User blog comment:CF12/Underdogs are Overrated/@comment-22535514-20140908130008/@comment-27329394-20140909035617

At worst any of the people in All-Stars prior to the season (with the exception of Scott) were base breakers.

I'd say all of the contestants who are just flat-out unpopular haven't appeared ever since they have fallen into that category (again, with the exception of Scott). Granted, there aren't very many that this has happened to, but still.

As I once again say, many characters who people want back seem underutilized because they have nothing to do because existing plotlines have been resolved or they just don't exist to go anywhere, but this doesn't mean they should come back. As I mentioned in this blog, Trent (just an example) really has nothing to do right now since, at least in Gwen's perspective, Trent has become irrelevant, and that was the entire purpose of his existence on the show. Characters that rely or relied on another character don't really do that great or make it that far when they come back because of their memories of said character overtaking them. Some examples include TDWT Bridette with her constant Geoff mentions, TDAS Sierra with her constant Cody mentions, and Sadie who did nothing.

When I mention popularity, I mean that as in why people would want certain people back. If you are limited on slots for returning contestants, if it came down to Brick or Eva, you'd probably go with Brick because both can go somewhere, but Brick is considered the more interesting character. I know that's a kind of unfair example, but the point is that it is a risky move to put in a character who honestly is low on fans, which is what many characters with low screentime have. More popular characters will have more interest in where they are going because, well, people are going to pay attention to them more. I know for a fact that, even if Brick and Beth had the same plotline in a future season, I would pay way more attention to what Brick is doing solely because I like his character more. Their lack popularity isn't due to their low screentime, either. Ezekiel (in TDI), Dawn, Ella, Cody (again, in TDI), and Noah (he was popular in TDI, too) showed that a character could rack up several spots as a favorite while only appearing in a few episodes. Very few characters go from straight-up ignored to popular in one season. The only example I can think of is Tyler, but even then, he was still reasonably popular.