#episode: Reflekdoll

[gale-gentlepenguin]

I made a Tier list of all the episodes.

To Explain the Tiers:

Gimmi Gimmi!: (Episodes that are 10/10 or have a special place in my heart. They brought to the table what they wanted and more)

Miraculous: (Episodes I feel are 9 out of 10. They are great and are just missing one thing from being higher)

Solid: (Episodes that are 8 out of 10. They dont do anything incredible but are good episodes to watch, and do what they wanted to do pretty well.)

Decent: (Episodes that are 6 or 7 out of 10. They are fine episodes maybe they didnt exceed expectations, but are decent watch)

Mid: (Episodes that are 5 out of 10. They arent bad, but they arent great. they are just watchable. I wouldnt seek these episodes out, but I dont mind a rewatch.)

Boring: (Episodes that are 4 out of 10. Episodes that I kind of glaze over in my mind, nothing offensive about them, just kind of bleh, usually only have one or two scenes in them that are fun.)

Bad: (Episodes that are 3 out of 10. This is where episodes enter a realm of cringe or just annoy me in some way. Something I dont like revisiting but will watch on a binge)

Trash: (Episodes that are 2 out of 10, usually are really dumb or have bad writing. Mainly have only one or two things that keep me from despising the episode.)

Gabriel's parenting: (Episodes are the worst of the worst, These are the episodes that are 1 out of 10 or even 0 out of 10. These episodes do something that Piss me off to such an extent I cant consider them good. The writing or the plot holes are just too much that I cant enjoy them)

You will notice a few episodes are missing, but I will post my thoughts on them here:

Confrontation was mid Collusion was trash Revolution was Solid MAINLY because of the Adrinette kiss and nothing else Representation was Miraculous because of both the Catharsis of watching Adrien vent to his dad and the Lore drop Conformation would be solid if it was stand alone, but because it is associated with The season 5 finale it is trash And Re-Creation is in Gabriel's Parenting tier

These are not completely in order except for the Top tier and bottom tier, I will be writing my new top 10 after this. So stay tuned

[nikispade]

They look amazing!!!

We stan a petty Queen.

Epilogue - Reflekdoll Part 2 First < Previous > Next Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5 Ep 41, Ep 42, Ep 43, Ep 44 Ep 45, Ep 46, Ep 47, Ep 48, Intermission, Ep 49, Ep 50, Ep 51, Ep 52, Ep 53

Ko-fi

[flightfoot]

Do you think Luka was a doormat for Marinette? If so, how?

Sort of? One of the reasons Luka annoyed me so much during seasons 2 and 3 (Aside from Lukanette shippers having a habit of demonizing Adrien, Alya, etc), was that he didn't actually seem to have any emotions or ambitions beyond being there for Marinette, to the point that it felt like he was some imaginary boyfriend she cooked up. I really like to try to see things from other characters' perspectives, but when I tried to do that for Luka, I just felt like I was getting brainwashed.

Luka doesn't feel any emotions that would be inconvenient for Marinette in those early seasons, like jealousy at being a second choice, desire to actively compete for her perspective, or anything except wanting to patiently be there for her if she decided she wanted him, and complete acceptance without a hint of bitterness if she chose someone else. I'm not saying he should have been a jerk about it, but he's so chill and has so few problems that it feels inhuman. I far preferred the plotline with Adrien's and Kagami's relationship, Kagami reacted way more like a normal person who has wants and desires of her own. During seasons 2 and 3, the most that Luka was developed outside of his relaitonship with Marinette, is the 30 second clip in Reflekdoll where we see him assuring Juleka. That at least indicates that he HAS relationships outside of just Marinette.

That being said, Luka DID improve in seasons 4 and 5, if only a little. He's still more chill and accepting than I think is natural or healthy, but with his playing therapist to so many people in Migration, it's shown to be a "him" thing, rather than him inexplicably being warped around Marinette in particular. In Truth, it's shown that he IS bothered by Marinette constantly running off and lying to him, even if he's way more accepting about it than he has any right to be. He DOES feel hurt, even if he suppresses it.

Most importantly, he's given emotional baggage of his own, with feeling insecure and abandoned due to his father abandoning him and Juleka, not even knowing who he was. I love that as Truth, he actually got to be ANGRY at Jagged for that abandonment. And afterwards, there were several episodes that touched on his and Juleka's developing relationship with their father, giving Luka more of an anchor in the story outside of just Marinette.

So basically, yeah, I do think Luka's a doormat not only for Marinette, but really for anyone he cares about. He's good at standing up to random jerks, but not at standing up to those who knows don't have any malicious intentions, but still end up hurting him.

But I also think that with how the newer seasons have developed Luka, there's some interesting space to delve into WHY Luka feels the need to subjugate his own emotions, wishes, and desires so much - because it's been proven that he does have them, and doesn't just exist for any particular person's sake in the story.

[chocostrwberry]

Maybe you've gotten this question before so I apologize if I'm redundant but I love your au and I'm now wondering how the kwamiswap episode would look like in your style, if you plan on including that. Also would you change the plot of it at all? Personally it bothered me in reflekdoll that the episode seemed to only teach Chat Noir the "walk a mile in my shoes" lesson, meanwhile Marinette was practically perfect in his role. Buy idk maybe that's just me. Sorry that this got long, anyway love the au and I'm gonna go binge everything you made so far!

In my AU, the kwamiswap doesn’t happen bc once again I don’t know how it would fit in my narrative,, BUT if I would change the plot of that episode, I guess I would make it clear that not everyone can just be any holder?? Like some people’s skills best fit other kwamis and I think that would be really interesting!

