I like to call this the âmy comfort show has the worldâs most incomprehensible release schedule but the cute character designs are worth itâ photo shoot
Another note on the whole sentiAdrien thing: I see people speculate about / express worry that Adrien being a sentimonster is the reason Gabriel is abusive. Like, that he doesnât see Adrien as truly his son, or even truly a person, and that thatâs why Gabriel is abusive. But I donât think thatâs the case at all. Adrienâs sentihood isnât the reason heâs abused, itâs just the vehicle through which Gabriel enforces the abuse.
In fact, Iâd argue that Adrienâs sentihood is Gabrielâs favorite thing about Adrien. Gabriel wouldnât love Adrien more if he was a âreal boyâ. If anything, heâd maybe âloveâ him less.
The closest weâve ever gotten to Gabriel openly discussing an opinion on Adrien being a sentimonster would be this scene:
These arenât the words of a man who sees his son as merely some worthless husk that his wife created. Gabriel seems legitimately proud here, and heâs proud because Adrien is âflawless, the image of perfectionâ. Adrien is everything Gabriel has ever wanted in a son. Literally.Â
(We also know that Gabriel is under no misconception that Adrienâs sentihood makes him emotionless. Gabriel has recognized Adrienâs emotions multiple times (e.g. telling Adrien âyouâve had enough excitement for one dayâ and remarking that Adrien âis just like his mother⌠overly dramaticâ in simon says, Gabriel sensing Adrienâs disappointment in Stormy Weather 2, Gabriel sensing Adrienâs anguish and getting worried for him in Glaciator 2, etc. In Kuro Neko, he remarks that âAdrien will get over his depression, because heâs an Agresteâ). There is no evidence that Gabriel sees Adrien as inhuman, or that he doesnât see Adrien as his son. )
Letâs not forget, Gabriel is a designer. And though Emilie may have been the one to use the peacock miraculous, Iâm sure Gabriel had some input into his creation (personally, I think Gabriel was the emotional vessel that Emilie used to create him. Remember, it can take up to two people to create a sentimonster. This is also why I donât think itâs entirely accurate to say that Gabriel is irrelevant to Adrienâs creation or not âreallyâ his father, though the memes can be funny). Adrien is, quite literally, his and Emilieâs perfect creation. Heâs Gabrielâs son, but heâs also Gabrielâs finest work, the design he is most proud of.
Gabriel is also an incredibly manipulative person, and you know whatâs great about having a sentimonster for a son? You get to control them. What more could a man like Gabriel want in a son?
Thatâs what Adrienâs sentihood represents. This isnât a story of âGabriel abusing some Thing because âhey, thatâs not actually my sonââ, this is a story of âA man so twisted that he sees fatherhood as yet another design venture. A man who would rather craft and control a son than raise one. A man who wants his son to be what he wants him to be, and nothing more.â Adrien being a sentimonster is just a literal representation of that type of parenting. It doesnât excuse it, itâs not the reason for it, it represents it.
This is a story of how expecting your child to be everything you want them to be isnât a way to raise a child. This is a story about how no matter what you do, no matter how you raise (or create) your child, you cannot escape the inevitable truth that your child will become their own person. This is a story of Gabrielâs folly, because despite literally creating a son from magic, literally crafting him to look how he wants, literally enforcing his will upon him at every chanceâŚâŚ.. Adrien still finds ways to be himself. He still cannot be fully controlled.Â
Thatâs what sentiAdrien theory is. Itâs not about Adrienâs humanityâ thereâs no question about that. Itâs about Gabrielâs humanity, and his refusal to understand what being a father means.
And you can argue about whether or not the show âneededâ to use a metaphor for something like this, but letâs face itâ Miraculous has always been a show that uses magic as a metaphor for its issues. Coming of age, identity crises, emotional manipulation, grief, learning to control your emotions, the weight of responsibilities, etcâ itâs just what the show is and always has been, and personally I think the sentiAdrien plotline fits right in with all the others.Â
Iâll post a proper review/Letâs Watch later this week with my extensive thoughts, but in the meantime hereâs that thing I accidentally predicted two years ago! :0
I really hope Inui appears in Season 4 bc her character was really good and writers putting her aside bc she's not Haida's character development device anymore would be so unfair considering that Tadano has been around in season 3 and now in season 4.
Make her be Fenneko's friend, have interactions with other characters, just let her be happy!!