There are few cartoons that lend themselves to discussions as broad or as easy as the Total
Drama series. With simple characters, plentiful drama, and an absolute rollercoaster of quality,
it’s always a fun one to talk about–and it got us thinking: how can we combine all three of those
aspects into one topic? The answer is simple: a discussion of the various ships throughout
the total Drama series. Which ones deserve the million dollar prize, and which need to take the
dock-slash-hurl-slash-flush of shame? I’m Kifinosi with WickedBinge,
and this is our first installment of Total Drama Ships: Sink, Swim, or Sail?
For this video, we’re going to be talking about some of the most beloved(and infamous) ships in
the Total Drama fandom. With literally, like, 100 characters in the series,
not EVERY ship will be present in this video, so let us know which ones you want to hear our
takes on if they’re missing here. Oh, and spoilers for EVERY season of Total Drama…except for 2023,
which I’ll refrain from including here since it’s not out in the USA yet.
Now, we’ve come up with 5 categories to sort these ships into. There’s the Sink category,
for ships we don’t like, the Sail category for ships we do like, and the Swim category for the
ones we’ve got mixed(or lukewarm) feelings towards. Additionally, there are two special
categories–Shipwrecked for the worst of the worst, and 5-Star Cruise for the best of the best.
Might as well kick it off with the ship you could consider the first in the series, Gwen + Trent.
In season 1, Gwen was more or less the main protagonist, making Trent the de facto main
love interest. Yet despite this, it’s one of the less talked about ships in the series. Why
is that? Maybe it’s because Gwen has other, more interesting ships under her belt? Maybe
it’s because Trent is the most boring character in season 1 and the most annoying character in
season 2? The answer to this question is…yes. Yes, it is because of those things. This one
Sinks. Not just canonically–it’s just not a ship anyone’s begging to happen,
especially considering that Gwen is one of the best Total Drama characters and Trent is pretty
dang generic. If nothing else, their banter in the Aftermath episodes of World Tour seems
to imply that they’re on friendly terms, and that’s nice. But considering Trent’s
extreme white knight arc in Action, these two just don’t click on any level beyond that.
From one vanilla ship to the next, we’re moving to Revenge of the Island to talk
about Mike + Zoey. Now, I know that most people don’t like Zoey all that much, and I
know that Total Drama All Stars was written like a 14-year-old’s Mike x Zoey fanfiction, but…come on,
these two are WAY too cute not to Sail. Mary-Sue or not, Zoey is about the sweetest character in
the Total Drama franchise, and her relationship with Mike shows this off on a whole nother level.
She’s extremely supportive of him and his struggle with DID, and even helps him come to his senses
when Mal takes over his mind temporarily. Throughout all this, she stays loyal to him,
and while I’m not arguing that she is a Mary Sue-esque character, that “little miss
perfect” attitude does make her pretty darn…well, perfect for Mike. Oh, and Mike’s a nice guy, too,
I guess. Vito might be a two-timer, but Mike’s much more devoted, and he pulls through for
Zoey at the end of the day. Hopefully they don’t go the same route as the last pair…
Vito’s not the only cheater we’ll be talking about today, though–let’s go ahead and talk
about Duncan + Courtney. Almost certainly the most popular ship in the fandom, Duncan and Courtney
were an absolute highlight of Total Drama Island. These two balanced each other out perfectly,
with Courtney encouraging Duncan’s human decency side and Duncan dragging Courtney out of her
obsession with rules to have some fun. An absolute highlight of the season, for sure…if only it
ended there. But they end up breaking up between seasons 1 and 2, and that leads to Duncan trying
to get back with her, and this unfortunately succeeds since Duncan fails to see the walking
red flag Courtney devolved into by this point. Seriously, Duncan’s not a great guy by and means,
but a thousand page essay on everything he needs to change about himself? Jesus, Courtney. Oh,
and don’t you worry– he’s not innocent, either. He cheats on Courtney in World Tour with Gwen,
and shows minimal remorse, then can’t seem to decide between either of them in All-Stars. If
it were just season 1 Duncney, I’d gladly say Sail--but given how far they fell,
and how much worse it gets every time, this one has to Swim. I know it’s insanely toxic, but I
just don’t have the heart to put it in Sink, since it was SO good at the beginning of the series.
