Chat Noir: What if I told you that I’m Adrien?
Marinette, sarcastically: Haha, and I’m Ladybug.
Chat Noir: WAIT YOU’RE LADYBUG?!
Been quite a while since I had last drawn these two. 💕
Welcome to my ted talk.
So I just watched Catalyst episode(now one of my favs this season whole series) and I just wanted to share my thoughts about it and how this episode foreshadows certain things that might happen in the last episode..
Marinette faces the task of doing a “heroic deed” (even though she is Ladybug) for her classmates during heroes day. She makes promises to them about preparing an “effortful” tasting of different foods for the whole school (something about cakes, pastries,fruits and stuff..I just based it off the subtitles lol)
Of course the whole class is enticed by her idea especially Adrien (the smol bean really took the time to ask his father if he could go😭)
She tries to convince her parents to help her bake the pastries but their hands are also tied up as well (LB cake for the Mayor) and they couldn’t do anything about it. Marinette doesn’t want to be a disappointment to her class since she has promised them that she will do it.
“I made a big commitment to my class… Now I’m going to disappoint them all.”
Her mom advices her: “There’s still some time to tell them the truth. Your friends will understand.”
She replies along the lines : “that wouldn’t be heroic though”
But her mom tells her this:
“Having the courage to face your mistakes, that’s heroic.”
Instantly she replies back saying:
That’s right! There’s time for me to make these macaroons myself! (Not listening to what her mom just said, she ends up having burnt macaroons for the class. Yum)
My point is this:
Throughout the whole show, we’ve seen Ladybug performing the impossible, doing things her own way and never giving in to other’s opinion. There may be times that her actions depends on other people’s opinions especially when she is Marinette.
In certain episodes, Marinette is also naive and indescisve of her own actions. She tries to either ignore, forget or hide her mistakes which shows her being “human” at some point. SHE AVOIDS CONTRONTATION.
Like in Befana, she doesn’t want to disappoint her grandmother so she decides to hide her true feelings about going to the party while being unaware of the consequences of her own actions to her grandmother.
Or her descision to chicken out last minute when it comes to confessing her feelings to Adrien.
Or her indesciveness when it comes to choosing between Adrien and Luka (you had two hands gurl. CHOOSE BOTH XD. Or just be with Kagami instead XD)
This is contrast to her persona as Ladybug who always seems brave, confident and somewhat decisive in making choices.
And almost all of the time, as Ladybug, she plans things and does things her own way. Although Chat Noir does help her out (even Carpace, Rena Rouge and Queen Bee), she always in control from planning to capturing the akuma.
But unknowingly, a storm is brewing.
This is where Catalyst comes in. The episode initiated change. It is not the change itself but the one merely responsible for it.
This episode poses as a sudden threat to not only the mircaulouses but also to that promise that Ladybug made in the first season: “protecting and keeping Paris safe from harm”.
This will be the starting breaking point that will initiate and foreshadow all conflicts in the last episode of the season which I believe is to happen at the “gala” mentioned by Natalie to Gabriel in the latest episode.
Basing from the current episode, my prediction is that the part 2 “Mayura” episode will begin where it last ended: the heroes may have prepared something for the occassion (of course) in the last scene of Catalyst.
In Mayura, this is where we begin to see Marinette’s shy and indecisive persona mainly emerging from Ladybug as the heroes try to defeat Catalsyt and Hawkmoth.
During S1&2, Ladybug, with Chat noir by her side, had to save and defend Paris from any impeding threat especially Hawkmoth. From a simple task: That’s a heavy burden to carry.
Until now, she faces a much bigger threat and she has all of the heroes by her side (which is awesome since this is the first time we meet them all together in one scene).
Yes, although there would be more hands to help her defeat Catalyst and Hawkmoth. There is also an increase chance of casualties present within the circle.
ThINK OF It. If ever any of them is captured/seized, one miraculous could become a major point for Hawkmoth’s side. By just seizing one of the heroes, hawkmoth could find a way to rat out the others thus, endangering not only themselves but also their families and even the whole of Paris!
Edit: Chat Noir could be a likely candiate for being one of the casualties in the last episode since he didn’t appear in the S3 poster👀
So just think of the burden and pressure that Ladybug has on her hands. Everything has to be perfectly planned out. A single blip, miss/error could practically ruin their chances of winning the game.
