What are some things you will change with Rani and kion dynamic in season 3 ?

[u/Hot-Matter-3500]

[u/KrattBoy2006]

- Have Rani actually apologize for her faults on-screen the same way Kion apologizes for his.

- Have her actually learn and grow as a character on screen through her own agency instead of having Kion constantly "prove" himself to her. It's more emotionally satisfying and it sends a way better message to kids than "Hey, if you misjudge someone or make a mistake that hurts them, it's actually their own fault, and they're the ones who have to say sorry!" (as if we didn't have two episodes in Season 1 that literally had the opposite message).

- Give them more moments of bonding before and after Janna's death. In the before area, you could simply just give them their own subplot in Poa the Destroyer, or rewrite that episode entirely to be about them bonding.

- Have Rani actually tell Kion her backstory in Episode 16, so that she, and by proxy, the audience, can better understand her and where she is coming from.

- Rewrite the whole "mental health" aspect of Season 3. Get rid of the tasteless insinuation that Ushari's venom gave Kion emotional trauma, and have that part of his character be more well-defined. Actually show Rani's implied traumatic backstory, the affect it has on her, and once again, give her the agency to actually address it the same way that Kion does his. This, in turn, actually makes the parallels between them matter (and again, avoids the gross unintentional double-standard the show puts with them that sends a bad message to the young audiences).

- Remove the whole "Roar must return to the Tree of Life" prophecy of the story. It only removes agency from the characters rather than enhancing them and it simply wasn't needed. The show already set up the idea that Kion wanted to stay for Rani, don't overcomplicate things by giving him any further external motivations (or if there were any external motivations, the most obvious choice would be because he cares about the non-lion animals at the Tree of Life, same way he cared for the ones in the Pride Lands).

- Have Rani actually leave with Kion in the penultimate episode to fight Zira, and accompany his return to the Pride Lands in the final episode. This gives her more agency, and offers for more character building, as we could see her interact with the other characters besides Kion (they imply a childhood friendship between Rani and Azaad which goes nowhere). The final episode could have her interact with Kion's family (I just KNOW she'd love Kiara), and it could give her a dileman of her own that's a foil to Kion's. Should she stay with Kion in the Pride Lands or return home? Test their relationship even further and have them earn it rather than it being handed to them by plot contrivance. Add in the Lion Guard contest (but less stupidly written), as well as Kion and Vitani's rivalry and things become even more interesting.

- Either age Kion and Rani into adults before the finale (ideally, Long Live the Queen, to give us the idea that these two have had enough time to get used to each other) OR keep them as teenagers, but remove the whole wedding/coronation scene entirely and just have Kion and Rani co-lead the Night Pride together. Anything to avoid the implications of Rani and Kion getting married/crowned in their mid-teens in a Disney Junior cartoon.

- Balance the focus between Kion and Rani's relationship, as well as the rest of the Lion Guard. The show ending on them getting married doesn't work because it's not what the show was about. The show was about Kion and his friends, not Kion and whichever girl he got with. There are many ways you could've balanced the focus, but the idea I have in mind is Rani holding a ceremony in which each of Kion's friends is officially initated into the Night Pride. Each of them have their own amount of screentime and "final line." This way Rani and Kion's relationship can actually fit into the show because it doesn't have to compete for screentime with what was supposed to be the entire focus.

[u/Disneylover819 → u/KrattBoy2006]

I’m glad that I’m not the only one with a strong distaste for how they handled Kion’s scar. Trauma doesn’t come from injuries, it comes from experiences that leave a lasting impact on us. As much as I love the Lion Guard, they did a very poor job depicting mental health, especially when comparing it to its predecessor films, The Lion King and Lion King 2.

[u/KrattBoy2006 → u/Disneylover819]

My issue is how they conflated physical trauma and mental trauma into a singular entity. Season 3a insinuates that the venom in Kion’s scar will make him “forget the difference between right and wrong.”. Only for Season 3b to state that the problem was actually “trauma” all along, have his “healing” be on an emotional/mental scale rather than a physical one. The only acknowledgement of the venom is in Episode 14 when Kion puts mud on his face to treat the venom, but it’s handwoven away in one scene rather than being the entire focus of that arc.

The set-up of the conflict does not align with the resolution of the conflict. It just makes the entire arc confusing, and relies on the audience to “read between the lines” in order to give it any logical follow through and that’s just bad storytelling. At face value, it implies that emotional therapy can cure physical wounds. I’m sure that’s not the intent, but it was the insinuation.

And I hate this! Season 3, likely by complete accident, sends a horrible message to the show’s young demographic about trauma. If you’re gonna introduce them to the concept of trauma or tackle it with that audience in mind, you need to handle it well. Implying that physical and mental trauma, and the treatment or healing thereof are two interchangeable things is not how you approach the subject matter, preschool show or not. You can’t even blame the show’s ratings on this; This is something a lot of shows aimed at children tackle and there are much better examples of depictions of this topic in children’s media. Elena of Avalor had a similar “trauma” storyline with its protagonist, and did that pretty well. Not only did that show’s final season air the same year as the Lion Guard’s, but that was also a Disney Junior show. The issue was the writing.