But if you still think that’s a harsh grading, just know I was thinking of calling it an outright
Shipwreck but THAT honor goes to Duncan + Gwen. Here’s where we get to the “cheater”
part of the discussion. If there’s one scene that EVERYONE here remembers from World Tour, this is
it. Tyler’s reaction is valid–even though Courtney and Duncan are super-toxic by this point, and you
could argue they weren’t dating at the time…come on. Who kisses the boyfriend of a friend you
JUST started getting closer with? It’s like Gwen just wanted to ruin her newfound friendship. This
is also a perfect time to bring All-Stars back into the discussion, where Duncan enters full-on
desperation mode and becomes a simp who would put Cody to shame. Shipwreck, absolutely no question.
That was a DISASTER of a love triangle…but there’s one side of it we haven’t connected. That’s right,
Gwen + Courtney, while our first non-canon ship, is a pretty popular one in the fandom. It seems
that fans enjoy this ship for several reasons. For one, who doesn’t love a good enemies-to-lovers
story? These two have already had two failed attempts at friendship in World Tour and
All-Stars, but while things respectively fell flat due to Gwen being a homewrecker and Courtney being
Courtney, their friendship seemed genuinely sweet from what we saw. And unlike either of the other
ships, these two actually haven’t tried being an item yet–plus they have shared trauma on multiple
levels. The more I think about it, the more I say Let it Sail. You’ll find someone, Duncan–but since
we know for sure it’s neither of these two, I can’t deny I’m a bit curious…mostly because,
even if they turn out AWFUL, it’ll at least be fun to watch. Wait, am I turning into Chris…?
Well, before I get existential about it, how about we break off for the one season Chris wasn’t in
to talk about The Goths? These two are one(well, two) of the highlights of The Ridonculous Race,
for reasons including their one-of-a-kind fashion sense, excellent pet ownership,
and–of course–their adorable dynamic. When their intense makeup gets washed off in one episode,
the two learn to love and accept each other for who they are on the inside–even if,
as the wiki puts it, they have the emotional expressivity of a gargoyle. It’s only every
so often you come across such a perfect match, and while their dynamic is far from
the most interesting, this is still a ship that has every right to Sail.
At first, we may well have said the same about Ryan and Steph,
the bodybuilders. Initially, they seem like a pretty darn cute couple–enjoying each other’s
company throughout the race. Like…REALLY enjoying it. But when they aren’t winning,
that’s when things go downhill–and it’s basically all thanks to Steph, who becomes fiercely over
competitive to the point of bossing and both physically and verbally abusing Ryan. They might
put up a good fight in the competition, but they also put up a good fight for each other–again,
mostly on Steph’s end–so we’ve got to say this one is another Shipwreck. Especially
considering how nice they started out, and how overtly abusive Steph became,
these two need to put their relationship on the rack for at least a good while.
So, what have we learned here? That having things in common isn’t always the key to a relationship.
Just look at Max and Scarlett. Two of the more cartoonish characters in Pahkitew Island,
these two both make a leap from “typical reality TV antagonist” to “legitimate supervillain”. The
difference being primarily that, while Max is more like a kid playing pretend,
Scarlett is legitimately a calculating mastermind. Although Max spends most of the season treating
Scarlett as a faithful minion, Scarlett openly despises Max, to the point where she was horrified
at him being shoved into the cannon with her at elimination. That being said, what if the
roles were swapped? What if Scarlett was the main villain, and Max was the loyal minion? Even if
he’s totally incompetent–they could have, like, a Zim and GIR type dynamic. Which REALLY
begs the question of whether or not we ought to go through with shipping
them. I’ll say Swim for this one. While open hatred is a pretty big red flag for
the potential of a relationship, it’d at least be fun to see them become friends.
Speaking of friends, a quick mention needs to go to the Hallmark couple that is Carrie and
Devin. Literally the definition of a “will they, won’t they” couple…and ultimately,
they do–after about 20 episodes of Carrie’s hesitation and Devin’s painful obliviousness.
Let’s just say Sail for this one, because A) it would be mean to pull these two apart,
and B) for the love of GOD, Carrie, PLEASE just tell him how you feel already!
Seriously, we’ll give an example: take some self-confidence lessons from the true
Gigachad of the series, Harold…+ Leshawna. While they never became an official item,
it’s clear there’s chemistry between these two. Harold is intensely devoted to Leshawna,
to the extent of writing her a cheesy love poem on live television and even
naming his pet snail Leshawna Jr. (Jerry the Snail who?). Leshawna actually likes Harold,
too, though–she admits in an Aftermath episode of Action that she does like him, but doesn’t
feel ready for a relationship with him. That said, she displays some level of loyalty,
and despite occasionally teasing him, she goes as far as to apologize to Harold when she swoons for
Alejandro in World Tour. Given just how darn confident and skillful both of these two are,
there’s no telling where they’ll go with their mad, bootylicious skills combined.
