When it comes to Duncan, there are three things I've been wanting to discuss for some time now. Duncan's personality, his storyline and his feelings towards both Courtney and Gwen. A lot of my thoughts will be based on his behavior in different seasons of the show, and some of them will be just my headcanons (but trust me, they'll be reasonable too). I know that TD is after all more like a comedy show, in which things that in real life we would consider bad/disturbing/impossible/off-putting/sad are simply funny to us when we watch it, because of the way they are presented. They are supposed to make us laugh, so we usually do, with or without any second thoughts. But I'm from that type of people who likes to analyze everything and everyone, even if it's just a penguin from one infamous movie. I don't care. I just love doing it.
When I watched Total Drama for the first time, which happened not so long ago actually, because when I was a kid, my parents didn't allow me watch most of the modern animation (It's a long story, and it doesn't really matter right now). I mentioned this fact because it's important for me to let you know, that I don't like any characters because of the pure nostalgia, since I never watched TD before. I started this show when I already had my own opinions and knowledge about how to share them. So when I say that I like a character, there's no doubt that I perfectly understand their flaws, bad character traits, and I like this character not because I'm wearing my pink glasses and I refuse to take them off, not wanting to stop admiring my favorite character with the same passion, with which I used to admire them when I was small.
That's why when I say I really like Duncan, it definitely doesn't mean that I never criticize him and his doings. Actually, I think that's the reason why I'm interested in his persona so much. He is anything but perfect, and this is a big "YES" to me. My favorite characters are never simple, and I doubt that yours are. It's not necessary to associate yourself (kin) with your favs, but I like to believe that still, the main reason why we like some fictional guys is something that we might have in common with them. It can be buried deep inside of you, and it can take a long time filled with constant self-analysis and concentration to figure it out, but it's usually really entertaining, and can be actually worth it.
One of the things that i want to talk about, is Duncan's part of his personality which is, in my opinion, overlooked. Some people already mentioned it, and it's pretty obvious if you think about it. But here, on subreddit, I never saw anyone talking about it, which kinda disappointed me, because even though it's pretty obvious, it's still important.
Duncan is a typical attention attractor. Yeah, I know, it really is obvious. It's kinda mixed with his "lone wolf" status, but is still really notable. You can see his attempts at making everyone look at him when he bullies Harold or somebody else (which is a rare case), or when he's simply being a brat again. Sometimes he can say something controversial, even though I'm preatty sure he knows that he's gonna get his ass kicked right after that. Like when he mocks Chris's challenges, and then it's either Chris himself, or Chef, who makes him suffer for saying crap about their ideas. You have to be an idiot to not see it coming, and Duncan isn't dumb. He may act like a total jerk at times, but he can also be sneaky, unpredictable and surprisingly intelligent when he wants to. He is really lazy and tends to give up quickly when he can't do something well from the start, unlike Courtney, who will keep on trying and trying until it's over, even if her loss is inevitable. Duncan being an attention attractor perfectly explains his behavior in TDAS, making his storyline there just a little bit more understandable. This is why I never had any problems with him "losing his edge". Because if you think about it from this angle, he never really did. All of his problems in All Stars he created himself. The easiest way to brought people's attention to you is to be insufferable and mean all the time, and that's exactly what Duncan's been doing since the first episode. I'm not saying he isn't taking any pleasure in humiliating others, he does, but in some odd way, I'd say. I'll try to explain how I see this, but before I do it, I'd like to remind you that I don't justify his actions and I'm not trying to victimize him and make him look good. I'm just trying to understand the world from his perspective, the way he sees things and how he feels. Okay, let's get to it.
Duncan's probably really insecure about a lot of things in himself. An old story about a bully being actually weaker then everyone thought might be a cliché, but is actually works in real life. Now see, Duncan's not a psychopath. He is probably a sadist at some point, but there's no way he can be an actual psychopath, a person who lacks empathy towards other people around them. You only have to remember that "bunny" episode, and how willing Duncan was to make his friend feel better to realize how caring he can be when it comes to people that matter to him. When it comes to Harold, there were some episodes in which these two could get along pretty well. In Action Duncan continued to rip Harold off, but in the same season he admitted that he values Harold in some way, and then he even praised him (TDA, episode 11, 18:00 and 18:40). In Action Duncan also mentioned that he bullies Harold for making Courtney go home in a previous season, but I think it's a lie, or just an excuse for him to not stop on mocking him. Harold is like a fall guy for Duncan, someone who can't fight him back and that's why the easiest prey. If Duncan needs to prove something to himself, he will go and punch Harold, just to calm the rage inside of him. When Duncan feels weak, he can also just say something rude about him, or do something that will make Harold look stupid. And that way, he makes himself believe that he's fine, that he's safe, that no one will try to hurt him, as long as he is not as weak as Harold.
