The Most Frustrating Thing About Kim Is How She's Immune To Criticism. Her Apologies Are Almost Always

I have received a lot of backlash for criticizing Kim Possible as it was one of the most popular "girl power" shows of the time.

Not just here but in other internet spaces as well.

And, truly, I admit that, at the time, I admired Kim.

Emphasis: at the time.

But, as people tend to do, I grew up. I got older, learned more about the world, learned more about people, girls especially, and, when I started rewatching Kim Possible, came to a horrifying revelation:

Kim Possible is not a "girl power" show, it's just a show about a powerful girl.

What does a girl power show look like?

Well, it's best to explain with examples.

I'll keep them limited to crime-fighting shows that were on the air at around the same time Kim Possible was.

Shows being used as examples include:

Teen Titans

X-Men: Evolution

Winx Club

So, what is it that makes these shows girl power shows, but not Kim Possible?

Well, there's a lot, so it's best to grab a snack and a drink, this could be a while.

Let's begin:

Multiple Heroines

Teen Titans starts out with two awesome heroines, Raven and Starfire, and adds more to the cast later - Kole, Bumblebee, Terra, Argent, etc.

X-Men: Evolution had multiple heroines from the beginning, with more added later. And one of the original heroines was an older female mentor that everyone, including boys, looked up to.

Winx Club is a female-led show with five, later six, awesome female leads and powerful females in mentor roles that are admired and respected by men and women alike.

But Kim Possible only has one heroine for girls to look up to - Kim herself.

Sure, Yori's impressive, but she's not really her own character as she's meant to aid in Ron's development.

And while Dr. Director could be cool, we don't actually see her do more than delegate, which, while important, is hard for people to look up to.

And the professional heroes, Team Impossible, are an entirely male group.

Kim Possible only has one female for little girls to look up to.

So, if, for some reason, you find yourself not looking up to Kim, then you're out of luck with this show, because there's not any other girl for you to look up to.

It's not a girl power show if there's only one girl to look up to.

Complex Thoughts and Feelings

The girls of Teen Titans are shown with varied and complex thoughts and emotions. Starfire uses her feelings to fuel her powers, and, even though she's apathetic, there are multiple episodes that address that Raven has complex thoughts and feelings but has to keep them under control because of her powers.

In X-Men: Evolution all the characters, especially the girls, are shown with complex thoughts and feelings.

In Winx Club the girls are shown with thoughts and feelings, and it's established that their feelings fuel their magic.

But in Kim Possible, Kim's thoughts and feelings aren't very complex. Kim is shown to dislike something, or have strong opinions about something, but anything deeper is rarely explored.

When Kim didn't want Ron to be the mascot in "Attack of the Killer Bebes", there's no reason given.

When she's jealous of Yori in "Gorilla Fist", it's only hinted that it's because of her romantic feelings for Ron.

And she certainly doesn't actually talk about her feelings afterwards.

Her underlying thoughts, feelings, and motivations are rarely explored.

A girl power show should explore the thoughts and feelings of it's main character.

Competent Heroes

In Teen Titans, the Doom Patrol are in fact skilled and competent, even if they "die" a lot.

In X-Men: Evolution, the older heroes are actually good at what they do.

In Winx Club, the Specialists aren't considered less competent, they're just trained differently. And the older heroes are, in fact, very skilled.

In those shows, the more experienced and professional heroes are actually shown to be competent.

In Kim Possible, Agent Du and Team Impossible are (supposed to be) less skilled than Kim.

(Though, really, the laser web thing isn't a fair assessment of ability if they're not starting from the same place.)

While I get that Kim is supposed to be the hero, it'd be more impressive if the professional heroes were actually portrayed as good at their jobs.

The other shows don't require dumbing down the professionals to make the heroines shine, so Kim Possible shouldn't need that either.

A girl power show shouldn't need the professionals dumbed down for the girl to shine.

Independence

In the other shows, each girl is a formidable force on their own.

Maybe not able to take down every bad guy on their own, but certainly able to hold their own in a fight.

But in Kim Possible, Kim is dependent on Ron and Wade to succeed.

(As shown in "Bueno Nacho" and "A Sitch in Time".)

She is completely incapable of handling missions on her own, making her unable to be a stand-alone hero.

The main character of a girl power show should be capable of doing things without her sidekicks.

Kindness

In the other shows, the main heroines are shown to be kind to others, even those outside their immediate friend group.

A few missteps along the way, but rarely ever having malicious intentions.

Not never, but rarely.

And especially no ill intent towards their friends.

Being kind takes a lot of strength at times, so a heroine who is kind is strong and worth looking up to.

(Seriously, kindness is powerful. The world needs more of it.)

