#even if it was a filler episode - I adore it to this day

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Miraculous Ladybug Season 5 - An Overview

Well... that certainly was... the fifth season of Miraculous Ladybug.

While I was overall mixed on Season 4 with how much it varied in quality, I think I have a more concrete opinion of Season 5.

Yeah, this season was a real pain to review, but not for the reason you'd think. Most of the episodes were either dull or average, so there wasn't a lot for me to really talk about. Of course, when things were bad, dear lord, were they bad. This analysis is somehow longer than my Season 4 one and the ranking post. Other than real life stuff getting in the way, there's a damn good reason why this took so long to finish. I basically wrote a college thesis on this season.

The Things I Liked About Season 5

Let's get all the good things about this season out of the way first.

For one thing, one of my biggest complaints about Season 4 was sort of rectified, the portrayal of Adrien. While I still have problems with him (which I'll get to in a later section), they're more about his impact on the story. As for his personality and attitude, it's a big step up. There's much less complaining, he's more active in the action, and is far more intelligent. Compared to Season 4, where Cat Noir was affected by an Akuma's powers or taken out of commission in order to raise the stakes eleven times (Lies, Mr. Pigeon 72, Mega Leech, Guiltrip, Optigami, Sentibubbler, Wishmaker, Simpleman, Ephemeral, Penalteam, Risk), here, funnily enough, it only really happened five times in Season 5 (Jubilation, Illusion, Derision, Emotion, The Final Day). It's honestly amazing. There were times where I thought he was going to be taken out or get portrayed as an idiot, but that almost never happened this season. Even some of the weaker episodes this season featured Adrien in a more active role, like “Passion”, “Reunion”, “Elation”, and “Deflagration”.

Also, as much of a problem that I have with Cat Noir trying to Cataclysm his enemies, I'm glad that the show at least tries to acknowledge this by showing his worst nightmare is a world where everyone is dead because of him. It's not handled well, and it's only done just to bench him for the finale, but I'll at least give the writers credit for putting in the effort to give him more nuance. It's a hell of a lot better than what they did with Gabriel, but I'll get to him later. By extension, his relationship with Ladybug is much more tolerable. The two work together well, talk about the conflict with Monarch more often, and for the most part, feel like actual partners. Yeah, that dynamic falls apart towards the end of the season, but again, I'll give the writers an A+ for effort.

Another thing I like is that this season tries to focus more on character pieces, with episodes focusing on characters like Nathalie (Passion), Kagami (Perfection), Luka (Migration), and Zoe (Adoration). They're not handled the best, but I'm glad the show is at least trying to give the supporting characters time in the spotlight, even though they don't have their Miraculous anymore.

Speaking of, I like the idea of the Alliance rings. It's really the only time Gabriel actually takes advantage of his status as one of the most influential people in Paris to push the use of something specifically designed to help give his Akumas more power. Given how prevelant the marketing for Alliance rings is, it's easy to see his plan working in the long term.

We also had a couple decent new Akuma designs, like Safari, Bugfighter, and... uh... Yeah, I got nothing else. This is pretty much the most praise this season is going to get from me. Sure, I'll go into some other aspects I like during later sections, but other than that, this is it. Hell, even the parts I listed earlier are only mentioned for the ideas they present, not the way they're executed.

The Final Season... Of Filler

We've finally made it to Season 5, the climax of the conflict with Monarch. This is going to be epic, with all kinds of compelling stories that can be used for episodes, leading to a final product that will go down as—my God, why is this season so boring?!

Like I said earlier, this season was a lot harder to review than Season 4 was, and this was one of the biggest reasons why. As bad as that season was, I at least had stuff to talk about. Here? Almost nothing. A good chunk of the episodes I reviewed just didn't leave an impact on me. Most of them were either forgettable, mediocre, or just okay. Some of the episodes had decent ideas and a handful of good scenes, but it wasn't really enough to reach the highs of earlier seasons, including Season 4.

It's strange, because at first, it seemed like the show was learning from its mistakes during the first three episodes of this season. “Evolution”, “Multiplication”, and “Destruction” were far from perfect, but you could at least tell the show was trying something different. There was tighter continuity, clever mind games on both sides, a rare instance of nonlinear storytelling, and major changes to the status quo. They explained why Monarch can't just beat up Ladybug and Cat Noir himself, why the Rabbit and Rooster Miraculous can't be used to end the story, and why the Alliance rings were created.

When Ladybug got the Rabbit Miraculous after failing to get the other fourteen back, you would think that this would lead to an arc where Ladybug and Cat Noir gradually reclaimed the Miraculous from Monarch until the final battle, but what did we get instead in terms of plot development?

For what was supposed to be the final season, it felt like almost nothing happened. Sure, as always, the show tried to trick us into thinking stuff was happening, but several plotlines introduced this season were either abandoned or rushed through after a few episodes. The Resistance? Only relevant for five episodes, and even then, they didn't do much (Illusion, Deflagration, Confrontation, Revolution, Representation). Trying to discover how Monarch is giving the Akumas Miraculous powers? Only relevant in a single episode (Illusion). Felix having the Peacock Miraculous and being a total wild card? Only relevant for three episodes (Emotion, Pretension, Representation). The reverse Love Square? Only relevant for four episodes before it petered out (Determination, Passion, Reunion, Elation). Lila manipulating Kagami for some reason? Only relevant for two, maybe three episodes if you count that one scene in “Emotion”, and that was dropped in favor of her learning Monarch's identity offscreen (Perfection, Protection).

You'd think for a season with stakes this high, there would be bigger stories or more character drama, but we got nothing. The only real ongoing story we got was the Love Square finally happening, and trust me, I'll get to that later. There were plenty of ideas for story arcs here, but the writers pretty much ignored all of them.

Retcons! Retcons Everywhere!

This one's shorter, because it's a problem with the show in general, and I'll go into more detail about specific examples of this later on.

Miraculous Ladybug is a show that has always struggled to be consistent with its lore, worldbuilding, characters, story, and... well, a lot of things. I've talked about how often the show retcons things in order to justify whatever story they need to tell, not just for individual episodes, but story arcs too. There were so many episodes with stories that contradicted previous events or changed the motivations of certain characters on a whim.

In case you didn't keep track, here's a little highlight reel of some of the retcons this season.

Evolution: After both him and Ladybug were able to use multiple unifications last season with no problem, Monarch can't use too many of his powers without collapsing in pain. It also goes against what was established in “Kwamibuster”, the idea of using multiple Miraculous being enough to damage your sanity, where here, Monarch's body is damaged.

Multiplication: Adrien's reason for falling for Marinette was due to all the times she helped him, when it was usually the other way around in earlier seasons.

Determination: Adrien reveals he's had feelings for Marinette since the events of “The Puppeteer 2”, even though it never influenced any of their interactions between that episode and this one. It also contrasts the previous episode, where it said that Adrien was just starting to fall for Marinette for different reasons.

Derision: Chloe's bullying of Marinette had severe psychological damage that explains why she acts the way she does around Adrien... but ignores the romantic feelings Marinette has had for Luka and Cat Noir, and didn't act the same way around them, to say nothing about how she acted around Nathaniel when he had a crush on her during “The Evillustrator ”.

Intuition: The Snake Miraculous somehow makes Gabriel's Cataclysm wound worse even though the form of time travel it uses is mental, not physical.

Protection: Gabriel and Tomoe want their children to be in a relationship, yet Adrien and Kagami kept it a secret while they were dating.

Adoration: Zoe suddenly has feelings for Marinette despite showing no signs of it beforehand.

Emotion: Felix reveals he's doing everything for Adrien's safety, even though in his previous few appearances, he's done nothing but screw his cousin over by smearing his public image.

Pretension: Felix is against using a Sentimonster to defend himself and Kagami due to not wanting to force an innocent creature to follow his orders, yet he had no problem using a Sentimonster in the very last episode and in his next appearance.

Revelation: Lila has multiple secret identities she uses while pretending to be the child of several women, which had never come up at all during the last four seasons.

Representation: Kagami apparently learned Marinette was Ladybug right before she was akumatized in “Perfection”, yet Monarch didn't learn this like he did with Luka.

Do you see the problem here? Hell, I didn't even list every single retcon, or else we'd be here all day.

I don't get how a show that wants to be serialized can keep changing details like this. It's not even a case of the show replacing its writers with new ones who don't know as much as the old ones. This is mostly the same writing team for almost four seasons at this point.

Sometimes, the show will retcon stuff in order to justify stories when it doesn't need to. Remember how at the beginning of the season, Marinette was feeling guilty about her failure at the end of Season 4, and that influences her hesitance to accept Adrien's advances? The writers sure didn't, as “Derision” exists to give Marinette a whole new reason to not be comfortable around Adrien. Why the hell would you give Marinette a perfectly valid reason to not want to pursue Adrien, only to write an episode that gives her a different reason to not want to pursue Adrien? There was literally no reason to do this, especially during the last season of your first major story arc!

This season is clearly trying to be the most serialized of the bunch, yet the writers keep changing details about the story like that one Wallace and Gromit meme.

Season 5: The Show's Greatest Hits Album

Something I've noticed about this season is just how repetitive it can be. I know that sounds weird given this is a show that literally gave us the Status Quo-Yo, but please hear me out.

So many major story arcs and focus episodes are just rehashed versions of older things in this show, and not just the reused Akumas. Not only does the first half of Season 5 restate how complicated things are for Marinette's love live and how she can't love Adrien after what she did (something she gets over rather anticlimactically once Adrien confesses). Then there are other times where even plotlines established this season will get reused, and more often than not, it's worse.

In “Perfection”, Kagami is akumatized thanks to Lila's lies, and manages to break free from Monarch's influence thanks to her friends showing that they care for her. And then four episodes later, Kagami is akumatized again thanks to Lila's lies, only this time, she isn't able to break free. What... what was the point of having that emotional scene in “Perfection” if you're just going to treat her like a run of the mill Akuma a few episodes later?

And it's not just that. Big moments that happened in earlier seasons are pretty much redone but with a few changes to make it seem like they're different. Did you like seeing Adrien give up being Cat Noir in “Kuro Neko”? Well how about seeing Adrien and Marinette give up being superheroes in “The Kwamis' Choice”? Did you like seeing Chloe break off her friendship with Adrien in “Queen Banana”? How does seeing Adrien break off his friendship with Chloe in “Derision” sound?

But the worst of this has to be in the last seven episodes of the season. So much of what is essentially the culmination of five seasons' worth of story is just recycled. Let's go over why. In “Confrontation”, Marinette (and by her, I mean Sabrina with help from Marinette) manages to outsmart Chloe and Lila and put an end to their tyranny in the classroom. What are the next two episodes about? Marinette needing to outsmart Chloe and Lila, only now, they have reign over the city. This feels like something that should have been one major story, not something split up into two two-parters. Hell, you can't even say it's original to see Chloe in control, because this is also something that was done back in Season 1's “Rogercop”, only with the titular and the police following his orders for no reason instead of Chloe and her bootleg Daleks.

But hey, if an army of robots capable of using Miraculous powers, at least we can expect something even more creative for Monarch's ultimate plan, right? Yeah, Project “Perfect Alliance” is just a combination of Chloe's murder boxes and the exact same plan in “Heroes' Day”. People are brainwashed like in “Heroes' Day” and they get Miraculous powers like the robots in “Revolution”. Seriously? Nobody took a look at this and thought “Didn't we do this already?”

What's the point of making these two different evil plans when they're essentially the same thing? Why not give Chloe's robots various weapons instead of Miraculous powers if you're going to have an army of villains who have the same Miraculous powers two episodes later? Why not make it so the Miraculized are really the robots designed to help Chloe, only here, they have the ability to turn anyone wearing an Alliance ring into one of them, sort of like the Borg from Star Trek?

It's clear that after four seasons, the writing on this show has gotten incredibly stagnant if the major plotlines are just reused from earlier seasons. At best, it comes across like blatant fanservice, and at worst, it's a symptom of the writers struggling to come up with new ideas for stories. Either way, this is one of many reasons why not a lot of people are looking forward to Season 6. How can you expect interesting stories in the future when the writers keep recycling their old ones?

Felix and the Struggle With Sentimonsters or: This Is Starting to Sound Like a Bad Comic Book Plot!

Before I get into the problems with Felix this season, consider this: With Chloe (who I'll get to later), she was an example of someone who wouldn't get a redemption arc. Felix? This is the writers intentionally trying write a redemption arc. How did that turn out?

The obvious problem with Felix is mostly due to, like a lot of things in this show, poor time management. He only had three focus episodes, and in that time, the writers needed to explain his motivations, establish him as a wild card, have him realize the error of his ways, develop his relationship with Kagami, and help out Marinette. They really wanted to do a lot with Felix, yet with how rushed his arc was, I have to wonder if there was some trouble behind the scenes that prevented him from getting more focus.

It doesn't help that what little we got was confusing as all hell. I've already gone into detail about the problems with Felix's motivations not explaining his actions, but here's a list of all the problems with Felix.

If Felix wanted to get the Peacock Miraculous from the start, why didn't he try stealing that in “Felix”?

If Felix cared about Adrien, why did he spend most of his appearances mocking him and ruining his reputation by impersonating him in “Felix”, “Gabriel Agreste”, “Risk”, “Emotion”, and “Representation”?

If Felix knew who Gabriel was, why did he come up with this elaborate plan to get the Peacock Miraculous in a trade with him instead of going to Ladybug for help in “Strikeback”?

If Felix realized Gabriel was dangerous and capable of wiping him out, why did he decide to give him fifteen Miraculous in exchange for a single Miraculous without doing anything to stop him in “Strikeback”?

If Felix could easily get rid of Gabriel with a single Sentimonster like he did in “Emotion”, why didn't he immediately do that as soon as he got the Peacock Miraculous in “Strikeback”?

If Felix wanted to stop Gabriel, why did he decide to wipe out all of humanity alongside him in “Emotion”?

If Felix cared about innocent lives, why did he decide to wipe out all of humanity without showing any remorse except for when he had to get rid of Red Moon in “Emotion”?

If Felix didn't want to create any Sentimonsters just to end their lives in “Pretention”, why did he do just that in “Representation”?

If Felix knew Marinette was Ladybug, why did he choose to tell her who Gabriel was in an unnecessarily complicated way instead of telling it straight to her face in “Representation”?

If Felix really hated his abusive father, why didn't he show any hatred for Gabriel (who gave Colt the damaged Peacock Miraculous and did nothing to stop the abuse) as well during his little play in “Representation”?

If Felix cared about stopping Gabriel, why did he only decide to go to Ladybug for help when Gabriel was getting in the way of his relationship with Kagami in “Representation”?

If Felix was willing to tell Marinette about Gabriel being Monarch in “Representation”, why didn't he do anything else to help her stop Monarch in “Comformation” and “Re-Creation”?

With how many flaws his plans have, I'm surprised Felix hasn't said anything along the lines of “My pwan is gweat!”

For someone who claims to be doing a lot of things for Adrien, Felix tends to either screw over his cousin as part of his plans or forget him entirely. I don't mean he screws over Cat Noir, as his identity is one of the few things he doesn't know, but rather, how little his plans actually benefit Adrien. Putting aside his previous appearances in Seasons 3 and 4, in the span of a single episode, Felix pretended to be his cousin and smeared his public image, used a Sentimonster to wipe out all of his friends and loved ones while needing to be told by Adrien that doing so wasn't cool, and after that, he pretty much abandoned caring about Adrien.

Yeah, starting with “Pretension”, the writers once again change gears so Felix's primary goal is to help Kagami, not Adrien. It's Kagami that really helps inspire Felix's true turn to good, it's Kagami who he chooses to visit when she and Adrien are taken to London, and it's Kagami that helps him decide to tell Marinette Monarch's identity. Even though he only has three major appearances, the writers still decided to shake up his character arc for some reason. How does a team of paid writers struggle to stay consistent with any story or character arc they've written?

The worst part is that for a redemption arc, Felix shows little to no remorse for his actions. Not once does he apologize to anyone he's personally wronged, like Adrien, Marinette, or Kagami. He doesn't see anything wrong with giving Monarch more power and depriving Ladybug of almost all of her allies, and he had to be told that wiping all of humanity from existence was a bad thing. Felix has done so many terrible things in his quest for freedom, which isn't a bad idea, as it could make for an interesting discussion about whether the ends justify the means, but the show doesn't go that route. Instead, despite doing almost nothing but making things worse for Ladybug and Cat Noir, we're supposed to see Felix as a great person who just wants to have friends. Sure, having good social skills is a big part of being able to manipulate others, but let's just ignore all the people he's tricked and assume he doesn't know how to properly socialize with someone without stalking them.

It doesn't help that of all the characters this season, Felix makes the most progress in stopping Monarch. Puting aside his little genocide attempt in “Emotion”, he actually made an attempt to take Gabriel out of the equation, and later on, passed on intel about his true identity to Marinette. Think about that for a second. Marinette, despite being a hero with the ability to deduce what to do from simple clues given to her, isn't the one to figure out Monarch's identity. Instead, she has to be told who Monarch is, and is able to beat him only because Felix told her what to do. The worst part is that Felix doesn't even take part in the final battle when he has no excuse to not get involved. Remember, he doesn't have to worry about getting snapped away by Gabriel, so even though he cares so much about Adrien and Kagami, he does nothing to save either of them from their glorified solitary confinement.

Felix isn't a character. He's a glorified plot device who only shows up to advance the story instead of letting any character make progress by themselves. While Marinette and Adrien are focusing more on their love lives this season, Felix is the one actually getting things done. Because God forbid the two characters the show is named after actually do anything to stop the villain this season, am I right?

And that's not even getting into the Sentimonster stuff. Yep, to our collective horror, not only is Felix a Sentimonster, but it's also hinted that Adrien and Kagami are Sentimonsters too. I'm not sure why the writers are so hesitant to flat out say the latter two are Sentimonsters after all the obvious hints, especially when this is a show that loves to overly explain every plot detail and character trait. I don't know. Maybe they're just hedging their bets in case things don't go over well with audiences, but I can't possibly see anything bad coming from this. After all, how can you think of any uncomfortable implications stemming from the three major victims of child abuse literally being inhuman monsters who are physically unable to resist their abusers' orders?

With the Sentimonster “reveal”, Adrien and Kagami, two characters who were previously doing their best to be independent from their parents as they could at their age, are now physically incapable of even having a single negative thought about them without being ordered around while showing no resistance. Like I've mentioned before, it's a blatant retcon because it's never explained why Gabriel and Tomoe didn't do this during Seasons 2 and 3. It also gives the writers the opportunity to remove any agency Adrien and Kagami have in the plot, even though one is one of the two main characters, and the other plays a crucial role in helping another character expose the main villain's identity.

We're supposed to see Gabriel and Tomoe as wrong for ignoring their children's protests and forcing them to do things they don't want to do, but it doesn't lead to an arc where Adrien and Kagami rebel against their parents and break free from their influences. As soon as either Gabriel and Tomoe touch their respective rings, Adrien and Kagami are completely helpless, and there's no way for them to resist because of how powerful the link with their Amoks is. There's no hint that they have the potential to break free from their Amoks' influence, and the only time we saw that happen, it was a complete accident that Felix didn't even cause (Representation). Adrien and Kagami are both reduced to damsels in distress thanks to being Sentimonsters, and even though the show is trying to say they're trapped in a terrible situation, there's never a way out.

The most Adrien and Kagami do is express frustration with their situation, but most of the progress made in escaping their bad relationships is done by their respective love interests, Marinette and Felix. Yes, support systems are important, but rather than help Adrien and Kagami earn their freedom, Marinette and Felix do pretty much all of the work to save them during the latter half of this season. Hell, they couldn't even get that completely done by the time of the finale! Gabriel dropped dead and Adrien thinks he's a hero and Kagami's still living with Tomoe, only now she has her Amok ring. We're supposed to see this as a happy ending when they're both still influenced by their abusive parents, even if they don't have any physical control over them. The whole idea behind making Adrien and Kagami Sentimonsters should have been something about them, but with Gabriel and Tomoe, the writers only see them as helpless victims who can't do anything to save themselves. Sure, both of them have fought supervillains before, but we can't have them actually showing agency, can we?

I'm going to get into other ways Adrien and Kagami's characters were butchered this season, but for now, let's get into all the uncomfortable things this plotline implies. Now before I go any further, just remember that I am far from an expert on abuse or child psychology, so please take what I say with a heavy grain of salt. If there is anyone reading this who is a victim of abuse or knows someone who was, please don't be afraid to speak your mind about my analysis or correct me if I get any details wrong.

I get that making Adrien, Kagami, and Felix Sentimonsters was probably done so it'd be a way to explain the concept of child abuse to younger audiences, specifically to show how helpless the situation can be for victims, but the problem is how the allegory is handled. It wants to show how cruel the idea of child abuse is, but it doesn't want to outright vilify abusers like Gabriel or Tomoe. They usually try to sugarcoat it by saying that the two have good reasons for doing what they do, but that's a common problem with abusers. Abusive parents almost always believe that they're doing the right thing while their children think that they're just being punished for their own good, and the season ultimately takes that stance by the end.

