YMMV / Total Blended Drama

• Base-Breaking Character: Island's finalists, Leshawna and Scott. Namely, does their noticeable shifts in characterization compared to canon lend well to the story's themes and storytelling, or does it only rob them of what made them likable and unique in the original series?
  • Heather's Adaptational Heroism is a major point of contention; is it a unique take on her that's compelling in its own right, or does it rob her of her original characterization to a point of not feeling the same?
  • Of the fan characters, Ryan's the most hotly debated, namely in regards to what he actually added to the story, especially in comparison to other similar characters from canon (specifically Trent). Did he manage to have enough personality to warrant his inclusion and longterm status in the game, or did he just eat up screentime without the investment needed to back it up?
• Broken Base: The various stories attempts at more realistic storytelling. Does this lead to a unique take on the series other writer's generally ignore, or does it bog down the cast's generally exaggerated personalities and lead to many of them feeling like more boring depictions of their normal selves?
  • As is to be expected of any story blending the old cast with new additions, the inclusion of OCs is divisive. Its generally divided between those who feel they have enough personality to stand on their own, those who feel they're underwhelming and unnecessary compared to the original cast, and those who don't really mind their presence but aren't as invested in their stories.
  • The unique challenge created just for the story. Do they have enough going on to keep things interesting, or are they comparatively dull and slower paced compared to canon?
  • Around the endgame, there's a noticeable drop-off in terms of compelling storytelling related to more personal plotlines, such as developing friendships or romance, in exchange a far heavier emphasis on each character's individual strategy. Was this a good turn for the smaller cast, or does it cause the latter half of the story to drag on comparatively even with the smaller number of characters?
• Elimination Houdini: Scarlett and Heather received the most votes during the entire season but it takes Scarlett until the early merge to be eliminated while Heather is eliminated at the final 3. Likewise Jo is the secondary target for much of the Rats before the shuffle but gets saved by a swap and still gets saved when the new maggots go to their first elimination and instead get rid of Dawn.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Jackson has been the most well-received of the fan characters introduced in Island, sporting a unique design and trope compared to the others, while also having a shockingly sweet romantic subplot with Katie.
  • Katie herself is appropriately much more popular here than in canon, receiving more screentime and unique characterization beyond being friends with Sadie, likely in no small part because of Sadie's absence.
• Growing the Beard: Island has a lot of the usual issues associated with first attempts at telling any kind of new season, and with how much competition there is for both returning cast and original character seasons, it overall struggled to form much of a unique image. Comparatively, Revenge of the Island is an overall far more realized story, with general improvement across the board in terms of characterization and tone, managing to blend the more serious elements far better with the series' innately humor-based cast of characters.
• The Scrappy: Chloe is a unique case; while she's intended as a Hate Sink, some readers noticed that even prior to revealing her homophobia, she was still written as being widely despised by the rest of the cast just for being religious (if a bit to an extreme degree for casual conversation). Some readers thought this was unfair depiction, and that if they wanted to lean in that direction with her, it'd have been better to introduce her unlikable characteristics from the first episode instead of waiting until "Dodgebrawl", since otherwise it can easily leave a bad taste in the mouths of those who felt she written from a place of bias in the episodes prior.
  • Zoey, and later Gwen, have been criticized for deviating considerably from their canon personalities and having far more antagonistic or downright petty moments, especially the latter when referring to her overall dynamic with Lindsay.
• Shocking Elimination:
  • In Island, Sky is medically evacuated in a Non-Gameplay Elimination but the Gophers still have to eliminate a member. To prevent them from being mad with power, a coup is staged against Sammy and she is voted out.
  • Multiple in Revenge:
    • It starts with Tyler. He has the main love plot with Lindsay and even after that is resolved he narrates a lot of his and his relationship with Lindsay. But on his birthday nonetheless, he's eliminated and becomes the lowest ranking Maggot.
    • Just before Tyler, Owen is established as well liked and helps lead his team to victory the previous challenge but is eliminated due to being a liability in future physical challenges. His exit however, is mitigated when he returns to the game during the merge.
    • Owen's reentry into the merge is compounded with DJ's elimination. His bonds with Gwen on the other side, his role as the team cook, and his very close bond with Quentin locked him in a very good power position. However, thanks to some chaos that spurred from a conversation with Jo and Quentin the votes are split so that he is eliminated with a plurality rather than a majority of votes.
    • Immediately after DJ is eliminated, Gwen is in a particularly rough spot. She and Quentin are the targets and it seems like Quentin might actually be eliminated thanks to Mike splitting the votes. However, Quentin pulls out the idol and secures his spot in the final 7 eliminating Gwen.
• So Okay, It's Average: Total Drama Blended: Island suffers from many of the usual issues of first attempts at fanfic seasons, with awkwardly paced challenges, frequent and often underbaked characterization of its cast, and an overall more neutral tone compared to canon, along with a heavier emphasis on realism and strategy that failed to deliver at several points. It's overall not a bad read and has its fans, but most wouldn't disagree that Revenge of the Island is a noticeably more refined story overall.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Of the canon characters, Justin, Noah, and Beth didn't get a lot of screen time despite going against their team's villains. Of the three of them, only Justin would get to return in Total Drama Action.
  • Likewise, Tem is considered to be the most underutilized of the Original Characters. At least Chloe got characterization as a Hate Sink. This is acknowledged in Blended Revenge when Violet considers her robbed. Like Justin, Tem would make a return in Total Drama Action.
  • Sasquatchinakwa makes no appearances because the authors are going for a more realistic aspect, but his absence has been noted. He finally does make an appearance in "The Australian Nae Nae" as the primary obstacle during the challenge in a role similar to Jackson and becoming a Sitcom Archnemesis to Dave.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • The lack of a Playa de Losers episode and the exclusion of Are We There Yeti and Camp Castaways are some of the more lamented losses. The authors have expressed a particular regret for omitting the final obstacle course.
• Viewer Gender Confusion: The story is in a text based medium so it's easier for gender identifying features to slip through the cracks. Specifically in Pahkitew Island's first chapter, Drew and Alexis were both mistaken as males by reviewers due to their Gender Blender Names.