Latest Posts by reina-royale - Page 3

I'm not the first to mention this, but one bit that I thought was really clever in Steven Universe is the ways in which the show subtly justifies the cartoonism of the principle cast always wearing the same outfit for ease-of-animation purposes. The gems are a gimme in that they're all hardlight-projections, and even before that's solidified as a plot point they're otherworldly and superheroic enough that you don't really think to question it. But Steven canonically just owns hundreds and hundreds of those star shirts, which are leftover merchandise from his father's fizzled-out career as a rock star. Into which you can read a whole bunch of other stuff if you really want to, right? And I do want to. It's reflective of Greg's misplaced optimism that he got hundreds of those made in the first place, and it's a benign but visible example of how Steven's life is shaped by the knock-on effects of decisions his parents made before he was even alive. He's got his mother's superpowers and he's wearing his father's shirts.

Who's Number One: Bonnie, or Kim? (Redux)

FOREWORD: THIS IS NOT A POLL! DO NOT ACTUALLY REPLY WITH YOUR OPINION ON WHO’S NUMBER ONE!

So, when "Number One" first came out, of course we're all rooting for Kim to remain captain. But, now, I don't think Kim really deserved it.

Kim’s skills, especially in cheerleading, should not be doubted. But is Kim really the best fit for captain?

Let’s discuss:

Kim has been doing cheerleading since seventh grade, but Bonnie not only has been doing it longer, but has already been Cheer Captain before.

(In "A Sitch in Time" she was the one assigning routines to the girls trying out, implying that, even if she wasn't the captain, she was at least some kind of authority in the squad.)

Over the course of one week, Bonnie organized a fundraiser, raised money for new uniforms, and wrote and choreographed a new cheer. Kim did nothing other than expecting Bonnie to just fail on her own.

The one time Kim's mentioned as doing any of that, it ended up with all the cheerleaders in a pile after Kim's dismount from the pyramid, as Kim crashed into all of them during her dance. Given that they were all standing around, it's possible that they couldn't follow Kim's routine very well. ("Mind Games")

In "Queen Bebe" Kim was supposed to write a new routine for the squad, but was unable to do so because of all her other obligations.

In "The Full Monkey" Kim showed up to practice tired and missed her cue, causing Bonnie to trip and fall. Luckily, Bonnie was uninjured. However, we get an interesting quote from Bonnie in this episode:

Bonnie: Looks like Miss Perfect's going to leave us hanging. So typ.

This implies that this is not the first time Kim's had trouble keeping her commitment to the squad.

Obviously, it kind of sucks that Kim's so busy saving the world that she has a hard time doing things like cheerleading, but she can be a cheerleader without being the captain.

And the squad deserves to have someone in charge who can actually do the job. Whatever the reason is for Kim being unable to do it, it's not fair to keep letting the squad down again and again. Bonnie was definitely a better fit for captain.

(As much as Bonnie hates Kim, she's not going to kick Kim off the squad just because. She let Kim join in "A Sitch in Time" because of her skill, even though she didn't want to, so she wouldn't kick Kim off unless it would be better for the squad that way.)

And it's really surprising that we're supposed to assume Bonnie quit being captain.

Bonnie's not lazy. At all. She's shown to have been taking dance lessons for a long time, got good grades in school, put a lot of work into becoming captain, was (most likely) captain before, and, most importantly, the whole reason she challenged Kim for the captain spot in the first place was because Kim couldn't do the work.

And Kim didn't even try to prove she should still be captain. She did nothing to deserve it, not even sell a chocolate bar. She just expected Bonnie to fail on her own.

So, even if Bonnie was going to give up the job of captain, she wouldn't give it back to Kim. Anyone other than Kim would be better in Bonnie's eyes.

I get that, as the main character, we’re supposed to root for Kim, but in this particular episode, the only reason to root for Kim is because she’s the main character, not because she actually deserved it.

And that's not fair to the viewers or the characters.

Is surprising how much of the humor was based at Ron’s expense, specially when some of his behaviors like having hyperfixation over things he liked (Bueno nacho, wrestling) or scenes where he had to deals with issues such as dealing with fear, phobias and/or anxiety were oftentimes downplayed of painted in a way to make him look “funny”, “silly” or “dumb”.

Ron more often than not read as being neurodivergent and gender non conforming.

Why make fun of him using the things that could potentially make him relatable towards the audience?

I also agree with you about Kim feeling too perfect at times.

An argument I’ve heard people make was that Ron stole Kim’s spotlight at the end of the show. In that it was supposed to be “The Kim possible show, not Ron stoppable” Do you think this argument has any merit?

Sometimes I wish Ron as a character was convinced as a girl instead of a boy, to show girls could be silly, weird and awkward and still manage be useful in their own ways. (Similar to Luz from the owl house or Lilo from Lilo and Stitch).

This is part of the reason why despite being a girl, I always liked him and related to him more than with Kim. You feel the same way, don’t you?

Yeah, a lot of the things that Ron was made fun of for are things that made him relatable to the audience, so it seems like a terrible idea to make fun of those traits.

And making fun of him for things like being gender nonconforming, being neurodivergent, or having PTSD-induced phobias, is not something that seems funny 20 years later.

(Whether or not Ron was intended to be any of those things, he was coded that way, so it's hurtful to people who relate to him to see him being made fun of for that.)

And Ron was a main character, but he was mostly there to be made fun of.

What's the point of a main character who's sole purpose is to be made fun of?

Kim did feel overly perfect; her parents are too permissive with non-menial jobs, she's relatively popular, and she's rarely shown to not be instantly good at things.

She's known to practice cheerleading, but "A Sitch in Time" shows her doing an impossible routine on her first tryout.

She's never shown receiving any kind of Kung Fu training, but is apparently very skilled anyways.

All in all, Kim's life is perfect, and it makes it hard for people to relate to her.

I do think the focus shifted away from Kim a bit in season 4, especially once Hana was introduced. It definitely felt like there were more Ron-centric episodes in that season than in any of the previous three.

(They hadn't actually planned on continuing the show after "So The Drama", so I guess they didn't have as many plots for Kim as they did for Ron.)

Honestly, Kim having a female friend who's silly, weird, and awkward would have been awesome. Not every female character needs to be serious and focused all the time.

I'm not sure if I'd want it to be a female version of Ron, but I would think it'd be great to introduce a character like that.

Especially if it causes Kim to reflect on her relationship with Ron and how she's treated him at times.

Yes, I do relate to Ron more than I relate to Kim. I am female, but I am also neurodivergent and gender nonconforming, and Ron is a character I relate a lot to.

And I'm not the only one.

So a show indirectly making fun of me isn't something I'm okay with.

Will Du: Can't, or Can? (Redux)

Starting off with a fun fact: Will's original concept was Ken Du, who was just as capable as Kim. They had a rivalry with each other, but also a bit of a romance. Concept art had him looking just like Hirotaka.

So, honestly, the idea of Kim having an actual rival in saving the world is so interesting. Unfortunately, Will doesn't measure up to Kim.

Or, he's not supposed to.

But he's the top agent at Global Justice for a reason, so there's probably more to his mistakes on the mission than being incompetent.

Let's review:

The first thing we learn about Will is that he doesn't want to work with an amateur. He finds it insulting that he's being asked.

Instead of it being snobbery or an insult to Kim's abilities, it could just as easily be that he wanted to get the job done without having to teach someone else to do it, and was insulted that they wanted to waste his time by making him teach someone to do the job.

I mean, I don't know how it works in the world of espionage, but in every job I had, if someone of high rank was being asked to work with a new recruit or potential recruit, it's because they were expected to teach them or determine if they'd be good for the job.

(Also, Kim needs to not take being called an amateur so personally. She never even fought an actual bad guy until "Tick-Tick-Tick", which was less than two months ago at this point. She is definitely skilled, but she is technically an amateur.)

And Kim is someone who said, to Dr. Director's face, that she's wrong about why someone would kidnap Professor Green because "you can learn everything he knows at the library."

(Honestly, odds are that wasn't true. This is the era where computers were still boxes, Wikileaks didn't exist yet, and only nerds spent a lot of time online anyways. There were still projects from WWII that were classified, so it's doubtful that everything Professor Green worked on was declassified.)

Will Du and Global Justice assume Professor Green had been kidnapped for his weapons knowledge. Even if that wasn't why he was kidnapped, they still have an interest in making sure none of his weapons knowledge got out anyways.

But Kim keeps insisting that the trained professionals who do this for a living are wrong.

It must be really frustrating for Will.

(Just because Kim was right doesn't mean she has to be a know-it-all.)

