Okay, I’m slow.
When I read the translation of
that spoiler and saw that Chat Noir said it was the first time a girl had ever
liked him, I was, like, ‘Pfft. You’re
Adrien Agreste and girls throw themselves at you all the time.’
Then my brain kicked in (just a
little) No. This is the first time a girl
has ever said they like CHAT NOIR.
And that must mean so much to
Adrien.
Being Chat Noir gives Adrien some
much needed freedom and one of those freedoms is to behave, say and do whatever
he feels. Adrien hides so much of himself away from his family, friends and the
general public because he’s actually a little shy, lacks confidence, has low
self esteem and is under pressure to behave a certain way because he and his
father are famous and he has a reputation to uphold.
He was looking for approval
from Marinette in Season 1 in Evillustrator when he went a bit overboard trying to
impress her (remember all the flexing, posing, bowing and referring to her as
Princess?) and then approached her later on as Adrien and asked her what she
thought about Chat Noir, or rather, what she thought about him, Adrien Agreste, and that side of himself he dare not reveal to
others. And he sort of got a lukewarm response from her back then? Now here she
is, a girl he really likes (way more than he actually knows) and she’s telling
him she loves Chat Noir, she loves that side of him, the side he really wants
to share with someone.
I can see MariChat being a
stepping stone to more Adrienette because it’d make sense that he’d try to get
closer to Marinette as Adrien if he thinks she’s infatuated with Chat.
But I can also see it leading to heartbreak
if Adrien ever finds out that Marinette was lying* when she said she liked Chat.
(* - Honestly I think she does
love Chat as well but her head is too full of Adrien to let herself see it)