User blog comment:Bigez620/"Suckers Punched" - Review/@comment-23995441-20131023045735/@comment-1219690-20131023193901

People seem to associate Zoey's social as "depth", but they really don't look at the second side of the argument. TDRI has already proved that Zoey can be a tad judgement, and she's even referred to the boys in her town as "hockey thugs and juvie rejects with a collective I.Q. of 10", so if she's so quick to judge other people in her town, I can see how she ended up lonely. Then again, this is just a theory, but it's already proved that her past really hasn't been put into detail at all. We can't really sympathize with her because we don't really know who she is. I know she's supposed to be the likable and smart protagonist for being superior to "jock thugs" and "juvie rejects", but did a character like Owen ever judge someone for being "dumb" or "thug-like"?

I've seen comparisons to Gwen and Zoey's characters as well, but honestly, I don't see it. Back in TDI, Gwen was cynical and easily irritated, but all the more relatable. Zoey didn't really do anything. She met Mike and Cameron, and that's it. It doesn't really count as coming out of her shell if she didn't really learn anything from it. Gwen learned to accept the other contestants, but Zoey just eventually gained some friends.

And if anything, Commando Zoey really only regressed her character more. Again, she didn't learn anything from it, and missed a solid chance for development. The only thing she got out of that story arc was random skills that didn't even go into depth on how she received them. The only positive thing that came out of this is that she's becoming less dependent on Mike, but maybe a little too less dependent. She seems be quick to put her trust in people she doesn't know, and is quick to avoid Mike at all costs as well, as I highlighted in this blog. And really, the only reason she's still around is because of the Zoke story. She really doesn't have her own part.

You could also argue that Sierra was in a similar position this season, which I agree with, but Sierra's is done out of humor and has a clear character. Zoey's supposed to be the lovable character that we can relate to, but it just isn't done right. However, I will say that she's gotten to a point where she really doesn't annoy me that much anymore, I just find her purpose in making it this far is a bit of a botheration.