While her team is fighting Strikeback, Ladybug makes a fatal mistake.
Tropes:
- Aesop Amnesia: Ladybug assures Alya that she can still use the Fox Miraculous even though Shadow Moth knows that she is still active, forgetting that Alya's loved ones (including Marinette herself) have been in danger before. Fortunately, Alya realizes that she won't be able to fool Shadow Moth a second time.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Strike Back is a gigantic sentimonster that rampages through Paris.
- Animal Stereotypes: Inverted. Dogs are stereotyped as friendly and loyal, while cats are stereotyped as conniving and mean. However, Félix disguised as the Dog betrays Ladybug for his own ends, while Cat Noir (whom she's been sidelining all season) remains her loyal partner to the bitter end.
- An Aesop:
- To Marinette:
- No matter how hard you try, you can't control everything. Insisting on shouldering all the responsibility yourself can be counterproductive.
- Don´t take for granted or push away those who have been by your side unconditionally.
- To Adrien:
- Although it doesn't seem like it, it is possible that a person is carrying a large amount of stress due to a great responsibility. And the best way to support that person is to reassure them that you are there to help them and that they don't have to deal with everything on their own.
- Those who offer to fight your battles for you may not have the best of intentions.
- To Alya:
- Lies, even well-intentioned ones, eventually come to light.
- To Marinette:
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Félix blackmails Gabriel into giving him the Peacock Miraculous by revealing he knows about what's behind the painting of his wife, and if he doesn't do as he says, he'll reveal it to Adrien. And just in case that wasn't enough, he also promises to give him back his wedding ring and Ladybug's yo-yo with all the Miraculous in the box if he agrees. Gabriel is reluctant at first, but eventually decides to take it.
- Armor-Piercing Response: When Cat Noir calls Ladybug out on knowing everyone's identity but his, she responds that if she knew his identity then Hawk Moth would only need to akumatize her to get to him. When Cat Noir replies that he'll never get akumatized, Ladybug has a traumatic flashback to the events of "Cat Blanc". When she responds that he doesn't know what he's talking about, Cat Noir retorts that that's because she never tells him anything. Ladybug can't respond to that.
- Blackmail: Félix gets his evil uncle to follow along with his deal by threatening to tell Adrien about the secret behind his mother's painting.
- Call-Back:
- Félix steals the fake Peacock Miraculous from Gabriel's safe, Gabriel having suspected Félix would try such a thing.
- When Cat Noir declares that they'll never be akumatized, Ladybug knows better.
- Ladybug falls to the ground and laments how badly she's failed as a hero and guardian, but Cat Noir tells her that she still has him to support her, lifting her up in a way that mirrors what he did as Cat Walker.
- The Cameo: Su-Han, Luka and Chloé appear near the end when Monarch makes a public announcement.
- Cat/Dog Dichotomy: Ladybug lampshades that she has both a Cat and Dog hero on her team — but not for long. To further add to the dichotomy, it's between rival cousins Adrien and Félix.
- Character Development: When Ladybug buckles under the guilt and pressure of her worst mistake (as she did in the Season 3 Finale), rather than tell her that he feels confident she'll come up with a plan since she always knows what to do, this time Cat Noir steps up, offers a helping hand, a shoulder to lean on, and comes up with a plan to get them back.
- Chekhov's Gun: The opening shows Adrien pocketing Félix's spy monocle, although it doesn't come into play in this episode.
- Cliffhanger: Ladybug and Cat Noir staring down the Shellter-protected Akuma face of Monarch with his sixteen Miraculouses.
- Complexity Addiction: Marinette's tendency to do this, exacerbated by the effects of Risk, is ultimately the reason she gets her big first loss: rather than unify the Ladybug, Rabbit, and Dog Miraculous and fulfill her plan herself, she unifies the Ladybug, Rabbit, and Horse Miraculous to get to "Adrien", give him the Dog Miraculous, and then have him join her team, which leads to "Adrien" ultimately betraying her.
- Continuity Nod: Hawk Moth/Monarch once again employs his swarm of butterflies to form a giant, talking head. This time, he shields it with his newly obtained Shell-ter power so Ladybug can't simply dispel it as she did before.
- Crowd Chant: All of Paris comes together to cheer Ladybug's name to show their support for her.
- Darkest Hour: Félix/Flairmidable convinces Gabriel to exchange the Peacock Miraculous for his wedding ring, the Dog Miraculous, and Ladybug's yo-yo, giving him access to every Miraculous in the Miracle Box, leaving only two heroes against a villain with the powers of sixteen.