But Kim isn't very kind to her loved ones.

Don't get me wrong, she saves the world and does other things to help people, but the way she treats those closest to her is not kind, and not worth looking up to.

Hyper-competitive, bossy, controlling, condescending, judgmental, etc. These aren't actually behaviors we want little girls emulating.

A kind heroine is more powerful than a bossy, controlling, judgmental, overly-competitive one.

Acknowledgment

In the other shows, the heroines acknowledge their teammates' contributions, and don't feel jealous or threatened when one of them is better than them at something.

In Winx Club, Stella, a character who could have been a stereotypical vain, spoiled princess, is constantly praising her friends on their accomplishments.

In X-Men: Evolution, the girls acknowledge each other's strengths and skills.

And in Teen Titans, Starfire is constantly showing her friends affection and believing in their abilities. Raven too, but not quite as enthusiastically.

But in Kim Possible, Kim refuses to acknowledge Ron as important to her success, and never gives him credit for his contributions.

(Well, not to his face.)

And, while she might praise Wade when he does something cool, she clearly doesn't value him very much, as shown by her comment in "The Truth Hurts" and her disregard for his warnings in "Queen Bebe".

A role model has no problems acknowledging the contributions of others and respects her teammates.

Training

In the other shows, the heroines are shown training in the use of their powers.

But in Kim Possible, Kim is naturally good at everything.

Okay, maybe not driving or cooking, but Kung Fu and cheerleading, to name a few.

The only time we see Kim practice anything is cheerleading, but "A Sitch in Time" revealed that she was an expert from the beginning.

She was good enough at Kung Fu to impress Hirotaka, a life-long student of Kung Fu, despite saying herself that she only dabbles in it, and she's never seen training in it.

It's not even mentioned that she had any actual training in it.

And, honestly, "naturally good at everything" is hard to emulate. It's not easy to look up to "impossibly talented" when you're older.

A heroine who fails and keeps trying is more admirable than one who never fails.

Varied Interests

In the other shows, the female characters don't all have the same interests.

Teen Titans has Raven interested in things like books while Starfire is interested in cute animals.

X-Men: Evolution has Jean do basketball and soccer, Kitty enjoys theater and parties, and Rogue likes literature, to name a few.

Winx Club has Stella into fashion, Musa is interested in music, Tecna likes technology, Aisha likes sports, and Flora likes nature.

But in Kim Possible, the girls are all interested in the same things; boys, boy bands, pop music, fashion, celebrities, etc.

(Aside from Monique's interests in wrestling and extreme sports, which never get brought up more than once each.)

Despite Kim herself doing Kung Fu and other extreme sports on the regular, the other girls are shown to only be interested in stereotypical teenage girl things.

(Again, aside from Monique's interests that are only mentioned once each.)

(And also aside from Zita, who is stated as being interested in video games and on the swim team, but disappears after her second episode until "Graduation".)

A girl power show would have girls with a variety of interests, not just the stereotypical ones.

Romantic Relationships

The other shows have great romantic relationships.

In Teen Titans, Robin/Starfire had build-up, despite their interest in each other being obvious from the beginning.

In X-Men: Evolution, Jean/Scott had build-up despite their feelings being clear from the beginning, and Kurt/Kitty were never more than friends with them both ending up in relationships with other people.

In Winx Club, all the relationships took time to build up, and some don't stay together forever but neither half is entirely demonized for it.

But there wasn't a lot of build-up for Kim/Ron, with Kim insulting Ron for suggesting people might think they date and Ron expressing discomfort at the idea of dating Kim.

A girl power show should have a proper build up to a romantic relationship.

Lack of a Fool

In the other shows, there is no one "fool" character who is a majority of the humor.

There is no one character who is the butt of all the jokes.

Sure, Teen Titans has Beast Boy, who's pretty humorous and funny, but his abilities and skills as a hero are still acknowledged and respected.

And plenty of the humor comes from other characters as well.

X-Men: Evolution has Nightcrawler, who certainly jokes around a lot, but he's still taken seriously in serious moments.

And other characters contribute to the humor of the show to.

But in Kim Possible, Ron isn't taken seriously.

Ron, despite having many moments where he shows impressive skills, isn't taken seriously as a hero.

His feelings are also rarely taken seriously, even about things that are pretty serious.

And Ron is responsible for 90% of the show's humor, often at his expense.

Ron is meant to be a bumbling, clumsy, inept, incompetent character to emphasize how much Kim shines.

But a real girl power show doesn't need that, because the heroine(s) shine anyways.

Summary

Unlike some of the other "girl power" shows of the time, Kim Possible decided the only thing that's important is that Kim is capable of fighting bad guys.

