History YMMV / MiraculousLadybugS03E01Chameleon

* FranchiseOriginalSin: While all of the other students of Marinette's class had shown themselves to be gullible, quick to make erroneous assumptions and [[FailedASpotCheck lacking in observation skills]] in previous episodes (one major example being Alya in "Lady Wi-Fi" thinking ''[[AlphaBitch Chloé]]'' is Ladybug with flimsy evidence), the way Lila wrapped them all around her finger so easily (and kept doing in future episodes like "Ladybug") made this the episode in which a wide number of the audience decided that [[HanlonsRazor such a huge amount of blindness can only mean they are deliberately foul]], leading to the meteoric rise of the "Salt Fic" sub-genre.

** Either this or HilariousInHindsight about how [[{{Flanderization}} increasingly absurd]] her capacity as a ConsummateLiar became as the seasons passed, including scamming three women into making them believe she was their daughter ([[TwoTimerDate at the same time]]) and the reveal that "Lila Rossi" is not her real name (although which is it we have not been told yet) and that she has been wearing a wig all of this time.

* CriticalBacklash: This episode has slowly begun to garner this reaction from some fans. It [[BrokenBase completely tore the fandom apart]] and single-handedly gave birth to the [[RevengeFic salt fic genre]], and the character of Lila Rossi who, while [[HateSink intentionally unlikable]], was hyped up by fans (even on this very wiki) as undeniably [[TheSociopath a malevolent sociopath]] who was [[EvilerThanThou eviler than Hawk Moth]] just because of this single episode[[note]]and that is before she got a subplot of [[TheStarscream plotting to take over Hawk Moth's operation]] in Season Five[[/note]]. For fans who don't get so emotionally involved with the show or Marinette's character, this is at worst an average and largely inoffensive episode that is far from uncommon in fantasy shows, where characters like Alya are shown to be flawed but not [[RonTheDeathEater irredeemable]] and Lila is just a typical teenage BitchInSheepsClothing character with [[ConsummateLiar over-the-top lying powers]].

** Either this or HilariousInHindsight about how [[CharacterExaggeration increasingly absurd]] her capacity as a ConsummateLiar became as the seasons passed, including scamming three women into making them believe she was their daughter and the reveal that "Lila Rossi" is not her real name (although which is it we have not been told yet) and that she has been wearing a wig all of this time.

* HarsherInHindsight: If Lila had been a VillainOfTheWeek, maybe she would have been less divisive. But by the end of Season Five, she [[DragonAscendant took over the reins]] of being the BigBad.

* CriticalBacklash: This episode has slowly begun to garner this reaction from some fans. It [[BrokenBase completely tore the fandom apart]] and single-handedly gave birth to the [[RevengeFic salt fic genre]], and the character of Lila Rossi who, while [[HateSink intentionally unlikable]], was hyped up by fans (even on this very wiki) as undeniably [[TheSociopath a malevolent sociopath]] who was [[EvilerThanThou eviler than Hawk Moth]] just because of this single episode. For fans who don't get so emotionally involved with the show or Marinette's character, this is at worst an average and largely inoffensive episode that is far from uncommon in fantasy shows, where characters like Alya are shown to be flawed but not [[RonTheDeathEater irredeemable]] and Lila is just a typical teenage BitchInSheepsClothing character with [[ConsummateLiar over-the-top lying powers]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: This episode is a major source of contention between fans because of this.

** Adrien's reputation among the fandom was irrevocably tainted as a result of his infamous "high road" advice at the end of this episode. His most vocal critics would go on to paint his personality in civilian life as a spineless AccompliceByInaction who cares more about maintaining an illusion of peace than actually standing up for what's right, even though earlier episodes such as "Despair Bear" (where he threatens to renounce his friendship with Chloé after a nasty fire alarm prank) and later episodes such as "Oni-Chan" (where he makes it clear to Lila that harming his friends is a line he will not tolerate) and "Ladybug" (where he uses his "friendship" with Lila to coerce her into retracting false accusations against Marinette) show him drawing his personal line in the sand when pushed too far.[[note]]On a semi-related note, this also triggered a re-examination of his EntitledToHaveYou tendencies as Cat Noir, leading to his critics going after ''that'' as well.[[/note]]

* FranchiseOriginalSin: While all of the other students of Marinette's class had shown themselves to be gullible, quick to make erroneous assumptions and [[FailedASpotCheck lacking in observation skills]] in previous episodes (one major example being Ayla in "Lady Wi-Fi" thinking ''[[AlphaBitch Chloé]]'' is Ladybug - and we never hear what made her assume this either), the way Lila got them all wrapped around her finger so easily (and keeps doing so in future episodes like "Ladybug") made this the episode in which a wide number of the audience decided that [[HanlonsRazor such a huge amount of blindness can only mean they are deliberately foul]], leading to the meteoric rise of the "Salt Fic" sub-genre.

