Liar Revealed
So Marinette and Sabrina worked together to lure Lila into a false sense of security that eventually led up to her spilling everything in front of an audience she was unaware of. Now everyone knows she’s been lying about everything, she’s a horrible person, and she and Chloé are about to be expelled for good… After 7 years, the fandom finally got what it wanted.
…then why do I feel like I’ve actually wasted those 7 years of my life?
Buckle up, ‘cause this is going to be a long ride.
You summed up perfectly why this long-awaited revelation of Lila’s true nature in front of her classmates and teachers tasted terribly bitter and disappointing.
Because in the end, if Sabrina hadn’t finally decided to grow a conscience, Lila and Chloe’s plan would have perfectly worked. Marinette’s so-called friends would have entirely believed that she was guilty, that she really tried to sabotage their future out of jealousy and resentmen.
And on top of being unfairly expelled and having such a serious transgression, of which she was never guilty of, permanently imprinted on her school record could have ruined Marinette’s future, Marinette would have also lost all her friends. Even her parents would have believed in those lies, and their relationship with their daughter would have seriously deteriorated.
And Adrien, too used to being silenced by authority figures, and knowing that his worlds would be disreguarded by his so-called friends, he would have remained helpless and silent in the face of his girlfriend’s horrible distress.
The only reason why Marinette escaped such misfortune and slander, she owes it not to the friends and allies she trusts to the point of entrusting them with miraculous, but to one of her former tormentors.
If Marinette’s classmates had been just that, classmates, acquaintances with whom Marinette wasn’t particularly close to, their behavior and reactions would have made sense. Yet they’re supposed to be her friends, people Marinette feels that she can rely on behind her mask, that she can allow to be temporary heroes, yet none of them seem able to return the support and trust she has always given them.
And worst of all, neither of them apologized to Mainette, Kagami at least had not only acknowledged his mistakes in believing Lila’s lies so easilly, but deeply regretted her misjudgment and asked for forgiveness to those she harmed under Lila’s influence.
I just … really can’t understand why the writers are making Marinette’s supposed friends in such a way, that’s not how friends behave, and it pains me that the writers might think that’s how friendship works.
How can i appreciate the temporary heroes which are so often promoted, while knowing that they make very poor friends for the main character ? I know they are guenuilly good people, better that what most classmates in real life are, but their lack of faith in Marinette is hurting the heroin, and I don’t think this is right to show that it’s okay to remain friend with people whose can mistrust you so easilly in favor of somoene who always hurt you.
It’s so unfair, because Marinette shouldn’t have had to rely on the help of a former bully to thwart Lila’s plans. Even if it was good for Sabrina’s redemption, the way they turned things out in this episode demonstrated that ialso shows that Apart from Socqueline, Luka, Zoé, Adrien and even Kagami, Marinette’s friendships are very fragile, and it seems like she can’t even count on the one she considers her best friend.
And yet … There may be another potential explanation about why the ml writters are portrayng things this way :
The ml authors must integrate so many plot points in such a short time that sometimes they simplify many progressions by giving the characters attitudes and decision-making that are very questionable and that sometimes seem out of character. It’s a form of scripwritting ease, and it can indeed sometimes mess up the writting.
Thus I have this theory that the ml writers put Marinette in a situation where her own friends can hurt her and deeply disappoint her (even though she doesn’t seem to realize it yet) to set the stage for her future akumatization in either season 6 or season 7.
We already had Adrien/Chat Noir akumatized twice, and they never risked akumatizing Marinette before because it could have meant Gabriel’s victory served on a silver platter. But I beleive season 6 and 7 will change a lot of statut quo from before, that this time akumatizing Marinette will be possible, especially know that it was established that Marinette has allies to whom she can entrust the ladybug’s miraculous, allies who know her secret identity.
But if they want to go toward the akumanette road for the future seasons, especially with Lila being the future butterfly miraculous, they’ll probably want to really push Marinette to her limits, more than they’ve ever done before, and put her in a situation where she really feels like she’s all alone. And what better way for that than to have Marinette own family and friends hurting her in a way that she finally doubts their love for her ? Hurting her in a way that for the first time, Marinette finally feels anger and betrayal at them for turning against her so easilly, as if her own love and friendship never meant anything to them ? Especially now that we know Lila can still manipulate people under another fake identity, and has proven that she could also fool Marintte’s own mother.
This is the only explanation that makes sense to me, because if the ml writters are able to show serious subjects on screen like school bullying or parental abuse, and in such a representative way of reality, why would they have a such a discouraging view of friendship ?
