Obviously, I have thoughts.
And they're mostly about Kim/Ron.
More specifically, the fact that Kim doesn't remember the fact that she and Ron are dating.
Even more specifically, he reaction to being told they're dating.
Ron: No, not to worry. I’ll have KP back in time for dinner. After school I’ll give her a refresher around Middleton. It’ll be like a second first date.
Kim: Are you hitting on me?
Ron: Um, Kim, we are dating. I’m your boyfriend.
Kim: Boyfriend? Oh, wait, you’re serious?
So, here we have Kim finding the idea of her dating Ron amusing. She doesn't take it seriously, and doesn't seem interested in the idea.
I realize that Kim can't remember anything at the moment, and thus she's not really acting like herself.
But it's kind of unfair that Ron is the last thing Kim remembers.
Ron, who should be the most important person in Kim's life.
Ron, who is certainly the most integral person in Kim's life.
Ron, who is the biggest constant in Kim's life, the person she's spent the most time around, and she doesn't remember dating him until the end of the episode.
And it's annoying when we get scenes like this:
Ron: Hey, just take it slow, Kim. Nothing to worry about. You’re among friends.
Bonnie: Unh. Just learned to walk, K?
Ron: Except for Bonnie!
Kim: Bonnie? Oh, Bonnie! She and I are on the same cheer squad, right? So we’d be friends.
---
Monique: Ron, Wade told me. Lost memory. How’s she doing?
Ron: Eh, a little sketchy in some areas, particularly relationships. You know, she needs to remember things on her own, so don’t expect Kim to just--
Kim: Monique? Monique! I remember you! The first time I met you was at Club Banana. We’re, like, best friends.
---
Ron: Now, you can’t tell me that you don’t remember Bueno Nacho.
Kim: How could I forget? The center of the cheese and chip universe. Home of the naco and managed by Ned.
Ron: How is it you remember everything but the fact that we’re a couple?
Kim: Couple of what?
Ron: People who are dating.
Kim: Are you sure that we were dating? I mean sometimes people read a little more into things than they should, right?
Ron: OK, look, photo evidence, K.P.
Kim: Oh, wait a minute.
Ron: Prom, dancing, the kiss.
Kim: You called me in the middle of the night once to ask about us dating.
Ron: Yes!
Rufus: Yeah!
Kim: Then you said I melted.
Ron: No, ok, no, that was just a dream.
Kim: So we were dating in a dream you had?
Ron: Well, yes, in the dream, but also--
Kim: Why is my watch beeping?
Ron: Wade.
Kim: Hi, uh, Wade?
Ron: How did you remember his name?
Kim: You just said it.
Ron: Oh, right.
Wade: How are you doing, Kim?
Kim: Wade? Oh, Wade! Better. I’m starting to remember stuff.
---
Ron: Wait, wait, wait, wait! Shego, you tell her. Kim and I are dating, right?
Shego: What? For real? Oh, come on. That never made any sense to me. I mean--
Ron: See? That wasn’t a no. Unh.
Kim: Glowing hand. Glow…Go…Shego!
---
Wade: Ron? Ron fought Shego? Alone?
Kim: Well, I don’t know if fought is the right word.
Ron: Sure it is. I fought. Fought for my life.
Wade: Well, hopefully this will help Kim remember her fighting skills.
Kim: Cheer practice?
Wade: Well, so far all of your memories have been triggered by some event or meeting. Good luck.
Bonnie: Hello? Late for practice much?
Ron: OK, don’t let Bonnie get to you and whatever you do, don’t listen to anything she says. You’ll be fine.
Bonnie: I don’t know what your problem is, Kim. I knew this would happen when you started dating Naco Boy.
Ron: Aha, Kim, you see? Do you see? I’m Naco Boy.
Kim: Yeah, I shouldn’t listen to what Bonnie says.
It's not fair that Kim can't remember dating Ron, her best friend of 10+ years, someone who is extremely important to her, until he loses his pants again.
She remembers everything about Monique after just running into her in the halls.
She vaguely remembers Bonnie after running into her, and gets her full memory of Bonnie, including a complicated cheer routine, back after one try.
She remembers Bueno Nacho by just showing up.
She remembers Wade after a phone call.
She remembers Shego as soon as her hands start glowing.
And she remembers Drakken and how to fight before she even goes to confront him again.
But she can't remember Ron until the end of the episode?
This is unfair to everyone.
Especially since Kim is, for some reason, so resistant to the idea of them dating.
I mean, I guess I can understand not immediately believing you're dating some random guy, but Ron's not some random guy.
Kim still remembers their friendship, and trusts him on everything else.
But she doesn't accept that they're dating.
She won't even consider the idea.
And, if dating Ron was as important to her as cheerleading, fighting Shego, hanging out with Monique, or going to Bueno Nacho, shouldn't something have triggered her memory earlier?
