Gwen receiving so much criticism over her character arc in ATSV is wild cuz that's literally the plot of the movie, that's what the movie is all about and that's what made it this good. That's what's intended to happen, she's repeating the mistake with a friend, and going for a redemption. Her first lines are literally "I hurt him and he wasn't the only one". You immediately know something bad will happen between her and Miles and that it will be, if not entirely, then mostly, her fault, which she is aware of when she's telling the story. The movie doesn't portray her as the best character and definitely not as the worst one, it gives her character development, just like her dad wasn't there for her at first and by the end of the film he was. No one's saying that she was entirely right, but that just like her dad, she saw that she wasn't there for a loved one and decided to try to fix the problem before It's too late - which is so much more than what a lot of characters usually do. Literally everyone makes mistakes, it's how she handled it that's great and as long as she doesn't repeat it (same for her dad too).
not to mention mirroring Miles. Gwen doesn't have a support system and is at the mercy of Sociaty and ends up doing things she regrets. Whereas Miles has a support system, and it's that support system that helps him be self-confident and say go to hell with the canon idea.