- Deal with the Devil: Between Gabriel and Félix. The latter offers a swap; Gabriel gets the Dog Miraculous, Ladybug's yo-yo (through which he can steal every Miraculous in the Miracle Box), and his wedding ring back, all in exchange for the Peacock Miraculous. Gabriel seems hesitant at first, but Félix revealing he knows what's behind the painting of Emilie changes his mind.
- Death Glare: Ladybug gives one to both Carapace and Rena Furtive when her role as a spy is exposed. She's more disappointed in Alya for going behind her back and telling Nino.
- Discard and Draw: In order to convince Félix to keep quiet about what's behind his painting on the main hall, he renounces the Peacock Miraculous, and thus his ability to become Shadow Moth, and gives it to him. What does he get in return besides that? Every other Miraculous in the box.
- Didn't See That Coming: Ladybug's decision to recruit Adrien to wield the Dog Miraculous is a good one on paper, but she is blindsided by the fact that he and Félix have pulled a Twin Switch. The result is that Félix is able to double-cross her and deliver the contents of the Miracle Box straight to Hawk Moth.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Ladybug is bubbly about the boy she thinks is Adrien joining her team and them spending a lot of time together, not knowing that she will soon lose all but her one loyal partner; who, unknown to her, turns out to be the real Adrien.
- Cat Noir gets jealous of how much attention Ladybug pays to Flairmidable. He doesn't realize that the reason she's paying him so much attention is because she thinks Flairmidable is Adrien.
- Ladybug lamenting the loss of the Miraculous via the yo-yo Félix stole, unaware that they are literally one floor beneath her!
- Cat Noir comments that they'll never get akumatized. He has no idea that he already was akumatized twice in "Cat Blanc" and in "Ephemeral", and that Shadow Moth had a perfect opportunity to akumatize him in "Glaciator 2". As for Marinette/Ladybug, she was targeted in "Zombizou" and "Chameleon", and she was actually akumatized in "Ladybug" and only got out of it due to sheer dumb luck.
- Throughout Season 4, Ladybug has been keeping Cat Noir away, refusing his help in favor of other holders. In the end, she loses all of the Miraculouses, leaving Cat Noir as the only holder who can fight by her side against Hawk Moth/Monarch.
- Easily Forgiven: Despite her initial anger, Ladybug forgives Alya for telling Nino about her role as Rena Furtive behind her back (as Alya stated that she couldn't lie to Nino, with Ladybug saying that she understands). The fact that Rena Furtive could have been injured if not for Carapace protecting her and that she was the key to discovering the akumatized, could have something to do with it.
- End of an Era: This episode marks the end of Hawk Moth's constant tenure of failure by having him finally gain all the Miraculous from the Miraculous Box, making him more powerful than he ever was at the start of the show. It also marks the end of Ladybug's option to call for allies, as with every Miraculous but the Cat and Ladybug under Hawk Moth/Monarch's possession, they're left alone to confront him just like the beginning.
- Evil Gloating: Monarch's victory comes with a dramatic speech when he gets all 16 of the other Miraculous and brags about how he's going to send attacks against Paris non-stop until he gets Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous.Monarch: People of Paris! Ladybug had promised to protect you? Well, she lied to you! Behold, her defeat! I took all the Miraculous from her! Now I'm more powerful than ever! From now on, I will be attacking you relentlessly. I will be everywhere, probing your thoughts, stealing your dreams, harnessing your deepest fears! Whatever damage I can cause, I will not stop! Unless someone brings me Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous!
- Exact Words: This episode and the previous one form a two-parter called "Shadow Moth's Final Attack", which on the surface sounds like it will end with Gabriel being defeated for good, and possibly even the show ending along with it. Instead, Gabriel trades the Peacock Miraculous to Félix in exchange for every other Miraculous in the Miracle Box (minus the Ladybug and Cat, obviously). Without the Peacock Miraculous, he's no longer Shadow Moth, but he is anything but defeated.
- Failed a Spot Check: Through time travel, Ladybug saw that Risk had been akumatized the day before, and not recently as she supposed, but she didn't find it suspicious that "Adrien" was the only one unaffected by his power.
- Fatal Flaw:
- Marinette's careful planning as Ladybug is undone by her crush on Adrien (and by the influence of Risk). Had she not seized the opportunity to recruit who she thinks is Adrien as a permanent addition to her superhero team, Félix wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to steal her yo-yo.