The show is clearly trying to use the Sentimonster concept to tell a story about abuse, but I have no idea what exactly it's trying to say about it. “Child abuse is bad”? Okay, then why aren't you going to condemn the abusive parents for being abusive parents? And no, brief mentions of abusive parents who we never actually see onscreen don't count (Derision, Pretension, Representation). “Help out abused children”? Big talk coming from the season that only has two people actually fight to help the victims of child abuse, while treating another victim of child abuse as getting her just desserts (Revolution). “Parents have good reasons to do what they do”? Yeah, that normally applies to stopping your kid from getting a tattoo, not forcing them to whatever they want against their will.

The thing about writing abuse is that you need to acknowledge just how unhealthy it is, and do whatever it takes to take them out of the toxic environment. Here, nobody ever tries to remove Adrien from the toxic environment or tell him that what his father is doing isn't right. Sure, Felix tries to take Kagami away from her abusive mother, but that was only for like an hour at most, and then he just let her go back to her mother. Adrien doesn't even get that luxury. Hell, he isn't even allowed to know just how terrible his father was because he's just a sensitive baby according to the show. Portraying abuse victims as too emotionally fragile to know the truth is a pretty bad idea because, like I mentioned before, a big problem that abuse victims go through is that they're conditioned to see their treatment as normal at best, or see it as their fault at worst.

Like so many other serious topics discussed in this show, the writers clearly want to tell a story about abuse, but they're too afraid to actually take a proper stance on it, so they kept trying to play it safe in an attempt to not get backlash from audiences. Of course, because of that, they ended up portraying victims of child abuse as soulless husks who have almost no free will of their own, while ending the season by having them still under the influence of their abusive parents, even the dead one. Real bang-up job, there, writers. It says a lot when a Spider-Man PSA from almost 35 years ago did a better job tackling child abuse than you did.

And finally, let's talk about how this season's treatment of Sentimonsters indirectly influences our perception of them across the past two seasons. Even though the Sentimonsters created have shown almost no individuality from Seasons 2 to 4, only now are we supposed to see them as sentient beings, with Felix himself even taking offense at the idea at being called a Sentimonster. Never mind the fact that Felix never actually comes up with a proper alternative, so he just comes across as whiny when we're supposed to see him as a champion of the Sentimonsters.

In regards to the narrative the show decided it now wants to tell about Sentimonsters, I have two questions.

First, why should I care about Sentimonsters if the previous two seasons have portrayed them as nothing but soulless killing machines? If you're going to write a plot twist that changes the way we see Sentimonsters, you need to explain why we were wrong to only assume they're dangerous, especially since Argos' first Sentimonster literally wiped out all of humanity. For comparison, Ultraman Z did a similar plotline by having the main character realize that several of the monsters he killed as the titular hero weren't intentionally trying to harm humanity, so it caused him to doubt himself as a hero before he vowed to start finding non-violent ways to stop monsters if he could, while viewing the act of killing monsters that couldn't be reasoned with as a necessary evil. This show has no such arc and just expects us to ignore all the damage the Sentimonsters have caused since the end of Season 2.

Second, what about the Sentimonsters whose lives have been snuffed out by Mayura, Shadowmoth, and even Ladybug? The writers want us to sympathize with Sentimonsters and believe they get a bad rap? That's fine, but even if we did, what about the ones who were already wiped out of existence? Are we just not going to talk about them? Why should we only value the lives of Felix, Adrien, and Kagami and not any of the other Sentimonsters created in previous episodes? What, because they're not main characters, their lives don't matter?

All in all, everything about the Sentimonster was either poorly thought out or too preachy to take seriously, and Felix is emblematic of those problems with how he and the Sentimonsters are written. Oh right, I forgot Felix had a sidekick too, Kimberly—I mean, Kagami.

Kagami Never Hesitates to Be a Complete Idiot

If you read my overview of Season 4, I sang high praises for how Alya was written. Season 4 managed to take a character I had previously disliked and turn her into one of my favorite characters in the show. Now, with that being said, I want you to imagine the opposite of that happening to a different character, and you have my feelings on Kagami this season.

It's weird how, after she had made it through the past three seasons with her character somewhat intact, the writers decided to give her even more prominence by involving her in two separate arcs this season... and only made her nothing more than a damsel in distress who constantly needed to be saved in both of them. I'm not saying that Kagami should be able to beat the crap out of Monarch with her bare hands, but my point is that Kagami just lost so much agency this season.

When she wasn't being manipulated by Lila (Perfection, Protection), she was playing second fiddle to Felix and acting like he didn't hand over almost every Miraculous in Ladybug's possession to Monarch (Pretension, Representation). It's really strange, considering a defining character trait of hers is her hating liars like Marinette does, since it's why she dumped Adrien, yet here, she gets tangled up in the schemes of two different liars, Lila and Felix. I can at least get Lila (as dumb as her episodes are), since she's supposed to be seen as this master manipulator, but she just brushes all of Felix's crimes aside because he “doesn't know how to express himself”. Because even though she's always been loyal to Ladybug, she has no problem working with one of the only two people to betray her trust. But she loves Felix, so that makes it all okay.

What made Alya's arc last season work was that even though she was primarily Marinette's confidant, we also got episodes showing her struggling to balance her own desires with what needed to be done for the greater good (Optigami, Sentibubbler, Hack-San, Rocketear). She had to step up and become more than just one of the many temp heroes Ladybug called on, someone trustworthy enough to temporarily use the Ladybug Miraculous. Yes, she made bad calls, but when things went south because of her bad decisions, she normally took responsibility for her actions and vowed to do better. With Kagami, we don't get any internal conflict like that at all. She just blindly goes along with whatever Lila and Felix say, and even when bad things happen as a result, she never even thinks to call out either of them other than rarely saying something along the lines of “Hey, not cool.” (Protection, Pretension).

Kagami just doesn't get to do anything on her own terms this season. Her entire arc revolves around following Lila and Felix around like a lost puppy. And just remember, we're seriously supposed to act like Kagami is trustworthy enough to see that her defending Felix from Ladybug is enough to prove that he's a good person deep down... when this same season showed her easily falling for Lila's lies and getting akumatized twice as a result. It's like believing Dr. Nick can perform a life-saving kidney transplant after seeing him botch an open-heart surgery.

Even Kagami figuring out Marinette is Ladybug, something that should be a big deal like with Alya and Luka learning last season, is something we learn through a flashback and is, you guessed it, is only relevant to one of Felix's plans. And yeah, reveal your friend's secret to someone who someone who betrayed her. What could possibly go wrong? Again, when Alya screwed up, she was at least able to admit it to Marinette's face. Kagami never tells Marinette that she knows, and never faces consequences for throwing her lot in with Felix. What's her excuse, that she has too much love in her heart for Felix?

Speaking of which, let's talk about the biggest problem I have with Kagami this season, the way her relationship with Felix is handled. Let me make one thing clear: my problem isn't with people who ship the two together. Much like with the Love Square, my problem is how the show handles this romance. The two had almost no episodes together, and from what little we saw of them interacting, Kagami didn't like him, and for obvious reasons. But then “Pretension” came. Not only did Felix develop feelings for Kagami offscreen, all it took for Kagami to fall for Felix was a single conversation where he showed basic human decency. Yeah, Marinette fell for Adrien for similar reasons, but at least she and him took a while to actually get together. These two shared a handful of conversations, and now they're just made for each other.

The problem with this is that the relationship basically reduces Kagami to Felix's girlfriend and sidekick. All of her major appearances post-“Emotion” were in relation to Felix. She only helps him because of their relationship, and their relationship was the whole reason why Kagami convinced Felix to do what he should have done from the start, tell Ladybug who Monarch was... even though Astruc said this kind of relationship was toxic when discussing Lukloe.

You see, the difference between Lukloe and Feligami is (MAKE UP EXPLANATION LATER AND DON'T ACCIDENTALLY LEAVE THIS SPOT BLANK). And that's why we shouldn't see this as blatant hypocrisy on Astruc's part.

While it's par for the course, given how almost every female character in this show is connected to a male character in some way, the way Kagami is written this season is still part of a bigger problem. Kagami is not everyone's favorite character and not one people fiercely discuss as much as Marinette, Adrien, or even Chloe, but it's still baffling that out of all the characters in this season, Kagami would arguably sustain the most damage out of the entire cast. Given that this is the same season as Nino becoming the braindead leader of the Resistance, Chloe's brief stint as a tyrannical mayor, Nathalie choosing to do nothing about Gabriel until she was about to die, the baffling reveal of who Lila supposedly is (again, more on these later), or... really, a lot of things with both Marinette and Adrien, this is actually saying a lot. If you want to look at it at a particular angle, Kagami's actually a direct victim of practically all of the biggest problems in this season and I've had to mention her a lot more in this analysis than I anticipated. Then again, I suppose that's me showing more care to Kagami as a character than the writers did.

The Story of The Resistance (In Name Only)

I've already gone on about how underdeveloped most of the temp heroes are, so you can imagine the season where they try to help Ladybug without superpowers doesn't really change my opinion of them.

Remember how in episodes like Season 1's “Antibug”, Season 2's “The Dark Owl”, and even this season's “Jubilation” made it clear that trying to be a superhero without a Miraculous or proper training was essentially suicide? You know, how it was better to leave things to the actual superheroes? Well the writers sure didn't, as now we get to see a bunch of idiots try to take on supervillains with paintball guns and whatever they can throw at them. I'm pretty sure the writers put more effort into all the codenames themed after condiments than actually coming up with creative ways to fight Akumas. Because we all know how hilarious (citation needed) the flower codename gag from “Gigantitan” was, so let's do something like that, but for multiple episodes this season.

I'm just going to be blunt here when I say the Resistance this season sucked. Putting aside the fact that the writers couldn't come up with a less generic name or a name that wasn't already taken by the Ox Miraculous' power, this subplot was just so pointless. You have a team of former heroes who want to find a way to help Ladybug and Cat Noir stop Monarch, and rather than do things like pass intel along or find ways to stop people from getting akumatized, they decide to try taking them on themselves with their most powerful weapons being paintball guns. Congratulations, you now have all the equipment you need to take on Bart Simpson in a fight. Sure, they try to pass on intel to Ladybug and Cat Noir in their first episode, “Illusion”, but Nino's plan was so stupid, they ended up helping Monarch in the long term by letting his civilian identity into their team. Oh, I'm sorry, did you forget how Gabriel and Lila were inducted into the Resistance at the end of “Illusion”? It's okay, the writers did too.

And the idea of them passing on intel could have worked, as it would give Marinette a support system to help solve problems she can't figure out on her own, following up on her character arc from Season 4 where she learns to put her trust in people, but like a lot of things this season, the writers got bored halfway through and decided to change up this plotline. Now, they're prepared to fight anyone who gets akumatized. How many Akumas did the Resistance manage to stop completely on their own? One, and it was offscreen (Deflagration).

Trying to make the Resistance seem competent and effective comes at the price of making the villains look like idiots who can't handle a few teenagers without superpowers. Monarbug, someone who managed to unify with the Ladybug Miraculous, lost it thanks to the Resistance dogpiling him. Then, later on, they managed to stop Nightormentor, an akumatized Gabriel, by just throwing stuff at him. Do you have any idea how lame this makes Monarch look? It's like that scene from Robocop 3 where that kid somehow managed to make ED-209 as loyal as a puppy in a matter of seconds. It's not cool to see it happen. It diminishes the threat the formerly menacing villain posed.

The show loves to play up the Resistance as this amazing underground organization Nino is so proud of, but it doesn't work because you can count the number of times they've actually helped out on one hand, and even then, that's being that word Chloe doesn't know the meaning of (Deflagration, Revolution, Representation). Even then, they still fall for Lila's lies which, like Kagami, doesn't help establish any of them as trustworthy. The whole Resistance subplot is basically an excuse to make it seem like the former temp heroes aren't just sitting around, which again, isn't a bad idea, but nothing comes of it. We don't get to see any of them worry that they can't do anything without their Miraculous, we don't see where or when Nino got the idea to form the Resistance, and we don't even get any scenes where the worry about the captured Kwamis. The show just has them all operate under the same goal and makes it seem like they're making a difference when they barely do anything. None of them really feel like characters, and it shows this season.

Nino, despite labeling himself as the brave leader of the Resistance, is anything but. He constantly brags about how effective he is, but not only does he let anyone into his top secret organization without even thinking if they can really be trusted, all of his genius plans amount to, you guessed it, throwing stuff at the brainwashed people with superpowers. He's also so confident that he was awesome as Carapace when all he did was occasionally help Ladybug out with his Shelter, and then whines about not being chosen by Tikki and Plagg when Scarabella and Kitty Noire temporarily take over (Illusion, Deflagration). He's also so poor at gathering intel that not only did he fall for Gabriel's ruse and act like he figured out how the Akumas have Miraculous powers, he didn't even know his best friend was going to London until he got on the plane (Representation). I wasn't kidding when I said Nino was such a terrible leader, he makes Zapp Brannigan look competent by comparison.

And remember when Alya was a major character? Neither does the show! Out of the entire season, she was really only relevant to the plot when she became Scarabella for a few days, and even then, she didn't think that maybe she should take off the Alliance ring that monitors her every move if she's going to be a full-time hero again (Transmission, Deflagration). There is absolutely no follow-up to anything that happened to her in Season 4. She doesn't regret blowing her cover, she doesn't worry over not being able to help Ladybug as Rena Rouge, she doesn't worry about the safety of Trixx, she doesn't even consider the fact that she's not used to going back to full-time hero work after half a season of being undercover as Rena Furtive. At best, the whole thing with Alya exposing her cover to Nino last season gets played off for the sake of a cheap joke (Illusion).

Then there's Zoe. Like Season 4, I can definitely say that out of all the supporting characters, she was certainly one of them. They clearly try to give her these big moments in an attempt to endear her to the audience, like her brief stint as Kitty Noire or her coming out to Marinette, but because of how nonexistent her character development has been, these don't feel earned. I can't buy her friendship with Marinette or anyone else because of how little she appears. Hell, she was specifically introduced to act as a good counterpart to Chloe, and she did nothing to really contribute to her ultimate downfall other than sharing a single conversation during “Revolution”. That's how little the writers care about her, they don't even have her interact with the character she was designed to replace. I take back what I said about her being a Mary Sue way back in my “Sole Crusher” review, because at least those types of characters get plenty of focus in the narrative. All I can really say about Zoe after two seasons is that at least she's more interesting than Socqueline, a character so boring, this is the only time I'm going to mention her in this entire analysis.

And that's it for the Resistance. Only three side characters are actually worth talking about this season. That is how pointless of a group they are.

Chloe’s Arc That, in Case You Forgot, Was Totally Planned From the Start

I really don't know what else to say here. Remember, this entire blog was started because of how upset I was by Astruc's response to criticism of the Season 3 finale, specifically how Chloe's “damnation arc” was claimed to have planned out from the start.

For the sake of argument, let's go over this arc and just what happened with this character over the past eight years. In Season 1, Chloe started out as a standard high school mean girl who used her father's influence to get whatever she wanted, but wasn't that much of a threat compared to Hawkmoth and the Akumas. In Season 2, we got to see a different side to her that started a character arc, showing she was capable of changing and becoming a hero in her own right. In Season 3, while it seemed like Chloe was changing for the better, the finale had her betray Ladybug and go back to being the same mean girl she was before. In Season 4, we were introduced to Chloe's never before seen half-sister, Zoe, who only existed to replace Chloe as the user of the Bee Miraculous, and even though the very same episode where Zoe first got the Bee Miraculous hinted that there was still a chance of Chloe changing, the rest of the season acts like she's always been a menace to society with no redeeming qualities. In Season 5, Chloe was portrayed as a heartless monster who is worse than the main villain of the entire show, is simultaneously smart and cunning enough to bully Marinette in a way that would leave lasting mental scars for a year and also too incompetent to take seriously, and even though the season has made a big deal about how terrible child abuse is, her being sent off to live with her verbally abusive mother is seen as a perfectly suitable punishment for her.

I don't know what's worse, the fact that none of the writers had second thoughts about this character's “arc”, or the fact that Astruc probably thinks he made an antagonist as complex as Lady Macbeth. I also love how, despite all this supposed planning, not once do we get any explanation as to just why Chloe hates Marinette so much other than the fact that one's a rich person and the other is the main character in a cartoon.

Chloe's character was already going in a downward spiral in Season 4, but with Season 5, it feels like the writers just abandoned all attempts to be subtle and were determined to stop people from liking her. Like, it's amazing just how much time was spent hammering the point home. She got more focus as a villain than Lila and even Gabriel. We had about eight episodes this season that featured her in a major antagonistic role: “Determination”, “Deflagration”, “Derision”, “Adoration”, “Revelation”, “Confrontation”, “Collusion”, and “Revolution”. Almost a third of this season is dedicated to showing how evil Chloe is, as if she's somehow worse than people like Gabriel or Tomoe. And that's not even counting episodes where she got a line or two to remind the audience of how bad she is, like “Multiplication”, “Passion”, and “Reunion”.

The weird thing is that even though this was supposed to be the season where Chloe was at her worst, it still seemed like the writers couldn't make up their minds on what they wanted to do with her. For example, let's take a look at her relationship with Monarch. In “Multiplication”, she believed that Ladybug and Cat Noir should just give Monarch what he wants, implying she's still on his side. Then, in “Determination”, she blamed not having the Bee Miraculous on why Monarch was able to win, implying she wants to stop Monarch. And then in “Deflagration”, it's hinted that she once again willingly accepted an Akuma out of a desire to get revenge, implying that she's still on good terms with Monarch. Finally, in “Revolution”, she initially wanted to arrest Monarch when he arrived in her office, and had to be convinced to work with him again. Seriously, this is almost two seasons after she started working with Monarch in the first place. How the hell are the writers not sure if she's working with the villain or not?!

Of course, that's the least of my problems with Chloe this season. One such problem that it seems like the writers specifically went out of their way to ruin the few positive relationships Chloe had just so her fans would have less ground to stand on. Her friendship with Adrien? He finally decided to write her off as irredeemable just as he learned just how miserable she made Marinette (and only Marinette) at the end of “Derision”. Her friendship with Sabrina, as one-sided as it is? She doesn't even see Sabrina as a friend anymore, specifically referring to her as an underling starting with “Adoration”, and then Sabrina turns against her after she finds one specific scheme to be going too far. The sympathy Ms. Bustier had for Chloe, even though it wasn't relevant to her character after “Zombizou”? Chloe basically ignores any attempt made to reach out to her, and we're supposed to act like her wanting to help Chloe get a decent education because it's her job as a teacher is the stupidest idea in the world. Chloe's relationship with her own father? This season decided to make Andre out to be a man mentally broken by the bad treatment he gets from his daughter and totally not a corrupt politician, and outright disowns her in favor of adopting someone who isn't even his biological daughter.

It already felt like Season 4 exaggerated Chloe's negative traits, but now, the show doesn't want anyone to like her in-universe, as if showing basic human decency to her in the first place was off the table. Remember, in “Revelation”, Marinette's speech to Adrien was basically copied and pasted from one of Astruc's tweets, as if this was meant to address anyone who still liked the idea of Chloe changing for the better.

And trust me, I'll get to the characters who actually got redeemed later.

For now, let's talk about the main issue I have with her portrayal: The writers want her to be seen as a threat... but they don't want her to actually be a threat. Almost all of Chloe's appearances this season had her acting as a pawn to either Gabriel or Lila. This season also started to use dumb blonde jokes in order to show how incompetent she is, like having her struggle to understand the concept of the word “generous”, making her out as an idiot. The whole point of the “irredeemable villain” archetype is that the character is usually so big of a threat, there is absolutely no way of talking them down, so they need to be stopped through the use of force. Chloe is far from a threat, which is why all this talk about her being a monster falls flat.

At the end of the day, Chloe is easily at the bottom of the hierarchy of the villains on this show. She has no Miraculous like Gabriel, she has no advanced technology like Tomoe, and she's nowhere near as cunning as Lila is. The problem is that the show wants the audience to see Chloe as if she's the worst of them all. Fine, she may have the most obnoxious personality and least amount of redeeming qualities by the writers' standards, but this is a superhero show. You don't just rank villains on how mean they are, but also by how much of a threat they are to the hero. The moments where we're supposed to take Chloe seriously, the show keeps reminding us that she's only getting as far as she has because she's being used by other villains. It makes the moments where the heroes triumph over her ring hollow.

I'm not even joking here when I say that out of the show's entire rogues' gallery, Chloe is literally the only one who actually gets punished. Sabrina was able to wash their hands of her association with the bully, Andre was more than happy to give up his position as mayor and kidnap Zoe, Tomoe was never even exposed, Lila only faced a minor setback when she was exposed, Nathalie was healed by the wish, and even though he died, Gabriel died a martyr who never actually answered to any of his crimes. But Chloe? As fucked up as it was, she was the only one who received some form of punishment for everything she did. Congratulations, Ladybug and Cat Noir! After five seasons, you finally managed to defeat the Ringo Starr of your rogue's gallery, and all it took was unlocking the full power of your Miraculous.

I was initially angry at the show for just throwing away a character arc and mocking anyone who was interested in it, but now, I'm angry at the show for a different reason. Even if we were to assume that everything about Chloe was planned from the start, that she was supposed to be a fallen hero turned enemy, the show did nothing with it. If you're going to make Chloe a full-blown villain, then go nuts with the idea! Have her dedicate her life to beating Ladybug out of hatred, maybe even through a suit of armor like Princess Morbucks. Instead, this is the writing equivalent of intentionally setting your house on fire, but deciding you don't need the insurance money.

