#ikari gozen salt

[zoe-oneesama]

what's your opinion on the episode Ikari Gozen?

"Ikari Gozen" is kind of...confused.

It's important because it introduces Ryuko and starts Kagami and Marinette's actual friendship, but the road there is rocky and has some odd forks.

They have Kagami who, going behind her mother's back, desperately wants to make new friends and is determined to make it work with "Adrien's weird friend" (seriously the dialogue makes it out like they've met like one time or something, so odd).

They have Marinette joining the contest to meet Adrien (despite seeing him every day...?) and deciding to sabotage herself because she was paired with Kagami and doesn't want her to meet up with Adrien (despite Kagami seeing him every fencing class...?).

They have Kagami-Ryuko being over confident and jumping into the fight, outing her identity immediately, not listening to Longg's explanation, and messing up Ladybug's plan only to fail and get Chat Noir captured.

Aaaaand they have Tomoe being overbearing, refusing to let Kagami participate in the game with no real explanation as for why except that "friends can disappoint you" (???).

That's a lot going on that maybe could've worked if they intertwined these different elements but instead it reads like two separate episodes running into each other: The Contest and then the Akuma. Marinette and Kagami's misunderstanding has nothing to do with what happens as Ladybug and Ryuko and vice versa.

For one, "Ikari Gozen" comes after "Frozer", "Animaestro", and "Oni-chan", where we've seen Kagami antagonize Marinette on purpose (though not always without provocation). And now we're supposed to believe that Kagami is trying to be friends with Marinette? They really go out of their way to make it seem like Kagami was so earnest in this episode but it feels too little too late to be believable. After all but challenging Marinette in "Frozer"? After rubbing in that she's Adrien's date in Marinette's face in "Animaestro" and glaring at her for talking to Adrien in "Backwarder"? I'm not surprised that Marinette didn't see "friendship" as a possible motive for Kagami either.

But Marinette is really not likeable in this episode and for what? Again, she doesn't NEED to join this contest to spend time with Adrien, and neither does Kagami, so the whole set up is just manufactured to bring out the worst in Marinette. And she even has Alya encouraging her! Whyyyyy??? So she can look extra bad when the "truth" comes out? She could've just been stubborn and suspicious of Kagami WITHOUT the sabotage, I hate it here.

And then they try to chide Kagami for her overconfidence as Ryuko...after a whole episode of Kagami overcoming Marinette's sabotage for half an episode to the point where even with this hurdle they're about to win the contest. They boosted Kagami up, showing her being amazing and smart and then decided to smack her down for believing her own hype?

Thing is I like this flaw, of Kagami being super sure of herself and even for her being completely unable to handle failure because she's such a perfectionist that her self worth is dictated by her being an instant master. But this was never shown as a problem anywhere in the episode until she was Ryuko - and in fact was almost shown as the opposite of a problem. Kagami IS smarter than everyone else, she IS more capable: she circumvented her mother, tricked the self driving car into taking her where she wanted to go, tackled every step of the contest riddles WITH Marinette actively trying to slow her down...but now it's a problem that she doesn't listen to anyone else?

So, what if Kagami had listened to her Mother when she told her not to play the game? If she had listened to the car tell her that it only takes instructions from Tomoe? If she had listened to Marinette when Marinette gave wrong answers on purpose to the riddles? Nothing. She'd be stuck at home, she'd be losing the contest, she wouldn't have even STARTED the contest! But sure. Half way in make the message that Kagami needs to listen to others, that'll hold up. 🙄

Honestly the only thing that had any kind of resolution was Tomoe, which they at least sort of kept up in "Mr. Pigeon 72" with her at least relaxing a little, but that was nearly a footnote compared to the rest of the episode. So like. 1 Star for that I guess.

When this episode came out, I surmised that this episode was salvagable: Just have the two girls desperate to complete the contest, not just to get to see Adrien, but also to not have to be stuck together anymore. After essentially a full season of not seeing eye to eye, make this a "rivals to friends" episodes where the two girls methods are at odds.

Kagami is logical, blunt, a straight shooter, graceful. She'll handle the physical challenges with ease, like quickly fishing out the next clue from the river. Marinette is compassionate, social, kind, patient. She'll handle the friendship parts of the challenges, like pulling out Kagami's natural smile for the selfie challenge. Each girl gets to shine and impress the other just by being themselves and they grow to appreciate what the other brings to the table over the contest.

(Although it's a bit unfair since Marinette already thinks Kagami is so amazing that Adrien will instantly fall for her if she lets them be near each other, whereas Kagami already has a low opinion of Marinette, so it's not a fair and even starting point)

Could even do the opposite where they surprise each other. Marinette could see another group doing the fishing challenge but having trouble and offer to help, over Kagami's protests, but in helping the other group, both teams get done quicker. And then having Marinette obsess over getting the perfect "friend" photo to guarantee a win but have Kagami note that they need to only meet the requirements to continue on. Have Kagami be impressed by Marinette's kindness not holding her back and have Marinette be impressed by Kagami's ability to focus on the important things.

Have there be set backs - have Kagami be frustrated by Marinette's lack of focus or Marinette by Kagami's inability to listen to others. Make the problems in the contest reflect in the akuma fight. That way when Kagami skips Longg's spiel and messes up Ladybug's plan, it's more of a revelation for Kagami and becomes something she can work on. (And make Marinette have to face her own issue that you decide to make Kagami annoyed by)

So to make a long story fucking short, this episode is confusing, seems to be two halves of different stories, ignores the last season of character interaction and tries to sell you on a new dynamic between the two girls, and randomly in the middle makes a half hearted jab at one of them after showing the other in her worst form.

So I don't really like the canon episode.

[judicious-loveless-brat]

JLB Miraculous Reviews: S5E2 Multiplication

(Obvious Spoilers for Miraculous Season 5)

Oh Alya honey, what has happened to you lately? I thought we agreed on leaving all this nonsense in Season 3? Some things never change, I guess.

Let's go into Multiplication: the second episode of Miraculous Season 5.

We begin with Clara Contard reporting about Monarch's appearance and threats, wondering about how he got ahold of the Miraculouses. Ladybug starts to tell Cat Noir about the possible reason of the loss of the Miraculouses. She states that she thought she gave the Dog Miraculous to Adrien, but she actually gave it to Félix pretending to be Adrien since the two of them look so alike I blame the animators.

And because Cat Noir actually has a brain for once, he suggests that both Monarch and Félix made a mistake as this proves that the two of them have a connection. Just as they were about to fly to London to find Félix, they're interrupted by Su Han who decided to be a guardian for once.

(These are just the English subtitles, as the English dub hasn't been released yet.)

Su Han: Ladybug, you were supposed to protect the Miraculous. You have failed in your duty as a guardian.