Like Mister Bug telling Lady Noir how to effectively use the staff, and Lady Noir teach Mister Bug how to use the yo-yo without getting tied up/ making a mistake!

It would be both funny to watch and really interesting, imo!

[ilikekidsshows]

I know you’re more of an “Adrien centered” criticism/defense blog but I am curious about your opinion on this.

What is your opinion on the “Chloe deserves/doesn’t deserve redemption” situation or the “Chloe wasn’t meant to be redeemed and there for what happened to her is fair game” stance?

---

My thoughts on the Chloé situation are kinda complex. Back when the show only had three seasons, I did think Chloé’s character trajectory made sense. Sure, she’d saved people when she was acting as Queen Bee, but she still treated her classmates the same. In fact, she started treating Sabrina worse than before because she considered being anything other than Queen Bee hanging out with Ladybug was slumming it. For me, it really was a 50/50 on whether or not Chloé would be redeemed or fall into actual villainy.

Because, here’s how I saw it: I didn’t think Chloé was an actual villain-villain in seasons 1-3. She was Marinette’s school nemesis and a decidedly defanged one. Marinette was scared of her exactly once, in Origins, a flashback episode meant to showcase how much more confident being Ladybug has made Marinette that she views Chloé as small potatoes. The season 3 finale could have been the culmination of an arc where Marinette accidentally causes Chloé to become a villain and ally herself with Hawk Moth in the future.

And it would have been caused by Marinette, even if unintentionally. It would have shown how good intentions can have unforeseen consequences, especially when you don’t know what you’re helping someone with or what they want before you do so. Marinette doesn’t really understand what she’s trying to help people with whenever she does try to be helpful, because she assumes what they want and need instead of asking and listening (like in Reflekdoll, the latter part of Ikari Gozen and Quilt Trip). Many heroes create their own villains this way, and Marinette could have done so as well since she was the one to strengthen Chloé’s bond with the person who taught her to be an entitled bully and then she dragged her feet on whether or not she could use the Bee Miraculous.

The season 3 finale shows Chloé brought to a new low. The following New York Special gives us a glimpse of a Chloé who is withdrawn, like she’s reconsidering her life. This could have led to Chloé deciding that she would have revenge on Ladybug for leading her on and then dumping her (as a teammate). But, it could have also have led to Chloé realizing that, while Ladybug wasn’t her friend, Sabrina was, and she pushed the latter away in pursuit of being the Bee Miraculous holder. Chloé could have gained new insight that would have led her to start working on how she treats those closest to her, finally starting to treat her schoolmates with decency and, maybe, with time, kindness.

Then season 4 came along and all that foreshadowed introspection was dumped out the window in favor of having Chloé do cartoonishly stupid school antagonist character things. In season 4, where this kind of hijinks are so incredibly low-stakes that it’s both laughable to see, and laughable to realize the writers think this is good television.

I think the writers realized this too, because then comes season 5 with the retcon that, actually, Chloé is an evil mastermind who is so heinous that she orchestrated a traumatic event that led to Marintette’s character flaws and therefore Marinette should be forgiven for her flaws and Chloé blamed for them. Never mind the damage this episode does to Kim’s character, turning him from an oblivious to jock to a total creep, it also tries to convince us that Chloé is this big threat despite that it happened at least a year ago in-universe and that she had never done anything even close to this bad since. It just makes no sense when contrasting with the early seasons, where Marinette treats Kim as just one classmate among many and Chloé as a low-threat nuisance.

The problem was that they decided that they didn’t want Marinette to hold any responsibility for anything she does anymore. This is why they wrote the episode ‘Derision’, to absolve Marinette of all responsibility in her stalking of Adrien, even though them making it a serious trauma response instead of a cartoon-logic joke means that now she absolutely should take responsibility for her behavior and get therapy. Because they wanted to give Marinette a retroactive justification, the episode just doesn’t mesh with the rest of the show. But, like, the writing in Miraculous seasons 4-5 is so bad it’s of course never just about a single episode, it’s all about how the Miraculous writers don’t know how to build up arcs that then come to a logical conclusion, which is why all their story arcs’ endings fall flat and leave viewers thinking “where’s the rest of it?” when they’re not considered one of the worst finales for a show.

Basically, making Chloé a villain could have worked, but it would have required her getting built up into such a status. The Chloé of seasons 1-3 isn’t a monster, she’s a brat. But the writers didn’t want to do that work despite wanting that story, thinking some repetitive episodes of Chloé being a brat some more will accomplish the same thing. So, Chloé just keeps performing petty bullying until the writers think the viewers forgot that she’s like this because of her mother, who Marinette reunited her with, all the while pretending the woman who calls her by the wrong name to her face on purpose has done nothing wrong as a parent other than “leave”, before she randomly turns on Miss Bustier and starts working with Hawk Moth for supposedly no reason in Collusion.

And, like, the thing that really grinds my gears is that it worked. So many people forgot that Chloé’s bullying was modeled to her by her mother, who Marinette reunited her with. Marinette repeatedly tries to fix abused kids’ relationships to their parents with no regard for how that could harm them in the long run (Adrien, Chloé and Kagami). It’s a pattern, but the show thinks Marinette’s missteps shouldn’t be pointed out because she “had good intentions” when her intentions in the instances of The Bubbler, Style Queen and Ikari Gozen were nothing more than: “Well, my parents are great, so these kids are obviously safe with the parents I just saw make them miserable!” The accusing finger for Chloé’s behavior should be pointed at Audrey. Marinette being “triumphant” over Chloé because Chloé is now stuck with the abuser who made her is already iffy without the added grossness of Marinette being the one who reunited them in the first place.