But in All Stars? There was no Harold in All Stars, which means no one to mock. Of course, there were some other weak contestants, like Cameron, but Harold was the safest option, the one that Duncan knew for a really long time. Perhaps bullying Harold became a habit for Duncan in latest seasons, even though in WT they didn't communicate a lot due to Duncan quitting the show. So in All Stars he doesn't have that one person he will be extremely rude to, making him behave differently from the beginning, not so harsh already. He doesn't notice it for some time. But then he starts to have problems with Gwen, acting all weird and not paying him attention. And Duncan hates not getting attention. He admitted it in the first episode of TDAS, when Courtney ignored him instead of glaring back. He stopped getting the attention he needed, and then he realised how much his behavior's changed since he came there, since both Gwen and Courtney ignored and avoided him. He started acting out in attempts to make them notice him, especially Courtney, since she almost didn't say a single word to him. Duncan likes challenges, he likes when a person he's interested in is hard to get. For him, trying to make Courtney jealous was like a new game, and eventually, he went too far, making Gwen feel like a pawn, like a tool for fixing Duncney. So no wonder she dumped him pretty fast.
And now let's talk about Duncan's fears. When Gwen broke up with him, instead of understanding his mistakes and realising that the reason they aren't together anymore is his own neglect and his annoying obsession with Courtney, he immediately thought that Gwen dumped him because he's not that cool anymore, because he lost his edge. And that says a lot about him and the way he sees himself. He thinks that him being a jerk to everyone is what makes him wanted and needed, that his loved ones will love him back as long as he's strong and intimidating. That's why when he's in search of a flaw, the first thing he noticed was his change from a total "bad guy" to something more complicated, (more interesting). Duncan freaks out. Like, really freaks out. That is the only explanation to his sudden need to cause trouble, to hurt someone. He feels like he can't play the role he has been playing for his whole life, like he just can't do that anymore for some reason, when actually the most of it is just in his head. Ironically, he trapped himself in his own ball of fears and complexes, and then, because of being too afraid that everyone will notice, he starded being too obvious about it, and everyone actually noticed. While others (most of them) seemed to like his new soft and open personality, Duncan was sure that everyone secretly judges and is making fun of him. Probably with Chris mocking him all the time he just became a walking self-disappointment, thinking most of the time about how to prove that he's still strong and free. (And "free" is an important word, and we will get back to it later) That's why it doesn't matter how stupid the idea of blowing up Chris's cottage (mantion) was, it was crazy enough to seem worthy to Duncan. Just because this would be "bad" enough.
Only he miscalculated. Being so not okay with his own change made him think that everybody else isn't okay with it either. That the reason he gets hurt by others is because he isn't him anymore, and that probably makes him feel useless. He can't live his normal life when people think "wrong" of him. Duncan has so many things he wants to prove to everybody, but no one really cares about his change, and that's what Duncan's not able to understand. When the cottage is gone, Duncan is sent to prison. Was it worth it? No. Did he make everyone "respect" and "like" him again? No, he made the situation only worse. In the end, he did all of that for nothing.