But this is only speculation on my part, every fictitious work has their flaws, and maybe some of mirculous writting of it’s side and secondary characters is just one of those.
To be perfectly honest, as with not telling Adrien the truth about his father, I consider that leaving such important matters untouched until they become the perfect source for drama is extremely cheap and a disservice to the fans.
Marinette has been through the wringer since Chameleon. As a matter of fact, any episode showcasing her bitter enmity with Lila had the perfect set-up for her akumatisation. And let's not forget, it's been seven years and we've already had two What If? episodes where Adrien got akumatised and the stakes where higher than ever but no episode with the same premise but Marinette as the akumatised victim.
Why can't an Akumanette episode be like that? An actual reversion of the status quo, even if it'll be undone in the end? Because, so far, Chat Blanc and Ephemeral only served as further evidence on why someone like Gabriel simply doesn't deserve his son or to win.
But going back to Lila being exposed...
It's just so frustrating because the fandom's been waiting years for this and the writers chose the easy way out! Not to mention Lila's position as the next big bad basically makes her untouchable, hence why despite being exposed and expelled, she not only doesn't face any real consequences but was actually once again rewarded by her actions! Because now she can easily work from the shadows with no one to bother her.
What's even worse is the writers' obsession with making Lila appear as an evil mastermind who couldn't be taken down unless she messed up herself, when that is just not the case.
If we ignore for a moment Lila's supposed cunning goes completely against the Show, Don't Tell rule (as the writers are continuously claiming she's just that good when her actions suggest the opposite), there's also the fact that the writers had actually introduced all the right factors to properly expose her already. But instead of actually using them, they underutilised them as one-time things/solutions:
1. Lila's lies and actions are contradictory:
For instance, there's her clear mistake when saying she had tinnitus in her right ear when at the beginning of the day she claimed it was in her left ear back in Chameleon. I will admit I don't know how seating arrangements work in that case, but I think if that were the case then she shouldn't have taken Nino's place, but Adrien's so her good ear could actually hear the lesson.
Even before that is Volpina. There she claimed to be Ladybug's best friend, yet she constantly switched from "admiring" her to looking down on her to make herself look better. In fact, this ambivalent attitude towards Ladybug has been present ever since, as Lila is so smug and her hatred for Ladybug runs so deep, she can't help but let her true feelings shine through in the form of condescension.
And there's of course Oni-Chan, where she swore up and down she didn't have a crush on Adrien, but immediately sent everyone a picture of her kissing him on the cheek.
But of course, because no one is ever allowed to notice anything amiss with Lila, these details are completely ignored.
2. Lila doesn't think things through:
For most of the show, she's so focused on instant gratification she doesn't think about the long-term consequences of her actions.
Even though her crush on Adrien all but vanished in season 5, Lila is incapable of thinking before she acts, which negatively affects Adrien's opinion of her. At least, she never thinks about the consequences of her actions. Namely, since her first instinct is to always lie, she always fails to realise how her actions will impact on the relationship she wants with Adrien. And so, while she gleefully hurt and manipulated the people close to him, she only kept alienating the one boy she wanted all to herself.
This flaw should have been exploited to expose her, but no. Let's go with the most cliché trope ever.
3. Her lying disease:
Come on, people! Even if it was another lie, she admitted to it herself! In literally any other show that would have played some part in her loss of credibility! Why is it only a one-time solution in Miraculous?
Seriously, all it should have taken was for Bustier to gently decline her proposal to become class president because, while "she can't control it", her condition makes her inherently untrustworthy.
The only explanation I can give to this is that it might be ableist, but other than that...
4. In season 5, Lila gravitates toward the very same people she's hurt before
How is it possible that the very same people she's hurt before (Kagami and Chloé) are also the ones she specifically targets to become their "friend" and not face consequences?
Seriously, as much as I love Kagami for at least calling her out on her toxic behaviour, she should have cut all ties with her there. Because aside from being an insult to Kagami's character, after Protection it serves no purpose but to inform Lila of the Diamonds Dance and have Kagami call her a worthless rock to her face.
5. Alya knows Marinette is Ladybug:
The big one, isn't it? I'm not going to dwell much on this because I already talked about it in length during the original post, but yeah.
The fact that they refuse to have Alya learn the truth about Lila until she revealed the truth herself only serves to highlight how the writers are underutilising Alya's role as Marinette's secret keeper by reducing her, once again, to "talking sense" to Marinette when it comes to her love life.
Way to fail the Bechdel test, Miraculous...