[bloom-agreste-cheng]

I feel like Bridgette’s idea of TALKING could be more violent than it needs to be

There’s a lot to be learned from Miraculous-swapping, and spending the whole time elbowing your partner around and making fun of them isn’t the way to do it! 

Between Syren and Reflekdoll (and Adrien’s steadily dwindling confidence) Bridgette’s finally running out of patience with the new Ladybug’s idea of ‘teamwork’ and has a few things to say to her. 

Now’s as good a time as ever for Marinette to learn about the old Miraculous holders too, right?

( twitter | patreon )

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Maybe I'm missing something, but your pretenstion review you mentioned Ladybug de-evilizing amoks and it made me think, why does ladybug have to de-evilize the amoks anyway? All the sentis ladybug hasn't de-evilized didn't cause any problems later on unlike the akuma from origins who the multiplied and all that. If Ladybug hadn't de-evilized, let's say reflekdoll, what if the amok weren't de-evilized? would she have spawned again like stoneheart? Then why didn't other non-de-evilized sentis like Ladybug or red moon spawn again?

The obvious answer would be inconsistency and illogical lore , I just think it's so funny how the show tries to made a point that sentis deserve rights and all that, but the de-evilizing thing also sort of implies that senti beings are "evil". And even if one argues that the ones from Monarch are evil and those from argos aren't, there is no real difference bewteen them other than who created them. They're still unanatonomous beings controlled by an object. Besides, I think the ladybug one from mayura wasn't de-evilized and that didn't cause problems.

... Idk I'm probably thinking too much about it or miss something obvious, I just wanted to share my thoughts.

The thing is that, even though the show tries to about how Sentimonsters are just as alive as human beings, it tends to ignore why people are so opposed to Sentimonsters in the first place.

For two seasons, both Nathalie and Gabriel used the Peacock Miraculous to create Sentimonsters who were specifically designed to cause as much damage as possible (Heroes' Day, Reflekdoll, Miraculer, Ladybug, Miracle Queen, Truth, Queen Banana, Mega Leech, Guiltrip, Kuro Neko, Strikeback), and none of those incidents are ever mentioned. Even in "Emotion", the episode meant to make us sympathize with Felix, it only gave us more reasons to fear Sentimonsters because a single one created by a pissed off teenager nearly exterminated the human race. Clearly, this is the best person to teach us that Sentimonsters aren't all evil.

Other than Adrien, Felix, and Kagami, we never really see any instances of humans and Sentimonsters coexisting because, like you said, during Seasons 3 and 4, Ladybug de-evilized their Amoks and treated them as disposable minions for Mayura and Shadowmoth, and the two instances where it could have happened, they were instantly snapped away and nobody really seemed to care (Ladybug, Sentibubbler).

Intentional or not, the show presents us with an interesting moral dilemma it refuses to take advantage of: Should the heroes allow Felix to use the Peacock Miraculous to create more Sentimonsters that could possibly endanger innocent lives, or take away the Peacock while ignoring the potential the Sentimonsters have to help us by working together with humanity?

[ladyofthenoodle]

What do you mean Snake Noir was Cat Noir’s mental health peak?

ok so this question is in response to some tags i left a while ago and i’ve been putting off answering it so sorry it’s so late!!! part of the reason i put it off is i can’t remember whose meta i read originally discussing chat noir’s season 3 development and how snake noir represented him growing from his struggles and insecurities earlier in the season. so sorry to uncredited person that made me think about this initially and whose points i’m about to attempt to summarize.

in season 3, we start to see a greater imbalance between ladybug and chat noir‘s partnership. ladybug isn’t guardian yet, but she’s the one handing out the miraculous and allowed to work closely with fu. even as early as season 2, with syren, we see this affecting him and him becoming more unsure of his place on the team. then, in season 3, two more things happen to really exacerbate this: desperada and reflekdoll. in reflekdoll, he isn’t able to be mister bug without lady noire’s help, while she mostly does fine with his miraculous. in desperada, he fails to use the snake miraculous and hears ladybug say she doesn’t need chat noir. so he’s at a pretty low point.

but then, things start to get a little better. adrien gets his bro team up episode. he tries to move on romantically. he’s not basing his whole self worth on ladybug so much anymore. honestly i need to do a rewatch of season 3 to properly explain this because a lot of this development is subtle but it’s there. things are looking up!

and then, in the finale, ladybug needs him. she’s a mess.

and he gets it together. he picks up all her slack in that battle and he gets his second chance with the snake and he absolutely rocks it once he combines it with the cat! and it’s very symbolic that this battle he does so well in is while he’s wielding a miraculous he failed with before. and honestly after the season 3 finale, he rocks it every time he combines miraculous and he rocks the kwami swap too, so that level up in skill lasts… but as we all know, season 4 pretty much cratered his emotional health. hence snake noir being the peak 😭 shoutout to bunny noir and passion era mister bug though!

[character-fan19]

Optimizing Viewing Experience for Love Square Shippers

You guys have previously seen me make a post on the love square screen time records based on the data I collected on how much screen time each love square ship has in each episode and special and in each season exactly and now we're going to be putting that data to more practical use and using it to figure out what are the best seasons, episodes and specials for shippers of certain sides of the love square to watch when binging through Miraculous.

Adrienette

You don't need to know the exact screen time for Adrienette in every season to know that season 5 is the best season for Adrienette shippers to watch. Not only is it the season with the most Adrienette screen time, but it's also the season where Adrienette finally becomes canon which is yet another plus.