So, in Mayura, we could possibly see Ladybug and her gang following the plan to capture and defeat Hawkmoth. Everything goes perfectly but then-
the plan goes wrong.
A rising confict they didn’t expect, has happened.
Whether it is a reveal between characters/ Mayura being introduced in the episode/Natalie or Hawkmoth taking advantage of the situation
this idea might happen before the gala & the gala might be the cliff hanger for season 3. im calling it but i dont want that to happen
Inevitably, the heroes’ plan fails.
Similar to the incident wherein Marinette promises to make the food-tasting a reality in the catalyst episode.
We also begin to see Ladybug in a state of denial during the Mayura episode. She tries to keep everything under control but the plan goes horribly wrong. She tries to convince the heroes to keep on fighting but they couldn’t do it anymore. Similar to the response that she recieved from her parents, they simply can’t commit to do it. Fighting the akumas and saving Paris has come to a maximum limit.
Then, we begin to see the main breaking point: ladybug conflicted, once again, if she is really upto the task of defeating Hawkmoth & Catalyst.
Like in zombizou, now, the task is entirely upto her to fix the situation.
REMEMBER WHAT HER MOM SAID: “There’s still some time to tell them the truth. [They] will understand.” AND “Having the courage to face [it], that’s heroic.”
This is a long shot but I think her mom’s advice will help her at a crucial moment. Because this time, in order to resolve the problem: defeating Hawkmoth. First, she has to confront him. This is where the leaks of Ladybug with Hawkmoth in the secret basement perfectly fits. The episode will slowly unravel long-awaited truths the fandom has all been dying for since the first season. Ultimately, preparing the journey for season 3.
Ladybug gathers up her remaining her strength. Somehow, she captures Hawkmoth and seizes his Miraculous, but not realizing he and his akumas are just the cherry on top. Now, she has to look for the creme of the crop. The queen behind the King: Natalie Catalyst Mayura
While some of the heroes are looking catalyst (who somehow managed to become Mayura at this point), seeing that they have accomplished so much: uniting against all odds and “finally” defeating evil, they decided at some point to call off the search for her as they decide to celebrate (thru the gala) since this time, they have been captured Hawkmoth. (Not knowing her true powers)
Once again, Paris is now at peace and thanks to the heroes, everyone is safe from harm.
Or at least it seems to be.
As the gala begins, Mayura makes her debut as she disrupts the event, causing chaos
THEN-
Credits roll-
See you again the NEXT SeAsoN! 🙂🙃
BeCaUsE tHatS hOW THE SHoW WoRKS!
Sounds depressing right? But seeing the latest episode. Chat Noir uses cataclysm on himself… is this even a kid’s show? I won’t be surprised if they pull of a cliff-hanger that will leave the fandom devasted. (I call dibs on this)
But I hope her pals would step in to help her and use all of their remaining strength and power to stop whatever brewing storm may be in the last episode and everything ends with a happily ever after. i dont want a cliff hanger pls
So basically my theory for the Mayura episode:
- The episode will focus more on the heroes’ journey of defeating and discovering Hawkmoth’s true identity while setting up Mayura as the main villain for season 3
- Details about the Miraculous, Gabriel’s motif behind the miraculous and Momma Agreste will be further revealed
This might be too early but i still want this to happenThere will be a crucial point wherein heroes/villains may reveal their real identities to each other- The gala will either be the next main location in the episode wherein the heroes’ plan will take place or it will be the place wherein Mayura will be revealed after Hawkmoth is initially defeated by the heroes—cliffhanger for the next season
Thanks for coming to my ted talk.
If Emilie is Mayura…
Note: I started this theorizing train of thought even before Gorizilla came out, so excuse random inconsistencies if I missed some. Also some of the theorizing may seem irrelevant now hehe.
I’m sorry, but it’s so her. And because I’m theorizing like crazy and I’m coming up with this as I write it mostly, lol, time for random bullet lists amongst paragraphs because I get bored otherwise.
- Okay, so first off, a picture of Mayura. Most of us–except the spoiler-free extraordinaire ppl still out there (I respect you guys so much, btw)–have already seen this picture.
Okay, so immediately 2000x more intimidating than Hawkmoth, and even without this concept art, Hawkmoth is already seen as a joke by most of the fandom at this point in s2, I think. He was a lot more kickass in the first episode of s2, but he’s slowly been losing more and more control. At first, it was scary and epic (Robostus betrayal–missile crap). Now it’s just ridiculous (Gigantitan). This guy really doesn’t know what he’s doing.
