Thread:TDIFan13/@comment-1037137-20131203062620/@comment-1376932-20131203213157

Hey, no problem. Obviously, my opinion is going to be different than yours, so what I consider derailment may confuse you, but I'll try to explain this to the best of my ability.

Gwen as a character has always received a heavy amount of criticism. In Island, some found her to be boring and cliché; in Action, some found her to be immature and self-centered; and most prominently, in World Tour, people found her to be impulsive and inconsiderate. Despite these accusations, no one ever seemed to accuse Gwen of being dependent on others or defenseless.

I've always considered her one of the most independent characters on the show, likely because of her loner status; whereas Heather relied on her allies and Owen relied on luck to make it to the final three, Gwen got there on her own. This season, though, she really faded into the background and her plot completely revolved around Courtney. I know she broke up with Duncan on her own and made friends with Zoey and Cameron, but those two story lines were never touched upon.

What's worse is that Gwen's character completely changed for Courtney. She began to act giddy, excited, enthused... I wouldn't have a problem with this if it was a gradual transition. Characters do develop, and Gwen doesn't have to be the closeted goth loner for the rest of her life, but the personality switch seemed to come out of nowhere. Personally, Gwen just confused me this season. All of a sudden, she cared about whether or not she was a hero or a villain.

This is Gwen we're talking about. Since when does Gwen care about what others think of her? If she really did care that much about being labeled a hero, why would she be date Duncan, whom she openly acknowledged was a villain in the premiere? Plus, she seemed to be more impulsive than ever during the twelve episodes she competed in. Duncan obviously screwed Courtney over, but he has always been a good boyfriend to Gwen. He took a leech for her and continuously tried to get her attention all season while she insulted and mocked him.

It obviously hurts to know that your boyfriend is still into his ex, but breaking up with him over that, and at that speed? Trent went nutso for her, asked to brand her name into his skin, called her and Duncan "punk wannabes", and it took her five whole episodes to break up with him. She ended things with Duncan within less than four hours, then insulted him in the regatta race for no reason.

That being said, I really can't blame Gwen here. This season is, without a doubt, the most inconsistent to date, and I'm really fed up with the writers this time around. It sucks because this season seemed so promising; a heroes versus villains theme, fan-favorites, newbies versus oldies... yeah, instead of getting new interactions, we just got the same old Courtney/Duncan/Gwen and Cameron/Mike/Zoey. Anyway, those are just my two cents. Do you get where I'm coming from?