He has the balls to say that Ladybug has failed her duty as a guardian when he literally has done even less work as a mentor than Master Fu's incompetent ass did when he isn’t yelling at Marinette.

We then cut to Gabriel de-transforming in his lair. He then threatens the Kwamis that they're all under his control and so does their powers. And it's only a matter of time for him to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous.

We go back to Ladybug defending herself as well as Cat Noir from Su Han's protests.

Ladybug: But I was protecting the Miraculous.

Su Han: So explain why they aren't with you anymore? All fifteen that were in the box, including the Rabbit. What will happen if Monarch decides to use it to change the course of time?

Cat Noir: He's already tried to. But don't worry we've got it back and have put it in a safe place. We gave it to someone who is amazing.

Ladybug: And we'll do the same with all of the others.

Cat Noir: And we finally have a clue that will lead us to Monarch.

Ladybug: So instead of blaming us, why don't you help and trust us, Grand Master?

And because Ladybug and Cat Noir have a point, Su Han kneels down and apologizes to her, saying that he got distracted by stupid reasons modern life and cat videos for four months and that he should've guided her instead of being against her since he has been guardian longer than she has. And in this rare moment of guardianship, Su Han jumps back to Tibet to get some backup, meaning he probably won't appear for a couple of episodes or worse, the whole season.

The heroes transform into their space power-ups to fly to London. Ladybug searches for more information about Félix and surprisingly, he has his own Wikipedia page. It's revealed that his name is actually Félix Fathom, son of the late American billionaire Colt Fathom and aristocrat Lady Amelie Graham de Vanily (so does this mean that Adrien is royalty?). He's a triple medalist of Kung Fu and horsemanship, a chess prodigy and the youngest person to graduate highschool in England. So basically, he has accomplished more in his life than we ever have.

Cosmobug and Astrocat arrive at Félix's home and asks Amelie about his whereabouts.

Amelie: My son wasn't home today when I woke up. I wasn't worried because he was supposed to visit his cousin Adrien in Paris. Those two are inseparable. But Félix didn't return any of my calls, so I called his uncle Gabriel. And he said that he hasn't seen him.

Cosmobug: But, he was in Paris. I talked to him.

Amelie: Oh Cosmobug and Astrocat, I hope nothing bad happened to him.

Cosmobug: Be calm. He should appear at his uncle's house.

Astrocat: Or maybe he's coming back to London already.

Amelie: Thank you so much for the support you are giving to me.

We'll go back to this later.

Cosmobug and Astrocat leave Félix's house. They didn't even bother checking the whole house to see if he's there. We then get a beautiful scene of them talking upon the night sky.

They wonder if they are wrong about Félix and are having doubts. Astrocat suggests that they find other clues since Monarch is going to keep attacking and that they're going to find out what happened to Félix together. And Cosmobug says that until then, they're going to be more careful than ever since Monarch is apparently so powerful even though they screwed up the many chances of winning against him in the last episode. The two of them then go back to Paris, where we get two good character moments of Marinette and Adrien.

We get a sorrowful scene of Marinette having flashbacks of the Kwamis being cheerful and playful, but they're not really there. It clearly highlights how impactful the loss of not only the Miraculouses but the Kwamis is to her. It shows how guilty Marinette is of failing to protect them. She calls Alya and asks for her company, trying to pretend that she's okay.

We also get a scene of Adrien having a flashback of Félix talking to him in Risk. He blames himself for letting Félix manipulate him and that he should have listened to Marinette. He also has a vision of Marinette telling him that why doesn't he just tell his father the truth. Adrien remembers this and goes to his father's office, as we finally get to see Adrien stand up to his father.

Adrien: Father, I have an important issue to talk with you but I don't know how-

Gabriel: Tell me quickly, Adrien. I'm very busy.

Adrien: I don't want to be a model anymore.

Gabriel: Okay. If that is what you want. Something else?

And that's basically it. What, were you expecting something more dramatic? Maybe an argument between a father and a son? Something that would actually change their relationship forever? OF COURSE NOT! Despite being built up as a very big deal for Adrien's character, Gabriel is somehow okay with Adrien not wanting to do what he wants anymore. You'd think with how much of a big deal this was, there'd be more tension in Adrien and Gabriel's relationship now, but Gabriel is just perfectly fine with this. Well, that was anticlimactic. Although, I wouldn't say it was bad either, as it definitely gave Adrien character growth.

We then go back to Marinette blaming herself for what happened while Alya reassures her that it's not her fault. Marinette says that everything has happened because she confused Adrien with Félix while Alya tells her that Félix was pretending to be Adrien and that anyone would have been fooled by him. But Marinette declares that she loves Adrien so she should've known him well and not be fooled by anyone who is pretending to be him, to which Alya disagrees and states that they have "been through so much together". Is this really important right now?

I hate to break it to you Alya, but the two of them have not been through so much together. Yes, Marinette sticks up for Adrien at times but outside of school interactions, Adrien and Marinette rarely spend any time together nor developed their relationship outside of alternate timelines I'm looking at you Cat Blanc and Ephemeral. Seriously, we are five seasons in and the only times Adrien ever spent time with Marinette were times of his social or work obligations where many people were around and Marinette happened to be there, times where he bumped into her in public with no plans of hanging out with her and times where he was only asking her for a favor. To put it in simple, Marinette and Adrien's relationship is as of classmates or acquaintances, not super close best friends who have been through so much together that the show claims them to be. If the show desperately wants to say that Marinette and Adrien are so close, then make them actually spend time together without the help of any outside forces and develop their relationship in the process. Just make them hang out sincerely. This is one of the problems the Love Square has that made a portion of the fandom lose interest in it. Also why bring up the Statue Scene again when it's literally one of Adrienette's cringiest moments and Marinette's worst moments with Adrien.

And because Marinette believes that it's her love for Adrien that caused all of this and not Félix, she tries to not have a crush on him anymore, even though we know that's going to turn out for her.

Alya: Hello, do you remember the times when you tried not to like him?

Yes Alya, I perfectly remember the times where you keep making fun of Marinette about her crush for Adrien and constantly pushing her into situations with him when she's clearly uncomfortable all because you want them to be a thing. I perfectly remember Frozer, where you discouraged Marinette for trying to move on because the two of them are "made for each other". And I definitely didn't forget the New York special, where you literally trapped them in a room with a fake supervillain just to get them to confess their feelings for each other, all while Marinette is moving on from Adrien and in a relationship with Luka. So don't you dare try to say that because you are literally one of the reasons why Marinette can't move on from Adrien. Just let her move on because what relationship she and Adrien has is none of your concerns. Sure, you can be supportive of Adrienette but don't go overboard with it to the point where Marinette doesn't feel comfortable around Adrien anymore.