* BrokenAesop: Take the high road with liars - just ignore them, because calling them out won't make them good, and it will only hurt everyone. Naturally, a large number of fans took grave offense to this.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: While all of the other students of Marinette's class had shown themselves to be gullible, quick to make erroneous assumptions and [[FailedASpotCheck lacking in observation skills]] in previous episodes (one major example being Ayla in "Lady Wi-Fi" thinking ''[[AlphaBitch Chloé]]'' is Ladybug - and we never hear what made her assume this either), the way Lila got them all wrapped around her finger so easily (and keeps doing so in future episodes like "Ladybug") made this the episode in which a huge amount of the audience decided that [[HanlonsRazor such a huge amount of blindness can only mean they are deliberately foul]], leading to the meteoric rise of the "Salt Fic" sub-genre.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: While all of the other students of Marinette's class had shown themselves to be gullible, quick to make erroneous assumptions and [[FailedASpotCheck lacking in observation skills]] in previous episodes (one major example being Ayla in "Lady Wi-Fi" thinking ''[[AlphaBitch Chloe]]'' is Ladybug - and we never hear what made her assume this either), the way Lila got them all wrapped around her finger so easily (and keeps doing so in future episodes like "Ladybug") made this the episode in which a huge amount of the audience decided that [[HanlonsRazor such a huge amount of blindness can only mean they are deliberately foul]], leading the meteoric rise of the "Salt Fic" sub-genre.

** Adrien's reputation among the fandom was irrevocably tainted as a result of his infamous "high road" advice at the end of this episode. His most vocal critics would go on to paint his personality in civilian life as a spineless AccompliceByInaction who cares more about maintaining an illusion of peace than actually standing up for what's right, even though earlier episodes such as "Despair Bear" (where he threatens to renounce his friendship with Chloe after a nasty fire alarm prank) and later episodes such as "Oni-Chan" (where he makes it clear to Lila that harming his friends is a line he will not tolerate) and "Ladybug" (where he uses his "friendship" with Lila to coerce her into retracting false accusations against Marinette) show him drawing his personal line in the sand when pushed too far.[[note]]On a semi-related note, this also triggered a re-examination of his EntitledToHaveYou tendencies as Cat Noir, leading to his critics going after ''that'' as well.[[/note]]

* FanonDiscontinuity: Few fics acknowledge that "Chameleon" happened, and 90% of those that do parody it or rewrite it to have a different ending. It's the only way to prevent the hot-button issue of bullying from swallowing up whatever narrative writers want to tell (and even then [[AccusationFic not all of them succeed]]).
* FranchiseOriginalSin: The immensely BrokenBase amongst the ''Ladybug'' fandom that caused the meteoric rise of the "[[AccusationFic Salt]] [[RevengeFic Fic]]" [[BetrayalFic sub]]-[[HateFic genre]] has its beginnings in this episode.
* NeverLiveItDown:
** Adrien's reputation among the fandom was irrevocably tainted as a result of his infamous "high road" advice at the end of this episode. His most vocal critics would go on to paint his personality in civilian life as a spineless AccompliceByInaction who cares more about maintaining an illusion of peace than actually standing up for what's right. This also triggered a re-examination of his EntitledToHaveYou tendencies as Cat Noir, leading to his critics going after ''that'' as well.
** Alya's reputation amongst the fans took a massive hit after this episode; even now, many refuse to see her as anything but a FalseFriend and hypocrite who'd ditch Marinette the second a more tempting offer presented itself. This also extended to the other kids in Bustier's class, though Alya tends to get hit with the brunt of it.
* OvershadowedByControversy: These days, this episode is more well known for the ''massive'' BrokenBase it caused in the fandom and for being the trigger that unleashed a hoard of [[AccusationFic "salt]] [[BetrayalFic fics"]] than the actual quality of the episode itself.

* CriticalBacklash: This episode has slowly begun to garner this reaction from some fans. It [[BrokenBase completely tore the fandom apart]] and single-handedly gave birth to the [[RevengeFic salt fic genre]], and the character of Lila Rossi who, while [[HateSink intentionally unlikable]], was hyped up by fans (even on this very wiki) as undeniably [[TheSociopath a malevolent sociopath]] who was [[EvilerThanThou eviler than Hawk Moth]] just because of this single episode. For fans who don't get so emotionally involved with the show [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality or Marinette's character]], this is at worst an average and largely inoffensive IdiotPlot episode that is far from uncommon in fantasy shows, where characters like Alya are shown to be flawed but not [[RonTheDeathEater irredeemable]] and Lila is just a typical teenage BitchInSheepsClothing character with [[ConsummateLiar over-the-top lying powers]].

* IdiotPlot: Much of the plot of this episode hinges on the class deciding to force Marinette to sit in the back with zero input from her, then getting mad at her when she rightfully objects to it. This stokes her anger, which draws Hawk Moth's attention to the school. Considering that some of the people in that room have been akumatized before, you'd think they'd realize the danger. Granted they do show some genuine concern for Marinette after she storms off from lunch, and the episode also tries to hint that the class went back to their old seats because they likely realized how unfair they were to Mari over the change.