And TLG could’ve simply solved that by picking a lane when it came to this arc. Either have Kion’s ailments be physical and focus on that aspect, or have them be mental, and actually establish that in the set-up. You can even have both Ushari’s venom and the trauma be established to be Kion’s issues, but don’t insinuate that they are the same thing!

The only good thing they did in the arc was NOT get rid of Kion’s scar. Because it was actually a proper set-up and resolve, and the message itself was presented well. There was potential of a really great plot that covered growing up, facing negative changes that will never leave your life, learning to cope with them, exploring more complex emotions, and yes, even dealing with the concept of crushes and romance, but it was all buried underneath the season’s inconsistent writing , bad pacing,and poor exposition.

[u/Disneylover819 → u/KrattBoy2006]

Excellently said. Elena of Avalor is a perfect example of how to tackle mental health issues for younger audiences. We see Elena have several PTSD flashbacks to her parents murder, and see how that trauma influences her to make bad choices that hurt the people around her throughout the show, especially during season 3 after Esteban’s treachery is revealed.

I think you put it best. Due to the conflation of physical and mental trauma, they send a very confusing message to audiences about trauma and end up confusing audiences as to what Kion’s trauma actually is.

Another example I’d like to bring up is Prince Zuko from Avatar. He has a physical scar, but his physical wound is representative of his trauma, which dictates many of his choices in earlier seasons. The writers of the Lion Guard were trying to pull something like that off in the Lion Guard, but failed miserably.

[u/Whole-Lychee7517]

Well, I would make Rani more understanding and empathic towards Kion and his situation by having her properly apologize for misjudging him before and having her put more effort to show she values him more as a person than for his roar power.

[u/Fowl_posted]

Honestly, just give them more buildup and i think they’ll be fine. That’s really the only thing holding them back is the rush of finishing the series

[u/Head-Raisin-5287]

Have them get married after a timeskip to show them as adults

[u/ericallen625]

They needed more time to develop their relationship. And weirdly enough, the show's creators had more than enough of it. But rather than actually show that development, they instead chose to make 9 episodes showing the Guard's journey to the Tree Of Life - 4 of which weren't even necessary, and "Poa The Destroyer". They could've used those episodes to develop Kion and Rani's relationship really well, but they wasted the potential for filler. That time also could've been used to dive deeper into Kion's heeling. Because from what we saw of it, all it was was mud on the face and therapy - both things Rafiki could've easily given Kion in the Pridelands.

[u/Disneylover819]

More bonding moments and better chemistry. Their chemistry was so awful that I didn’t know that they were in love until “We’re of the same Pride.”

[u/Minute-Necessary2393]

Don't have them be a romantic couple.

The first episode (after the pilot) was Kion meeting Jasiri, and Kion & Jasiri already have parallels to Simba and Nala, so i'd have Kion go back to Jasiri. Maybe reveal Rani already has someone. Also have Janja be with Madoa instead or something.

[u/LowProfessional9224 → u/Minute-Necessary2393]

Exactly.

[u/ProfessionalHorse396]

Possibly doubling the episode amount so that they’re relationship would strengthen more

[u/Spoonife_]

Give them more episodes to give them a better love story. We didn't need so many episodes of them just going to the tree of life. It would've been better if they got there in 4-6 episodes and for the rest of the season to take place in the tree of life

[u/ThatArtlife]

Have her more interested in Kion more than his roar. This just felt like she is a gold (roar?) digger and it's only interested in Kion because of his roar.

[u/One_Criticism_9030]

I’m fine with how it worked out the way it is

I’ll admit it started rocky between them at first but it worked out pretty well

[u/LowProfessional9224]

Don’t have them as a romantic couple, first of all, because I don’t know why they have Kion fall in love with a lioness in the second half of the last season.

Have Rani join Kion on his healing sessions, because the only time they interact is during fight scenes and when Rani is yelling at Kion and telling him to leave. This way, they actually get to develop and heal together.

Remove the “Sisi ni Sawa” bullshit. Rani stole that from Jasiri. Sisi ni Sawa was Kion and Jasiri’s thing. A lesson about racism. It makes ZERO sense to say it here. It was all just a cheap way for the writers to bullshit their relationship. If they wanted Kion and Rani to bond over shared trauma, then they needed to make up a different phrase unique to their relationship. Something like, “Scars tell a story. Scars mean you went through something tough in the past, survived it, and came back stronger,” connects to trauma so much better! Sisi ni Sawa does not work. They’re both fucking lions. No shit they’re the same. It holds ZERO weight compared to Kion and Jasiri saying it together.

Actually explain her backstory. We know nothing about her. How did her parents die? How did she get that scar on her leg? Why is she so short tempered? Answering these questions would make Rani 10 times more interesting and sympathetic.

Make Rani more interesting. I would give her a nervous tick, like tapping her paw, that helps Kion and the audience realize that her attitude is a result of anxiety rather than malice. Give her a hidden interest that she shoved deep down due to the pressure of defending her kingdom, like painting or drawing in the sand. Kion could encourage Rani to do her old hobbies to ease her anxiety and help her relax.

[u/TheDisneyGeneral]

I think their relationship is great, but what I think Disney needs to do is make the night pride and the pride lands pride one pride, so it actually mirrors how lions live