I figured Felix would use fetch to steal a miraculous. But I hate Marinette thinking it’s Adrien! Hopefully he could clear that up quickly!! Please!

Probably wishful thinking but remember when we got two tiny clips of the finale in Ukranian that had Ladybug desperately (and angrily, but not at him) that she was doing 'this' to protect him?

We got a brief idea of what 'this' was in Kuro Neko, pushing him away so she doesn't keep hurting him again and again and finding a new solution where him being in love with her wasn't a worry. And things haven't been resolved enough for Marinette to not be scared, but she's come far enough to realise that going about things the way she was wasn't helping at all.

But what about what's Marinette's protecting him from? It's been thrown all over the place that what Marinette's been deathly afraid of and wishing to avoid is another Chat Blanc, and according to her that happened because they knew who they were, and they were in love.

Throughout this season she's tried very very hard enough to avoid those two things. From being angry at the city for shipping her and Chat together, to avoiding telling Chat himself several things like appointing a new permanent holder in secret, and telling someone her identity, to coming up with an extremely roundabout plan to let someone else know Chat's identity for Su Han instead of her, to fearing the worst when she sees a sentimonster with a bell on it that looks like Chat Noir's.

I know there are a lot of claims going around that Marinette's really not scared of Chat Blanc, and that she has been too self absorbed with herself and the guardianship to even realise what was going wrong, and even that Chat Blanc never affected her.

And you know what? They may be horribly wrong, but I do see where they're coming from? Marinette hasn't mentioned or talked about Chat Blanc at all. She hasn't told the kwamis who live with her about it, she hasn't talked to Tikki who witnessed it with her, she didn't tell Fu or Su Han about it, she didn't tell Alya, her best friend who knows her secret, she didn't tell Chat Noir, who she saw get akumatised, she didn't even call the actual Chat Blanc when she fought him by name. Till the last minute, she kept kept calling him Chat Noir, because she still saw her partner in him.

So yeah, I don't completely blame anyone who thinks Chat Blanc isn't affecting her, but I do blame you if you're making accusations at Marinette after not looking hard enough , because she isn't even admitting to herself about what she saw.

The last time she ever mentioned anything about it in passing was to ask Bunnix if there was any chance she could forget what she just saw.

The last time, we the audience saw Chat Blanc was in a nightmare Marinette was having where she was steadily losing all control. She told Alya about Hawkmoth possibly attacking her family but she didn't tell her about Chat Blanc.

Marinette is trying so so hard this entire season to ensure that the world isn't destroyed that she is repressing her own traumatic memories of what happened. And she has made so many mistakes along the way but can you blame her? Her trauma is acting like a blindfold that is far too comforting enough for her to work with what she's got to ensure it never happens again.

She keeps on insisting upon the identity rule for her and Chat, she repeatedly deflects to the problem being Chat's feelings which she cannot reciprocate in two different episodes now.

Reciprocation isn't the problem, and Marinette doesn't know it. She and Chat have been able to maintain a good and close bond with each other for three and a half seasons with the same knowledge of that unrequited love. Chat is okay with the knowledge that he and Ladybug won't be together, he doesn't genuinely try for more.

(Marinette's problem is the knowledge that Chat loves her, and she wouldn't need it to be a problem because she "isn't in love with him", but the reason she keeps on trying to avoid it at all costs is because deep down she knows she could reciprocate his feelings but can't, but that's a completely different post.)

Anyways, one of the biggest things trapping Marinette this whole season is her refusal to open up about Chat Blanc, to anyone and everyone, including herself. It makes sense he's not appearing a lot, retrospectively, because Marinette is repressing him.

Back to what I started this post with, Ladybug tells Chat she's "doing this to protect him". That's the first time she's mentioned even an inkling of what she's actually doing. What could have been the catalyst for that?

Hawkmoth hearing her say this, I think.

Hawkmoth may use the knowledge he has of something obstructing Ladybug and Chat between themselves to create what Ladybug has to protect her partner from in the finale.

So here's my speculation: I'm guessing that either Risk or Strike Back will be the episodes where Marinette finally communicates or admits to herself about Chat Blanc and what that experience really did to her, because hers and Adrien’s situation will have reached a point where she cannot keep it under wraps at all.

The amount of people reacting legitimately surprised by SentiAdrien being basically made canon in and after "Risk" is honestly very fascinating to me. I don't mean to be rude just genuinely curious but what story element did "Risk" provide that "Ephemeral" for example didn't? If anything I would have said that "Ephemeral" made SentiAdrien as good as canon confirmed, but somehow the episode where Gabriel visibly forced Adrien into an akumatization through the direct influence of the control ring wasn't as convincing for alot of people as "Risk"

I would genuinely like to know WHY. What's the difference between these two episodes that is so much more convincing for people that I just dont see myself?

