I Don't Know How You Can Say That Ron Outgrew His Role As The Forgettable Sidekick While Still Claiming

Would you be open to a sequel series to Kim Possible?

Kind of? That really depends on what direction the series is going to go in.

Are they going to acknowledge Kim's faults or just remove them and act like they never existed?

Is Ron going to keep being the bumbling sidekick or get better character development?

Those are the biggest questions.

I've written my own sequel series, but I'm open to other series that go in different directions.

I mostly just want Kim's faults acknowledged, especially to a point that Kim herself has to acknowledge them and work on them.

So, yeah, I'm open to it, but I'm not interested in a sequel series that ignores those problems entirely, even if it does also remove them.

I think this is all a consequence of the show never allowing Kim to be flawed.

There’s a very niche type of story, with very specific plot that I love within the fandom that (a very, very specific type of KimRon story) that fixes a lot of my issues with the way Kim and some aspects of Kim and Ron were portrayed.

But this ask is getting far too long, I’ll talk about it another time.

We have very different perspectives, but I would love to talk more about the show with you , if you want , you could DM me if you ever up to talking more about the show, you have some interesting takes. 5_5

Yeah, Kim was meant to be perfect from the beginning, so her flaws aren't acknowledged or corrected.

Frankly, after 20 years, it doesn't work for me anymore.

To me, Kim is unrelatable because she succeeds at most things way too easily. And she's unlikeable because she's extremely controlling, competitive, rude, judgmental, and condescending, and refuses to acknowledge it might be a bad thing, even when it hurts people she cares about.

I'd be interested in hearing about this type of story, maybe you could send me a link some time.

And I would love to talk Kim Possible with you, but I can't DM you - you sent all these anonymously, so I have no idea who you are!

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.

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.

Bonnie Deserved to Walk at Graduation

Okay, I'm going to say it: as horrible as Bonnie was throughout the series, she didn't deserve that kind of humiliation at graduation.

First of all, Barkin should know how to contact Bonnie, or her mother, to let them know before the ceremony that Bonnie wouldn't be graduating.

Second of all, the one test that Bonnie missed should not be weighted enough to cause Bonnie to not graduate. Especially when she was apparently a Salutatorian. (Second highest GPA in the class, she tied with Kim for the title.) At worst, she loses the Salutatorian title, but not flunk completely.

Third of all, the reason nothing happens in the last week of school is because the grade books are closed, and no assignment given after that point is actually counted towards their grade. So even though Bonnie missed that pop quiz, it shouldn't have mattered anyways.

Unless Barkin was breaking the rules, which wouldn't surprise me.

So, it seems the only reason Bonnie was told at the ceremony that she wouldn't be graduating is because Barkin decided he wanted to publicly humiliate Bonnie.

And a 40+ year old adult wanting to humiliate a barely legal former student of his seems wrong.

(Note: I don't think there was anything sexual behind his motivation for humiliating Bonnie, but it still seems wrong.)

Especially when the humiliation seems disproportionate to any slight she might have done to "deserve" it.

For all Bonnie's done to embarrass and antagonize Kim and Ron, she never goes public with it.

The closest we get is in "Hidden Talent" when she shows a video of Kim failing to hit the high notes while singing to hurt Kim's confidence, but Kim and Ron are the only ones around at the time to see the video. It doesn't count as "public humiliation".

So it doesn't seem right to humiliate her in such a way when she never stooped to that level herself.

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.

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.

I know it's an old show, but my sister proposed one of the craziest possible AUs for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Background info: We're both convinced that the Ty sisters are descended from air nomads. They're all good at acrobatics, and their faces look just like Aang.

So, for the AU:

Firstly, Kuzon never claims to be from the colonies, just that his family does things a bit differently

When Kuzon gets into trouble, the school doesn't ask to meet his parents, they say they've already contacted his parents.

See, a free-spirited kid who disrespects the teachers, dances, gets into fights, and "does things differently" has got to be from the Ty family.

They assume no one ever mentioned Kuzon because, compared to his sisters, he is quiet and respectful, so he must get overlooked quite often.

Mr. and Mrs. Ty did show up. They were planning to just clear up the misunderstanding, but then they see a young boy who looks just like their daughters, and is on the verge of a panic attack, and just roll with it.

"You know why we know that the history book is wrong. We're not going to punish him for being right."