But a strong female character is so much more than fighting bad guys.

Now, I'm not saying the other shows listed handled everything perfectly. I know some things were handled poorly, but in terms of "girl power", they were still handling it better than Kim Possible.

And, shockingly, only one of them was even intended to be a "girl power" show.

I guess a better girl power show would have girls as people first, icons second.

As much as I've criticized the writing of Kim Possible at times, I do have to agree that they resolved this issue better than Miraculous did.

Of course, that's because they actually resolved the issue.

Miraculous did not.

And after five seasons, we should already have good team dynamics.

And we don't.

It's all massively disappointing and underwhelming.

The Best Friend Showdown

Season four had many, many flaws. One of the big ones was the Rena Rouge vs Chat Noir conflict where Ladybug starts relying on Alya more and more, basically using her to replace Master Fu. We get a sense that Chat Noir feels inferior to Rena Rouge because of this change, but it’s never directly addressed. The most we get is this conversation from Hack-San:

Ladybug: I'm really sorry, Cat Noir. I should've told you. I mean, if I found out that you told someone about your secret identity, I'd... probably be upset, too. I'm really sorry I hurt your feelings. Cat Noir: You didn't hurt my feelings. You did everything right. 

Which is actually a really weird bit of dialogue because - as far as I can tell - nothing in the episode revealed that Scarabella knew Ladybug's identity. She hands out miraculous all the time and no one knows who she really is. Why would this time be different? Ladybug could just show up in costume, explain what's up, and then hand off the earrings while using yet another miraculous.

Anyway, the Rena Rouge vs Chat Noir conflict is “resolved” by Rena Rouge being outed again (and I guess that matters this time), leading her to give up her miraculous so that Gabriel can’t steal it away, which of course leads Gabriel to steal it away and fully disempower Ladybug’s larger team, leaving Chat Noir her only teammate.

How satisfying! This is such good, character-driven story telling!

It’s not. This is plot contrivances to the max with no meaningful character beats, but we’re not here to talk about that. We’re here to do one of my favorite things: gush about a relevant Kim Possible episode! Today’s topic is episode 12 of season one: Pain King vs. Cleopatra, the episode that introduces Kim’s female BFF, Monique!

This was a bit of a shocker for me because I didn’t realize that Kim and Monique weren’t pre-series friends. Turns out that, much like Alya, Monique is a new girl, which isn’t a bad call. This was a nice way to delay Monique’s introduction for a few episodes so that the writers could focus on establishing Kim’s relationship with other key members of the cast like her partner, Ron. Spacing out your intros is the way to go whenever you can pull it off as it’s a kindness to your audience that keeps them from feeling overwhelmed, making it more likely that they’ll remember your cast.

The other, more important similarity between Alya and Monique is that, when Kim’s hero partner and life-long friend finds out about Monique, he is less than thrilled:

Kim: I barely got to see them. Right after I hooked up with Monique, the museum was robbed by some glowing-headed animal guy. Ron: Oh, that's nice. Ron: Wait a minute, who's Monique? Kim New friend, really great. Anyway, the thief stole an enchanted ancient talisman. Ron: Whoa, whoa, back up! How can I not know about a new friend? Kim: I met her at Club Banana, then again at the museum before I chased the glowing robber. Ron: So what's she like? Kim: The robber? Ron: The friend, Kim, the "new friend".

Throughout the episode, Kim and Monique continue to bond without Ron, leaving Ron feeling left out:

Ron: Seein' a pattern here, Rufus: Kim does her thing, I do my thing, and pretty soon - we're doing different things.

Which leads him to get a little territorial:

Kim Ron! What are you doing here? Ron: Can I dine with my best friend and her new friend? Kim: Uuh, Ron, Monique, and vice versa. Ron: Bearclaw? Monique: No, thanks, I'm vegetarian. Ron: Uhm, I'm pretty sure it's imitation bear? Kim: She's joking, Ron. Ron: Good one, hahaha, ha, good one. So, did Kim tell you that I'm her sidekick? Cause that role is definitely taken by me. Monique: Riiiight. Well, in... you know I better get to class. Later, Kim. Um, n-nice meeting you, Ron. Ron: Likewise, I'm sure! Kim: What is your problem? You're acting really weird. Ron: Well, let's see. You went to the museum with Monique, not me. Monique was with you this morning, not me. Hmm, pattern? Kim: Yeah. You. Weird. Ron: No, we're drifting apart because you're excluding me. Kim: I am not excluding you. It's just that you and Monique are... different.

Noticing some similarities to Miraculous here?

So how does Kim Possible resolve this conflict?

