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 a few romantic hints. They have a lot in common, and seem to be 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 punishments in these relationships (especially in the case of Trent).

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.

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. Also, once outside the treehouse, there is a clip that shows Duncan and Gwen standing next to each other. One of Duncan's hands can't be seen and from the angle of his arm, it looks as if his hand is resting on her back/butt.

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 that 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 in the confessional stall 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, being somewhat of hypocrite, since he had given Courtney a sappy gift.

Riot On Set
When choosing teams, Gwen chose 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 an angry yet 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 share a brief friendly hug, 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 and believing she's to blame for them, Duncan tells her that she is giving herself too much credit, though he later points out that Trent's mild insanity over his obsession with the number nine could very well be the fact that the four letters in Gwen's name plus five in Trent's equal nine overall. While this later turns out not to be the case, it makes enough sense for Gwen to take to heart, especially when the theory is backed up by Harold who testifies that the obsession was apparent right around the time he first started to like her.

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 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 or that he had won. 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.

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. Later in a confessional, Duncan truthfully says that he and Gwen are just friends, saying that Courtney "drives him crazy" in a frustrated tone, and then that she "drives him craaaazy" in a dreamy romantic tone.

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, calling it ugly. While in the ball pit, Courtney pins Duncan down. Duncan needs to make himself not throw any challenges for Courtney so he repeats "Trent and Gwen...Trent and Gwen...", not wanting his relationship with Courtney to end, like what happened to Trent and Gwen.

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 some details about her except what was required. Gwen's pet lizard's name is the 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
At the beginning of this special it showed that Duncan and Courtney broke up at the beginning of the episode and they didn't want to even look at each other on the red carpet. During the blogging between Heather and Gwen, Heather made a comment dressed in a Gwen wig saying "I wish Duncan was here so I could kiss him, even though I'm too scared to tell him I love him." She also later said Gwen was sticking up for her boyfriend showing that Heather is one of the many people who think Duncan and Gwen are together. Meanwhile during her blog Gwen is getting tons of letters and emails asking if she liked Duncan, that they would make a great couple, and also that Courtney didn't deserve him. Gwen denies it and says that he has a girlfriend not knowing that Duncan and Courtney broke up. Then the two hosts of Celebrity Manhunt show her blog after she found out about the break-up. Gwen commented that she couldn't believe that Courtney let a guy like Duncan go. She then said that he was the greatest thing that ever happened to Courtney and said he was totally hot. Then nervously said that he was for perfect and hot for Courtney, saying that Courtney wasn't paying attention to how much she and him like each other... this may prove that Gwen is a little attracted to Duncan. Later in the confessional Courtney says that she'll have to keep a close eye on Gwen in season 3, and called her a "boyfriend stealer."

Theme Song
In the theme song, Duncan and Courtney are seen together on a boat. Their paddles are then eaten by alligators. When the screen goes back to them, Duncan finds out that he had crashed into Gwen standing in an inflatable raft. Duncan is looking at Gwen, while she starts to sink into the water and looks up at Duncan sadly. In the section where everyone makes a pyramid, they are seen together.

Walk Like An Egyptian - Part 1
When they walk off the bus, Duncan makes a joke about Heather and Gwen laughs. Gwen looks at him with a friendly smile, and he flirtatously smirks back (which Courtney does not approve of). Gwen and Duncan were the only contestants that didn't wanted to sing at first, until they were convinced by Chris' rules. During the pyramid climbing challenge, Duncan suggested that Gwen could use a hand on climbing the pyramid, something that Courtney wasn't very happy about it. The two do not seem to interact while climbing the pyramid, probably because Gwen was too busy arguing with Courtney. When Duncan said that he's quitting the show, Gwen looked shocked and sad about Duncan's decision.

Walk Like An Egyptian - Part 2
At the beginning of the episode, Gwen is still shocked and slightly sad at Duncan's decision to quit.

Hide and Be Sneaky
When Bridgette suggests to vote off Duncan and LeShawna says that she doesn't trust him, Gwen nodded her head and agreed.

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. Also, when Gwen was crossing the beam and the eagle attacked her, Duncan laughed and says that Gwen's near death was awesome TV action.

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.

Beach Blanket Bogus
At the beginning of the episode, Gwen finds Duncan's "morning assault" joke to be immature rather than funny. Gwen has the same reaction later in the episode when Duncan says that Gwen sent Trent to "Cloud-Nine", and when he described Trent's dance as "sucking".

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.

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.
 * 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 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".
 * It is interesting how Gwen's name means white and Duncan's means dark. It might be a reference to ying-yang.
 * Both have artistic talent; Duncan carves symbols on wood while Gwen creates illustrations.
 * Both have eventually reached the Final Two of both seasons: Gwen on 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 to be eliminated and Gwen was the last Screaming Gopher to be eliminated, 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.
 * They both like DJ and Owen, are liked by Eva, dislike both Heather and Justin, and had problems with Geoff.
 * Both of them have won a season (however, Gwen only won in the alternate ending of the first season's finale).
 * Ironically while Duncan is the highest ranking member of the Screaming Gaffers, Gwen is the lowest ranking member.
 * Gwen and Duncan have both done things they normally wouldn't have done due to hunger:
 * Duncan ate Courtney's thirty-two page letter after falling into a trap set by Owen in Top Dog
 * Gwen conceded to giving Duncan a ride on her raft in exchange for food in 'Camp Castaways'
 * Both have referred to one another as 'hot':
 * Gwen admitted to thinking Duncan was hot after hearing about his split with Courtney on Total Drama Action's Celebrity Manhunt Reunion Special
 * On Camp Castaways,Duncan regarded Gwen and Heather as 'hot chicks'
 * Gwen and Duncan both were forced into doing things thanks to Chris' paperwork:
 * Duncan and Gwen were forced to sing in Walk Like An Egyptian - Part 1 after Bridgette read (or rather sung) the rules to them that all contestants who didn't sing would be disqualified.
 * When Gwen first arrived on the island in Total Drama Island, she ripped up the papers binding her to compete in Total Drama Island. Unfortunately, Chris' lawyers had made extra copies of the papers leaving Gwen with no choice but to participate.
 * They both enjoy poking fun at Harold.
 * In The Aftermath: II ,while stargazing together,Gwen laughs and asks Duncan if it's just her or does the group of stars she's looking at look like Harold's 'pancake butt'.
 * Duncan enjoys pranking Harold unconditionally.
 * They both laugh openly in Beach Blanket Bogus when Harold protects his butt from sharks, saying his lady fans couldn't handle it if something happened to his rear end.
 * They have both been shown to be exhausted more than any of the other campers so far.
 * Gwen and Duncan seem to take the news of what happened to each other thanks to their partners more seriously than any of the other contestants:
 * In Seek and Do Not Destroy when Trent kissed Heather, Duncan seemed angrier than the other campers while voting Trent off, going as far as to say that Trent 'messed up'
 * Gwen seemed shocked and even a bit peeved that Courtney broke up with Duncan,asking if Courtney was 'crazy' and that Duncan was 'the best thing' that ever happened to her in Total Drama Action's Celebrity Manhunt Reunion Special (though her reaction was the only one shown)
 * Both have parted with one another on good terms:
 * In Are We There Yeti?, Gwen was the only one of the remaining campers that parted with Duncan kindly saying he played the game well.
 * After Gwen was voted off in The Chefshank Redemption, Gwen wished Duncan good luck in the future of the game (Duncan was also one of the two contestants,along with DJ, who didn't vote off Gwen)
 * Gwen and Duncan both seem to, although they never say they miss them, relish the fun times they had with their brothers and appear to be close to them