literature

The POSSIBLE KBlogs 7 - The Scottish Rises

Deviation Actions

mickeyelric11's avatar
Published:
5.5K Views

Literature Text

The Possible KBlogs Logo by mickeyelric11

Number One


The Scottish Rises





Hi, everyone! Here mickeyelric11 and I’m bringing you the 7° piece for the series of “The POSSIBLE KBlogs”, and now dealing with another episode featuring a new villain. This time a Recurring Antagonist: the infamous Duff Killigan. This was another bad guy I was so excited to finally watch in action, and, for the whole episode, I was praying that it wasn’t another Señor Senior and Jr. So, here’s the final product.

Like with “Downhill”, this episode shares the same problem of having a pretty good main story, related to the “Hero vs. Villain” part of the show, while its subplot is kind of dull. Ok, it’s not really that bad, but I hope this isn’t a repetitive case with this show. Before anything else, let’s start with the story!

The episode begins with Kim at the Cheerleading Practice, when then Bonnie asks her to talk in private. She comments her that she has been noticing Kim kind of tired, and Kim replied her that she had to save and ambassador a little while ago. After this, Bonnie tells her that, seeing how Kim has to save the world from time to time, the Cheerleaders Squad may need another leader that could give it more attention, and yeah, that another person is Bonnie herself. Of course Kim says her to “Go guck herself!”. So yeah, this was going to be the side conflict of this episode. BTW, the word of the day is going to be “Rivalry”.

Before continuing, I would like to talk a little about the character of Bonnie. Something really infamous in American Entertainment Products, especially in the ones aimed to kids, is the really forced use of the “Bully Cliché”. Sadly, plenty of creators see like “indispensable” to add characters that don’t work as the villains but as tokens to tease the main protagonist, most of the time to create more sympathy for the leads. But this is exactly why it doesn’t work: these are not characters, but just annoying elements that make the work uncomfortable.

Look, I have said before that the conflict is the base of any story, but the mistake here is that bullies most of the time are not treated as antagonist, an archetype that would make them very welcomed. No, with the great taboos against violence in self defense in United States, bullies are not added to be defeated by the heroes, but more to promote the lessons of “Just ignore them!” and “Violence never solves anything”; with this one used normally in stories where the main characters must beat the crap out of the villains. So yeah, this is my most despised trope of fiction, and the one I looked the least in a entertainment work dealing with young people. This is the main reason why I despise “Karate Kid” and “Bridge to Terabithia”. But I digress.

However with Bonnie, I really can’t hate her. Even if she has been written as bland and cliché as most of the Alpha Bitches, what really prevents to turn her into a Asuka Langley is indeed the main protagonist, AKA, her “victim”: Kim Possible herself.

What makes me hate characters as Johnny Lawrence or Flash Thompson is seeing how they attack a “defenseless” person, normally the main character, and this one, for trying to be “the good guy”, can’t defend himself/herself using his/her skills. However, in “Kim Possible”, we really can’t see Bonnie harming Kim terribly. Also, when she indeed has tried to bully Kim as in the episode “Downhil”, she ended up losing. I have to say that this is product of Kim’s Work not being a secret.

In my opinion, thanks to Kim not keeping anything in private, everybody knows what a great badass Kim is reality, so Bonnie, totally knowing about Kim’s life as a heroine, is not stupid enough to try to damage someone who can beat the crap out of her if it is pissed off enough, so, even if she doesn’t hide her mean attitude, still keeps herself from going too far. Also, the fact of her knowing what a loved hero Kim is really prevents the infamous trope of Kim being underrated while the main assholes are treated as Jesus. But I digress, so let’s continue with the rest of the episode.

After this Bully Antic, Kim and Ron spend some time in “Bueno Nacho” discussing about Kim’s problem with Bonnie. After they leave, a hole opens under Kim and she gets sucked into a system of James Bond Pipes, ending up in the headquarters of the “Global Justice Network”, an agency dedicated to fight evil; which again opens the case of not knowing how Kim and Ron became agents. Kim meets the Main Director of the agency, a Female Version Prototype of Disney’s Nick Fury, who introduces her to the star agent from that organization: Will Du (did you get it?). So yeah, in this episode we are going to deal with some clichés again, but don’t take me wrong: just half of them will be dull.

