Duncan and Gwen

The Gwen-Duncan Friendship is the friendship and non-canon belief in a romantic relationship between Gwen and Duncan. This friendship/relationship has become quite popular since the beginning of Total Drama Action.

Overview
The relationship between Gwen and Duncan is usually viewed as a friendship with romantic hints. They have a lot in common, and seem like close friends. Although both of them state not to be attracted by each other, Gwen and Duncan know some personal details about each other, and it is unexplained how they know these details. Also, their friendship has caused jealousy to arise in their respective romantic partners, Trent and Courtney, which has led to unpleasant consequences in these relationships (especially in the case of Trent). However, Gwen and Duncan have recently been getting closer to their official matches, particularly Duncan. As such, the friendship/relationship between Gwen and Duncan is getting closer and closer to being only a friendship.

Not So Happy Campers - Part 1
Gwen seemed impressed by Duncan's method of killing the cockroach (slicing it in half with an axe).

The Big Sleep
Gwen and Duncan are the remaining two campers out of twenty-one who remain awake during the Awake-A-Thon. After Chris McLean offers a bathroom break, Duncan assures Gwen he can hold it all day and calls her "sweetheart" (though this may not mean much, as he uses terms of endearment such as this on most girls). Gwen asks Duncan if he could hold it after another ten chapters of a Canadian history book, and this challenge makes Duncan surrender and use the bathroom, where he later fell asleep.

Who Can You Trust?
During the rock climb challenge, Heather pulls a prank on Gwen that causes her to lose her skirt while climbing the mountain, leaving Gwen with her panties fully viewable to everyone watching the challenge. Duncan is notably commenting on the scene and seems pleased with it, while there is no reaction shown from Trent.

That's Off The Chain!
Duncan and Gwen were playing catch with a Frisbee in the beginning. Then, when Duncan goes to check on Geoff, Gwen says, "Since when did he have feelings?", implying she was noticing his soft side without knowing about DJ's bunny.

Hook, Line, and Screamer
Both Duncan and Gwen enjoy the gory movie that the other campers seemed horrified to watch, excluding Izzy, talking with one another about their favorite gore scenes from other slasher flicks. Heather insults both of them, saying they actually have more in common than "bad fashion sense". Their knowledge in slasher movies allow them to be the final two campers remaining in the contest, although Duncan appears to trick Gwen into leaving the campfire so that he could face the killer and win. Gwen, however, did seem to be interested in why Duncan went to Juvenile Hall.

Like everyone else, Duncan was terrified when he saw that Gwen was facing the real psycho killer, and rushed to warn her of the danger. He congratulated her with a high five when she successfully fought off the killer. When DJ was eliminated, Gwen and Duncan were standing next to each other, and Gwen had her arm draped over Duncan's back.

Camp Castaways
When it comes down to the Final Four, Duncan takes delight in watching Gwen and Heather fight. In the confessional, he admits both of them are attractive, but cannot bring himself to trust either one of them. Gwen and Duncan (as well as Heather) spend most of the episode arguing over what to do when they are suddenly stranded on a deserted island. Eventually, Gwen makes a raft so she can get herself off the island, but has no food. Duncan, meanwhile, had plenty of food but no way out of the island. Duncan traded Gwen his egg to hitch a ride with her, as they both happily left Heather behind. They argue a bit while paddling across the lake, with Duncan insisting that Gwen had no idea where she was going (which was proven to be true when Gwen accidentally paddled back to the same island they just left, only in a different area). Duncan takes his egg back as he runs off from Gwen, but is soon attacked by the monstrous mother bird (somewhat resembling a Canadian Goose) that wants the egg. After a brief moment where they try to give the egg back to each other, Duncan is carried off by the mother bird. Gwen actually uses a rope in an attempt to save Duncan, but ends up getting pulled up into the air as well, and they both ride haphazardly on the bird until they meet back up with Heather and Owen. Also when the snake fell on them all four of campers were terrified and ran up to the tree house where many believe Duncan is shown to have his arm around Gwen.

At the suggestion of Owen, all four campers sat in the tree house and confessed their sins. It was at this point that Gwen finally found out why Duncan went to Juvenile Hall, but the exact details are unknown to the viewer.

Are We There Yeti?
After Duncan is eliminated, Gwen tells him that he played the game well, and that she was sorry he had to lose over something as trivial as sticky buns (which was actually Owen's fault). They bump knuckles as a sign of friendship. Even though they spent most of this episode playing tricks on each other (due to being on different teams), it appears that it was this episode where Duncan and Gwen officially respected each other as competitors and decent people. Gwen was the only one of the three who parted with Duncan on a good note.

