63. Spud
Is Spud really gone? Have I really just eliminated Spud? Sadly, the answer to both of these questions is: yes.
Spud and Rock had a great friendship, that much cannot be denied, but it did feel like Rock wasn't just in charge of the team, but he
was the team. Spud took a backseat and wasn't very aware, and granted sometimes he came out of his shell and proved he had it in him to win some challenges, but it didn't really feel consistent and there was no pay-off. This shone through in the finale, when he was led to believe he was in the finale. And yes, that's his gag, but it only emphasises the fact that he didn't know what he was doing 99% of the time.
Now why is this so bad when the likes of Leonard could easily be eliminated in his place? Simple; the Rockers overstayed their welcome. Total Drama is a parody, a lot of the characters are just stereotypes and overplayed personalities, and Spud is a perfect example of such. And if they never amount to anything more, then that's when I believe it's fine to eliminate them early, which is why I enjoy Leonard for what he is - he's meant to be a gag, he's meant to be funny, and he was eliminated early both times so he didnt' outlast good characters.
The Rockers, however, did. They outlasted the Fashion
Designers Bloggers, Mother and Daughter, and Geniuses (while arguably they were a gag, they had potential - a more focusssed intellectual and strategic approach in the form of Mary and Ellody would be a lot more interesting than the Rockers, in my opinion) and for what? They had no pay-off - no solid development.
That said, their characters alone were enjoyable and fun and that was needed with the tension and 'drama' between other teams. Also, they set up some sense of development with Spud yet never tapped into it fully, which will always be a tad annoying.
Spud was enjoyable and while he could've been so much more, they never managed to reach his potential, and he stayed over what were more interesting and worthy teams that could have done with staying in the game for over half a season like the Rockers did.
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This is the first writeup of a TDRR character were I managed to focus more on the actual character, and not the team, which is testament to how standout Spud is