User blog comment:Paper Lantern/I blame Duncan/@comment-1363526-20130829022400/@comment-1756703-20130829051205

Back in TDI and TDA, Duncan didn't really seem to care that Courtney was "poison". He actually seemed to like that aspect of her ("Man, that girl creases me... I dig that in a chick!") since it was a foil to his own delinquent personality. So if he thought he was in a toxic relationship, either he didn't care before, or he had an abrupt and OOC change-of-heart from the TDA special where he couldn't resist making up (and making out) with Courtney.

Thing is, it's fine if they decide to make Duncan become fed up with her. But the way it went down on the show seemed to go against the previously-seen personalities of both Duncan and Gwen. Duncan is supposed to be a delinquent with a heart of gold, yet instead of trying to talk things out with Courtney, he cheats on her, callously breaks her heart, and shows no remorse for it. And Gwen? She was supposed to be "straight up" with people from now on, so what was up with her hesitation in admitting her guilt to Courtney? She also showed very little remorse for her role in the affair, being more concerned with trying to keep the relationship going behind Courtney's back instead of ending it altogether.

Courtney isn't perfect. Far from it. And she did go overboard with her plans to "change" Duncan, especially in Top Dog. But he ended up forgiving her for that particular instance. Plus there's no reason Duncan couldn't work things out with her, or at least speak up and let her know about his frustration with her efforts to change him. After all, she had mellowed out considerably in TDWT. Heck, in Greece's Pieces, she even had a change of heart regarding her wanting to get rid of Duncan's mohawk. Who's to say that she wasn't having second thoughts about other entries on that list of things to change about Duncan?

As immature as Courtney may have been in wanting to change Duncan, it pales in comparison to how he handled it. Whether he was going to break it off with her or not, he still ended up cheating on her, and destroying her friendship with Gwen. You're right in that no one person is solely guilty in all of this, but most of the blame is his.