Explained: TD Third Generation Rankings

## 14. Dave

Ew. He's a character I've loathed from the start and never found his mysophobia to be endearing. Past the merge, he somehow becomes worse. He interrupts Sky when she is trying to explain that she has a boyfriend, but he refuses to hear it until the finale. When he does hear it, he's a crybaby. If you're going to waste your time pining after a girl who clearly resents you and refuses to listen to her wishes, you should feel bad. Everything seemed to be for his personal gain since he played a personal game. OH! And when a girl actually likes him back, he flat out rejects her because he wants to pursue someone who is off-limits. Even if he liked Ella back, he wouldn't deserve her. She would be dedicated and listen to "Prince Dave" while he would obsess over his own problems. He needs to learn a little thing called CONSENT!

## 13. Amy

They could've done SO much more with her character than just make her bully her sister. While I did like some of her comments here and there, as an older sister I simply cannot support a character who deliberately bullies, isolates and antagonizes their sibling. It would be more realistic had her interactions revolved around other characters as well (making her more of a villain) or show SOME love for her sister (then again it's a cartoon that stirs up drama (aka Total Drama). At best, she's an underdeveloped future villain who needs some screen time.

## 12. Rodney

His gimmick got old. Fast. He only sees girls romantically, which is more of a personal game. He couldn't get his head in the *actual* game and just hopped from one girl to the next. As someone who has a hard time opening up to people, I found him to be quite offensive. While he harbored some admiration for girls once he left them, he seemed to have little remorse once he moved to a new target. I hate people like that. People are not your accessories that you can flirt from one to the next. Take time to get to know people before you base all your decisions on looks. I'm just glad none of his attractions worked out. Serves him right for playing an awful social game.

## 11. Beardo

I really can't justify a high placement for him so I'm pretty neutral. From what I gathered in one episode, he was another one of the gimmicks (then again, this is Pahkitew), but couldn't see his plot advancing far. B could've been foreshadowing of this as he was the other contestant who never spoke on the show. He also had a great moment where he ran in slow motion and loved the pac-man sound when he got eliminated. I would've liked the chance to get to know him better, given his audition tape, but he was a good first boot.

## 10. Samey

I don't have a strong impression of her since she doesn't leave a strong impression. I sympathize with her because of the way Amy treated her. Other than the bullying from Amy, she's pretty bland. Yes she trades places with her sister, pulling off a twin switcharoo, but it felt rushed. We barely know her character before she's eliminated, then we see her as pseudo-Amy. No, sorry, you're just trying to make up for your lack of a personality.

## 9. Leonard

He doesn't last long because his gimmick is useless. Anyone can throw on a wizard's cape and get a wand, but it takes a real idiot to actually *believe* that they are a wizard. That level of stupidity takes skill. As for his work in challenges, he makes his team lose the first challenge. They build a wizard's tower (because that's practical) which gets ruined by a herd of moose. I'd get sufficiently pissed if I found out I'd be sleeping on rocks. For that, I wished he were the first boot, but Beardo is a good first boot as well. Both were pretty forgettable.

## 8. Topher

I wanted to warm up to his character, but I felt like I was just *there*. For the beginning episodes he established his plot with Chris, acting as a complete suck-up to try and steal his screentime. I was fairly neutral on these interactions, though I did agree that someone should replace him as a younger host. By Pahkitew, Chris started to outlast his usefulness with Chef still running the show in the background (and Topher in the FAR background, or so he'd like to believe). He falls into the background for the next few episodes and isn't memorable again until his elimination. Honestly it was great that he stole Chris's phone, and reminded me of some of the rebelliousness from Basic Training, but proves how gullible and egotistical he can be. He quit the show so that he could "take over" for Chris. Goes to show that his entire game was personal and only came on the show to showboat his narcissism and good looks.

## 7. Shawn

He was originally my number one character but I warmed up to other characters. Like the others before him, and after, he's a gimmick. I really liked it at first since I was a big fan of the Walking Dead for a while and I wanted to see some zombie fighting. We get some fantastic moments for Hurl and Go Seek and, of course, fighting robot Chrises in Scarlett Fever. Aside from that, I sorta worried about him. He wanted to use his money to make a survival shelter once the zombies attacked. Yikes. He's also in one of my favorite relationships of the show. The two compliment each other so well and, even though he angers her for several episodes, he makes sure that they make up before the finale and she takes the cannon of shame.

## 6. Jasmine

She's such a breath of fresh air. After gimmick after gimmick we finally get someone who seems *normal*. (Can we talk about the fact that Jasmine is praised for normalcy while Trent isn't? k thanks.) She's kind, compassionate, eager to help in challenges, supportive of her friends, loyal (especially after hearing what Shawn wants to do with the money), but also fairly insecure. That's what makes her seem humbled and actually get away with some of her power plays. I loved that she shows her claustrophobia in This Is the Pits!. Even the fiercest competitors have their weak spots. As I mentioned above, I also love her relationship with Shawn. Yes it is bumpy, but she takes us through every part of the way, opening up to the viewers *why* she likes him despite his faults. I honestly just love characters like her who can stay true to their character while on a reality show.

## 5. Max

He's so funny. He's a failed villain, but the fact that he tries so hard to be a great villain makes for some great comedy. Everything makes him "evil" and I loved him in Three Zones and a Baby where he wanted to raise his child to be evil. It was so funny watching him nurture the kid since I'd never seen his face contort into an *almost* smile. I also adore his interactions with Scarlett. While it's obvious that he's the sidekick, I love how he gives her such remedial tasks while he can't even program his plans, like the motherboard in the tree. Unlike the other characters, I didn't feel like his gimmick got old. I somewhat wish that he didn't get thrown into Scarlett's cannon of shame, since she's the one who took over the island, but it's such perfect tie to his character where he's cast off as *her* sidekick.

## 4. Sky

Between her and Shawn, she's my desired finalist. After being relentlessly pursued by Dave, she finally earns some bragging rights and wins one million in her ending. She honestly deserves it after dealing with desperate, clingy and toxic Dave. Besides that, she's incredibly competitive, which helps her succeed in challenges, is an amazing athlete, and is SUPER independent. Unlike Samey, who needs the support of Jasmine to get through her sibling's bullying, Sky shows how fearlessly independent and strong she is by making it to the finale on her own terms. She knows how to stand up for herself, and does every episode (<3), which makes her really admirable.

## 3. Ella

She's honestly me if I ever entered Total Drama. From her introduction I loved her for breaking into song, reminding me of Giselle from *Enchanted* (a Disney princess in the middle of average New Yorkers). Her interactions with Sugar are great too. I love how naive she is since she keeps trying to be her friend even though Sugar keeps bullying her. It speaks to her character since she wants to see the best in others even if they have done her wrong. There's also her brief interactions with Dave where she calls him her "prince". It's pretty cute seeing her blush around Dave, but she's better than him. Ella doesn't need a prince to save her because she is already perfect.