User blog:Jam7/Bizarre Love Triangle: My Predictions for DxC and DxG in Season Three

Hello all! This will be rather lengthy, so hopefully there's some of you with the patience to read through it. Don't worry, I'll try to avoid making overly huge paragraphs, hehe.

As many of you already know, the relationship between Duncan and Courtney -- a.k.a. "DxC" -- is one of the (if not the) most popular relationships in the series. However, since the second season began airing, a large fanbase has risen for what has become possibly the most popular fanon relationship in the series -- the potential relationship between Duncan and Gwen, a.k.a. "DxG". The love triangle that has sparked between these three competitors as of the TDA special looks to be a possibly major storyline for the third season, so I've come up with several scenarios that briefly depict the path that this love triangle could possibly go.

But first, a recap of the relevant interaction between the three characters for the sake of completeness. Feel free to skip ahead to the next section if you wish.

Overview
Duncan and Courtney first hooked up in the first season, where they were teammates on the Killer Bass. Though there was initially conflict between the two due to the stark contrast between their personalities, signs of a mutual attraction between them soon began to show. This eventually culminated in a kiss in Basic Straining, which was the point where the two officially became a couple. Although Courtney was voted off in that same episode, they continued to express longing for each other throughout the rest of the season. This is most evident in the episodes Trial by Tri-Armed Triathlon (where Duncan carves his and her initials surrounded by a heart into a wooden carving of her head) and Haute Camp-ture (where Courtney voices her support for Duncan and finally admits her feelings for him). Their relationship endured into the second season.

Duncan and Gwen were on different teams in the first season, so they rarely interacted with each other. Once the teams merged though, this gradually began to change. Sometimes they were seen as enemies, but given the similarities between the two, the interaction between the two was generally friendly. This is most evident in the episodes Hook, Line, and Screamer and Are We There Yeti?; the former is notable for Heather essentially implying that the two looked like a couple, while the latter had Gwen and Duncan departing each other on good terms after Duncan was eliminated. Both of them made it into the final four in the competition.

In the second season, a full-fledged friendship between Duncan and Gwen blossomed. In the absence of Courtney -- who did not qualify for the second season due to the events of the TDI special -- Gwen became Duncan's confidante and closest friend. Gwen chose Duncan first for her team, the Screaming Gaffers; this sparked strong feelings of jealousy in Gwen's boyfriend, Trent, which eventually led to the demise of their relationship. Courtney soon caught wind of the friendship via Trent, and she, too, became jealous. When Gwen was a guest on the Aftermath show, Courtney angrily confronted Gwen about her alleged relationship with Duncan. Gwen tried to make peace with Courtney, insisting that she and Duncan are just friends, but this was to no avail. After Geoff showed a clip of Duncan expressing to Gwen how much he misses Courtney, Courtney was shown smiling happily at this rare display of romance on Duncan's part; Gwen subsequently said that the clip proved that Duncan was "always thinking about" Courtney. However, Geoff played the rest of the clip, which showed Gwen and Duncan wrestling each other playfully and ending with Duncan on top of Gwen. Courtney became infuriated and stormed off the set, mistakenly convinced that Duncan cheated on her with Gwen.

Soon after Courtney returned to active competition, she confronted Duncan in One Million Bucks, B.C. and chastised him for cheating on her with Gwen. Duncan later states in the same episode that he didn't hook up with Gwen, and that Courtney's presence makes him realize just how much Courtney "drives him crazy", both in the good and bad sense of the term. Despite the two of them clearly showing that they still have feelings for each other, the relationship between Courtney and Duncan was put on hold for the rest of the season as they competed against each other. It wasn't until Top Dog that it was rekindled; however, Courtney also imposed strict rules on their relationship, stating that Duncan must memorize and follow them if he wants the relationship to work. The overbearing nature of these rules, coupled with the fact that Duncan wanted to win the million dollars, led to him voting Courtney off in that episode. Courtney felt betrayed by this, and she broke up with him. However, they reconcile in the season finale after Duncan wins.

In the TDA special, it is revealed that Duncan and Courtney continued to date each other in a whirlwind romance following the conclusion of the second season, only to break up again after a nasty fight they had in public. Gwen, who previously considered Duncan as strictly a friend, began to show signs of an attraction to him. She chastised Courtney for breaking up with Duncan, stating that Duncan "was the best thing that ever happened to her"; after that, Gwen calls Duncan "hot", though she immediately expresses regret at doing so. Later in the episode, Courtney and Duncan spontaneously make up and reconcile as a couple following a heated argument. In a confessional, Courtney expresses distrust for Gwen, promising to keep an eye on the "boyfriend stealer" to make sure that she doesn't steal Duncan away from her.