There's also the fact that Global Justice had only asked Kim on the mission, but she brought Ron and Rufus along anyways, meaning in addition to ensuring Kim's safety, Will also has to ensure the safety of a civilian and his pet, who should not have been there in the first place.

Despite Will having an entire database of verified information on his wrist, Kim insists on going to a den of criminal activity to talk to some crime boss for information, despite being unable to prove the information would be correct or helpful.

(And does not tell Will ahead of time where they're going, denying him any ability to refuse to go or offer an alternative.)

Sure, it got the job done, but Will no doubt has procedures, rules, and regulations to follow, along with a list of things that he shouldn't do, and using unverified, known-criminal sources for information is probably one of them.

In summary:

Will has to ensure the safety of an amateur that charges into things without talking to others, and the civilian and rodent she dragged along who shouldn't be there.

Will has to follow rules and procedures that Kim doesn't think about and likely wouldn't respect anyways.

Will has a database of useful and verified information, but Kim insists on using sources like Big Daddy Brotherson.

Kim went into the mission with an "I know better" attitude, already believing she was better than the professionals who do this for a living.

So, while Will is probably actually extremely competent, he was also off of his game because his style doesn’t mesh well with Kim’s at all.

And he would have been an interesting recurring character, but the creators decided not to give Kim an actual rival in saving the world, for some reason, so we never see Will again.

(I like to imagine he specifically requested to never work with Kim again, so Global Justice only contacts Kim for things that Kim would be better suited for, or when they were studying The Ron Factor.)

So, Will could have been a very interesting character, someone to serve as an actual rival to Kim when it comes to saving the world.

Sadly, his potential was wasted by turning him into a seemingly incompetent agent.

And that's just sad.

Bonus Thoughts:

Will doesn't seem to be very experienced with combat. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it just leads me to a certain conclusion about him:

He wasn't trained for combat.

Global Justice's top agent would be very skilled at whatever they needed him to be good at, but combat doesn't seem to be one of his skills.

So it's very likely Global Justice probably didn't need him for combat. His skills probably lie more in intelligence gathering and espionage, which requires more stealth and diplomacy than fighting

And it certainly never involved fighting villains like Kim's.

Thus, Will is not incompetent, he's just not suited for combat against supervillains with gimmicks.

Team Impossible: Wrong, But Also Right (Redux)

"Team Impossible" could have been a great episode to introduce mentor-like characters to Kim and Ron. Instead, Team Impossible is a bunch of jerks who want Kim out of the business for the shallowest reason possible - Kim doing missions for free is cutting into their profits.

There were other reasons they could have given for wanting Kim out of the business. For example:

They won't almost get embarrassed out of existence like Kim in "Blush".

The have plans for if one of them is too sick to go on a mission, unlike Kim in "Sick Day".

They'll actually put stuff they're guarding in safe places, unlike Kim in "October 31st" and "Adventures in Rufus-Sitting".

They won't misuse potentially dangerous gadgets (for personal gain), unlike Kim in "Queen Bebe".

They were able to take down Drakken and Dementor in the time it took Kim to show up. (Granted they were sabotaging Kim's rides, they're still quick and efficient.)

They're full grown adults who are mentally and emotionally developed enough to understand the dangers they're putting themselves in.

They have the experience and training to handle themselves instead of relying on the good will of others.

They don't have to balance saving the world with things like school, clubs, or dates.

Like, there are a lot of good, valid reasons for adults to not want a couple of teenagers to save the world, but instead we get profit.

Also, getting paid for their services isn't so bad. Their resort, training, equipment, and transportation all cost money just to maintain.

Unlike Kim, they don't have people giving them those things for free, so they have to charge somebody.

(And they checked a guy's credit before charging him, probably to make sure he could actually afford it.)

There are a lot of things more important than money, I won't argue with that.

But, since they're footing the bill for all the expenses themselves, it's not wrong to ask for financial compensation for this service. If they didn't, they'd eventually be unable to actually do the job.

(And the guy who charged didn't seem to upset about paying anyways. A little taken aback at first, but not upset. He even gave them a gift basket as well.)

However, I digress.

The point is, there are actual, valid reasons for them to want Kim out of the business, profit didn’t have to be the issue.

Lack of experience, lack of training, and careless mishandling of certain missions would have been enough and would have had the potential for introducing possible mentors.

They could've been people who helped Kim learn from her mistakes and grow from them.

But the creators have a habit of introducing someone to the show who also saves the world and then have Kim be either better, like with Will Du, or more moral, like with Team Impossible, so we never see them again.

Thus, Kim is the lone hero in the world.

And she shouldn't be.

So The Drama: A Bit of A Mess (Redux)

Regardless of my feelings on Kim/Ron, I think the show could've done a better job of portraying them as having feelings for each other.

In "Grudge Match" Kim mocks and insults Ron for even suggesting that people might think they date. This does not indicate that she's secretly crushing on him.

In "Emotion Sickness" Ron is uncomfortable with the idea of dating Kim. This does not indicate that he's secretly crushing on her.

In "Bad Boy" Kim suggests Ron take a date to Rueben's wedding, but gets uncomfortable when he asks her to go. They both agree that it's not a "date-date".

(I will give them props, Kim and Ron's conversation about the main characters of Agony County getting together was a nice lampshade.)

I will admit that Kim was jealous of Yori in "Gorilla Fist", and her conversation with Ron about Yori crushing on him could be a nice parallel to Kim's situation.

However, Kim was also jealous of Felix in "Steal Wheels", so it's not like she has to consider someone to be romantic rival to be jealous of them.

Ron is never shown to have issues with Kim dating, even attempting to help Kim with Josh.

And, though she doesn't seem to think highly of Ron, she doesn't have a problem with Ron dating.

Before "So The Drama" there wasn't a lot to indicate that they were attracted to each other.

Actually, there was more to indicate that they only see each other as friends than that they were secretly attracted to each other.

In "So The Drama" we get a lot of Ron pining over Kim, but only one line near the beginning that might indicate Kim is also pining over Ron.

And then, there's Eric.

Eric was perfect for Kim, and she begins to ignore Ron because of him.

This prompts Ron to realize his feelings for Kim, but he doesn't act on them until after Eric is revealed to be part of Drakken's plan.

Which is another problem; Eric was part of Drakken's plan.

Aside from one line at the beginning, there wasn't much to indicate that Kim was crushing on Ron. So having her date him after it's revealed that Eric was part of Drakken's plan makes it seem like Ron's the rebound.

Honestly, having two people end up together because the alternate love interest was no longer an option is kind of lazy writing.

(Granted, they hadn't been expecting the show to continue after this, so I'm not too surprised.)

Still, Kim ended up with Ron not because he was the better option but because he was the only option.

And that's just unfair to both of them.

Thoughts on "Motor Ed"

The episode, not the character.

Well, I do like that it dealt with disability. And Kim's behavior is actually reminiscent of how many people in the real world treat someone with an obvious disability.

I love that Ron treated Felix like a normal person from the beginning.

And I like that Felix's mom was patient with Kim being uncomfortable with Felix's chair.

(Because Kim's not discriminatory, she has just never been near someone with a physical disability before and has no idea what's considered acceptable behavior.)

However, I do have one complaint:

For all the times Ron acts like Felix is a normal person and even tells Kim to treat him like a normal person, Felix doesn't.

At no point is Felix anything other than...polite.

Sure, Kim's not trying to be mean, but micro aggressions are typically done by people who don't have harmful intentions.

(Though Felix isn't aware of most of them, so I will give some leeway here.)

We have Ron advocating for Kim to treat Felix like a normal person, but we never have Felix advocating for that himself.

(He's also not really advocating, he's just treating Felix like a normal person and telling Kim she's too hung up on the chair.)

Felix is never his own advocate when it comes to how he's treated.

And having a disabled person in a show is great, but it's even better when they advocate for themselves.

Again, I know that Kim's not trying to be mean, but she is treating Felix differently because of his disability. And Felix should be the one calling her out on it, not Ron.

(Though he's new, so it's possible he thinks she treats everyone that way, though it's really unlikely.)

I know it's not intended to be offensive, and I wouldn't say I'm offended, but I do think disabled characters should be allowed to advocate for themselves.

Still, I do like this episode, and I wish we had gotten to see more of Felix in the series.

Bonus: A lot of people in wheelchairs are able to stand or walk without it for a bit. Does anyone think Felix is able to do that?

Kim Possible: Great Hero, Not So Great Person (Redux)

I've rewatched the show more recently and noticed some new details, so I've decided to redo my first post on this blog.

Kim is known for saving the world and helping people with things like park cleanups and cats stuck in trees.

But she is also known to put her own desires before her friends, even if it causes them harm.

And that is not something a good person does.

These are not "mistakes" because Kim is doing them intentionally.