And while they were talking, Adrien suddenly calls Marinette. Even though Marinette doesn't want to answer, Alya, as the good friend that she is, answers for her. Alya tells Adrien that Marinette isn't here right now. Adrien tells her to tell Marinette that his father gave him permission to not be a model anymore. Marinette quickly steals the phone from Alya and is glad that Adrien finally talked to his father. Adrien then tells a speech of how special Marinette is to him, which surprisingly, she responds to normally.

Adrien: I wanted to tell you. Since I started school, everything has been so new to me. There are still lots of things I don't understand but one thing I'm certain of is that my life would be very different without you. You've always been by my side. For every problem, you've given me great advice. You are special. Thank you, Marinette.

Marinette: You're welcome.

Adrien: It's true. I want you to know how important you are to me. And I hope one day, I can do as much for you as you did for me.

Marinette: How wonderful. I'll see you tomorrow then?

Adrien: Sleep well, Marinette.

Marinette: Ok!

While I do think that Adrien falling for Marinette was a bit rushed since their relationship hasn't got that much development, it's still sweet to see how much he appreciates her as a friend or more. And how ironic that while Adrien is a little flustered while talking to her, Marinette responds in a completely normal tone without even blushing at the sight of him. The tables have turned, I see. Marinette, of course, denies everything and Alya, like all the other Adrienette shippers watching this episode, gets frustrated.

Meanwhile, at Adrien's house, Adrien lovingly gushes over Marinette because she's so special to him. He doesn't even bother to deny anything to Plagg when he teasingly calls him out and says that she's no longer "just a friend". I guess they're flipping the Love Square now, I see.

Nathalie arrives at the Agreste Mansion and glares at Gabriel. Gabriel takes a quick glance at Nathalie and looks away.

So I guess they're no longer on the same boat then?

Nathalie then goes to check on Adrien in his room. She's relieved that Adrien is safe and unharmed. I'm predicting that since Nathalie doesn't want to help Gabriel anymore (and that sticks till the very end), she'll begin to reconnect and rekindle her relationship with Adrien and probably defend him from Gabriel if he ever tries to do something to his son. Hopefully, they don't kill her off for her redemption.

At the very next day (so I guess parts of Risk, Strikeback, Evolution and the first part of Multiplication all happened in just one day), Alix's father, with Ladybug's authorization, announces to the whole class that his daughter is gonna withdraw for a while as she's been chosen as a superhero to travel through time to protect the Rabbit Miraculous. He also assures them that she'll come back when Monarch's defeated.

Okay first of all, why would Ladybug authorize him to tell the whole class that Alix is a superhero? Wouldn't that jeopardize Alix's secret identity? What if with this information, Monarch finds out and uses it to his advantage? Sure, Alix would be safe but what about her family? What if Monarch does to Alix's family what he did to Alya's in Sentibubbler? I thought Ladybug herself said that nobody should find out the secret identities of the Miraculous holders?

Lastly, why would Ladybug even trust the class with this information in the first place? How is she so sure that this will end well? Chloé (who has literally worked for Hawkmoth multiple times) and Lila (who she doesn't even trust at all) were both in that room. Not to mention that if any of them gets akumatized, then Ladybug will have to worry about them spilling the information to Monarch.

Seriously writers, you couldn't bother finding another excuse as to why Alix couldn't attend class for a period of time?

With this announcement, the teachers try to hype up the students and tell them how they don't need to be superheroes to support Ladybug and Cat Noir. How ironic, considering all of them, except for Lila, became superheroes. Mylène expresses her fear of Monarch and Max states that Monarch has majority of the Miraculous and has a big shot of winning. Nino tells him that he isn't really helping. Ivan calms Mylène down and suggests that they do yoga so that she can lessen the fear she has. And Marinette agrees of helping balancing the emotions of who's afraid as fear can't control them. Rose exclaims that Monarch won't win if they think positively. The rest of the class cheers while Chloé mocks them for being afraid, proposing why they don't just give Monarch what he wants. She tells them that they are in this situation because of Ladybug and Cat Noir's incompetence, while promoting herself as Queen Bee. While she is true, Lila explains that Ladybug and Cat Noir are still young and they had to make a few mistakes with that much power and responsibility. She says that they need to forgive Ladybug because fighting a supervillain shouldn't be a job for a kid.

I can't believe I'm saying this but, Lila is definitely right! Even though I know she's just lying, Lila absolutely makes a great point. Ladybug and Cat Noir are just kids (although it doesn't excuse some of the more incompetent decisions they made). And it isn't their job to fight Monarch because they're still kids. I don't know what Lila ate to make her say these things but these are definitely facts that majority of the fandom who are very hard on Marinette and Adrien needs to hear.

A scene shows of Ladybug and Cat Noir starting on keeping an eye for Monarch to battle him on the Eiffel Tower. Another scene shows of Adrien walking down the stairs when he suddenly notices Gabriel and Tomoe alone in his office talking, to which his Bodyguard closes the door behind them.

Adrien's mind: So Kagami's gonna be my stepsis now?

Also, Nathalie is apparently very replaceable because Gabriel has a collection of a million women in his closet who is willing to do evil with him.

Another scene shows of Adrien getting of his car and meeting up with his friends at school. He sees Marinette and tries to kiss her on the cheek as a greeting (even though he didn't do that to Alya and Nino for some reason), but Marinette, being visibly uncomfortable, stands back and offers him a handshake instead. Oh boy, it gets much worse later.

The next scenes show Parisians doing their best to cope with Monarch's threats. Mylène and Ivan opens a yoga club. Nora, with Alya and Nino, practices kickboxing with standees of Shadow Moth.

We also get a scene of Adrien and Lila getting digitalized with the help of the Tsurugi company, serving as a solution for Adrien not wanting to model anymore.

Basically, all of this scenes are part of a montage showing a course of weeks passing in Paris. However, these attempts eventually died down when weeks passed by and no akumatization had occurred. Nadja reports that Monarch hasn't attacked since weeks. Even Ladybug and Cat Noir acknowledges this while playing cards at the Eiffel Tower, as well as the fact that Félix hasn't appeared. So, has he given up? Let's see. Of course he didn't.

The next day, Adrien arrives at school and attempts to kiss Marinette again. This time, Alya PHYSICALLY PREVENTS Marinette from avoiding the kiss.

This has so many problems. Alya... why?

1. It doesn't matter if it's just a friendly kiss or a greeting kiss! If Adrien wanted to kiss Marinette as a friend, shouldn't Alya and Nino be getting one from him as well, since they're his friends too? And if it were really with friendly intentions, shouldn't Adrien be giving Marinette cheek kisses pre-Multiplication?

