Ding, ding, ding, bell's ringin'! Round three. FIGHT!
"Anansi, I am Hawk Moth. They didn't want your support and protection. Well, I'm giving you the power to show them just how dangerous the world really is. In return, you must defeat Ladybug and Cat Noir and bring me their Miraculous."
— Hawk Moth
Alya's big sister Nora becomes the spider-themed akuma Anansi, and Marinette has to enlist some aid to stop her.
Tropes:
- A Day in the Limelight: Nino has a good part of the episode focused on how determinated he is to save Alya, to the point he even has to stall the akuma by himself, using basically his guts and Cat Noir's staff. And then, he becomes the fifth Miraculous wielder, Carapace.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Anansi is a terrific kickboxer who often mocks and belittles her opponents, being extremely confident on her own skills and strength, even before being akumatized. She can't resist a chance to show off her fighting progress, toying with Nino instead of defeating him instantly, and accepting Ladybug's boxing challenge.
- At Arm's Length: Anansi easily holds back a flailing Nino — who is half her height — this way.
- Beehive Barrier: Carapace's special power is a forcefield patterned after the shell shield on his back.
- Big Sister Instinct: Nora establishes this as she worries about Alya's safety and refuses to let her out of the house late at night given the amount of akuma attacks that have been happening.
- Boxing Episode: The Monster of the Week is a transformed kickboxer, and Ladybug challenges her to a boxing match.
- Brick Joke: A variation; Nora mockingly asks Nino if he plans to defeat the akumatized villain with a dance-off. Come the end of the episode, Nora-as-Anansi is defeated with a boxing match by Ladybug, who dodges and weaves more than throw any punches.
- Call-Back: In order to convince Alya to stay at home, Nora references previous times Alya was endangered by akumas while out and about, while Alya retorts that doing so won't change anything since their own younger sisters were akumatized at home.
- Car Fu: Anansi uses cars as weapons, throwing them with ease against the heroes.
- Deadly Dodging: Ladybug challenges Anansi to a boxing match then deliberately leads her into attacking near the corners of the ring, dodging at the last second so Anansi will damage the supports of the Arc de Triomphe and bring the structure down.
- Didn't Think This Through: Cat Noir climbs Anansi's web to save Alya, only to be caught by it after a few seconds of climbing.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Even before her akumatization, Nora prefers to be called Anansi.
- Dramatic Irony: While watching Nino and Alya play a DanceDanceRevolution-esque game, Marinette admires how in sync they are while Adrien wishes for someone to share experiences with the way they do, unaware that they already have a similar dynamic with each other as Ladybug and Cat Noir.
- Exactly What I Aimed At: When Ladybug returns with Carapace, she throws her yo-yo behind Anansi, leading Anansi to mock her aim. Ladybug then reveals she's used her yo-yo to make a makeshift boxing ring between the supports of the Arc de Triomphe.Anansi: Missed me!
Ladybug: Did I? - Fastball Special: Ladybug throws Cat Noir into Anansi, so he can destroy her helmet with his still-active Cataclysm.
- Foreshadowing: Hawk Moth's last words hint at the upcoming "Heroes' Day" special.Hawk Moth: You're gaining more allies, Ladybug, but don't rush to rejoice! Soon, you might just be outnumbered!
- Genie in a Bottle: Discussed Trope; Nino asks if Wayzz is a genie like in fairy tales.
- Genre Savvy: Hawk Moth anticipates that Ladybug's boxing challenge to Anansi is a trap, but Anansi ignores him.
- In-Universe Factoid Failure: Anansi wastes a lot of time trying to get Cat's Miraculous... because she thinks it's him, and not Ladybug, who has magical earrings. Hawk Moth is understandably exasperated.
- Irony:
- Nora wants Alya and her friends to understand how dangerous the world is because of all the akumatizations. She gets akumatized herself, proving her point.
- In a more meta sense, Anansi the villain is a brutish and none too bright villain, whereas the mythological Anansi is rather famously a Trickster God known for using his wits to trap and outsmart far stronger opponents. Ladybug's scheme to beat her by using her own strength against plays perfectly into his M.O.
- Look Behind You: Marinette distracts Nora by yelling that there's an akuma behind her and helps Nino win their arm-wrestling match while Nora looks away.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Carapace's shield easily blocks Anansi's punches, which are strong enough to crack the supports of the Arc de Triomphe.
- Monumental Damage: Ladybug deliberately tricks Anansi into damaging the supports of the Arc de Triomphe so she can collapse the whole thing on her as a distraction.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As well-meaning as it is, Marinette cheating to help Nino beat Nora at arm-wrestling leads to her akumatization, though Alya angrily rebuking Nora for her overprotectiveness is also a contributing factor. Marinette owns up to it after the battle is over.
- The Power of Love: Parodied with Marinette's unconvincing speech when she tries to convince Nino that he can beat Nora at arm wrestling.
- Remember the New Guy?: Alya's older sister Nora went unmentioned prior to this episode, with only Alya's parents and younger siblings being seen. Since Alya frequently babysits her younger sisters in the absence of her parents and at the end mentions that she can't remember the last time she and Nora hung out, it is implied that Nora is not around much.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Alya heavily hints to be one for Nino/Carapace.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Nora doesn't want Alya to go out because she's worried her sister might be attacked by an Akuma. After having her (Over)protective intentions rebuffed and rebuked, Nora's frustration makes her vulnerable to The Corruption, and the first thing Anansi does is kidnap Alya.
- Shout-Out:
- Ladybug call Nino "Captain Turtle", in allusion to another shield-wielding superhero.
- Nino's rivalry with Anansi references folktale "Anansi and the Turtle".
- Something Only They Would Say: Though she doesn't outright say it, Alya hints that she knows Nino was Carapace, having caught on to his distinctive use of "dude" as he was rescuing her.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Upon first seeing Wayzz, Nino asks if he's a genie. It's the very same thing Adrien asked Plagg when they first met.
- Waiting Puzzle: Cat Noir charges his Cataclysm so Anansi can't grab his ring without harming herself. Hawk Moth's solution is to simply wait for him to detransform.
- We Need a Distraction:
- Anansi takes advantage of the ferris wheel's damage to kidnap Alya while Cat is busy stopping the wheel and saving people.
- Marinette asks Nino to keep Anansi busy while she goes to Master Fu's to get the Turtle Miraculous.