- Ladybug's Control Freak tendencies and her insistence on being the only one who can distribute or collect other Miraculouses come back to bite her badly. If she had accepted Cat Noir's help, he would have at least kept some of the Miraculouses.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: During her conversation with Gabriel over the phone, we see that Nathalie isn't wearing Emilie's ring, even though she was wearing earlier when she held "Adrien"'s hand to comfort him about having to leave Paris and his friends. Whether it's an animation error or Félix took the opportunity to swipe the ring off her finger remains to be seen.
- Godzilla Threshold: Ladybug employs the Rabbit Miraculous to figure out where Risk hid his akumatized object, despite the risk of meddling with time. She also fuses with three Miraculouses at once — Rabbit, Horse, and her own — so she can get to Adrien without having to switch.
- Gray Rain of Depression: Ladybug goes outside to cry over her mistake while it's raining.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: The Dog Miraculous's Fetch power is a lot less impressive on paper than some other Miraculouses, but Flairmidable is able to use it to swipe Ladybug's yo-yo from right under her nose - outmaneuvering her the way Hawk Moth had been trying for 4 seasons and reducing Paris's greatest heroine to a crumpled mess on the floor.
- Heroic BSoD: Ladybug collapses into a full-blown panic attack when she realizes that Flairmidable stole her yo-yo, allowing Shadow Moth to access all of the remaining Miraculouses, later retreating to a rooftop where she sobs to Cat Noir that she failed as a guardian and as a hero.
- Hurl It into the Sun: This is Team Miraculous's solution to getting rid of Strike Back (via opening a portal under them that drops them onto the surface of the sun), since it's too big to fight and their powers don't work on it directly.
- In Medias Res: The episode picks up where it left off with Adrien discovering his cousin's monocle and Marinette preparing to turn into Pegabug.
- Innocent Bystander: Several citizens who were cursed by Froggy's spell end up wandering into the battle scene making it harder for Ladybug and Cat Noir to concentrate.
- Internal Reveal:
- Rena Furtive's role as a secret operative is exposed after Carapace creates a barrier to protect her. Marinette also learns that Alya went behind her back by telling Nino about the arrangement.
- In a much more serious instance of this trope, Ladybug learns about Adrien and Félix putting a Twin Switch from the former mere moments before Flairmidibble uses Fetch to take her yo-yo and give it to Gabriel.
- Speaking of Gabriel, he too learns of the switch between his son and nephew.
- Jerkass Realization: After losing all the Miraculouses in the box due to her trusting the wrong person, Ladybug finally realizes how wrong she was in trying to control everything while rejecting Cat Noir's offer of assistance over and over, and apologizes for not trusting him more and for hurting him with her actions.Ladybug: Why don't you just give up on me? I've lost all the Miraculous! I'm the worst Guardian ever! I wanted to control everything! I didn't listen to you! I lied to you! I kept you at a distance! Every time you offered me a helping hand, I never took it! I really made a mess of everything!!
- Laughing Mad: Gabriel has a jolly good time pulling out all of the Miraculouses from Ladybug's yo-yo.
- Liar Revealed: Risk's influence causes some lies to come to light in the side of the heroes:
- After thanking Rena Furtive in front of Cat Noir, Ladybug reveals that she is still active but hidden, and that he can't know where she is.
- After being exposed due to Carapace protecting her, Alya apologizes to Ladybug and admits that she lied about hiding her identity as Rena Furtive from him.
- Logical Weakness: Ladybug spends most of Season 4 insisting that only she can carry every Miraculous, dispense them to temporary superheroes, and then collect them afterwards so Hawk Moth can't get to any of them through the other superheroes. The logical downside of this is one need only swipe them from Ladybug to get them all in one go. That's exactly what Félix does.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": When Monarch broadcasts his victory speech to all of Paris, there are several quick cuts to the horrified reactions of everyone who has wielded one of the lost 16 Miraculouses on the show (along with an aggravated Grandmaster Su-Han).
- Mundane Utility: To ensure Ladybug can't dispel his giant moth head like last time, Monarch uses Shell-ter to protect it while giving his speech to all of Paris.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Thanks to Risk making everyone more impulsive, there are a few big blunders.
- Because of Carapace impulsively creating a barrier to protect his girlfriend, Ladybug learns that Rena went behind her back and her role as a secret operative is exposed to the others. Especially Shadow Moth.
- Cat Noir disobeys Ladybug's order and decides to attack Strike Back head on. This backfires on him spectacularly as he's instantly apprehended, has his Cataclysm copied and it leads to the further destruction of Paris.
