User blog:Pierzina/Character Appreciation – Week 52: Zoey

Welcome back to Character Appreciation, a blog series that will run for the whole year alongside Project 10. Each week we'll take a look at one Total Drama character, what we like and dislike about them, how they've grown, and what we hope to see from them in the future. I'm Pierzina and this week, we're looking at one of the most controversial characters The Indie Chick, Zoey!

Overview
Zoey debuts in Total Drama: Revenge of the Island along with the 12 other members of the second generation and is immediately smitten to Mike. She begins to bond with him but remains in the dark about the fact that he has multiple personalities. After she catches Mike kissing Anne Maria she is heartbroken, causing her to hold a grudge against Anne Maria and question Mike's intentions, who lies to her and claims that he just got too into character.

She continues to feud with Anne Maria in the following episodes and gains a new ally in Scott, who unbeknowest to her is actually trying to manipulate her. Once Dakota comes back, Zoey has difficulty handling her and is pleased when Scott plays the idol and eliminates Dakota. At the merge she begins to grow tired of Mike's mixed messages but once Cameron reveals to her that he has MPD, she immediately goes to get Mike and they become an official relationship. The newfound relationship is short lived after Scott decides to singlehandedly eliminate Mike from the competition, but not before Mike gives Zoey a necklace.

For the remainder of the season, she is at odds with Scott. She begins to grow closer and closer with Cameron and they form a final 2 alliance, however things start to get turbulent once Zoey goes commando, which is caused by her reaching her breaking point after Chef Hatchet breaks her necklace. She succeeds in getting Scott out and we see a personality change from being sweet and considerate to more dark and demeaning. This causes Cameron to worry about her and it tests their friendship in The Enchanted Franken-Forest and causes them to lose the challenge, giving Lightning the lead where he chooses to eliminate Zoey.

She later returns for a second season, Total Drama All-Stars where she begins on the Heroes team. The trio of her, Mike, and Cameron continues to flourish as well as her relationship with Mike. However, her relationship with Mike soon gets in trouble again after Mal is awakened by Scott. Once Duncan is swapped to the Heroes, they form a friendship and he continues to look out for her and warn her about Mal, and although she takes into consideration what he says, she still believes that there is some Mike still left there.

As the season progresses, she continues to worry about the state of Mike and begins a friendship with Gwen. However, she is meeted with conflict by Courtney who targets Zoey repeatedly. She isn't voted off because she wins 3 individual immunity challenges, bringing her to the final two, and even after finally realizing the weak havoc that Mal had unleashed onto the game, she takes him to the final two where Mike is eventually brought back by a, reuniting him with Zoey, leading up to her winning the season.

Opinions
I've had my stage where I despised Zoey for everything she standed for, I thought she was boring, plain, and straight up disgrace to feminism. However, after rewatching Zoey in her seasons I actually found her quite enjoyable on multiple occasions. Whether you love her or hate her, I personally believe that the hate she has acheived from the fanbase is excessive and borderline concerning.

In her debut, she's pretty much the "it girl" of Season 4. Easily the most important female and the one we see from the most. This season I actually found her very fun on multiple occasions and there's multiple layers to the reasons why I find that so. First of all, she's relatable. No, I am not a indie chick with no friends who hates jocks (maybe the last part), but how Zoey handles things as a teenager and how impulsive she handles things. I recall many people being critical of how she treated the Anne Maria situation but I do not feel as if that's her fault at all. Mike kept many things a secret from Zoey and then lied to her when she confronted him about it so I don't blame her for being upset that Anne Maria was flirting with a guy who was sending her mixed messages. People were also critical about her being a hypocrite with Dawn and Dakota but I mean... really, MPD doesn't really compare to a full fledged mutant monster or a psychic mind reading witch wizard does it?

She gets a lot of blame for being a "Mary Sue" but I don't really see that. I feel as if she has many flaws. First of all, she's completely naive to many things. I wouldn't say she's dumb, but she tends to lack a lot of common sense. She tends to be oblivious to manipulation towards her way and consistently looks at the positive side of things, which is a flaw. Second of all, like previously stated, she's very impulsvive, she can't handle her emotions well. She wears her heart on her sleeve and that is a weakness.

Another thing I'd like to say Zoey doesn't get enough credit for is how well she plays off other characters. I felt like her conflicts were all really well done and created a fun dynamic while maintaining comedic lines, her conflicts with Anne Maria and Courtney especially highlight that, as she can either be a "petty childish brat" or a "innocent bystanding goody two shoes" with both working excellently. Minor interactions with characters like Dawn, Dakota, and Sierra also work well with Zoey playing the straight-man to their zaniness. Even her friendships with Duncan and Cameron are very enjoyable. The moment where she went back to save Cameron in The Enchanted Franken-Forest was actually a surprisingly touching moment for me, even though let's be honest... Cameron didn't deserve it after being a brat (<3). Though, of course there's her relationship with Mike which is obviously abysmal. There's not much positive to say here. But I will say that it bothers me how people always say that it's her who revolves around Mike when it's the other around. She's had more screentime, impact, and interactions than him. I mean, check his interaction pages, he has what, 4 or 5? Zoey probably has 8. While her interests lie with Mike, she still has other goals like making friends. Even personality wise, she has more substance. We have a general grasp of what she's like unlike Mike.


 * Best Moment: Going back to save Cameron in The Enchanted Franken-Forest.


 * Best Season: Total Drama: Revenge of the Island


 * Best Episode: Backstabbers Ahoy!

Comments
What about you? Despite the title, this blog is open to all opinions! Share your thoughts about Zoey in the comments below and use the // userboxes too. Don't forget to share your Best Moment, Best Season, and Best Episode of Zoey!

This is the last Character Appreciation Week of the year and I just want to thank everyone on the wiki who contributed, whether making a blog themselves or just commenting, and made it a fun and enjoyable activity. It was a blast giving my opinions on characters and I hope everyone else had fun too. Another thanks to our administrators for constructing this activity, and Project 10 in general. You guys did amazing!