And it's not a one-time thing:

"Bueno Nacho"

Kim forges an application in Ron’s name before she even brings up the idea of working there to him.

When he's upset with her for doing that, she uses the puppy dog pout, which he explicitly states she knows he can't resist, to get him to take the job.

She refuses to be supportive of him or happy for him when he turns out to be good at it, to the point of refusing to do the job at all.

I will give Kim credit for apologizing for her jealousy, but she never apologizes for manipulating him to take the job in the first place.

"The New Ron"

She forces Ron into a haircut, despite the fact that even her own mother had reservations about it.

When Ron tells her he hates it and why, she feigns sympathy, steals his hat, and runs through the halls yelling that he got a new haircut.

When Ron starts to embrace the new haircut and becomes popular, she hates it. But despite his popularity, he's not a jerk.

He didn't abandon Rufus, Rufus wandered off and Ron gently chastised him for it.

She was only upset because Ron was starting to change into someone who cared about hair care and appearances.

(Which, if that wasn't her goal with the new haircut, then what was her goal?)

She apologizes for saying Ron needed a new haircut, but not for the lengths she went to to force him into one, nor for her contempt for him after he started to embrace the haircut.

At the end, she tries to tell him that it's what's on the inside that counts, but it's very hypocritical since she was the one who wanted him to change in the first place.

"Crush"

Kim locks Ron in the janitor closet, though semi-unintentionally; she wasn't intending to lock him in there, but she did shove him back in when he was trying to leave.

She ignores Wade’s attempts at reaching her, even though Wade never contacts her unless it’s important.

(I will give Kim some leeway here, as a teenage girl deserves one night to herself.)

She also expressed no concern at Ron being missing, nor does she seem to even notice he's missing.

We also have no idea how long Ron spent in that closet, but even just an hour is too long.

(Also, that is a really big janitor's closet. The ones at my high school were closet sized, not room sized.)

"October 31st"

When Kim's told the bracelet is armor that grows when she lies, she keeps lying, even though it was probably unnecessary. Her parents and Ron would have been understanding about her wanting to go to a party with her crush.

Her actions led to her destroying Monique's garage door, which probably landed Monique in trouble.

And though Kim does get grounded for lying, she doesn't get in trouble for putting others in danger.

(Probably because Wade's the only one who could confirm that she knew she was putting others in danger.)

"The Twin Factor"

She uses the Neural-Compliance Chips on her brothers, after saying that just making them would be unethical.

After an entire episode about how bad they are.

After being a victim of them herself.

It’s meant to be a joke.

This is not the kind of thing anyone should joke about.

"Grudge Match"

Kim thinks telling Ron that he might stand a chance with a girl is "fudging".

At this point, they know so little about Zita that they think her name is Annie.

There's no reason to believe Ron wouldn't stand a chance except for having a low opinion of Ron in general.

They also had their conversation about it while sitting across the table from Ron at Bueno Nacho, so there's a good chance he heard them.

And despite this belief that he doesn't stand a chance, she spends the rest of the episode angrily telling him that there are no rules to try to encourage him to ask her out.

"Adventures in Rufus-Sitting"

Ron's steps of taking care of Rufus aren't just long because he's an exotic animal, those are also things Ron learned about taking care of Rufus from experience.

He also refers to Rufus as his son in "Mind Games", so Kim's disregard for how to take care of Rufus is extra mean given that Rufus clearly means a lot to Ron.

Not only does Rufus accidentally eat the chip due to Kim's negligence, she doesn't even notice it's missing until Wade tells her it's broadcasting a signal from inside Rufus.

And she lies to Ron about all of it on multiple occasions. I can understand some of them, since she was dealing with an emergency, but this is the kind of thing pet owners like to know about.

"Exchange"

Kim and Monique were both arranging “accidental” run-ins with Hirotaka to ask him out, but Kim’s the only one who had Wade track Hirotaka’s movements to do it.

I know Monique couldn’t do that, but the point is, Kim took it to creepy stalker levels for a guy she’s known for less than a week.

(I'm also interested in the fact that Monique was confident she could take Kim in a fight.)

"Return to Wannaweep"

Though Kim and Bonnie both sabotage each other, Kim started it.

She unplugged Bonnie’s alarm clock, supposedly to charge the Kimmunicator, but there was another available outlet that she could’ve used.

She also uses all the hot water in the showers so Bonnie can’t have any, which wouldn’t harm just Bonnie but anyone else who may need to use the showers after Bonnie.

And she refuses to take any of Ron's feelings seriously.

Even if Gil hadn't actually been up to something, Ron was still stuck sharing a cabin with a guy who used to bully him and had attacked him and the squad at some point. He has every right to be uncomfortable with it, but Kim keeps dismissing his feelings because she's too focused on sabotaging Bonnie so she could win a plastic stick that's been painted gold.

Dr. Lurkin apologizes to Ron for not taking him seriously, but Kim doesn't.

"Go Team Go"

Despite getting on Ron's case for cheating in "Naked Genius", which is completely fair, Kim had no problems using her newfound super strength for gym class or cheerleading, which is unfair and hypocritical of her.

"The Big Job"

Though I agree the "doofy" and "stupido" thing was embarrassing, coupons shouldn't be embarrassing, especially since Kim isn't offering to pay for it herself.

I can understand how the kids' menu thing was embarrassing, especially since Kim wouldn't want to order a kids' meal. However, she should just let Ron order of the kids' menu if he wants to.

The whole plot around getting jobs would have been better if Kim was getting one to pay for dates herself, not to "encourage" Ron to get one to pay for dates.

And then Ron decides Kim deserves better and starts looking for a job himself anyways.

"Fashion Victim"

I could understand being upset about not getting to see the designs, but Monique signed an NDA and would be risking not just her job but her future career in the fashion industry if she told Kim. And having Wade check the contract for loopholes is obsessive and could’ve landed them all in legal trouble.

Hassling Monique to break an NDA and trying to get Wade to find a loophole so Monique can tell her is the kind of thing Kim would've gotten fired for.

(Also, there is no way Wade was just given a copy of that NDA, so he's definitely in trouble if Monique ever decides to snitch on him.)

"Big Bother"

We learn in "A Sitch in Time" that Kim always wanted a little sister, so it's no surprise that she took to Hana immediately.

But Ron's life was changed against his will without warning while he was at school, so a little sympathy would be expected from his girlfriend. Especially since the attic isn't as nice or comfortable as his old bedroom.

When Yori needs Ron's help on a mission, Kim refuses to let him go because she doesn't trust Ron alone with Yori, even though he's never given her any reason to think he'd be disloyal and Yori had requested help from him specifically.

"Clothes Minded"

I know they’re criminals who are behind bars, but that doesn’t make it right for Kim to use The Fashionistas’ design without their permission.

Monique didn't know it was The Fashionistas' design, and Rufus is a six-year-old rodent, so he wouldn't know any better.

But Kim did know it was their design.

I know they wanted her to bust them out, and I'm not saying she should, but it doesn't seem right for her to use their design without their permission.

(It's also kind of a disappointment that Kim is wearing a design made by The Fashionistas instead of Monique, her fashionable best friend who helped her put them behind bars in the first place. That would've been so much cooler.)

"The Cupid Effect"

At no point should Kim and Ron have been trying to get Monique to date Wade.

(A more realistic way of handling that would be to have them tease her about it for a bit, not seriously asking her to consider it.)

Also, Kim didn't actually need to hit Monique with the Cupid Ray just because she "didn't have time" to deal with Monique being upset. She was in a car, she could've driven away.

Because she did, Monique refused to leave Wade's side and ended up on a mission that she would have never gone on if she had been herself at the time.

Conclusion:

If this show handled relationships a bit more realistically, people would at least be mad at Kim for her actions, and stay mad. Kim being a hero doesn’t excuse such behavior, nor does her being a teenager.

As an action hero, Kim is great; cool, calm, collected, and always victorious.

But as a person, Kim is controlling, competitive, manipulative, insensitive, and more focused on her own wants than others around her.

And those aren't qualities someone who's meant to be a role model should have.

Thoughts on "Grudge Match"

Specifically the plot surrounding Vivian.

While this episode is supposed to be about how girls can be pretty and smart, there was definitely more than Vivian's looks working against Team Possible in regards to Vivian's identity.

First, she was first mentioned as Dr. Fenn's ex-lab partner, presumably pushed into quitting because she couldn't keep up. At this point, they don't have any reason to distrust Dr. Fenn.

Second, when they do run into Vivian, she gets defensive instead of trying to explain things.

Last, Vivian had deliberately published all her research under the name V. F. Porter, a gender-neutral sounding name.

Despite this, Kim still managed to figure it out, with a little help from Wade.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely understand why she didn't think people would believe her.