"He didn't start that fight, so we're not going to punish him for defending himself."

"Kuzon, sweetie, you can't dance while playing the tsungi horn, you'll hit the other students."

The Ty family might not show it often, but they are nobility, so it's not exactly the best idea to get them upset.

Mrs. Ty has air nomad heritage, and she and her husband disagree with most of the current Fire Nation policies. They've hoped to make good changes, but it's not easy.

Aang tells them he's the avatar after he finds out about their heritage.

The promise not to sell him out, and ask for air bending lessons.

Not much else planned here, but Ozai does get defeated quicker.

I am a Huge KimRon shipper, I love them.

Ron clearly loved Kim and Kim very clearly loved Ron.

But don’t you think Kim and Ron relationship could feel one sided at times?

Like we have so many episodes where Ron is able to ponder about his feelings and show in various ways his love for Kim

5 love language: quality time, acts of service, giving gifts, words of affirmation etc. Always being there, always supporting her emotionally, being more emotionally available and open about his feelings. if that makes sense, I hope it does

Kim clearly also loves Ron, she tells him she needs him to save the world, her small moments of jealousy, there’s the Christmas episode where she gifts him an album full of their childhood memories, there are plenty hints that show how Kim could have liked Ron since the very beginning.

But there aren’t really any introspective or truly emotional moments where she thinks about her and Ron’s relationship or where we as the audience get to see how she truly feels about Ron. 1_5

Yes! Their relationship does feel one-sided! I have been saying that for years.

And it's not that I don't think Kim likes Ron on some level - because she does do nice things for him - it's that there are way more examples of Ron putting Kim first than there are of Kim putting Ron first.

And, for all the moments where Ron's feelings are discussed, we don't get that with Kim.

It's really disappointing.

I am going to respond to the rest of your asks.

Sometimes it doesn't feel like Kim Possible is an actual character in her own show. And, on the surface, that makes no sense.

She has multiple personality traits, both good and bad; confidence, a desire to help others, concern over what others think of her, gets frustrated when she doesn't instantly excel at something, competitive, judgmental, kind of controlling, etc.

These are traits that should lead to well-developed character who people can relate to.

But she feels more like an icon than a character, and I think I know why.

Ron also has multiple traits, but he feels more real, and that's because they spend more time exploring Ron's thoughts and feelings. They don't just give Ron character traits, they explain them.

That doesn't happen for Kim.

A lot of Kim's traits exist in a vacuum; there's no reasoning for them. It's never explored why Kim is, say, competitive or controlling, just that she is.

Kim is confident in her abilities. This might have come from her parents constantly believing in her, but it's not really explored.

Kim gets easily frustrated if she doesn't instantly excel at something. Though it's relatable, it'd be better if the reason for this was explored more.

Kim is competitive. To the point of sabotage. To the point of considering sneaking into a game for a team she was coaching because she couldn't stand the thought of losing. There's no explanation for this, as her parents would definitely encourage sportsmanship and fun over winning.

Kim is judgmental of interests she doesn't share. But "Monkey Fist Strikes" shows that she definitely didn't pick this up from her family. And it's definitely not one they'd have encouraged.

Kim is controlling to the point that she expects Ron to always be willing to drop whatever he's doing to join her on a mission. To the point that she doesn't let other people handle tasks for her, even when she clearly can't do them on her own. Again, there doesn't seem to be a reason for this trait. It's never explored why Kim is like this.

Kim refuses to acknowledge that Ron is important to her success. Again, it's never explored why Kim refuses to recognize Ron's contributions to her success.

These are traits that could lead to an interesting character who grows and develops as a person.

But, because the show never wants to explore Kim's reasons for being this way, she doesn't get to really grow as a person.

And that's why she doesn't feel like a character in the series. She doesn't grow or change, and her underlying thoughts and feelings and reasons for being the way she is aren't explored.

And it's kind of detrimental to character development.

If part of your house randomly burst into flames at times, solving the problem wouldn't just involve acknowledging the flames and putting them out. You'd also have to figure out why it bursts into flames, even if it's uncomfortable.

In order for Kim to truly grow and develop as a character, it's not enough to just acknowledge that Kim has flaws, it's also important to explore why she's like that.

But, since that doesn't happen, Kim doesn't feel as relatable as Ron.

And this leads to Kim seeming like less of a character in her own show.