For episodes that feature particularly large amounts of Adrienette screen time you can look to "Gamer" (6 min 28 sec) in season 1; "Riposte" (4 min 14 sec), "Gorizilla" (4 min 11 sec) and "Frozer" (4 min 10 sec) in season 2; "Oblivio" (9 min 3 sec) and "The Puppeteer 2" (4 min 27 sec) in season 3; "Mr. Pigeon 72" (2 min 23 sec), "Psycomedian" (2 min 19 sec) and "Simpleman" (2 min 8 sec) in season 4; and "Determination" (4 min 46 sec), "Transmission" (4 min 49 sec) and "Protection" (4 min 19 sec) in season 5.

In terms of Miraculous World specials, you're best bet is the New York Special which has 7 min 40 sec of screen time which has the whole storyline of Marinette trying remain friends with Adrien.

Ladynoir

Really you can pick any season since Ladynoir dominates all of them but the best season for Ladynoir shippers would be season 1 which not only has the most Ladynoir out of all the seasons but also has that classic Ladynoir dynamic I've seen certain Ladynoir fans crave in the later seasons: fighting villains and just being a dynamic duo in general, Cat Noir making the puns and Ladybug getting annoyed with him, those kind of stuff.

For episodes with particularly high amounts of Ladynoir check out "Stormy Weather" (6 min 7 sec), "Mr. Pigeon" (6 min 10 sec), "Horrificator" (6 min 8 sec), "Kung Food" (7 min 3 sec), "Animan" (8 min 28 sec), and "Volpina" (6 min 7 sec) in season 1; "Prime Queen" (8 min 19 sec), "The Dark Owl" (8 min 14 sec), and "Mayura" (8 min 32 sec) in season 2; "Reflekdoll" (7 min 19 sec), "Timetagger" (6 min 22 sec), and "Cat Blanc" (6 min 35 sec) in season 3; "Truth" (4 min 4 sec), "Psycomedian" (5 min 40 sec), "Furious Fu" (4 min 57 sec), "Kuro Neko" (7 min 23 sec), and "Strikeback" (4 min 14 sec) in season 4; and "Evolution" (7 min 50 sec), "Multiplication" (7 min 36 sec), and "Passion" (7 min 4 sec) in season 5.

In terms of Miraculous World specials, you can go for the New York special which has 6 min 29 sec of screen time and gives us some good Ladynoir angst with Cat Noir betraying Ladybug's trust and feeling so guilty about that he gave up his Miraculous.

Maricat

For Maricat, the season of you're choice would be season 4, even though most of the screen time there is concentrated in "Glaciator 2". This season even has the episode with the most Maricat screen time in all of the show so far, that is, "Glaciator 2".

Episodes with particularly high amounts of Maricat screen time include "Evillustrator" (2 min 17 sec) and "Gamer" (54 sec) in season 1, "Glaciator" (3 min 29 sec) and "Befana" (36 sec) in season 2, "Weredad" (3 min 57 sec) and "Kwamibuster" (44 sec) in season 3, "Sentibubbler" (1 min 24 sec) and "Glaciator 2" (8 min 14 sec) in season 4, and "Elation" (5 min 37 sec) and "Protection" (48 sec) in season 5.

Ladrien

For Ladrien shippers, the best seasons for you guys to watch are seasons 2 and 3, moreso season 2, where Ladrien was at the peak of its screen time until it dwindled into nothingness in seasons 4 and 5.

For episodes with a particularly large amount of screen time we have "Simon Says" (1 min 22 sec) and "Volpina" (1 min 23 sec) in season 1, "Riposte" (3 min 42 sec) and "Gorizilla" (3 min 58 sec) in season 2, "Oblivio" (1 min 40 sec) and "Desparada" (5 min 35 sec) in season 3, "Strikeback" (37 sec) in season 4, and "Passion" (17 sec) in season 5.

Conclusion

Well, that's it. Hope this was helpful to some love square shippers who want to binge through Miraculous.

[ovyy-pvcure]

Loathe as I am to revive S4 drama this is the episode that convinced me I was 100% correct to drop the show after Season 3 and this post more or less sums up why: it's the kind of thematic mess that happens when writers are unfocused, conflicted, and either rushed or terribly unskilled leading to a very frustrating confusing watching experience. Kuro Neko is such a clustered thematic mess that it is nearly impossible to put my thoughts down on it in an organized manner, but let me try anyway.

Chat Noir's stated problems with his partnership with Ladybug -the ones he actually says, not the one the show puts in his mouth later but put a pin on that cause I'm coming back for it-are not entirely without merit. To summarize Chat feels undervalued, untrusted, and like he has no voice in what used to be, if not an equal partnership, one where he could speak up or contribute. For the person fighting by Ladybug's side this whole time learning she's had another secret hero on the side he was never aware of, not being trusted with the -already outed mind you-temp heroes identities or miraculous retrieval when, yes, it would have saved time if Ladybug hadn't argued about it or even tabled the discussion for later when they weren't both on ticking clocks must feel awful. Where's the consideration for how Adrichat feels?

The answer to that is a few episodes back in "Rocketear" where Ladybug point blank asks him if something is wrong and he answers in the negative, and then never opens up about it afterward until it results in this tantrum-based act of quitting for the 2nd time. Third if you count his threat in "Syren" when people were actively drowning in the Seine.

Which drags forth an uncomfortable question of "well, why should Maribug trust Adrichat with anything when he's so consistently feckless, self-centered, incompetent and air headed"? Why should Ladybug trust the person who lounges mid-fight and got both their memories erased? Who goads and teases her about his unrequited crush that all of Paris is cheering on in a fight against an Akuma in an attempt to wear her down? A thing that occurs multiple times past where Ladybug has stopped jokingly flirted back upon realizing how serious Chat's feelings are? Who openly states he likes seeing her mad, and does things to provoke her endangering her, him, all of Paris, and also THE WORLD? Why should Maribug consider how Adrichat feels when he never considers how anyone else may feel, or how his actions effect others? All that without having the audience-only knowledge that Adrien's not missing fights because of a packed schedule or out-of-town woes, no he's sitting in his room feeling bad for himself because Ladybug has other people to rely on. Booo, boo on you Adrien.