Set these two on a 5-Star Cruise, specifically to make up for how Leshawna was robbed in season
1. And if you’re wondering–yes, I AM going to bring that up every time I get the chance to.
There’s nothing like seeing the geek get the girl…as long as it isn’t Cody + Sierra,
that is. Whether you love or hate Sierra, it’s hard to deny that her behavior towards Cody is a
little unsettling at best and literally predatory at worst. She’s physically assaulted him multiple
times, tried to force him into marriage, and when Cody rightfully tried to vote her off,
she guilt-tripped him for it. Cody said it best–Sierra is the stalker chick he thought
he always wanted, until he actually got one. Oh, the teenage mind… Shipwreck doesn’t even
do this one justice, honestly. There’s a difference between a couple that’s
simply toxic and one that’s…literally criminal behavior. Have a seat, Sierra.
While we’re on the topic of World Tour, let’s go ahead and talk about the other newbie,
Alejandro, and…don’t make an AleTyler joke…don’t make an AleTyler joke….Alejandro and Heather! Of
course the two biggest evils in Total Drama would be darn near perfect for each other, right? Well,
you would think, but Chris x Alejandro never actually became a thing–so we’ve got Al and
Heather instead. With these two, we return to the “enemies to lovers” trope…emphasis
on “enemies,” since Alejandro successfully usurps Heather as Total Drama’s most evil
and manipulative contestant(at least, at the time). Honestly, although you wouldn’t catch
me dead with either of them in real life, their dynamic is actually pretty great. Seriously,
that “This is How We Will End It” song alone bumps them up a lot–Alejandro respects Heather
more than any other competitor, and Heather is willing to pull out all the stops against him,
which is more or less her own signal of respect. Let this one Sail, since they’re two of the
least butchered characters in All Stars, and since they aren’t in our world, we don’t have
to worry about them inevitably taking over our world–we just get to enjoy watching them do it!
We’re down to our last two ships for this video, and since we already name dropped him,
it’d be wrong not to give Chris some action, right? Enter Chris + Chef. Oh, it exists,
alright. And whether you love it or hate it, there’s no doubt these two at least enjoy
each other’s company. In the finale of Total Drama Action, when Chef temporarily quits,
Chris is heartbroken–which not only gives us the shocking reveal that he has a heart, but confirms
that it only beats for Chef. Oh, you’re not buying it? Well, let me direct you to this scene.
The eye roll? The awkward transition? The embarrassed finger rubbing on the bench? The
fact that he LITERALLY HAS CHEF WEAR A DRESS MULTIPLE TIMES? There’s no doubt Chris wants
this relationship to get cooking…but what about Chef? Well, being the war-hardened man he is, Chef
doesn’t seem overly interested in the prospect of dating–especially considering his lack of…well,
any reaction in the aforementioned scene. But maybe he just needs to have his own moment of
clarity–to make him realize just how much he wants Chris to be the host of his life, and
they can grow old and recap all of their fondest memories together. Let it Sail…and let me sail to
the last ship for today, because I’m alarmingly not even sure if I’m joking around anymore.
We’ve talked about many, many beloved ships today. But there’s one that’s so infamous that we just
couldn’t avoid giving it a mention too. It’s quite possibly the most hated total Drama ship
in existence–it’s Sky + Dave. Already, this one doesn’t have the best framework. Sky has
the personality of an orange peel, and Dave is basically a more annoying, less funny version
of Noah. But that doesn’t mean they can’t change each other, right? Of course–they magically make
each other worse. Dave goes full-on r/niceguys, refusing to take no for an answer and trying his
darndest to guilt trip Sky into going out with him, throwing a full-on tantrum when she refuses
...as if she hasn’t already refused multiple times. He also eventually tries to kill Sky
in the final challenge when he discovers that she had a boyfriend throughout the entire season. This
not only elevates Dave from a bit of a creep to an outright psychopath, it proves that Sky isn’t
ENTIRELY innocent herself. Imagine being this boyfriend and seeing your girlfriend, who you
love dearly, cheat on you on live television. This one is an absolute Trainwreck. Yeah,
not even a shipwreck at this point–Dave threw his shoe into the tracks and the train somehow managed
to land in the water. And hopefully we won’t land in hot water with you guys for our takes…but the
more drama, the better, right? If you want more, don’t hesitate to cast your votes in the comments!