Kim: She is right here... Dr. Vivian Frances Porter, noted robotics authority. Vivian: How did you know? Kim: A little digging. But why the secrecy? Vivian: My colleagues wouldn't take someone who looks like me seriously.

Especially since she had a respected scientist like Dr. Fenn actively working against her. Still, I feel as though there was a lot more than looks working against Team Possible here.

Other Thoughts:

Ron: OK. Wait. Time out. Time out. So, you're telling me she looks like that, and is a genius! The rules aren't gonna like this.

This is actually unusual for Ron. Other than this episode, we never see him caring about gender stereotypes this much. (Or at all, really.)

And:

I love Vivian and all, but I really hope she wears something else while working. Labs have dress codes for a reason!

Last:

While I do like the episode, it doesn't really emphasize much that pretty girls (and girls in general) aren't taken seriously as scientists (or other kinds of nerds).

Most of the reason they don't know Vivian's the real scientist is because they were lied to and Vivian never tried to explain things to them.

(And she had published all her research under a gender-neutral version of her name.)

At no point was anyone actually acting like Vivian's looks were the reason she couldn't have been the actual scientist. It's definitely happened to her in the past, but Team Possible wasn't acting like that.

(Even Dr. Fenn wasn't upset that she was pretty, just that she was better than him.)

So, while I do think it's important to tell people that girls can be smart and pretty, this episode kind of missed the mark. But only barely.

A better way of addressing that issue would be to have Vivian try to explain to the scientists at the Space Center that she was the one who built the robot, and have them not believe her.

(Aside from Dr. Wong, who is willing to hear her out.)

Then, Kim could suggest a Robot Rumble to prove who the real robotics expert is. Vivian would win, of course, and the other scientists would be forced to apologize and offer Vivian a job.

(Dr. Wong would explain that she gets it; women are often overlooked and undervalued in STEM fields, especially the pretty ones.)

And we still have it somehow revealed that Oliver's a robot. Maybe he gets hit by a stray EMP coming out of Vivian's (other) robot.

Yeah, Kim feels unrelatable. Her life is too perfect, she's too naturally talented at everything, her parents are too permissive, etc. Kim's life is not relatable. At all. Sure, she's a great fantasy, but when you're older, you want relatability more than fantastically perfect.

At some point, it just stops being fun to watch someone who's life is unattainably perfect.

I actually left out the pre-school Halloween costume because, due to his age at the time, I wasn't sure if that would count as a disregard for gender norms.

Also, in the episode "Grudge Match" his rules were that Zita was out of his league and he shouldn't even try asking her out because of it. Less to do with gender norms and stereotypes, and more to do with his perception of himself.

(He's also more surprised that Vivian's boyfriend isn't as good looking as her and that he's a robot than he is that she's a scientist.)

Kim did call his rules ridiculous, but the early part of the episode makes it clear that, despite this, Kim actually does believe Ron doesn't stand a chance with Zita.

Ron: What kind of chance do I have a girl like that anyway? Kim: Honest opinion or best-friend fudge? Monique: Fudge it, girl! Kim: It doesn't hurt to ask.

And it's a bit offensive, because they knew nothing about Zita at the time, so the only reason to think Ron doesn't stand a chance is because she just has a low opinion of Ron in general.

(I'm not going to get into it here, I have several other posts about it.)

But thanks for your commentary, because I really do appreciate it.

I believe that Ron Stoppable is neurodivergent. Many of his traits line up with being neurodivergent.

Disregard for Gender Norms

In "Mind Games" Ron mentions liking the skirt on Kim's cheer uniform.

In "Attack of the Killer Bebes" he got a movie makeup kit as a birthday present.

In "Two to Tutor" he is revealed to love baking and is mentioned as being interested in interpretive dance.

He becomes a fan of the Oh Boyz in "Oh Boyz".

He becomes a fan of "Kim Style" in "Kimitation Nation".

He is implied to be interested in Britina dolls in "Queen Bebe".

These are all things typically regarded as feminine interests, but when Ron has his crisis about being a man in "Ron the Man", none of that stuff is what he's concerned about. He's not afraid any of that stuff makes him less of a man, and he feels no shame about them (most of the time).

Lack of Concern for Popularity

There are several times where Ron is shown to not care about popularity, though there are also several times where Ron is shown to care a great deal about how others perceive him.

Obsessive Tendencies

In "October 31st" Ron is shown to still be interested in going trick-or-treating, despite the fact that most people would have outgrown this hobby by this point.

In "Grande Size Me" Ron becomes obsessed with proving Barkin wrong about the food pyramid, and begins behaving in a defensive manner over it.

(Of course, Ron invented the Naco, which was the specific item Barkin was criticizing, so it's a bit understandable.)

In "Dimension Twist" Ron spends three days straight watching cable television.

Ron has a tendency to become obsessed with his interests, and defensive if someone doesn't like them.

Hobbies and Interests

In "Monkey Fist Strikes" Ron is revealed to be interested in video games, and this is mentioned again in "Steal Wheels".

In "Larry's Birthday" it's revealed that Ron has regular meetups with Larry and Larry's friends.

In "Queen Bebe" Ron is implied to have an interest in Britina dolls.

Ron is a fan of the Oh Boyz in "Oh Boyz", even when they're so unpopular no one goes to their concerts. In addition to this, he doesn't even realize they're no longer popular.

Ron may not having been looking for a naked mole rat specifically, but he does consider them to be cool pets.

In "Two to Tutor" there is a brief mention of Ron having an interest in interpretive dancing.

He's still interested in trick-or-treating in "October 31st".

Many of Ron's interests are things typically regarded as "uncool" or "childish", things his peers are usually not interested in.

Social Life and Anxiety

Ron is frequently shown to lack social skills - bad at picking up intonation, doesn't have many friends, has a hard time dating, and is generally believed to be unpopular.

There's also Ron's tendency to panic, and his occasional bouts of paranoia.

(Though his belief that Barkin is targeting him specifically was apparently correct.)

In fact, Ron's anxiety reached a breaking point when, in "Odds Man In", he experienced such bad anxiety, he locked himself in some kind of panic room.

(Also, where was this? When did he have it built?)

Ron is also concerned about being replaced as Kim's best friend or sidekick, as shown in "Pain King vs Cleopatra", or boyfriend, as shown in "Ill-Suited".

So Ron displays many traits associated with neurodivergent teenagers.

And these also happen to be the traits that the show used to write him as a "loser".

And that's one of the reasons I dislike so much of the show's humor being at Ron's expense - because it often relies on poking fun at Ron not behaving in a neurotypical way.

And as someone who is not neurotypical, seeing the character that's the most like me being the "buffoon" character, the "inept sidekick" character, the one who is incompetent and incapable, well...it kind of hurts.

Because it kind of feels like they're saying what I and many other neurodivergent people have heard our whole lives - that you can't do anything, and you look foolish for trying.

Look, I realize this wasn't intentional. But, even unintentionally, Ron is very heavily neurodivergent-coded, and that happens too often in media - humor that relies on someone having neurodivergent traits and making fun of them for it.

And we've all grown past that.

In my Unstoppables AU Brick and Tara are siblings, so I thought it'd be fun to edit Tara to have Brick's colors, though I kept her eyes their original color.

I think it's an interesting look, and it helps Tara look more distinct from Jessica, who is also a blue-eyed platinum blonde.

I don't own Tara, but I do own this picture, so please don't use it without my permission.

I believe that Ron Stoppable is neurodivergent. Many of his traits line up with being neurodivergent.

Disregard for Gender Norms

In "Mind Games" Ron mentions liking the skirt on Kim's cheer uniform.

In "Attack of the Killer Bebes" he got a movie makeup kit as a birthday present.

In "Two to Tutor" he is revealed to love baking and is mentioned as being interested in interpretive dance.

He becomes a fan of the Oh Boyz in "Oh Boyz".

He becomes a fan of "Kim Style" in "Kimitation Nation".

He is implied to be interested in Britina dolls in "Queen Bebe".

These are all things typically regarded as feminine interests, but when Ron has his crisis about being a man in "Ron the Man", none of that stuff is what he's concerned about. He's not afraid any of that stuff makes him less of a man, and he feels no shame about them (most of the time).

Lack of Concern for Popularity

There are several times where Ron is shown to not care about popularity, though there are also several times where Ron is shown to care a great deal about how others perceive him.

Obsessive Tendencies

In "October 31st" Ron is shown to still be interested in going trick-or-treating, despite the fact that most people would have outgrown this hobby by this point.

In "Grande Size Me" Ron becomes obsessed with proving Barkin wrong about the food pyramid, and begins behaving in a defensive manner over it.