Well, the plot of this episode resolves around Kim Possible’s version of professional wrestling, the GWA. There’s a competition going on that Kim has no interest in watching (mood), but when Kim mentions the GWA to Monique:

Monique: Why didn't you bring [Ron] along? Kim: Unless someone put a waiter in a headlock, this is definitely not Ron's scene. Besides, he had a date with "Steel Toe". Monique: He scored tickets to Mayhem in Middleton? The GWA rocks! Kim: What?

It turns out that Monique and Ron have a shared interest! Multiple shared interests, in fact! Interests that Kim does not share:

Monique: You know, I still can't believe you met Pain King and Steel Toe. Ron: I can't believe you're into wrestling. Kim: I can't believe I know either one of you.

By the end of the episode, the conflict is resolved not with Kim having to pick a BFF or with Monique somehow being demoted, but by showing that this didn’t need to be a conflict at all. Kim can have multiple close friends that she shares different interests with without any of those friends being lesser. Those friends can, in turn, have their own friendships that don’t always involve her.

It’s a genuinely lovely resolution that makes me love this little friend group because it now has added complexity. Monique and Ron are friends in their own right! Kim is not the center of the universe in spite of her main character status!

I also love that Kim isn’t vilified for having other friends or portrayed as constantly leaving Ron out of things that he'd want to do in favor of Monique. Ron genuinely would not enjoy most of the things that the girls love to do together. At the same time, Ron’s feeling aren’t treated as totally irrational either and Kim even admits to ditching him. It’s a genuine, complex conflict that is super common when someone enters a new relationship be it platonic or romantic.

Obviously Kim Possible’s version of this conflict feels far less complex than Miraculous’ because Kim Possible understood that Ron should be Kim’s one-and-only partner, so his position was really never threatened. Monique does not want to be an action hero and is never given the sort narrative weight that elevates her to Ron’s level or higher, but that doesn't matter. The basic lesson here is still relevant and super important for the intended audience of both of these shows.

There did not need to be a Rena Rouge vs Chat Noir conflict that never got properly resolved. Miraculous could have made these two friends and no, Scarabella doesn't count because Chat Noir has no idea that Scarabella is Rena Rouge/Furtive. Their relationship ended at the end of Hack-San. He didn't even know that Rena Furtive was a thing until she was in the process of being benched and that's the problem.

Kim Possible is not a team show, Miraculous is, and yet Kim Possible has better team dynamics than Miraculous. Monique could have joined Kim's team at the end of Pain King vs. Cleopatra and it would have felt natural because both Kim and Ron had welcomed Monique and formed a genuine bond with her. This is a true friend group that Miraculous can only dream of even though they've been adding new superheroes since season two.

We're going into a season with a full, massive team and yet that team has no established dynamics on the hero side. It's not a functional team! None of these characters have meaningful relationships with each other as heroes save for Alya and Nino since they know each other’s secret identities. The only relationships Miraculous cares about are the various romances and everyone's relationship to Marinette and everyone suffers for it.

The show would not have been harmed by Rena Rouge, Chat Noir, and Ladybug being a team. It was the thing I kept think after watching the Kim Possible episode. Since the team is the end game, why aren't we seeing them? It would have been so nice to have Hack-San end with Ladybug introducing Chat Noir to Rena Furtive instead of a nonsense discussion about an issue the episode didn't even address.

Yeah, I think the creators don't really understand who's deserving of sympathy.

I mean, Gabriel is so obsessed with his goal that he's willing to put Adrien in danger. That's not a father deserving of sympathy.

He's so controlling that he's going to pick his son's girlfriend for him. He doesn't deserve sympathy for that.

And they forget that Emilie having been missing for only a year means she couldn't have possibly been the saint mom she was supposed to be.

Adrien never had a party before? Gabriel's a dick, sure, but Emilie was also around most of the time, and she wasn't throwing him a party either.

Adrien's never been to public school or had friends? That sucks! Why didn't Emilie let him do that?

The writers tell us Emilie was a saint, but based on what's actually in the show, she was far from it.

I wonder what change would've you make Gabriel if he was an actual effective sympathetic villain the show seem to think instead of the pathetic display of canon. On the other note, what would've you make to actually have Emilie be this saint like character the show keep saying she is

To start, there'd have to be lines that Gabriel just *wouldn't* cross. No akumas that target his son, for starters, no "Chat Blanc" scenario where he finds out Chat's identity and then beats the shit out of him, and no making ridiculous decisions for Adrien like deciding his girlfriend.

Season 5 Gabriel cannot exist, it was actually inSANE of the writer's to put the worst version of him on display...and then play him off as the hero. Like, wut? WHAT?!