- Although he is acting increasingly more psycho and “evil” as the season goes on
- Him taking Nooroos mouth away even for a second and joking about it saying “I’m not that cruel” just highlights how incredibly cruel he really is and how he doesn’t think there is anything too wrong with his actions.
- Him realizing he’s hurting Adrien, (which in Gorizilla, and Riposte, Adrien was also a clear target but with the possibility he was Chat in the former, apparently Gabriel didn’t care as much) to the point where he vows to stop going after the miraculous, and then immediately going back the first opportunity he gets? This also demonstrates his increased evil.
- It never really explained what he planned to do to Adrien should he be Chat
- I don’t think he’d like kill him but I wouldn’t put it past Gabriel if he decided to lock him up somehow
Looking back at season 1, after we know his motive of getting Emilie back, he seemed to be actively trying to get their miraculous, sure, but he didn’t seem as hell-bent on hurting people in the process. That seemed more like a con than a pro being he’s such a good man :)
- But now? He not only seems increasingly chill about hurting people, he seems like that part is a plus.
- I can’t really reference a specific scene here, but as season 2 goes on his decreased empathy and increased heartlessness just seemed like a continuing, increasing trend
- It’s subtle, but the feeling is there.
- Still, even if he’s becoming more evil, as of right now he isn’t getting anywhere closer to obtaining the miraculous, really.
- the closest he’s gotten is in Troublemaker and Dark Owl where ladybug’s transformation partially dropped.
Welllp not any closer except maybe other than that plan he’s been planning for a really long time, lol I’m making fun of the wording because I can. (referring to season 2 description when it was first coming out if anyone remembers).
But wait, before I continue, what if he brings Mama Agreste back at the end of season 2 and that’s why Mayura’s introduced then? What if my theories about her being evil below are wrong and bringing her back actually foreshadowed her losing her kind personality, not the death of Adrien or whatever and now she’s bad? Like really, really bad. And Gabe’s all happy and she’s just “shut it, get ur crap together we’re taking over the world” and he’s all like “wth babe?”
Or what if she was always evil but now Gabe brings her back not really realizing she’s nuts. And she immediately takes charge and “makes” him–with things I’ll explain later–do her dirty work? And it’s dirtier work? And maybe, unlike Hawkmoth, she stays completely off the radar. Like, Paris knows about Hawkmoth, right? He announced himself and his intentions publicly in Origins, either cause he’s stupid, it was part of the plan, or he really thought it’d be that easy. Thing is, they know he’s a threat and they even know his head shape lmao. What if they know absolutely nothing about her? And she drags LB and CN or just the heroes in general in and attempts to take them down without them ever knowing about her? Though I feel like Fu or Marinette would figure something out, as long as they communicate with Chat or Plagg before then.
Or maybe something happens with the wish (to bring Mama Agreste back) and Adrien’s kindness is taken away?
- Even if not through magic, I don’t think he can take his mother being evil too, after all he’s been through, so he might for real lose his kindness, at least temporarily.
- Or at least enough not to trust LB or want to be on her side necessarily anymore because he really doesn’t care one way or the other rn because all humans are crap, he realizes, if even his mom is. His dad he could understand, but her too? And she’s worse?
So what if he really does go to the dark side? For a little bit. I get he loves his dad and stuff but I’m not convinced he’d betray his Lady for him, tbh, like all the theories say. But his mom? We’ve seen how much he loves her. I think he’d hand every single one of his classmates over in a heartbeat to her, no matter her intention. For his blind love for her, he might ignore the bad feeling all this gives him. Though he’d definitely make her promise not to hurt them, or some bull promises like that that she has no intention of keeping.
- Or maybe like, Mayura isn’t open about her evil and pretends to be on the “good side” to Adrien and he’s naive and loves his mom so, so much and believes her anyway, despite what he sees her do and against his better judgment. This directly goes along with my theories below of why Adrien loves her so much. Cause it isn’t actually love. I least I don’t predict it is. I think she’s actually really controlling. We haven’t seen any Adrien/Mama Agreste interactions yet, only pictures, so we can’t decide her behavior yet. And we all know Adrien’s oblivious. By a certain point, because he felt she was all he had, he stopped questioning her entirely. And then she disappeared.