In this story we deal with the infamous and classic trope of Kim being invited by that organization to rescue, along with Will Du, a retired scientist, Professor Green, who was kidnapped. BTW, I will give some points to this part for a really funny scene: Kim actually knows about the backstory of this important man by the Internet, and she pretty much guesses his kidnapping. The fact that Kim’ Heroic Life not being a secret really pays off.

However, big surprise: both Kim and Will really don’t get along because…the plot wants to. OK, Will is portrayed as a really proud and insolent agent, wanting to do everything by himself, underrating Kim, and pretty much trying to show that his cock is the biggest. In other words: Kim and Will are the Heroic Couple that we normally see in other works as the protagonists. You know: the better girl who is always nagging the male counterpart, because this one of course is cocky and not really that skilled. I’m so glad that “Kim Possible” had not done this with Kim and Ron, because here we see how exactly it could have turned out: a really annoying and boring couple who just makes the plot go slower. Also, it really doesn’t help in seeing how boring Will is, and how really dickish he acts. But, let’s continue, because still there’s a lot of good on this episode.

So we are in the next day with Kim and Ron finishing classes, and Kim criticizes Bonnie for not going to Cheerleading Practice, and another funny joke in the school’s billboard. Suddenly, they meet with Will, who proceeds to electrocute Ron, paralyzing both him and Rufus; BTW, I couldn’t help but to laugh seeing how Kim and Ron held paralyzed Rufus as a stick. After this, we see Bonnie again, who didn’t get to the practice for looking for a sponsor. Yeah, she managed to organize a chocolate selling in order to raise funds for the squad, so she gives Kim a box to sell, while she goes to a big truck full of them in order to do the same. I have to give Bonnie some credit: her bullying is a little more complex and less annoying than the Classic Formula. Of course we see how she tried to make Kim feel bad, but it’s not really by anything harmful or immoral: she indeed tried to show herself better by doing a technically good action; she just goes to a bigger extreme to achieve more success. If half of the bullying in real life was like this, I think this world would be a better place.

Also, a really funny scene with Ron offering his help to Kim to sell the chocolates, only to fail in achieving this with Will, who was quickly persuaded by Rufus, and Ron say that it was just because it was naked; I feel a hidden “Crap Past the Radar” moment here.

So we pass to Kim’s house were the three, Kim, Will and Ron, are trying to analyze the crime scene. Aside of this, Will really impresses Kim’s mother by kissing up one of her projects. But returning to the matter, the trio is looking to a hologram of the scientist’s house, and Kim finds a clue: a piece of a golf ball. However, Will Asuka Langley can’t help but to always undervalue Kim conclusions, and pretty much being a complete toothache. However, Kim shuts his mouth by finding another important element: a sample of hyperactic acid, an illegal compound for fertilizers. Again, another smart way in showing Kim as a better agent: it’s not because she is a girl and Will a boy the reason why Kim hits more bullseyes in this episode. While Will is more rushed, doesn’t really listen and is too cocky, Kim is more calmed, takes her time, and thinks twice before acting, and, even if she falls in the trap of bickering with Will, she cares the most in accomplishing the mission instead of following the immature games of Will. Again, this is a great female character, and she is really climbing a lot into my favorites list. But I digress.

Kim concludes that this substance can only be found in the black market, so the three go to the most famous person in Illegal Business: “Big Daddy” Brotherson. After a little mention of the Chocolate Dilemma, and Kim really not worrying about Bonnie, they proceed to go with the infamous criminal, who for some reason hasn’t been arrested by Kim yet. Which is pretty odd, because, yes, I know Big Mobs Heads are incredible dangerous and have powerful armies, but Kim already has defeated similar enemies like Drakken and Señor Senior. But let’s not think too deep here. Once again, Will fucks things up because of his cockiness. Trying to act as Rorschach with the mobster, he ends up being thrown from the place like Barney from Moe’s tavern. Considering real life criminal organizations, he was extremely lucky. However, Kim instead tries to bribe this guy with chocolate, and she succeeds, which is odd: I think such a famous criminal could buy HERSHEY’S if we wanted too, and he totally betrayed one of his costumers by a single bar. That guy has some issues.