- Once again, Marinette's attraction to Adrien blinds her judgement, and this time in the worst way possible. By ignoring Tikki's protests and using the Horse Miraculous to bring Adrien back to Paris, she unwittingly grabs Félix instead, unaware that the two had traded places. Since she doesn't know his real identity, she entrusts "Adrien" with the Dog Miraculous to help stop Shadow Moth, only for him to use the opportunity to tag her yo-yo with his Fetch power so he can steal it from her later. He then trades the Dog Miraculous, Ladybug's yo-yo, and Gabriel's wedding ring for the Peacock Miraculous, meaning that while Monarch is no longer able to use Sentimonsters, he now has access to sixteen Miraculouses. Needless to say, Marinette is absolutely horrified when she realizes the consequences of her one little mistake.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Strikeback is easily the strongest sentimonster ever created, shrugging off and being immune to all the Miraculous powers, and absorbing their powers to use on the others. It takes portalling the clones into the Sun in order to beat them.
- No-Sell: Strikeback isn't affected by Miraculous powers, instead copying and turning them back on their owners, hence the name.
- No Sympathy: Lila smirks when she notices Nathalie coughing.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore:
- Alya willingly gives up her Miraculous since she realizes Hawkmoth won't fall for their ruse with Rena Furtive twice.
- Félix is now in possession of the Peacock Miraculous.
- Gabriel now has all of the Miraculouses minus the Ladybug, Cat and Peacock Miraculouses.
- Not Quite the Right Thing: Zigzagged. Alya insists on giving her Miraculous back and retiring as Rena Furtive, despite Ladybug's understanding and desire for her to keep it. Sadly, if Alya hadn't been so noble, then Monarch would have one fewer Miraculous in his possession by episode's end. Although, on the other hand, seeing that the Fox Miraculous was missing, Gabriel could have correctly deduced that Alya had it and it would have been a repeat of what happened in "Sentibubbler".
- Oh, Crap!: Ladybug gets a major one when she learns from Adrien that she gave the Dog Miraculous to Félix, which gave him the power to "Fetch" and steal all of the Miraculouses.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Chloé gives an expression of worry when Monarch, whom she's sided with throughout Season 4, appears as a greater threat now that he holds sixteen Miraculouses.
- Opening Shout-Out: The scene in which Ladybug hands out Miraculous to all temporary holders is based on a shot from the intro used in seasons 2 and 3, in which kwamis fly up across the camera revealing their holders transformed.
- Out of Focus: Minotaurox is the only hero that doesn't get to use his powers.
- Poor Communication Kills: Ladybug's insistence that she and Cat Noir should keep their identities secret from each other comes back to bite her hard. She tracks down "Adrien" and entrusts him with the Dog Miraculous, tells him that her yo-yo can access every Miraculous inside the Miracle Box, and shows him the power of the Rabbit Miraculous. Unfortunately, "Adrien" is actually Félix, who betrays her in order to advance his own agenda and hands every single Miraculous to Gabriel.
- Discussed. Ladybug's tendency to keep Cat Noir in the dark, even if she is trying to protect him, backfires and creates more problems than it solves. Ladybug gets frustrated that Cat Noir doesn't understand the seriousness of what would happen if they discover each other's identity, but as he points out, he would understand if she bothered to tell him.
- Averted in the case of Rena Furtive and Carapace. The honest communication between Alya and Nino save her from being crushed by a wheel.
- Power Copying: Strikeback can copy Miraculous powers used against it; it gains Vesperia's Venom, Purple Tigress's Clout, and Polymouse's Multitude, the latter simply because it punched Polymouse and she divided to protect herself. It also takes Cat Noir's Cataclysm later on, catching his hand when he tries to free himself from some rubble.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: Even though Monarch has all the Miraculouses, Cat Noir raises Ladybug's spirit by reminding her that she has his support along with all of Paris and they'll take on this new threat like the heroic duo they've always been.
- Refusal of the Call: While Ladybug accepts Alya's apology and assures her that she can still use the Fox Miraculous, Alya declines, claiming that it would still be too dangerous now that Shadow Moth knows she's active.
- Rewatch Bonus:
- When Ladybug is explaining to Félix how to use his powers, he immediately touches her yo-yo to ask if he's doing it right. Which really shows how eager he was to steal it the moment she revealed it contained every Miraculous.
- When Ladybug and Flairmidable return from time travel, Cat Noir is the only holder still standing against the sentimonsters. In the end, he is the only holder left to help Ladybug after she loses all the other Miraculouses.
- Revisiting the Roots: By the end of the episode, Ladybug and Cat Noir are back to being a duo with no option of calling extra heroes for help. On the villain's side, Gabriel no longer owns the Peacock Miraculous that was heavily used for the last two seasons. Downplayed on his part since he got fifteen other Miraculous as a trade.
