This conflict mainly began with just Harold and Duncan, until their girlfriends got involved.
The conflict involving Courtney, Duncan, Harold, and LeShawna is perhaps the most volatile and intense rivalry ever presented in the Total Drama franchise. Though it largely centers around the immense dislike Duncan and Harold have for one another, it has grown to involve their girlfriends. Their feud has, at times, turned heated and chaotic to the point that it has threaten the sanity of just about everyone else on the show.
Overview[]
Total Drama Island[]
From the moment they set foot on Total Drama Island, the rivalry between Duncan and Harold was well cemented. Harold was looking forward to making friends, but Duncan clearly had no intention of befriending a dweeb like him. From that point on, Duncan pulled pranks left and right on Harold, such as making him wet himself while sleeping by placing his hand in a cup of warm water and drawing a bad mustache on his face with marker. Duncan even had help from Geoff and DJ, most especially when they went to teach Harold a lesson for leaving his underwear lying around on the floor.
Harold's problems were not limited to Duncan. He also faced fierce, and sometimes unwarranted criticism from Courtney. Courtney had undervalued Harold's abilities from the beginning, believing that he could offer nothing toward the success of the Killer Bass. She forced him to sit out of the dodgeball game when he barely threw the ball in the first round and did not give him a chance to even audition for the talent contest. Ironically, he would be the reason for the team's victory in both challenges as he was the last resort they had left at the time.
Duncan and LeShawna not getting along as partners.
While it would happen much later in the show, Duncan found himself in a heated conflict with LeShawna. This was primarily because both were of aggressive personalities and neither was willing to back down when pushed came to shove. This was very apparent when they were supposed to be partners in the Tri-Armed Triathlon as both wanted to take the lead over the other. All their arguments generally ended with LeShawna putting him down in some fashion.
The true intensity of the rival came just as Courtney and Duncan became a couple. Having had enough of the abuse and harassment, Harold decided to get back at Duncan by taking away that which he held dear. Harold illegally broke into the voting box and switched the votes so that Courtney would be eliminated. Soon afterward, however, he realized what a big mistake that was as it now made him a target for both Courtney and Duncan.
Total Drama Academy: Year One[]
Upon arriving at Richmore Academy, Harold tried many times to apologize to Courtney for his actions. Unfortunately, she would have none of it and spurned him at every moment. In the meantime, Duncan continued to target Harold for pranking as he now had a greater sense of purpose to do so. Once again reaching a boiling point, Harold decided to run against Courtney for a seat on the student body council with LeShawna having his back.
From that point onward, all four clashed in an epic feud that rocked Riker Hall as well as the school campus. After a heated argument, Harold actually attacked Courtney out of frustration and the two needed to be pulled apart. The Others constantly had to keep Duncan and LeShawna away from one another, knowing that any little thing would set off the two. The same with the Smarty Pants having to keep Courtney and Harold separated.
Illustration of Courtney and Harold engaged in fisticuffs by Lord Akiyama.
Chris McLean gleefully milked the rivalry whenever possible on the weekly Friday Challenge Night. In the Boys vs. Girls Super Soaker Food Fight on Week 2, all four immediately unloaded on one another before the challenge could even get started, resulting in a draw in their match. They were situated against each other in Torture Chamber of Love in Week 4 and they were forced to work together as partners in Arena in Week 5.
Prior to the elections, Harold gave an impassioned closing speech that would have surely gotten him voted. However, Heather would secretly sabotage his victory when she recognized what a greater threat he posed to the Dodekatheon. Though she was elected, Courtney felt a sense of guilt and soon went to Harold to call a truce. While they had apparently buried the hatchet, both Duncan and LeShawna seemed unwilling to let go as LeShawna noted that she will not hesitate to throw her weight at Duncan should he resume messing with Harold.
At the start of the first break, Harold starts a band with Gwen and Trent. Upon hearing them play, Courtney asks to join, primarily because she needed to participate in a non-school funded extra curricular activity. But she also hopes that playing music with Harold would help ease the tension between them. LeShawna, however, is a bit skeptic about Courtney joining the band.
Trivia[]
- Lord Akiyama considers the conflict between Courtney and Duncan against Harold and LeShawna to have been the major storyline of the first quarter in Year One.
- LeShawna is the only person in this conflict who wasn't on the Killer Bass.
- Harold is the only person in this conflict who doesn't have an everyone-interaction.
- Duncan is the only person in this conflict who competes in Return to Total Drama Island.
- In an interview with Christian Potenza, Emilie-Claire Barlow claims her favorite character, other than her own, was Harold.
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