While I’ve been convinced of the Sentidrien theory for awhile now, I can see why Risk was more convincing than Ephemeral.

For starters, that scene in Ephemeral - while it did certainly look like Shadowmoth forcing Adrien to his will, he DID already have the akumatization mask. Only two people in the entire show have ever broken out of akumatization at that stage, have ever managed to defy Gabriel’s will, so while Adrien’s acquiescing in that scene definitely looked unusual, he WAS already having his will broken by the regular process of akumatization, and it wasn’t completely crazy for people to suggest that Adrien being under Gabriel’s control there was due to the akumatization, not the ring. Though there was never a really good explanation given for why ELSE the camera would make sure to focus in on Gabriel making that twisting motion where the ring would be (I never really bought the “he’s self-soothing” idea, especially with how this scene was framed).

Ephemeral did also have an earlier scene with Gabriel fiddling with the ring and ordering Adrien to make that speech and not leave, but again, while it looked very suspicious, it could also, maybe, possibly be him just being used to giving akumatization speeches and treating his son like one of his akuma victims as a result, and Adrien complying because well... his father is pressuring him, and Nathalie’s continued urging to continue with the ceremony.

Risk though? Risk not only had more clear-cut examples that couldn’t be as plausibly excused away as representing other things, but it kept on hammering its message incessantly.

1. Gabriel giving the ring to Nathalie, entrusting her with it and his son. If the ring was merely a sentimental object with no other power, it doesn’t make sense that he’d give it to her like this, and the wording implies that entrusting her with Adrien and entrusting her with the ring are connected.

2. Adrien being that upset, that ready to tell Gabriel off... and then getting that meek when Gabriel demands he changes. Normally Adrien would at least protest for a moment. Here, he doesn’t, it just seems like all the will and fight is snuffed out of him instantly.

3. Adrien telling Marinette that it feels like some “force” is stopping him from speaking out against his father, and he doesn’t even know why.

4. Felix telling Adrien that freedom is something he makes for himself, and that while Adrien can’t defy his father, HE can. Though this one is far weaker evidence than most of the rest (everyone knows that Gabriel determines what Adrien does, and he’d have trouble standing up to Gabriel even without the ring), it still follows along with the general idea of the Sentimonster Adrien theory.

5. Then the strongest evidence - that scene where Gabriel tries to order Adrien (well, Felix pretending to be Adrien) into submission, and falters when he realizes that he’s still glaring at him determinedly, with Gabriel’s face falling and looking almost scared, looking vulnerable when he realizes he isn’t giving in, and rubbing his hand where his ring used to be. And then Nathalie conspicuously pushing up her glasses, giving the audience a good look at the ring she’s wearing, and giving a similar order, which Felix obeys - still not totally sure whether Felix was faking that or genuine, but I’m betting on faking and he just knows that Adrien’s a sentimonster. 

Big difference with this scene versus Ephemeral - there’s no other plausible way for Gabriel to think he can mind control Adrien here. He’s not in the process of akumatizing him. Plus, he outright FALTERS when he realizes that “Adrien” isn’t caving in like he expects, rubbing where the ring used to be, indicating that he draws some connection between “Adrien not obeying” and “him not having the ring”. But then when Nathalie DOES give him an order, he obeys, much like how he usually obeys Gabriel - and Nathalie isn’t surprised by this, that he gives in to her when he wasn’t with Gabriel. She seems to expect it.

6. Kagami’s whole rant about how Adrien needs to take control of his own life, not just follow orders, that he’s his father’s puppet and he needs to dare to cut his strings. It’s pretty on-the-nose.

A lot of these could be handwaved away individually, or at least not be seen as conclusive, but all of them TOGETHER in one episode? The sheer weight of it makes Adrien being anything but a sentimonster unlikely. Heck, at this point the only sliver of a possibility I could see would be that the rings have mind control powers inherently, not due to being an amok - but that seems unlikely at best. I do think that the rings absolutely, 100%, just from what we’ve seen in canon without taking into account outside sources, have to be able to force Adrien to magically submit. 

this is what happened right

This dumb little shit really put "Hawkmoth wins this time" as his password what a loser

OH MY GOD SERIOUSLY

Hopefully that’s not foreshadowing??