I'm actually going to say something that might sound blasphemous, especially coming from someone who has spent a lot of time talking about Chloe's character assassination, but I'm just going to admit it: I think Chloe should have been the next Hawkmoth, not Lila.

Yes, that's probably what you're thinking, but I'm serious. Think about it. Between her and Lila, who has the closer connection to Marinette as an enemy? Who has a more fleshed out reason to hate Marinette? Who got more focus as a villain this season? Who has more resources at her disposal? Essentially, the show put so much effort into making Chloe out to be Marinette's most personal enemy, that it makes no sense for them to not just go all the way and make her the next big bad. The writers already go on and on about how irredeemable she is, so why not make her an actual threat for a change?

But no. Instead, let's just keep her as comic relief who somehow gets more screentime than almost every other villain this season. That's a good way to tell our story, right?

Now You See That Evil Will Always Triumph Because Good Is Dumb... And So Is Evil, Apparently

This section should be relatively easy for me to get through, since not much has really changed with the villains since Season 4. They're all still idiots even though the show wants us to see them as a threat to the equally idiotic heroes.

Let's start with our only newcomer to the show's rogues' gallery, and definitely the weakest, Tomoe. I'll give the show a lot of credit with the foreshadowing for Tomoe here. Unlike other plotlines where the show bashes you over the head with obvious hints like with the Sentimonster stuff, the hints leading to the reveal of Tomoe being in leagues with Gabriel are far more subtle. They spend a lot of time in Seasons 3 and 4 discussing things offscreen (probably about some version of the Alliance rings), and both of Tomoe's akumatizations happen offscreen as well (since their conversation would give away their alliance). It's handled pretty well... which is more than I can say for Tomoe as a villain.

Tomoe is just such a confusing character, both conceptually and the way she was used this season. She's meant to be Gabriel's new confidant after Nathalie decided to stop being a villain while still mooching off him, but she pretty much does the same things Nathalie does, including the constant nagging about how inefficient he is. She even serves the same role Nathalie served in earlier episodes as Gabriel's technical advisor. Tomoe is basically a second Nathalie, with the only differences being that she's blind and that she wants Kagami to be with Adrien. Of course, this makes no sense because, like I mentioned in the retcon section, Adrien and Kagami tried to keep their relationship secret before their breakup. How could Tomoe not notice this? What is she, blind—oh right...

There's also the issue I have with the way Tomoe's nationality and disability is portrayed here, and how it really highlights how terrible this show is with representation (not to be confused with the episode of the same name). Like with my Sentimonster section, if there's anyone reading this who is disabled or a person of color, and you'd like to say anything about this part or how this show's representation is handled, feel free to voice your opinion or correct me if I get anything wrong.

With Tomoe, it feels like the writers slapped on every Japanese stereotype you could think of and called it a day, because we've seen all of these before. She's dressed in very traditional Japanese attire, is named after a famous Japanese warrior, uses a kendo shinai as a cane instead of a walking stick, is a strict parent to her child who expects the best from her, makes references to Japanese culture like samurai (Pretension) and taiko drums (Protection), is a technological genius, forces her child into an arranged marriage, and uses Japanese honorifics while talking with Gabriel even when they're not speaking Japanese. I'm not saying Japanese people can't talk about their culture at all, but when you're writing a character who happens to be a person of color, you need to do more than make references to their heritage.

With Tomoe, almost everything she says is referencing her heritage, which makes it come across like the writers cared more about her being Japanese than anything else. Because somehow, the writers were worried kids wouldn't pick up on the fact that she's Japanese... when she's wearing something that makes her look like she just stepped off the set of an Akira Kurosawa movie.

But hey, at least they say Tomoe is Japanese. I don't think there's a single indication that she's blind. At most, they give her the stereotypical superpower every blind person in superhero media seems to have, enhanced hearing. Of course, while characters like Daredevil and Toph Beifong have in-universe explanations for how they're able to “see” without their eyes (Daredevil's enhanced senses came from the same chemicals that blinded him in the first place, while Toph learned an advanced Earthbending technique that gave her the ability to sense others through vibrations in the earth), Tomoe just has them because the writers thought it would be cool. I know it might seem strange to say this after I talked about how too much focus was given to Tomoe's Japanese heritage, but you'd think more would be done with her being blind, and how it would factor into her motivation to create a better world through technology or her ideology about self-discipline. Instead, she acts like every other character on this show, to the point where all three times she was akumatized, she got her sight back.

The main problem with Tomoe is how other than her heritage and disability, she has almost no personality other than being a strict mother to Kagami (something that is also a negative Asian stereotype) and her vague ideology about suppressing her emotions. She's basically a female Gabriel, and because she's a woman in this show, lacks any depth or redeeming qualities. There just wasn't enough time to really develop Tomoe as a character in the same season she was revealed to be a villain. Sure, they try to hint at her having history with Gabriel, but that never goes anywhere, and we never even learn just why she's working with him in the first place other than some vague desire to make the world more technologically advanced in spite of also being a traditionalist who loves honoring old beliefs. Just remember, Chloe got eight focus episodes as a villain this season, yet Tomoe only got one.

Now for Lila, the most competent of the villains... by comparison. The show clearly wants her to be seen as a master manipulator in the same vein as David Xanatos from Gargoyles, but how they show it is just poorly executed. Sure, sometimes she would get ahead in clever ways during episodes like “Illusion” and “Revelation”, but other than that, a good chunk of her plans rely on contrivances that we're supposed to see as part of her plan when she would have no idea if it would actually happen or not. In fact, let's go over all the things Lila did during her last five episodes of the season and see how her master plan played out.

Step 1: Revelation – Convince Ms. Bustier to hold another election for class representative, lie your ass off to get the position while making it seem like you rejected an Akuma, and win the election.

Step 2: Confrontation – Tamper with confidential school documents while hoping your enemy doesn't plan anything to stop you, and if your plan falls through, abandon your identity entirely and hope nobody ever tries to look for you.

Step 3: Collusion – Convince your pawn to record a conversation between the mayor and the man you somehow know is Monarch and then after the conversation leads to an Akuma forcing him out of office, tell your pawn to accept an offer from Monarch's civilian identity that you somehow knew he'd make, leading to your pawn becoming the new mayor by force who everyone is too stupid to even think of opposing.

Step 4: Revolution – Tell your pawn to take an offer from the same supervillain she's willingly worked with before, watch her go mad with power and assume that Ladybug and Cat Noir will defeat her, and then in the chaos from her defeat, assume that one of Monarch's associates will randomly leave her computer behind for you to use.

Step 5: Re-Creation – Develop an immunity to magical nightmare dust, hack into the heavily-guarded mansion you know where Monarch lives while the city is being swarmed with supersoldiers, hope you don't run into Monarch or any heroes trying to stop him on the way there, take the hole created by a Cataclysm you know would be there, assume that Monarch will lose, and seize his Miraculous from the ruins of his lair that you somehow know how to navigate after surviving all of reality being rebooted.

General Patton, eat your heart out. I think we all know who the real tactical genius is here.

Seriously, how the hell did she even know half of the stuff involving Gabriel and Tomoe would happen? Yeah, she had Tomoe's laptop after the events of “Revolution”, but she didn't see how their final fight would play out. You could also argue that we technically never saw her go into Monarch's lair during the final battle (all we got was a shot of her looking down into the hole Bug Noire created with her Cataclysm), but why didn't she go down if she disguised herself to infiltrate Monarch's lair? Was she just scoping out the area? Was her entire plan just to steal Monarch's Miraculous? There were so many ways this could have blown up in her face, so let's go over all of them, shall we?

What if Ms. Bustier didn't agree to hold a reelection for class representative?

What if Marinette won the reelection anyway?

What if Lila wasn't able to escape during the chaos caused by Monarch's Megakuma targeting Mr. Damocles?

What if the school managed to contact one of Lila's moms and tell her about what her “daughter” did?

What if Chloe wasn't able to record the full conversation between Gabriel and Andre?

What if Andre agreed to use the police robots without any manipulation?

What if Miss Sans-Culotte wasn't able to get Andre to resign?

What if Andre did resign, but managed to appoint a interim mayor until the next election?

What if Chloe didn't accept Gabriel's offer?

What if Chloe didn't accept Monarch's offer?

What if Chloe managed to arrest Monarch with her robots and got all of the Miraculous herself?

What if the French military was sent to stop Chloe's abuse of power?

What if Ladybug and Cat Noir weren't able to stop Chloe and lost their Miraculous to Monarch?

What if Chloe double-crossed both Lila and Monarch and managed to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous herself?

What if Tomoe didn't carelessly leave her laptop behind during the final battle with Chloe and her robots?

What if Tomoe realized she lost her laptop and sent someone to track it down?

What if Tomoe installed a kill switch on her laptop to make sure nobody would be able to do anything with it in the event it got stolen

What if Ladybug didn't learn Monarch's identity?

What if Lila fell victim to Nightormentor's nightmare dust?

What if Lila was attacked by some of the Miraculized before she could make it to the Agreste Mansion?

What if Gabriel caught Lila while she was attempting to sneak in?

What if Ladybug caught Lila while she was attempting to sneak in?

What if Nathalie caught Lila while she was attempting to sneak in?

What if the Gorilla caught Lila while she was attempting to sneak in?

What if some of the Miraculized caught Lila while she was attempting to sneak in?

What if Lila got caught in the crossfire during the final battle between Bug Noire and Monarch?

What if Bug Noire didn't Cataclysm the floor and beat Monarch at the entrance of the mansion?

What if Bug Noire wasn't able to defeat Monarch?

What if Ladybug managed to find the Butterfly Miraculous before she did?

What if Ladybug caught her while she was trying to find the Butterfly Miraculous?

Do you see why I only think Lila is the most competent villain by comparison? A good chunk of Lila's “plan” amounted to her waltzing over and reaping the benefits from every coincidence she's around to see. And she's supposed to be this criminal mastermind who thought this all out from the beginning?

Lila's planning makes about as much sense as her motivation. Why does she hate Marinette and Ladybug? They both called her out on her lies back in Season 1 and 3 respectively (Volpina, Chameleon). That's it. This is enough for Lila to want to become a supervillain and terrorize Paris. I get that the idea is to contrast with the more noble goal Gabriel had as a supervillain, but you need to give more of an explanation if you want the audience to care about Lila becoming the next Hawkmoth.

At the very least, if the writers wanted to build intrigue about Lila, have this be the season where she first appears. Build her up as this mysterious new girl who wins over Gabriel's trust, only she has an agenda of her own. By having most of her appearances be this season, it's more obvious that she has a bigger role to play, and would eventually become the next Hawkmoth. Instead, it seems like the writers put a bunch of names on a dartboard, Lila's name was the closest to the first dart they threw, and that's how they decided who Ladybug's next arch-enemy would be. And once again, Lila hasn't even touched a Miraculous in five seasons, yet we're supposed to believe that with the help of that vague glowing light she saw as soon as the first put on the Butterfly Miraculous, she'll be able to take on eighteen superheroes who have plenty of experience fighting Akumas?

Speaking of, let's get into the final main villain, Gabriel. Compared to the others, he had a pretty decent start. He felt a lot smarter than he usually did, like how he used his influence to market the Alliance rings in order to boost his Akumas' powers, or once again trick Ladybug and Cat Noir into thinking he isn't Monarch. He even managed to outsmart Scarabella and Kitty Noire by using the Alliance rings to learn their identities, and almost got their Miraculous as a result. For the most part, Gabriel was a pretty clever villain who capitalized on every screwup the heroes made, and actually came across as a threat... that is, until “Protection”.

Starting with “Protection”, Gabriel decided that even though he has only a few weeks to live at best, he needs to focus more on meddling in his son's love life instead of getting Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous in order to save his wife. It comes across like he cares more about stopping Marinette than he does stopping Ladybug in the latter half of the season. Hell, Gabriel doesn't even set up any plans for what would happen to Adrien if he died despite once again claiming to be doing everything for his family. Also, for some reason, he really wants Adrien and Kagami to stay together and become a couple for reasons that I can only assume is because of some kind of social commentary on the rich. Is Gabriel trying to start a eugenics program? Is this how Khan was born?

The abrupt detour Gabriel's motivations take is connected to one of the bigger problems with this season: How Gabriel's Cataclysm wound is handled. We're supposed to sympathize with Gabriel and how his days are numbered thanks to what happened, all while he's desperate to achieve his goal... when not only did Gabriel Cataclysm himself at the beginning of the season, he almost never brings up his wound until the writers want to add unnecessary drama to the story. At most, he'll either flinch in pain a little because of the wound (Elation, Perfection, Intuition, Protection, Emotion, Confrontation), or show his purple hand to show how serious it's gotten while saying he doesn't have much time left (Passion, Pretension, Revelation, Collusion, Conformation). At least, we're supposed to see it as serious, as the injury never really gets in the way of his plans.

Rather than a painful injury that's slowly killing him, the show treats Gabriel's injury with the seriousness of a sprained ankle. Yeah, it's painful, but nothing serious. Aside from one episode (Intuition), we don't see Gabriel struggle that much with his deteriorating health or how it gets in the way of his plans. Compare this to how Nathalie's condition has been portrayed. As Season 3 progressed, Nathalie got weaker to the point of forcing Gabriel to abort his second outing as Scarletmoth (Ladybug), she became so sick, she had to be benched as Mayura by the end of Season 3, and needed cybernetic crutches just to help her walk during Seasons 4 and 5. While I criticized her sudden wrinkled appearance by the events of “Representation”, the show still made it clear that Nathalie was struggling to go about her everyday life over the course of the last three seasons. As for Gabriel, whose condition is supposedly more serious to the point where not even the Ladybug Miraculous can heal it? At most, it's less something influencing his belief that he has nothing left to lose, and more a mild injury at best.

Another problem I have with Gabriel is the same one I have with Tomoe and Lila: The lack of a proper backstory. Yes, we know the basics of it (his wife is comatose and/or dead, so he became a supervillain to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous and save her), but we know nothing about his life before that. Thanks to “Revelation”, the most we get is that before he became a fashion designer who took an interest in discovering the Miraculous, he used to work in fast food like Skeet from Jimmy Neutron. Hell, the two even have similar haircuts.

Whether Gabriel knows the difference between salt and sodium chloride is still up for debate.

The show wants to say that Gabriel used to be different, but we don't get to see that side to him. If you want to say Gabriel used to be nicer, then give us a flashback to show how much Emilie's death affected him. That way, it would also give the scene in the finale where he breaks down have more weight to it, as it would show him letting down his emotional defenses.

Also, why was Gabriel so interested in the Miraculous in the first place if he found the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous before Emilie got sick? The show establishes that Gabriel went exploring with Emilie and Nathalie, but why? What were they looking for? How did this lead to them getting into fashion? How did Gabriel and Emilie get so rich if Amelie inherited the Graham de Vanily fortune? This was the season that was supposed to wrap up the storyline regarding the Agreste family drama, yet we still know so little about them or how Gabriel and Emilie even met.

Finally, let's get to the Akumas. The season makes a huge deal about how dangerous Gabriel is now that he has almost every other Miraculous at his disposal, how hard the battle against him will become. How do the Akumas reflect that idea? Very poorly. Twelve of the season's Akumas were reused models (Ikari Gozen in “Multiplication”, Darker Owl in “Jubilation”, the Collector in “Illusion”, Glaciator in “Elation”, Sole Destroyer in “Deflagration”, Dark Humor in “Derision”, Riposte Prime in “Protection”, Vanisher in “Adoration”, Matagi Gozen in “Pretension”, Hoaxer in “Revelation”, Reflekta in “Confrontation”, and Nightormentor in “Representation”), and only ten of them were original (Manipula in “Determination”, Safari in Passion, Kikou in “Transmission”, Ryukomori in “Perfection”, Gold Record in “Migration”, Bugfighter in “Intuition”, Miss Sans-Culotte in “Collusion”, Queen Mayor in “Revolution”, King of Plastic in “Action”, and the Miraculized in “The Final Day”). I've also gone over this several times, but despite the main gimmick being that the Akumas have Miraculous powers now, the show never really explains why Monarch can't just give them those kind of powers himself, especially when he could easily recreate Miraculous powers as far back as Season 1 (Copycat, Antibug, Volpina).

Most of the Miraculous powers didn't actually feel like upgrades and just excuses to recycle Akumas on the basis of acting like they have new powers when it's almost always just giving them the same old powers. Either that, or with the new Akumas, they'll just make it so their only powers are related to their Miraculous powers, like Safari getting all of her gear thanks to the Goat Miraculous' Genesis, Kikou and Ryukomori's only abilities being related to their respective Miraculous powers, or Queen Mayor getting the power to control robots with multiple Miraculous powers. There were exceptions like Manipula getting the Ox Miraculous' Resistance as an added precaution, or Vanisher mixing her stealth with the Dog Miraculous' Fetch, but they were few and far between.

Overall, almost every villain this season was just so underwhelming. While the Akumas were once again mostly reused character models, we learned almost nothing about the villains other than the fact that they're idiots. Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot the fact that by the show's logic, almost all of the villains aren't really villains. Let's talk about how the show handles redemption arcs now.

The Redemption Misconception or: The Power of Love Always So Strong?

While younger readers might not understand this, there was once a time on the internet where one of the most debated shows was Steven Universe, and mainly for one reason: How it handled the topic of redemption. Pretty much every major antagonist had changed their ways by the end of the show, including Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, the Cluster, Bismuth, Spinel, Jasper, and even the Diamonds. While the quality of each of these redemption arcs varies from character to character, as is the moral status of each character, there's one thing I can say about how the show got the moral about redemption across: It was consistent. Aside from one or two characters like Eyeball or Aquamarine (who were more ignorant than anything else), there was never a case about someone being physically incapable of changing their ways, which tied into the overall theme of how important compassion is. With the way Miraculous Ladybug handles its redemption arcs, I unfortunately can't say it does it the same way Steven Universe does.

Pretty much every major villain, antagonist, or associate in the show gets a redemption of some kind. This includes Nathalie, Felix, Sabrina, Andre, and even Gabriel, while Chloe, Lila, and Tomoe are all viewed as beyond saving. The problem is rather than actually acknowledge the things any of them did as wrong before they start to change their ways, pretty much every “redemption” in this show amounts to downplaying their crimes. If the writers don't retcon the story so characters like Nathalie, Sabrina, and Andre were forced to help a greater threat instead of being willing accomplices, they'll retcon the story so characters like Felix and Gabriel were perfectly justified in their actions due to having a tragic backstory. Yes, while the point of a redemption arc is to have a former antagonist realize the error of their ways and turn a new leaf, it doesn't mean that the character who goes through this arc was never bad in the first place.

Like a lot of problems with this show, this is obviously contradicted by the way it handles Chloe. Any argument made on why every villain who was redeemed this season was stated to not apply to Chloe for some reason.

“Felix is a victim of child abuse and has a lot of emotional baggage!” Funny, because I remember in “Derision”, Mylene made a point about Chloe having a deadbeat parent not being enough to justify her actions, so by that logic, Felix shouldn't be getting away with anything.

“Sabrina and Andre were being forced to go along with Chloe's evil plans, so it's not their fault!” Chloe was also a pawn in Gabriel and Lila's schemes, yet we're still supposed to see her as evil. “But she still went along with Lila's plan!” By that logic, so did Sabrina and Andre, since they still listened to Chloe for a while instead of distancing themselves from her far earlier than they did.

“Gabriel and Nathalie are doing everything they can to help Adrien while they're both in poor health! Chloe didn't actually care about Adrien!” Sure, it's clear that (according to the retcons in Season 4), Chloe only cared about Adrien as a meal ticket, you can't say Gabriel and Nathalie care about Adrien either, since one is an abusive parent and the other did nothing to actually stop the abuse. Also, why should I feel bad for either of them when they routinely endanger lives and are only on death's door because of their own terrible choices?

I'm not saying that the show doesn't make decent points about why Chloe can't be redeemed. The issue is that these rules are never applied to anyone else who does get redeemed. The show tries to use characters like Chloe and Lila as a cautionary tale about how easy it is for your kindness to be taken advantage of, yet we never get any examples of compassion being a key factor in any major redemption this season.

Pretty much every villain who changes their ways only does so out of self-interest. Nathalie was fed up with Gabriel's constant failures and her own declining health, Felix only cared about doing things that would benefit himself like hooking up with Kagami, Andre was more than happy to resign even though he was forced to do so by an Akuma, Sabrina chose to stop helping Chloe after one particular plan goes too far (without actually apologizing for all the times she still went along with Chloe's schemes, no less), and Gabriel only stopped trying to hurt people once he got exactly what he wanted and died a martyr.

For a show with the lyrics “The power of love always so strong!”, why do we never actually see the power of love in action? And it's not just them. Whenever a character shows some form of compassion for an enemy, it's usually met with a dismissive attitude or fails miserably, and if it's not that, it's all lie to trick someone else.

In “Illusion”, Gabriel's plan to throw off suspicion that he's Monarch involves pretending to let Ladybug and Cat Noir get through to him.

In “Derision”, Rose pointed out Chloe's relationship with her mother as an excuse for why she's so mean, only for Mylene to argue against that despite being in a different boat than Chloe is.

