Top Dog

'''The final four participate in an animal-themed challenge. The drama intensifies when someone is exposed for the mole they are. At the elimination ceremony, a certain antagonist finally meets the end of the line, and a spy is fired for being discovered. This all leads up to the final two of Total Drama Action being revealed.'''

Plot
This episode opens with Owen waking up from his sleep and being surprised that Duncan is not picking on him, which leads him to wondering where he could be. All of a sudden, Duncan walks sleepily into the guy's trailer. He reveals that he and Courtney spent the night talking about "relationship stuff." Duncan then shows Owen the large relationship rule contract that Courtney wrote out for him and he states that Courtney wants him to follow and memorize all of it. Afterwards, all of the contestants head to breakfast where Courtney is seen imposing the rules already, much to Duncan's annoyance. Beth also reveals that she heard everything that they had said, except for some minor parts which she is able to list exactly by paragraph and sub-section. The cast also eats "scrambled eggs" cooked by Chef. Chris then appears with a parrot (which he later gets into a fight with), saying that today will an "animal-buddy" movie genre, because he couldn't think of any more themes other than a "guy in a coma" movies. He shows the cast that they will all receive animals for the challenge. The contestants will have to train them in order to act just like them and they'll get to choose which animal they would like.

Beth inadvertently succeeds in training her raccoon, as she becomes friends with it. Duncan is trying to get his chameleon to change its color to the color of his mohawk, while Courtney tries to teach her shark to cheer. Owen is also shown in secret, sabotaging the other castmates during the challenge. It is then time for the cast to show what they have taught their animals. Beth gets a ten, due to her relationship with her raccoon, shown while they were looking for Beth's retainer and were practically mimicking each other's movements. Owen gets a six for "teaching" his bear to do a mild impression of him, which was only waking up and farting. Duncan gets an eight for getting his chameleon to be the correct color. Courtney doesn't receive a score, as she ended up in a fight with her shark.

Courtney does not participate in the next part of the challenge, as she is fighting off a pack of sharks, courtesy of Chris. The rest of the castmates are taken out into the woods. They are accompanied by their animals and must find their way back to the Abandoned Film Lot. Beth and her raccoon get sidetracked, while Duncan and his chameleon just walk along aimlessly until Duncan loses sight of it. Owen and his bear try to figure out how to sabotage the other three competitors. Beth is then shown, talking directly to the video camera, frightened out of her mind, thinking she will die in the woods. However, her raccoon shows her a path they can take, prompting her to pretend she knew it existed.

Meanwhile, Courtney has dispatched two of the three sharks and is left fighting the last one shark, which grabs hold of her PDA and threatens to eat it. She is infuriated and tries to get it back, only to end up going over a waterfall. Owen sabotages Duncan (who can not find his chameleon) by luring him into a deep hole, which causes Duncan to go crazy. Duncan, out of hunger, eats the papers Courtney gave him. Owen then gets stuck in a trap himself with his bear. They manage to escape by eating their way out by eating berries until their combined weights break the branch that is holding them up. Beth and her raccoon end up going into the raccoon's home, which is very nicely furnished with a television, ping-pong table, and many snacks. She spends some time there, yet she still ends up being the first to return to the trailers, making Beth the winner of the challenge and invincibility. Chris and Beth then wait for the other contestants to return.

Two days after Beth had originally arrived, the rest of the castmates return to the trailers. Courtney is shivering out of "PDA withdrawal," Duncan is acting savagely, and Owen grew a beard again. Chris announces Beth as the winner. Afterwards, Beth and Courtney begin to bicker after Beth's raccoon is shown to have found Courtney's PDA. While they are talking, Courtney gets a message from her lawyers outing Owen as a traitor and Beth and Courtney accuse him of such, figuring out that Harold was telling the truth about Owen in 2008: A Space Owen. Duncan, still acting like a savage, knocks Beth out with a tranquilizer dart from his blowgun. Courtney kisses him to snap him out of it and asks Duncan for the letter, since she wants to do some changes to it. Duncan then reveals that he lost them, but Courtney was already prepared with a number of copies. Owen then reveals that the chameleon had been in Duncan's mohawk all along.

They all go to the Gilded Chris ceremony that evening. Courtney is voted out, mainly due to Duncan disliking how many rules she was imposing on him and because she was considered a bigger threat than Beth. While she is forced into the Lame-o-sine, Owen asks Chris why he did not receive a Gilded Chris Award. Chris then fires him for having been discovered, so he also leaves the competition. As Courtney is leaving, she breaks up with Duncan. After Courtney and Owen are taken away, Chris proclaims Beth and Duncan the final two, then pushes them away from the frame and tells the viewers to tune in for the finale.

