User blog:Raised By Wolves/Character Appreciation - Week 22: Gwen



Welcome to Character Appreciation, a blog series that will run for the whole year alongside Project 10. Each week we'll take a look at one Total Drama character, what we like and dislike about them, how they've grown, and what we hope to see from them in the future. I'm Raised By Wolves, and this week, we'll be looking at The Loner, Gwen!

Overview
Gwen starts off her journey on Total Drama in the premiere season, Total Drama Island. She becomes one of the protagonists of the season very quickly, winning more challenges than anyone has before on the show, and going on to the finale. She also gains a boyfriend in Trent. She wins the first season, but loses it in Total Drama, Drama, Drama, Drama Island. She gets another chance in Total Drama Action, but suffers an early elimination at the hands of Heather and her own vote, along with losing her boyfriend. She returns once again for Total Drama World Tour, and befriends Courtney after a rather rocky relationship with her. However, this all falls to pieces when Gwen kisses Duncan, beginning the notorious love triangle plot between the three characters. This results in Gwen's untimely elimination in Picnic at Hanging Dork. She returns in Total Drama All-Stars, which serves as her redemption season. She makes it to the final four, and befriends most of the second generation cast, along with almost redeeming herself to Courtney.

Opinions
Gwen is the original Total Drama protagonist, the original winner, and my original favorite character. There's so much to say about her, her brilliant personality and her immense time on the show – four seasons of greatness. As someone who is a loner himself, I can relate to Gwen. If we're being honest, I say I'm a loner when in reality, it's just my excuse for not wanting to socialize for fear of hatred (I'm a mess lol). Gwen starts off as one of the most reclusive campers on Camp Wawanakwa, starting off her time by mostly ignoring people as much as she can, making witty remarks and...ripping up a huge contract, effortlessly. As soon as Gwen was introduced, I KNEW she would be my favorite of the season, even as a little eight year old when the show came out. You can watch her gradual change in Total Drama Island as she becomes more and more accepting of a few people. Even these people had to go through great lengths to secure her friendship, mostly Trent, who spent an entire season trying to break through Gwen's barriers. Cody had to give up his dream girl, Leshawna supported her through thick and thin and Geoff respected her for who she was and showed her that everyone values her. Her relationship with Duncan is great in TDI, with them having real chemistry and a great bond.

Total Drama Island is no doubt Gwen's best season. She suffers endlessly, the best example of this being her diary being read out on national TV in Not Quite Famous. However, instead of taking Heather's s**t, she bit back hard, dumping Harold's red ant farm on her. Another great thing about Gwen is how many challenges she won her team before the merge. Gwen's victories are no doubt one of the best things about the show. Last camper standing in The Big Sleep, conquering her fear better than anyone in Phobia Factor, and then being the last camper standing once again in Basic Straining, and those are only her biggest victories before the merge. Then after the merge, Gwen stays safe and under the radar for a while, until she kicks it into high gear, giving us the most F**KING AMAZING VICTORY IN THE ENTIRE SHOW!!! I'm talking about her defeating a REAL Psycho Killer in Hook, Line, and Screamer, showing herself as THE MOST badass girl on the entire show, and winning over my heart entirely. Gwen has another incredible victory in Wawanakwa Gone Wild!, and at this point, especially after her amazing development in Trial by Tri-Armed Triathlon, there is NO ONE who deserves to win more than Gwen.

I prefer Gwen's ending over Owen's ANYDAY. However, I can't say the same for Gwen in Total Drama Action. While she has great interactions with DJ, Duncan and Heather, her main interaction with Trent was weak and got old fast, especially with Trent's obsession, which was in poor taste as I have discussed with my good friend Stryzzar, who pointed it out. Still, no matter what anyone says I still take Gwen's side over Trent's; she had every right to break up with him. Anyway, things get a bit better for her in Total Drama World Tour, where she gets new interactions with Cody, Courtney and Sierra. She is a valuable asset to Courtney's development, but also part of the worst plot in the entire season: the love triangle plot. I'm not even going to TALK about her performance in Total Drama All-Stars, she returns to her TDI roots, and honestly, I think she's overhated. I actually wrote a whole essay on her earlier (which I won't post here, but you can see it on my rankings or ask me for it).

Best Moment: Defeating the Killer.

Best Season: Total Drama Island

Best Episode: Hook, Line, and Screamer

Comments
What about you? Despite the title, this blog is open to all opinions! Share your thoughts about Gwen in the comments and use the userboxes // too. Don't forget to share your Best Moment, Best Season and Best Episode of Gwen! Next week, Sarcastic Don will be analyzing and giving her opinions on the The Dweeb, Harold.