So Kim got the name: Duff Killigan, the new antagonist of this episode. Both Kim and Will proceed to start investigating about this guy in their devices, and we found out that Duff was a professional golfer which was banned from all Golf, and even Mini Golf, Fields because of his temper; well, here in Internet do this too with the “Block Button”, so it’s believable. But speaking of witch, the famous Duff appears from the shadows and…a little question to all the fans of this show who watched when it came out: was there never a controversy about this guy?! Because…I don’t really want to fall in the game of those idiots who whine for “controversial” things on TV, but, this Duff Killigan is a total stereotype of Scottish: a thick accent, a squared kilt, reddish brown hair, and he is also a golfer. I can still giving him the benefit of the doubt in the accent, considering that I’m a Spanish-Speaker Mexican, and we also have to remember that he is an antagonist, but this guy only needed to be shown eating Haggis to complete the entire pack. But well, he is not really that offensive to me, and he is pretty memorable for all those features. Who knows, maybe this wasn’t taken so bad for the public or the Scottish, but let’s continue.

Duff makes his debut by stupidly shouting while trying to kill their enemies with an explosive golf ball; yeah, “sneaky” and “silent” aren’t really protocols for this show. But, in his favor, he almost succeeds, because both Kim and Will were too busy by trying to be the first in knowing about him. Yeah, if it wasn’t because of Ron, normally the goofy one, Kim and Will would have dead just for their arrogance. I’m glad this episode exists, really: this story shows how stupid and shallow the cliché of wanting to portray a male-female duo just bickering instead of working together is. We can see how smart the writers are indeed.

After all this, Kim asks Wade to look for Duff’s Lair, like if it was looking for a Wikipedia article, and then she decides to return to Middleton, just to find out that Bonnie had indeed succeeded: she sold all the chocolates and managed to buy new uniforms for the Cheerleaders Squad. However, Kim is really skeptical, considering pretty odd how such a lazy and spoiled person Bonnie, according to her, could have worked so hard.

After some bonding between Ron and Will in “Bueno Nacho”, finally Wade calls with the location of Duff Killigan, so they go for Kim and ensue  to catch the bad guy, by riding Will’s Fancy Stitch’s Spaceship; it’s red and pointy. They finally find the Island Lair, which of course has a Scottish Castle and some Bagpipes Soundtrack, because “Scottish”. Ron makes a quick “Gilligan’s Island” reference and we’re walking and walking…

While exploring the castle and entering in the dungeon, the three of them put the pieces together: the kidnapping of the scientist, Killigan purchasing a ton of hyperactic acid, and also the fact of the scientist having a blog about getting a prize for his grass. So the answer is clear: Killigan is trying to create a perfect kind of super grass which is not only nice looking, but also that it’s able to grow anywhere and fast. So yeah, Duff Killigan is playing to be Poison Ivy in his debut, but not really for a 100% Misanthropic Issue. Gardener Willy’s Racist Cousin is trying to make the biggest golf course in the world, by transforming the whole planet into a giant grass field. OK…very good Villain Scheme for this show. It would be incredible stupid and worthless in real life, but it really fits here and it is still very destructive and menacing.

The three fidn the kidnapped scientist inside a grass cocoon and they freed him thanks to Rufus’ Beaver Abilities. He confirms them their theory, but he also tells them that Killigan kidnapping him was pretty pointless, considering that he has published all his work in books that are even available in public libraries; yeah, pretty funny I admit.

