User blog comment:Your Highness, Mo/Protagonist Elimination Game/@comment-11883116-20161029184408/@comment-5231983-20161029190505


 * 1) She accepted that she made a mistake by kissing Courtney's boyfriend. Although she did not fully comprehend how it was a mistake, saying "he wasn't her boyfriend at the time", this still shows substantial growth from Total Drama World Tour, where she showed no regret of how Courtney felt after she kissed Duncan. Gwen overall shows herself to be a much better person even though she was not clear on what she did wrong. She has the bravery to apologize, which is MUCH harder than it seems. In fact, she apologizes multiple times (In Heroes vs. Villains, Evil Dread, Saving Private Leechball and then again in No One Eggspects The Spanish Opposition)
 * 2) She stands up for herself to Duncan. Throughout the first half of All-Stars, Duncan consistently shows that he still has feelings for Courtney. The first instance is when he "blanks" her the way Courtney blanked him, and then when the team switch occurs in Saving Private Leechball, Duncan says "now you have to notice me", showing that he still wants Courtney's attention when he should NOT, since HE cheated on her and now he's dating Gwen. Gwen, meanwhile, slowly begins to get frustrated by these actions. Her frustration is progressed in Moon Madness, when Duncan asks about Courtney multiple times – mainly if she talks about him. I see where Gwen comes from when she gets frustrated by this. Would you want your partner constantly talking about their ex, ignoring you? I wouldn't. In the end, she stands up for herself and breaks up with him, albeit it is a little rushed but to be fair it was a 13 episode season, not a 26 episode one (if it was a 26 episode season, the breakup could have been around episode 10).
 * 3) Her efforts to get her team to work as a team shows that she wants to unify everyone, rather than break them apart for her own benefit like what everyone else does. In Heroes vs. Villains, the contrast is clearly shown during the moment where everyone is laughing at Gwen, and Gwen has some hope that perhaps not everyone is a complete villain. She displays shock upon being placed on the villains team, and her past heroic acts are acknowledged by the writers when she brings them up herself. In fact, she has done heroic acts in episodes like Hook, Line, and Screamer. This effort to unify her team continues in Evil Dread, however to a lesser extent since Gwen was focused on the challenge. It's brought up again in Saving Private Leechball, where everyone tries to manipulate Gwen into an alliance. Rather than using it to get someone voted off, Gwen uses it to her advantage in her quest to unify her team. Why? Because she believes in teamwork, like a true protagonist would. She takes charge of her team in this episode as well.
 * 4) The entire episode Zeek and Ye Shall Find. Gwen starts off being left behind by everyone. Her friend Courtney leaves her to be with Scott, Alejandro refuses to work with her, and now her only friend – Cameron – wasn't talking to her either, shocking her. Gwen does manage to pair up with her friend Zoey, however she still has a lot of trouble navigating through the mines due to her claustrophobia. Gwen is the center of attention in this episode, being the only contestant who was not captured by Ezekiel or hurt in any way. This episode takes her back to her TDI roots; it's quite similar to Hook, Line, and Screamer. In the end of the episode, she conquers her fears to save her friends, avenging Cameron. And she ends up defeating Ezekiel and winning the challenge. Despite everyone leaving her, she holds no malice against anyone, exiling the "villain" of the group; Alejandro.
 * 5) Her main protagonist side is shown again in Sundae Muddy Sundae. In fact, this episode takes her back to her TDI roots, where she was without a doubt the main protagonist. She finds out that Courtney betrayed her and was lying to her this entire time, which enrages Gwen. Rather than going full-psycho on Courtney, Gwen refuses to take any sh** from anyone – EVEN the girl she's been trying to make up her bad actions to! She tells Courtney to vote for herself. Keep in mind that Courtney is actually the villain in this episode, due to the derailment that the writers put her through with the creation of the chart and constantly asking people for alliances. While Mal does bring Courtney's downfall, Gwen is not the person who defends Courtney as her human shield and acts like everything Courtney did is okay. She realizes Courtney's mistake and uses her strong moral compass to not take it, showing that her moral compass has improved a big deal from World Tour and she has become a much better person as a result.