In “Revelation”, Lila kept lying about having a caring attitude and believing that anyone can change, which was obviously meant to mock anyone who had that kind of viewpoint.

In “Collusion”, Ms. Bustier tries to reach out to Chloe after everything she's done, only to lose her job as a result.

In “Re-Creation”, the whole reason Bug Noire manages to beat Monarch was by putting him in a situation that would take advantage of his compassion for his wife, and later on, Gabriel manages to get the upper hand by taking advantage of Marinette's own compassion for him.

For a magical girl show, these writers are really terrible at teaching the lesson about showing kindness to your enemies, because more often than not, it's just violence that solves everything. Just ask the citizens of Paris in “Revolution”.

It doesn't help that the morality in this show isn't a complicated spectrum that weighs every action a character does and allows for other stances besides good or evil. Instead, it's like a light switch with two settings: “So good, you volunteer at the local children's hospital” and “So bad, you voluntarily send children to the hospital”. Characters in this show are either good or bad, and there's no room for in-between. Even when characters supposedly do change their ways, the show goes out of its way to claim that this is what they've always been like, which completely undermines the idea of what a redemption arc sets out to accomplish.

The thing is that I've actually seen examples of “Character X was only doing bad things as part of their plan!” and “Character X was only forced to do bad things for the villain!” done with one character, and it was a very recent example too. In the recently concluded Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger, one of the major villains was a tyrant named Racules, who took advantage of several monster attacks to secure more power for his kingdom, but later on, it's revealed he had a reason to do so. Long story short, Racules was the latest in a long line of rulers who was essentially blackmailed into carrying out a war by an immortal being from space named Dagded. However, Racules had a plan to secretly find a way to kill Dadged, and it involved playing along by pretending to be a heartless tyrant. By playing up his persona of a villain, not only did Racules drive his brother Gira (who was revealed to be an immortal creation of Dadged) to gain the weapons necessary to fight Dadged, Dagded trusted Racules so much, he decided to give him the power to kill an immortal. Guess who Racules chooses to kill as soon as he gets that ability.

While the reveal that Racules was good all along happened very late into the series, it worked far better than any redemption in this entire show for one reason: Racules isn't let off the hook for what he did. Everyone, Racules included, acknowledges that he did terrible things for years, and as soon as the situation is resolved, Racules is imprisoned for his crimes. Racules even admits to going mad with power at one point before he focused on his goal again, and he doesn't complain while he's in prison.

We never get any moments like this with the other redeemed characters. Nobody ever acknowledges that they went too far. They do one or two good things, and therefore, they're perfectly okay in Marinette's eyes.

Like a lot of topics it covers, this show wants to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to redemption. It wants to show characters changing their ways, but it doesn't want to actually hold those characters accountable for their actions. It wants to explain that not everyone can be redeemed, but it doesn't want to explain what causes people to want to redeem themselves. It wants to have an idealistic view of solving problems with compassion, yet it goes out of its way to mock those with that same ideology while claiming that violence is the only answer.

Maybe if Astruc spent less time arguing with people on Twitter over the concept of redemption, he and his team could have put more effort into fleshing out the all of the half-baked redemption arcs this season.

Adrienette Is Finally Canon! The Love Square? What’s That?

Well, it finally happened. After seven years, five months, fourteen days, 115 episodes and three specials since the show originally premiered in France on October 19th, 2015, Marinette and Adrien have finally gotten together for real. No cop-outs, no reset button, no misunderstandings, this is real. Credit where credit is due, the writers could have easily kept stalling and wait until the very end of the season for Marinette and Adrien to get together and called it a day, but they gave us over half a season of them in an actual relationship. Unfortunately, this also meant the writers had to rush the development of the relationship in order for Adrienette to become official in the first place.

Like a lot of stuff in the first half of this season, the writers pretty much speedran through the plotlines building up to Marinette and Adrien getting together. During the course of a mere eight episodes, we got a plotline about Marinette feeling guilty for letting her feelings for Adrien make her screw up, a plotline where Adrien realizes he has feelings for Marinette, a plotline where Marinette falls in love with Cat Noir, a plotline where Adrien stops having feelings for Ladybug, and finally, a plotline where Marinette stops having feelings for Cat Noir. These are all plotlines that we should have gotten over the course of the past four seasons, but instead, the writers are just cramming them all into less than a dozen episodes.

Considering how this was meant to be the final season originally, you can tell the writers realized they actually had to actually resolve the “Will they or won't they?” plotline instead of just padding things out like they normally do. But that's the problem. This was something fans, shippers, and general audiences were told to look forward to for years. Keep in mind, one of the biggest arguments you could make for just why the writers waited until Season 5 for Marinette and Adrien to officially get together was because they had something HUGE planned. This is a big deal for the show, something you can't take too lightly. If Astruc and the other writers were so intent on hyping up Adrienette for over four seasons to the point of showing two alternate timelines where they get together to tide viewers over, they needed to make sure they had a payoff so incredible, so satisfying, that their audiences would see it as more than worth the wait.

Just how was the big moment where Marinette and Adrien officially got together this season after so many years of buildup?

To be perfectly honest with you, I had absolutely no goddamn idea that the end of “Transmission” was meant to signify them finally starting a relationship. It just felt like the writers were doing the same thing about them being friends with a hint of something more on the horizon, but then the opening of “Deflagration” made it clear that here was major progress made in their relationship, though Marinette denied it due to her own anxiety, and by “Perfection”, it's confirmed that the two are dating. I just... really? This is how the two finally get together? It just... happens? No big dramatic confession? No romantic first date building up to this? Not even a kiss? The two talk for a few minutes, watch an Akuma fight, and now they're an item. Are you kidding me? Sure, most of the big moments in their relationship are saved for after they get together, but there's the problem: the writers half-ass the moment where Marinette and Adrien get together! It's more or less an afterthought in a two-parter involving a battle with Monarch where nothing was really accomplished.

You'd think for all the uncertainty Marinette felt over her feelings for Adrien this season, them getting together would be seen as a big moment, but it just doesn't for some reason. While you could argue it's a lesson in your fear of confessing being harder than the act itself, not much attention is given to Marinette growing closer with Adrien, because, for some reason, the writers decided to hold off the love confession and the first kiss for far later in the season (Pretension, Revolution). That's right, even after Marinette and Adrien finally get together, the show still needs to find a way to draw out the development of Adrienette.

I don't get it. Why couldn't the confession and kiss be what cements Adrienette, so more focus could be given to other plots? You can't say the “Will they or won't they?” stuff is the only draw to Adrienette, because there are plenty of plots you could write now that Marinette and Adrien are together. You could have an episode where Marinette invites Adrien over to breakfast with her parents in a follow-up to “Weredad”. You could have an episode where Marinette and Adrien try to go out on a perfect first date, only to struggle to balance their superhero lives getting in the way. You could have an episode where both Marinette and Adrien worry they're not good enough for each other, only for them to realize they love each other for who they really are. You could have an episode where Marinette and Adrien finally get closure on their former relationships with Luka and Kagami respectively. There were plenty of options for stories here, yet rather than do literally anything like that, not only did the writers drag out Marinette and Adrien's first kiss, they had the main villain take a break from trying to get the Miraculous to focus on breaking up the two.

As I mentioned earlier, we get a new arc all about Gabriel trying to break up Marinette and Adrien so Adrien can start dating Kagami again. Now I know what you're probably thinking: “IOTA, wasn't it implied that while Adrien and Kagami were dating, they were keeping their relationship a secret from their parents? Why are their parents suddenly obsessed with them getting together?” Well, you see, the answer to that is... that I have no answer because this makes no sense and is yet another excuse for a story arc that is somehow relevant to the overall plot. It's because of Gabriel's irrational hatred of Adrienette that Adrien is sent to London, and as a result, is absent from the final battle.

The sad thing is that I honestly thought Marinette and Adrien had some cute moments as a couple this season and had some believable chemistry. It's nothing groundbreaking, and there are plenty of flaws that I'll get to later, but for all intents and purposes, they still made a decent couple. It's just too bad that everyone else won't shut up about how amazing they are together. When their friends aren't trying to set up these cinematic scenarios for Marinette and Adrien that keep failing (Perfection, Protection,), they're gushing over how amazing of a couple the two are (Transmission, Deflagration, Revelation). At best, it comes across as the writers saying “How do you do, fellow shippers?”, and at worst, it comes across as the writers taking a victory lap while treating Adrienette as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Adrienette just dominated the latter half of this season, and it really got in the way of the overall story regarding the conflict with Monarch. What's that? You're saying I forgot something, like the other three sides of the Love Square. Ah, good eye, my friend.

SO DID THE FUCKING SHOW.

For the thing that got a lot of people interested in the show in the first place, the rest of the Love Square is criminally underutilized this season. Marinette randomly develops feelings for Cat Noir for a handful of episodes, Cat Noir randomly moves on from Ladybug, and I don't think we even got a single Ladrien scene this season. It really felt like the writers realized this was meant to be the last season, so not only did they have to get Marinette and Adrien together as quickly as they could, they also had to acknowledge the other sides of the Love Square. Of course, they did that without actually doing an identity reveal.

There are theories that the reveal was going to happen this season with how much Marinette and Adrien only talked about each other and not their superhero partners (implying they both knew who the other was), but the writers changed it at the last minute because they got renewed for more seasons. I suppose it makes in a meta sense, but what about the in-universe explanation? What's stopping Ladybug and Cat Noir from learning each other's identities when literally every other hero in Paris can get their Miraculous back, even the ones who had their identities discovered? Were the writers so uncertain if people would still watch the show if there wasn't any mystery in Marinette and Adrien's relationship? What exactly is there left to explore with the Love Square when Adrienette is canon, while Ladynoir, Marichat, and Ladrien are all dead in the water?

Like a lot of things this season, the handling of the Love Square started off strong and gradually petered out to the point where I just don't care anymore. I started this season assuming the reveal would actually happen, but of course, the writers just won't let this subplot die already.

Adrien Who?

While I don't really have a lot of bad things to say about Adrien compared to last season, this is unfortunately part of the bigger problem with how he was handled this season.

Like I said earlier, it seemed like the writers actually learned from their mistakes last seasons with how Adrien was written during the earlier episodes last season. He stopped whining about how he was totally important and started pulling his weight in battle. He was very active in fighting Akumas and actually felt like an equal to Ladybug. Yeah, Ladybug still called the shots, but the two stopped bickering over stupid things and had more conversations about other things. It didn't matter if they were more casual chats about their lives (Perfection) or discussions on the enemy's plans (Intuition, Revolution).

The problem, like a lot of things this season now that I think about it, comes in the second half. Remember how last season made a big deal about how wrong it was to leave Adrien out of the loop with so many secrets? Once again, the writers seemed to have forgotten this major story arc that they wrote themselves. Now, not only does Gabriel crack down on his horrific treatment of Adrien through his ring, not only does Adrien's character regress to being nothing more than Marinette's trophy boyfriend, by the end of the season, Adrien is literally reduced to a damsel in distress who needs to be saved, instead of, you know, A SUPERHERO. And remember, the writers were very proud of how this was planned for almost a decade, all because they got to supposedly subvert fairy tale tropes.

I feel like this whole “Save Adrien” plotline could have worked if Adrien wasn't already a superhero, and was just a civilian Marinette knew. Yeah, it would still be using an overdone trope, but at least if that happened, Adrien would have an excuse to not be able to fight back as opposed to the several he made during the finale. Instead, for the majority of the season's second half, Adrien takes a backseat to a major story arc revolving around his family and isn't even given proper closure by the end.

“But IOTA!” You might say. “The show's called Miraculous Ladybug, not Miraculous Cat Noir! Of course Ladybug has to save the day! She's the main character!” That may be true, voice in my head, but here's the thing: If Adrien wasn't going to be part of the final battle, why wasn't this about Marinette's family? Why not make Monarch Tom or Sabine trying to bring back their spouse? Marinette is the main character, yes, but so much of the backstory in this show is connected to Adrien's family. The show tries to connect Marinette to this through her relationship with Adrien, but with how often she and Gabriel fight over what's best for him, Adrien kind of just sits around, not protesting against his father in the slightest. I'm not saying Adrien should be the main character. I'm saying that Marinette should be tied more into the story if you were going to base a lot of the drama on her perspective during the final battle. It's almost like making it so Adrien physically can't rebel against his father was a stupid way to keep him out of the conflict.

Why the hell couldn't we have gotten a scene where Adrien's connection to Gabriel was broken? There were plenty of options the writers could have used. You could have had Nathalie steal the other ring back from Gabriel to give to Adrien, have Argos use the Peacock Miraculous' powers to override Gabriel's commands, or have Adrien unlock a new form of Cataclysm that severs the bond with his Amok. And that's not even getting into the excuses the show made for why he can't get involved, because God forbid one of the two main characters in the show's title get to take part in the final battle.

In fact, I'm pretty sure this is why Felix was introduced, to do the things Adrien should be doing. Felix is the one who has a vendetta against Gabriel, a deeper connection with Kagami, knowledge that he's a Sentimonster, and an overall influence in the plot. The writers are so obsessed with coddling Adrien that they created an entirely different character to fill in a role for him, and Felix wasn't even in the final battle. And just remember, Adrien was originally created to replace Felix in the story, so Felix taking over Adrien's role as the character who helps advance the plot makes even less sense.

Even if the final battle is meant to be over Adrien, it comes across less like Marinette and Gabriel are fighting over his freedom and more who gets to control him. Gabriel doesn't use his wish to free Adrien from the shackles of the rings. He just gives Marinette the rings and hopes she won't do the same kind of things he did with the rings. Nothing changed over Adrien's treatment except who gets the keys.

It'd be one thing if Adrien at least chose Marinette over his father, but Adrien isn't even allowed to know the full story on anything, not even the Sentimonster stuff. Okay, putting aside the fact that Adrien has lots of friends and family to help him cope with this, maybe I can buy not telling him about Gabriel. Not telling him he's a Sentimonster is something I can't excuse. This is like not wanting to tell someone they have diabetes and hoping they know how to use their own insulin while they're downing Pepsi after Pepsi. It's not just a matter of hurting Adrien's feelings. His fucking life depends on those rings. He should obviously know to keep them safe and not trade them for magic beans or something stupid like that.

But the biggest problem with Adrien this season is how it goes against everything the show has said about him and his relationship with Marinette/Ladybug the last four seasons, and especially Season 4.

For the past four seasons, the show has loved to say that no matter what happens, Ladybug and Cat Noir will always be here for the other, even against the world. Put aside how unlikable Adrien was last season, that was the ultimate lesson, about the two reaffirming their bond. And yet, here we are in the Season 5 finale, when literally the entire world is against Ladybug and Cat Noir, and Cat Noir is nowhere to be seen.

One of the main reasons why Adrien jumped at the chance to be a superhero was the freedom it gave him from his restrictive lifestyle, and how it led to him making more friends at school. And that very same story ends with Adrien admitting it's a good thing for him to stay inside and never acknowledge the fact that his father was kind of a dick. Remember, this was planned in advance for YEARS, and absolutely nobody thought it contradicted one of the most important aspects of Adrien's character: his desire for freedom. Now the same person who would demand to not be kept in the dark about so many things (Lady Wifi, Syren, Lies, Sentibubbler, Rocketear, Risk) is now sitting around like a coward while everyone else saves the world instead.

I still think Adrien was at his worst in Season 4, with how much of an whiny and insufferable idiot he could be, but Adrien in Season 5 is a close second. Yes, I wanted him to stop acting out and demanding that the world cater to his every whim, but I also wanted him to prove he was as valuable as he says. The first half of this season seemed to understand this kind of criticism and reminded the audience that Cat Noir was still useful, but when the actual story kicked in, the writers were so determined to keep the secret identity bullshit going, Adrien somehow got less focus as a hero than the Resistance, a group of temp heroes who actually lost their Miraculous. And consider the fact that this season wrapped up the drama with the Agreste family, so for all we know, Adrien will get even less screentime next season.

If Adrien is supposed to be an invaluable ally to Ladybug, then why doesn't the writing accurately reflect it?

The Problem With the Biggest Idiot of Season 5: Moronette, “Of Course I Know What I’m Doing!” Royal-Pain, AKA, Ladydumb

You know, it's funny. I kept defending Marinette when the writing kept making her out to be a terrible hero last season while Adrien got by without a single criticism, to the point where I considered Adrien to be the worst part of the entire season. Oh, how the tables have turned with dear old Marinette, as the season that chose not to criticize every single action she took is when she's arguably at her worst.

You have to wonder if the writers finally realized how much crap they put Marinette through over the last few seasons by having her always forcing her to learn some contrived lesson and were like, “Oh yeah, she's supposed to be someone the audience is supposed to root for.” Unfortunately, they went way too far in the other direction with how they handled Marinette.

The way Marinette was written this season felt eerily similar to what happened with Adrien last season. Suddenly, her personal drama is of the utmost importance (Determination, Passion, Reunion, Elation, The Kwamis' Choice, Perfection, Migration, Derision, Adoration, Pretension, Representation), she's making incredibly stupid decisions in battle (Evolution, Destruction, Determination, Pretension), she becomes the moral compass of the show who lectures others on what to do (Revelation, Confrontation, Collusion, Revolution), and she's never really called out for her actions by the other characters despite how often she makes things worse.

So much of the first half of this season is the exact same crap over and over again. Marinette complains about how hard things are for her and her conflicting feelings for Adrien. I wouldn't really mind something like this if it wasn't for two things.

First, there's no real arc involved with this. Marinette keeps complaining about her love life, and she never really learns anything from it. She doesn't even get to confess to Adrien and show her growing as a character. Adrien confesses to her, and bam, the two are a couple now. Glad to see all the discussions about Marinette's anxiety was completely pointless since she doesn't get to be the one to really confront her inner demons. Well, there was one time in “Derision”, and we all know how well that turned out, right?

Second, more often than not, it seems like Marinette is prioritizing her personal life over the situation with Monarch. You know, the guy who has access to fourteen different Miraculous? After you only managed to get one back? I'd understand if we got this kind of arc in the earlier seasons, but by doing this, you're undermining the current threat Monarch poses. She's even willing to give up being a superhero if it means being with Adrien. That is how important her love life is to her. She's willing to let Tikki force the responsibility onto someone else if it means she can be happy. Of course, this isn't too surprising, as Astruc once said that the show is supposed to focus primarily on romance, not superhero action.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES.

Just like with Adrien last season, the show seems to care more about Marinette's personal issues at the expense of other characters. Do you want to know how many episodes this season focused on Marinette's love life in some way? EIGHTEEN (Multiplication, Jubilation, Determination, Passion, Reunion, Elation, Transmission, Deflagration, Perfection, Derision, Protection, Adoration, Emotion, Pretension, Revolution, Representation, Conformation, Re-Creation). Literally two-thirds of the season includes Love Square drama. Even if you want to be generous and count both two-parters as single episodes, that's still more than half the season. This is yet another problem with waiting until what was originally supposed to be the last season to resolve your plot. You need to force all of this development through almost every episode until people get tired of it.

Because of this, Marinette basically took over the narrative of Season 5. Almost every major conflict revolved around her, even the stuff with Adrien. Rather than make a story about Marinette and Adrien working together to break free from Gabriel's influence, Marinette is the one who has to do the heavy lifting and save Adrien herself. I've already talked about this with Adrien, but it bears repeating, as this is same issue I had with Season 4. Just like how Adrien got more focus during a story arc that should have been about Marinette last season, Marinette is now getting more focus during a story arc that should have been about Adrien, to the point where Marinette gets to use Adrien's Miraculous during the final battle with Monarch.

I'd at least be somewhat forgiving towards the shift in focus if Marinette actually got to do anything to advance the plot herself. Because of how often the show focuses on Marinette's love life, very little time is dedicated to showing Ladybug making an effort to actually stop Monarch. The closest we got was in “Illusion”, and that was a plan spearheaded by Nino. Like I said earlier, Felix does more to advance the plot out of any character, even Marinette, THE ONE THE SHOW IS NAMED AFTER!

We have three separate episodes where Ladybug has Monarch at her mercy, but she decides to talk about how she's totally won and that Monarch can't get away at all, and then Monarch gets away in a matter of seconds. I just... this is “SHOOT THEM WITH THE DEHYDRATION GUN!” levels of stupid here! The only reason Monarch gets as far as he does is because Ladybug can't just grab any the Miraculous he has all over his body.

We're seriously supposed to see Marinette as an amazing hero when she keeps screwing up every opportunity she gets to stop Monarch. In the span of one season, Marinette went along with being forced to retire because she got a chance to date Adrien (The Kwamis' Choice), chose not to form a temporary alliance with an Akuma even if it meant possibly getting the Peacock Miraculous back and stopping a potential threat (Pretension), had absolutely no plan to stop Lila until someone else came forward with information on what she was doing (Confrontation), decided to let another Akuma force the mayor out of office (Collusion), and failed to stop Gabriel because she got tricked again and was completely helpless as the entire universe was recreated before she took credit for defeating Monarch afterwards in the new reality and then decided to honor the insane supervillain's wishes and keep her boyfriend completely in the dark about the truth even though she learned not to keep secrets from others (The Final Day) and MY GOD, I HATE THIS SEASON SO MUCH.