Scenarios
Okay, this is how this is going to work. Without going into details, I'm going to describe various hypothetical scenarios that could occur with this love triangle in the third season. For each scenario, I may also list a few variables that could possibly have an affect on the outcome. I'm not going to give my thoughts on these scenarios yet -- that will happen in the next section of this blog post. Let's get started, shall we?

 Scenario A :

''Both girls make their feelings for Duncan clear to each other, resulting in a rivalry as they vie for Duncan's affections. Duncan may feel tempted by Gwen as he's influenced by the opinions of other competitors, but ultimately, Duncan decides to remain with Courtney. However, he lets Gwen down easy and states to her how much he values her as a friend. Gwen accepts this and moves on, perhaps finishing further in the competition than Courtney to compensate for the "loss" of Duncan.''

Variables:
 * Duncan may not feel tempted by Gwen at all, opting to remain loyal to Courtney right from the start.
 * Due to his reserved nature, Duncan may not let Gwen down easily, or if he does so, he does it so clumsily that Gwen is put off by him.

 Scenario B :

''Both girls make their feelings for Duncan clear to each other, resulting in a rivalry as they vie for Duncan's affections. At the same time, Trent shows signs of a renewed interest in Gwen, perhaps a little jealous that Duncan is now the object of her affections. When confronted, Duncan is shown to be perplexed by Gwen's feelings towards him, as he was convinced that they were never anything more than friends. As such, Duncan spurns Gwen for Courtney. However, seeing Gwen get dejected leads Trent to rush to Gwen's side as soon as he can, and Gwen and Trent begin to reconcile, perhaps even romantically so.''

Variables:
 * Trent's renewed interest in Gwen may not be sparked out of any hint of jealousy at all, but rather, out of longing for her.
 * Duncan may let Gwen down easy as well, like in Scenario A.

 Scenario C :

''Both girls make their feelings for Duncan clear to each other, resulting in a rivalry as they vie for Duncan's affections. Courtney feels overly threatened by Gwen and becomes ruthless and vengeful; she ends up committing a very heinous act against Gwen as revenge for trying to steal her man. Duncan -- who was already feeling tempted by Gwen -- becomes privy to what Courtney has done, is disgusted and repulsed by it, and ultimately hooks up with Gwen. Courtney becomes infuriated and threatens litigation against Duncan and/or Gwen out of desperation, but to no avail.''

Variables:
 * Given how loopy Duncan's criteria in what he looks for in a girl can be, the "heinous act" committed by Courtney may actually drive him to remain with Courtney, since he will view it as a crazy act of love.
 * It may not be one single heinous act, but rather a series of smaller heinous acts committed throughout the season.

 Scenario D :

''Both girls make their feelings for Duncan clear to each other, resulting in a rivalry as they vie for Duncan's affections. However, throughout the course of the season, Courtney's personality becomes more affable and agreeable, perhaps due to the influence of Gwen. Duncan ultimately decides to hook up with Gwen after realizing how much more compatible he and Gwen are. Courtney, though heartbroken, wishes them the best and tries to move on, accepting that Duncan has made his decision. At this point, another guy will express interest in Courtney after seeing her get dejected. Trent? Justin? Or perhaps even Duncan again...?''

Variables:
 * Courtney's change in personality may have very little to do with Gwen, if anything at all.
 * No other guy may end up expressing interest in Courtney, as they may feel it's too soon or that she may revert back to her old bossy persona.

 Scenario E :

''Both girls make their feelings for Duncan clear to each other. However, Gwen takes the high road and opts not to pursue Duncan romantically; instead, she decides to explain to Courtney why Duncan is good for her, and why Courtney should appreciate Duncan's qualities. The two girls spark a small friendship with each other as a result of having to work together on the same team, and Courtney ultimately takes Gwen's advice to heart, feeling renewed appreciation for her boyfriend. Duncan becomes privy to Gwen's feelings towards him, but opts to remain with Courtney, especially after seeing the change in her attitude towards him.''

Variables:
 * Gwen may pursue Duncan romantically for a short while, but cease to do so after thinking it through.
 * The two girls may not ever form a friendship with each other, but Courtney ultimately listens to her advice about Duncan anyway.
 * The two girls may form a friendship, only for it to later become strained after Courtney learns of Gwen's true feelings towards Duncan. They eventually work this out amongst themselves, though.
 * Duncan may not ever fully learn of Gwen's crush on him.

 Scenario F :

''Both girls make their feelings for Duncan clear to each other, resulting in a rivalry as they vie for Duncan's affections. However, Duncan -- not one to be concerned with romantic scenarios in the first place -- gets fed up with the fighting between the two girls and decides to become single, breaking up with Courtney and spurning Gwen's advances. Both Courtney and Gwen are dismayed by this.''