(Of course, Ron invented the Naco, which was the specific item Barkin was criticizing, so it's a bit understandable.)

In "Dimension Twist" Ron spends three days straight watching cable television.

Ron has a tendency to become obsessed with his interests, and defensive if someone doesn't like them.

Hobbies and Interests

In "Monkey Fist Strikes" Ron is revealed to be interested in video games, and this is mentioned again in "Steal Wheels".

In "Larry's Birthday" it's revealed that Ron has regular meetups with Larry and Larry's friends.

In "Queen Bebe" Ron is implied to have an interest in Britina dolls.

Ron is a fan of the Oh Boyz in "Oh Boyz", even when they're so unpopular no one goes to their concerts. In addition to this, he doesn't even realize they're no longer popular.

Ron may not having been looking for a naked mole rat specifically, but he does consider them to be cool pets.

In "Two to Tutor" there is a brief mention of Ron having an interest in interpretive dancing.

He's still interested in trick-or-treating in "October 31st".

Many of Ron's interests are things typically regarded as "uncool" or "childish", things his peers are usually not interested in.

Social Life and Anxiety

Ron is frequently shown to lack social skills - bad at picking up intonation, doesn't have many friends, has a hard time dating, and is generally believed to be unpopular.

There's also Ron's tendency to panic, and his occasional bouts of paranoia.

(Though his belief that Barkin is targeting him specifically was apparently correct.)

In fact, Ron's anxiety reached a breaking point when, in "Odds Man In", he experienced such bad anxiety, he locked himself in some kind of panic room.

(Also, where was this? When did he have it built?)

Ron is also concerned about being replaced as Kim's best friend or sidekick, as shown in "Pain King vs Cleopatra", or boyfriend, as shown in "Ill-Suited".

So Ron displays many traits associated with neurodivergent teenagers.

And these also happen to be the traits that the show used to write him as a "loser".

And that's one of the reasons I dislike so much of the show's humor being at Ron's expense - because it often relies on poking fun at Ron not behaving in a neurotypical way.

And as someone who is not neurotypical, seeing the character that's the most like me being the "buffoon" character, the "inept sidekick" character, the one who is incompetent and incapable, well...it kind of hurts.

Because it kind of feels like they're saying what I and many other neurodivergent people have heard our whole lives - that you can't do anything, and you look foolish for trying.

Look, I realize this wasn't intentional. But, even unintentionally, Ron is very heavily neurodivergent-coded, and that happens too often in media - humor that relies on someone having neurodivergent traits and making fun of them for it.

And we've all grown past that.

What are your thoughts regarding the fact that Brick dated Bonnie even though it’s been canonically stated that he was in high school for 7 years thus making him a legal adult? I mean he didn’t break up with Bonnie until he graduated. Did he not consider himself an adult dating a teenager since he was still in high school? Was it the main reason he dumped her since he realized it wasn’t okay to date her anymore?

My first thought: Disney should've thought about that a little better. It's a bit creepy in hindsight.

My second thought: if Middleton High needed seven years to teach Brick what they should've taught him in four, someone wasn't doing their job. My guess, Middleton High could not accommodate someone with a learning disability, and that Brick has one.

Final thoughts: Normally I'd call that creepy, but Bonnie was definitely the one in charge in that relationship, so I'm not actually worried about a power imbalance.

I also don't think Brick was doing anything inappropriate with Bonnie. The one date we see them on, he kisses Bonnie on the cheek.

(Granted, he could have been avoiding PDA because Kim was there, but Brick didn't seem overly concerned about that.)

I do think Brick knows he's older than his classmates, but I also think his relationship with Bonnie was more "she said we're dating so we're dating". I don't think he was actually that into Bonnie.

(His jealousy over Hirotaka was weird and out-of-character, not the norm for Brick or his relationship with Bonnie.)

As for why Brick dumped her, I imagine that was one reason. Another reason could have been their schedules no longer being compatible.

Their relationship could be creepy, but Bonnie was clearly in charge, and their relationship didn't actually have a lot of physical aspects.

Even though no one's asking, in a reboot, I'd get rid of it taking Brick seven years to finish high school. He'd be roughly the same age as the rest of the main cast, maybe a year or two older.

Ron was never given any of his own gadgets in the show was he? He was given a communicator in the games and in a stitch in time to keep in contact with kim, but that timeline got delete. And I’m not sure if the games are canon

I never thought about it, it makes episodes like The Fearless Ferret somewhat sad, he really wanted to step out of Kim’s shadow.

Yeah, he was never given his own gadgets. And he always seems impressed by Kim's gadgets.

He was only given a Kimmunicator in "A Sitch in Time", and even then only after Kim had told Wade to make one.

He is sometimes shown using a grappling hook, but Kim's other gadgets are always made for Kim, not Ron.

And it's frustrating that he doesn't get gadgets because even Robin gets gadgets.

Yeah, Ron really wants to step out of Kim's shadow. He wants to be his own hero, or at least considered a partner to Kim, not her inept sidekick.

I don't know how you can say that Ron outgrew his role as the forgettable sidekick while still claiming it's part of his character. Sure, Ron's probably not one to try hard, but acknowledgement of what he does for Kim would be nice.

(He's also been shown to be unhappy with being the forgettable sidekick, so it's not fair to act like he needs to keep being that.)

Do you think Ron outgrew his original role as the forgettable sidekick and comedic relief? If the answer is "Yes", at what point do you think that happened?

His chracter was treated that way mostly because he was the primary source for comedic relief, the show needs humor if Ron outgrew that role and his character was being held back by that, then in order to solve it, they needed to either introduce another character to fullfil that role, change the way the humour operated or find another way like tone down the humor and the gags or at least not make them at expense of the chracter.

How would you solve this?

Was Ron's character really unhappy with being just the sidekick? There were few instances where he sounded proud of having that role, I think it was people overlooking him and outright forgetting him which annoyed him and not that he was known as a sidekick.

I definitely say Ron outgrew his original role. As for when, hmm...

As early back as the first (chronological) episode, Ron was shown to have some skill at this.

I'd have to say by mid-season 2 it's just mean to keep up all the jokes at Ron's expense.

If one character is the primary source of comedy in a show, I do agree that needs to be changed. The change I'd make would be having humor rely on more than one character.

(Of course, I'd make it that way from the beginning.)

Yes, I do think, at times, Ron was unhappy being the sidekick.

There was "Bueno Nacho" where he was upset that Kim only wanted him to join her as a sidekick.

In "Sink or Swim" he asks if he'll be allowed to lead the next mission, which implies an interest.

There was "The Fearless Ferret" where Ron wanted to branch out on his own as a hero.

And at least one occasion where Ron asks Kim why she never has Wade make gadgets for him.

So it certainly seems like there are times where Ron wanted to be treated more like a partner than a sidekick.

And, honestly, I think he deserves it.

Thoughts on Justine Flanner

She doesn't appear in a lot of fanfiction, but she's usually cold, blunt, and aloof until something happens to make her warm up.

I don't think she's like that.

Her first (chronological) appearance was in "Grudge Match" when she was shown at the Robot Rumble. She seemed to be friends with the other fans - she was shown to sit with some of them, laugh, and gossip, so she has no problems socializing with people who share her interests.

In "Partners" she's shown to not want Kim's help on the project, but lets her help after Kim admits to going over her work and looking up about half the words to understand it.

(She also had no problems autographing a picture for Professor Allenford when he asked.)

So, it appears that she was more impressed that Kim tried than if Kim had understood immediately.

And, since she appreciates people trying, it's probably not an issue of thinking herself above those less intelligent than her, it's an issue of not typically having a partner who even tries to understand what she's doing.

She had no problems with Kim after Kim put in the effort to understand her project.

That probably doesn't happen a lot, which is why she was dismissive at first.

But she is shown to have friends, or at least people she likes spending time with. And she is shown to be kind to people when they actually try. She doesn't require people to have the same natural intelligence as her, just to be willing to put in the effort.

I'm sure everyone, at some point, has understood having to carry a group project on their own. And understood the hatred of group projects that comes with it.

So, if she's a bit cold and distant at first, I can't really blame her.

Could you?

I found the episode "Showdown at the Crooked D" kinda insulting towards Ron(excluding the final scene) it literally would be impossible for Kims cousin to know every detail about Kims missions, including the times Rufus was vital, but know nothing about Ron. I know it's supposed to be for "comedic purposes" but that gag was so overdone by then(late s3) as you said in some of your posts, Ron has stepped up so much since the first episode, she should've been treated with more respect. It also kinda made Kim look bad, not defending him or recounting atleast one of the missions where he came through.

First, "Showdown at The Crooked D" was late season 2, not late season 3.

Second, I agree with all of it.