2. Marinette is visibly uncomfortable! It doesn't matter if he just wants to kiss her as a friend or it's a French thing. It's still wrong for Alya to force Marinette onto Adrien not only once but thrice! Why are Adrien's feelings put on a pedestal while Marinette's feelings are disregarded and shrugged off in this situation? This is super uncomfortable and unfair for Marinette!

3. It doesn’t excuse Marinette being physically restricted by Alya! She was already avoiding the kiss and had already told MANY TIMES to Alya on how she wants to move on. Even if she secretly loves him deep down, she should not be forced to get kissed and her so-called "best friends" should respect her decision. What Alya and Adrien are doing to Marinette is making her feel uneasy and distressed. This is borderline harassment in Marinette's case!

Luckily, Ikari Gozen interrupts the unwanted kiss and jumps to Collège Françoise Dupont. She destroys the school with her bokken and rampages around Paris, attempting to destroy the city and create a new one. Because Alya actually remembers that she is Marinette's confidant, she pulls Marinette to a safe place to transform into Ladybug. Adrien also goes to the train station to transform into Cat Noir.

Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive on top of the Arc de Triomphe, where Ikari Gozen plans on destroying. Cat Noir comments on how Monarch came back just to akumatize Ikari Gozen again. Ladybug stresses that they didn't fight her alone before (as they had the help of Ryuko) but Cat Noir reassures her, saying that they always used to fight together, just the two of them.

Ikari Gozen notices the heroes and ridicules them about how they're too antique to be heroes and that Paris needs "modern heroes". I wonder if this is part of Gabriel's plan and partnership with Tomoe at the end of the episode. We'll get to this later.

Ikari Gozen tries to hit Cat Noir with her bokken but is stopped by his staff. Ladybug tries to get the bokken with her yo-yo but misses and Ikari Gozen flicks her away, throwing her to the trees of Jardin des Tuileries. Cat Noir checks up on Ladybug to see if she's okay but in doing so, Ikari Gozen successfully destroys the Arc de Triomphe.

Ikari Gozen swiftly runs to the Grand Palais to destroy it next but is distracted by Cat Noir, who has activated Cataclysm. While Ikari Gozen is focused on attacking Cat Noir, Ladybug successfully ties her yo-yo around her bokken. But unfortunately for her, Ikari Gozen activates the Mouse Miraculous power, multiplying into twelve versions of herself.

This gives off major Attack on Titan vibes.

Ladybug and Cat Noir are shocked that Ikari Gozen (or as Cat Noir said, Ikari Dozen) used the power of the Mouse Miraculous. The Ikari Dozen clones go berserk and destroy everything that they deem "less modern" in sight (so, she's basically reverse Bakerix). That includes the Montparnasse Tower and...

NOT THE EIFFEL TOWER AGAIN-

An Ikari Dozen clone tries to hit Ladybug and Cat Noir but is unsuccessful, destroying the Grand Palais in the process. While fighting the clones, Ladybug suspects that Monarch gave Ikari Dozen the Mouse Miraculous while Cat Noir is proud that they'll reclaim another Miraculous back. Spoiler Alert: They don't.

Ladybug and Cat Noir hide under the debris of the destroyed Grand Palais, surrounded by the rampaging clones. Ladybug conjures her Lucky Charm, getting a fishing rod. She tries to think of a solution, highlighting the fishing rod, Collège Françoise Dupont, Ikari Dozen's bokken, a pillar that fell down inside the principal's office and Cat Noir in her vision. She now has an idea of the plan, telling Cat Noir what he should do.

Ladybug then distracts the Ikari Dozen clones and lures them away while Cat Noir escapes. Ladybug lures them to Collège Françoise Dupont, signaling Cat Noir. The original Ikari Dozen tries to hit Ladybug but misses, completely falling for her trap and putting her bokken inside the principal's office. Cat Noir uses the fishing rod to bring the pillar down and gets the bokken stuck. Ikari Dozen tries to get her bokken out but Cat Noir cataclysms it, releasing the Akuma. Ladybug purifies it, releasing the Ikari Dozen clones out of existence. Ladybug and Cat Noir pound-it and Mrs. Tsurugi is returned to her normal self. Tomoe explains the "reason" why she got akumatized. Ladybug asks Tomoe to check if there's any Miraculouses on her clothes and to their surprise, she doesn't possess the Mouse Miraculous. They suspect that this must be Monarch's surprise for being MIA for weeks. Ladybug then uses Miraculous Ladybug, gives Mrs. Tsurugi a useless Magical Charm and they leave.

Tomoe gets inside her car and tells Tatsu to take her to her office. With her special hi-tech ring, she calls Gabriel.

Gabriel: Tsurugi-san.

Tomoe: The prototype worked, Gabriel.

Gabriel: Very well. Let's go for the next step.

And as of this episode, it's revealed that Tomoe Tsurugi has became an ally of Gabriel and through what I've heard, she helped him create these technological rings to allow Monarch to transfer the powers of the Miraculous to his akumatized villains that wears them, with herself serving as a test subject. I wonder how would Kagami react to her mother siding with a terrorist. Also, good move Gabriel. This is actually a smart plan. I wonder how they created this rings though.

We then get an ad of these rings, named Alliance rings, a project between the Tsurugis and Agrestes. And...

My eyes hurt just seeing him in... this. Moving on.

The Alliance rings have four modes: Assistant mode, Akuma alert mode, Call mode and Navigation mode. Assistant mode can answer simple questions, solve math problems and launch other applications or applets and the digitalized versions of Lila and Adrien seem to be the only models of the assistants in Assistant mode. Akuma alert mode notifies the user if there is an active Akuma attack near them so that they can get to safety quickly. Call mode allows you to receive and start video calls with other rings and presumably phones as well. Navigation mode shows a map and gives general or complete directions to a destination. If you ask me, Monarch can DEFINITELY use this rings to his own advantage. I wonder how is he going to fail now. Probably through plot armor

While holding their promotional campaign, Gabriel makes a gesture to Lila and Adrien to come to the stage. On stage, Adrien asks Gabriel.

Adrien: Listen father, is this why you digitalized me?

Gabriel: Yes, son. I'm freeing you from your model career. That was what you wanted, right?

While this is definitely heartwarming, I won't be fooled again this time! This is just one of those times where Gabriel tries to act like a good father to Adrien in one episode and then becomes a piece of shit to him again at the very next episodes. Nice try writers, but you won't deceive me again.

So the episode ends with a post-credits scene where Amelie knocks on Félix's bedroom for tea time. While Félix sits on the couch and opens his laptop, Amelie reveals that she lied to Cosmobug and Astrocat.

Amelie: Don't worry, darling! Mother is here to protect you from the superheroes that think that you are a villain.

Isn't he though? This could mean two things, either Amelie is oblivious to Félix's actions or she's onboard with all of this, and I think it's more of the latter than the former.