I fully admit that in the earlier seasons, I didn't consider Gabriel an abuser. I considered him a dick, but abuser felt too...top shelf of a word to use, though I also contend that his behavior felt like the starting signs. Mostly I just considered him pathetic and like Kids Tv Exaggerated Version of a Strict Parent.

But Season 5??? Uh, yeah, no discussion, this guy is an abusive dickbag and can burn in hell.

Just make it so the reason Hawkmoth fails as often as he does is because sometimes he holds back. Sometimes he gets close to the line and remembers his wife and just can't make himself do something SO heinous that his wife would be disappointed.

As for ACTUALLY selling the Emilie is a Saint Mom, it's super easy. Just have flashbacks. Where she's interacting with her husband and child and sorta not girlfriend? Like, they revealed these video recordings of Emilie in SEASON 5! It took FIVE SEASONS for us to hear Emilie's voice from Emilie herself! (Amelie doesn't count)

And, uh, maybe as a writer think about what you're implying with the things you include in your story. Like, maybe EITHER have Adrien not ever have a birthday party OR have his mom missing for only a year, so it doesn't seem like Emilie *also* didn't care about his birthday. Just, you know. Little things like that that don't accidentally inform us of her character.

Thoughts on "The Ron Factor"

So, obviously, this is an episode I have a lot of thoughts on.

I will acknowledge that Kim does have some cool moves in this episode.

But, it also seems fair to acknowledge that, despite those cool moves, Kim didn't defeat the bad guy.

That was done by Ron, with a little help from Rufus.

It's also worth mentioning that, yes, Kim is dependent on Ron to succeed on missions, as shown in "Bueno Nacho".

And it's not fair to anyone, Ron especially, that, after Ron defeats the bad guy, he decides to give Kim all the credit.

Kim has impressive skills and definitely demonstrated them in this episode, but that doesn't mean Ron isn't a factor in her success.

And a role model would recognize that yes, Ron is important to her success, but that doesn't mean she's not amazing too.

She'd be supportive of Ron and happy for him, while still making Global Justice see that she's still amazing.

(And, no one said she wasn't amazing, they just said Ron was probably the key factor to her success.)

Other thoughts, in no particular order:

So, did Betty and Sheldon actually lose their eyes, or are they just being dramatic?

(I wouldn't put it past them.)

Is Sheldon's robotic hand prosthetic or some kind of glove? If prosthetic, how did he lose it?

Realistic sibling relationship: Betty and Sheldon immediately resort to childish squabbling when near each other, despite having spent the entire rest of the episode being ominous and brooding.

(The Cain Instinct is strong with these two.)

Honestly, that Chaos Theory thing might not be far off. And if Wade thinks there's some merit to it, I'm inclined to believe him.

I realize they said Ron was a "non-factor" at the end, but there is canon evidence that contradicts this.

It's probably that Ron is a factor, but not in any way that would actually show up on tests.

Thus, they assumed there was no "Ron Factor".

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.

The most unbelievable thing about Disney's Descendants is that the princes and princesses, people who are known for being kind and compassionate, would be okay with literal children living on The Isle, despite knowing what things are like on The Isle, just because their parents are villains.

Like, I'll believe they decided to put their dangerous villains there to protect everyone.

(Not villains like LeFou and Smee though, because they're just not worth the trouble.)

But you expect me to believe that no one thought it wouldn't be fair to punish the kids for their parents' crimes? That people who are known for being kind thought this was fair?

Sorry, not buying it.

And it's not that they didn't know, because everyone knew the villains had kids, so they just, somehow, honestly thought this was a good idea.

But I don't believe it.

I understand that it has to be that way for plot reasons. My proposed change would be a very simple one:

They didn't know there were kids on The Isle.

They only found out shortly before Ben was going to be coronated, because Belle and Adam wanted to check on The Isle one more time before it became Ben's responsibility.

Thus, Ben immediately decides to invite some VKs to Auradon for a better life, but Belle and Adam are concerned that the VKs might be a lot like their parents. He agrees to only invite a few at first, but he's confident that they're not evil, just in terrible conditions.

The only moment of the whole show where Kim looks distressful (almost about to cry) in the whole show is when she thinks Ron died in the Christmas episode.

when she tells Ron she loves her in Clean state and when she confesses to Ron she is scared too. Those are amazing emotional moments that strength Kim and Ron’s relationship, but again they are so few and far in-between.

Again, all of this was because Kim was never allowed to ponder about her feelings, or have flaws nor be vulnerable

And I think this is part of the reason why some people in the fandom (I’ve seen a few, even though I disagree with them I get where they are coming from) dislike Kim and tend to pair up Ron with almost any other character (Tara, Bonnie, Yori or sometimes even Shego ) instead of Kim.