- But maybe she’s really good at making herself seem innocent, though, so much so no one ever expects her and I’m gonna explain this later whoops (more on that later)
Oh, boy. I remember when Chat Blanc was a huge thing for me. Akumaization is one thing. Actual, willing switch of sides? Oh my ahsuddndnjd.
- I mean, of course Chat won’t be evil.
- But he may fight against LB for a while.
I can’t believe I’m taking this (^) as foreshadowing too now with the rainbow thing because I’m honestly sick of seeing it. I thought it was just because LB was on one side and Chat on the other far end, kinda showing how their powers are stronger and that they kind of, you know, cradle or herd in the other 5 miraculous in? Idk, anymore.
- I do know this show has a heck of a lot more plot than anyone could have guessed. And I think that not even the half of it has been even hinted at, I don’t think–even amidst the spoilers–let alone revealed.
- Anyway. It’d be different if Chat was beside the turtle. I know his color doesn’t fit,
but then again, maybe they planned his color this way to get a chance to hint at his involvement with the baddies. Or, you know, they could have given Chat Noir his rightful green. (I get they’re getting the colors that were in the giant miraculous box Master Fu has; does that make it fair? No. No, it doesn’t.)Then we could assume Chat was where the goodies ended, and Mayura was where the baddies began. But the creators made a point of putting him on the far end. Deep in with the bad guys.
Honestly, despite earlier comment, I still have a hard time believing Adrien would side with Hawkmoth any time soon or ever, actually. But, we already know Hawkmoth’s identity, and I heard a Mayura hint was supposed to be in this opening. So maybe this is proof she’s an Agreste?
This isn’t even far-fetched really.Although, the same could be said for Natalie if all I’m proving is a connection with Adrien and Gabriel. More on that later.
So onto the why it ain’t Nathalie tho stuff
So I totally get why people think it’s Nathalie.
- I mean, her last name is literally “heartless” in French.
- but there be some issues with that theory.
To start, I always liked Natalie and throughout season 1 I got the impression she really cared for Adrien. But I saw a different side of her in The Collecter–suddenly more distanced, more professional, and most of all, more cruel. And all of the sudden, to me, her behavior and just how she acted–and the fact she MOST DEFINITELY knows about Hawkmoth’s identity–made her a really likely and interesting candidate for the Peacock miraculous. So I almost wish (I sometimes really wish) the possibility of her being Mayura wasn’t immediately crap (IMO) because of her eye shape, for starters.
- Even the quill/pen and fan remind me of her tablet and maybe her stylus (if she has one), you know? And she does wear a turtleneck that could possibly cover the brooch, so I definitely think the creators are trying to make us think it’s her. Or at least help us doubt it’s mama Agreste. Also Nathalie’s color scheme matches, so I can understand why some think it’s Nathalie (I did myself at one time–see above) but the possibility is all but impossible to me.
Another thing.
- Thomas said, somewhere, that Mayura would make Hawkmoth seem like a “baby” in comparison, and that she would also be the boss of him.
- While it may seem plausible that the assistant takes control of her boss, Nathalie has not ever been shown in this way–(i.e. power hungry) even if I question her choices at times.
- A recent scene in the Style Queen trilogy makes my point stronger, I believe
She’s quite obviously distressed and disappointed in Gabriel’s decision to continue using the Butterfly miraculous.
Nathalie pretty much doesn’t “talk back” to Daddy Agreste, but here she mentions “You said you were going to stop.” She sounds, eng dub at least, almost annoyed by his decision. To him, the only indication of the length at which she’s upset with his choice is her resigned undertone. She kind of very lightly lets him know she doesn’t support this, but just when he explains he just can’t let this go, she again places herself in a non-rebelling, complicit role to his actions.
- A huge deal about Nathalie, which ties in with the “heartless” name, is that she won’t let anyone know how she really feels about something. She acts emotionless, and almost bored, about everything around her. To be honest, this is the first instance I remember where she clearly shows emotion, and it’s when there’s no one else to see it.
So despite presenting herself as complicit, once she’s out of his sight, she reveals her true distress over the situation by her sad, defeated expression and body language. So, knowing this, knowing that she doesn’t want Gabriel to continue his quest for the miraculous,
What motive would Nathalie have?
She obviously has feelings for Gabriel. Heck, even if it isn’t explicitly romantic interest, she cares for both Agreste boys very much, at least on a family-like level. She and Gabriel are obviously very close (her being allowed to know his identity–also intimate hug *coughs*) and apparently, it’s simply communicated as a strange bond of friendship between them.