When Marinette isn't making terrible decisions, she's lecturing others on how to act around their enemies, and when I say “how to act”, I mean “refuse to give them even the slightest bit of respect after doing the bare minimum to help them try and change”. Marinette really lets her own personal biases toward Chloe and Lila get to her this season with how the latter half of the season had her tell others not to even consider trusting them because of how easy it is for them to take advantage of kindness. You know, something you'd hear someone like Superman or Spider-Man teach kids about.

In fact, here's a little game any aspiring writer can play when writing superhero characters: If you can't imagine someone as noble as Superman saying something like this...

Marinette: But sometimes, the good we think we see in some people is just a reflection of our own, and we end up being fooled by our own kindness.

Unless your intent is for them to be flawed or in the wrong instead of a complete paragon of virtue, you need to go through your drafts.

And just like Adrien, even though Marinette keeps screwing up, she's never held accountable for her actions. She's never allowed to be wrong, and is almost always the one who gets to lecture people, mainly towards the end of the season. A good example of how poorly written Marinette is this season is when she whines about Ms Bustier not punishing Chloe enough when not only does she fail to understand that Chloe is still being punished, but she did absolutely nothing to bring Chloe's cheating to her teacher's attention when as class representative, it's her job. I don't care how stupid that idea sounds, that's what the show goes with, and it makes Marinette's inaction come across as very irresponsible.

But then again, neglecting her duties at school is nothing compared to acting like Marinette didn't fail to save all of reality while not showing the least bit of remorse for it. I'm just saying, when even Ben 10: Omniverse of all shows does this kind of story better, you know you've screwed up. Again, we're supposed to see it like Marinette won because the universe is in one piece, when, once again, SHE FAILED! Like I said, she failed at pretty much everything she set out to do this season and didn't stop Monarch outside of warding off his Akumas. This is seriously how the show was supposed to end, with Marinette failing to save the universe and the audience just needing to accept it. Well, in case it wasn't obvious on my front, I don't. Hell, forget Ben 10: Omniverse. Even Star vs. the Forces of Evil had the main character save the day, even if it meant potentially screwing over countless lives by destroying all magic in the world. Marinette? “Well, everyone I know and love is technically dead and the madman I spent five seasons trying to stop gets to die a martyr, but everything looks like I saved the day, so that technically means I didsave the day! Man, I'm a great hero. Good thing the other characters basically exist to remind the audience of how amazing I am.”

If there's one thing to take away from everything that's happened, it's that this was the season where Marinette has arguably become one of the biggest examples of a show failing to make the audience like their main character. There was much time dedicated to rationalizing and trying to justify the worst possible decisions she could've made and acting like she's still an amazing hero. Stuff like this only serves to further validate the criticisms people have had for her as a character ever since Season 5. And remember, this is coming from someone who went out of their way to defend Marinette last season. In an attempt to show her at her most heroic and virtuous, Season 5 pretty much cemented Marinette as a terrible main character, a terrible superhero, and a terrible role model for children.

Eight Years for This?

I'm going to be perfectly honest with you guys. This season just broke me, and there was a good reason why this analysis took so long to write.

While there were a number of outside factors that made it hard for me to get the time to write (work, the holidays, family gatherings, etc), there were still times where I either didn't have a lot of material to work with, or I just couldn't find the motivation to work on the reviews. I guess throughout all these years, I figured that after all this buildup between the Love Square and Adrien's relationship with his father, there would at least be something I could find this season that would allow me to say this was worth the wait. Unfortunately, it was just disappointment after disappointment this season, with a universally hated finale to boot.

To me, this was the season that burned away the remaining goodwill I had for the show, because there's just no salvaging it at this point. The writers pretty much butchered every single character in some way, excused the main villain's actions for a sorry excuse for a heroic sacrifice, and literally reset the universe so all of the characters we've come to know for almost a decade technically don't exist anymore. Even the cliffhanger for Season 6 really excites me, because why should I care about a character we still know nothing about becoming the main villain? Why should I care at all when the writers have made it clear they don't care either? They don't care about writing character development, they don't care about writing consistent lore for their world, they don't care about approaching serious subjects with the delicacy they deserve and they certainly don't care about telling a consistent story.

Season 5 of Miraculous Ladybug was a failure in every conceivable definition of the word. It failed to deliver a satisfying conclusion to any of the stories that had been set up for years, and if this was how the main story ended, I don't really have a lot to look forward to when Season 6 premieres.

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #thomas astruc #thomas astruc salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrien agreste #cat noir #chat noir #felix graham de vanily #argos #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #kagami tsurugi #gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #hawk moth #monarch #chloe bourgeois #nathalie sancoeur #tomoe tsurugi #lila rossi #Youtube

[noxxha]

Chiyo and Sasori - She neglected him out of guilt and fear

Sasori is a character who was introduced early in the first part of Naruto Shippuden. His parents were killed by Hatake Sakumo when he was young, and he was consequently under the care of Chiyo (and her brother - and his granduncle - Ebisu, most likely…yet their relationship is not shown on-screen), his grandmother.

Chiyo, however, does a grave mistake when it comes to Sasori’s parents. She learns of the fact that they were killed, and…

She keeps this information from Sasori, believing him to be “too young” to know about their death. On one hand it is considerate of her to do so, on the other hand she put herself in a very uncomfortable situation emotionally.

Not only because she had to lie to him every time he asked about his parents (and I can imagine that he asked ever so often), but because she probably had no true idea what to do the moment Sasori might/would figure out the truth.

Instead of telling him the truth she tells him that they are away on a mission (or that they were given a new mission, as stated in ep. 27) and that they will eventually return. Even worse, the one scene we get to see Chiyo says “well, they’ll be gone a little bit longer…”

They will be gone a little bit longer.

The lie itself is a terrible thing, but to phrase it the way she did - a little bit - makes it taste even more bitter.

That is giving Sasori a hope that does not exist.

She keeps him waiting, and Sasori obediently does just that. Growing up very lonely - and impatient (not liking to keep other people waiting, nor liking to be kept waiting) - as a consequence.

Look at him - he’s so sad…

While Chiyo did her best to be there for Sasori, her constant lies were actually cruel.

What is the greatest insult to Sasori, however, is the fact that Chiyo treats him as if he is stupid. He might be a child - and of course it would have hurt him to know that his parents were dead - but he is not stupid. Far from it.

He was hailed a prodigy in the art of puppetry, after all.

And…

He created puppets in the likeness of his parents to not feel so lonely. And yet they could do nothing to ease the emptiness within him. They could not replace his longing for his real parents.

“Sasori had already figured out, that his parents were dead.”

Chiyo actually hurt Sasori more with her lies than if she had just told him the truth from the beginning. We do not know for how long the lie lasted either, but she probably lied to him for 1 to 2 years at best…and quite a few years at worst.

Chiyo was put in a very painful position, but her way of handling it was certainly not the best. Not only was she grieving the loss of her son and daughter-in-law, but Sasori was a constant reminder of her loss. Not only was he the child of her son, he looked just like him (but with his mother’s brown eyes).

But what she ends up remembering the most is the sorrowful - empty - gaze upon which he gazes at the puppets.

Ep. 319 (filler - I am aware of such and yet I, for one, appreciate some of the fillers that the anime team gave us - this is one of my absolute favourites) expands on Sasori’s past. After the above scene we are shown how Sasori works on his puppets. The peace and quiet is being interrupted by Komushi - a young boy who is shown to treat Sasori like a friend. Komushi asks Sasori about the puppets requested by Chiyo (The Crow, Black Ant and Salamander), and this implies at first that his role is more than being just Sasori’s friend - he acts as a messenger between the two of them. This is later plainly stated by Chiyo herself.

“Oh well, I might as well wait until hell freezes over to get a response from you.”

One thing that is of interest is the fact that Sasori ignored Komushi for a long while. Only when Komushi mentioned that he “has a message from Granny Chiyo” did Sasori stop his tinkering and listen. The message in question was about the above mentioned puppets, and that they were needed quicker. Sasori only points towards said creations, resuming his tinkering near immediately thereafter, while also mentioning that he “does not like keeping people waiting”.

That Komushi acts as a messenger indicates that the relationship between them is strained. Extremely so even. But does it come as a surprise?

Not really.

Chiyo could have asked about Sasori’s invention herself, no? He is her grandson after all. But that she did not.

And the proof just how strained their relationship is follows the above mentioned scene. Komushi mentions that Chiyo wonders about the poison for the Crow puppet, and Sasori hands him a sheet of paper with the formula for the toxin he intends to make. The toxin in question must be approved, however, by his superior - who is Chiyo herself.

Komushi tells Sasori that he will negotiate with Chiyo about the toxin - and to give him “some time”. Sasori turns away from his friend and immediately tells him that he does not want to wait. Komushi grins - tells him “then let’s go!” - before rushing off. Sasori merely watches him in silence - looking mildly dumbfounded at his friend’s suggestion.

Now, while Komushi urged both of them to go - Sasori could have remained in his workshop and let his friend handle something that Sasori himself could have done…and yet…

This particular scene showcases just how little Chiyo understands her grandson. And it also showcases how she pushes him away - intentionally even.

This scene was a bit tricky to capture in a still frame. At first Chiyo only sees Komushi and so she asks him if he has “relayed her message” - and then Sasori appears. She becomes quiet, looks a tad surprised - apprehensive even - at the sight of her grandson. This indicates that he probably spent most (if not all) his time in the workshop and seldom showed himself. And that him being here now was quite the exception.

One could say that Komushi had a knack for persuading people to do his bidding, but considering Sasori being the way he is…he had probably another reason to appear before his grandmother.

Chiyo reads through the formula, and mentions that “there is not much I can say without knowing the blending ratio of the mixture”.

It is here that Chiyo makes another grave mistake.

Having read through the formula she looks at Sasori - remembering his empty gaze that gazed upon his father and mother puppets - before approving the request without asking for specifics. She could have asked about the mentioned blending ratio - Sasori stood right there in front of her - but she spoke as if that was not the case.

Sasori is shown to be a very tacit individual - he barely speaks and would probably be lost in his own world (creating puppets) if not for Komushi. When it comes to the toxin, Sasori went there personally (with some slight urging from his friend) but nevertheless…he followed him. The relationship between Sasori and Chiyo is shown to be terribly strained, even cold, so why would Sasori go to the person that lied to him for (presumably) years?

Because she was the only family he had left at that point. And he cared about her, deep down. He mentioned in ep. 27 that he would not care if Chiyo would die…and that alone indicates that there was a part of him that still cared about her. If he truly did not care about Chiyo’s fate, he would not have wasted breath mentioning it. He would have just gone ahead and killed her like he was capable in doing.

It is while Chiyo is healing Sakura that we get the clearest indicator that Sasori cared about Chiyo despite everything that had happened since he left the village 20 years prior to their reunion.

“It’s a jutsu I spent originally years creating for you…one that only I can use. With this jutsu life can even be breathed into puppets…In exchange for the life of the caster, that is…But in hindsight, it’s a dream that won’t be realized…”

Sasori, hearing these words, is visibly shaken. And there is a symbolic tear in the form of blood falling from the corner of his mouth.

While he probably resented Chiyo for lying to him - a part of me thinks that he could forgive her for that - as he sought her out (as shown in ep. 319) in an attempt to get an interaction between them, after all.

Him going to see his grandmother was Sasori’s subtle way of trying to mend a relationship that (not yet) was beyond repair.

But Chiyo - by approving the toxin immediately- denied Sasori the interaction he could not state plainly because he was extremely stunted emotionally and socially. He probably wanted her to ask him questions, show interest in him and his inventions (she was a toxin specialist when young and she was the one who taught him the art of puppetry in the first place) - but instead of threading on the path of reconciliation, she pushed him away. Intentionally.

Once the toxin was approved Chiyo near immediately dismisses the pair because she is “in the middle of research” but whether entirely true or not is hard to say. She was seen reading a document before Komushi (and Sasori) disturbed her, that’s true, but is it “reading” or “research”? Both most likely. It does not change the fact that she asked them to leave, though.

While Sasori hoped that Chiyo would understand the unspoken in him appearing before her, she misread the situation entirely.

Or…on one hand she did, but on the other hand she probably thought that she would make Sasori’s life easier if she just agreed to his request - she had denied him the most important “request” of all, after all (an answer/the truth). Agreeing to his request was partly done out of guilt I can imagine - so to ease her own consciousness. And part of her - as much as she tried to not show it - was terrified of that empty, haunted look in her grandson’s eyes.

Because she knew that she shouldered most of the blame for Sasori being lonely, for him feeling empty and trying to fill the void within him with his puppets.

She tried to cheer him up, but completely neglected the fact that Sasori needed human contact rather than only his puppets. He needed her.

This scene follows immediately after the above mentioned scene. He looks so sad, disappointed even that he did not get the result he had hoped for.

It had to hurt having Komushi mention that Chiyo had to be “so proud of you” and that she was “always worried about you” - because from Sasori’s side he probably felt that the complete opposite was the case, as Chiyo did not talk to him. They did not speak with one another (if it was not absolutely necessary), she did not praise him (at least not in person)…he must have felt like an orphan despite having family left.

Did they live together? That is not made clear. If they did I can imagine that they both (perhaps Chiyo more than Sasori) went out of their way to avoid one another.

Chiyo approving the toxin - without questioning Sasori about details - would end up having severe consequences the moment Komushi was wounded during his guard duty - losing part of his arm.

He was given a puppet arm by Sasori. It was shown to be quite the invention, with a blade and the ability to release the very toxin Chiyo approved without much hassle.

She is terrified of her own grandson. Of his empty gaze and his mind that was creating puppets terrifyingly close to real humans.

Now, whether Sasori wanted to murder Komushi intentionally or not, is up for interpretation. If we take Chiyo’s words at face value she is convinced that Sasori tried to get his only friend killed intentionally - that it was not just a “coincidence”. I personally do not believe that Sasori wanted Komushi dead, it was all just a terrible accident.

Komushi - knowing that blame would fall onto Sasori - mentioned that he “is not to blame”. That it was he (Komushi) who ingested the poison by accident.

But whether it was murder or not - Komushi dies under Chiyo’s care, as she does not know the blending ratio of the poison Sasori created, and therefore there is no antidote at the ready. What is even more chilling is the fact that Chiyo mentioned that she would clear it with the “Pharmaceuticals Division” and when Komushi is dying she asks about Sasori and if “we have the blending ratio for the poison yet”, this implies that either she did not speak with the division about the poison (perhaps because the toxin was too complex to find an antidote for?), or she did and Sasori later tweaked the ingredients.

One scene that can be used as an argument for Sasori wanting Komushi dead, is when the latter visits him and mentions that the puppet hand Sasori has created looks “real”. Sasori looks at Komushi’s hand (who moves his fingers to mimic the movement that Sasori made the puppet hand do). To me it looks more as if Sasori is contemplating how to make his puppets more “humanlike”, and it is here (most likely) that he began to contemplate the use of real humans and if it was possible to make them into puppets. But he was probably more inclined to do the opposite still: make puppets into humans so to say.

I honestly believe that Sasori at first had good intentions with him creating puppet parts that were more like human anatomy - but his pure desire morphed steadily into the worldview over which he and Deidara would fight over. Him making more real puppet protheses was very likely the first step into eventually deciding to make himself into a puppet. It was there it began in my opinion - his obsession with preserving “life” and “beauty”.

“Heal him! Please! You attached his right arm, too? Then his left arm can be…His legs, his body…You can even heal his soul, can’t you?! Give him back to me! Heal my Komushi and give him back to me!”

Komushi passes on and with him dies Chiyo’s link to Sasori. She contemplates the situation, before rushing to Sasori’s workshop when remembering how Komushi told her about Sasori creating human parts that looked like “real human hands”.

She finds him there…and she also finds that Sasori has made Komushi into a puppet - like it was “requested” of him by Komushi’s mother.

He has - in a way - restored his soul. Like he was “asked” to do.

The beginning of the Sasori that we got to know in Naruto Shippuden all the way back in Ep. 21 when his real face was finally revealed.

Chiyo admits by the end of the episode that she, indeed, pushed him away. That she made excuses to not be there for him when he needed her the most.

While all he wanted was to be embraced by his parents once more, I think even an embrace from her - back then - would have done so much to keep him on the “healthy” path.

But Chiyo didn’t. And she realized her many mistakes only when it was too late to truly say how much she regretted her treatment of her only grandson.

#sasori naruto #sasori #chiyo naruto #naruto analysis #sasori really was a tragic character #even if it was a filler episode - I adore it to this day #it was so well done and gave valueable info about Sasori #and even Chiyo #long post

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

More Omega Appreciation

It's no surprise that I love Omega, I make that pretty apparent. After all, she's my sweet bean, my little sunshine. I adore everything about her. In fact, I'd put her in my top 10 fave characters because of the impact she's had on me. But what makes her so endearing?

To me, it's her hope and compassion for others. Omega is full of life and wonder. Every situation she's thrown into, Omega takes with full stride. I remember falling in love with her in the first few episodes of season 1 when she goes to Saleucami. I think most of us want to go back and relive childhood where everything new was exciting and magical. And while she's certainly matured over the course of this series, there's still so much wonder in her. We can call it filler, but don't deny how adorable Omega is when Phee tells her stories. The way Omega lights up around others and new situations is adorable and makes her incredibly likable.

I'll go back to my point about her hope and compassion. Omega truly sees the beauty and strength in others, no matter who they are. Where Hunter is always distrustful of Cid (and rightly so), Omega still tries to help her. Yes, Omega is child and she is naive, but I still find her traits endearing. With Batcher, she believes in the hound's strengths to survive even with Hemlock trying to tell her otherwise.

But the most important character that Omega's kindness touches in my opinion is Crosshair. She never gives up on him even though she could. All throughout her imprisonment on Tantiss, Omega keeps her hope alive. Not a day goes by that she doesn't look for a way out. Crosshair, however, has given up. Everything that's happened to him has broke his spirit. But then Omega shows up and the fight is put back into him. Throughout the entire show, Omega continues to believe in the goodness that Crosshair has within him. She's always the one to reach out to him. I love that about her. I feel that we need more people like her in the world. It's so easy to not care about something or dismiss someone who might have differing opinion. But Omega teaches us that a little kindness and persistence can go a long way. I honestly do see so much of myself in her as a result.

I don't get personal on here, but I'll just say that there are times in my life where I've been put in Crosshair's position. I've felt trapped in my own Tantiss. Yet, there was always an Omega in my life trying to help. Omega, to me, represents the pure love and hope that people, especially family, can have for each other. No matter how dark things get, she keeps fighting and hoping. She never gives up on her family.

She is the emotional core of "The Bad Batch." It's through Omega that the Batch begin to see life in a different lens. They realize that they don't have to be soldiers. They begin to grow in different ways. Tech and Crosshair become more emotionally vulnerable around her. Hunter and Echo become more paternal. And Wrecker gets to let out his inner child more around her. She shows them new ways to love and care for one another.

I hope sweet bean never loses her endearing traits by the end of show. Sure, she will have gained more life experience, but that light she carries better stay alive. It's so important. It's one of her best features and it leaves an impact on those around her. The Batch are lucky to have Omega in their lives. Guys, if you have an Omega figure, someone who's filled with love and joy and always supports you, give them an extra tight hug.

I'll get off my soap box now, but she is truly one of the best Star Wars characters to come out in recent years.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb omega #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb hunter #tbb echo #tbb wrecker #omega appreciation #michelle ang #i love my little bean so much #she truly is incredible #i feel that with all the darkness in the world right now #we could all use an omega to turn on the light

[graaythekwami]

Little random game: name the eps you most hate and most love of each miraculous season and explain why

Hmm, there's not many episodes I'd say I hate, but my favorites and least favorites of each season are as follows:

Season 1:

Favorite: Origins -I don't care if this is technically two episodes, I loved seeing the origins of how the children met and how everything went down. The beginning of LadyNoir and oh my gosh we got such good LadyNoir moments here.

Least Favorite: Reflekta -Honestly looking through season 1 there really isn't any that stands out as a least favorite for me. So I chose Reflekta solely because this episode is the start of the curse of the many Reflekta akumatizations to come. xD

---

Season 2:

Favorite: Heroes' Day -I had to put this one as my favorite just on the premise that I feel that Heroes' Day is the best final/two parter we've had in the entire series. I loved everyone's role in these episodes, and of course we get to see Nathalie being an absolute queen as well.

Least Favorite: Frozer -Eh. Just an episode that's never stood out to me. Forgettable in the long run.

---

Season 3:

Favorite: Chat Blanc -Favorite episode of the season? More like my favorite episode ever! The angst. The feels. Chat Blanc's hurt and rage. Chat Blanc's design. It's all so beautiful the only change I'd make is making it a two parter and maybe adding a LadyBlanc kiss. But those changes aren't even needed because it's wonderful as is. 11/10. -Gamer 2.0, Oblivio, and Reflekdoll are honorable mentions. For the adorable LadyNoir moments, adorable Lovesquare moments via memory loss, and kwami swap! Season 3 is probably my favorite season overall.

Least Favorite: Christmaster -Just another episode that's never stood out to me. Plot wise it felt mid, and I can't see myself going back to rewatch it or basing a fic on it. Or including it in a fic. -Honorable mention of Miracle Queen though, as this used to be my least favorite of the season. I was really on board for a Chloe redemption when season three ended so this episode kind of stung (hehe) then, but nowadays I don't have the same issues with it.