And all that? All that is incredibly unfair to Chat who has been there since the beginning, who has contributed, who has kept the atmosphere light, and supported Ladybug from the beginning. Ladybug's increased responsibility, and accordingly stress could use a dose of fun and reminder of the joys of heroing when out-of-combat, so really what Chat needed is the right time and place. To crack jokes, to discuss his issues, to float the idea of collecting or even being able to hand out other miraculous when needed. Instead of throwing an on-the-spot tantrum making a vague post and dropping one-half of the world-ending power on a random roof and walking away because he has no ability to emotionally regulate at 13. Which really just hammers home how irresponsible and unworthy of any of the things he wants he actually is.

Not that it must have been easy finding a moment to get Ladybug together to talk given their civilian lives, burgeoning romances (for all of, what, a week?), and said increase in her duties where in an ironic twist her ability to pull a team on demand made her less of a team player. An issue the series tries to put on display in "Penalteam", but largely fails it when it would have been better here where Ladybug is, however understandably, snappy and dismissive of Chat. Ladybug's increased role as leader of a team pulls her, and Chat, further from their origins as a duo as she increasingly leans more on Alyarouge and her own chosen team whose identities she knows when the only reason she doesn't know Chat's is due to out-of-date rules set by Fu alone. If Adrichat's penchant for being mind controlled or Maribug's repeated close-calls with Akumas are meant to be the reason she certainly never voices it. Of course the real reason for the identity rule, and indeed the reason this episode is so frustrating and not a single of these reasons for the season-long erosion of the Ladynoir dynamic and trust are actually tackled in the episode itself; the Lovesquare. As Always The Lovesquare ruins everything .

No, Chat Noir isn't irresponsible and demanding the problem is Ladybug doesn't like him back and that makes him sad. No, Ladybug isn't more pushy, irritable and snappy than usual because of her various stressors leaving her sleepless and on the verge of a breakdown the problem is her partner is in looOoOoOove with her. And the whole episode and conflict really just falls apart from there, because it's no longer about the conflict the writers actually set up it's an episode about the ~Love Square~.

Hope you kept that pin in mind because we're there. Because the conflict the writers have set-up all season, in the opening of the episode, in the concept of the episode is fairly interesting. It regards responsibility, compromise, the importance of communication and changing roles in a significant other's life. But then the writers or producers or Astruc or someone decided to throw the actual conflict aside because romance is supposed to be the focus of the show. Completely ignoring that even in a romance show non-romantic drama is important to -especially since as Season 5 (and Astruc's twitter) will be happy to tell us Ladynoir is totally platonic and doesn't have aNyThINg to do with Adrinette the actual endgame pairing at all (oy vey...)- the conflict isn't resolved! Adrichat is in love with Ladybug who, as Maribug, is in love with Adrien so Cat Walker -who's based on the Adrien mask he wears in public but isn't Adrien in totality- shuts down her brain so Maribug can't have a useful strategic partner who doesn't recklessly jump into battle because giving it back to the guy who a) quit recklessly, spontaneously and without a single contingency b) is still in love with her and therefore sad (:( ) about it because she can't love him back because she's already in love with someone else (didn't stop him while he was dating Kagami but whatever I guess) c) will remain huffy about the concept of heroes other than him and "his lady" existing and d) is none of those positive things I just listed (when he demonstrates he could be he just chooses not to. but Maribug doesn't know that part because Gatekeep, Girlboss, Gaslight AdriPlagg) is such a good idea.

Because they worked and Cat Walker didn't? Find someone else then! Give the ring to Alya or Su Han and have them choose. throw a dart at the a class register with Chloe, Sabrina and Lila crossed out and give it to whoever that lands on. Hell, throw a dart out the window and give it to Zoe Lee since next season she's easily just as competent as Chat Noir anyway since he's not particularly skilled, useful, competent or smart. The episode never resolves its damn conflict who wrote this shit. Oh! Four people wrote this episode. That explains so. much(Thomas Astruc, Melanie Duval, Fred Lenoir, and Sebastian Thibaudeau).

Notice how Ladybug has to apologize to Chat Noir for not making him feel special enough when he has done nothing to earn it. He quit with vague wording, left the ring with Plagg trapped inside on a roof, moped around instead of being helpful, discussed nothing with Ladybug, lied to and manipulated Ladybug all episode, doesn't actually defeat the sentimonster -Ladybug does that by herself like she always does because Cat Walker buggered off to let her focus-shows up the end to half-heartedly apologize for quitting saying, and I quote "I didn't realize how much trouble I'd make for you by giving back my Miraculous.". I'm sorry Adrien. By "giving back [your] Miraculous"? That's not how I remember it! I remember you abandoning Plagg and the ring on a random roof in a random district of Paris! It's like the show is actively trying to gaslight me, the audience member, at this point.

Not that Ladybug's followup of Chat Noir being irreplaceable is any better considering he was easy to replace. His replacement was better in every way. In Season 5 he'll be replaced again and she's just as good if not better than him anyway. All said without telling us why Adrichat is so irreplaceable.