Kim is almost a non-character in the fandom, even on Kigo stories (Once I tried giving Kigo a chance, but I disliked almost everything about it, finding about the age-gap didn’t help) Kim is a non-character only being there to act as a prop towards Shego.

In the majority of the stories (even in KimRon stories) Kim acts more like a self-insert or as a prop to either Ron or Shego. 4_5

Yeah, Kim actually having realistic, relatable emotions is so rare in the show, it makes it feel like she's not even a character in her own show.

This is probably why she often feels like a non-character in fanfiction - she was never given enough emotional depth in the show to use in fanfiction.

She definitely had flaws, but they were so rarely acknowledged, and even more rarely corrected.

The only person to regularly acknowledge Kim's flaws is Ron, but he's usually not taken seriously. So Kim never feels a need to try and improve herself.

I know I prefer to ship Ron with other people because Tara and Yori were nice to him when Kim wasn't, and Bonnie was unequivocally supportive when they were dating in "Ron Millionaire" and really nice and kind to him in "Homecoming Upset" when she was trying to date him. Tara and Yori treated Ron better than Kim did at times, and Bonnie definitely had the potential for that kind of relationship with Ron.

I don't ship Ron with Shego for the same reason I don't ship Kim with Shego - the age difference makes me uncomfortable. It's pedophilia, even if nothing happens until Ron or Kim is eighteen.

I agree with all of this, and I'm adding I complaint I have:

Lila has no goals or motivation.

After her introductory episode, it was easy to defend her lying with Lila being new and struggling to make friends.

And, honestly, that would have been good enough.

But then, Lila appears again and, despite being caught in her lies, she doubles down and keeps lying, for seemingly no reason other than manipulating everyone around her.

Revenge against Ladybug might be a goal, but it seems a bit drastic for getting called out for lying. Especially when she was offered forgiveness by Ladybug and Adrien.

Lila's behavior then escalates from lying to allying with a super villain.

And she apparently has multiple families who know her under different identities, one of whom is a student at another school.

Again, no reason known for Lila to do this, and it has nothing to do with her revenge against Ladybug.

So, Lila manipulates everyone around her, for no known reason.

And since Lila's been around since the end of season 1, she should have a little more backstory by now.

Especially with the latest special, where Lila makes a wish that almost destroys the universe.

What did Lila wish for? What is her goal? Why is she doing this?

No one knows. Hopefully we'll get answers in season 6, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I guess my biggest complaint is that Lila is a plot device, not a character.

And that's just terrible writing.

Miraculous Ladybug Analysis: Why Lila Fails

So for those of you who aren’t new to my blog or fanfics, it should come as no surprise that I despise Lila Rossi from Miraculous Ladybug canon.

I despise her as a person. I despise her as a character. And I despise the very idea that she is in any way supposed to be a credible villain or that her choosing to be an antagonist is supposed to be anyone’s fault but her own. She annoys me in every possible way except for the reasons canon would probably have intended.

But ultimately, if I had to explain my specific issues with her and her character, it’d boil down to four main things:

One, Lila is a plot device.

From the moment she first appears in the story and well into any of her subsequent appearances, Lila’s purpose is to further a plot.

Not THE plot, mind you. Not the central story of the entire series about a supervillain attacking the city which has been dragged out for five seasons now or even the B plot of the love square that is so far removed from a slow burn by this point that the candle has long been extinguished from lack of oxygen.

No, it’s just A plot. And not even a good one. Outside of that specific plot of the day, Lila doesn’t really do anything, even when she arguably should be given the character that canon has presented her as.

And canon proves this is the case because Lila almost literally disappeared off the face of the earth with no explanation for nearly the entirety of season 2 until the finale when they suddenly need her again and say “oh yeah, by the way, she was just hiding out at home the whole time until Hawk Moth was ready to start this specific plan that is reliant on her to be there”. Sure, Gabriel has no way of knowing that Lila would even still be in Paris at that time, but that's the nature of a plot device in that it just works.

Lila appears. She manipulates and it works out. Then once her scheme is completed, she disappears into the ether again with little to no follow up or mention of her in the meantime.

Lila is a plot device and only exists as the plot demands. Which is even more problematic because of the next point.

Two, there is nothing that Lila does that couldn’t have been accomplished by an already established character.

Lila is supposed to be another rival over Adrien and another antagonist character for Marinette on both sides of the mask, which should be fine and even expected in a story.