The problem this entire season has been characters not talking to each other or telling the truth or being honest about what they think/feel

The Akuma that sets off the events of the season finale has the power to lower peoples’ inhibitions thus making them say exactly what they think and do exactly what they want to do

Amazing

Even better when you realize Risk will still be in effect in the next episode, with Ladynoir.

Meaning we are going to see a conversation between Ladybug and Chat Noir where they will have no filter and be willing to take all the risks they need in having their say 👀👀👀

Come on, LB!! Just let him come!! He knows most of them anyway including some that you think he doesn’t!!

Just realizing this was Chat Noir’s only scene.

Okay, this confused me a bit.

Did the ring work on Felix? Suggesting in ONE scene (which would be very efficient honestly) that they are both sentimonsters and they share the same amok?? (Maybe that’s what caused Emilie’s coma???)

Or did Felix notice that the ring had shifted hands and play along??? Like I didn’t notice the camera work show him notice that, but I also wasnt looking for that first watch. I’ll have to watch it again.

Wait wait wait—is Amélie unaware that her son will be away on an extended vacation for like six months? Or was Félix just like;

“Mummy, I’m going to do some charity work and rescue my dumb ass cousin from your sociopathic brother-in-law. I’ll make sure to send a postcard from South Korea.”  

I don’t think he was planning on going on the fashion tour. I think he was using Adrien’s identity to explore the mansion and steal stuff. Then he was going to use the fashion departure as a get away. Or maybe he was actually intending to tell Gabriel to eff off only for Nathalie to use the ring on him to control him because he’s a sentimonster, too??

HUGE NEWS: THE EPISODE WITH THE LADYNOIR KISS IS RISK

How do I know this?

Well, turns out that in the trailer that was realeased, they accidentally left in a frame that says ‘Risk" on it

and this frame has all the heroes implying that it’s the same ep with the ladynoir kiss

YES. I mean, kinda figured that was the case, but it’s good to be sure!

Hmmm so that means the Rena Furtive and Ladynoir conflict storylines will have to come to a head in the season finale. Judging by how down Chat looked just before the cheek kiss and how Ladybug didn’t notice, they haven’t straightened things out yet. With all the build-up and different moving parts it’s had, that’s gonna be hard to fix in two episodes, with so much else going on.

I am hoping they have Chat break down in one of these episodes and it’s Ladybug who turns to him and is like “hey! You and me against the world, right?” As a sort’ve reversal of the last two season finales where he comforts her. I don’t expect them to get the huge conflict and talking things out that we all crave. I think that will have to come from fic, but I do think it will be addressed to at least some extent because his arc has been very well developed at this point. So something’s gotta go down!

Thoughts on Episode: Gabriel Agreste

Season three seemed to set up Lila to be the next Hawkmoth, but she’s been noticeably absent this season to the point where using her at this point would feel like it’s a bit out of nowhere.  But Felix? He seems to have a super compelling reason to want that Peacock miraculous. Gabriel just threatened his existence. Felix doesn’t seem the type to just accept that the same way he wouldn’t accept Hawkmoth’s “help”. I LOVED how intelligent and sharp they made him even if he’s an asshole. It’s both easy to admire and hate Felix, and that’s an awesome combo for a villain. And while Gabriel has always been incompetent, this episode really emphasized that. Nathalie is the brains behind this operation. But it looks like Felix could be a pretty compelling, and dare I say competent, villain.  I for one loved the Marinette shenanigans. I do. (Kagami totally knew that it was her. Leave me alone).  And that comic!! OMG!! It made the whole episode for me! So adorable. 

Building on my own thoughts here.

I just read the “risk” synopsis, and it does seem that Lila features in the episode, so seeing as she’s in the finale it seems like she will play some significant role.

So what if Lila ends up with the butterfly, while Felix ends up with the peacock. I can see this creating a nice parallel where Lila has always been the most vindictive and potentially harmful to Marinette, but Adrien seems to know how to fight her (he knows how to manipulate a narrative and knows how to play from the shadows).

Whereas, Felix with the peacock is the biggest threat to Adrien (like even IF Adrien is not a sentimonster, a jealous Felix can impersonate it even steal Adrien’s life, and if Adrien IS a sentimonster... woo boy!)

But who has the skill set to go up against Felix? Marinette does!! (Did you see the way he used a random seemingly useless item to catch Gabriel in a trap? Who else do we know that does that?). And if all else fails, she can just punch him in the face.

And I just like the parallel of Adrien and Marinette defeating the most dangerous threat out there to their partner.