User blog:King Flurry51/Why they should not use Gwen & Company again for the new season

So, they have made it official and I couldn't be happier about it: Total Drama is renewed again! But they also announced they're going to make come back the "favorites" of season one, the same announcement they did before TDAS aired and that means their usual favorite characters will return for sure: Courtney, Gwen, Duncan, Owen, Heather. Careless if I like or dislike these characters, I admit Total Drama would have never been the same without them but they have been pushed way too far in the series, they have been used too often, I mean, they almost appeared in every season that didn't introduce new characters! The first three seasons and the TDAS one isn't enough? Also their last performance proved that writers are out of new plots for them and should not be so stubborn to use them everytime. Therefore in my blog I will explain why they highly recommended should NOT bring back any of the top 5 characters of season one and try for once to do a canon season using ONLY the OTHER characters introduced in TDI like Bridgette, Harold, Izzy, Leshawna, underdogs like Noah, Tyler, excetera.

Courtney the Redundant
I'm not starting with Courtney cuz I hate her but I'm following the alphabetical order, just to inform you. Courtney has been served many occasions to shine and win a season but she has not only wasted these chances losing and destroying everything she cared for, but also wasted her screentime providing the same plots cycled and recycled multiple times: the split between love and competitiveness, the game of hate and friendship with Gwen, the triangle and the ping-pong with Duncan and always it ended with her getting nothing than defeat and punishment. I understand that her plots have been a massive contribute to the "drama" part of the series but I don't understand why people still demand for her return and why the writers should bring her back again. It's time to see fresh plots and so long Courtney has offered always the same cycles that I don't have anymore expectation on a future DEFINITIVE redemption.

Not after TDAS. In this season she summed up all her chances and burned them in one single episode: the (forced) friendship with Gwen ended with her planning to stab her, the (forced) relationship with Scott ended with her planning to use him, whatever there was still between her and Duncan was shallow and dismantled and her redemption ended in a big fake. At the end Courtney has got 4 seasons already and never won because she made always and always the same mistakes, because this is part of her character but at this point I think that many other people (even previous villains) deserve to get a chance in her place. Isn't that time to see if somebody else completely different than her can bring in some new fresh drama or we need always Courtney to have it? In TDI 22 characters debuted and half of them has got half the chances that were given to her.

Duncan the Screenhogger Lover
Duncan. A big character of season one, a joke from TDA on. In the first season Duncan was a top player and one of the most interesting and best developed characters, and placed 4th already. I didn't expect him to be this important immediately after, even winning TDA. But okay, still acceptable. Then came TDWT...first eliminated...fair and square. Then he returned in London and placed 5th. No more acceptable. And then TDAS where his performance was.....pathetic and he placed in the half of the season, bah. This is Duncan so far, once a likable character, next an unsufferable screenhogger. The amount of spotlight given to Duncan during TDA, TDWT and TDAS regarded always and only his love situation with Courtney and Gwen. Sometimes he varied the role of the jerk and the angel but this cannot justify all this screentime on him. With the screentime given to Duncan and his two overused plots (triangle and bad guy/good boy) they could have explored many other characters, give Lindsay and Harold their unique chance to shine, give better drama to the series. At first the triangle could have been interesting and involving but it became the sole purpose of existence of Duncan and his screentime. I felt it boring already in TDWT and they continued it in TDAS and in this season Duncan was a total joke instead than an all star. They clearly didn't know what to do with him different than the triangle plot (messed up fromt he beginning to the end) and the good/bad guy dilemma of him that was a plot already seen in ISLAND. Nothing new and it ended with Duncan's redemption as a good guy blowing up with Chris's mansion.

What a joke. I feel unfair that Duncan is probably returning again after so many seasons wasted in his favor and for doing what? Always the same things. No, Fresh TV, show me you can do a great season without him that it's not a spin-off or dedicated to a new generation because so far that's what they did.