When his mother leaves him be, Félix pulls out the Peacock Miraculous and wears it, letting Duusu out.

Duusu: Where is Nathalie? Are you my new holder?

Félix: I am way more than that, Duusu.

I wonder what he means when he says he's more than that. Who am I kidding, he's definitely a Sentimonster along with Adrien.

But yeah, Multiplication was honestly a fine episode for me. It's definitely better than Evolution. It had many problems, but not as big as Evolution's. I can even say that it's better than most Season 4 episodes.

For the most part, it had good continuity from the Season 4 finale. Ladynoir working together to defeat Ikari Gozen was also a highlight in this episode for me. The first half of the episode literally had more plot progression without feeling rushed than half of Season 4 in general lmao. The characters begin to have more agency in the plot. It's good to see how Nathalie really cares for Adrien and I hope she does get character growth in the future. The short Félix and Lila appearances were also nice. As anticlimactic it was, Adrien standing up to Gabriel is a nice setup for his character. And as we all suspected, Tomoe and Gabriel work together. I wouldn't be surprised if Audrey is also involved in this Evil Rich Parents society, based on the Feast and Gabriel Agreste episodes.

Of course like I said, there were many problems with this episode. Su Han's scene where he explains his lack of appearances last season is a big joke and just goes to show that his whole character has been nothing but useless whenever he doesn't yell at Marinette. Alix's reason of absence could've been explained in another way without exposing her identity. Seriously, did the writers just not think of saying that Alix went on another country with relatives or something? But I guess the secret identity rule is practically ignored since it really only applies to Chloé and not the other heroes who got their identities exposed. Adrienette's portrayal in this episode is weird at best while creepy and uncomfortable at worst. The way he fell for Marinette seems really rushed but Adrien expecting her to be okay with kissing her is outright irritating. He didn't even ask her for permission just like he did in Cat Blanc. I know that he likes Marinette now for some reason but that doesn't excuse him kissing her without her consent. She even backs away from him every time he attempts to kiss her, visibly uncomfortable, and he still doesn't get the hint. It's definitely gonna leave a bad taste to the audience, especially since it teaches kids that kissing someone without their consent is definitely okay, as long as you like them. How on earth did they think that we would be okay with this? And to be honest, this isn't even the worst part of the episode. Because...

Yes, what Alya did in this episode definitely deserves a spotlight. This is probably one of Alya's unlikeable moments in the series. Instead of respecting Marinette's wishes to move on from Adrien, she still pushes her to him even though she's visibly uncomfortable. Because God forbid Marinette actually tries to grow as a character and as a person and not let her life revolve around a blonde guy. It's stuff like this that I really wonder why Marinette is still friends with Alya when most of the time, she teases her and forces her out of her comfort zone, which a real best friend shouldn't do. Plus, why is Marinette's feelings for Adrien your priority right now and not how to get back the Miraculouses from Monarch? I seriously hope they don't revert Alya back to her Season 3 self because I actually liked her in Season 4. God please help us.

These problems really drag this episode a bit for me. Then again, these choices just got to me personally. I feel like if those things weren't there or were done much better, things could have made this episode a lot better for me personally. I can definitely see why a lot of people really like this episode, but I'm honestly not too obsessed with it. So, I'll give Multiplication a 7/10.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Honestly, I think the fact Marinette was willing to go so far regarding Kagami gives credence to the idea that its not unfair Alya just kind of bought that she was jealous of Lila being into Adrien.

Like, Marinette's perception of Kagami pre-friendship was a haughty, "Ohohoh" Ice Queen trying to whisk Adrien away.

Alya even sort of indulged this take, I figure because Kagami didn't make as good first impression as Lila who is more socially deft than Kagami on first scan. Thus, the claims seem less grounded unless she starts invading the new girl/her friend like a suspect, which she may not be willing to do just cos Marinette decided another competitor is her foe.

Which also aligns well with Alya in general.

She indulges Marinette's takes on Kagami but likely wouldn't actively participate in sabotage beyond passive, "Yeah good luck girl I guess". She won't break her friendship with Lila over accusations, but nor will she break it with Marinette over making said accusation. She doesn't go all in on any of it.

OH YEAH NO LIKE.

So like. Granted the timeline's a bit fucky because things like MQ and Anemaestro happened after Chameleon BUT-

Marinette has shown through her actions with Kagami that she can be very awful. She immediately considered Kagami some cold ice queen bitch and was shocked that Adrien could ever have feelings for her, and that not only was Kagami going to easily win Adrien's hand but that he'd be forced into an awful relationship with someone so awful.

So she sabotages. In Ikari Gozen, in Animaestro, in Miracle Queen. She does things to make sure Kagami doesn't get time alone with Adrien and tries to publicly humiliate her so that he won't want to be seen with her. And may I add a note that this was already bad enough before Derision gave us how Traumatizing™ being humiliated in front of a crush was for Mari, and she tried to do far worse by humiliating Kagami not just in front of Adrien but at a public event in front of so many people and her mother and plenty of reporters recording.

And unlike rivals like Chloé or Lila who are mean and manipulative liars and yadda yadda, Kagami did absolutely fucking nothing to earn any of this. All she did was like Adrien.

And like. I get it. Mari is a flawed teen she' gonna do some questionable shit.

But yeah when she does all that to Kagami who is actually very nice, of fucking course Alya is going to take Marinette's opinion with a grain of salt(HA!) when it comes to Lila.

[chaifootsteps]

Was it miraculous ladybug lmao?

The creator gave an explanation where miraculous comes from (ITS A WORD THAT EXIST ALREADY). People speculated he was just pulling stuff out his ass.

Same with "akuma", which is a Japanese word and he's notorious for being a giant ass weeb.

A villain was named Ikari Gozen and there was this big Ole discussion about it. I remember one theory I read was it's cause someone was a neon genesis fan.

Oh and a character is named Tikki and he said it means happiness when bitch no it don't

https://www.reddit.com/r/miraculousladybug/comments/or0tdq/what_language_is_tikki_from/

Here's this reddit post lmao.

I've tried watching ML, but gave up. Too many retcons and plot holes. To add salt, doesn't help how unprofessional and inappropriate the creator has been either with people.

Hey, you got further than I did. I watched about 40 seconds and gave up.

[flightfoot]

Do you think that a lot of the bad moments that people salt Marinette for are more due the "Marinette must commit a mistake and learn a lesson" Episode Writing Rule than things that she would actually do?

...I mean that's kind of hard to distinguish, considering that well, it's not like Marinette exists independently of how she's written in the show. But if you're asking whether most of those bad moments are due to the writers needing a Teachable Moment plot as opposed to really thinking through what Marinette, as a character, would do given her pre-established characterization... honestly not really?