---

Season 4:

Favorite: Qilin Least Favorite: Qilin

-Ha! Didn't see this coming, did you? I love love loved so much of Qilin. I loved the themes it addresses, Marinette and Sabine's relationship, the design of the akuma, it was all so good... until the very end!! They let Marinette take the blame when the real problem was racism?? I hate you ticket dude. And also bus driver dude you saw Sabine with her tickets and she literally gave you baked goods and you said nothing when she was taken away? Why???

And if you don't accept one episode being both the favorite and least favorite, then here are my thoughts on other episodes of the season: -I love the setup of Truth and Lies and would love more episodes focusing solely on Adrien. -Guiltrip when Chat Noir almost Catalcysms himself hurts me on a physical level someone give Adrien a hug. -I will forever live for the Plagg and Adrien moments in Kuro Neko.

Season 5:

Favorite: Evolution -Season 5 has a lot of plot-heavy focused episodes, which I always love to get. We got canon Adrinette, Gabriel getting Cataclysmed, awesome lore... but in the end I still think it's this first episode that's my favorite. I loved the action, how it picks right up at the end of season four, and also Rabbit Noir had such an awesome design too. I liked seeing Master Fu again, and the role Alix got to play. Gabriel got his good Monarch design with the stained glass look. Also timetravel can be tricky to write, and they pulled it off well.

Least Favorite: Action -After a whole season of the most plot-heavy episodes yet with a lot happening emotionally... Action has very little action is the way of plot or even as good “filler”.

Specials:

Favorite: Miraculous Paris -Gah honestly I think this is one of the very best episodes in all the show. Fantastic writing, great characterization, a fun adventure and seeing the alternate universe was fascinating. I love Shadybug and Claw Noir. Hesperia was awesome (I refuse to call him Betterfly). I have so many questions about the other world and who the Supreme is. Gabriel singing the intro. I could go on all day.

Least Favorite: ...idk -I mean there's only three specials thus far, and honestly I can't rank the Shanghai or the New York special as the lowest.

Movies: -Jk we only have one. xD But with how movie one ended with Nathalie I'm excited to see what they might do with this universe in the future.

#ladynoir #miraculous ladybug #ml episodes #adrien agreste #chat noir #anon ask #chat blanc #plagg #marinette dupain cheng #jj talks #jj speaks #ladybug

[morphogenetic]

Mediaposting 2024, #6: Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2/The Great Ace Attorney Resolve

Completed: April 21st, 2024 (/i still have to watch the DLC episodes that didn't get released with the official loc, I guess but I'm not playing it any more so ?? lol)

Time spent: 49.5 hours (will be like 50.5 after the DLC stuff)

Rating: 9/10 (more objectively. but a very biased 9.5 in my heart.)

ohhhhh my god alright where do i even start with this. i guess i also have to talk about dgs1 a little bit in this review/mini completion log but I will TRY and keep it to just 2. [editor's note: somehow succeeded with this! lfg]

first, to get the non-spoiler parts of this out of the way:

please for the love of god play this fucking game if you've played the original AA trilogy but not the DGS duology. i can not stress this enough. i would not recommend playing them as your FIRST aa games because a) they will set your bar way too high (and too low simultaneously bc wow dgs1 still has whack as hell pacing) b) there are a few details, especially in this particular game, that will evoke no reaction in you if you haven't played at least the main three games but WILL cause you to start gnawing on drywood if you have Knowledge Of The Future

the whole dgs duology - and specifically as a duology, bc 2 makes no sense without 1 but 1 by itself is not on this level - is absolutely in my top 3/4 AA games now. i admittedly have not replayed the original trilogy in quite a while, buuuuuut T&T/AAI2/DGS1+2 are my new top 3. not necessarily in that order, give me a bit to think about it lol.

im going to be thinking about this game for the rest of my life probably. i can see why my best friend wanted me to play it for uh. seven years. because yeah it really is that good.

i want to cosplay four different designs from it. i have not wanted to cosplay anything new (to me) since neo twewy came out three years ago. take that as you will.

music still slaps. obviously. my favorite new song is absolutely partners (IYKYK) but agh. the new theme(s) that characters get are all so fucking good. clenches fist. the leitmotifs

definitely becomes relevant in retrospect in a few places where capcom obviously cut the hell out of the budget but they saved it for where it matters so i dont care. im also uh. very used to low budget VNs so frankly even 3D models are better than I'm used to LMFAO. i also you know. didn't realize that they did that until after the fact. so. they hid it well

if you havent played this go and play it (after playing the original AA trilogy). please for the love of god im on my hands and knees.

everything below the cut (i.e. below this point) has blatant unfiltered spoilers. you have been warned.

okay so welcome you've presumably played all of dgs2 if you're reading this. i have THOUGHTS. a lot of these will come off as critical/negative but i need to strongly emphasize that these are the only reasons that this game is not a 10/10 for me and otherwise i'm in love with it. it is fucking CLOSE. i am not talking a lot about the things i really love because that is.............................a lot of the game for me and we'd be here all day. the critiques are much more limited in number. but. you know.

dgs2 absolutely has much, Much better pacing than dgs1 does overall. it does not take 3 cases to get past a bunch of tutorial cases. this is a good thing. however..............the first two cases are still very slow. i won't call them pure filler, because a) reminding us about yuujin was a very good idea, b) they contribute to the Themes of the game. and im glad hosonaga was there again and (of all of the side characters we could have had) seeing souseki was good. i like them. but they really didn't need to be there to fulfill the themes of the game. case 2 in particular feels like a filler case, which I do not love given how tight the rest of the plot feels. if anything i feel like they should have done an interim flashback case without susato, as much as I adore susato, because as-is it's canon that ryuu had 3 cases in the span of a week. which feels INSANE

speaking of better pacing: im so glad dgs2 remembered that AA games can take investigation breaks between courtroom shit because running through ALL of the trial after ALL of the investigation in 1-5 was. let's say. taxing. the 'finding their footing' aspect of the first game

i do kind of wish we got One more case with the masked apprentice where susato wasn't there at all for the entire case. if only because then the delay between ryuu Thinking It and susato Knowing it would be even more painful. but i do really appreciate that they don't try to make it a woah big reveal as much as a painful "i know who you are but you don't." really adds a certain je nai se quois or however the fuck you spell that. idr. its 1 am when im typing this

also hey asougi can we fucking unpack how susato (the girl you were raised with to some extent, probably not like your sister but your weird younger cousin) called your name and you didn't remember who you were but you DID remember when you saw a wax reconstruction of your dead dad. can we fucking talk about that for a minute. can w

speaking of asougi. my god. they did such a good job with him. i think i wouldn't have cared nearly as much about him if all we had was the dgs1 stuff but his extreme motivation for the truth almost turning him into a violent attack dog is. aaaaaaaaaah. god. and the parallels between him and his father's followers (read: the von karmas) that one has from playing the mainline AA games. truly brainworm material

speaking of this: i can absolutely tell they did NOT think about writing the professor stuff with this game until they added in the masked apprentice - before he got turned into asougi - even though the reaper was obviously something that was planned. i do not care personally about this, because game dev is weird as hell and it REALLY works with asougi and van zieks' character arcs. in the same way that i don't think [SPOILER CHARACTER] from vlr would have been as good without the knowledge of 999, i think if barok had been foiled against a new character it wouldn't have worked as well. all that said. it sure is obvious they didn't know what they were doing. this makes me even more impressed that that they got it to work at all

the same is true of everything with the hound of the baskervilles but im really glad that they took it in the direction that they did.

also man it is so obvious that they probably wanted to have this be a proper trilogy like the original trilogy but then budget happened. because 2-3 through 2-5 all slap but they feel so fucking weird next to 2-1 and 2-2. like i dont feel that theres anything missing per se but a little more time for character growth would have been nice. hell even adding in an extra case (and/or editing 2-2....)

the only writing thing, aside from. 2-2 being like that. and the other weird pacing issues..that extensively is off to me is the whole assassin trading plot. i do think it is Very stupid and that they clearly wrote themselves into a corner with 1-5 on how to deal with it because they just...proceed to not deal with it until 2-4 and 2-5. however. even with that said. i actually kind of like that it is so stupid. because stronghart definitely feels SO obsessed with his version of justice that he wouldn't think through the potential downsides of having two free-roaming assassins running around and maybe coming to get his ass. obvious flaw that would not occur to him because of his insane ass behavior

its still dumb. but it's ace attorney dumb. so i can excuse it a little bit

stronghart being a damon gant expy was funny but goddamnit was it predictable. making him be so obssessed with justice that he talks to ryuu about it for 4 hours was funny as hell though and absolutely adds to him as a character. still dont like him that much Personally but hes definitely a character

his breakdown was peak. by the way. top 3 breakdowns in the series

jigoku being like that kills me. also. the way he just let genshin

g. genshin impact (sorry)

i dont care that sherlock's bullshit was a deus ex machina bc honestly.....electricity was real at that point. its fine

also. holy shit i love ryuunosuke in this game even more. 'i'm not doing this for you, kazuma. i'm doing it for the truth.' BANGER!!!!!!!!!!!! his growth across these two games is really good but especially in this one he shines so brightly

however..........this game made the glaring lack of ryuu's parents even more obvious. its not like i Need it or anything but considering how he very literally refers to yuujin/susato/sherlock/iris as his family in 2-4.....where are your parents!!!! what was your childhood like!!!!!! I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT I WISH COULD BE ANSWERED!!!!!!!!!

and asougi. i could write an essay on asougi alone i think. but i adore how both he and ryuu are like 'you've changed' at each other and neither of them are wrong but then by the end they're like 'wow you're the same as before.' theyre so fucking gay. anyway

and sherlock (WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU WHY DO YOU LIE FOR FUN LIKE THIS????????)

and yuujin (partners ~ game is afoot starts playing and i start crying). obsessed with how they only had to write the dynamic for a single case and you can believe all of it because they can just go. lol. ACD canon. anyway

and susato

and, most surprisingly of all for me.....fucking barok van zieks. i would not call myself a Fan of him in the way i am a Fan of asougi and ryuu, but i am obsessed with him. he did so many things wrong but realizes he genuinely fucked up and wants to atone for it. he gets genuinely upset in prison when he can't join the red-headed league. he's a professional alcoholic. he has bats in his office (???). what is wrong with him. (i know the answer is 'literally everything that could be wrong with a person.' but still

i love every single character in this game (or i hate them but because they were written to be hated)??? how did they manage this again. dgs1 helps so much here because the character growth.

argh. the character parallels with everyone realizing their parent / mentor figure was fucked up and/or hiding shit from them in some way. thinking emoji rotating in a circle goes here

wow that magically became way less critical as i was writing it. i thought it was going to be a lot stronger of a critique. its still weird pacing stuff basically that bothers me but i have very minor complaints that im forgetting aside from this

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YEAH HI GUYS IM BRAIN ROTTING NOW FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this has had almost the same brain impact on me (as evidenced by the 1 million words about it) as raging loop i think and thats never a good sign since i still think about raging loop at least once a week despite the fact that i played it 3 goddamn years ago

#dgs thought spiral #< if you're wondering. how much personal hell i am in because of this game. i made a tag for it. lmao. #mediaposting #junpei.txt #finished writing this at 1 am my time but im queueing it for the morning so people can read this like the fucking morning paper. you know. #long post

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, 2/18 “Back In The Saddle” (more glorious filler) Part 1

The episode begins with an uninteresting Friday Night Dinner intro that has nothing worth writing about, except we see Richard again, and I feel like I haven't seen Richard in a really long time. (This is a Richard-centric episode, which is fine with me).

They fixed the Tomatos Sign? Say it ain't so!

Oh, the other chalkboard.

I recommend you all look up a woman named Valerie Campbell on TikTok or Instagram. She worked on the show and shares a lot of behind the scenes stories. I can’t seem to find this specific post again, but if you care to dig around yourself, she had a little story about the crew member that actually designed this sign.

I don't remember it being a particularly fascinating story, but if you want to hear the story of Sign Guy, go on and find Valerie.

Thinking about the time Rory took a slice of unbuttered unsyruped French toast on the run like it was a god damn pop tart. You weirdo.

LG: Look at the handwriting on that sign. It's so precise. So determined. It's focused Luke. RG: That's Jess' handwriting.

That tone of suspicion again. Sigh.

You know what, I won't pile on Lorelai too much for this comment, because it was lighthearted and not dripping with passive aggressive sauce for once. You win this round, Gilmore.

Couldn’t have killed you to throw in a “that’s so thoughtful/cute/sweet” or something though.

I love how blasé they are about their notions that either Luke or Jess could have such gorgeous handwriting. Neither of them are marveling even one bit over that skilled graphic design. Sad lack of shock, wonder, and awe.

Lorelai is very much NOT Team Jess and is actively trying to destroy this adorable friendship. Being a Lorelai and Literati supporter at the same time seems like a paradox of sorts? But hey, according to Tumblr, I'm just a big ol woman hater for saying Lorelai is evil. Continue, Lorelai. Lay some old fashioned Dean Lust on us. It's what the people want.

Rory looks thrilled to see ButtZilla.

Drop yourself off a bridge.

Lorelai: Please please please eat with us Dean!

So much said with so little in her tone of voice alone

From left to right: Wetting her pants in excitement to have Dean for breakfast/ thinking about covering his naked body in maple syrup; a man wondering if this will be one of the rarest of days when the Gilmores pay for their food; Hello Darkness My Old Friend; and Buttzilla.

I've got something you can eat, Dum Dum.

JOKES ON YOU BUTTZILLA! JESS WROTE THE SIGN! YOU'RE GONNA EAT AN OMELET THAT YOU ORDERED OFF A SIGN THAT JESS WROTE!

Mind your own business, AssButt. Your necklace is stupid and so are you. Your mother doesn't love you.

"Next time I get you all alone I'm going to give you SUCH a spanking, young man."

Poor put-upon Brad. One day, Brad will rule the world, and the peasants will be sorry. Our usual Chilton crew that consists of Rory, Paris, Madelyn, Louise, Brad, and one rando (some 30 Year Old Archie looking dude) are gearing up for a Business Fair. They have to invent a product appealing to high schoolers. Rory is the CEO, and they have an imaginary 1 million dollars to imaginary market/produce/and distribute it. They also have to find a responsible adult to be their "business advisor". Richard will eventually join them and muck things up. Everyone else's negligent dads are too busy working and Rory's deadbeat dad Crusty is off somewhere trying to impregnate some chick named Sherry and wouldn't know how to Business if his life depended on it, so Richard it is. But this is the 2000s, so surely someone's mother could also have business experience?

Paris and Madelyn suggest Rory's mom, seeing as she "Runs a hotel", but the girls wouldn't know that Rory's mom regularly leaves her shift in the middle of the day to do things like look at coffins. Not a good role model. Joyous filler nonsense.

Rory: LOL yeah I guess. Let’s have someone look at Lorelai’s “books”. The Independence Inn and Stars Hollow are both an accountant's wet dream.

I neglected to include Brad in my poll of Gilmore Girls characters whose quietly bubbling anger will one day no longer stay contained until they snap and murder somebody.

She's definitely not, but Paris threatens her so Rory promises to ask her anyway.

The people of Stars Hollow are incredibly angry and violent. Don't let their sweet faces fool you. Try to take away their coffee or twinkle lights, or fuck up their wedding invitations, and you'll be sorry.

#gilmore girls #rory gilmore #lorelai gilmore #denise rewatches gilmore girls #jess mariano #literati #gilmore girls season 2 #filler episode #I am an equal opportunity hater #when I did this on Twitter this 15 year old girl was always in my mentions trying to tell me that criticizing Rory meant I hate women #its a tale as old as time honestly #jokes on her I like Rory now #its satire #back in the saddle

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my mind while watching this episode:

--I think this was the episode that converted a lot of people who were on the fence about Uzui, that scene with Hinatsuru is just so tender that people cannot help but feel for him. The way they animate his fingers moving as Hinatsuru talks because their resting on her chin is such a nice detail. And then we get him pumped back up by the good news that he's found one of his wives alive, and we get that skid and change in direction the roof. So good!! So cool!!

--On that note, I'm just going to jump to the end of the episode because this episode was a very flashy Uzui sandwich. I think that given that we see Makio & Suma more often interacting with each other and Hinatsuru steals the spotlight for drama gives people the impression that she's the favorite or something like that, which makes me a bit sad because I read him as loving and cherishing all of them in different but egalitarian ways. All three are his most important treasures, and unfortunately we see Makio & Suma's immature sides come out most around him, and he seems to baby them in a way different from how he treats Hinatsuru like more of an equal (even though we see in this opening scene that she still speaks like someone subservient to him--that ninja training runs deep). Makio, though, I like that we get her flashback, as it brings out a very different, contemplative, sometimes anxious side of her character which keeps her from just being the hot-blooded one or something like tat. It's not a side she can show to just anyone, but someone as mature as Hinatsuru can draw it out. Suma, though? Let her be a simple bimbo. I love her. She's my favorite. She's adorable and I never get tired of seeing her crying as she tears a kunai through the obi.

--Right! That end of the episode! Uzui's grand entrance and twirling the swords around just to show off (he and Shinobu may relate to each other more than they think), and the perfect placement of a catchphrase. Fine!! Yes!!! I like the catchphrase now!!! I hated it more than anything at the Pillar Meeting, but yes, YES, GIVE ME UZUI TENGEN-SAMA!!!!

--Back to Tanjiro!! I forgot how long this one-on-one fight with Daki took and accidentally queued up my Nezuko reblogs too early. Nezuko is still just hanging out in her box as Tanjiro turns off the Water Breath and turns on the Hinokami Kagura and flashbacks enough to the last four months to show us that he's been working at using it better--and that he's realized his limits to Water Breath. In general, I find these flashbacks to totally unbeforeseen content in the mist of battle distracted and generally not good writing advice for how it cuts into the flow of a scene, but I have also totally come to accept this as a signature piece of KnY's storytelling style. And we aren't even done yet with Tanjiro's flashbacks for this solo battle against Daki! With all these reflections, though, it's really nice to get that foreshadowing for more Haganezuka content, especially Daki's accusation that Haganezuka isn't much of a swordsmith (and he faces criticism too), and Tanjiro's insistence that it's him abusing the sword. He has always fully believed that everything that happened to his swords is his own fault for using them roughly. (And gosh, that context and comparison against someone who uses Water Breath damn near perfectly makes it all the more startleing how Akaza will later very easily break Giyuu's sword in two.) Speaking of swords, BOYS WITH SWORDS!!! BOYS PLAYING WITH SWORDS!!! Zenitsu handling his sword in a context other than the brief moments he's using Thunderclap and Flash, placing it on the ground the way you're supposed to, so unlike Inosuke who doesn't care for proper sword use whatsoever. Thank you, Ufotable!! Thank you for this filler!!

--Speaking of foreshadowing, if Tanjiro's already been maintaining fever over days at a time this whole time, this gives us lots of juicy stuff to analyze about his mark. Perhaps can interpret the damage done to the human body (and the reason all those Sengoku demon hunters died by the age of 25) as being due to the sudden increase in temperature and heart rate, but with Hinokami Kagura techniques, Tanjiro's been able to find a more sustainable way of doing it so his body is more prepared to draw on that power. I wonder, then, did he subconsciously start to do this during the Final Selection, and that's why the scar changed? Also, I believe that Tanjuro's general weakness is do to long-term sustained damage of performing Hinokami Kagura imperfectly, in a way that put stress on his body before he mastered the proper Breathing technique. Which is all to say, it makes me ponder that Tanjiro may have more years than he's assumed to, but he probably will decline in a similar way as his father.

--BUT HEY ALSO, there's imperfect knowledge and hearsay passed down from the Sengoku era about how, like, "swordsmen with black swords can't advance (because they got kicked out)" so maybe that "dead by 25" thing was a matter of looking at patterns and also counting all the guys who happened to get killed in battle? And sure, maybe enough of them dropped dead to lead to conclusions??? I'm looking for whatever hope we can for Giyuu and Sanemi, let me dig with a tiny spoon as I like.

--Anyway! We also get this beautiful, "moyase… moyase… kokoro o moyase!!!" line from Tanjiro. Yes, please.

--And all this reflection from Tanjiro about how he won't allow anyone else to go through the pain that he and other members of the Demon Slayer Corps have with losing people to the violence of demons. That's great, Tanjiro, but you're about to witness a huge failure to do so.

--Ok… so… Inosuke's scene going Homer Simpson through that tunnel is… not one of my favorites. I appreciate that he and the obi found each other mutually gross. Go ahead, keep calling her the Worm Woman, Inosuke. You're the worm, though.

--THAT MOMENT INOSUKE KICKS HIS SWORDS TO HAVE THEM BOOMERANG BACK INTO HIS HANDS, IT'S SO FLASHY, I CANNOT

--This scene down in the food cellar reminds me of the Chinese idiom, "The Eight Immortals Cross The Sea," meaning everyone shows up their individual talents and strengths. Here we've got Inosuke doing it, Makio & Suma doing it, Zenitsu doing it, and then The God of Festivities himself. So much flamboyant fun! That Zenitsu's upside-down twirl, my gosh, he's totally writing that into the Legend of Zenitsu.

--I love it when Inosuke realizes he's in over his head in battle, though. Recognizing he's in a tight spot because he can't fight the obi while also protecting the humans, and that if this isn't the actual body, then there will be no end to fighting there. It makes it so gratifying when Makio & Suma step in to help.