Quotes
(Cuts to Duncan entering the trailer, groaning) Owen: Where were you all night? An alien abduction? It was, wasn't it?! You were subjected to an endless night of alien probing! Oh, the humanity! Duncan: Chill, Owen. I spent the night in Courtney's trailer. Owen: (grins) Really? What did you two do all night? C'mon, c'mon! Duncan: Down, boy! We talked. About relationship stuff mostly. It's a little hazy... I'll let you know after I read THIS (holds up a stack of papers). Owen: Dude, Courtney gave you... homework? Duncan: (in confessional, holding the stack of papers) Courtney wrote me a thirty-two-page letter outlining all my faults and how to correct them if we're ever going to have a serious relationship. All of which she expects me to memorize! I think I would have preferred a night of alien probing. Chef: (Laughs hysterically) "Scrambled eggs!" (laughs) Chris: That's my new BFFF: Best Flying Friend Forever. Beth: (In confessional) Actually, it makes perfect sense. Those two are made for each other! The only difference is one would eat you alive in a heartbeat, and the other's a shark. Owen: Dude, Scruffy was a bug. Duncan: Nobody talks about Scruffy like that! Nobody! Duncan: Hour for what? Courtney: "Page two, section five" ring any bells? You promised to pay me a compliment once every hour. Duncan: Oh... yeah, right... um... you have... nice teeth. Beth: Owen betrayed us... but Courtney's the bigger threat! (Votes) Owen: I like Duncan, but Beth and Courtney eat less. More for me! (votes) Courtney: See you never, traitor! (Votes) Duncan: (snores, then wakes up, voting) Huh? Chris: The Gilded Chris goes to... Beth, and... Duncan! Courtney, since Beth and Duncan both voted for you, it's time for your ride home! Owen, I'll deal with you in a moment. Courtney: WHAT?! Duncan voted for ME?! UGH! (Tosses away her voting device) Duncan: (in confessional) Court's popularity's in the toilet; I can't have her dragging me down. But the real reason? The thirty-two-page letter. And people call me psycho!? (cut to Courtney in the Lame-o-sine) Courtney: (to Duncan) How could you do this to me? After everything?! We are so DONE! (Chef closes the door) Owen: (being led to the Lame-O-Sine by Chris) Uh, Chris? I think you forgot to give me my Gilded Chris Award... Chris: Sorry, Owen. You've been fired. Owen: But... whyyyy? Chris: (pushes Owen into the Lame-O-Sine, while Courtney is yelling in the limo) What's the point of having a spy who's been spied? (The Lame-O-Sine drives away) Duncan! Beth! The Final Two! (the two grin) One of you will become a millionaire, and the other... will not! (they glare at Chris, and he pushes them aside) Tune in for our most controversial episode ever of ''TOTAL! DRAMA! ACTION!''
 * Owen: (farts and wakes up) Wait, no pillow whipped at my head? No angry threat to stick a cork in it? (Gasps and stands up) Where's Duncan?!
 * Duncan: Great... maybe I'll get lucky and today's genre will be "guy in a coma" movie.
 * Beth: Wow, Chef! These scrambled eggs actually look pretty good!
 * Beth: (in confessional; about Duncan and Courtney's talking) I totally heard every insane word. Well, almost every word. I dozed off around page nine, section three, paragraph four, and then again on page twenty-two, section eleven, paragraph eight. Poor Duncan.
 * Duncan: (referring to the parrot Chris has on his shoulder) Dude, what's with the flying rat?
 * Chris: The first animal buddy movie challenge will be to pick an animal and teach it to be just like you. That shouldn't be too hard, since you're all animals! (Expects a laugh)
 * Chris: (in confessional) You try coming up with twenty-six movie genres! It was either "animal buddy" or "guy in a coma" movies!
 * Courtney: I got the shark! The shark's mine!
 * Duncan: I'll take the chameleon, in tribute to my beloved reptilian friend, Scruffy.
 * Courtney: (talking to shark) Look, let's not waste each others time. I don't like you, you don't like me, but help me get into the finals and I will make you a very rich shark.
 * Courtney: Duncan! Hour's almost up!
 * Duncan: (in confessional) Hey, I like Courtney, I really do, but I also like a million big ones. Best case scenario, I win the money and the girl. But if it comes down to it, I need the money more than I need some high-maintenance chick with a superiority complex, heh. (suddenly grows nervous over what he just said) Ehhh... don't tell her I said that, okay?
 * Courtney: Ready? Here we go! (spells out "FISHY" with her body as she cheers) F-I-S-H-Y! You ain't got no alibi! You fishy, uh-huh! You fishy, uh-huh! Come on, get your fins up! Fins up! Come on, get your fins up! (Stops cheering) Get your fins up!
 * Beth: (to raccoon) I have an uncanny sense of direction. I'll have us back in camp in no time. (Runs into a tree) Ow. (Gasps) Oh no! The path is gone! The woods are shrinking! We're trapped here forever! (Hyperventilates)
 * Duncan: (to Chameleon) Look, I'm sorry alright. Just show yourself so I can get back to the lot and get some sleep. You're my only hope!
 * Owen: (in confessional) I learned a lot today. One: never eat wild berries without knowing if they're poisonous. Two: explosive diarrhea is not a recommended outdoor activity. And three: you're gonna wanna stay out of those woods for a while. (farts) A long while...
 * Owen: (in confessional) I'm kind of glad that they found out I'm the producers' mole. Now I can go back to being myself! Although on the way here, I short-sheeted Beth's bed, cleaned a toilet with Duncan's toothbrush, and filled the salt shakers with onion powder. What can I say? It's hard to quit cold turkey.
 * Chris: This is a big one, cast. Beth is safe from elimination, which means the rest of you are fair game. So sharpen those claws and cast your votes. Someone is going home for the last time!
 * Courtney: Better be Duncan who wins. He signed an iron-clad contract, and I'm taking my 50% of the million bucks! I don't care if it gets locked up in the courts for years. My lawyers will take my calls, when they realize how much money I'm going to make them. "On vacation for three weeks?!" I'm not paying them to take personal time! (throws the PDA out the window) Fine, I'll represent myself. Who needs lawyers, anyway? All I need is this little paper that holds my entire future. (The contract gets blown out the window) Nooooooooooooooo!
 * Chris: Then, through many misadventures, animal and human come to care about each other, and become fast friends. (tickles parrot under chin and then parrot bites finger, the parrot squawks) You guys, just hang tight for a sec, okay? (walks away and beats up the parrot).

