User blog comment:Gumball2/Leni and Underestimation/@comment-31022739-20180628063006

I got through your first proposal on how the showrunners can fix the "Leni problem", and I have to say that it sounds very similar to what I thought could possibly come from "Crimes of Fashion".

Anyway, I came here expecting a profound, well-detailed look at how you appreciate Leni, and I wasn't disappointed. Out of everything you had to say, though, I found this segment to be one of the most profound:

"In the end, Leni doesn’t change. Her true nature reveals itself to the others. They realize that Leni cannot be changed easily and that her so-called weaknesses are either strengths or insignificant to the point where her strengths overcome them (as seen in “No Spoilers”)."

That's really in tune with what I've been saying about her these past few months. There's never really been a time where any of her flaws carry any weight or force her into a corner that she couldn't smile and "totes" her way out of because how the universe seems to highly favor her; "Shop Girl" was just another example of what's come down to a slightly vexing tendency that's all too familiar in Mary Sue works.

Essentially, I see Leni as an A-student that could achieve such marks with just a bit more effort that she puts into her work, but is content with skating on by with B's. And, hey, a B is still a good grade; I don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater here. I can't say that I don't enjoy Leni's character moments of strength and competence. It's just that when those moments are looked at as a whole, they frame a disappointing look at how little growth she's gone through with over one hundred episodes to the show's credit. This can hopefully change with future episodes, but as far as I'm concerned, we only have three Leni episodes for this season ("Shop Girl", "Crimes of Fashion", and "Everybody Loves Leni"). I really don't want to wait too long to see something new, so I'm crossing my fingers for the remaining two to "get it right".