In "Truth" Ladybug says she likes Chat Noir's courage, self-confidence and sense of humor. Which are all likeable characteristics, their the reasons I liked Adrien in the first few seasons myself, until they become flaws when he takes them too far. Chat's courage frequently becomes recklessness, his self-confidence arrogance-such as, say, thinking himself better or more special than the other heroes-his humor irreverence. In the same episode Chat Noir says he's fine with the guardianship if it doesn't change things between them; which it does. It changes their roles, how Ladybug sees Adrichat and Alyarogue, how their dynamic works at a very base level. But none of that can be linked to our leads wanting to suck each other's faces so it all gets tossed out with the bathwater to give us a meaningless Lovesquare moment at the end of the episode after hammering the lovesquare button all episode ignoring all the set up of the first episode of the season.

Chat Noir never tells us his favorite parts of Ladybug but let's assume he'd probably note her decisiveness, creativity (when he's not drooling over anything that looks like Ladybug but wants to kiss him), and her self-assurance/ability to stand up for herself. Same deal that those taken too far become the kind of flaws we see of her that are never addressed despite being part of the actual conflict of the episode. Maribug's decisiveness becomes bull-headed inflexibility logically and morally, her creativity unreasonable complexity, her self-assurance dismissive close mindedness (Chat Noir can't have a point he's just trying to chat me up and wasting time). Again, positive traits that made me a Marinette fan that can cause conflict and if addressed can be really fun to work with. The show just doesn't want to.

Why would I, as an Adrien fan -and don't let how negatively I've been ragging on him I was an Adrien fan when I watched the show-want him to end up with someone who doesn't listen to him, takes him for granted unless he's actively making a fuss, and puts him down when frustrated? (Ignore how Marinette wouldn't put Adrien down because Love or whatever; this is back when Maribug and Adrichat being the same people mattered and the series didn't pretend the people behind the masks didn't matter when they were in the masks.) Why would I want him to end up with someone who's scheduling could become as suffocating and controlling as Gabriel's? Why would I want him to end up with someone who lies to him and makes him look up to his abuser?

Why would I, as a Marinette fan, want her to end up with someone who sulks and gets easily jealous without talking to his partner? Who lies to and manipulates her on a whim to get what he wants? Who demonstratively doesn't respect her boundaries? Why would I want her to end up with someone who has already tried to cheat on another girlfriend with her (Yes, continuing to seriously hit on Ladybug while dating Kagami is attempting to cheat on her, no I will not be taking criticism, questions or disagreements)?

This episode certainly never tells me, it just tells me there was a disagreement but Chat Noir is irreplaceable for Reasons. Where is my reason to root for these characters? Where is my reason to want to see this romance come to a fruition? Where is my resolution to the episode's conflict!?

As a byproduct of my attempts to explain why "Destruction" is thematic dumpster fire, here's a third iteration of why "Kuro Neko" is one, too. It's a cute episode but is it ever a testimony to how the writers just didn't care.

Marinette learns the lesson that she needs Cat Noir as her partner! in an episode where she discovers that the alternative to him is far more competent, genuine, and charming. She defeats the villain without anyone's help and the reason she needs Cat Noir back has nothing to do with his having skills or experience or any unique quality that she doesn't find elsewhere. It's literally because the substitute is too hot and Cat Noir's in the friendzone.

The vital dichotomy between Adrien and Cat Noir is officially cancelled. There's no need to question the reason why Adrien presents so differently as a superhero, like his personal life being deeply troubled thanks to his lacking control over his public image, his lacking control over how he spends his days, and the fact that he's a literal slave to his father and Nathalie. Plagg helpfully explains that Cat Noir has nothing to do with Adrien Agreste™ being a false and insufficient expression of Adrien's true personality, because they're not variations of an incomplete mask, but two equal expressions of the self. Cemented by Cat Walker earning a place equal to Cat Noir in the endcard, and S5 never again alluding to any tension in Adrien's self-perception

"I'm quitting because Ladybug doesn't think I'm special" "He quit because he's in love with you and you didn't make him feel special" "He quit because being in love with me hurt him" "I won't go back because being in love with her hurt me" "Sorry for quitting just because you don't think I'm special" COULD YOU KINDLY MAKE UP YOUR MIND

The episode ends with Cat Noir remorseful over being a drama queen and Ladybug reassuring him that she still cares even though he's not her special partner any more. This lesson is repeated at the beginning of the very next episode, and they're both in agreement of that status. By the end of "Strike Back", Ladybug for no discernable reason believes that her keeping secrets from Cat Noir is why Felix Fathom lied his arse off, backstabbed her and gave Hawkmoth all the miraculouses. Cat Noir is once again her "faithful partner" and not just her favourite member on the Hero Team. Not by merit of his loyalty, of his courage, of his ability to do something the others could not. Oh no, Cat Noir is her Special Partner because he's the only one who doesn't hand his miraculous back after battle. Wow.

So there's this sentimonster shaped like a black cat. It is literally named "Black Cat". It is a substitute for a lost kitty which meaningfully ecchoes Ladybug's own and currently lost black cat. Ladybug in fact initially mistakes the sentimonster for her "lost kitty", believing he has been akumatised. After that misunderstanding is cleared up, she wins the battle by killing it. The sentimonster that was named after her partner who the very next episode will all but confirm is himself a sentimonter. That's how she wins the battle wherein she learns that she needs him by her side. By singelhandedly killing the black cat sentimonster named after him.

[graaythekwami]

Little random game: name the eps you most hate and most love of each miraculous season and explain why

Hmm, there's not many episodes I'd say I hate, but my favorites and least favorites of each season are as follows:

Season 1:

Favorite: Origins -I don't care if this is technically two episodes, I loved seeing the origins of how the children met and how everything went down. The beginning of LadyNoir and oh my gosh we got such good LadyNoir moments here.

