Without a shadow of a doubt, the Jurassic Park franchise is one of Hollywood's most popular ones. Steven Spielberg brought Michael Crichton's novels to life with the original Jurassic Park in 1993, then The Lost World: Jurassic Park four years later. Since then, the series spawned a third movie before branching out into the Jurassic World trilogy. Given this, it is no surprise that Netflix decided to create a show revolving around events on Isla Nublar.

Netflix ran Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous alongside the modern films, detailing the adventures of six teenagers who gottrapped on Isla Nublar. It focused on the aftermath of the park's dinosaurs breaking free in the first film, building towards the volcano erupting in the second movie, Fallen Kingdom. While it was a fun, wild ride for survivalists, the family-friendly animated series also had a nuanced LGBT arc involving Sammy Gutierrez and Yasmina Fadoula, which many fans resonated with.

Updated on July 3, 2024, by Natasha Elder: Jurassic Park has left an indelible impact on pop culture and dinosaur-related media. It is no surprise that Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is breaking similar ground with its intricate coming-of-age story centered on Sammy and Yasmina. We have taken another look at how the cast's own support of LGBTQ+ rights has impacted the franchise, as well as added more images to emphasize the complexity of their relationship.

Who Are Jurassic World's Sammy and Yaz?

Their Opposing Personalities Result in Intriguing Interactions

Sammy Gutierrez and Yasmina (Yaz) Fadaoula were at opposite ends of the social spectrum when they were introduced to Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. Sammy was laid-back and into humor, while Yaz was more of a sporty teenager. They often butted heads, leaving Darius (the genius), Kenji (the arrogant kid), Ben (the soft-spoken one) and Brooklynn (the inquisitive reporter) to try to pacify things. Little did fans know it was all masking a crush. The problem was, Sammy harbored a dark secret regarding her true purpose.

Sammy was a traitor. Her family supplied the parks with meat but ran into financial difficulties with Mantah Corp, a rival company to Ingen, the park's creators. Sammy was sent to Site B to infiltrate and steal information that she was then supposed to feed back to Mantah Corp, all to dig her family out of their debt. It gave her journey a much deeper meaning than the others, who were just sent to camp by their families with the expectation of seeing dinosaurs and making friends.

• Sammy is from San Antonio, Texas, and has a Southern accent as a result.
• Yasmina is the first Middle Eastern character to appear in the Jurassic Park franchise.

In time, Sammy's secret would emerge in a moment not to be forgotten, angering everyone after they were left behind by the authorities. Yaz was especially hurt because, as someone whose family was fractured and who was raised solely by her mother, she wasn't easy to trust. But she grew to care for Sammy, leaving her in disbelief that she could be betrayed like that. This drove a wedge between them, but Sammy fought tooth and nail to atone.

Sammy scrapped her spy job, redeemed herself, and won over Yaz in the most endearing manner. As the five seasons proceeded, both became ideal partners in the field, going on supply runs and various missions. They complemented each other perfectly, even though they didn't know how to act on their romantic feelings. This gave their bond a sweet yet innocent charm.

Why Did Camp Cretaceous' Queer Couple Resonate?

Discovering Their Sexual Identities Felt Like a Realistic Journey

Camp Cretaceous' LGBT direction created a genuine coming-of-age story regarding teenage angst and adolescence. Furthermore, it felt real seeing teenagers struggling with their sexual identities. They were uncertain about these feelings, and how their peers would react. However, Ben and company urged them to act on their emotions. In fact, the encouragement worked so well that Kenji and Brooklynn were inspired to make a move on each other, too. The tale of Sammy and Yaz's acceptance felt so endearing despite the show keeping their big kiss for the fifth and final season. This didn't feel like what Netflix did with Voltron: Legendary Defender, however, where it just shunted Shiro in as a queer character in the closing moments by giving him a husband.

Netflix did the same with She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, holding out on She-Ra and Catra's kiss until the finale — a move many felt was done to avoid backlash online, despite the essences of the characters being so overtly queer. Instead, CampCretaceous has a slow, progressive burn built on patient delivery as the teens' self-discovery unfolds prominently. But even before the kiss was placed at the forefront, they were selflessly looking out for each other, shooting each other wistful glances, and going the extra mile.

• Sammy was originally going to be a male character, before changing into the female character that is beloved by fans.
• Yasmina is the oldest kid in the group and even knows how to drive.

