I am back from the nether of eduction, so everyone hold their breath while I get back in the swing of things. This analysis I did a while back after Evolution perfectly follows on for my next mini-analysis that I haven’t quite gotten all on paper yet, but it’s worth adding on.
When I was really considering the Agreste’s sacrificial tendencies as a whole, the final really pulled everything together. My content warning gets a little deeper here, so proceed with caution below the read more line! Check the tags carefully, as this centres around the more nitty gritty psychology of mental states that is often triggering for some people.
There’s often an assumption that people who attempt suicide have always had this well thought out plan that’s progressed traditionally. In a cycle similar to the one below:
However, that’s not always the case. Studies have shown that most suicides are actually an impulsive decision that’s made within an hour or less of an actual attempt. Not only that, but in relation to the traditional range of suicidal thoughts, people often jump in a non-linear pattern around that spectrum at random times. Many times, attempts are made during an intense emotional moment by someone that may or may not have been actively suicidal prior to that point.
Or, even if they were, they weren’t someone who would create a traditional “plan” like people are often taught. The final step from thought to suicidal action can be triggered by a defined event or by an inexplicable impulse from within.
Impulsivity is a VERY important aspect, but it goes unnoticed in a lot of considerations. The triggers, behaviours, and thought patterns can look very different. When we hear stories, people often share how surprised they were about the turns of events, as the idea of being happy one day and suicidal the next seems untenable. Yet for someone with suicidal tendencies, it’s actually a very common jump to make.
That’s what makes preventative measures crucial, as we have to focus on minimising the risk involved with a tough moment. Easy access to lethal means increases the chances that someone will act impulsively, and the deadlier they are, the worse it can be.
If a suicide attempt takes longer to enact, or it is generally harder for whatever reason, there are more chances for the impulsive moment to pass, or more chances for additional intervention. For example, making firearms harder to access, and adding netting around bridges is a commonly used method across the globe. In itself, it is not enough to stop someone from taking their life, but it may be enough to cause reconsideration or add vital seconds to a rescue attempt.
In relation to Gabriel and Adrien, they’ve had consistent traumas (mostly relating to their family / heroic & villain life) that would naturally affect their emotional regulation. Given how the household deals with those things, by hiding it or not addressing it at all, any hard moments will cause everything to explode.
Taking into account everything previously mentioned, there is a massive risk involved when there’s a boy with pure destruction, and a man that had the ability to wish anything into existence.
I’m sure you see where I’m going here.
Episodes like Guilt Trip show this concept off well. When Adrien becomes overwhelmed with negative emotions, he naturally tries to take the quickest option available to minimise his thoughts. Despite this, he is able to shake them off relatively quickly and recover like nothing happened.
As for the season 5 finale, it’s also no surprise that Gabriel succeeded with his wish. Whether or not he always planned to sacrifice himself (which I’m inclined to believe he did, especially in reference to some previous actions and words of his) is irrelevant. But in that specific moment, by using Emilie and Adrien directly, Marinette managed to get under his skin. Definitely deeper than even Nathalie had.
Coupled with the volatile situation of his cataclysm, Nathalie’s impending death (assume it didn’t happen right after the final conversation with Ladybug), his crumbling relationship with Adrien, and Paris’ state of affairs as a whole, it’s not shocking that this would be his big moment where he decides it’s time.
However, unlike Adrien, he had no one that was present in the moment that could stop him. In any sense, the way the series concluded ties in well with all my previous thoughts surrounding Gabriel’s self-blame as a whole, and it’s yet another point for when I inevitably do my Agreste family analysis.
It was NOT a surprising turn of events, and they’ve clearly been hinting to Gabriel’s disregard for his own safety since day 1.
Okay, but one of the most compelling things for me was the fact Evolution made me grimace for Gabriel-
Of course, I know people are going to be sat reading this like:
But just hear me out
For the first time, we’ve genuinely seen Gabriel this desperate. To the point he’s downright suicidal. He completely forwent any warnings given to him, sacrificing his own health in the hope he could get the upper hand on the heroes. Frequently, he was unable to walk, or even just stay conscious. Seems familiar, right? Gabriel is beginning to start acting like Nathalie in season 3. Which is, in itself, ironic considering her complete 180 at the end of the episode.
But we don’t really take it seriously
I mean- it’s not just a nuance thing either. They’re clearly crossing the bridges of mental health this arc. The paralleling between Marinette and Gabriel is amazing. The final scene was a staple to the fact they were always two sides of the same shitty coin. Same day, same reactions. But for completely different reasons. One feels the weight of failed responsibility, and the other finally feels responsibility.