Least Favorite: Reflekta -Honestly looking through season 1 there really isn't any that stands out as a least favorite for me. So I chose Reflekta solely because this episode is the start of the curse of the many Reflekta akumatizations to come. xD

---

Season 2:

Favorite: Heroes' Day -I had to put this one as my favorite just on the premise that I feel that Heroes' Day is the best final/two parter we've had in the entire series. I loved everyone's role in these episodes, and of course we get to see Nathalie being an absolute queen as well.

Least Favorite: Frozer -Eh. Just an episode that's never stood out to me. Forgettable in the long run.

---

Season 3:

Favorite: Chat Blanc -Favorite episode of the season? More like my favorite episode ever! The angst. The feels. Chat Blanc's hurt and rage. Chat Blanc's design. It's all so beautiful the only change I'd make is making it a two parter and maybe adding a LadyBlanc kiss. But those changes aren't even needed because it's wonderful as is. 11/10. -Gamer 2.0, Oblivio, and Reflekdoll are honorable mentions. For the adorable LadyNoir moments, adorable Lovesquare moments via memory loss, and kwami swap! Season 3 is probably my favorite season overall.

Least Favorite: Christmaster -Just another episode that's never stood out to me. Plot wise it felt mid, and I can't see myself going back to rewatch it or basing a fic on it. Or including it in a fic. -Honorable mention of Miracle Queen though, as this used to be my least favorite of the season. I was really on board for a Chloe redemption when season three ended so this episode kind of stung (hehe) then, but nowadays I don't have the same issues with it.

---

Season 4:

Favorite: Qilin Least Favorite: Qilin

-Ha! Didn't see this coming, did you? I love love loved so much of Qilin. I loved the themes it addresses, Marinette and Sabine's relationship, the design of the akuma, it was all so good... until the very end!! They let Marinette take the blame when the real problem was racism?? I hate you ticket dude. And also bus driver dude you saw Sabine with her tickets and she literally gave you baked goods and you said nothing when she was taken away? Why???

And if you don't accept one episode being both the favorite and least favorite, then here are my thoughts on other episodes of the season: -I love the setup of Truth and Lies and would love more episodes focusing solely on Adrien. -Guiltrip when Chat Noir almost Catalcysms himself hurts me on a physical level someone give Adrien a hug. -I will forever live for the Plagg and Adrien moments in Kuro Neko.

Season 5:

Favorite: Evolution -Season 5 has a lot of plot-heavy focused episodes, which I always love to get. We got canon Adrinette, Gabriel getting Cataclysmed, awesome lore... but in the end I still think it's this first episode that's my favorite. I loved the action, how it picks right up at the end of season four, and also Rabbit Noir had such an awesome design too. I liked seeing Master Fu again, and the role Alix got to play. Gabriel got his good Monarch design with the stained glass look. Also timetravel can be tricky to write, and they pulled it off well.

Least Favorite: Action -After a whole season of the most plot-heavy episodes yet with a lot happening emotionally... Action has very little action is the way of plot or even as good “filler”.

Specials:

Favorite: Miraculous Paris -Gah honestly I think this is one of the very best episodes in all the show. Fantastic writing, great characterization, a fun adventure and seeing the alternate universe was fascinating. I love Shadybug and Claw Noir. Hesperia was awesome (I refuse to call him Betterfly). I have so many questions about the other world and who the Supreme is. Gabriel singing the intro. I could go on all day.

Least Favorite: ...idk -I mean there's only three specials thus far, and honestly I can't rank the Shanghai or the New York special as the lowest.

Movies: -Jk we only have one. xD But with how movie one ended with Nathalie I'm excited to see what they might do with this universe in the future.

[spiceynoodls]

MLB Episodes Chronological

Some of these aren’t released yet (according to the wiki) but there will be links posted as I go

beware. This is a LONG ASS LIST.

Season 1:

Origins 

Stormy Weather

Lady Wifi

The Evillustrator

Princess Fragrance

Dark Cupid

Mr. Pigeon 

Pixelator 

Copycat

The Bubbler

Simon Says

Timebreaker 

Roger cop

Animan

Dark blade

Gamer

The Pharaoh

Horrifactor

The Puppeteer

The Mime

Guitar Villain 

Reflekta 

Antibug

Kung Food

Santa Claws

Volpina 

Season 2

The Collector

Prime Queen

Glaciator

Despair Bear

Troublemaker

Gigantitan

Riposte

Gorizilla

Robostus 

Sapotis 

The Dark Owl

Syren 

Zombizou

Captain Hardrock

Queen’s Battle

Befana

Reverser

Frightningale

Frozer

Anansi

Malediktator

Sandboy 

Heroes’ Day

Season 3

Chameleon

Miraculous World: Shanghai - The Legend of Ladydragon

Animaestro

Bakerix 

Backwarder

Reflekdoll

Weredad 

Silencer

Oni-chan 

Miraculer

Oblivio

Desperada 

Christmaster 

Startrain

Kwamibuster

Feast 

Gamer 2.0

Stormy Weather 2

Ikari Gozen

Timetagger

Party Crasher

The Puppeteer 2

Cat Blanc

Felix

Ladybug

The Battle of the Miraculous 

Miraculous World: New York - United Heroez

Season 4

Truth

Lies

Gang of Secrets

Mr. Pigeon 72

Psycomedian

Furious Fu

Sole Crusher

Queen Banana

Gabriel Agreste

Mega Leech

Guiltrip

Crocoduel

Optigami

Sentibubbler

Glaciator 2

Hack-San

Rocketear

Wishmaker

Simpleman

Qilin 

Dearest Family

Ephemeral

Kuro Neko

Penalteam

Shadow Moth’s Final Attack

Season 5

Evolution 

Multiplication 

Jubilation 

Illusion 

Determination 

Passion

Reunion

Elation  

The Kwamis’ choice

Perfection 

Migration

Derision 

Intuition 

Protection

Adoration

Emotion

Pretension

Revelation 

Confrontation 

Action

Collusion 

Revolution 

Representation 

The Final Day

Miraculous World: London - At The Edge of Time 

[infinitysgrace]

I don't know what reflekdoll is but I'd love to learn why it sucks

Graph. Graph my friend. First: it's an episode from season 3 of miraculous ladybug, it's my least favorite episode and the problems with that episode like... actually ties into almost every single problem the show's story has ever had since it aired.