I said that we were gonna come back to this "freedom" thing? Well, there's not much to discuss, I guess a lot of other users said that before me, (it goes with everything in this post, tbh) but Duncan wants to be free SO bad, that I can't imagine it being just his another act, his punk little duty. Remember how often he uses those "Hey, don't tell me what to do!" phrases? Remember how he absolutely hates being commanded? (Unless it's Courtney) And that's not just a normal thing, no, it's a huge trigger for him. He gets defensive so fast when somebody's trying to put him down. (Heather calling him "pretty boy" in TDA, episode 3 13:55) Moments like this just show how fragile and sensitive he truly is. But from where could these problems be? The most obvious answer would be his relationship with his parents. We do know that Duncan's parents are not so proud of his life, and that's not surprising at all. But that old short video with them (Duncan's parents asking him to win the money) is what makes me feel like there's more than just dissatisfaction between this family. Don't get me wrong, I think his father loves him very much, and I'm not gonna make a monster out of him for being mad at Duncan and his criminal tendencies, it's a normal thing to be mad at. But I might assume that he is a strict person, who tells people what to do on a daily basis (He's a cop after all). Of course, a lot of Duncan's impulsive decisions that he's made are easily explained by his wish to rebel, to show his father that he can't just decide for him. I mean, Duncan wasn't always a delinquent, right? I'm sure he was always weirdly loud and wayward, but his father had to push him really hard if after that his son became a criminal. But it doesn't mean that Duncan isn't brutal without his want to stand out. It doesn't mean that if his father was more lenient with him he'd behave better. Perhaps it would be only for the worst, because then Duncan wouldn't have any limits. It's just how it is and that's all. His relationship with his mother is less understandable, but I'll tell you my theory anyway. It's canon that Duncan has a lot of relatives, including siblings. (we don't know the exact number) Here's what I think: having many siblings means sharing your parent's attention. Duncan grew up dealing with the fact that sometimes he has to wait before he can get his mother to listen to him, because she's busy with the other kids. (I just assume Duncan's not the youngest, but even if he is, that doesn't change a lot) I don't think that he holds a grudge on his siblings, but I do think that he might be offended on his parents (maybe without even realizing it). So to sum up: Duncan feels like he never gets his mother's attention and thinks that the only way he can get it - is to do something big and loud, something that will MAKE her notice him. On the other hand, his father makes him feel like he owns him. Like someone is trying to take over him, make him something he isn't. That's why his crimes aren't only his attempt at making his mother more concerned of him, but also a sign to his controlling dad, that by screaming and punishing him he won't make Duncan someone else. Duncan will be himself, even if it means that his dad will be disappointed.
And the last but not the least, Duncan and his feeling towards Courtney and Gwen. There's no need to repeat how toxic both of these relationships turned out, because you have to be blind to not notice that. The main question for me is about him loving them. Did he really? Sometimes we forget that these people are teens, they were only 16 when the show started, so relationships weren't supposed to be a serious thing for them. And Duncan wasn't ready for someone as serious as Courtney for sure. Of course, he liked her appearance, her body. He liked some of her character traits, like her being extremely bossy to everyone. But he only liked her complex character in times when they weren't together, and when her anger wasn't directed at him (just check out TDA, he doesn't like it when she's treating him like an employee). It seems like she was just another challenge for him, another thing to achieve. But what happened after he got her to himself? When they were back together again, he got tired of her pretty easily, and even though they had their moments, her being constantly jealous and mad is what made him lost his interest in her. It made him stop having a crush at her. But being in love with her? It's a whole other thing. Again, they were teens. And from what I know, Duncan and Courtney had been dating for no longer than a year (While being on set of TDI and TDA, and then for some months before TDWT), and Gwuncan probably didn't last longer. The most promising couple from the show, which actually has a future was Geoff and Bridgette, since both of them are mentally stable people who can actually help each other out. Love is a really strong feeling which actually comes with time, whether you like it or not (please don't try to bring up that "love from first sight" thing), and both Gwencan and Duncney didn't have that time to truly connect. Shame. Still, my personal favourite was Gwencan, since those guys were just better for each other. Instead of trying to change Duncan, Gwen understood him and liked him the way he was. If only AS didn't happen they might've been the best couple in the show for me! Fresh TV completely messed up Gwen's priorities in All Stars. In WT she's sad that her friendship with Courtney is over, but she mostly glad that now she doesn't have to hide anything and can be with the guy she likes without any secrets! Then, in the end of WT Gwen doesn't care abouth her at all, and THEN, in AS she's suddenly obsessed with Courtney forgiving her, and AT THE SAME TIME she keeps defending herself, explaining why she didn't steal anyone. If you think that you didn't do anything wrong, then why are you sorry? For what? It was such a pain to watch Gwuncan die like this. Especially when they just made her stop liking Duncan immediately after AS started. It was like these two never happened and she didn't have that crush on him for some time (she already liked him after TDA ended). But I don't hate Duncney. It was also really entertaining and I liked them at first. They could've been a perfect example of two difficult people getting better together, helping each other overcome their weaknesses. Them being different might've been the best thing about their duo! The problem was... Courtney. And her lack of character development in the next seasons after TDI. Duncney's perfect climax should've been Courtney losing the season and not winning the money but not caring so much already, because Duncan helped her become more laid back and not so impulsive and demanding. Fair? Maybe not. Healthy? Healthier then if she actually wins the money and just lives in that mad state forever, until she dies.
I guess I'm out of thoughts. For now...
It you actually spent your time on my little read, then let me know your opinion in the comments! I wanna hear your thoughts on everything you wanna share with the internet! How do you feel about Duncan? Gwuncan or Duncney? What headcanons do you have? Write whatever you wanna write and just go and, I don't know, drink some milk?