Especially since Ron is involved in pretty much every aspect of Kim's life?
But, no, she doesn't remember until he loses his pants.
Not riding on the back of his scooter, which she did during the Li'l Diablos incident which, coincidentally, was the same day they started dating.
And did several other times before Kim got her own car.
Not going to Bueno Nacho, which they do all the time.
Not cheerleading, which Ron happens to be kind of involved in as the mascot.
Not even seeing Ron, which was enough for her to completely remember Monique and Wade (over video!) and kind of remember Bonnie.
No, the only thing that triggers Kim's memory of Ron is that he loses his pants.
And the fact that nothing but Ron losing his pants triggers her memory of them dating, implies that, on a subconscious level, that's how she views Ron.
Not as her boyfriend, but as her clumsy, bumbling, inept sidekick who's always losing his pants.
And everyone - Kim, Ron, us viewers - deserved better.
I don't believe she was a bully, I think she probably was bullied.
And then she found out her bully had a bad home life so she started being nice to her and her bully started being nice because of that.
And Ms. Bustier just hasn't realized that that's not going to work for every scenario.
Being nice to Chloe won't make her nicer because she rarely wants to be nice. She's faced no consequences for being mean so far, so there's no reason for her to want to be nice.
And making Marinette be nice to her only forces Marinette into situations where she's going to suffer.
Obviously, I so wanted Chloe to have a redemption arc, and I certainly give her one in my stories, but it does involve Chloe facing consequences for her actions.
And Ms. Bustier doesn't just not enforce consequences for Chloe, she also tries to make Chloe's victims be nice to her.
And this is stuff that definitely would have needed to change for Chloe to grow as a person.
So, really, Ms. Bustier isn't just failing Chloe's victims, she's failing Chloe as well.
And don't even get me started on Lila.
Continuing onto Bustier having trouble seeing Chloe as a bully, I how kinda headcanon that Bustier was a bully herself when she was Chloe’s age. Often bullies who grow up don’t know/realize they were in fact bullies (until someone points it out/calls them out) so maybe she’s blinded by her own inner guilt from her past? Idk just an idea
I don't think I'd agree with that for canon, but I'd def assign that headcanon to SL Bustier.
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.
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.
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.
One thing about Rainbow High that drives me crazy is that River Kendall is supposed to be the teal colored character, my favorite color, but he doesn't actually wear teal.
So, to make myself a little less mad about it, I made an edit where he's actually wearing teal. I left his letterman jacket as is.
And, just for fun, River in teal with his hair the same color as his eyebrows.
Obviously, I know they're not perfect, but I still think they're pretty good.
The villains are bad in obvious ways, but the civilian adults have issues too, theirs are just more subtle.
James Possible:
Almost no concern for the dangerous things his boys build because he was just like that at their age.
Doesn’t usually know about Kim’s missions until after she gets back, and is okay with it as long as she’s not out with some boy.
Threatens to launch Ron into a black hole if he breaks Kim’s heart in “Emotion Sickness”.
Ann Possible:
Like James, doesn’t know about Kim’s missions until she gets back, and is okay with that.
Expressed concern over Kim forcing Ron into a haircut in “The New Ron”, but did nothing else, not even when Kim made it clear Ron didn’t get a say in the matter.
I understand these two have careers that keep them occupied, but it doesn’t really excuse neglecting their children. I understand normal teenagers don’t save the world, but even if they did, parents would still want to know where they’re going.
Mr. Stoppable:
Adopts a girl and turns Ron’s bedroom into a nursery, moving his things into the attic, in the time Ron was at school, and doesn’t tell him ahead of time.
Mrs. Stoppable:
Adopts a girl and turns Ron’s bedroom into a nursery, moving his things into the attic, in the time Ron was at school, and doesn’t tell him ahead of time.
Doesn’t tell him he’s going to Camp Wannaweep until the bus gets there.
Stops taking his calls while Ron is at Camp Wannaweep.
We don’t really see enough of them to know if they’re okay with Ron going on missions, but they certainly have a bad habit of making drastic life changes for Ron without telling him.
Mr. Barkin:
Power-tripping; admits in “Bonding” that he’s hated Ron since the ninth grade because Ron gave him a “funny look” and gives Ron extra homework just because he can. (Here’s an interesting question; If Barkin wasn’t the one grading most of Ron’s assignments, do you think Ron’s grades would be higher? It makes sense that Barkin would grade Ron more harshly just because he could.)
Does not inform high school students of changes made to field trip plans until the last minute. Examples: “Return to Wannaweep” and “Cap’n Drakken”. Though I might believe he also didn’t know until the last minute, he still shouldn’t be taking the students to places they hadn’t previously agreed to go to.