There's no reason for Joss to know all about Kim, Rufus, and Wade, but know nothing about Ron.

(She even knows about the Centurion Project, which was a top-secret project she reasonably shouldn't have known about.)

Except, of course, that the narrative likes to make jokes at Ron's expense.

And when I say Kim doesn't appreciate or respect Ron on the team, it's not just because of how she treats him in their everyday life, it's also because of situations like this.

Kim won't acknowledge Ron's contributions to the team.

When someone praises Kim as a hero, she never even tries to give Ron credit for his part in their success.

(And when Joss praised Ron as a hero, it was because he faces his fears to be there for Kim, not because she recognized his skills. Not a bad reason to admire someone, but still...)

Kim acknowledged his importance once in "Sink or Swim", which Officer Hobble didn't believe at first. She never does it again.

(Also, she follows this up by telling Ron he's not going to be allowed to lead a mission anyways.)

Kim's the one getting praise, getting people to owe her favors, getting recognition, and Ron's not.

And, though Kim will probably say she's not doing it for the fame and recognition, it hardly seems fair to not allow Ron to have any.

(Also, it's easy to say you're not doing it for fame and recognition when you're the one getting it.)

The point is, even ignoring her mistreatment of him as a best friend, she fails to acknowledge or recognize his contributions to the team as a hero, and he deserves better.

Speaking of not appearing again it’s weird that for all the focus put on Adrenna Lynn being Kim’s foil, she only had one episode dedicated to her and then nothing for the rest of the series until the finale episode when she had her seconds long cameo. But I guess that’s how popular Shego was. They didn’t know what else to do with this character and Shego being Kim’s foil instead just made more sense.

Yeah, Adrena Lynn was featured in promotional artwork, so they had bigger plans for her.

Unfortunately, her debut episode revealed that she didn't actually have any skills.

And it's kind of hard to make a villain that can't actually do anything.

I'm sure the fans could come up with a few plots that include her, but I guess the creators couldn't.

I don't blame them, I'm just disappointed we didn't get more.

It’s weird that they simply dropped Josh Mankey as a character. All they have done with him was say he and Kim drifted apart and we don’t even get an explanation of where he went last season. Wish they actually shown us the progress of the relationship and how it broke apart.

Yeah, that is weird.

My personal headcanon: the reason he's not seen later in the series is because he graduated. I mean, there's nothing that states he's the same age as Kim and Ron, so he could be older.

As for his relationship with Kim, I would have liked to see more of it, and gotten a better explanation for why they broke up.

I mean, and this isn't an attempt to diss Kim, saying they drifted apart and it was time to move on sounds like the explanation you give when you don't want to talk about the real reason you broke up.

Obviously, Josh hadn't done anything bad, otherwise Kim wouldn't have had a problem talking about it, but I doubt it was truly as simple as growing apart.

There could be a lot of reasons for their breakup, and I'm very interested in hearing what other people think might have been the actual reason.

But that’s more of a problem with the show’s narrative rather than with Kim’s character.

And is super weird because Ron already gets a lot of spotlight from the series, he gets entire episodes where he does solo missions and succeeds, and even the series acknowledges from time to time how important he is to Kim’s success.

But those moments are few and far between, and right after that and most of the time he is back at being treated as the sidekick and as a liability even as a joke by the narrative and even by other characters and villains.

He is the sidekick, he is the comic relief. The show is called Kim possible after all. Kim is the Hero and Ron’s the sidekick. And that’s fair.

This is a comedic miseries and a girl empowerment show first and foremost. I don’t want to sound too harsh. The show at least acknowledges that Ron can be capable and has entire episodes dedicated to how much Kim needs him. Shouldn’t that be enough?

But it never stopped treating Ron as a sidekick and I get that’s the joke, but his character clearly developed far beyond that and I agree with you in that he deserves a little more respect from the show’s narrative.

Usually I dislike those type of stories, but now I can finally understand where those stories where Ron goes to Japan or becomes a superhero,even come from.

He is the most relatable character and a part of the fandom want to see him succeed and get the credit they think he deserves .

I wonder if there is a way to keep him in-character and maintain his role as a sidekick (that’s what he is! There’s no shame in that) and goofiness, while also showcasing that he is just as important and capable as Kim is. Do you think this is possible?

I think it can be a problem with both the narrative and Kim's character.

It being a problem with the narrative is a meta POV; it being a problem with Kim's character is an in-universe POV. And only one of those POVs makes for good fanfiction.

I wouldn't have a problem with him being treated like a sidekick if it came with respect and recognition. But he rarely ever gets that. It's not that Ron's the sidekick, it's that other sidekicks still get treated as important to the success of a mission, but Ron doesn't.

(Other sidekicks also get gadgets and communicators, and Ron doesn't.)

I don't think it's too harsh to say that Ron deserved more from the narrative. He outgrew the "goofy sidekick" role pretty early, so it's kind of annoying that no one acknowledges that.

Yeah, I'm not typically into the "Ron comes back from Japan" stories either, but I can understand why people would want them; Ron deserves recognition, and if Kim isn't going to give it to him, he deserves to leave and/or find someone who will.

Ron is extremely relatable, more so than Kim, so people would like him to be treated better.

As for keeping him as a goofy sidekick while still getting the respect he deserves, I do think it's possible, in theory...

However, that would require Kim acknowledging Ron is very capable, and Kim doesn't seem interested in doing that. (She adamantly denies it in "The Ron Factor".)

She is known to get jealous if Ron is good at something that she struggles with, so I don't think she'd be eager to acknowledge that he's good at anything, especially if it's something she takes pride in. ("Bueno Nacho", "Two to Tutor")

So, while it could work in theory, with the way Kim is, I don't think it would actually work well in practice.

It does seem like Ron going out on his own would be the only way for him to get respect.

It's sad, but, that's the way it is.

I would love for Ron to get more respect, but it doesn't seem like Kim is willing to give it.

So, if Ron decides the only way to get respect is to go out on his own, I wouldn't blame him.

What role do Ron character has in team possible? Do you believe he gets the credit he deserves for his contribution to team possible within the narrative of the show?

Well, the role Ron is supposed to have is "bumbling sidekick".

But, as stated in my "Ron Deserved Better" post, he outgrew that role very quickly.

He demonstrated on numerous occasions that he is capable of being more than that.

But he's not treated that way.

The narrative wants Ron to be a sidekick, so no one acknowledges that he's capable of being more.

Kim acknowledges it once, at the end of "Sink or Swim", but then follows up with telling him he's not going to be allowed to lead a mission anyways. She never acknowledges it again after that.

(Despite this, he goes on four missions alone in "Overdue" and is successful in all of them.)

In "Showdown At The Crooked D" Kim's cousin Joss, who knows everything about everyone of Kim's missions, does not recognize Ron as anything other than the guy who's always losing his pants.

In "The Ron Factor" Kim refuses to consider the possibility that Ron might be important to her success, even when Wade, someone who she greatly respects, suggests it might be true.

And people are always talking about how Kim saves the world, but never even mention that Ron's with her every time.

And this is despite the fact that it's canon that she can't save the world without Ron.

In "Bueno Nacho" it takes no time at all for her to get captured when she tries to go on a mission alone.

And in "A Sitch in Time" it highlights just how important Ron is to Kim's success. Once again, she gets captured immediately when trying to go on a mission alone. (And then the timeline gets reset and everyone forgets everything.)

But no one's opinion of Ron really changes until the last episode. To everyone, he's still Kim's sidekick.

Even though they're dating in season four, Kim doesn't actually acknowledge any of Ron's skills or admit that he's more than a sidekick when it comes to saving the world.

Even when Joss acknowledges Ron as a hero, it's because he always faces his fears to be there for Kim, not because of any of his own skills.

Ron doesn't get gadgets, or his own Kimmunicator, and many people who owe Kim favors don't even remember Ron being there. Or, if they do, it's because Ron caused the problem in the first place. (Which, that last part is fair, but still...)

Ron is treated horribly by the narrative. He doesn't even get recognition that other sidekicks get. (Robin, Kid Flash, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, etc.)

So, no, I don't believe Ron gets the credit he deserves. He's not even treated with respect part of the time. (The tracking chip, the haircut, the lack of gadgets or communication device, etc.)

Ron is barely even a sidekick. He's treated more like a lapdog.

And it's disgusting.

Thoughts on Josh Mankey

So, in some fanfiction, I've seen Josh portrayed as, well...I wouldn't say mean, but not as nice as canon. This is usually to highlight how Ron is better for Kim. Obviously, I'm going to have issues with this.

Firstly, Josh is kind and patient. When Kim is acting weird on their date, he doesn't seem bothered by it. Maybe concerned, but he never once loses his cool.