Trivia

 * The episode's title could be a reference to the movies Top Cat, Top Gun, or Top Dog.
 * This is the first episode in the series to feature real human blood.
 * This episode marks the second time in a row that both Duncan and Owen make it to the final four.
 * Coincidentally, while Duncan was eliminated in the final four while Owen won in the previous season, it was reversed in this episode.
 * Like her fellow antagonists Heather, Justin, and Alejandro, Courtney had a major downfall in the episode in which she was eliminated.
 * Courtney wasn't able to score a single point in this episode's challenge, having spent most of the episode fighting with her animal buddy instead.
 * She lost her beloved personal digital assistant and went through severe withdrawal symptoms as a result of her losing it.
 * She eventually got it back, although only after the challenge was over.
 * The deciding vote for her elimination came from her love interest, Duncan, after she imposed rules on their relationship that were deemed by him to be far too strict.
 * Ironically, Duncan was the person who most vehemently opposed her elimination in the first season.
 * Duncan and Courtney break up in this episode.
 * Duncan choosing the million dollars over her can also be seen as karma for Courtney's similar actions in Total Drama, Drama, Drama, Drama Island.
 * Although she was responsible for Owen's unfair elimination, she herself would be eliminated when she tried to eliminate him again.
 * Owen's role in the show is revealed by Courtney's lawyers, and Chris fires him from the position.
 * This reveals that Owen was not really competing again, but was, in fact, more like a staff member.
 * However, Harold theorized Owen's "betrayal" in the previous episode.
 * Beth makes a reference to The Blair Witch Project, when she is alone in the woods with her animal.
 * Each castmate received an animal during the challenge:
 * Courtney: Shark
 * Beth: Raccoon
 * Owen: Bear
 * Duncan: Chameleon
 * All the votes in this episode were easy to figure out:
 * Courtney: Owen, for being a traitor.
 * Owen: Duncan, because he eats more than Beth or Courtney.
 * Duncan: Courtney, because of all the strict rules she imposed on their relationship.
 * Beth: Courtney, because she was the biggest threat.
 * Duncan was the only one who didn't find out prior to the Gilded Chris ceremony that Owen was a spy working for Chris, probably because he went insane in the episode. Had he known, it may have influenced his vote.
 * The episode before the finale of the first two seasons both have "Dog" in the title.
 * In Total Drama Island, the episode before the finals is I Triple Dog Dare You!
 * In Total Drama Action, the episode before the finals is Top Dog.
 * Interestingly, both of the seasons' respective antagonists are eliminated in these episodes.
 * In the raccoon hideout, the raccoons are viewing Chris's badminton movie, which was first mentioned in Million Dollar Babies, and first seen in Get a Clue.
 * This episode is the first time a bear is seen since Monster Cash.
 * After Duncan comes wildly swinging into the set from the forest, Courtney briefly refers to Lord of the Flies.
 * This is the second reference to Lord of the Flies in the series, the first was in Camp Castaways.
 * Like in Camp Castaways, this is the second time a contestant loses his mind and become insane.
 * Duncan mentions his pet spider Scruffy again (who is now deceased), and chooses the Chameleon in honor of him.
 * However, he refers to Scruffy as a reptile despite the fact that he was a tarantula. Owen corrects him on it by saying he is an insect, but Duncan takes it as him insulting Scruffy.
 * However, Owen is also wrong. Scruffy is a tarantula, which is an arachnid.
 * The chameleon is the only new animal featured in this episode. The shark and the bear have appeared multiple times on show, and the raccoon simply had a different facial design than the ones that have appeared before. In addition, the raccoons that appeared before did appear again here.
 * When Duncan is crazy, he has pupils in his eyes. This is unusual, as throughout both seasons, he has had eyes without pupils. They disappear throughout the episode, and eventually go away when he is no longer crazy. This was likely done to distinguish "crazy Duncan" from "regular Duncan."
 * For the first time in Total Drama history, the final two both come from opposing teams(where as the first season, the final three were all formerly from the same team). The two also come from opposing teams of last season's teams.
 * Two of Courtney's rules were revealed in the episode:
 * Only Courtney can utilize pet names.
 * Duncan must compliment Courtney once every hour.
 * Courtney was voted off by the votes, but Owen was eliminated because Chris fired him, not by a tie of votes.
 * This marks the first time in the Total Drama series that a contestant has been fired.
 * This is also the first time that there is no proper final three, due to Chris firing Owen.
 * This is the second time that a double elimination occurs. The first time is in Alien Resurr-eggtion. There are three more in the series after this, in Total Drama World Tour: Jamaica Me Sweat, Chinese Fake-Out, and Hawaiian Punch.
 * This is also the first of two double eliminations to feature Courtney as one of the two eliminated.
 * This is the first time in Total Drama Action that there have been two elimination episodes in a row since Alien Resurr-eggtion and Riot On Set.
 * Chris calling his parrot his BFFF (Best Flying Friend Forever) may be a reference to how Katie and Sadie call each other BFFFL's (Best Female Friends For Life).
 * Chris makes a reference to "Back to the Future" when discussing the recap.
 * When Chris tells Beth and her raccoon that they are the first team to arrive, the style that he uses is a possible reference to The Amazing Race.
 * The parrot from Haute Camp-ture is seen once again in this episode.
 * Chris is seen with a full grown beard in this episode.
 * The scene in which Duncan fell in the hole and goes crazy, wanting food, may be a parody of the movie Madagascar.
 * With Owen getting eliminated this episode, this marks the first time where a contestant outranked him. In this case, Beth and Duncan are the first two contestants to outrank Owen.
 * With Courtney's elimination, this marks the second season in a row in which Courtney spends twelve episodes in the competition.
 * The animals that the contestants chose could have hinted their placements in Total Drama Action, going by smallest to biggest.
 * Duncan had the smallest, a chameleon. He made it first place.
 * Beth had the second-smallest, a raccoon. She made it second place.
 * Owen had a bear. He made it to third place.
 * Courtney had the largest animal, a shark. She placed fourth.
 * This is the last episode where the contestants returns to Camp Wawanakwa grounds prior to Total Drama: Revenge of the Island.