- Her motive for helping him along with being Papillion is because she loves him, and she loves Adrien.
- Her reasoning for being upset about Gabriel being Hawkmoth would be
- it’s crazy, it isn’t right, and it’s hurting people.
- Adrien’s safety
- also, why would she want Emilie back? She isn’t trying to stop him from getting her back, but somehow I feel like she’d rather he cut his loses and live the rest of his life with Adrien
and maybe her
So, again, what motive would Nathalie have? Should she be Mayura, wouldn’t she be upset about Gabriel quitting, not him continuing? Wouldn’t she want him to continue?
- Additionally, even if it were plausible that Nathalie supposedly became Mayura to help Gabriel speed up the process of getting Emilie back and so Adrien and everyone else in Paris could finally be safe, it still doesn’t explain why Mayura is “in charge”.
- Nathalie, with a miraculous or not, would not be the greater evil between her and Papillion and I can’t be convinced otherwise until (if) the show proves me wrong.
Besides, seemingly emotionless or not, we know Nathalie. Her being Mayura just doesn’t feel right.
- Given what we’ve heard of Emilie, it doesn’t seem right for her to be evil either, right? But that’s the thing: we’ve never met Emilie, never heard her speak, never seen her interactions with anyone. We know nothing about her. And, as I’ll explain below, the only information we have is from Adrien and Gabriel, who are both incredibly biased to begin with, and they could very much be victims to her manipulation.
So anyway, just bear with me assuming Nathalie isn’t Mayura for the time being, with just those couple of thoughts to help.
Next is something important, symbolically, but kind of a really deep (overly deep probably) analysis:
So, to start off, why is Mayura’s suit the way it is?
You know, Mayura doesn’t technically wear a mask, and yet her transformation changes her the most, for sure. No other miraculous we’ve seen has changed skin color like that, I’m convinced that isn’t her true hairstyle or color, her eye color changes, and then she also has the costume.
Can’t really tell if her hair is truly short or if it’s just the angle and she has a bun. In some ways, I’d vote short hair that kind of flairs at the backends, but it could be a bun because the drew the hair around her head to look kinda tight–almost like it’s pulled back into a bun or something. Now I can’t decide which would be better. Though, most (including myself) have thus far imagined her with short hair.
Mayura’s suit changing her the most makes sense: she wants to, and needs to, remain hidden the most out of all of them.
- If you recall, Plagg told Adrien in Frightengale that the suit design and transformation is what the holder wants.
- Adrien’s flashy, with a bell and all that, and changes his appearance to fit probably what he’d rather have–or at least what he wished he had the option of having–which is an appearance that speaks wild, free, and playful.
- Marinette’s transformation, similarly, doesn’t change her appearance at all really. She’s confident in who she is and has the freedom and courage to be who she wants without the mask, so her suit needn’t change her.
- Hawkmoth’s transformation completely covers him, showing he is more careful about being noticed–and how it is more important to him that his identity remain a secret, but his suit still leaves him recognizable–hair is covered but isn’t evidenced as having changed, eye color and face shape and skin color remain the same.
Therefore, I believe it is in the interests of Mayura to remain as unrecognizable as possible–and her suit’s transformation shows this. Now, for obvious reasons her identity needs to remain a secret, such as the reasons for Hawkmoth, Chat Noir, Ladybug, Rena, and all the others. However, I believe she has an extra motive in being so covered. Heck, I think it’s even possible that Hawkmoth won’t even know her identity. I believe her extra coverage is descriptive of how she’s secret, mysterious, fake, and a lie. More on that later.
- Anyway, the only way we can identify her is by her face/body shape. Well, Mama Agreste has really distinctive eyes. Their shape is upturned and kind of almond-like. That’s the main thing I notice, but her jawline is also similar. Lastly, even though we haven’t seen her entire body, it seems Mrs. Agreste is shown skinnier than most grown women in the show, (including Nathalie, though it could be the bulkiness of her pantsuit) and Mayura likewise appears slimmer.
- Now the body shape thing is a stretch–since concept art defers from the final product and miraculous isn’t really consistent with body shapes untransformed and transformed–but the eye shape surely isn’t.
*sighs* Mayura looks so evil. Poor Chat
- There are other physical and visual cues that hint Emilie is Mayura, but my point isn’t really proving it’s her, it is, assuming it is her, discussing her motives, purposes, and how it makes sense.
