User blog:Epic~00/In Defense of: Dave

Welcome to a new series of blogs in which I defend characters whom I believe receive undeserved hatred. People can hate whatever character they choose, but I have much different views to other people. Hence the title of this one in particular.



Dave isn't a very popular character. In fact, he's one of the most hated of the 3rd generation cast. So why is it that people think this? A number of things attribute to this.
 * Some people generally don't like Dave's personality. From Dave's beginning to his end, he may have been hated by the start by some people. Dave is snarky, high-maintenance, and slightly selfish. Some viewers considered him a complete buzzkill to things that happened throughout the season.
 * Skave. Sums up where most of the hatred is with Dave. Some viewers were easily creeped out by Dave and his treatment towards Sky. He was detested even further when he tried to murder Sky in the finale when he found out about her betrayal. This major storyline Dave had heavy involvement in explains where most of his hatred comes from and thus where most of this blog is coming from.
 * He is unlikable. Dave not only is fiery to Sky in Hurl and Go Seek but he attempts to murder her in The Final Wreck-ening. Like, that's not cool and it puts people off immediately.
 * He was derailed. He goes from lovey-dovey to murderous.

My Thoughts
So where exactly do I stand with Dave? Well I like Dave a little. Not majorly but I don't place him as low as many others do. And unlike others too, I do not prefer Sky over Dave. I disagree with a majority of complaints which are lodged against Dave that seem to also be in Sky's favor. But when it comes to how I enjoy their characters, Dave is far different to Sky.

My Defense
Dave, along with Shawn, are the only characters I can think of who lasted a long time while also having something about their personality drastically change. And I really don't agree at all with the argument that Dave was derailed. He obviously wasn't. So here's a few complaints about Dave that I just can't agree with.

''"He's really rude and impatient at least once in every single episode he appears in. Therefore he was hardly enjoyable for always being negative like this." ''

I don't believe Dave is made out to be some kind of rude person. He got mad at his team every episode because... it's Maskwak. It's full of wack-os. He has a soundboard, a wizard, a deluded pageant queen, Snow White, and a zombie survivalist. Dave getting mad at their idiocy is what would be going through the user's head too.

"He had no right to get mad at Sky. She never confirmed she was going to get together with him so he just acts like she owes him something".

I personally think Dave had every right to get mad at Sky. Maybe not murder-filled mad, but still pretty furious. Let's remember that "but" line. Sky had a good few episodes to actually finish her sentence. Nothing was going to interrupt her if she just told Dave the truth. He's angry because his emotions were messed with like this because Sky clearly does show initial signs of attraction for Dave that he occasionaly suspected, so he feels that it's some kind of lie. Prior to Sky telling Dave that she's not interested all the way in Episode 9, she shows multiple signs of attraction to Dave that he even catches onto. Dave doesn't exactly know what he has done wrong. What triggered Sky to even get mad at Dave was when he showed off in front of her. But we saw Dave's perspective that he was simply doing this in a flirty way to try and impress her. His mind is compltely warped, both by her making him cry and by her lying to him for 13 episodes.

"Dave is a creepwad who always obsesses over Sky and never leaves her alone".

I wouldn't really call him creepy, save for Hurl and Go Seek. When Sky moves teams and Dave is constantly trying to get closer to her, that isn't creepines. That's just Dave meaning well and trying to fix things. He went insane in Hurl and Go Seek because Dave has no idea what he's done wrong to deserve this and not knowing what emotion to feel, he has an odd burst of anger. I mean besides that, when has Dave ever been creepy towards Sky? Prepares a picnic? Good intentions. Shows-off? Good intentions.

Other Thoughts
Unlike others, I liked Dave's maniac behavior because at least it was built up to. He also had funny moments in early episodes, and his whininess never became too grating on me. His flaws were absolutely abhorrent but they were pretty realistic. I enjoyed watching such an over-confident pretentious a**hole make a fool of himself. Most complain that Dave's clinginess to Sky is creepy and is immediately dislikable, but if anything, it just makes him a "Hopeless Romantic". Sort of like Cody but with a bit more jerkiness to him. Plus we don't really entirely know just how good or bad of a person Dave is. He was incredibly in love with Sky, but that love sickness sort of made him lose a grip on the rest of the world. I mean take the first two-three episodes for example. For the most part, Dave is pretty natural the whole way. Even when he screws up when talking to Sky very early in the series, the season gives you Dave's thought process and that he's just a brutally honest person. A lot of people are brutally honest.

In fact, before Dave does any kind of action that seems dreadful, we immediately see his perspective on this. Dave misunderstands things, a lot. And it's not like he's a terrible person or anything. Not counting any moments Sky is involved in, does Dave really act like a horrible person? No. He really doesn't. Some people even hated him from his treatment towards Ella. Well firstly, the way Dave talks to Ella in the picnic scene isn't exactly spiteful. Remember, Dave is focused on Sky only. I know plenty of people who become so fixated on someone they're attracted to that they fail to notice the world around them. The fact that this happens to the so-called "Normal Guy" is a funny joke in and of itself.

This may sound odd, but my enjoyment in Dave is partially because I relate to him. The way he misunderstands socializing is something I relate to. I understand love-sickness. I know how hard it is to juggle between thinking an idea is horrible but rolling with it to make others happy. Dave may also be one of the most realistic jerks the show has ever had. He's cutthroat but not in any kind of fiery way. He has reasoning to back up any kind of complaints about others.

Another reason I like Dave is that he's one of the only contestants who, while competing, think "Wtf is going on?" We've gotten this with characters like Gwen, but Dave goes further than this. The way Dave reacts to horrifying and painful sufferings is how the average viewer would suffer. It's like I'm in a haunted mansion and Dave is the suffering.

Now granted it's not like Dave is any kind of favorite of mind. Him not feeling bad for trying to murder someone is a complete letdown and his entire plot is to do with one of the worst two-sided attractions in the show, making him not stand-out on his own. However, he verges more on me liking him than disliking him. Without Dave, I just wouldn't get the same kind of humor from PI. The season has disgusting humor from Sugar, painful and embarassing humor from Max, and crazy quotes from Shawn. But Dave provides a more cynical and fun personality to the cast. Without Dave, there'd be no-one for his weird team to bounce off of. Without Dave, there wouldn't be a sense of realism... in the first 8 episodes. So I think he added a lot to the cast, better or for worse.

So what are your thoughts on Dave? Do you agree with most fans that he is a horrible character? Or do you side with the 10% like myself who think he's more than just a whiny crybaby? Anything I missed that you disagree with and want to ask me about? Who's in desperate need of defending too? (You'd have to see my rankings to see if I am able for them or not). Good day.