Secondly, he's accepting. Though Kim's interest in putting marshmallows on hotdogs is weird, he doesn't give her a hard time about it. And he doesn't seem judgmental towards Ron for still trick-or-treating in "October 31st". (Actually, he seemed to enjoy that.)

Lastly, he's charitable. Near the end of "Blush" we learn that Josh worked with some kids to clean up a bunch of graffiti and paint a mural in place.

Josh is a kind, caring, patient, and tolerant guy who volunteers to work with kids and paints murals after cleaning up graffiti. He's also a musician and likes hanging out with Ron too. ("October 31st")

So, if people want to get Josh out of the way to have Kim and Ron end up together earlier, portraying Josh as a horrible person doesn't have to be an option.

Thoughts on Brick Flagg

So, I've seen Brick labelled as a "bully jock" character, usually lumped with characters like Flash Thompson (Spider-Man), Dash Baxter (Danny Phantom), and Brad Morton (American Dragon: Jake Long). However, I don't think Brick deserves to be in that group.

Firstly, we never actually see Brick bully anyone. It's never even implied he does that. Whenever someone's picking on Ron, Brick isn't around. The only time Brick gets aggressive is with Hirotaka, but never anyone else. Truly, that exchange with Hirotaka was out of character for Brick, not the norm.

Secondly, Brick actually seems to like Kim and Ron. He willingly sits with them and talks with them in "Royal Pain" and has had pleasant interactions in other episodes. Brick has never insulted either of them, and doesn't seem interested in doing so. Surely, Brick isn't a mean-spirited guy.

(I also want to mention that when Brick sees bulked-up Ron in "Ron the Man", he seems a little concerned until Ron assures him it's nothing to worry about, at which point he's just supportive.)

Lastly, Brick is actually a sensitive guy. In "All The News" he openly talks about his feelings. He mentions that he was devastated when Amelia dumped him and lost a game because of it. Typical "bully jock" characters don't talk about their feelings, they just beat someone else up to deal with them. But Brick doesn't do that. He opens up to people and talks about his feelings, not beat other people up.

Sure, Brick is definitely lacking in intelligence, as Barkin mentions in "Ill-Suited" that it took him seven years to finish high school, but he's not a bully. He'd be more of the "dumb jock" variety than "bully jock".

He could also fall under the "himbo" category, but I don't think the fandom's ready for that talk yet.

About the Show

I fee like, with all my criticisms, it's about time I talk about what I do like about the show.

Firstly, I love Ron. He's very relatable - not instantly good at everything, but tries. He's always got Kim's back. He's not afraid to be himself, most of the time. And the way he treats Rufus like his best friend is sweet. His willingness to help his enemies is also very sweet.

Fun Fact: Rufus was put in the show because the execs requested an animal sidekick. So, they chose one that you couldn't just go out and buy, and it let them make people say "naked" a lot.

Secondly, I love the villains. Most shows of the time had villains where all their motivation is the same - money, power, etc. It can be kind of boring.

But that didn't happen in Kim Possible. Their villains were interesting, and a nice break from the usual mold.

Drakken? Recognition and revenge.

Shego? No one really knows. Hatred of her brothers is a good guess, though.

Senor Senior, Senior? Bored during retirement.

Senor Senior, Junior? Wants to be a pop star.

Duff Killigan? Revenge for being banned from every golf course in the world.

Motor Ed? Just wants to build the raddest vehicles ever.

Adrena Lynn? Revenge for being exposed as a fraud.

The Fashionistas? Fashion's too expensive.

DNAmy? Just wants real cuddle buddies.

Even the ones who did want money and/or power had interesting methods of going about it.

Monkey Fist? I am going to master Monkey Kung Fu.

Frugal Lucre? I am going to hold the internet hostage unless everyone in the world pays me $1. (This would work on me. I'd be giving him a dollar.)

Mathter? Turn someone into a guy who destroys everything he touches. (Actually, I'm not 100% sure what his goal was. Power, probably, but then what?)

The villains were genuinely entertaining. There's no other show where you're going to be fighting an angry Scotsman who's launching exploding golf balls at you, or a British master of Monkey Kung Fu.

Lastly, I like that, when Kim and Ron made new friends, they didn't immediately become new teammates. They might help out on a mission that's in their area of expertise, but they're not all joining the team right away, if ever. It's nice that Kim and Ron were able to have friends to just do normal stuff with.

Honestly, there is a lot to like about the show. There is a lot that I like about the show. But those are the three big ones I felt like mentioning.

If I listed everything I love about the show, this post would be too long to read.

In The Interest of Fairness...

I am making this post to mention times Kim has done something good, and Ron has done something bad.

First, times Kim's done something nice:

"Mind Games" - It was nice of Kim to beat up Ron's bullies for him while still in his body.

"Pain King vs Cleopatra" - It was nice of Kim to give the tickets to Ron.

"Go Team Go" - Even though she clearly hated it, it was still nice of Kim to cash in a favor so Ron could see the world's first Mucho Grande Bueno Nacho.

And lastly, times Ron's done something bad:

"Naked Genius" - While he hadn't asked Rufus to do his homework for him, he did take it too far by turning in homework he didn't do and letting Rufus keep cheating for him.

"Hidden Talent" - It was definitely not cool of Ron to sign Kim up for the talent show without her permission.

"Larry's Birthday" - Ron apparently blabs Kim's secrets to Larry's friends when they meet up for RPGs, namely how to access her battle suit, and that is definitely something he needs to work on.

So, there we have it; times Kim's been nice and Ron's been mean.

This is so people know that I realize that Ron's not a saint and Kim's not evil incarnate.

I mean, for all I criticize Kim, I can acknowledge when she does something good.

And for all I love Ron, I can acknowledge when he does something bad.

I'm not blind or clueless, and that is why I criticize the show.

Reblogging from myself to add:

Kim was meant to be a role model for little girls. Real little girls. In the real world.

So, it kind of seems like she should be expected to follow real world standards, when it comes to behavior and morals, at least.

Especially because real people doing those things would get in trouble.

It's not like Kim's never allowed to make mistakes, I'd just prefer it if those mistakes were from a lack of knowledge, not because she didn't care.

But, again, you don't have to follow me if this isn't for you. I just had to get that last thought out there.

I’ll agree that is usually Ron who is a more dynamic character and he is usually the one one who seems to put more effort/is more invested into their relationship, (but this can be easily explained by S4 focusing more on him) but a lot of the things you are complaining about are just a result of judging a cartoon by real world standard and taking it far too seriously.

All of the points you brought up were just scenes that are meant to establish the plot of the episodes or show the changes the characters were going through, like the coupon scene was to establish Kim and Ron needed jobs.

And Kim expressing she wanted something different for their next date isn’t bad, she is communicating her needs and that’s a good trait in any relationship.

I'm aware they're scenes that were brought up to establish plot.

What's your point?

Maybe I am taking a cartoon too seriously, but that's my perogative.

If it bothers you, you don't have to follow me or see my posts. I'm not going to force you, or even hate you if you decide that my blog is not something you'd like to see regularly.

It's not for everybody, and I don't blame people who decide this isn't for them.

Yes, Kim expressing she wanted something different for their next date is good. My biggest complaint, and that's on me for not making it clear, is that when Ron did provide her with something new, she pouted and moped.

At a ceremony Ron's dad was being honored at.

It might not have been the most exciting thing ever, and I could understand the disappointment, but for an almost-adult, pouting and moping is kind of immature behavior.

Her sarcastic comment of "Yep, real exciting" also wasn't necessary.

Ultimately, it's not bad the she wants something new, it's bad that she doesn't offer specific ideas but complains about what Ron arranged anyways.

I understand that most of what I complain about is meant to establish the plot of the episode. I just think there were better ways to do that.

The coupon scene: there could have been other ways of establishing Kim and Ron wanting and/or needing jobs.

For example:

They're seniors who want a bit more independence and spending money than their allowances can provide.

Kim's saving up for a car and Ron's saving up for a new scooter.

They're both hoping to put extra money in their college funds.

Kim might want new clothes and Ron might want a new gaming system.

Kim wanted the employee discount at Club Banana and Ron wanted the employee discount at the places he applied to.

Any combination of the above.

There are definitely other scenarios in which they'd want and/or need jobs.

Kim complaining about Ron using coupons for their dates, despite not financially contributing to them herself, didn't have to be one of them.

Would a sequel series that acknowledges Kim’s flaws and works to fix them help you see her in a better light?

Ideally? Yes.

Honestly? I'm not 100% sure, but it would be appreciated.

The most important thing is that it's handled without people acting too out of character.

For example, if Ron tells Kim how much something hurts him and she immediately apologizes and corrects it, though it'd be nice, it's not very in-character.

