourteen eastern diamondback rattlesnakes into a campsite scene, even though Wyatt points out that those snakes don't even live in their part of the country. In that video, Wyatt declares that his backpack is his life and he'd never go anywhere without it. The channel picks up viewers, including Miles, a young boy Wyatt knows from church group, who comments that Wyatt is "the coolest person to ever walk the Earth." Wyatt feels uneasy about lying to a kid who looks up to him, but Jay brushes the worry aside, insisting the videos are actually helping people learn.

Jay keeps pushing for more danger. He deletes all the instructional parts of Wyatt's carefully researched tracking video, keeping only the funny footage of Wyatt falling down a hill, and then plans a staged puppy rescue at Miller's Ravine using a flimsy clothesline and a decorative clip from a water bottle. Wyatt, who actually knows about proper climbing ropes and safety ratings, refuses. He accuses Jay of caring only about views and fame, and the partnership breaks up. Wyatt talks Bridget into filming for him by promising to do her chores, but his honest, instructional videos draw harsh comments.

Then comes the moment that changes everything. Miles posts that he's inspired to follow in Wyatt's footsteps and is heading up Arrowroot Trails for a solo adventure to test his skills. Wyatt is horrified: those trails on Forest Mountain have been closed for two weeks because of a mudslide, and rain is starting to fall. He and Jay run to Bridget for help. Jay calls the police, but Bridget hesitates to call Mom, knowing that one phone call will expose everything both of them have been up to. Wyatt asks whether she's really going to leave Miles alone on a mountain just to avoid getting yelled at, and Bridget makes the call. Mom reaches Miles' mother, and Bridget drives Wyatt and Jay to the trails, since Wyatt knows exactly what signs to look for - Miles has been copying his videos.

On the rainy mountainside they find Miles' bike, then his campsite, built with the exact shelter design from Wyatt's video. Surprisingly, it's Jay who spots the game trail showing where Miles slid down - something he learned from the very tracking video he deleted. They hear a cry for help and discover Miles stranded on a crumbling ledge below, too slick to climb. Wyatt takes charge with the real climbing ropes he carries in his backpack. Bridget ties a figure-eight knot she remembers from filming, Jay rigs a Z-pulley anchored to a tree, and Wyatt coaches a frightened Miles through tying a Swiss seat as the ledge gives way beneath him. On the count of three, pull by pull, they haul Miles to safety. Miles explains he'd gone looking for water to filter, just like Wyatt showed him, and never noticed the trail ahead had washed away. Ashamed, Wyatt confesses to Miles that he isn't really Survivor Boy at all.

When Miles' mother arrives, she thanks them for the rescue but speaks firmly to Wyatt. Miles defended him, insisting Wyatt never technically lied, but she disagrees: acting like something you're not in order to deceive people is just as damaging as a lie, and it nearly had terrible consequences. She also tells Wyatt he's a great kid just as he is - some might even call him a hero - and urges him to be careful about the advice he gives. Jay can't resist pointing out that her words apply just as well to a certain sister and her staged photos, and Bridget grudgingly admits she gets the irony.

In his final video, Wyatt comes clean to his viewers, apologizes for faking his footage, links the websites he learned from, and shuts down the channel with a last "Survivor Boy out." The comments are rough, but Bridget assures him he did the right thing. Then she invites him to play a board game before bed - not for a picture this time, but for real. As she puts it, "I think I've had enough fakeness for a while."