- Sadistic Choice: Near the end, Monarch threatens to unleash every type of attack imaginable onto the Parisian public with the Miraculous at his disposal. And the only way to make him stop? Is if one of them can bring him Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous.
- Sixth Ranger Traitor: Félix, as Adrien, is recruited into Ladybug's team after she has already found a designated wearer for every Miraculous in the Miraculous Box. Despite that, she clearly planned to make him a permanent addition. Instead, he ends up stealing her yo-yo and using it to get every Miraculous from the Box to Gabriel in exchange for the Peacock Miraculous.
- Spanner in the Works: Gabriel doesn't know what risk Ladybug took, so he is taken aback at how she is victorious in the episode. He only finds out once Félix reveals himself and blackmails him for the Peacock Miraculous.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Possibly. After Ladybug and co. hurl Strike Back into the sun, the camera lingers on them floating helplessly (while sad music plays) as they fall into the sun. Then Félix is shown to give a sad, "Forgive me," in their direction as he leaves to carry out his betrayal.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The final trailers from Gloob revealed most of the ending of the episode.
- Tranquil Fury: Adrien is obviously furious when he realizes that Flairmidable is Félix and that he has tricked Ladybug, but he remains calm.
- Tricked Out Time: Marinette knows full well that messing with time is dangerous, so she and Flairmidable buzz by the moment when Risk got Akumatized just long enough to tag his frog doll, so Flairmidable can summon it back when they return to the present.
- Twin Switch: Continuing from the previous episode, Félix is still posing as Adrien, which Ladybug is fully unaware of. Realizing that "Adrien" hasn't been affected by Risk, she gives him the Dog Miraculous. She doesn't even realize it's not Adrien until she attempts to retrieve the Miraculous from the real Adrien.
- The Un-Reveal: We never get to see Marc, Nathaniel, Max, Sabrina, and Kim's reactions to their respective Miraculous being stolen by Hawk Moth/Monarch.
- Wham Episode: Félix betrays Ladybug and steals her yo-yo in order to trade it and the ring against the Peacock Miraculous. Gabriel gets every Miraculous in the Miracle Box, becoming more powerful and dangerous than ever.
- Wham Line: Gabriel returns to the mansion ranting about Ladybug not having made a single mistake despite Risk's influence, only to hear a familiar voice taunting him:Flairmidable: Ladybug did make a mistake... Uncle.
- Wham Shot: Monarch's giant head made out of butterflies, protected by Shellter, and displaying the sigils of the 16 Miraculouses he has in his possession, showing the entire world that Ladybug has lost and that she and Cat Noir are now all alone against him.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: In-universe, Ladybug and co. think nothing of sending the Strike Back Sentimonsters into the sun to die a fiery death, rather than send them someplace out of the way where they can still live harmlessly. Félix (who might actually be a Sentimonster) gives a sad, "Forgive me," in their direction as he leaves.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Ladybug gives a big one to herself for falling for Félix's deception and allowing him to gain access to her yo-yo and giving all the Miraculouses to Shadow Moth.
- Worst. Whatever. Ever!: As if to emphasize how big her blunder was, Ladybug calls herself "the worst Guardian ever" when Cat Noir comes to comfort her after losing every Miraculous in the box.
- Xanatos Gambit: Even when Ladybug discovers the existence of Risk and that his marks affect everyone, Shadow Moth isn't worried in the slightest - she has no way of deakumatizing him so that means she will just doubt herself on every step. This pays off even better than he could have planned when Ladybug's attempt to find someone who wasn't marked by Risk leads her to accidentally recruiting Félix.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: As Ladybug breaks down in tears over her mistake, Cat Noir encourage her by embracing her and telling her that they will get all of the Miraculouses back one by one, no matter what risk they'll take.
- You Are Not Alone: When Ladybug breaks down in tears over losing the Miraculous and giving Hawk Moth/Monarch a greater advantage than ever, Cat Noir reminds her that she has him, and the entire city of Paris, supporting her.
- You Are Too Late: As soon as Tikki announces she's done recharging, Marinette immediately transforms to regain her yo-yo and try to salvage what little Miraculous she can, but alas, she's too late: Gabriel has already taken every single Miraculous out the box and is looking at them with a mad grin.
- You Can't Thwart Stage One: In what might be his single greatest victory, Gabriel creating Risk to make everyone in the city reckless and impulsive, and Strikeback to attack the city ended in a series of events that resulted in Gabriel claiming every single Miraculous from the Miracle Box. He still doesn't have the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous he needs to make his wish, but he's much closer now than he's ever been.