Suddenly, Duff appears, trying to reveal his plan, but everyone has already guessed it, but instead of being disappointed, he just proceeds to lock them in that dungeon. Will tries to force it, but Kim destroys the lock with his laser lipstick. So, facing Duff again, Will tries one more time to be cocky, and he fails again. After this, Killigan starts attacking them with golf balls. Why didn’t he use explosive golf balls here? Well, maybe because the writers really wanted to show Will being hit with one of the balls, instead of having his head exploding. Then Kim and Duff start fighting with golf clubs, however, this doesn’t last. Killigan uses his earthbending and opens a hole in the ground to escape; OK, he activated a button, but there weren’t any borders in the ground. Duff takes a Scottish Squared Blimp, because that of course wouldn’t be associated with him, and gets away.

Trying to pursue him, and Will wanting to be a reckless idiot again, the four heroes end in a sand trap, which is actually quicksand too. However, Kim thinks fast and tells Will to call his Stitch’s Spaceship with his remote control. However, big surprise: this stupid forgot the keys. Agent of the year, Will…I start to think that the Female Nick Fury was his mother, that would explain how he got his position. But not all hope is lost. Thankfully, Rufus, a naked mole, proves to me more useful that this idiot and manages to walk over the quicksand; maybe it’s an earthbender too…it’s a mole after all. Rufus gets the remote control and Will is able to call the jet back.

After they are free, they go to the possible next target of Duff, the first country where he was banned from a golf course: Japan. It must always be Japan, that nation is a big target for Villain Schemes.

So yeah, Duff is going Poison ivy in the Nation of “Dragonball Z”, but Kim and her team finally arrive. Kim manages to get out from the ship, but the aircraft is immediately covered by the super grass, trapping Ron, Rufus, the scientist and Will. However, this last one can’t let Kim get all the glory, so he stupidly press the “Eject” Button, and he, Ron and Rufus are tossed from the jet ala Team Rocket Style; I have just realized how fitting is this joke for these three, considering that Rufus can speak some words. Meanwhile, Duff now is attacking Kim with explosive balls…maybe because now he can’t kill Will hitting in that direction, and speaking of the devil (or stupid), Will tries to electrocute Killigan with his watch, but it doesn’t work. I have said this a lot of time, but this guy is a complete moron. Also, Kim ends in the ground, totally unharmed, thanks to an explosion. However, this lets her see the solution: a dandelion…OF COURSE!

You see: Kim explains how the white spores over this weed are actually seeds. So, after she blows them to Duff, and then waters them, Killigan ends up involved into a giant dandelion. Because…let’s not mind it. Thinking they have already won, Killigan tries to catch Kim, but Will finally is useful at something by electrocuting him, saving Kim from this old man in a skirt; now that a think about it, maybe Will has indeed saved Kim’s life from something really awful. Yeah, Will finally learned humbleness and teamwork…in a bit. He still showed that he needed a lot to learn. But also Kim needed to admit defeat too.

Bonnie tries to organize a reelection for the new leader of the squad, but the whole team wants first to Kim coming to give her vote. This happens, and Kim finally admits that Bonnie can be a better leader, so she transfers her position. And, it’s not a bad executed action: Bonnie has indeed helped the team in a bigger scale than Kim, and we never saw her cheating or stealing the merits of other person. In another show, the bully normally would have done an immoral action, so he/she was shown losing at the end. However, this still happens: Bonnie realizes that she now will get more responsibilities, which of course don’t fit with her personality, and the episode ends.

After all this: what do I think of this story, in the matter of introducing a new villain? Is it as good as Drakken and Gill’s Debut or as dull as the Spanish Duo Episode? I have to admit…it was pretty good. Yes, the part of Will was cliché and really boring, but all the stuff with Duff, and even the dilemma with Bonnie, was very well done and entertaining. We didn’t only see a great debut for another villain, but also another aspect of the Alpha Bitch of this show, which actually ended up being really likeable.

This episode is without any doubt really funny, and still shows the creativity for the villains. I just hope it manages to do the next subplots a little better.

So, here I finished this review, and I’ll see you next time! :wave:
Comments6
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Dim432's avatar
Don't you mean Marvel col nick fury agent of S.H.I.E.L.D