Ever since I saw this, it's been kind of making me think about the past four pieces of work that I have been doing. Complaints lately on this wiki are ones that Total Drama All-Stars is no longer even worth talking about since everything said about it has been repeated by other people already. And I can agree with this to a certain extent. I've really made this 8-10 part blog series as the final nail in the coffin for complaints of this season, and I was planning it for a long time anyways.
But to prove that I'm not going to be someone who says that this season had no good things about it, I suppose now is a good time to say what it was that I actually LIKED about this season. Oh, trust me, there's plenty of atrocious stuff that outweighs all of this, but I like to be a fair person to this season. So to take a break from my series of AS rants, let's begin to show what I actually thought was okay about Total Drama-All Stars.
1: Character Derailment Only Happened Because of Poor Execution[]
What I mean by this is that some characters weren't liked by the fanbase after this season, but only because their execution was bad. The potential of the characters is a whole other story.
Heather[]
Oh, poor Heather. Like Jo, she was fine up until her moment of derailment in No One Eggspects the Spanish Opposition. But come on, you guys. It's Heather! I felt like the show still understood her character and her personality, so she was a pretty shining character in her first six episodes, deserving of lasting longer than this. She had some amazing moments too.
"Who? Alejandro? As if. I'm glad he isn't back. That handsome jerk."
"Wa?! You have got to be kidding me!"
"His legs are really asleep? Great. Now I feel awful."
After the burst in popularity she was getting in TDA and TDWT, it was always going to be nice to see Heather again. But in a season that's hated by a majority of the fanbase, Heather really stood out as the same entertaining mean person we all know and love, at least until her elimination.
I was also one of the only people who didn't mind the whole Aleheather romantic talk in The Final Wreck-ening. Sure, it's OOC. But it's meant to be because the two still trip each other up to try and get the money again, proving that the show still understands the basics of writing a glorious character like Heather.
Duncan[]
Duncan was completely unpredictable throughout the season in both positive and negative ways. But this is supposed to be an entirely positive blog saying the positives of everything, so I'll try my best with this jack-of-all-trades.
I know Gwuncan is a very mixed couple. I'm not the biggest fan of it myself. But I really liked how Duncan treated Gwen in the first four episodes. It's a side to him not seen so often. He supports her when she's on the villain team, is always wondering about how she's feeling about situations in Evil Dread, he sacrifices himself for herin Saving Private Leechball, and is concerned about her in Food Fright. I think one of the main reasons the Gwuncan break-up is hated for being so rushed is because Duncan was acting like a pretty sympathetic person towards Gwen in the first four episodes, and he doesn't even hold any grudge against her after she breaks up with him. There's a reason Duncan's listed as an enemy of Gwen but with it saying "one-sided."
So what could you really do with Duncan now that he was on a different team to Gwen? Well how about this hilarious storyline involving him involuntarily becoming heroic? I found this fantastic to watch. I know the fanbase is pretty split on this storyline, but I just thought it was a delight. We've already known that deep down Duncan is a very kind person, and once he's on the Heroes team, him thinking about whether he should be heroic or villainous is put into perspective. This is a pretty interesting line.
So yeah. I ate the cake. It was like eating the happiest moment of my life.
Already this is just a well-written sympathetic moment of Duncan, and foreshadowing of what would be to come of his heroic qualities.
Say what you will about Zoey, but her friendship with Duncan is one of the most popular ones I've seen, even being more popular than everyone's favorite couple that's not terrible or poisonous or annoying in any way whatsoever, "Mike and Zoey." It kind of reminds me a bit of the Duncan and Beth friendship, with Zoey seeing beneath Duncan's meaner qualities and knowing that there's a softer side to him.
Duncan's conflict with Mal seemed interesting, but was unfortunately not explored nearly enough as it should've been, but had interesting potential anyways.
Overall, Duncan was a pretty likable character, MOST OF THE TIME!
Alejandro[]
Yes. I know that I made GIGANTIC complaints against Alejandro's level of intelligence being dropped in this season, but not all the time. Coincidentally, the episode after where Alejandro was derailed was the same one where I began to love him again: Suckers Punched. In his section of the challenge, Alejandro must face off against his fear: his own brother. And when you see a moment where Alejandro says something like "And this is for calling Heather anything less than unattractive", you just have to stop and think "Yeah. Go Al." So my love for Alejandro regained it self a little.
But then when you get to the whole Malejandro stuff, it's just a sight to behold. Let's keep in mind that this is the first time Alejandro is in a somewhat heroic role, which is pretty cleverly written, as was Alejandro in Zeek and Ye Shall Find.