--Okay, but also to sandwich this post… Uzui is totally back in his proper flamboyant mode after being so happy to see Makio & Suma are alive and kicking--especially kicking butt. Relief seems to be a big part of it, but his wives truly are a source of strength and joy for him. Having reunited with all three of them, everything is once again right in his world and it's time to do the butt-kicking in his own flashy way!!

#kny rewatch #my art #uzui tengen #uzui hinatsuru #uzui makio #uzui suma

[piracytheorist]

Ranking SxF episodes least favourite to most favourite

No, I have nothing better to do. Temperature reached 42 degrees today (Celsius. That's 107 if you're American) and it was like that most of the day so going out was out of the question. We were also let off work today so I had a little too much free time so what was left was being inspired by a random video for another show and going at it for SxF!

This is all my personal judgment heavily based on stuff I liked. You most certainly will disagree with me and that's fine! Just don't argue with me because that's just personal opinions, I'm not trying to change anyone's minds or prove anything!

I didn't want to say "worst" in the ranking because even the episode I consider the weakest, you'll find out soon which one I'm talking about, is still a great episode that I've enjoyed watching in my rewatches. Just not as much as the other episodes.

There's a high chance I will change my mind after a while on this. I made the rankings quite quickly and more on instinct than anything else. But hey this is my blog I post what I want.

I chose to rank each episode by five criteria, the things I love the most about the show: 1) Humor (intentional or not), 2) Character (defining or cool moments and such) 3) Cute (mostly Anya and Bond adding to that XD) 4) Plot (how much development there is and how well the action is delivered) 5) Feels (of any kind).

So under the cut the rankings go!

#25, Least Best: 10. The Great Dodgeball Plan

Humor: 7/10 Character: 5/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 4/10 Feels: 4/10

Yeah, I don't have much to say about this one. As far as fillers go, it's pretty good stuff, and the anime team did a good job adding new scenes to expand it so that they could fill an entire episode about it, instead of shoehorning this chapter into another episode that wouldn't be relevant. Again, it's a good episode, but one I had no problem skipping in my, like, fifth rewatch of the entire show XD

#24: 22. The Underground Tennis Tournament: The Campbelldon

Humor: 6/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 4/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 5/10

I'm not into sport-y action in fictional media, and this episode has a little too much Nightfall and almost completely no Forger family moments so it was doomed for me to be at the bottom. Don't misunderstand me, the action was good and Nightfall's ridiculousness was enjoyable. But not something I'd rewatch a ton of times. I also like that we got a little bit of political mention in this one, so plot points were added.

#23: 17. Carry Out the Griffin Plan/ Fullmetal Lady / Omelet Rice

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 3/10

I think I've made my stance on the moments of Damian bullying Anya clear, and no episode of the show has made me as uncomfortable as this one has. It's still got nice moments between Anya and Becky and I love the small glimpse into Sylvia's life and the ending with Yor and smol Yuri, but my biases don't allow this episode to go any higher.

#22: 20. Investigate the General Hospital / Decipher the Perplexing Code

Humor: 7/10 Character: 5/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 5/10 Feels: 7/10

I'll be honest, I feel kinda sad this is so low because Anya is so adorable and such a GremlinTM in this one, but there's only so much her little back can carry. Extra feels though for Twilight worrying over Anya's stress. Again, a very well-standing episode as far as fillers go, but not one to keep me at the edge of my seat.

#21: 19. A Revenge Plot Against Desmond / Mama Becomes the Wind

Humor: 7/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 6/10

I have to be honest. I don't really like George. He annoyed me more than anything else. Most of my enjoyment of this episode comes from the second part. Yor's part was funny and cute and even sweet, especially at the end, but as far as this ranking goes, the George plot dragged it down. Interesting addition, however, that xenophobia has run so deep in this country that George fears he'll be sold off as a slave in Westalis, so plot point up.

#20: 7. The Target's Second Son

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 8/10

The two different part of this episode, once again, make the ranking a little skewed. I actually love the second part, especially the discussion between Loid and Yor. Loid picking up Anya and whispering in the sweetest voice ever about recording Spy Wars for her makes me fucking melt. Unfortunately, it's tied to an episode with bullying and no retribution, so it's dragged down a little.

#19: 18. Uncle the Private Tutor / Daybreak

Humor: 9/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 6/10

Yuri was fun. Daybreak was ridiculous (affectionate). Anya was cute. Twilight in action was interesting. I want to remind you that I absolutely adore this show, so this episode being number 19 on the list doesn't mean it's bad. It means it's very good but not epic like the ones on the top of the list.

#18: 23. The Unwavering Path

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 7/10

I laughed so hard at Yor decimating the tennis ball with the racket, that alone earns a high humor point. I loved the moment of Twilight supporting Carroll Campbell after he beat him at tennis, so character points added for that. Plot was interesting, at first I was annoyed that the tennis match was for nothing but then I found it interesting that it kind of paralleled Nightfall's obsession with Twilight. Feels points added for the end where Twilight goes and buys his girls' favourite snacks :D

#17: 25. First Contact

Humor: 5/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 8/10

This one is only so low due to the limited points in humor and cute section. This was, after all, a serious episode, but you'll see down the line that there are other serious episodes that got more points in humor and cuteness. It still got 9/10 for character thanks to a great introduction on Donovan and 8/10 for plot and don't get me wrong, it's still a great episode that I like rewatching. It gets extra feels points because of Becky being best friend material and because of the "Is that why you're using force to bring other nations to their knees" moment. Hey, I never said the "feels" part didn't include angst :)

#16: 6. The Friendship Scheme

Humor: 7/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 6/10

Unsurprisingly, the first part is more favourable to me. Yor saving Anya and Anya supporting her and loving her is adorable. We get a bit of spy stuff, we're introduced to the Handler and we love it, and Anya's punch was absolutely delicious.

#15: 8. The Counter-Secret Police Cover Operation

Humor: 9/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 6/10

I'll mourn the day where I'll watch the ending of this episode and not laugh hysterically. It's so dramatic, especially with the music added to it, I've laughed every single time like the first time I watched it. Again, Yuri is both satisfyingly funny and with good character motivations, with a great setting of his extremism and not a condemnation of him for it. A bit of cute points added for the Yor and Yuri flashbacks.

#14: 4. The Prestigious School's Interview

Humor: 8/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

I'll always love the ridiculousness of the Forgers bringing three sets of clothing for the interview. Character points very up especially for Loid defending Yor and almost going ballistic on Swan. Feels especially for the ending family scene, and this whumper also appreciates how the anime added the bandage around Loid's hand :)

#13: 13. Project Apple

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 7/10

Again, I feel it's unfair that such a good episode ranks almost in the middle but that's just because the competition is very high lol. A good balance of Anya being an Ulcer-Inducing GremlinTM, Bond being the bestest boi, Anya and Bond being the cutest duo as well as all the other pets at the adoption fair, great introduction to the Doggy Crisis Arc, and Bond and Anya bonding!

#12: 3. Prepare for the Interview

Humor: 8/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

After the first two episodes were packed with plot, the third episode comes with great balance of character and dynamic moments. Especially having read the original manga chapter, I feel the director and animators did a great job adding more stuff to expand this episode. The flow was so natural I felt shocked to know almost half of the episode was anime original. With all three Forgers coming together at the end to catch the thief, and with Twilight having a realization at the end of how Yor inspired him, I love what this episode makes me feel.

#11: 15. A New Family Member

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 10/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

An excellent conclusion to the Doggy Crisis arc and welcoming of Bond in the family. That moment in the above screenshot alone is enough to make the cuteness skyrocket. Plot doesn't need to be high as it's the conclusion of the arc, but feels and humor more than make up for it. The only thing I would say about it is that it's hard for me to watch it on its own, it kinda needs to follow the impact of the previous two episodes. Which says a lot about how good the build-up and conclusion of that story was, by the way!

#10: 9. Show Off How In Love You Are

Humor: 9/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 9/10

A lot of humor for Yuri's overdramatic reaction at the first part! Also for Anya's reactions the next morning XD This episode is very defining for Twilight's perception of Yor. He opens up to her about feeling jealous of her relationship with her brother, and the next day, from the first moment he feels hesitant and guilty over doubting her. Yor unintentionally but honestly proves how much she already cares for him and respects him and it's the beginning of her realizing how much she values being a part of the Forgers. Overall, satisfying and fulfilling despite the secrets those two keep from each other.

#9: 5. Will They Pass Or Fail?

Humor: 10/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 8/10

This episode sold me with how unapologetically it gave no single fuck. It was ridiculous and they loved making it so and it shows. Such kind of humor is art. A relaxing episode (for us, certainly not for Loid) after the heavy packed introductory episodes and the stressful interview one, we get to sit back and enjoy Twilight becoming the butt of the joke and get his butt kicked, while Anya, Yor, and even Franky have the time of their lives. Princess Anya is adorable, especially with her badly-acted "Oh, no, save meee" and the ending scene of Loid and Anya warms my heart!

#8: 12. Penguin Park

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 10/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 9/10

PENGUINS! Enough said! I had so much love for penguins as a kid that if I was gifted a huge penguin plush I would be hysterical. Among the best fillers, it still has a solid plot and good character moments, and I absolutely adore how Anya tries to help Loid in his mission in such a way that the only reason he doesn't get suspicious is because she's too little for him to imagine ever being involved in something like this. Which adds both to the humor and the feels. Extra feels because again, this whumper appreciates an exhausted Loid :D

#7: 11. Stella

Humor: 7/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 9/10

Anya showcasing massive amounts of bravery and kindness, and finally being recognized for it. Twilight feeling genuine pride for her. A legit intense moment of a kid almost drowning. A grand rescue! It's SO GOOD YOU GUYS!

#6 21. Nightfall / First Fit of Jealousy

Humor: 8/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

My biases all out in the open. A subtle hint that Twilight is genuinely happy as a part of the Forgers and I become a puddle of feels. At the same time, while it's clear we should root for Yor and distrust Fiona and her methods, it's great character building for her and spot-on dynamics between the rest of the characters. Anya rubbing her face all over Yor and Bond to basically tell Fiona "begone you foul witch we are happy as we are" is perfect. Loid supporting Yor (with a heavy hint that it actually means a lot to him that Anya is happy with Yor as her mother) and then showing a hint of genuine emotion that's so strong he doesn't even realize is seeping through his smile and I AM DONE. It's the beginning of my end.

#5: 14. Disarm the Time Bomb

Humor: 6/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 9/10 Feels: 10/10

I cannot express how much I love the "You know nothing about war" scene. It's so raw and so human and so disturbing (in a great storytelling way) that this moment alone makes me trust fully in the way Endo will handle the story in regards to war and politics later on. It's more of a character moment, mostly for Sylvia but in a subtler way about Twilight too, so it deserves a solid 10 in that regard. Plot is still heavy and action-packed, some humor and cuteness manages to sneak in, and then there's the moment of Bond having the vision of Loid dying which I kid you not, when I first watched the episode I felt like someone punched me in the gut. That alone skyrockets feels up to 10, but then there's also Anya apologizing to Yor for running off on her own and Yor hugging her tight while being realistic about the situation. Deserved spot in the top five.

#4: 16. Yor's Kitchen / The Informant's Great Romance Plan

Humor: 7/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

Look. I tried to be as honest as possible in my rankings, and I ranked each episode separately before seeing where they ended up on the list. The fact that with absolute honesty, this episode ranks so high says a lot about how, though combining two wholly different plots, it does so many things I love about this show so good. Yor feeling accepted and genuinely happy over seeing Loid and Anya enjoy the food she made for them means so fucking much for me. That's her revelation of love for this family, and she's still got way to go before she even falls for Loid romantically. It's still a filler but it's so good for character and long overdue focus on Yor. Franky's part has sufficient humor and character on its own, and with Twilight deciding to console him at the end it's all tied up with a neat little bow.

#3: 24 The Role of a Mother and Wife / Shopping with Friends

Humor: 9/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

I unapologetically barely acknowledge the second part of this episode because the first part hits SO HARD that the second feels like a commercial break in comparison (apologies to any who loved it. I actually find it a great part on its own, but when put next to the first part, it pales in comparison for me).

This episode ended me. I don't know if I'm biased on my rating because I recorded my reaction to watching it, and I saw myself laughing so hard and so often, as well as saw my own near-crying face in both scenes where baby Twilight was shown, that I can't help giving such high numbers on the humor and feels part. Though okay this episode wants you to feel stuff, so maybe it's just the humor part that may be a little biased. I wouldn't actually consider it the funniest episode of the season. Anyway, I don't think there's actually a lot to say regarding why I rated with the numbers I rated. It's a great episode that has a lot to say about Twilight, Yor, and their relationship and connection, and it's made with so much love by everyone, from Endo himself, to the cast and crew. I love it and I will continue to love it.

#2: 2. Secure a Wife

Humor: 10/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 9/10

Yor's introduction is, for real, one of the best and most satisfying character introductions I've ever had the pleasure to lay eyes upon. She is flawlessly presented in her full glory, with her (natural) weaknesses revealed. From her first episode you learn everything you need to know about her, and she is seamlessly inserted into the plot and the lives of the established characters so past that, you get to enjoy her being an irreplaceable part of the story. Her motivations are clear, her character agency is well established, and it's all done succinctly and efficiently within 20 minutes of screentime. It's fabulous. At the same time, the episode delivers great humor, a bit of expansion of plot and world building, as well as feels for how Twilight and Yor start connecting without even realizing it, and the hands-down best proposal scene I've seen in fictional media in my entire life.

It's for a fake marriage and still nothing compares to it. Your otp could never.

#1: 1. Operation Strix

Humor: 9/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 10/10

A quite honestly perfect introductory episode. In a little more than twenty minutes of screentime, it establishes all of the following:

Twilight and Anya's characters and motivations, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

The basis of the relationship between Twilight and Anya.

The plot of pretty much the entire story.

A succinct presentation of the political situation without long exposition scenes.

The mood and setting; a careful balance of found family humor and realistic anti-war stance.

At the same time, it manages a tight and self-sufficient episode plot that fits the characters' backgrounds and MOs, it delivers meaningful flashbacks, and all that while being honest about what it's trying to be, without fanfare and badassery trying to cover up leaks like flex tape. Every scene, every shot, every second has a reason and meaning. Paired with episode 2, it's genuinely a near flawless introduction to everything Spy x Family is about. It gives you all you need and prepares you for the awesomeness that follows!

#Spy x Family

[eriexplosion]

Starting the journey to the final few episodes with the last nice time anyone has in this season. Pabu!

Genuinely do not understand why people consider this filler, it supports the season long theme of people trying to survive after their homes are destroyed (both with Pabu as a whole as a city of refugees and after the tsunami) AND we desperately need this come down after The Outpost because Good God.

Also this is just the most attractive opening ever. The lighting! Phee negotiating! Hunter picking up the bad vibes of both the guy trying to steal his credits and the DEVIL MURDER BUG. Wrecker beating the shit out of some guys! I could watch this all day!

Still obsessed with the fact that Omega kills. This child has taken life.

I love that Tech is playing against himself but I love more that Gonky is apparently being accusatory about it.

"WHAT other skills?" Tech does not understand the problem here. Of course she only has friends that are other clones, that is all the friends you need. Clearly!

Cid's message is still weird with the voice glitches, obviously she does turn them in but like what's with that? I have no idea if it means anything but would be interesting to see it pop back up in season 3.

"Our mutually beneficial arrangement wasn't so beneficial... mutually..." Hunter is so so beautiful and his head is sometimes so full of fluff.

God the way that Tech only slightly reacts to Phee's hand on his shoulder but REALLY reacts to "Brown Eyes" like oh he felt that one didn't he

Pabu is still so unbelievably prettyyyyyyy just look at it

Yeah ever since @niobiumao3 posted about the Archium looking like a Jedi Temple I can't get it out of my head or see anything else.

Your Artifact is Cheap

SHEP SHEP SHEP SHEP SHEP SHEP SHEP

GENUINELY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH HE IS SO GENTLE AND SOFT LOOKING, ROUND OF BELLY AND BIG OF HEART.

He has such kind eyes and I could watch him greet them over and over, I just adore seeing the batch receive kindness actually.

"You've got some competition" Wrecker knows what's up

Tech pausing to look back at Phee when she walks away is a great moment, the way that his interest really did escalate finding out that the artifact wasn't about money, it was about culture and preserving it. I just love that this is what makes him actually start to respond more obviously to her.

I just love the slow build between them, that they don't really Have a Thing yet but there's clearly mutual interest. We rarely get actual lead up or developing of attraction (also it just fits with Tech that he's more interested in her when he finds out more ABOUT her like this)

God Shep is all but inviting the Empire with the 'why would they come here?' thing.

This episode is so fantastically vital I think to the batch's story though and it's so often overlooked. They needed the option to stay behind somewhere to make their decision to go after Crosshair have weight, but they also needed somewhere that showed them what a community even looks like. The Batch has always been on their own, always been separate, they aren't used to experiencing community. I'm still not sure if they'll actually end up on Pabu permanently - it feels like part of the bittersweetness that the ending apparently has might be that they'll never really be safe from the Empire - but they still need to EXPERIENCE IT.

Also WRECKER BEING FULL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE (and Tech marking the occasion lol)

PHEE SHOWING TECH THE LIGHTS <3 <3 <3 And then Hunter walking immediately between them looking vaguely ill. Is something coming or is he going to throw up, we just don't know.

I love Shep like 'if we were at risk the early warning siren would have activated' followed IMMEDIATELY by sirens. Also the water receding is really well done and honestly pretty eerie to watch.

I feel like the entire tsunami portion is often forgotten in the face of 'batch experiences 5 seconds of peace' but it's just as vital, because the community action in the face of the oncoming disaster is what makes the evacuation of Lower Pabu a success, it doesn't work unless everyone works together. Community keeps them alive!

The animation on the wave hitting is a real FLEX. That water spray.

"Property was destroyed. But my people are resilient. We'll band together and rebuild." He just lays it out, the Themes, they're right there.

#the bad batch rewatch

[danielfeketewrites]

DOCTOR WHO TOP 10 - 1st Doctor

So, I threatened to do this a while ago, and I'm finally ready. This is my first top 10 in a series of Doctor Who top 10s.

Expanded universe wil be included, always. Let's go.

10. A Big Hand for the Doctor

Out of the 11 Doctors, 11 stories anthology, this might be my favourite one? Although a few of the others are great as well.

It's just so... weird. I mean, all of those short stories are likely written by people with little to no knowledge of eu. So Colfer (who I am predisposed to like, because I loved Artemis Fowl as a kid) isn't tied to... I dunno, Quinnis? Operation Proteus? He's probably never even heard of them. So he creates a glimpse of a whole new NewWho-esque era that takes place before Totter's Lane. One that (unlike the one presented in Fugitive of the Judoon) seems actually fun and interesting.

The 1st Doctor had a cybernetic arm for all of his episodes. Why? Because why the fuck not.

9. The Savages

Whenever some weird incel on the internet says "Doctor Who was never about politics!", the correct answer to that is "Shut the fuck up and go watch The Savages." Or it would be, if any of it still existed.

Don't get me wrong - William Hartnell's Doctor Who era was very political. Mostly with "Nazis bad" and "cold war bad", which are both solid takes. But this serial has balls.

It has no monsters, it's just a parable about South Africa. I don't know, I just think it's really cool for this children's sci-fi show in mid-1960s to go "Yeah, fuck apartheid!"

8. The Edge of Destruction

I haven't seen this one for years but from what I remember and what I know about it, I like it a lot. It's just this weird filler, except it's not at all, because it's an integral part of each character's arc. It has a profound weirdness about it which I adore.

It's Doctor Who, as originally intended.

7. Home Truths

I listened to this one recently for the first time and - wow. Just wow. It's just dripping with atmosphere. I love it a lot and need to listen to the rest of that trilogy now.

6. Dalek Invasion of Earth

It's the one where the Daleks... actually become the Daleks. From opressors on a futuristic planet, bound to a single city, to galactic conquerors. Iconic, and for very good reasons.

5. Journey Out of Terror

Simon Guerrier is just fucking excelent at writing the 1st Doctor, Ian, and Barbara. There's no way around it, this short story is properly brilliant and you should read it if you haven't done so yet.

4. The Daleks' Master Plan

I love the madness of the Master Plan. It's a lot bigger than manageable. It's ambitious and epic and I adore it to bits. It has the Monk! Huge empires! Jumping through time! Cold war parallels! A Christmas special! There's nothing like it. Hopefully more of it returns to the archives one day.

3. The Aztecs

The Aztecs is one of the purest Doctor Who experiences ever. It's really funny, but also quite dark. It has action and adventure, yet stops to think about history and culture, as well as the philosophy of time travel. It feels timeless.

2. The Keys of Marinus

The Keys of Marinus is widely disliked and overall not a beloved story. Which is, of course, bullshit.

I love it so goddamn much. It's the first "Classic Who" serial that was genuinely FUN for me to watch. It made me fall in love with Doctor Who again, in the same way I feel in love the 11th Doctor's era. It's amazing and should be recognised as such.

1. The Time Meddler

Alright, this is one the most beloved Hartnell era serials. And... for good reasons.

