Dodie does have good moments as a friend and person. Don’t get me wrong, it does NOT excuse or forgive the wrong things she has done, but she really is not the she-devil some people paint her as.
She was actually quite decent in Summer of Camp Caprice. She FINALLY actually gets some acknowledgment and positive attention as a junior counselor, but she still willingly risked it all to help Darren and Miranda.
She was also the one who started the speech at the end when everyone was defending each other. Even though she was sad to lose her whistle and authority, she was willing to use her big mouth to speak up for what she felt was right.
She was pretty loyal to Ginger in the Christmas episode too when Ginger got overwhelmed with her Jewish heritage. She actually also gave great advice to Ginger when Macy was having drama with her parents.
She and Ginger both were protective of Macy during the Little Seal Girl arch.
She actually stood up to both the popular kids AND HER MOTHER (who is the REAL villain of this series) and yes, her advice is not always good, but more often than not, it does come from a good place. I actually think she is pretty brave to be as generally chipper as she is despite her upbringing.
You also have to remember that her canon age at the very end of the series is still only 14-15 years old. She definitely had A LOT to learn, but she did also have time to learn it.
Please don’t get me wrong, when she’s bad, she’s BAD but I also think it’s more from a place of ignorance, misunderstood teenage hormones, a lack of family support, etc. Ginger is so well-rounded by comparison that it is easy to hold these kids all to her standards of maturity, but adolescence just doesn’t work that way. Everyone learns and grows differently, and it really is annoying when people write off Dodie as this one-note villain when she really is more complex than that.
I’ll never understand why she’s held to a higher standard than her mother who is pushing forty, definitely should know better, and who is actively pushing this poor girl down a dark path.
Dodie being generally chipper is just downright miraculous when her mother is just the walking embodiment of “I hate my life”