Imagine watching two people mess up so spectacularly that the entirety of the rest of the show is worse off because of that experience and nothing ever gets better ever.

After this episode one of the characters decides "no asking for help actually, only suffering. that's the life i lead now" and the writers themselves are so anti the other character deciding anything ever after this point that actual divine intervention can prevent this character from making choices whenever the plot demands it.

And all this bullshit started because they wanted to be different and "subvert expectations" on a power swap episode without understanding the damn trope they were subverting.

[alexseanchai]

This is not what introduces that? Unless we're not counting Chat Noir losing an inch or two of hair when he detransforms in "Mr. Pigeon" as the same sort of thing.

if the whole breast thing is true, ignoring the whole other stuff, it does introduce an interesting thing

in that the miraculous can somewhat change the body, which is kinda cool

/personally/ I think I'd have that change be more in the 'outfit that accents things' rather than physically altering things.

That said. I mean this in the least creepy way possible: I understand that some girls want bigger boobs, especially young girls. But Alya is already in the top contenders for biggest bra size in her class so why would she want bigger boobs to the point that the Magic Transformation gives them to her?

The smaller waist thing I also understand why she'd want. But if they're not going to address it and say 'hey it's unhealthy to want that it's okay to not be stick-thin', then they shouldn't say 'oh this is what she wants to look like so it's fine!'

[foxwitchaine]

How would you rank the seasons of Miraculous Ladybug?

Buckle up, everyone. Let's do this:

Season 1 - 8/10

I won't lie. The show actually started out pretty good in Season 1. We had unique ideas, a fresh take on the typical love interests you see in these shows, and a whole range of diverse and interesting characters who got their own spotlight episodes. It was where the show shined the best with what it had, so to speak. It did fumble toward the end with Lila's rather messy entrance. But again, I can't blame Ladybug for blowing up like she did.

Could she have handled it better? Of course. Heck, this could have been a plot line where Ladybug has to address the issue of lying through someone who doesn't have any problem lying through her teeth.

Unfortunately, that's not what we got.

Season 2 - 7.5/10

One less half-point for underdelivering on their promises. In our defense, we had no idea what we were in for past Season 2. We got new characters like Luka, who gave characters like Juleka more beyond their archetype. The reveal that Gabriel was Hawk Moth was something we all saw coming, but it set up an amazing conflict for later down the road.

It was also the season where the earliest red flags were being flown.

To be fair, since the show was still, in a sense, "starting out", we gave it the benefit of the doubt. The biggest contention was, naturally, how they handled Chloé Bourgeois.

Put simply, Chloé had potential for an incredible Zuko-style redemption story. Between her mother Audrey abandoning her to pursue her career, along with virtually every adult figure in her life failing her, we could have had an amazing drama where the school bully was forced to confront her worst self and aim to become better. To deserve the Bee Miraculous.

What we got instead was the showrunners sabotaging themselves with how they handled her.

Season 3 - 5/10

The season where it all started to go downhill, starting with the infamous opening episode Chameleon.

There's... no polite way to put it. Season 3 of the show was where the entire foundation, whatever little there was, started falling apart. Marinette suffered so much for so little in this season, it wasn't funny. Add onto other infamous episodes like Ladybug, Chat Blanc, Puppeteer 2, Reflekdoll, and Miracle Queen, it's become crystal clear the show is nothing more than a vanity project for the creator. And that was before we got the news they were underpaying their staff (take this with a grain of salt, it's been a while since I read that article).

It was also the season where we started to see the faults in the writing show. From Adrien/Chat Noir refusing to see anything past his nose to the frankly rather illegal handling of Marinette's expulsion to the Lila-centric episodes requiring brain-bending leaps of nonexistent logic. Aside from some rare cool moments (Nathalie fighting three akumas, anyone?), this season was more painful to watch.

Especially with that season finale where Marinette lost Fu.

Seasons 4 & 5 - 2/10

I'm just gonna say it. I stopped watching anything from Miraculous Ladybug when I heard they were gonna akumatize Master Fu in Season 4. So my rating here is based mostly on hearsay from what happened in these two seasons lumped together.

Yes. These seasons pissed me off so much I just lumped them together and called it a day. The writing here is just painful to hear about. Who proofreads the scripts before sending it to the animation team? We have these things called quality checks for a reason.

Ranting aside, we've got more infamous episodes like Gang of Secrets and Derision. I've stated before that I will forever hate that first mentioned episode for how entitled everyone was towards Marinette's secrets. And Derision has to be one of the biggest cases of character assassination by the writing team I've ever seen. Kim isn't one of my favorites, I will admit. But even he didn't deserve the frankly awful backstory ruining what was once a fun (if something of a feather-brained bully) jock character.

Back on the topic of the first mentioned episode, Gang of Secrets was also the point of no return for me regarding Alya's character. Which is a huge shame since Marinette is in dire need of an actual support system instead of shouldering everything on her own. Anyone with half a brain after that would have figured out on their own the lying liar who lies was a lying liar who lies, pardon the repetition. Everything she did afterwards, such as her stint as Rena Furtive, just killed any chances of her undergoing redemption.

Phew, that ended up being more longwinded than I intended. Hope that answers your question.