Goofs

 * When the castmates and their animals are arriving at the forest on the bus, the raccoon is shown to wear glasses. When it is shown again, it is not wearing glasses.
 * Chris says that he had to make twenty-six movie genres. However, he didn't, because of the three aftermaths. He may be referring to the amount of episodes there are. However, even with this he'd be one short of the correct number, as this is the twenty fourth episode while the finale would be on the twenty fifth episode. It is possible that he had another planned, but canceled it due to Owen's cover being blown. Oddly, he easily comes up with the pirate movie genre in the next episode.
 * Courtney is eating the "scrambled eggs," though her rules say she does not have to eat Chef's cooking.
 * Chef says that the bear had one more day on its contract in Monster Cash. However, the bear returns in this episode. It is possible that his contract was renewed, or that it was a different bear.
 * The raccoon has a new facial design in this episode having white eyes and black pupils. However, when Chris introduces all of the animals together at the beginning of the episode, it has black eyes and white pupils.
 * When Owen is seen in the confessional right after he ate all the berries, if you pay attention to his Canadian logo on his shirt, you can see that it is pumping during the whole scene he is at the confessional.
 * When Duncan leans up from the bed, his goatee is missing.
 * While Owen was messing with the castmates there were a few goofs:
 * After Owen sprays Duncan's hair, it goes back to normal in the next scene.
 * Owen is also carried by a rope while messing with the castmates, but he could not be carried by a rope because he was not connected to anything.
 * After Owen got sick due to eating the berries, he was able to go the confessional, which is back at the studio set. However, he was lost in the woods for the same amount of time as Duncan and Courtney.
 * When Duncan is lying on his bed after Chris says that breakfast is ready, he appears to have two eyebrows instead of his usual unibrow.