The problem with that is that Marinette already HAS a rival and antagonist in Chloe, who seems to have everything needed to be a better antagonist. She has the power of wealth and nepotism to use against anyone she doesn’t like and to protect herself from consequences. Even better, she has a direct connection to the male lead that can at least give cause for her to appear to have a chance as a romantic rival as well as a reason for the female lead to not act against her if it would risk upsetting him. In addition, fans have been pegging her as a helper to Hawk Moth since season one, which would have been a potential route for her character—and what ended up happening ANYWAY given the events of Miracle Queen and season 4.

So why even have Lila then? There is nothing Lila brings to the table that is new or unique. She does nothing that couldn’t be accomplished by already existing characters who could fill whatever role she’s supposed to serve and they could do it WITHOUT the plot having to literally turn on its head to make thing work out.

She’s basically like Chloe—there’s no other way to put it. She is a sneakier and less obviously evil Chloe. They both are antagonistic towards the female lead while crushing on the male lead. They both do bad things and get away with it. They both act incredibly juvenile in their expectations and show no real understanding of either accountability or cause and effect. And they both agree to help the big bad just to get back at Ladybug for not letting them have something they feel entitled to with no real concern as to the fallout that would occur even if it should directly affect them.

The only difference is that Chloe at least has an in-universe reason for why she is never stopped. A frustrating reason, mind you, but still A reason.

Chloe gets away with things because she’s rich and her father is the guy running the city. Horrible? Yes. True to life? Arguably. But it’s something confirmed in canon and something we as the audience can see and understand the reason behind.

Lila doesn’t have that. What does she have then? Well, not much, actually.

Three, Lila‘s actions are not intelligent or reasonable.

This one is especially important because canon has been trying to paint it that Lila is some sort of mastermind and supposed to be a credible threat.

But as the writers don’t seem to understand “show, don’t tell”, Lila’s actions don’t really fit with that narrative. She either does things that a master manipulator wouldn’t do, or doesn’t take the obvious actions that one would.

A lot of her actions are poorly thought out:

Claiming to be the best friend of a superhero she know exists to someone she should know follows the exploits of and has had interviews with said hero, and just assumes that the claim will never be brought up if the two should meet again.

Claiming on a major news source to be the best friend of a superhero who is constantly under attack and may thus make Lila a potential target of anyone seeking to harm said hero.

Stealing what is clearly a very old possibly one of a kind book and going so far as to throw it away and just assume that the owner won’t notice or care that it’s missing.

NOT accepting Ladybug’s offer of friendship when the hero is clearly feeling guilty and would put Lila in a prime position to manipulate said hero out of that guilt and make at least one of her lies true.

And that’s just in Volpina. After that, Lila hid away at home for months on end just to sulk in her room over being caught. Which is really pathetic in and of itself, especially when there was no valid in character reason for her to do that instead of anything else, like maybe trying to do damage control.

Let’s remember that only two people knew Lila was lying—the hero she lied about and the crush the hero outted her in front of. Since Lila was clearly still in contact with the classmates during her self-imposed exile, she would have to have known that nobody else was aware of her lies, meaning those two people never told anyone about what she had been doing. Everyone else still believed her.

And of the two who knew, one apologized to LILA after Lila had selfishly lied about and insulted her while the other was still clearly trying to be on good terms with her even if he was disappointed in her for lying. Adrien actually offered to be her friend and only asked her to stop lying.

And Lila doesn’t use that to her advantage. A truly good manipulator can manipulate someone even if that person knows she’s a manipulator. She could have just accepted Adrien’s offer and it would have been a relatively small loss on her part in comparison to what she would have gained. She could have spun a sob story about why she lies and make herself look sympathetic to him so he would more willingly support her—and give her more of a chance to win him over because he would believe that they have a connection that way.

Instead, the master manipulator that Lila supposedly is chose to double down on her earlier lies and pout about how Ladybug is the liar even when it’s obvious that Ladybug wasn’t and even more obvious that Adrien wouldn’t believe her. Before stealing an akuma for herself and using it to frame ADRIEN for nicely asking her to stop lying to him instead of trying to frame Ladybug to him to give her lies more credence.

So each of Lila’s choices don’t make sense with the character that we are told Lila is supposed to be.

If I’m being charitable, I would say she just isn’t a master manipulator.

If I’m being blunt, I would say she’s stupid.

Now, it could be argued that she’s a teenager and doesn’t think things through, except that none of this is ever acknowledged as a mistake by either Lila herself or the narrative.

Lila keeps letting her emotions cloud her judgement. Which is interesting because Marinette is noted to have that as her main character flaw. Except for Marinette, this is actually portrayed as a flaw and something she has to correct and make up for while for Lila, it just somehow always works out in her favor.

Which leads to my next point…

Four, Lila is overly reliant on the plot to function as an antagonist.