My real purpose of writing this: Mayura/Emilie’s Purpose, Motive, how it makes sense, etc.
So, to begin, just how much Adrien idolizes his mother is almost suspicious. Scarily suspicious. I get the kid loves her. I love my mom a lot too, lol. But it’s weird, don’t you think?
From the way they portray her–mostly from Adrien’s eyes, mind you–she seems to be especially kind and she obviously brought him the majority of his happiness whilst still being locked in his house.
But, pretty much from the get-go, she gave me a bad feeling
I feel like that scene at the beginning of the Collector (s2e1–where Gabe’s fussing at Adrien about the lost book) was just so…scary. Gabriel was actually intimidating, and yeah, I’d read a lot of fics where Adrien’s Dad threatened to take him out of school, but I never expected it to actually happen in the show. And so quickly too. The stakes were set 1000x higher 5 minutes into the episode, the first ep of the new season, and I really felt for Adrien here.
All our fears in fics about Gab’s reaction were confirmed and it hurt to watch, tbh. This season’s mood was immediately set: there’s more going on than you realize, and it’s getting serious now. But even though it wasn’t bad or scary by like, anything else’s standards, lol, this was from ml? And it shocked me so much that I immediately gasped at the shift in tone. Ik Thomas made fun of ppl asking if the show would get darker, but it already has, and not in a not-friendly-for-kid way but definitely in a thicker-plot sort of way.
- Maybe…maybe she (along with Gabriel) closed Adrien off from the world to make him love/depend on her too much. Maybe she did that to Gabriel, too.
I saw a discussion where people were talking about how the cultural symbolism of these animals, so far, and to our knowledge, described their Miraculous abilities.
Okay, so now I’ve made theories, specifically originating from this and then I kind of went out from there. (I’ve like never read Reddit before, omg) you can scroll down to the reply by TheRationalDove that I read, but I’m just going to bold basically what’s important or stuck with me.
“So, when it comes to the Miraculouses power, it seems to be based on what the animal symbolizes/what humans associate with them. For example, ladybugs are symbols of good luck, so Ladybug has that power. Black cats are famous symbols of bad luck, so Cat Noir destroys things. Butterflies are associated with change due to their metamorphosis, so Hawk Moth’s powers allow him to change people. Foxes are often depicted as tricksters, but Volpina’s power draws specifically from the Japanese kitsune, which a mythical fox who can create illusions.
“For Le Paon, her powers would most likely be based on what a peacock symbolizes. And that depends on where you are in the world. In India, peacocks are famous for their fearlessness of snakes and they are often depicted as mounts of several Hindu dieties, most notably the god of war, Kartikeya. Peacocks are also associated with vanity, pride, vision (due to the eyespots on their tail feathers) and royalty. They were also thought to be immune to poison and purposeful consumed poisonous things to make their plumage more iridescent.
“So, what I’m getting out here is that Peafowl have a lot of different symbolism associated with them so it’s hard to pick one that is the most likely. In my opinion, the most likely choices are vision (you can give her the ability to see far distances or maybe even breifly into the future), pride (perhaps she is just really good at manipulating others), or immunity to poison (she can heal herself or have resistance to really damaging attacks)”
Dundundun
“Perhaps she is just really good at manipulating others” is literally the basis for all my thoughts on Mayura–Manipulation is absolutely key to my theories on this.
I think Emilie’s entire character, and everything involving her in the plot, has to do with her skill in manipulation.
(Note: I’m going to write my theories below as if they’re proven true because this is all speculation and my theories; we don’t know anything about her canonically, but I derived these thoughts from canon)
So back to my thoughts on how Adrien idolizes her. I know Gabriel’s trash, but I got to thinking. Adrien’s been locked away from the outside world entirely through being home-schooled. But the thing is, he’s been home-schooled his entire life, not just since his mom disappeared.
Adrien claims his father wasn’t as neglecting as he is now; before his mother disappeared he lived in a more stable and loving home, despite the fact he wasn’t allowed friends.