Even taking a look at his panic attack, you’ll see a minute detail: his eyes are zoned in on his ring.
Gabriel has spent this last year + entirely devoting himself to the Hawkmoth character. Expensing his work life and other relationships in a co-dependent like state to revive his wife. But with Nathalie (and only Nathalie) in his corner, he’s never had to deal with the fact he’s done wrong. By not indulging anybody else; he’s had no rational mind to guide him. And dear lord is he the type that needs to be guided.
The only person who’s mattered in terms of opinion was her. Adrien would, had he been in the know, but he isn’t. Simple as that. He doesn’t know. To Gabriel, his disdain for Hawkmoth couldn’t be properly proportional, because of a ‘surely it’d be different if he knew about his mother’ mindset.
He’s a family man, and he considers Nathalie (as of this episode at least) part of said family. Going so far as to give her the other ring. If Nathalie concurs, he thinks he’s doing exactly what he should be. He admires her. He’s said as such in the Nathalie mini-episode. Until now. Someone he so openly cares about, as far as he sees it, hates him. And while getting the thrashing he deserved was all the satisfaction, his response certainly was not.
In a way, it was child like. He’s disappointed his guardian for the first time, and he doesn’t know how to deal with that. But the progression is important, because we’ve finally witnessed another milestone. Persistent, traumatic grief can cause us to cycle (sometimes quickly or in a nonlinear pattern) through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
These stages are our attempts to process change and protect ourselves while we adapt to a new reality. He’s finally come out the denial era. And while this new found anger may be misplaced onto Ladybug, it’s still a sign he’s finally beginning to accept what’s happened to Emilie.
Many people have said he’s lost his goal after all this time, and that may be true. But I raise this: it’s not about power either, like many suggest. In the ice-Paris scene. He’s merely trying to prevent what he sees as an ambush.
As far as he knows, he has a fair reason to worry about the mysterious box. It’s happened before, it can surely happen again. He’s aware they’re trying to draw him out, and that’s dangerous. Every time he underestimates the smallest of things, it bites him. We laugh, but from an outsider prospective, many would’ve overthought it.
Even when he was making the decision, he thought they were trying to defeat him as Scarlet Moth. Destroying the current timeline before he even had a chance to meddle. Monarch had no way of knowing whether or not his change would take place first. And all things considered, that’s precisely what they were trying to make it look like.
He wasn’t going to take their miraculous, he was attempting to push them into another burrow, like before. Hence his promise of return. He was going to go through with Nathalie’s idea! He just needed to stop them attacking the old him before dropping the USB in. Had he wanted to wish it, then there would be no need to come back at all. He was worried about his current timeline. Current relationships. So on and so forth. If he ‘chose wrong’, then he’d have nothing to go back to.
His choice wasn’t driven by power, merely worry for what he currently has. Gabriel is beginning to see what’s in front of him, rather than behind. That worry, though, was immediately repaid by the most devastating words of his life, no doubt. He, basically, was just told that his wife’s death was his own fault. Whether or not that’s what Nathalie actually meant doesn’t matter. That’s how Gabriel took it.
Given what we just saw too, that he’d been the one to deliver the miraculous to his wife, those words would’ve hit all the worse. The real kicker was the declaration of what he deserves. He’s just been shunned by his one true friend. Everybody else is merely an associate, or someone he sticks with because he owes them something, or they have something for him in return. Even the dynamic between him and Audrey relies heavily on the fact she was his mentor and likely has some other (presumably magic related) weight.
Plus, we see no evidence of any other family. The canon family tree for Adrien shows no grandparents from Gabriel’s side. Only Emilie’s. His current connections are likely all he has.
So step back, and take a look at this from a different angle. Widowed husband, mere inches away from saving his recently deceased wife. Reliving the very moment that caused her death. And then, his timeline comes under fire. So he goes to stop it. Just to be tricked. And then abandoned by the one person he can confide in. And widowed husbands often take other woman as ‘replacement wives’ in an attempt to get their emotional outlet back. A woman he puts on an equal mental pedestal to Emilie just told him to go fuck himself, in 3 different metaphors.
-His decision making
-His mental capacity
-His worth
Fucking ouch
He is, frankly, moving to his PV goal. Mirrored by the change in attire. Richard Sphinx was trying to forget his wife. Doing everything he possibly could to distract himself from her absence, and filling the void with material things.
At first glance, it’s not much, but if you think about it. It was… heavy for a first episode. I have no doubt he’s going to feel more sucker punches this season until his eventual defeat. And that’s genuinely concerning when we see how far he’s already descended.
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