I mean there are definitely cases where "Marinette must commit a mistake and learn a lesson" are at play, like Marinette being pretty awful to Kagami in Animaestro and Ikari Gozen, but even then since it happens repeatedly (there's also the time in Backwarder when she called the Girl Squad over to brainstorm what to do about Adrien and Kagami going away to spend a weekend together), it's a more consistent thing, not just introduced for that episode.

A lot of the things Marinette gets salted for aren't just one-offs, they're part of a larger pattern, so they become "something she would actually do". Like she's gotten a lot of flak over the years for being a little too enthusiastic concerning her crush on Adrien, and while people sometimes point to particular moments that they found "creepy", it's overall a pretty consistent part of her character.

Plus there are also cases where Marinette does something not great that isn't really acknowledged by the show, so it isn't used as a "learn a lesson from a mistake" thing. Like personally, Ephemeral bothered me because of how she tricked Chat instead of just talking with him about needing to reveal his identity. But the episode didn't really go into why that wasn't fair to Chat, so it's not a "teachable moment" case.

I'd say the "Marinette must commit a mistake and learn a lesson" style of episode writing is moreso responsible for viewers feeling like Marinette's constantly being put upon more than anything else.

Notably, that style of episode plot was mostly around for seasons 1 - 3, with it only very occasionally making appearances in season 4, and being practically nonexistent in season 5.

[alishasnoidea]

Episodes that come to mind when I think of each MLB season in no particular order Tag Game

Tagging @theultracharmingladynoire @nothing-particularly-exciting @fu-cough @emerald-hummingbird @chaos-has-theories @crizztelcb and anyone who sees this

Season 1: Le Mime, Puppeteer, Stormy Weather, Bubbler, Origins part 2

Season 2: THE COLLECTOR, Timebreaker, Anansi, Syren, Riposte, Glaciator, Heroes Day, the Queen Bee Saga

Season 3: Chat Blanc, Miraculer, Ikari Gozen, Ladybug, Party Crasher, Miracle Queen, Oblivio, Gamer 2.0

Season 4: Hack San, Kuro Neko, Strike Back, Rocketeer, Glaciator 2, Optigami, Wishmaker, Gang Of Secrets

Season 5 (take this with a grain of salt cause only like 4 episodes came out): Evolution, Jubilation

[iwasbored777]

(Eye twitch anon) like if anyone thinks about it she did not reach out to mari after the break up to apologize for throwing her under the bus nor did she show remorse for it compared to how everyone loves bringing up Ikari Gozen and animaestro in every salt take ever against mari

And it's even worse with what you pointed out bout her THINKING that Adrien liked Mari as more than a friend while -tilts his head to her- "change targets 😏"

THAT should let you know how much she valued mari's friendship or even adrien's (even bigger eye twitch at her shouting at him in risk as if she done told her own cherry pie of a mother off but we'll just ignore her and give her the best friend of the year award for "kicking" adrien's butt into gear of getting away from his sour grapes father who just made him into cortana the dream doll on the internet)

Not to mention when Kagami is mean to Chloé and Lila and Marinette she is a queen but when Marinette is mean to Chloé and Lila and Kagami she is obsessive stalker. Seriously I never thought I'd find someone who feels the same way about these double standards. I'm so sick of them. I wasn't even so defensive of Marinette until I realized how she's being treated by the fandom.

Also why's everyone saying Kagami would've been a better best friend to Marinette than Alya?! I can't even-

[jacquesthepigeon]

So if Ikari Gozen is in the season twice, and she made the rings with Gabriel, and they confirmed the incident was a test for the ring why doesn’t the Bible mention she’s an antagonist? Like she has to be working with Gabriel. The Bible did confirm that she hired Nathalie as an artifact researcher. Like this is pretty important info to not include. I swear the Bible leak had to be intentional. Like how it doesn’t contain confirmation on SentiAdrien status. They needed it to get out to generate hype and salt so we would actually watch it but omitted other important details while being like “watch out for Lila in season 6”

They’re going to forget Tomoe is involved with Gabe’s plans in S6 and feature an episode where she’s shocked by the revelation that he’s evil

[mcheang]

The girl squad overhear Adrien and Marinette talking/arguing about Lila; they learn that Adrien knew Lila was lying and told Marinette to take the high road. When Adrien again says that the lies aren't hurting anyone, the girls confront him and explain just how the lies could hurt them. They also learn about Lila harassing Adrien and threatening Marinette. Bonus: Chloe redemption and having her care about Adrien as a friend.

Friends stand up for each other

Post Ikari Gozen. This is a draft.

While bonding with each other, Kagami and Marinette relate about their familial akumatizations. Marinette told about Weredad, Befana and Bakerix. Kagami talked about her mother and her own experiences.

Marinette: did I mention I’m sorry.

Kagami: do not be upset. You were nervous. Besides, you didn’t mean to, unlike that Lila girl.

Marinette: you know Lila?

Kagami: not exactly. I was busy practising one afternoon, then all of a sudden a random number sends me a picture of a stranger kissing Adrien.

Marinette startled. “Wait, if you never met Lila, how did she get your number?”

Kagami: Adrien thinks she must have copied off his contacts list.

Marinette: that is so wrong

Kagami: indeed

Marinette: lying is one thing, but this is downright harassment and invasion of privacy.

Kagami: lying?

Marinette: Lila likes to make herself sound grander than she really is. Apparently she’s Ladybug’s best friend.

Having met Ladybug, Kagami raised her brows skeptically. “With how Ladybug values her privacy, I’m surprised anyone believes that claim.”

Marinette sighed. “My friend Alya runs the Ladyblog. She gets very excited over any rumor about Ladybug.”

Kagami: like thinking Chloé was Ladybug despite being saved by her from Stoneheart?

Marinette: it is so nice to finally meet someone who does their research.

Kagami: I developed an interest after my own akumatization. But back to this liar, why haven’t you exposed her?

Marinette: I tried to. But she puts on this sweet front and people think I’m just jealous about Adrien.

Kagami: if they could see us now, they might change their minds.

Marinette: I doubt it. Things have gone too far. And the only other witness who believes me is Adrien, and he wants to take the high road and let Lila’s lies crumble on their own.

Kagami frowned. “He told me as much when I asked him what he was going to do about her.”

Marinette: be honest with me, do you wish we didn’t have to take the high road.

Kagami: the question is, would we be taking it if it didn’t involve Adrien.

Marinette snorted. “Alya would scramble to bring the truth to light asap. Rose would want to warn everyone so nobody gets their hopes crushed. And Alix already has her brother coming up with fantastical ideas, she doesn’t need someone else to do it in school too.”

Kagami: then we have our answer.

Marinette stopped. Kagami followed suit.