Yes, I can buy that Gabriel got worse after Emilie “disappeared”. But, really, given how unhappy Adrien must’ve been, for a while, about his situation where he couldn’t have friends and outside interaction while his mom was still there I think that, honestly, his view that his life was better with his mom around is mostly due to the brainwashing she provided him. She convinced Adrien it was okay he didn’t have friends, he’d always have her, etc. And he believed her, because he thought it was Gabriel who was the one who made the decision to lock him away in the house. Of course, Emilie made sure not to sound accusatory against Gabriel to Adrien, because if Gabriel would’ve caught onto that then her entire scheme would fail. She convinced Adrien his dad had decided to not allow him friends for his own good; Adrien pretended this was okay, because he loved his mom and didn’t want to upset her–or his dad for that matter, since he thought his father’s controlling actions were out of love– even though he knew it wasn’t best for him since it hurt him so bad. On Gabriel’s end, Emilie had convinced him the home-schooling idea, etc. was his idea when in reality it was hers, just so her story would match up between them, she’d get what she wanted, and, from anyone else’s point of view, she would have been entirely innocent in the situation. If all failed and Adrien decided at some point he wasn’t happy with being alone, the backlash would fall upon Gabriel, not her, and Gabriel would be upset because he had thought it was his idea too. Either way, the blame would never fall to her for Adrien’s neglect.
Onto her disappearance. I believe, if it’s possible Emilie really is this way, that she could have planned and orchestrated the entire disappearance thing. Now, as of now, we don’t actually know what happened to her–obviously she didn’t actually go missing, because Gabriel has her, so this is really where my theory loses some traction because she may honestly be injured or something. I’m assuming, then, that whatever had happened to her happened through something magical–her and Gabriel were tampering with things they shouldn’t have been and she, supposedly, got hurt because of it. Best and easiest scenario aligning with the public’s (and Adrien’s) belief that she is missing. Reasons that Gabriel couldn’t tell the world what really happened because 1) the world cannot know of the miraculous openly, especially the Agreste’s connection to them and 2) he needed Emilie available to him so he can “fix” her (though she may not actually be in danger). Now, this is where she’s manipulating again. I believe that she could have faked her getting hurt or whatever’s put her to sleep in order to urge Gabriel to do what he’s doing now. The reason she plans all this just to have Gabriel do the work for her? She gets what she wants, the miraculous, and in everyone’s eyes, including her husband who is aware of the most, she was entirely innocent the entire time (even though, in reality, she orchestrated the entire thing).
I think Emilie could have planned the entire thing, for a long time. We don’t know when she and Gabriel got a hold of the peacock and butterfly miraculous; if their trip to Tibet was before or after Adrien’s birth, so I can’t say whether she was already power hungry at the time of them finding them or not (something evil would have already been brewing in her had Adrien been born at the time because she would have already begun entrapping him). But then again, what if she planned it even sooner than that? She and Gabriel take a trip to Tibet and “stumble” upon the miraculous (in reality that’s why she wanted to take a trip there–to find the miraculous). Alternatively, Emilie knew nothing of the gems before visiting Tibet, they really did simply stumble upon the book of miraculous and, from there, was where her power hungriness began. Either way, her and Gabriel come home with two miraculous and the grimoire, her with a thirst for power and a plan to get some. (Edit: though Gabriel may have said she gave it to him as a gift on their trip, so maybe she always had the spell book in possession, and really did strategically travel to Tibet in order to obtain those two miraculous, the peacock and butterfly–these were, sadly for her, the only two she could find).
Something that hints at my idea of her faking her sickness, or whatever, to Gabriel is found at the end of Gorizilla here.
I used to think they weren’t showing any closer to her body case because they weren’t ready to reveal it being her in there. Now, I think they had another reason for not showing Emilie. At this time in Gorizilla, there’s a banging/clanging noise, then the distinct sound of a miraculous beeping. Of course, the fox, cat, ladybug, turtle, bee, and zodiac sign miraculous are with Master Fu or Marinette and Adrien at the time. Gabriel is shown to be with Adrien above, also accounting for the butterfly miraculous. That leaves the peacock miraculous. Nathalie has never been shown in Hawkmoth’s lair, and she had little influence is this episode (did she even appear?). Also, as I stated above, even if you believe Nathalie is Mayura, her motivation for being her wouldn’t have been until after she realized, for sure, that Gabriel would not stop until he got Emilie back. As I said before, I can see the possibility of Nathalie becoming Mayura simply to speed Hawkmoth’s victory along–but I determined this doesn’t seem likely anyway–but if that was her motivation what business would she have messing with a miraculous here?
So, I’ve concluded, the reason they don’t show Emilie here ^ (as they so easily did here, for example, see below pic) is because she wasn’t in the coffin thingy like she was supposed to be at the time. I’d possibly go so far as to say she made sure to get up specifically when she knew the showing of her film would be–and therefore the day both Adrien and Gabriel would be particularly distracted–so that she’d be safe from the threat of Gabriel catching her, awake and well.