Alien Resurr-eggtion
Trent starts to grow jealous of Duncan due to Duncan and Gwen's budding friendship. Gwen tells Duncan he is skinny in her own way at breakfast by saying 'he could use the extra carbs' when Duncan tries to offer Gwen his toast. Though having almost no history of conflict with him before, Trent is quick to say nasty things behind Duncan's back at the Confessional cam when he becomes wary of Duncan and Gwen getting along too well for his liking. Trent attempts to fit in with Duncan and Gwen's conversations about obscure alien movies, but both of them see right through him. They also seem eager to take the alien down together, with Trent trailing behind. However, near the end of the episode, Duncan is eliminated in the challenge. Gwen pokes fun at him for losing, which Duncan laughs off (Trent liked to view the exchange as more malicious on Gwen's end than it really was). When Trent is forced to choose to save either one of the last alien eggs or Gwen's lucky necklace, he chooses the necklace. Duncan admits he would have gone for the egg. When Gwen gives Trent her necklace for good luck, Duncan subtly makes fun of Trent's sensitivity.

Riot On Set
When choosing teams, Gwen picks Duncan first, which upset Trent, and pleases Duncan. Throughout the episode, Trent shows disapproval for every time the two interact, such as when Duncan catches Gwen when she falls. On the set of the challenge, Gwen motivates Duncan to do the challenge by telling him that he is 'hot, sexy, and stud-like'. At the end of the episode, Gwen tells Trent not to worry about Duncan, assuring him that Duncan is "no Trent." She also mentions that Duncan still has a picture of Courtney under his pillow, though it is unknown how she would know something so personal, as Duncan is known for being reserved and going out of his way to hide anything that trivializes his rough and tough exterior.

Beach Blanket Bogus
At the beginning of the episode, Duncan laughs after his successful prank, Trent's saltshaker spills onto his eggs, resulting in a playful slap from Gwen. Later, at the surf board balance challenge, the two share a laugh over Harold's rant about his butt. When Duncan wins the challenge for the Screaming Gaffers, they slap fists, then embrace, which makes Trent call the team a "ticking time bomb of betrayal". After they return to Camp Wawanakwa, Gwen and Duncan sneak off together during the sand castle challenge in order to take apart the bus they used to get there so they could sleep in the cabins. Later, while Gwen is stressing over Trent's sudden strange actions believing they're her fault, Duncan tells her that she is giving herself too much credit, though he does confirm that Trent's mild insanity over his obsession with the number nine is because that is the total amount of letters with Gwen and Trent's names combined.

The Aftermath: I
Trent explains to his audience during Total Drama Action Aftermath that one of the reasons for his failed relationship with Gwen was because Duncan and Gwen's budding friendship. Courtney, who was present on the set, shows vehement disapproval of this friendship. Although, unlike Trent, she seems angry with Duncan himself rather than Gwen. Trent also places full blame on Duncan for ruining his and Gwen's relationship, even if that was not Duncan's intention, as Trent explains that Duncan's reasoning for the number nine obsession was completely inaccurate and actually never had anything to do with Gwen, and therefore Duncan made Gwen panic over a nonexistent issue.

The Chefshank Redemption
While most of the Screaming Gaffers are suspicious of Gwen's behavior (due to her guilt over the nature of Trent's elimination and subtly trying to throw the challenge for her team in this episode), Duncan is surprisingly one of the few who is not suspicious of her at all and stands up for her. At the end of the episode, Gwen is eliminated, but Duncan is one of the two, along with DJ, who did not vote her off. As she is handcuffed by Chef Hatchet and taken to the Lame-o-sine, Duncan stops them to offer himself in her place, as a way of saying that he really wants to be out of the competition (this may also be interpreted as his standing up for her and sacrificing himself for her), but quickly assures them that he was kidding as soon as Chef attempts to actually take Duncan instead. Gwen tells him that he won't get out of the competition that easily and wishes him good luck. Duncan sweetly smiles while he watches her leave.

One Flu Over the Cuckoos
When the team is talking about the side-deal Gwen had with the Killer Grips, Duncan said he still couldn't believe it and he "didn't know she had it in her," appearing to be more amused and/or impressed by her actions rather than embittered and/or betrayed.