Gwen the Destroyed
Gwen...Gwen..Gwen. What happened to the Gwen that faced adversities putting ants in Heather's bed? What happened to the Gwen that coldly refused to give Trent a second chance? What happened to the Gwen that was an icon of development back to Wawanakwa? She has been destroyed by the writers. Since TDA but mostly since TDWT I failed to recognize Gwen as before and this happened because they put her between Courtney and Duncan and since then they became her full plot: in TDA she broke with Trent because also of Duncan, in TDWT she was involved in the DCG triangle and in TDAS her whole plot was apologising with Courtney in a submissive way that the real Gwen would have never ever done. That's what you get when you abuse of a character in this way, they never let Gwen to rest a season out of "the drama" and they progressively consumed her main qualities until to come to TDAS where she acted the part of the lamb between the wolves, the victim in search of mercy, and then they did worse turning her and Courtney in ugly copycats of Katie and Sadie in Regatta Be Kidding Me.

After TDAS that eventually somehow managed at least to give her the "redemption" she needed at the cost of her same loner status (from someone who wanted to stay alone to a girl that it's in desperate need of friendship from Courtney and on) she need to stay out of spotlight for an entire season, the upcoming one, I mean utterly out of drama and miles away from Duncan, please. If they make her comeback so soon together the other two parts of the triangle I expect the worst for her. Either she comeback alone or better they put her aside for a season. Gwen is a character that needs not only redemption but also reconstruction from the beginning, from her origins in TDI, if we want to see her back at her best days. That's why I prefer she doesn't return at all in TD6. And I used to be a big fan of Gwen and still I am but in a nostalgic way, mind this. When a fan doesn't want one of his favorite to return that means a lot...

Heather the 360° Used
Owen and Heather are the core of Total Drama, no doubts, but the series doesn't circle around them like planets do with sun or am I wrong? Heather has been given three main plots in the first three seasons, a cameo in ROTI, and participated to TDAS with an early unexpected elimination but also an appearence in the heat final of it. She has been main villain, main protagonist, secundary villain, supportive character, cameo villain, every role possible. It's impossible to pretend more than this from her at this point. Heather is 360° explored in all her main traits, it's hard to find a better used character in the series considering Gwen's streak above and Owen see-saw from main to running gag every season. There's nothing left aside on her. This is the reason why I don't think it's wise to bring her back soon, Heather reached the limit of her dvelopment in TDAS finishing the love plot started with Alejandro in TDAS. I cannot see her as a future main villain anymore but what she could do then after of NEW? I do this question directly to her fans that are the majority in the wiki: '''which plot could be given to Heather if she returns in the new season aside from being main/secundary villain or her love with Alejandro? '''Think about it deeply.

Owen the Supporter
Last but not least Owen. Owen has been important only in TDI for real, in the next season he provided for lot of fun and less of drama by himself. In fact, Owen worked pretty well as a supporter of minor chars like Noah and Izzy, until they are around people doesn't complaint about all the screentime he gets, when they're eliminated Owen is seen as a screenhogger unecessary presence. This happened mostly after Noah's elimination in I See London but also TDA proved the limits of Owen as a funny goofy character but not deep and dramatic like the other main 5. In RR luckily they seem to have learned how to use Owen properly: as a supporter. He supported Noah's plot for the spin-off in an excellent way and that0s because he wasn't in the main role. This is Owen's dimension by now and I hope they won't make him comeback in TD6 if not together Noah, Izzy or others he can support with his friendship lines and gags.

I don't have much else to say about the reason why Owen should not return so soon unless as a minor character like in RR more or less.

In conclusion, I'm hyped by the fact Total Drama is officially returning for a new season but I put my hopes that the writers won't fall again in the mistake of TDAS to use the same main characters because they're the best source of drama and stuff, with the result to lack of new ideas and recycle their plots used in previous seasons, instead they find the courage to do a season mostly based on the other season one characters and see what they can do with them, certainly there's lot of potential left apart and it's time to get the occasion and make an awesome unprecedented new season of Total Drama Without Courtney Duncan Gwen Heather Owen! Finally. And let's see what will happen then.