Less of an analysis post, more of a reason this show pisses me off sometimes.
Season 3 is good, but the mistreatment of Clay regardless of if it's a joke is ableism against a disabled character.
For context in case people don't remember.
Clay in S3 is canonically disabled, specifically he's slowly losing his ability to walk, making him canonically paralysed since ep 24 when we first learn his condition is worsening. He cannot walk by himself, and it's SHOWN.
So how exactly is show humour ableism? Constantly having Clay's mech weaponised against him. It's like a paralysed person being beat up with their wheelchair, which?? Shouldn't happen, and the continuity of Clay falling out of it, beating beat up, falling down places. It's a mess.
You can't just have a disabled character as the season punching bag, regardless of what happens. It's weird, it's ableist, because you wouldn't treat disabled people with the same level of disrespect would you?
I get it, season 3 is praised for being a good written season but really, you can't ignore the way it treated Clay before episode 29. Even if it's unintended, it's a bitter way to treat a character you've basically confirmed is disabled.
There's something sour about having a character as disabled just to weaponise his mobility aids against him since it was introduced.
"It's a kids show, I really don't need to be pissed off" when the kid show has ableism, I can nitpick and be pissed off all I want.