The Aftermath: II
Gwen and Duncan's relationship was one of the major topics in this episode when Gwen appeared as a guest speaker. When Geoff told Gwen that her former teammates may not like her anymore, Gwen points out that Duncan didn't vote her off. Geoff and Bridgette showed a never-before-seen clip of Gwen and Duncan stargazing. After Gwen made fun of Duncan for openly gushing over Courtney, Duncan compensated with friendly roughhousing, which resulted in Duncan accidentally knocking Gwen to the ground, with Duncan soon landing on top of her and he said 'ooh' in a way that may have meant he liked it. The two laugh, but then awkwardly pause and stare at each other as the video is paused and no further footage is shown. It is noted by Geoff that their lips were in very close proximity at the time, as if they were about to kiss at any moment. She then says that nothing happened afterward, and that they picked themselves up, stole everyone's underwear and strung it up the flagpole together. This infuriated Courtney, but Gwen insisted that nothing happened and that she and Duncan are still just friends. It is worth something that the anvil did not fall on Gwen after saying this, and it wasn't simply forgotten as Geoff brought the anvil to the audience's attention. Meaning, that Geoff probably purposely ignored that fact in order to continue making Gwen uncomfortable over her friendship with Duncan.

One Million Bucks, B.C.
Duncan and Gwen's friendship has been brought up again when the recently returned Courtney accused Duncan twice of cheating on her for Gwen during the prehistoric challenge. Duncan said his relationships are none of her business, implying that a relationship may exist.

Million Dollar Babies
Right before battling Courtney in the ball pit, Duncan said in the confessional that he knows or feels sorry about what happened to Trent and Gwen. While in the ball pit, Courtney pins Duncan down. Duncan needs to build up anger so he repeats "Trent and Gwen...Trent and Gwen..." trying to avoid a breakup or disaster like they did.

Mutiny on the Soundstage
Duncan reveals that he knows many things about Gwen, including her favorite band, what kind of car she wants, and what kind of guitar her brother has, knowing everything about her except what was required. Gwen's pet lizard's name is the only question Duncan didn't know.

The Aftermath: IV
Gwen asks both Duncan and Beth a question on what they would do to help the environment. Duncan says he'd give it to Greenpeace. Gwen is impressed with his answer. She also most likely voted for him to win.

Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special
In Gwen and Heather's blog war, Heather makes fun of Gwen's supposed crush on Duncan and starts making out with a picture of him. Later in a blog about Duncan, Gwen says that they are just friends, but in a later blog about Courtney and Duncan's break-up, she says that Courtney isn't thinking about how much Duncan cares and is crazy about her, and says that Duncan is "hot", but quickly regrets saying it. She also says that Duncan is the best thing that ever happened to Courtney, likewise for him. Later on the bus, Heather once again makes fun of Gwen and Duncan by saying, "she's trying to defend her boyfriend. Oh wait, Duncan's your [Courtney's] boyfriend." Later in a confessional, Courtney says that she's keeping an eye on Gwen, calling her a boyfriend stealer. Duncan does not seem to care that gwen likes him, admitting that his heart still belongs to Courtney, however, he considers Gwen a very close friend that he can trust. Oddly, Courtney and Gwen seem to be friends in the Total Drama the Musical preview, however, that could just be that Courtney is keeping an eye on her like she said. They are also shown tied to Duncan in the shape of a triangle, foreshadowing a possible love triangle in season 3.

Hide and Be Sneaky
Gwen agreed to vote Duncan off along with Bridgette and LeShawna.

Camp Castaways
Duncan said in the confessional that he said it was great to be stuck on an island with two hot chicks (Heather and Gwen) but he then backed it up by saying that they were both "completely insane". Plus, when Duncan offered food to Gwen in return for a ride on her raft, Gwen said the last thing she wanted to do was to ride with him. She took the offer anyway because she was hungry.

The Very Last Episode, Really!
Gwen did not consider Duncan as one of the sane people, calling Duncan psychotic, though not to his face. Duncan was on Owen's side from the beginning rather than Gwen's, even before Owen announced his plans for the party.

Riot On Set
After Gwen picks LeShawna and Trent picks Justin, Gwen says, "Oh, pick all the good looking people!" Duncan and LeShawna glare at her. Here she openly says that Duncan is not good looking. However, this could also be taken to mean that Gwen thinks Trent is picking all the people that are attractive, a quality that two of Trent's team members are both well-known for.

3:10 to Crazytown
Right after everyone (including Duncan) encouraged Gwen when she goes to jump onto the horse for the challenge, he said that they'll need a new captain. Gwen angrily said that she heard that while getting ready to jump.

One Million Bucks, B.C.
When Duncan is surprised by Courtney for accusing that he and Gwen hooked up, Duncan goes to the confessional and states that he didn't hook up with Gwen. Also he shows signs that he still has his eyes for Courtney.