It's best summed up with Yaz risking her life to save a dying Sammy, who got poisoned by the quills of the Scorpios rex. This created one of the show's best episodes in Season 3's "The Long Run," cementing them as a couple meant to be. If not directly yet, then spiritually. After that, fans saw depth, sacrifice, and true sentiment as they helped keep their pack safe from various other creatures, such as the iconic T-Rex. To top it off, their queer arc resonated in the most powerful manner when Yaz helped Sammy work through the issue where the intelligence Sammy sent back to Mantah Corp was used to clone dinosaurs. Yaz convinced Sammy she wasn't a monster. In turn, Sammy helped Yaz remember she was the alpha of the crew.

They made each other better, with Sammy proving to be a pivotal strategist as she evolved, and Yaz becoming an even better fighter to protect them. It was all due to that wholesome theme of love — a powerful lesson in diversity, equality, visibility, and representation. By the time they kissed in Season 5, Episode 9, "The Core," it was just a formality. They even had three more episodes to explore their future as a couple, ensuring Camp Cretaceous didn't just relegate their story to some diminished side-arc. This was front and center, and very much one of the series' major beats. When they were rescued, they ended up at university together, capping a remarkable adventure together to set up the Jurassic World: ChaosTheory spinoff.

How Camp Cretaceous' Queer Romance Fixes a Franchise Mistake

Jurassic Park: Fallen World Cut a Scene Revealing One Character's Sexuality

The Jurassic World movies saw Universal Pictures follow an unfortunate pattern many other studios partake in. Disney, for example, censors content for various regions where LGBT arcs aren't accepted. Sometimes, scenes are cut or pared down, as seen with the Star Wars films and Pixar movies like Lightyear. The Marvel movies do the same too, drastically reducing some queer characters, like The Marvels' Valkyrie. Sadly, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom tempered its queer arc with Daniella Pineda's Zia, who was depicted as a Paleo-veterinarian and dinosaur-rights activist. More specifically, her conversation with Chris Pratt's Owen where she revealed she was into women was cut.

• If the scene of Zia coming out wasn't cut, she would have been the first confirmed lesbian in the series.
• Zia has an unspoken history as a marine, which can be assumed through the "Semper Fi" tattoo on her collarbone.

Even if the scene was left intact, the line confirming she only liked women would've been the bare minimum, at best. Camp Cretaceous avoids this pitfall by meaningfully developing its queer female characters, complete with their own character arcs. The series debuted in 2020, two years after Fallen Kingdom, and built to the kiss with Yaz and Sammy in July 2022. Ironically, Jurassic World: Dominion came out in June 2022 in North America, but Zia's story wasn't addressed. Sammy and Yaz, by contrast, endured so much, having to mature quickly, work past their own generational trauma, and heal insecurities over whether they deserved each other.

Netflix delivered a win for a global audience by showing the love between Yaz and Sammy wasn't offensive. They were very much a familiar and relatable story for teenagers experiencing dysphoria and wanting to come out of their shells. After all, Yaz's team were all outcasts left behind, but as the show proceeded, they wore their hearts on their sleeves and decided to be their unapologetic selves. This had fans eager to see how Yaz and Sammy evolved when ChaosTheory joined the JurassicWorld family in May 2024.

The Crew Have Been LGBTQ+ Advocates Outside the Show

Their Support Has Benefited the Show's Representation

As with every production, the end product is a result of the mixed efforts of a variety of cast and crew. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is no exception to this. An extensive crew of voice actors brought these characters to life, including the talents of such names as Jenna Ortega, Sean Giambrone, Stephanie Beatriz, Raini Rodriguez, and Kausar Mohammad. In addition to their skill in making these animated characters sound alive, these actors, along with many of the other cast and crew members, have been very vocal about their support for LGBTQ+ rights through social media and pride events.

• In the final episode of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, there is a time jump forward, which reveals that Yaz and Sammy are still together as adults. This is further confirmed in Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.
• Yaz was the first bisexual character in the franchise.

Stephanie Beatriz, who voices the character Tiff, and Kausar Mohammad, who voices Yaz, are themselves part of the LGBTQ+ community and have posted pictures at pride events and with their partner, respectively, on their social media profiles. Additionally, Raini Rodriguez, who voices Sammy Gutierrez, has posted about how easy it is to stand in support of others, and the stupidity of hating others for their sexual orientation. Such support from core cast members only further enables the introduction of storylines such as Yaz and Sammy's. By standing in support of the community outside their responsibilities as actors playing a character, these cast members are opening the way for plots such as this to become more common in the future.