They'd need to have more back and forth before Kim acknowledges that she's hurting him/that it's bad.

Not saying they have to break up, but it wouldn't be very in-character for Kim to immediately recognize her faults.

Kim's very stubborn. Not being mean, she just is.

It's a requirement for saving the world, but when it negatively impacts her personal life, it's a problem.

I’ll agree that is usually Ron who is a more dynamic character and he is usually the one one who seems to put more effort/is more invested into their relationship, (but this can be easily explained by S4 focusing more on him) but a lot of the things you are complaining about are just a result of judging a cartoon by real world standard and taking it far too seriously.

All of the points you brought up were just scenes that are meant to establish the plot of the episodes or show the changes the characters were going through, like the coupon scene was to establish Kim and Ron needed jobs.

And Kim expressing she wanted something different for their next date isn’t bad, she is communicating her needs and that’s a good trait in any relationship.

I'm aware they're scenes that were brought up to establish plot.

What's your point?

Maybe I am taking a cartoon too seriously, but that's my perogative.

If it bothers you, you don't have to follow me or see my posts. I'm not going to force you, or even hate you if you decide that my blog is not something you'd like to see regularly.

It's not for everybody, and I don't blame people who decide this isn't for them.

Yes, Kim expressing she wanted something different for their next date is good. My biggest complaint, and that's on me for not making it clear, is that when Ron did provide her with something new, she pouted and moped.

At a ceremony Ron's dad was being honored at.

It might not have been the most exciting thing ever, and I could understand the disappointment, but for an almost-adult, pouting and moping is kind of immature behavior.

Her sarcastic comment of "Yep, real exciting" also wasn't necessary.

Ultimately, it's not bad the she wants something new, it's bad that she doesn't offer specific ideas but complains about what Ron arranged anyways.

I understand that most of what I complain about is meant to establish the plot of the episode. I just think there were better ways to do that.

The coupon scene: there could have been other ways of establishing Kim and Ron wanting and/or needing jobs.

For example:

They're seniors who want a bit more independence and spending money than their allowances can provide.

Kim's saving up for a car and Ron's saving up for a new scooter.

They're both hoping to put extra money in their college funds.

Kim might want new clothes and Ron might want a new gaming system.

Kim wanted the employee discount at Club Banana and Ron wanted the employee discount at the places he applied to.

Any combination of the above.

There are definitely other scenarios in which they'd want and/or need jobs.

Kim complaining about Ron using coupons for their dates, despite not financially contributing to them herself, didn't have to be one of them.

Bonnie wasn’t supportive of Ron she was enabling his worst traits (traits that were born out of insecurity ) Kim keeps Ron grounded and acts as the voice of reason or as an inspiration to come out of his shell when he lets his fears consume him.

She has moments where she is harsh and even unfair but a few of them are intentional and outright shown how she is decidedly in the wrong and at the end of the episode Kim and Ron always come to a mutual understanding.

I feel like many of your issues aren’t with Kim’s herself, but rather with the way the narrative treated each of the characters.

Ron was stuck with the comedic relief role even though that no longer fit him, Kim had to be written as a role model so her flaws were never taken seriously nor addressed.

I think this is the issue, the way the narrative treated them both. Technically Kim’s character is as muchof a victim to the narrative as Ron was.

So, I guess we have different opinions on this. But if those were Ron's worst traits, then he's a Saint.

Or whatever the Jewish equivalent would be, if there is one.

Because the things Ron's done in "Ron Millionaire" are:

Literally gives money to classmates and Barkin. Not seeing anything wrong with that. Maybe not smart to advertise how much money he has, but not a bad thing to do.

Complains about getting adult lettuce instead of baby lettuce. He definitely could have been nicer, I'll give you that.

Kind of goes over the top with insisting on being called "The Ron" but, again, it's not bad, just a little annoying.

Forgets to put Kim on the guest list, but this was probably unintentional. We don't even know Ron made the list, and he certainly didn't seem like he was trying to avoid Kim.

Tries to buy gaudy jewelry. Maybe not what I'd do, but it's not harming anyone, so I'd keep my mouth shut.

Buys a private jet, with auto-pilot, and a special forces team for missions. At least Kim appreciates that.

So, his "worst traits" are not bad.

And they're still way better than Kim's worst traits.

Kim doesn't need to dismiss Ron's feelings to keep him grounded.

She's not inspiring Ron to step out of his shell by forcing him to do things he's uncomfortable with.

It is entirely possible for someone to keep their friend grounded, inspire them to step out of their shell, and be kind and supportive, even for a high schooler.

Kim and Ron may come to an understanding by the end of some episodes, but it doesn't seem to be enough for her to actually treat him better.

I am perfectly capable of acknowledging Kim as a victim of the narrative and as a horrible person.

From A Writer's POV: Kim is a victim of a narrative that refuses to let her be vulnerable, even if it means she can't be kind, either.

In-Universe: Kim is majorly controlling, hypocritical, possessive, uncaring, condescending, and judgmental.

I can have both POVs at once. They're not actually contradictory.

But my acknowledgement of Kim as a victim of the narrative doesn't negate the fact that, in-universe, she treats Ron horribly.

So, for me at least, it's not just that Ron's a victim of the narrative, it's also that Ron's a victim of Kim.

Not the same anon but Kim has the right to get annoyed at the coupon thing, that scene gave me second hand embarrassment and i think is incredible ooc when Ron in previous seasons had already done things like get a job and being good at it and done things like buy Kim jackets plus there were the Naco royalties.

I feel like at that point, money shouldn’t be an issue specially for Ron, this is a case where the narrative ignored previous episodes to make a situation feasible. i didn’t like it either because Ron was made to look pretty bad as well.

His comedic relief status allows this scene to happen and is juts harmless comedy at the end of the day , but I wasn’t fan of how his character was portrayed in season 4 Ron usually got flanderized just for some cheap humor.

So, honestly, I'd be embarrassed, too.

Though, I can't remember the last time a high schooler, even a senior one, put so much stock into going to nice restaurants and not having to use the coupon and/or kid's menu to pay for it.

A real high schooler probably wouldn't care too much about how much the dates cost, but they would be embarrassed by the "doofy" and "stupido" thing, so I'll give you that.

Let me try making my complaint clear; Kim could fix the problems with their dating sitch herself, she just won't.

If Kim is embarrassed, she could offer to pay. She got a job way easier than Ron did.

Not to mention that, according to the narrative, Ron lost all his Naco money, and isn't shown ever getting more, so it's not like she thought he was rich again.

But Kim doesn't offer to pay, and also complains about how their date nights have gotten stale.

Again, I can't remember real high schoolers putting so much stock into doing something new and exciting for dates.

When Ron takes her to a nice dinner at the Actuary of Year Awards, where Ron's dad is receiving an award, she mopes the whole time.

She doesn't even pretend to be happy for Mr. Stoppable, she just mopes.

Can you imagine being happy if your significant other, one you've known most of your life, moped and pouted at a ceremony where your dad was receiving an award?

I don't think either of them is too OOC in "The Big Job" - Ron doesn't really like doing a lot of work for things he's not interested in, and Kim has a bad habit of caring too much about the price tag.

And that's honestly the worst part; they are acting in character.

But that doesn't make it right. Or fair.

Why does Ron get criticized for a having to use coupons to fund their dates to places most high schoolers couldn't afford to go to anyways?

Why is it bad that Ron doesn't pay for their dates without coupons, but not bad that Kim doesn't pay for their dates at all?

Sure, the whole "you're twelve" thing was embarrassing, but Kim's complaint wasn't about that one incident, it's about him using coupons at all.

If Kim thinks their date nights have hit a rut, she should probably offer ideas for dates, instead of just complaining about it and moping when Ron actually does take her to a new, fancy event for a date.

Okay, I get that the Actuary of the Year Awards probably wasn't very exciting, but it was Ron's dad receiving an award, she could have at least been happy for him.

But she pouts instead.

Basically, it feels like Ron is putting all the effort into pleasing Kim, and Kim keeps complaining about it. She offers no actual solutions, or gratitude for how hard Ron's trying, but complains about it all the same.

And she's not putting in that same amount of effort to please Ron.

Why don't they ever do something Ron would like for a date? Like go see "The Finger Guy" or a wrestling event?

I mean, they probably go to Bueno Nacho all the time, but it's not as though Kim doesn't like the place - she's willingly gone there without Ron before.

So, why is Kim the only one who gets special dates?

They're supposed to be partners, but their dates only reflect Kim's desires and interests; none of Ron's desires or interests are shown for their dates.

Ron seems to be the only one putting in effort to please their partner.

And that's not how healthy relationships work.