Approaches running a high school likes it’s a boot camp, and really shouldn’t be in charge of teenagers.
Not much else needed to say about Barkin; he approaches everything, including running a high school, like it’s boot camp, so the fact that he’s still there is amazing. Middleton High needs more teachers.
I’m not saying they’re all bad people, but these issues are pretty serious and should’ve been addressed in the show. The only time any of them is addressed is within the context of how it affects Ron, and so those concerns aren’t taken seriously.
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.
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.
Some additional thoughts:
I wish we were able to get tender moments between Kim and Ron in S4
In fact we already have a few of them, only for them to get cut short usually in comedic effect by another character or the show tries to undermine the moment by making a quick jab usually at the expense of Ron’s character.
I feel that paradoxically in S4 Ron had the most amount of character development and plenty of heartwarming moments, but the show still makes him the butt of the joke on those scenes, so despite having the most development his character is portrayed very dumb during some scenes.
Like in the scene in the episode Clothed minded where Ron tells Kim that her clothes is not what makes her Kim possible, she is the one who is amazing, Kim looking so happy and reassured about what he said and then the scene tries to make it “funny” by having Ron panic and go back on what he said, completely ruining and undermining the scene.
I’m not saying Ron isn’t allowed to be silly, is just that Ron being the comic relief and the butt of the joke no longer seems fitting for his character at that point, because he has developed well beyond that character archetype.
That doesn’t happen when Ron tells Kim “she is beautiful” and this is one of the most memorable KimRon scenes in the series.
I understand why this was done, they were afraid of putting too much romance, they didn’t want to scare the kids away, they had to make it funny and appealing to the little Kids somehow.
But I wish the show allowed for more personal, emotional and tender moments between the two. Sometimes I feel like S3 handled this aspect better than S4.
I’m sorry about all of the ask, I know you are not even a KimRon shipper, but you are one of the few people who has openly talked about the flaws of the show and about the way Kim was handled and this is one of the only ways I think I can safely address all of this issues and feeling I’ve had about the show for a long time.
Hope I didn’t overwhelmed you with all of the sudden influx of asks. Thanks for listening.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with any of my points?
Yeah, Ron outgrew the "goofy sidekick" archetype way before season 4. Maybe partway through season 2.
I have a post on how Ron deserved to be treated better by the narrative where I list the times Ron's done something truly amazing and it actually begins pretty early in the series. It's just so rarely acknowledged.
But, despite showing pretty early on what he's capable of, he was still the butt of many jokes, and the narrative never acknowledged that he grew out of that. It never really allowed him to grow out of it.
Simultaneously, the narrative never acknowledged that Kim might be flawed so she was never allowed to grow.
I understand how you feel; there are certain places on the internet where, if you try to criticize Kim Possible - the show or the character - you get a bunch of hate.
I don't know if it's because the nostalgia is too strong or what, but it can make someone afraid to criticize the show. But trust me, we're not the only ones who have issues with it.
I still have people disagreeing with me here, but at least I'm not getting hated on. People here are much more open to discussion about the flaws of the show.
(Or maybe I just got lucky this time. Who knows?)
I agree with all of your points, actually. I may not ship KimRon, but that's because their relationship was handled poorly, even before they started dating.
After they started dating, there should've been more tender and emotional moments between them. It sucks that we didn't see that very often. Or that, when it did happen, it was interrupted by something "funny" happening, usually at Ron's expense.
It felt like they weren't in a serious relationship because the relationship wasn't allowed to be serious.
I don't mind all the asks. I actually appreciate them. You're totally allowed to send me your thoughts about Kim Possible. I like having discussions with people about it. And I will do my best to reply to all of them.
That is another excellent point, but it's still disturbing.
Even if it was just those three, the fact that they either didn't know what The Isle was like or didn't care is disturbing.
In Beauty and The Beast, Adam was cursed into the form of a beast because he behaved cruelly towards someone who turned out to be an enchantress (or fairy).
Only once Beast starts learning to be a kind person does someone fall in love with him and break the curse.
Cinderella got a movie where Anastasia made amends with Cinderella and found love on her own. Fairy Godmother would know about that.
So, clearly, everyone who was ever a villain or a villain's sidekick, or people who are descended from villains, should be forced to live in squalor. No one can ever grow as a person and do better, and their children are guaranteed to be as bad as them no matter what we do. /s
The whole story was about how anyone can grow past being a monster if they want to and are given the chance. To say that no one else should ever get that opportunity and that the kids of villains are damned just for being their kids is wildly out of character for all of them.
I guess most people assume all the heroes would know because they were sending their own villains there, and it'd seem weird and out of character to not ask questions.
But Beast doing a lot of lying, manipulating, and bribing would make sense.
Unfortunately, it'd mean Beast kind of sucks.
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.
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.