And, to be honest, I get it. She looked really sweet to me in the pictures Adrien had of her before. But now that I think about it, I think it looks fake. And miraculous is a very visual show, so the picture tells a lot of the story too. If they wanna lowkey expose, or rather, hint at, a villainess’ identity through very, very subtle things like that, I’m sure they could pull it off. I think they already have.
Is it even necessary to mention the peacock-esque eyes on her painting?
The possible symbolism behind the fact that through these eyes Gabriel gets into his lair? That his identity as Hawkmoth is literally and figuratively through her? As in because of her? That these eyes could also symbolize she’s watching, always watching, because she’s manipulated everyone and everything into playing as her pawns in her power hungry scheme to gain the miraculous? Because it symbolizes she has more knowledge than anyone as to what’s happening?
Do I need to mention her sitting right beside the miraculous in Gabriel’s safe?
Do I need to mention the link between Gabriel’s comments about Emilie’s emotional behavior when Dusuu is the “emotional” kwami?
Even without these theories, I simply cannot believe that Emilie is simply Adrien’s mother, or simply Gabriel’s motivation. The mystery that surrounds her any time she’s mentioned in the show has to mean something more. She has to have more to her than being a plot device. The characters that “feel” important are usually the ones with miraculous, and it feels right here. Also, it’s a kid’s show. In kids shows, as we see demonstrated in Frozer, they aren’t going to dwell too long on the whole there are two options for affection (not including love-square because it’s the same two people). I do not feel like they’d show Nathalie in this intimate hug with Gabriel
Unless they were tryna give the audience a feel for her being a “replacement” for Emilie. I don’t feel they’d have Nathalie and Emilie be good people and pit them against each other like this in the show–(after all, marriage is more serious than, say, an ice skating date). Don’t get me wrong, if both were “good” people I don’t think they’d have them jealous over each other or anything. Should Emilie come back though, Nathalie is just going to have to get over her pain herself because obviously Gabriel would stay with Emilie, and that seems a little harsh whereas I believe the show’s supposed to have a happy ending. I feel like, once Emilie is defeated and all that, everyone will make peace and Nathalie will be a part of the Agrestes’ rebuilding. I think Nathalie will help “fix” Gabriel after everything’s over.
Tbh, I kinda think it’s ridiculous we’re discussing this because she so obviously looks just like Mama Emilie Agreste. (Says the person who has almost always thought it was her, forgot kind of due to Natalie Knows (And Is Chill About It) shock™, and entertained the idea of Natalie bossing Gabe around when he mistreats her so badly. This could be a great story–but her eyes don’t fit. My mind for three episodes straight was coming up with great stories that could accompany her being Mayura, but I srsly, really don’t think it’s her now, as I thoroughly explained above).
A grand total of about 1.23% of this theorizing is slightly likely to happen, the rest is practically guaranteed not to, but it’s fun to speculate so eh.
LAST THING: wouldn’t it be such sweet, cruel irony if Emilie was Mayura and was actually responsible for this? While I don’t think Chat will literally sneeze around Mayura, peacocks have feathers, which he’s allergic to, so couldn’t that symbolize how Adrien needs to stay away from her? How, if she really did all this, that she’s the source of his abuse and pain?
I had a thought…So Marinette doesn’t even entertain the possibility that Adrien could be Cat Noir because they act so differently. But Gabriel saw the ring and instantly started suspecting his son of being Cat Noir, despite the fact that he’s seen Cat Noir in action and knows how different they seem.
Which means at some point Gabriel thought to himself, “So if my sweet, calm, studious, obedient son was offered the responsibility of becoming a superhero and wielding a powerful and dangerous artifact; would he use it to become a leather-clad hooligan who cracks terrible jokes and flirts like he’s in a cliche shoujo anime?” and he concluded “Yes. He absolutely would.”
make way for the Queen 🐝
been an a massive miraculous mood for the past month and this is all I could muster up. click for better quality!
Tikki: god this is like the fifth time this week they’ve bashed into each other’s heads
Plagg: well I mean you know why right?
Tikki: because mine is clumsy and yours is oblivious?
Plagg: nah
Plagg: cats headbutt to show affection
Tikki: …holy fuk
ruinedchildhood