I love this story. It's clever and fun and inovative and just all around marvelous time. I can't help it, the Doctor x Monk rivalry just gets me. The setting is excellent. And it kinda invents the final bits of Doctor Who that weren't invented by Season 1.

#doctor who #1st doctor #first doctor #top 10 #doctor who eu #finally getting around to this #dfpost

[bylightofdawn]

So I got about halfway through Mando Season 2 at work today.

Things that amuse me to absolutely no end.

Mando CONSTANTLY foisting the kid off on people. He's like, I'm gonna throw myself down this krayt dragon's throat and am probably going to get eaten, but I'm going to trust the kid to this hot guy I met five minutes ago. Two episodes later, he leaves the kid with the Frog Lady. Also how much I adore her? And in that she calls him out on ALL OF HIS BULLSHIT. Including his nebulous interpretation of keeping his word.

2. Which brings me to my second point. I LOVE how Mando is a mean son of a bitch at times. He's a rule lawyering asshole who deceives multiple people by skating by the barest edge of his word. Does it to the dude in the first episode. Does it in the dude in episode 3 with the jetpack.

AND THEN HE HAS THE BALLS TO BE UPSET WHEN BO-KATAN DOES THE EXACT SAME THING TO HIM.

3. Man I hate what a waste Cara Dune was because she had potential. Sadly even recasting her would not wipe out the stench of controversy surrounding the character but can we PLEASE have another hot buff Amazonian woman to benchpress me I mean kick a lot of ass? Sadly, I think Disney has been scared off for life and I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. What's Michelle Rodriguez doing these days? Just sayin'

4. I actually really like Bo-Katan, I know she's controversial and I GET why people detest the shit out of her but that's kinda...the point? You're not SUPPOSED to like her OR root for her. Not every character has to be likable and charismatic. Sometimes people are assholes and cunts and that's perfectly alright.

That being said, man, the second part of the season is definitely kinda all over the place, and I still detest the oh shit, we have to wrap up shit RIGHT NOW with two episodes later because we having too much fun with filler episodes, and now we need to fit half a season in two episodes trend that has plagued a lot of Disney SW shows, especially of late.

I'm debating if I'm going to stop after this. I really do want to watch Visions but that requires me...actually watching rather than letting it play in the background in my ear buds while I occasionally look over at the screen. So maybe I'll keep going even though S3 is not my favorite for a multitude of reasons. It's got some fun parts and I don't think I've fully watched i through since it aired. I remember throwing my hands up in disgust and eyerolling so hard I nearly broke myself over the jetpack jousting/fighting in the last episode.

#el watches #mandalorian season 2 #not gonna bother tagging spoilers at this point #I love what a ridiculous mess this season was

[overobsessedfanboy23]

Galaxy Cup is actually really good overall

I said back when the arc first finished that it was just as bad as the previous arc up until Kuaidul's introduction.

...yeah, no I don't think that's accurate to my feelings anymore. I didn't really remember the arc much differently, most of it felt very familiar rewatching it, I think I was honestly just in a bad fucking mood during nearly every episode of this arc before episode 74.

I was so burnt out by the amount of bad writing choices and overabundance of Sevens fanservice hijacking the plot in the previous arc that even though the darkness cards plot was inherently cool, I couldn't get invested in it because I just assumed the mastermind was going to be Otes and as a result, didn't care.

Rewatching this arc and KNOWING that the mastermind is actually this amazing new character pulling the strings enhanced the arc tenfold, especially the duels involving the darkness cards.

Kuaidul, and the foreshadowing and build up to him, is undeniably the best part of the arc. The final three episodes of this arc pop off so hard and are just peak Yugioh. As stated previously,

KUAIDUL VELGEAR

Plus, I absolutely adore the setup of the other characters having to defeat the protagonist who is playing right into the villain's hands without the villain even having to do anything. That is so cool and unique and amazing and HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I LOVE KUAIUDL?! HE'S A SASSY PUPPETMASTER WITH A HAND IN EVERYTHING AND AH HE'S SO DAMN COOL! :D

Um... So anyways, the rest of the arc is uh... it's pretty good. I kind of like Zaion now. He's funny. But let's be real for a moment: he was just a filler villain to tide us over before Kuaidul. Zaion was a tiny lil mozzarella stick tossed to us to make us shut up while we wait for our Kuaidul pizza. And while Zaion was a nice little enjoyable mozzarella stick, he did still feel like a distraction that... honestly still hasn't amounted to much, at least in the grand scheme of things. I dunno, the current upcoming episode at the time of writing this (A Clockwork Zaion) could change that but at the current moment, his presence in Galaxy Cup felt like a distraction and... messed with the pacing and focus of the arc a bit.

The big problem with this arc in general is that it was pretty aimless and all over the place before Kuaidul graced us with his presence. Before that... only one character gets properly taken over by a darkness card (Yuamu), which is supposed to the A plot, because the plot has to balance screentime with Zaion's furniture excursion, Yudias training Epoch, Manabu having my most hated episode in the show (again, not bothering to go into detail, we all know why it's bad) and then the fallout, Epoch learning that cheating is bad- oh wait, she never actually learned that because the arc was balancing too many plots at once and Epoch went right back to cheating in Spacetime. Ha ha oops. I don't dislike Epoch for this like I used to. She is just a kid and has other qualities that do make her a likeable character despite this but... the cheating thing really needs to be addressed.

This arc spent so much time introducing more and more subplots before the finals that to this day, it's left a lot of things unaddressed for way too long. Tremolo and co. are currently STILL FURNITURE and this arc ended in SEPTEMBER. There's just... too much going on this arc and it makes the episodes feel disjointed. That being said, the stuff that's going on is all good (except the Manabu thing). Yudias mentoring Epoch is really cute and Zaion is a funny ridiculous mozzarella stick of a villain. Most of the parts are good. They just don't completely mesh at times and makes the pacing a bit of a mess.

Seriously, Yudias getting into Galaxy Cup (something that's crucial for the finale of the arc to happen) felt so rushed and out of nowhere, as though the creators ran out of episodes to have him naturally get into the tournament with. However, I can ultimately forgive that as what it lead to was good. This arc is disjointed but apart from two episodes (the Manabu and Mitsuko ones), it's overall enjoyable and the payoff is well worth it. It definitely put Go Rush back on the right track, even if some of the problems from the last arc unfortunately carried over into this arc.

#yugioh go rush #ygo go rush #go rush #yugioh go rush spoilers #go rush spoilers #kuaidul velgear #zaion #zaion (go rush) #arc reviews

[mdhwrites]

Amphibia Meeting the Human Realm is My Favorite Half Season of the Show So Far

And it's because it managed to push into new territory that expanded its themes harder through contrast and parallels, never forgot its stakes while keeping its identity, and yet still managed to give us a new vibrant cast of supporting characters so as to bring together an exceedingly satisfying half season. Not a perfect one but one that never quite felt as awkward as the low points of other seasons and is DRIPPING with good characterization, morals, ideas, etc.

One of the big things I think a lot of fans of the series miss by calling it filler, the same fans who I assume likely skipped S1 because they saw it as filler, is actually the importance of swinging back around to S1's concepts but with the Plantars. We get to see the changes to how things go because of how much Anne has changed, how much Anne has affected the Plantars but also how little Anne has changed. It makes it so that while we do keep getting told Anne is more responsible, we can see it more clearly than during any other part of the series.

But we can also see the seeds being set for why the ending will be what it will be (because there's no way I don't know how the series ends). Both Sprig's Birthday and You Give a Frog a Cookie show that while Anne is doing it for better people... She's still a people pleaser to her friends. She still has growth she needs to do. Growth that might require some amount of time away from those she's closest to to achieve because she needs time to invest in herself.

Not to say the half season is perfect. I can see a lot of reasons why some dislike Spider-Sprig even if I like the segment, Thai Feud has good character reasoning behind it even if I think it goes beyond just childish selfishness which is the saving grace for Anne during a lot of S1 and Hollywood Hop Pop is a good use of the fact that Anne lives in Los Angeles but it still doesn't change that it's awkward and clunky in the same ways that some Hop Pop focused episodes tend to be when he needs to act like an idiot. All three of these though have reasonable justifications, good lessons, are trying to put closure to things or say something about the characters... There's a point to all of them existing, regardless of if they're executed on the best. And even at its worst execution, each one probably still has at least one heartwarming moment and/or one real good joke, like Sprig breaking down about getting yelled at.

And that's one thing I do ADORE: Amphibia is still Amphibia. Despite True Colors, it did not abandon its own identity. It's still funny and over the top and kind of crazy and it's willing to let the human realm be its own sort of crazy to reflect that. I don't think people are right in saying it just forgot about True Colors though. Even while keeping this identity, you have them worrying about getting caught, Anne working herself to death, the weight of lies, etc. like that. It backs off a bit in the second half of the mid-season but only once it has gotten Anne and others to a healthier mindset and even then, no one except whoever is fucking up in a given episode is entirely forgetting what the final goal is. Hell, anyone who claims the show just forgets about True Colors isn't recognizing that this thirteen year old, multiple times, overloads herself by trying to trivialize all that happened. Anne's whole scope of conflict she's EVER been a part of increased a hundred times fold over the course of a single day so her not directly addressing it besides the one part she actually can do something about is GREAT. All the rest of the whispers are part of what's torturing her until finally she knows progress is being made by people like Doctor Jan and she starts breathing again once she tells herself she can trust others with the problem.

It's just... REALLY FUCKING GOOD. And that's without getting into the fact that despite most of the side characters like the IT Girls and Doctor Jan only actually getting like two minutes of screen time each before the last two episodes, they are wonderful additions to the cast and work great. Oum and Bee, Anne's parents, are the only real protagonist additions and the closest they get to a dedicated episode is when Anne goes to the movies. Otherwise, they're always supporting characters to the character drama or themes going on with Anne and the Plantars. And anyone who claims the Plantars are not main characters WILL BE BONKED. Sprig is literally the secondary main character people.

For new antagonists, we have Cloakbot who is a great way to introduce a new threat that goes well with the early focus of trying to adapt and hide on Earth like the Plantars are before then swapping to Mr. X who is SO full of personality and does well to prod the cast forward as they think they're ready to settle in for however long this takes. Cloakbot actually takes up way more time than Mr. X though as Mr. X only shows up like three times before the final episode and while he is the primary threat in each, he's not nearly as involved as Cloakbot was during their appearance. It serves well to build up Mr. X though before finally we see the FBI triumphant... Briefly. But triumphant nonetheless.

The last thing I'll touch on is Sasha and Marcy. Marcy... Marcy is the one part of the half season where I suspect rewatching makes it worse. Knowing this is effectively the final outing for Marcy and even Olivia and Yunan are treating her as just a brain and less as a character (I'm sorry but Marcy really doesn't have a found family) is ROUGH. Marcy has always been only kind of half a character with how she's written though and if I have one big complaint of Amphibia as a whole/so far, it's that Marcy so obviously is tailored for plot purposes more than she is to actually be a part of the show. The episode itself is enjoyable, the two newts have a GREAT dynamic and it sets up the terrifying might of Andrias and what is to come well but... It still is a real shame for the character.

Sasha on the other hand is great, as she commonly is. She genuinely has to ask if she is a conqueror or a protector. She has always seen herself as on the side of right after all. That she controls others for the sake of protecting them. It's part of why Reunion is so effective. Getting to see her at her lowest cause her to decide that and how it inspires Grime is great. Also seeing another big city slicker underestimating the townies and their capabilities is great, not only just a nice hurrah for anyone who loves Wartwood but a nice reminder of why Anne has so much adjusting to do because she underestimated all of this so much. It sets her up VERY well for what will make up the bulk of S3B, at least from my understanding.

So yeah, Amphibia keeps being fucking amazing and yet I STILL have hot takes that go against the opinions of the fandom. Go figure. XD

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

#Amphibia #Amphibia Critical #amphibia season 3

[eiacez]

~ fluff, modern au, established relationship

~ wc: 0.7

~ a/n: i believe he is unbothered when it comes to clothes, i mean remember that episode in post-enies lobby arc? that cropped top with mama printed on it? yeah, that. (although it’s a filler, but so what?) looks good on him too.

masterlist

When you say Zoro is unbothered by any type of tops you give him to wear, you really mean it. That was something you noticed long ago and you giggled secretly while he wore the cropped top you gave him.

It looked cute on him, really cute. He’s buff, that’s a given, but when he wears something like that? It emphasizes his chest and biceps and triceps. Of course it was an eye candy, like hello?

From that day on, you waited for him to speak out about the tops you give him every time you two go out for a simple walk or stroll along the malls. Though it didn’t come, so today, after many weeks of making him wear cropped tops, you will talk about it.

“Hey, babe, what do you think about my clothes today?” You walk out of your shared bedroom to show him your attire. He was seated on the sofa, busy scrolling on his phone. But then he looked up at you and tilted his head.

“It’s okay. Why?”

You twirl around, “That’s all? Won’t you criticize it? I mean this top is a tube? And these shorts almost show my, you know.”

“So? I don’t see any problems about that? You can wear anything you like. Doesn’t even matter, I’m here for you anyway.” He put his phone in his pocket then crossed his arms, manspreading while looking at you nonchalantly.

“Aww, that’s sweet of you.”

“That’s part of me loving and caring for you, so naturally…” he raised his brows, “Why’d you even ask that?”

“Oh nothing really. I just want to know if you’re willing to match my clothes. Well, not exactly you wearing this kind of tube.” You pointed to your chest.

“We’ll be late, but okay. Give me something.” He sat up straight while holding his hand out.

Amusement fills your mood and expression. This man is willing even after straight up asking him. You were right to assume he’s unbothered by his clothes.

“Are you sure though? Won’t that make you “less of a man”?” You make quotation marks out of your hands. He grimaced a bit.

“It’s just clothing? Besides, you always make me wear cropped tops these days. I don’t care.” He crossed his arms again. At that, you giggle and lean in on his face.

“I can’t believe you actually noticed that. I thought you don’t mind and just go wear whatever.”

“As long as we wear something, (Y/N). Now go and get me those clothes you’re referring to and let’s go already. Luffy and the others are already at the beach resort.” He stood and went into the kitchen.

“Aww, Zoro! I find you adorable!” You giggle again while he grumbles and if you’re facing him right now, you might even see the redness on his face.

In the end, you gave him your favorite cropped top that you bought solely for him, and the color? It was a raging red with a design that has a specific type of flower that isn’t too big and too small. Plus pants that match with this top, obviously.

While he was wearing it, you had that big grin and a giggle escapes you continuously. His face was just neutral and somehow, there was a tinge of pink on his cheeks.

It was obvious that Zoro looks buff as hell, but with this cropped top? He looks less intimidating and somehow buffer, if that makes sense.

The two of you finally arrived at the beach resort. Zoro was really unbothered by the fact of him wearing that red cropped top. And his number one hater? That man Sanji is quick to notice Zoro’s clothes and tease him about it. Your boyfriend insulted Sanji in return and that was another casual and usual banter between them.

“Nice cropped top he got there. I’m thinking that the girlfriend bought it though.” Robin sits beside you and sips on her juice.

“Looks good, right? Thank you for the compliment by the way. You and Robin giggle at that.

Maybe from now on, you’ll make him wear other types of clothes that break the norm. Not just him, but you too will do it. You’re both in this together after all. Just a ’couple thing,’ you guess. A bit cheesy, but when you two do it, it’s actually not that bad.

– eiacez

#zoro x reader #zoro roronoa x reader #roronoa zoro x reader #roronoa zoro #zoro #zoro fluff #one piece zoro #one piece x reader #op x reader #one piece fluff #one piece #love my 110cm bust sized man #lol

[stedesbonnets]

some light criticism of eps 4&5 (take it with a grain of salt bc i watched them once and have barely eaten all day): i'm really not digging the excessive amount of parallels, and this is from someone who ADORES parallels (the proposal scene in gold rush parallels at least 5 other scenes). i see parallels as tool that is meant to be shocking, but if you're throwing 6 parallels at me in the span of an episode it loses the element of surprise. ed "talking" to the crew in ep 1? good parallel to stede doing the same! jeff the inkeeper? i'd say good to mid parallel just because it felt like copy pasting the restaurant scene a bit. the sandwhich? not a necessarry parallel. even stede's "this new thing?" is a bit on the nose for me. i woild have understood the parallel if he just said "oh, this thing?". the addition of new feels a bit forced. let me understand the parallel, don't wave it at me

i'm not happy to say that ep5 felt like a big filler episode for me. maybe because they kept stede and ed separated, but i just felt like it kept going and going. i also think that ed should've had way more scenes, not just two with fang

and last note, what's with all the flashbacks?? they even showed ed pushing lucius off the revenge twice. girl, i remember

#elinor.exe #ofmd s2 spoilers

[cerenemuxse]

So i finally watched BWBA (Season 24)

My very useless review of BWBA Season 24

Please make your own opinions. Don't be like me (way before this) and base yours off of everyone's else. That's why I put useless, because it is if you hadn't made your own.

Surprisingly, this season was in plain sight, as well as other T&F seasons.

Emily's Best Friend

I hated it. I still hate. Sorry, but the 2-12 interaction could not save it. I still love that moment though. To me, Emily is OOC.

Thomas' Fuzzy Friend

Wholesome filler episode with a ref to Thomas the Babysitter, which is one of my all-time favorites. I love it.

The Great Little Engine Show

Eh- i like the mention of the model engines. Don't have anything against it but it doesn't stick out. .3.

Thomas and the Forest Engines

I like it. :D I like the storyline about why certain engines are allocated to certain places.

Emily to the Rescue

Peak Emily moment. I love it but why did it take so long for her to get her number??? 😭 Oh, well. I still love it.

I love that bring out her caring aspect. It's like her intro episode. (I finally watched it and MAN, i wish I got that Emily growing up 😭 she just came off as a bossy big sister /neg)

Shankar's Makeover

Shankar's like me. /srs I like this episode for addressing situations like this. Stage fright, not wanting attention, and being someone who keeps to themself. Nice episode.

Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant

The references are nice. I love Nia's love for animals and her assignment to the park. Before, her job wasn't permanent. Also, Belle is here. I love her. I love them. I like it. :]

Until I watch all of Nia's episodes, I won't be commenting on how she supposedly repeats learning things from Kenya all the damn time.

However, I do have a problem with the argument being made. It feels like it dimisses that different cultures interact like this most of the time, bringing up the ways they handle certain situations. From my expierence, i hear where these differences come from all the time, even if I know the person well enough.

I just don't see the problem with Nia bringing up how things different are between her old home and Sodor. It feels relatable, despite the fact that I'm Hispanic (Mexican), and it makes sense.

James the Super Engine

I ADORE THIS EPISODE. I've talked about it before but in short, I love how James is portrayed. Could've EASILY written him as a hero who gave up and didn't bother checking up on Rebecca when she yelled for help. But no, they went the right way. James IS caring but considering the environment he's had to work in for so many years, you can see why he doesn't show it. But here, HE DOES.

And when he realizes that Rebecca is in trouble? Its his normal voice, whereas before, it was his superhero voice.

My honest reaction whenever i watch it:

Thomas' Not-So-Lucky Day

Eh- I think the lesson is pretty good about getting those good things by thinking positively and working towards them instead of letting luck be the decision maker.

Ace's Brave Jump

I dont care.

Nia's Bright Idea

W Nia for being resourceful and bringing things together. I like it.

Cleo's First Snow

I like it.

Sonny's Second Chance

I like it.

Thomas and the Inventor's Workshop

I dont care for Ruth but I like it. Its decent.

The Inventor's Bridge

That bridge is going to fall over but there's probably physics that I don't understand that makes it make sense. At the end though, i could care less.

Yong Bao and the Tiger

I've seen it before.

I initially didn't like it due to the dynamics of the story. Like why is a massive engine like Yong Bao shunting in the yard?

However, i like it more now. I can dismiss the dynamic.

Gordon and Rebecca, Coming Through!

I've talked about it before. Its confusing, especially with its placement. Would've worked better as the episode following 'Confusion Without Delay".

Despite this, i like their dynamic.

Gordon's behavior is tiresome. I usually ignore it but i've seen enough of CGI TTTE that im getting sick and tired out of it. I've heard that his character growth was forgotten but i havent seen enough to have a say.

Kenji on the Rails

Mixed feelings on this one because Hiro's leaving. :( Stop writing off my favorite characters.

In my second, I noticed Hiro's "konnichiwa" and got thrown off completely. Odd how they're JUST now bringing out Hiro's first language. I don't remember seeing this brought out before BWBA.

Not really a review because of that. I'm sour about it.

Cleo the Road Engine

Ah, the intro episode. I thought it was in season 23. Its just Thomas and Bertie rewritten but Cleo is avoiding her jobs. No, it somehow didn't destroy my liking to her.

Thomas' Animal Friends

I think its cute but Thomas would've straight up ignored Gordon.

Overall impression: Not as shitty as its made to be. It has its good moments and bad moments.

I'm so glad that I wasn't bombarded with fantasy sequences with this one. Those are just plain ridiculous, for the most part. In some episodes, it fits like James the Super Engine and Thomas' Animal Friends. The one in Emily's Best Friend made me cringe but I enjoyed it because its Edwad and Emily.

Listen, I'm desperate for 2-12 content, man, and I've been ignoring model era for a good while because I just dont want to.

Uh, that's it.

#her train of thoughts