Who is Ladybug? Is she a superhero or a super-weirdo? How can we trust the girl when we don't even know who she really is? We have the right to know!
"Lady Wifi, I heard through the grapevine that you're seeking to unmask Ladybug. I'd like to help you if you'll agree to help me too."
—Hawk Moth
Alya gets suspended when photographing the inside of Chloé's locker, and becomes "Lady Wifi", a villain planning to reveal Ladybug's identity. Her main suspect: Chloé Bourgeois!
Tropes:
- And I'm the Queen of Sheba: In the English dub, Nino says that if Chloé is a superhero, then he's the Wizard of Oz. In the French original, he says he's Hawk Moth.
- Anti-Climax: Lady Wifi has Cat Noir trapped in a freezer and Ladybug pinned to the wall. She tries to peel off Ladybug's Domino Mask... and it won't come off. Ladybug has to explain that the mask is magic.
- Big "WHAT?!": Done twice with Marinette during class when asking what happened to Alya. The second time lands her in the principal's office.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: When she can't take off Ladybug's mask, Hawk Moth tells Lady Wifi to make Ladybug use the Lucky Charm so that her power will wear off. Lady Wifi agrees, frees Ladybug, and forces her to use her Lucky Charm to save Cat. She then makes the mistake of leaving the two alone, with only a livestream camera keeping an eye on them. Once Cat is free, he covers up the camera so Ladybug can sneak off in case her transformation runs out. It also doesn't occur to Hawk Moth that she simply could have removed Ladybug's earrings.
- Clark Kenting: Discussed at the end, when Alya points out the similarities between Adrien and Cat Noir. Marinette won't hear of it.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- In Marinette’s first scene, Tikki implies that Hawk Moth is unknown to people who haven’t been Akumatized, referring to him as “whoever’s behind this”. Later episodes would throw this notion out and have the Big Bad be public knowledge. Though Tikki could've been speaking rhetorically.
- When Lady Wifi has Cat Noir locked in the freezer and Ladybug frozen, Hawk Moth instructs her to let Ladybug go so that she could use her Lucky Charm so that her power would run out, making Ladybug a powerless human for Lady Wifi to take her earrings. This implies that the Miraculous can only be removed when they're powered down, but no other villain for the rest of the series ever tries this. It especially does not help that Cat Noir's ring was knocked off (powering him down instantly) by accident in the exact same scene.
- At the end Alya manages to draw a connection between Cat Noir and Adrien's appearance, where it will later be established that a Glamour is included in the magic of the transformation to keep people from recognizing miraculous holders outside of explicitly revealing their identity.
- Failed a Spot Check:
- Alya examines her classmates to see who might be Ladybug, ignoring that Marinette is missing while Ladybug is in the middle of stopping an akumatized villain.
- Marinette doesn't recognize Lady Wifi is Alya until she sees the ladybug charm hanging off the villain's phone, despite the fact that she looks exactly the same as she does normally aside from her bodysuit, red-violet eyes, and Domino Mask.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The note that Alya leaves for Marinette is written in French, even in the English dub of the episode.
- Felony Misdemeanor: Alya gets suspended for a week just for taking a photo of another student's locker. Of course, her punishment was to be much lighter if it wasn't for Chloé threatening to tell her father.
- Fighting Your Friend: Or as Marinette prefers to put it, Saving Your Friend.
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: This is Ladybug's response when Lady Wifi mocks Cat Noir for rushing to Ladybug's rescue, calling her his lovebug. Cat Noir laughs it off and jokes they can work on that later.
- It's Personal: Lady Wifi freezes Principal Damocles for suspending her before moving on to her goal of outing Ladybug.
- Logical Weakness: Even akumatized smartphones can lose bars. In the basement or without a signal receiver, Lady Wifi is powerless.
- Missed Him by That Much: Alya leaves school at the same time Marinette enters it.
- My God, You Are Serious!: Nino laughs for a long time when Alya shares her theory that Chloé is Ladybug. When Alya reveals she means business, he points out that Chloé is too selfish for such heroics.
- Not So Above It All: Chloé dresses as Ladybug in private. She's quite embarrassed about it when Lady Wifi unfreezes her.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Marinette and moreso Tikki when Alya leaves Marinette a note saying she's figured out Ladybug's identity.
- Adrien when Lady Wifi traps him in the freezer and his ring gets knocked off his finger. Not only does he risk freezing, but also his identity being compromised.
- A minor one when Plagg points out that if Ladybug really is Chloé, then Adrien has been nursing a crush on Chloé. Adrien's less than amused.
- Red Herring: In-Universe, Chloé as Ladybug. Alya and Adrien consider the possibility, though Nino and Ladybug herself think they let their imaginations get the better of them.
- Super Cell Reception: Averted. Lady Wifi's phone doesn't work in areas that cell phones normally don't work in (basements, areas without a signal receiver, etc.).
- Teleport Spam: At the hotel, Lady Wifi places cell phones on all the restaurant dining tables so she can teleport between them at will. Ladybug solves this by systematically destroying them, forcing Lady Wifi to retreat to the kitchen.
- What the Fu Are You Doing?: Chloé tries to emulate Ladybug's mad yo-yo skills, only to end up entangling herself.
- What You Are in the Dark: Before Ladybug transforms back into her civilian form, Cat Noir suggests revealing their secret identities to one another, but Ladybug refuses, saying it may be for the best. Cat Noir is on the outside when Ladybug de-transforms and is about to open the door to see her true identity...but closes it at the last moment, respecting her wishes to not reveal their civilian forms to each other.
