By the power vested in me, I shall prevail as Malediktator!
"Malediktator, I am Hawk Moth. Your wife and daughter think you're weak and useless? Well, I shall give you absolute power! Anything you declare will happen!"
— Hawk Moth
When Chloé threatens to leave Paris, Mr. Bourgeois gets Akumatized into Malediktator; invested with absolute power, he wants to make his daughter's dreams come true so that she stays with him.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Bright Light: Played for Laughs. The diamond-encrusted phone-case is so bright that the audience cannot actually see it so much as a bright light coming out of the box. When Chloé shows it off at school, she has to wear her sunglasses, with everyone else averting their eyes.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: Everyone is ecstatic when Chloé announces she is leaving Paris forever (even Kim, who had a huge crush on her until recently), and they all celebrate the occasion by throwing a massive party at school, complete with confetti, fireworks and a conga-line. Well, except for Adrien.
- Apologetic Attacker: Queen Bee apologizes to her dad before she hits him with her venmom.
- Becoming the Costume: Malediktator forces Cat Noir to act like an actual cat.
- BFG: Ladybug's Lucky Charm produces a gun that's bigger than she is. Chloé notes how oddly practical it is, but Ladybug chucks the thing because the only part she needs is the laser sight that came with it.
- Bullying a Dragon: Audrey does not seem to be the least bit worried about the fact that her husband has been akumatized right after she and Chloé pushed him too far, nor does she seem to think that insulting him is a bad idea either.
- Compelling Voice: Malediktator can compel his victims to follow his every whim. He turns Audrey into a devoted wife, Cat Noir into a literal cat, and the Police into his Elite Mooks.
- Disappointed in You: After telling Adrien that Chloé is leaving Paris forever, Adrien expresses disappointment that everyone would celebrate something like that.Adrien: No, I think it's terrible. How can you celebrate a thing like that?
- Disproportionate Retribution: Chloé tries to get the whole school shut down and Marinette banished from Paris simply because Marinette mocked her.
- Her mother tries to take Chloé to live in New York just because her husband was unable and unwilling to abuse his mayoral power to that extent. When he reminds them that he can't go and still be mayor of Paris, the following conversation implies that she's going to leave their marriage too.
- The Dog Bites Back: Audrey abuses, bosses and insults André on a regular basis; as Malediktator, he turns her into a devoted, loving, over-obedient wife.
- Evil Overlord: As Mayor Bourgious, he was a bumbling, possibly corrupt but otherwise adequate leader. As Malediktator, he's... well, a dictator, using his literal power to compel its citizens for his and his family's whims.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: One of the comments on Chloé's selfie at the end of the episode is Pollen.
- Godzilla Threshold: Master Fu and Marinette are understandably reluctant to trust Chloé with the Bee Miraculous again, even though Marinette knows it's the one she needs. Tikki convinces her to trust her instincts.
- Hidden Depths: With a little goading from Ladybug, Chloé admits that the reason she wanted to leave Paris was because she is fully aware of how much of a Hate Sink she is.Chloé: I hurt my daddy's feelings, because I want to leave Paris forever.
Ladybug: Because of what happened in school? I'm sure Marinette probably didn't exactly mean what she said.
Chloé: It's not just her. Actually, I don't even care about her. It's because I have no reason to be here. Nobody likes me, I have no friends, I'm... useless. - Hoist by His Own Petard: Malediktator thinks that Cat Noir is helpless after giving him the mind of a kitten. Ladybug uses this by pointing a laser sight at the brainwashed police, so Cat takes them all out when trying to catch the light.
- Holding Both Sides of the Conversation: Chloé; plays both herself/Queen Bee and Ladybug in her video. Absolutely nobody is convinced, especially with "Ladybug" having blonde hair and the two sharing an overlapping Annoying Laugh.
- Hypno Fool: Using his powers, Malediktator makes Cat Noir act just like an actual cat.
- It's All My Fault: Though it takes some prying from Ladybug, Chloé eventually admits her father's akumatization is on her for being too demanding.
- Lampshade Hanging: Audrey points out just how often people get akumatized, saying that it makes her husband neither cool nor special.
- Love Makes You Evil: Mayor Bourgeois is akumatized because he'd do anything to keep his daughter in Paris.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Police use their riot shields to block every attack Ladybug and Queen Bee throw at Malediktator. Complete with some rather impressive acrobatics to block higher shots.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Roger's attempt at capturing Malediktator only ends up with him getting a personal guard, making him much harder to beat.
- Oh, Crap!:
- When Marinette points out that it's a shame that no one deserves to see Chloé's "documentary", everyone laughs at her comment and she covers her mouth when she realizes what she said.
- After Adrien reveals that Chloé was the only friend he had growing up when he wasn't allowed out and that he's disappointed in everyone for celebrating that, Marinette realizes that she accidentally hurts his feelings.
Marinette: I'm really sorry, Adrien. - Orphaned Punchline: We never really ever find out what Master Fu was using his abacus for, nor do we know what "350" means in this context.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Chloé doesn’t even bother to change her hair colour when disguising herself as Ladybug. This fools no-one.
- Sequel Episode: "Malediktator" is a semi-official third part of "The Queen's Battle". Though in production order, there are two episodes between the two, playing the trope even straighter.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Mr. Bourgeois insists he can't close down the school simply to satisfy Chloé's whim, Audrey decides that leaving the country is the next-best option, which Chloé goes along with.
- So Much for Stealth: Ladybug is about to suggest a sneaky plan until Queen Bee outs herself to Malediktator.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: While Chloé's threat to leave Paris is initially played off as her merely throwing a tantrum over the lack of respect from her peers, her conversation with Ladybug reveals she's genuinely distraught at how loathed she is and doesn't want to stay in a city where nobody likes her.
- Spontaneous Choreography: Later on in the party the school throws in celebration of Chloé leaving, most of the school are doing a dance to Nino's DJ-ing, all the same dance perfectly in sync with each other.
- Stealth Pun: The words to turn off the bee miraculous is "buzz off." Especially when coming from Chloé, it sounds like an insult.
- Took a Level in Badass: Chloé goes from being a Hero with an F in Good to an effective superhero.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Thanks to some actual Character Development, and Ladybug's encouragement, Chloé starts showing some kindness at the end of the episode, even being relatively civil to both her butler and Marinette.
- Totally Radical: Hilariously, Audrey tries to accuse Malediktator of this.Audrey: André, being akumatised does not make you a cool or hip father.
- Ultimate Authority Mayor: Subverted. Chloé and her mother seem to assume Mayor Bourgeois is this and threaten to leave Paris when he apparently refuses to shut down the school and banish Marinette. It's made very clear though that Mayor Bourgeois is well aware that he doesn't have the authority to do what they're asking and that trying would likely result in him no longer being mayor of Paris.
- Villain Ball:
- Malediktator manages to hit Cat Noir and turn him into an actual cat, making him completely vulnerable. Cat Noir hisses and evades him, but he is far less of a threat and he could still use his powers to make him give him his ring. While he does not do this because Audrey thinks he would make an adorable pet, Hawk Moth allows this under the assumption that he could take the miraculous whenever he wants now.
- Also, given the power to make Cat Noir do anything he wants, Malediktator doesn't just order him to hand over his Miraculous.
- Villains Out Shopping: When he's surrounded by police, Malediktator is simply sitting in his office, having tea.
- We Want Our Jerk Back!: While Audrey is much more approachable while brainwashed (Malediktator decreeing her to be a more loving member of the family), Chloé only expresses disgust at seeing her mom act sweet and shower Malediktator with hugs and kisses.
