User blog comment:LuluTDFan/Love triangle this, love triangle that/@comment-1756703-20130929090506

(This is going to be long, so bear with me.)

I found the love triangle unnecessary and pointless due to its outcome thus far. I mean, it broke up my favourite couple in one of the worst ways imaginable, hooked up two characters I had been hoping would remain just friends, and ruined Courtney and Gwen between two unlikely girls. But even I'll admit that the episodes in which it was prominently featured were some of my favourite episodes of the season, simply due to the sheer entertainment value of all the DRAMA~! So I'm definitely with you on that point.

That said, I think it's very understandable why Courtney would still be upset at Duncan and Gwen even in TDAS. Her boyfriend cheated on her with her friend. And neither of them showed any remorse for it. I don't know how many people you know who have been through that, but believe me, it's not usually a situation that the victims tend to "forgive and forget" so easily, especially if the victim is a feisty girl like Courtney. It actually tends to annoy me when people suggest that Courtney should ease up on her grudge, because honestly, how many people would actually do that if they were in her position?

And while I do agree that Gwen gets too much blame for what went down, she's also supposed to be one of the more mature characters on the show, so that's why I was really disappointed in how she behaved at the height of the love triangle mess in TDWT. Gwen may have been thinking of saving her own butt by not telling Courtney about the affair, but it goes against what we thought we knew about Gwen. Gwen is supposed to be upfront and honest, much like she was in TDI. Instead, in Greece's Pieces, we see Gwen being selfish enough to hope for another clandestine kiss instead of doing the right thing and telling Courtney. Not only that, but Gwen pitifully cowers away from Courtney at every opportunity instead of owning up to her mistake and taking responsibility for her actions. And as for regret, Gwen didn't show more than a few seconds of regret over what she did; she initially accepted that what she did made her a horrible friend, but then what? Nothing! Not a single bit of remorse after that. Even after seeing Courtney crying her heart out (and being comforted by Heather, of all people) at the end of the episode, all she can think about in the confessional is how great the kiss was and how it may end up leading to her own elimination. Ugh.

Then again, perhaps she's not as mature as we like to think she is. She's always had a streak of selfishness in her. Even though she's made friends on the show and is generally well-liked on the show, she often make decisions that seem only to benefit herself, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. In TDA, she broke up with Trent and convinced his own team to vote him off, which I thought was such an impulsive and immature way for her to handle their relationship troubles. Why did she unceremoniously dump Trent and not try to talk things out with him? Because she only thought of herself and not of Trent. And why did she kiss Duncan despite knowing that he was involved with Courtney? Because she only thought of herself and not of Courtney. This isn't to say that Gwen is selfish all the time, but you can see why lots of fans had a problem with what she did.

As for Duncan, he was the antagonist in the whole love triangle. Duncan was the one who cheated on Courtney and drove a wedge between Courtney and Gwen's budding friendship. He was the antagonizing factor in the love triangle. If it wasn't for him, Gwen and Courtney would still be friends. I mean, if you have a problem with your girlfriend, you don't solve it by cheating on her, especially when she's been loyal and faithful to you. >~>

" Duncan isn't one to take crap from anyone, especially a girl like Courtney."

A common argument made by DxG (or anti-Courtney) fans is that Duncan was fed up with Courtney's attitude. But during the first two seasons, he actually enjoyed her feisty and bossy attitude, even to the point where he found it attractive. He actually seemed to like that aspect of her ("Man, that girl creases me... I dig that in a chick!") since it was a foil to his own delinquent personality. That's why his sudden distaste for that aspect of her personality in TDWT made no sense, and seemed to come out of nowhere. His betrayal of Courtney was completely nonsensical. Thing is, it's fine if they decide to make Duncan become fed up with her. But the way it went down on the show seemed to go against the previously-seen personalities of both Duncan and Gwen. Duncan is supposed to be a delinquent with a heart of gold, yet instead of trying to talk things out with Courtney, he cheats on her, callously breaks her heart, and shows no remorse for it.

Courtney isn't perfect. Far from it. And she did go overboard with her plans to "change" Duncan, especially in Top Dog. But he ended up forgiving her for that particular instance. Plus there's no reason Duncan couldn't work things out with her, or at least speak up and let her know about his frustration with her efforts to change him. As immature as Courtney may have been in wanting to change Duncan, it pales in comparison to how he handled it. Whether he was going to break it off with her or not, he still ended up cheating on her, and destroying her friendship with Gwen.

Sorry for the wall of text. Can you tell I've thought about this stuff a lot? xD