User blog comment:Mroddy/Let's Talk: Total Drama Genesis Merge/@comment-1874924-20170728133052

Alright, let’s try this again. I wrote a long, detailed commentary, as is my wont; but when I posted, the software said basically, “we don’t believe you’re who you say you are. Sucks to be you!” and my commentary—all 900 words or so of it—vanished into the e-ther as if it had never been. All I can do now is try to reconstruct the phantom post as best I can.

I would have commented on this blog earlier, but I had to read Chapter 13 first so I wouldn’t get spoiled on the latest elimination. Then, halfway through composing these thoughts (the first time) Rhonda posted Chapter 14, which will probably invalidate everything I’m about to say. Nevertheless, I will risk playing the fool and give my thought on potential returnees before I read the just-posted Chapter 14 and Rhonda’s accompanying blog post to see how it actually turned out.

I don’t recall Rhonda saying there would be returning players, but it’s such common practice in TD and its fanfics that it’s reasonable to expect someone to return. Three returners would bring the player roster to 14, which is a bit high but not unreasonably so. In light of the Chapter 13 reference to the pending team imbalance and the likelihood of the more numerous former team picking off the less, I suspect a returnee trio would include two Fireworks and one Eagle to restore the balance, although I’m not sure I see two good return candidates among the former Fireworks. It likewise seems likely that a returnee trio would include two girls, to restore the gender balance. A single returner could likewise restore the balances.

Among the Fireworks, Easton seems the most logical returnee, because he and Weston have unfinished business. Weston’s lament that he’s never beaten Easton head to head at anything would seem to foreshadow opportunities to do so, albeit not necessarily success in doing so.

Seraphina just left, so she seems unlikely to return. Unless … maybe she learned via her psychic powers that she would be brought back if eliminated. This would allow her to effectively tank the vote, protecting her friends at no real cost to herself. No, that’s not cheap, it’s inventive.

Pascal would need a new storyline if he returned, because his old one appears to have run its natural course. Tessa would probably get the Eva treatment because she burned too many bridges. I’m not sure Zipporah would even want to return. Jasper is a one-joke character who would need a major characterization change if he were to do anything with his reprieve, unless the plan is to have him get deep into the game because everyone else simply forgot he exists.

Among the Losing Eagles, Aiden has the same problem as Pascal, i.e. he would need a new storyline if he’s going to do anything but take up space, which is what Jasper is for. Hayden’s problem, i.e. rubbing people the wrong way, is similar to Tessa’s but less severe. If he tries to clean up his act, he is more likely to meet with both success and forgiveness than Tessa is. By the by, I personally found Hayden largely forgettable. I remember less about him than I do any other player, including Jasper.

The problem with bringing Frannie back is that she’s too close to Kalino, who is not only the main antagonist at this point, but has also shown flashes of actual villainy. (In Chapter 13, he pulled not one, but two dirty tricks, although only one worked.) The story doesn’t need another player in Kalino’s alliance, it needs a rival alliance. Certain references in Chapter 13 seem to be positioning Griswold as the most likely leader/organizer of such a bloc.

Diamonique is brilliant, but erratic and disinclined to apply herself. In her first stint, she came across as alternately an idiot savant or a female Kalino. If she returns, I could see her becoming the brains in Griswold’s alliance. I could also see her becoming much like Beth was in TDA, i.e. resourceful but inconsistent. If she and Frannie both return, Diamonique might be the only person who could pry Frannie away from Kalino.

This may be a fringe opinion, but I see plenty of potential in Bethany returning. She would be suitably appreciative, in light of her backstory, and (I’m sorry, Rhonda, but I must) her elimination was not handled well in-universe or out. Bringing Bethany back would amount to both author and avatar taking a mulligan. Her athletic prowess would make her a threat (again) but she wouldn’t be the only jock, so there wouldn’t necessarily be a reason to target her specifically in the early post-merge eliminations. I could see her joining Griswold’s alliance, perhaps with the ambition of facing her fellow jock in the finale.

As for who will reach the finals, I have preferences but not really any predictions, because more of the remaining players than not seem to have a legitimate chance. I don’t think Xidorn will go all the way, because he’s too honest for his own good. The politics of these elimination games are likely to force a compromise of his principles at some point; and if that happens, I’m not sure he’ll be able to do it. Besides, although he appears to have become one of the main characters, he still has a “supporting character” feel. Melissa is still too trusting and therefore too blindside-able, and also still has a “supporting character” feel despite her prominence. Riley and Lita are clearly main characters who I expect to get deep into the game, albeit not necessarily to the finals. TD tradition (both canon and fanfic) suggests a third-place finish for Kalino, so I suspect Rhonda will strive to put him anywhere else.