User blog:Stryzzar/Character Appreciation - Week 44: Shawn



Welcome back to Character Appreciation, a blog series that will run for the whole year alongside Project 10. Each week we'll take a look at one Total Drama character, what we like and dislike about them, how they've grown, and what we hope to see from them in the future. I'm Stryzzar and have been invited to do this week's character, Zombie Conspiracy Nut, Shawn!

Overview
To say there's something off about Shawn is an understatement. From the moment we meet him, Shawn shows a deeply rooted belief that the world will succumb to a zombie apocalypse. He has hence dedicated his entire life to training himself in preparation for the inevitable, desiring nothing more than to preserve his own existence against the undead onslaught. Immensely paranoid and prone to bolting away in fear, Shawn's not exactly the most reliable friend out there. But so long as the conversation topic stays away from zombies, he's still a fairly decent guy. For all it's shortcomings, his choice of lifestyle does offer a few perks such as. He has honed survival instincts (rivaled only by Jasmine), as well as exceptional athletic skills.

In Total Drama Pahkitew Island, Shawn quickly shows himself to be an assertive leader, alongside Sky. Every second episode Shawn will take charge and instruct his team on what they are to do in the challenge. Overall, Shawn is a bit of a wild-card as the skills he provides are counterbalanced by being distracted by his zombie obsession. Very early on, he finds himself drawn to Jasmine. Although at first Shawn is unwilling to pursue a relationship, due to considering it a weakness. He also becomes close to Dave, with the two often consoling or helping one another. However, his behavior soon lands him in hot water during A Blast from the Past, where a long string of confusion causes him to make Jasmine lose the challenge and breaks her trust. From here on in Shawn starts trying to win back her trust, while still having to lead the team. He finally gets the chance to make it up to Jasmine in Hurl and Go Seek where he puts helping her above his own safety. With their relationship now secure, Shawn and Jasmine would put both of their physical skills to use in challenges. Although Shawn is left to fend for himself following Jasmine's elimination. Ultimately, he and Sky manage to make it to the finale and Jasmine is brought back as a helper. Shawn's poor choice of words in his confessionals (finding Jasmine's idea to spend the money to be stupid, and reluctance in sharing the prize money), get him in trouble with Jasmine once again. In the end, Shawn decides that Jasmine's feelings are more important than the money and even offers to share the money with her in his ending.

Opinions
It's no secret that Shawn is a divisive character. There are just as many who find him annoying as there are those adore him. If you know me I'm quite a huge fan of him. My reasons are as follows. Shawn has three qualities that ranks him high in my books: 1) He's a badass. Easily one of the best combatants on the show. Seriously, how many characters can take credit for decimating an army of killer robots? Bonus points for being one of the few characters to give Chris a beating (well a version of him at least). 2) He has a fair amount of development. The Shawn that we are introduced to was a dirty coward who flees at the first sign of danger, but by the end he puts the safety of others before himself and is even willing to perform the ultimate sacrifice. 3) He brings a lot of humor. This one is a bit hit-or-miss. I'm quite aware that a fair amount of people got sick of him bringing up the word "zombie" in every second sentence. But for me he still had a lot of memorable one-liners that cracked me up like: "Yeah, you scare me quite a bit for a living person" or "I tried land mines at first, but you know, squirrels." Then there's the funny situations he gets into like thinking Dave was going to kiss him, blowing a snot rocket, or stealing a gem because it was "SHINY!".

So overall, he's not a perfect character and I know he's not everyone. But he can still be entertaining given the right circumstances. I personally enjoyed his time on Total Drama and remain a fan of him.

Best Season: Total Drama: Pahkitew Island

Best Episode: Scarlett Fever

Best Moment: Single-handedly destroying all of the Chris Promo-bots.

Comments
What about you? Despite the title, this blog is open to all opinions! Share your thoughts about Scott in the comments below and use the // userboxes too. Don't forget to share your Best Moment, Best Season, and Best Episode of Shawn! Next week, Epic will be analyzing and giving his opinions on The Obsessive Uber-Fan, Sierra!