Marinette: we do, don’t we.

Kagami: It’s a shame that, based on what you’ve said, people would say we’re jealous.

Marinette: so how do we prove we’re not?

Kagami: I need a chance to improve my planning skills (especially since she ruined Ladybug’s first plan) and this is an excellent way to bond.

Marinette grinned.

The next day, the girls in class were astonished to see Marinette and Adrien arguing in the distance.

Lila hasn’t arrived yet. (Tikki may have locked her in her bedroom.)

Curious, Alya led the group to spy on their endgame. They were just around the corner, out of sight, but able to hear everything.

“...too long and her influence is only growing stronger.”

“She’s done nothing serious yet.”

“Are we supposed to wait until something bad really happens before Lila’s exposed?“ This again? The girls barely hid their groans. On a side note, how did Marinette convince Adrien to join her team?

“We’ll stop her before she goes too far,” Adrien assured Marinette.

“Really? Like how you stopped her from taking Kagami’s phone number? Lila’s already convinced Mylene to let her join in on her fundraiser. What if she steals the funds?”

“Relax. Lila’s not going to do anything that daring. She’ll probably just flake as usual.” Wow. Adrien really thinks bad of Lila now. What did Marinette say to him?

“Adrien, we’re talking about a girl who loves to get what she wants. Do you honestly think Lila will be satisfied with a simple no show. She’ll insist she handle the funds to make up for her absence.”

“We don’t have any proof she’s a thief. Ok, she’s a liar. But who doesn’t lie?”

“Adrien…I saw her steal your dad’s book.”

“What?!” Adrien’s outcry expressed what the girls were thinking.

“How do you think I know she’s a liar. I saw Ladybug confront her right after I saw her dump a book in the bin.“

Pause.

“Do you honestly think she won’t stoop so low as to steal Mylene’s funds if she didn’t even care that you were under house arrest?”

Silence before Adrien struggled to say, “She didn’t mean for me to get pulled out of school.”

“Oh come on!” This time the outburst came from Alix, one of the first to recover.

Adrien and Marinette turned around. Adrien paled. “Were you girls eavesdropping?”

Alya glared at him, “Why so upset? It’s not like we’re hurting anybody.”

Adrien cringed from the mocking tone.

Rose looked tearfully at Marinette. “All this time, you were trying to protect us, weren’t you? And we only accused you of being jealous.”

“You’ve finally seen the light. Hallelujah!”

Adrien: you girls aren’t going to tell anybody else, right?

They stared at him in disbelief. “Of course we are. Duh.”

“But then Lila won’t have any friends in our class!”

Alya scoffed. “Like I’m letting Nino listen to anymore of her garbage.”

Mylene nodded furiously. “Ivan and I trusted her!”

Alix: I have to tell Nathaniel. It’s what friends do. Oh, and Kim, too I suppose.

Rose: And Kim will tell Max, who will tell Markov.

Juleka: That leaves Chloe and Sabrina…but they don’t like anyone else but you, Adrien.

Adrien stammered. “It’s mean of you to do that.”

Alix laughed. “Oh, we’re mean? How about you? Did you care to tell Alya her blog credibility is being ruined?”

Mylene: Did you think to warn us that Lila might always be absent at our volunteer parties.

Marinette: Did you consider Kagami’s feelings when you told her you would do nothing to scold Lila for upsetting her.

Adrien looked down, unable to find an answer.

A sharp voice barked out. “Get back, you peasants!”

Chloe had arrived. “Need I remind you Adrikins is still new to having more than one friend. His only real teachers are cartoons with their happily ever afters. While I don’t really care if Lila steals and brags about falsehoods, I care if she does that to you, Adrikins. Dupain-Cheng told me about the photo and asked me to talk sense into you!”

Chloe was plan B. Marinette had asked Kagami to share the photo. Chloe was outraged. She saw that it was a forced kiss, and learned from Kagami how Lila was basically a snoop.

Adrien: Chloe, what do you mean exactly?

Chloe: I don’t care about exposing that liar…much…let’s wait for a slow day before we bring out the popcorn. What I care is that she’s sexually harassing you. i see her constantly moving into your personal space as you lean back. i saw her force that kiss on you so can have a souvenir you never agreed to. Now I hear she’s been snooping around your room, instead of actually studying. Adrikins, I love you, I know what our parents can be like, but that doesn’t mean you should let everybody walk all over you like that.

The girls pause as they take in what Chloe has been saying. Lila has been sexually harassing Adrien.

Adrien croaked out, “What should I do?” He wasn’t asking Chloe. He was asking everybody.

Marinette softened. “If you can’t say no yet, then ask for help. Tell Nino and the guys how Lila’s been bothering you. They’re your friends. If you can’t tell any of us your troubles, then who? Friends are here for each other, no matter what.”

Adrien nodded slowly. While he didn’t like being a tattletale, he also admitted he wanted Lila as far from him as possible. And if Lila was wrong, then he should tattle then? Right?

Alya: as for exposing Lila…

Chloe: we are not doing any exposing until we get a slow day.

Alix: When is a school day not a slow day?

Sabrina: When we learn to expect an akuma at least once a week.

Alya: There was an akuma 4 days ago.

Juleka: There should be one soon, then.

Mylene: How about 2 days after the next akuma attack? That gives us enough time to research, time for the akuma excitement to die down, and time before the next akuma shows up.

Chloe scowled: fine.

Alya: I’ll get right on it!

After that, Lila was irritated that whenever she tried to approach Adrien, someone would block her path, asking for help or stories or whatever. And Mylene had kicked her out of her charity after deciding that Lila was so busy, she didn’t want to interfere with her work with Ali. Ugh. Maybe Lila could convince Mylene to let her handle the cheques later. And the girls didn’t seem to want to hang out with her anymore. Before they always invited her out, but now they claim they’ve accepted her busy schedule. When Lila claimed to be free, someone asked her to help them with some chore.

After the debut of Monsieur Rat, Lila was called to the Principal’s Office. When she came back, she was accompanied by Mrs Rossi and Damocles.

Damocles: Class, I believe Miss Rossi here has something she would like to say.

Lila gritted her teeth as she forced out the words: “Ladybug is not my Best Friend. I don’t know Prince Ali. Jagged never had a kitten….”

The list went on, so many were her lies. While Ms Bustier gasped in betrayal, the girls were secretly munching on candy. Except for Chloe who was openly savouring her honeyed popcorn. Lila glared at her, suspicious of her involvement. Damocles coughed but said nothing. The boys were shocked and angry. It was one thing to unknowingly sexually harass Adrien, it was another to take advantage of their trust.