One of my favorite moments of the season by far is Alejandro tricking Mal. As Alejandro sees Mal try to frame him into being the person who rigged votes against Cameron, Alejandro fights back against Mal, proving once and for all that Alejandro will always be 1000 times more cunning than Mal. If not for two obvious episodes, I'd probably call Alejandro the second best of the season.
Courtney[]
Look, I know that the whole Gwen-Courtney exaggerated friendship was very hard to watch and sit through. I also know that Scourtney, while painting Courtney in a somewhat positive light, is a little bit rushed. And I know of the reputation Sundae Muddy Sundae has.
But when it's Courtney herself, similar to Heather, she just seemed like the same character for a majority of the season. I loved her reactions towards the worst team ever, she had some hilarious moments, she developed into deciding to ignore Duncan, she became a little more likable because of her interactions with Gwen and Scott, and she was still trying her best in challenges. It's Courtney. Come on, people! Whether you like or dislike her will determine how much you like her this season, but as a fan of hers, I'd obviously love her in this season.
2: Scott[]
Or in other words, "The Most Popular Character of the Season." I can't even call him a character who had poor execution. IT'S MOTHA-FRIGGIN SCOTT MAN! Although, if I were to actually explain why I love him so much, and why I think his characterization in the season made sense, we'd be here all day. Once I finish the All-Stars rants, I'll probably just make a blog praising Scott and how much I love him (Unless Dip makes another one of those "Good or Bad Character" blogs *hint* hint*).
I think Bigez said it best.
"Scott is the greatest thing to ever grace my presence. Just look at the way he eats dirt as his buttocks get injured. I don’t even know where this funny and likable character came from, seeing how there is no clear connection between his character in TDRI and TDAS. But who cares? It’s MOTHA FREAKIN SCOTT MAN. This dude gives freckles a new name. Sure, his only story arc this season was his relationship with Courtney, which went absolutely nowhere, but who cares? IT’S MOTHA FREAKIN SCOTT MAN. I think anyone who is anyone can agree that Scott is TDAS’s MVP. Just look at the way he comically mistakes a literal wedge for a WEDGE OF CHEESE. HOW LUDICROUS! Just watch how he basks in the scent of his armpits. Can you imagine a life without Scotty boy in it? I love you more than everything I stand for Scott. I’ll walk the entire world to get you back into my life. SCOTT FOR PAHKITEW. SCOTT FOR TOTAL DRAMA PAHKITEW ISLAND."
3: The Missed Opportunities Were GOOD Opportunities[]
This was one of my first problems to point out with this season. There were so many missed opportunities that, with given the right amount of time, would've been highlights of this season. So I'm pretty much repeating myself here.
- Both Heather and Jo should've lasted way longer than they did because of their conflict.
- Jo and Lightning's alliance should not have been pretended that it never happened. I hoped it had included with Jo betraying Lightning in this season as revenge for him betraying her last season, but the season just treated him like undeserved fodder.
- THE THREE WAY ALLIANCE. JO, HEATHER, AND ALEJANDRO'S ALLIANCES WITH GWEN. COME ON
- Jocan would be pretty swell. I don't really mind if it was a friendship or a relationship. It could've been something.
- Alejandro manipulating Gwen would be fantastic. Like I said, it could've given Alejandro more to do besides WALKING ON HIS HANDS FOR NO REASON!
- Duncan vs Mal would've given me more reasons to begin to like Duncan.
- Mal could've been a much, much, much, much better villain.
4: The Humor[]
It's what this season usually promoted it self as - A really funny season. And for the most part, this was delivered. Not counting the comic relief characters such as Lindsay, Lightning, Sam, Sierra, and Scott, there were many funny moments from other characters too.
"His legs are really asleep? Great. Now I feel awful."
"What? Dirt boy got in the way!"
"Avenge me!"
ALL OF FOOD FRIGHT OH MY GAD!
"We're gonna need more ice cream."
"Did you kiss Alejandro?" "Okay, I'm out of here."
5: The Animation[]
In my honest opinion, I think this season has the best animation out of the entire show. The shading in the darker scenes, the colour, the HD, or maybe it was just that I was seeing veteran characters return again in a whole new animated light. The animation in the season deserves to be credited more because it's absolutely splendid.
6: The Theme of the Season[]
This is what I think is probably the best thing about the season. I think it's the best theme that we ever got for a season. Old and New characters combined with the most successful ones competing alongside each other, making people believe there'd be many Veteran/Newcomer interactions. It brought a lot of hope for the season and what new things it would bring to us. And then, you know, it sucked or whatever.