User blog comment:ArtDraw12/Say something positive about/@comment-31556666-20170211142437

TDA Trent is one of the most underrated and underappreciated incarnations of a contestant I've ever seen and I have REASONS, but I'll start by defending him.

Firstly, the "He's OOC" complaint needs addressing. I'm gonna clarify right here right now Trent was NOT OOC in TDA. There was NOTHING in TDI that suggested Trent wouldn't be a clingy boyfriend with romantic issues because he never got in a relationship until the end of TDI. In fact, if anything the first season already hints at his clinginess romantic-wise; his need to write love songs every few episodes, him pushing a boulder and risking extreme back injury just so Gwen could win, threatening to rearrange Cody's face if he was lying about Gwen's feelings, etc. TDA was just an expansion of this in my opinion and therefore he doesn't feel out of place and it just felt like a new way of exploring his character. And it's not like he's the only example of this (see TDA Courtney and TDAS Scott here and here.

Secondly, the 'Nine Obsession'. So many thought it was way too far for Trent to be having a weird nine obsession that the abonimable TDA cretin that is TDA Duncan planted in people's brains. This I find especially sick of people to think without them even realizing it. Watch the first aftermath you ignorant pillocks, it's to do with his dead grandfather, calm the f**k down!

Then of course there's the Team Gwen vs Team Trent debate that defined the first-third of the season. I'll start by clarifying both sides were completely valid in their intent and I don't fault either and it in facts strengthens by appreciation for those characters, but I'll get to that in a second. For now I'll just defend the Team Trent side of this because he tends to get more flack from fans for his obsessive side. Well like I said, not OOC and plus so many romanticizers end up being clingy boyfriends. Trent is going to obviously make Gwen feel some sort of discomfort and the root of their problems all began when Gwen picked Duncan first to be on her team and Trent was shocked and angered by her. This is obviously extremely irrational and petty on his part but I completely get it. He saw how they hung out with each other and got along so well and all he is is 'The Jealous Type'. Can't fault him too much for that because it's so common in everyday life. Thus to make Gwen jealous, he picks 'The Beautiful Lindsay.'

After apologizing to Gwen at the end of the episode for his jealousy, Trent spends his last 2 episodes constantly trying to be the best boyfriend of all time and intentionally doing horrible at challenges just so Gewn will like him (<33333). This also attracted negative feedback for his willingness to just blindly sacrifice so much just for her but I completely get it again. All he wants to do is prove he should be the love of her life. The actions aren't the best but the intent itself is likable so I really can't fault him.

And that was defending TDA Trent. NOW I can finally say why he was iconic and NEEDS respect.

Trent was an OTTP turned OTTN iconic mess who repeatedly didn't know who he was or what he should do, repeatedly trying to upstage Gwen while also trying to win her heart. I thought it was ingenious and hilarious for them to take a not so important character in the first season with not too much presented about their personality and thus turn them into a completely unadulterated wackjob who did it all in the name of love (!!!!111!!!). At the same time, Trent also remained firmly likable in how he went about things. You see his mindset on things, you see him go through heartbreak and jealousy, and he really did want to do anything to win Gwen over. He was willing to sacrifice a challenge just to save a necklace belonging to her and the presentation of the moment makes it a Top 5 Nicest Moments (weird countdown I know). He cost challenges just for her, which may be hilarious, but it has a sweet layer to it since he never set out to be malicious at all. I don't even mind he was eliminated rather early because he wasn't fodder and was really important for the first few episodes and if he lasted much longer he might have been repetitive. His elimination is also actually rather shocking looking back since considering the amount of focus he got, you'd think he'd last longer. But this is TDA and almost everyone is pretty important, so goodbye you maniacal angel.