Adrien's Lesson in Kuro Neko: Realizing Who He Really Is
Once again I am here with my nonsense to discuss how not only was Kuro Neko great for giving us insight into our heroes and their character, but it also allowed the characters themselves to learn something valuable about themselves.
In this ask about the episode I mentioned that Adrien's lesson was this:
Make Adrien see that he is more than his mask and that neither are him but that he is the sum of many parts and worth more than he thinks, a direct sequel to Lies and Desperada.
I talked about Marinette's lesson here, but in contrast Adrien's is a lesson many of us knew for a long time but that he never seemed to realize; that neither of the masks he wears are who he truly is. That much is obvious, but it also came a long way in challenging some of the cognitive distortions that have been plaguing him this entire season (and honestly probably since before we met him). We also learn here why Plagg is the best kwami for Adrien, because in addition to showing Adrien unconditional love he is also pretty much his therapist (and this comes from an actual therapist, he pulls a lot of therapy strategies and I will explain djkfhds)
I've mentioned before how in Desperada Adrien falsely internalized the idea that his only worth to Ladybug is as Chat Noir. Then in Lies, he reaffirms that idea in the artroom scene by splitting himself into separate persona, believing that one is more him than the other.
Maybe when I'm clowning around...I'm really me.
It seems almost like Adrien's depression has always been there but was held at bay, until a catalyst to set it off. Throughout Lies, we start to learn that Adrien doesn't even like himself as Adrien. In Truth, we hear this from Adrien after he and Ladybug defeat the akuma:
Truthfully, it's only with you that I have so much fun.
I mentioned in my Adrien has Clinical Depression theory but I forgot to elaborate but this is a huuuuge red flag for me as a clinician, because it implies that Adrien's one source of joy is his time with Ladybug. It's something we often see in depression: over-reliance on one person or one thing is not a good thing and it can often put a lot of strain on the relationship, because if that relationship goes sour it can have a drastic effect on the depressed individual and the other person.
Which brings us to where we start in Kuro Neko. He and Ladybug have been having major communication issues that unfortunately play on his worst fears. And that's part of the reason why he doesn't join the heroes when they're fighting. He has talked himself into believing that he's unneeded and unnecessary to the fight, that he is replaceable.
Putting the rest under a read more because this somehow became longer than my Mari post oops I guess I should have seen this coming.