If we're looking at things objectively, Lila isn’t smart and her plans aren’t that great. Whatever she schemes only seems to work because the plot requires them to rather than because of any real capability on Lila’s part. It becomes increasingly evident that Lila gets away with things because apparently plot demands that no one is allowed to so much as doubt what she says. They are forced to blindly believe her and follow whatever trail she wants them to, even when they arguably shouldn’t. So no one is able to figure out that she’s a liar aside from the female lead she’s a rival to and the big bad, and the latter of the two has reason to not do something about the giant red flag Lila presents.

This ultimately does less to show how clever Lila is and more to further emphasize the major problem of the series itself that too much of the show is reliant on nobody but Marinette doing anything. Lila’s character especially highlights that issue in that people who SHOULD have noticed Lila’s blatant lies or SHOULD have reason to respond in some way to her actions…don’t. And even in the relatively rare instance when they do, nothing comes of it.

We clearly see Damocles trying and failing to reach Lila’s mom about her unexplained extended absence in the Heroes Day finale, but this is never brought up again when she returns. Damocles himself seems to forget about it when he reappears to interact with Lila in the “Ladybug” episode. It also shows a giant disconnect between the Principal and the teachers in that we clearly see Bustier setting up a video call with Lila—so apparently Damocles isn’t aware that Bustier has direct contact with Lila and may know why she’s supposedly missing school and Bustier isn’t aware that Lila has been skipping school and that the administration hasn’t been able to make contact with her student’s family? Maybe Lila is “just that good”, but that speaks more of a level of ineptness in the school that we as the audience aren’t supposed to be seeing.

Most of Lila’s plots work out this way. She can outright manipulate people and have evidence of that manipulation be present for all to see, but nobody reacts. We don’t see Nino respond to the mass text of that picture Lila took of herself kissing Adrien after she told Nino she wasn’t interested in him. We don’t see Alya at any point connect the dots that if Marinette is Ladybug, then Lila would have to have been lying. They just seem to forget the clearly suspicious things they’ve witnessed and immediately jump to defend Lila as the plot requires. This makes no sense for these characters and it makes no sense for the plot.

As such, given the combination of these issues, I dislike Lila in Miraculous Ladybug not because she’s “evil”, but because she acts stupidly and is entirely reliant on plot armor. It’s even worse that the narrative is trying to TELL me that she is smart and an evil mastermind when it’s only SHOWING me otherwise. And the biggest problem is that for all her obvious objective failings, she doesn’t actually face any real loss because the narrative bends over backwards to ensure she somehow attains victory in any episode she appears.

As it stands, I would say that Lila’s only real ability is her apparent power to dumb down anyone she comes in contact with if the show didn’t already do that without her.

In a series of completely unrelated coincidences, the same family moves into a haunted house, attracts the attention of a local poltergeist, purchases an evil ventriloquist dummy, activates a witch’s curse, and adopts the newborn antichrist, all in the same week.

What are your opinions on Mr. Barkin?

Barkin shouldn't be an educator. Or allowed to be in charge of children.

He runs the school like it's the military.

He admitted to disliking Ron since Ron gave him a weird look in the ninth grade.

He assigns extra homework to Ron just because he can.

He refused to let Ron specifically leave the classroom at the bell despite letting everyone else go just so he could assign him extra homework for no reason.

And demanded that the homework be on his desk at 7:00 despite the school not being unlocked until 7:30.

And gave Ron more homework for pointing out that they don't unlock the doors until 7:30.

He took a whole letter grade off of Ron's assignment in "Ron The Man" just because Ron's bar mitzvah certificate hadn't been signed.

(If Barkin wasn't grading most of Ron's assignments, do you think Ron's grades might be higher?)

He humiliated Bonnie at graduation when she didn't deserve it.

(Seriously, Bonnie's squabbles with Kim and Ron are not something Barkin should be humiliating her for. The punishment was disproportionate to the "crime".)

And the one time anyone's in actual danger, he completely panics.

That being said, he also praised Ron's personal hero essay.

And was proud of Ron's impressive culinary skills.

Let Ron take charge in "Sink or Swim".

And had no problems assigning detention to Kim when she had deserved it.

Barkin mentions in "Graduation" that Ron reminds him a bit of himself, so Barkin is probably trying to prepare Ron for the things Barkin's faced. It just isn't having the desired affect.

I think that Barkin genuinely cares about the students, even Ron, but is in no way qualified to care for them.

Truly, I don't think Barkin is a completely irredeemable person, but he clearly has issues to work out, as shown in "Fashion Victim" by his break from reality, and needs to fix those before he's placed in charge of anyone ever again. If he's ever placed in charge of anyone again.