Mrs Rossi: As of now, my daughter will be heading to a convent school. The nuns there are known for being alert to their students’ activities, and are used to liars. It will also be far enough away that Hawkmoth can’t akumatize my daughter, who apparently thinks I would not be interested to know she has been akumatized who knows how many times!”

Lila: I told you it was only 2 times!

Mrs Rossi: akumas are newsworthy information! (Ok, how she missed out on the heroes defeating the villains is beyond me. For a diplomat, she is ridiculously oblivious about Paris.)

Alya: then who cast that illusion of Ladybug on Heroes Day? Lila was certainly around to be akumatized.

Lila gaped at Alya, who showed no surprise at her exposure. was she behind this?

Chloe gave a wave. “Bye bye, Lie-la”

After this, the girls were insistent Adrien learn to expose any wrongdoings or he is only enabling the bully. Chloé was more of the opinion he should learn to stand up to his father. Nino was on Chloé’s side for once.

[miraculouscontent]

I don't know if it's just me but the animation doesn't even seem its improved. Even though Luka is one of my favourites it seemed weird seeing his model look so... bland? And like really basic. I can't help but wonder what type off effort they've actually put into this show if not the animation

It’s DQ. Their effects/lighting/modeling/normals/bumpmaps/okay-just-generally-everything-really tend to be really bad compared to SAMG.

In certain lightings, DQ’s ends up washed out and not showing as much detail. Notice how DQ Luka’s hair (left) isn’t as defined as SAMG Luka’s hair (right). You can more easily see strands and SAMG Luka’s hair has a shine to it. DQ Luka’s jacket also can look more “flat” in some shots, as if there’s no definition to his jacket at all (imagine the difference between the shading on a ball and the shading on a ball covered in a layer of fabric and that’s what I mean).

((just in case certain people end up reblogging: this post is not referring to Luka’s model looking any particular way and the discussion is about DQ VS SAMG, don’t bring your Luka model salt here please and thank you))

[geekgirles]

Just a heads up

Even if the Ikari Gozen spoiler gave me hope Marinette and Kagami will finally get along, if they have a "let's talk about our respective feelings for Adrien" moment and Kagami's advice to Marinette is to stop hesitating about confessing her feelings, I am going to fucking riot.

Not because it's not good advice. But because she's taken it before and it's only led her to make a fool of herself every single time she's made a move. The only exception being the kiss in Mayura. Period.

Marinette's problem is not that she's hesitant, is that the writers refuse to let her take that step, while Chat Noir gets to reveal his feelings, and even get mad if they're not mutual. Marinette doesn't have that luxury.

I don't know what the writers have planned for Marinette's confession, but it'd better be flawless by the time it happens, because this is just unfair to her.

[furyxiv]

Season three sure is determined to show Marinette in the worst light

[princess-of-the-corner]

After I started reading (salt) fics and my friend explained why people salted Alya but before I watched the show I also dislike Alya. Like my friend told me what happened in Chameleon (that's the episode Lila get's Marinette expelled right?) without the context of Marinette's history of manipulitive behaviour when it comes to Adren making it somewhat believable that Marinette's just mad Lila has a crush on Adrien

('Ladybug' is the one where Lila gets Mari expelled. 'Chameleon' is where Lila showed up again claiming a disability to get a front row seat next to Adrien)

Yeah no like!

If saltfics were your first interpretation of fandom, then yeah it sound.s. It sounds Real Bad™.

But like 99% of the 'bad' shit that Alya does can be explained by either

1.) she's a teenager who doesn't fully comprehend long-term consequences and the bigger picture(things like wanting to learn the Heroes' secret identities. She's a kid who is caught up in the fantasy, not fully understanding the danger LB and CN would be in.)

2.) she means well but can steamroll situations when it comes to what she wants(Reflektdoll, where since Juleka is having hesitations and they only have Adrien for another half hour, she makes the executive decision to get the job done with Mari as a replacement instead of doing a solo shoot with Juleka when she calms down)

3.) From her PoV, it is entirely logical to make this decision! (After hearing Marinette assume Kagami is some evil bitch planning to kidnap Adrien and the subesequent attempts at public humiliation(Animaestro) and sabotage(Ikari Gozen) to stop her before eventually realizing Kagami is actually nice and attempting to befriend her, is it /really/ that far fetched that Marinette's hatred of Lila is jealousy?)

or

4.) The Writers Made A Decision (why Alya can't learn that Lila is lying even after learning that Marinette is Ladybug.)

Alya is a good friend trying her best and I love her so much.

[chatonbean]

okay after rewatching ikari gozen, i do have one minor problem which was the writers once again putting marinette in a bad light and having her sabotage their game over a boy. 

the writers like to use adrien as a catalyst (haha get it)  for conflict especially when it comes to marinette and i think that’s where the writing gets at it’s weakest.

have the girls slowly warm up to each other, marinette at first thinking that kagami doesn’t like her and have kagami think the same, but then when they start to work together and put aside their differences they both realise what great gals they are and that they were both wrong about each other. then kagami’s mother calls and then boom akuma and due to this event they unfortunately lose but they still go and get orange juice at the end and become great friends.

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Ikari Gozen

Part of why I like this episode is also why I'm so annoyed with it? I'm so confused. (I don't feel like going through everything so . . . ) Is no one else annoyed that Chat Noir didn't give Kagami her Miraculous? No? Just me? Fine! Don't get me wrong it's great that Marinette and Kagami are friends now. But Adrien's been her friend since day one and no one was this excited about that. Why does Marinette get more dialogue with Adrien's friends than Adrien? I'm still waiting for Carapace/Chat Noir interaction (Heroes Day doesn't count, neither does Instagram). Why are all the important women in Adrien's life exposing their secret identities? When I said I wanted him to know someone's secret identity this isn't what I meant! Chat Noir getting captured is pointless. Why can't he bend his hand two inches to touch a seatbelt? While we're at it why couldn't he use his claws on the other hand to free himself? Dang it, plot! Stop it!

[jackal-in-a-box]

Ikari Gozen

I prefer watching Marinette do something wrong and have it lead to good, than watching Marinette be punished for doing something right.

My ship is sailing~

Tomoe, blind, can’t hear that it’s her own daughter. It’s the masks~~~

Damn, at this rate, they’re going to fire the entire team by Season 4!

The writers have no idea what they’re doing. It’s not that it was bad, it’s just that the show’s entire structure is in absolute chaos, from every minute to the seasons. They seem to not have a grasp on their own plot (or plotlessness or whatever they call it), characters, or what the hell they want to do. Okay, that’s untrue. I can basically summarize with: I know what they were trying to do but.... It usually has a clear enough target, and... very bad aim... They miss the mark more than they hit within any acceptable distance, and I don’t know how? It’s like... things happen, the end. It’s as if they’re trying to work off an outline. I mean, have they ever heard of, I dunno... a first draft?