The Aftermath: IV
In this episode, Duncan and Courtney get back together. Gwen's attitude towards Duncan in this episode is that of friendship rather than romantic interest, as well as Gwen demonstrating she seeks Trent's forgiveness for her betrayal to him earlier in the season.

Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special
In Gwen and Heather's blog war, Heather makes fun of Gwen's supposed crush on Duncan and starts making out with a picture of him. Later in a blog about Duncan, Gwen says that they are just friends, but in a later blog about Courtney and Duncan's break-up, she says that Courtney isn't thinking about how much Duncan cares and is crazy about her, and says that Duncan is "hot", but quickly regrets saying it. She also says that Duncan is the best thing that ever happened to Courtney, likewise for him. Later on the bus, Heather once again makes fun of Gwen and Duncan by saying, "she's trying to defend her boyfriend. Oh wait, Duncan's your [Courtney's] boyfriend." Later in a confessional, Courtney says that she's keeping an eye on Gwen, calling her a boyfriend stealer. Duncan does not seem to care that gwen likes him, admitting that his heart still belongs to Courtney, however, he considers Gwen a very close friend that he can trust. Oddly, Courtney and Gwen seem to be friends in the Total Drama the Musical preview, however, that could just be that Courtney is keeping an eye on her like she said. They are also shown tied to Duncan in the shape of a triangle, foreshadowing a possible love triangle in season 3.

Camp TV
While the show was still under development, both were main characters, featured in the promo. When Trent shows up, they both glare at him, and in the original flier, Gwen had her arm on Duncan's shoulder.

Trivia

 * They both share numerous physical and personality-based similarities, as pointed out by other characters on more than one occasion:
 * Both are in friendships that involve three people, and the friendships can be considered gender equivalents of each other (Gwen is close with LeShawna and Bridgette while Duncan is close with DJ and Geoff.) In spite of this, both have said numerous times that they either have no friends or prefer to be alone.
 * They both wear dark clothing and hold interests in the subliminal and supernatural, as they love horror and alien movies. Specifically, they both consider Blood Bath II: Summer Camp Reign of Terror and Alien Chunks their all-time favorites out of those genres.
 * They both wear long sleeves.
 * Before the debut of Sierra, they were the only characters who dyed their hair unnatural colors.
 * They are the only known characters to be ambidextrous other than Harold.
 * Gwen and Duncan are both in conflicts that existed since the beginning of the show (with Heather and Harold, respectively).
 * Gwen and Duncan are the only campers other than Izzy and Noah to like (or be liked by) Eva.
 * They both have a love-hate friendship with Eva.
 * They are both considered tough by the other competitors, and they both have proven this on several occasions. Incidentally, both have also proven to have softer sides that they prefer to keep well-hidden.
 * It is possible that they are both disliked by many of the characters because they think they are "cheating" on Trent and Courtney together.
 * They are both considered individualists.
 * They have similar stereotypes (Gwen is a "goth" and Duncan is a "punk").
 * Their names are both originally from languages native to the United Kingdom.
 * "Gwendolyn" is Welsh and means "white ring"; "Duncan" is derived from a Gaelic name meaning "dark skinned warrior".
 * Both have artistic talent; Duncan carves symbols on wood while Gwen creates illustrations.
 * Both have eventually reached the final two of both seasons: Gwen in Total Drama Island and Duncan in Total Drama Action.
 * They also shared similarities in the competition.
 * They were both in the final four in Total Drama Island, as well as seen in every episode of the first season.
 * They were both the final two competitors in two competitions: the Awake-A-Thon and the psycho killer challenge.
 * Duncan was the last Killer Bass getting eliminated and Gwen was the last Screaming Gopher, losing the 100,000 dollars against Owen.
 * Both have been blackmailed in exchange for something:
 * Justin blackmailed Gwen so that karma wouldn't backfire on her.
 * Courtney blackmailed Duncan to get out of the exploding building in exchange for half the prize money.
 * Both were, at one point, in a broken-up relationship. Duncan, however, rekindled his relationship with Courtney in The Aftermath: IV.
 * Both are only one of three competitors to be eliminated only once (the other being Beth).
 * Both have skulls on their clothing.
 * Duncan has one on his shirt.
 * Gwen has one on her panties.
 * They both like DJ and Owen, are liked by Eva, and dislike both Heather and Justin.
 * They both have/had two pets. Duncan had Scruffy (a tarantula) and Petey (a dog), and Gwen has Angus and Vampyra (a pair of lizards).
 * Their relationship/friendship, plus Courtney's relationship with Duncan, is considered by many people as a love triangle between Courtney, Duncan and Gwen.