 Scenario G :

''Both girls make their feelings for Duncan clear to each other, resulting in a rivalry as they vie for Duncan's affections. Duncan becomes aware of the rivalry and embraces it in a chauvinistic manner, happy to know that two chicks are fighting over him. Once Courtney and Gwen become aware of Duncan's demeanor, they end up feeling disgusted by it and neither of them want to be with him anymore. Duncan is dismayed by this.''

 Scenario H :

'' A meteor suddenly strikes the Earth without warning, resulting in all of the castmates getting blown to smithereens. Chris is mutated into a hideous- ''

My Take on This
(Note: This section will be admittedly biased, since I'm a DxC supporter. HOWEVER, I wholeheartedly encourage DxG supporters to give their input for the sake of discussion. In fact, that goes for anyone who wishes to comment. Don't think that this blog post is exclusively for DxC fans.)

In actuality, what will probably end up happening is an amalgam of two or more of these scenarios. Unless the writers decide to completely go to left field to resolve this love triangle, you can expect to see at least one of these scenarios taking place, though.

If season three is indeed the final season in which these characters participate, it may be prudent for the writers to go with a crowd-pleasing conclusion. If that's the case, then Scenario B may be the way to go. Not only will it see DxC remain intact, but it will see the reunion of another couple from the iconic first season -- TxG. Granted, DxG fans will be understandably disappointed, but when it comes to pleasing two fanbases as opposed to just one... well, it's not rocket science, people. Trust me, there are still a lot of TxG supporters out there.

I strongly dislike Scenario C, as it turns Courtney into nothing more than a rehash of Heather from season one. Sadly though, it remains entirely plausible. Courtney's antagonism has been steadily increasing over the first two seasons, and though it seems to have peaked in the latter half of Total Drama Action, it may yet again resurface even greater than before. However, the inclusion of Alejandro in the third season means that the season already has a main antagonist. Not only that, but Courtney may not even be the antagonist for her own team; Heather seems to be reverting back to her season one persona, and she definitely has a greater conflict with Gwen than Courtney does.

That said, Scenario D seems more likely if the writers decide to hook Duncan and Gwen up in the end. I also dislike this scenario due to Courtney being dejected, but if there's a silver lining to this scenario, it's that she won't come across as the villain. If anything, it will turn her into a very sympathetic character, one that you can't help but feel bad for despite her past antagonism. But as mentioned before, if this is indeed the last season with these characters, I doubt that the writers would want to have any of the cast have a "bad ending", so to speak. Nor would I particularly care for having them hook Courtney up with some random guy in the end as consolation for having her heart broken.

In my opinion, Scenario E is the most logical scenario, and the scenario that I believe will largely end up happening. It makes Gwen come across as being someone with enough integrity to not try and steal another girl's boyfriend, and it keeps the ever-popular DxC pairing intact. What would be even better is if elements of Scenario B -- namely, the inclusion of Trent -- were to happen as well. For all we know, this entire love triangle may simply be a plot device to lead into the interaction that will occur in season three between Courtney and Gwen, especially if Duncan is eliminated early (as some have predicted).

Scenario F and Scenario G are both left-field scenarios that I included for the sake of covering every angle. It's very unlikely that either of these will end up happening, but if it does, at least it doesn't entirely betray their personalities.

Ultimately, I believe that it would make the most sense for the writers to keep Duncan and Courtney together in the end. There have been countless instances where Duncan is shown to be attracted to Courtney, and only one or two debatable instances where he is shown to be attracted to Gwen. Not only that, but given what we know about Duncan, Courtney displays the traits that he is most attracted to in a girl, at least to a much greater degree than Gwen. Unless Courtney completely goes off the deep end, it would be simply illogical for Duncan to end up with Gwen by the end of season three.

Forgive me for sounding sour, but if the writers do hook Duncan and Gwen up, I have a few (slightly) pessimistic theories on why this would happen:


 * The writers want to "make it up" to TxG fans for breaking up Trent and Gwen by breaking up the other popular couple from season one, DxC.
 * Duncan and Gwen bear a great resemblence to a couple from another popular Fresh TV program where the chauvinistic prankster hooks up with the edgy tomboy.
 * The writers want to establish Courtney as one of the series' premier antagonists, one that's completely undeserving of a boyfriend despite her sympathetic qualities and her popularity amongst TDI fans.

But regardless of the final outcome, this love triangle looks to be very entertaining, and one that's sure to stir up a lot of controversy and debate. And I'm confident that the outcome will be one that I enjoy, but at the same time, I won't stop being a fan if it isn't.