Episode 30
- Princess Fragrance - Tales of Rose the Princess
Nadja Chamack greets her audience, reporting on Scarlet Lady and her team's latest triumph over the Enchanted Florist (an akumatized Zoe Rapporte), who threatened to terraform all of Paris into a jungle. Scarlet Lady stands front and center before her teammates, laughing victoriously despite how she and the others are getting thoroughly soaked. Nadja remarks on how often Mlle. Rapporte has been akumatized, prompting the florist to cut in, declaring that maybe she wouldn't get so angry all the time if people weren't so shi—
But she's cut off as the scene shifts to a rare sight: Chloé in a public restroom, fixing her hair. While she complains about being forced to work in the rain, Tikki sneezes, and Chloé snaps her bag open to find her Kwami shuddering. Tikki pleads to be taken to a doctor. Chloé sarcastically asks, "What, a kwami doctor?" before Tikki replies that she knows a healer. But Chloé's having none of it, claiming that she doesn't have time to take Tikki anywhere and is not letting the Kwami ruin her attendance record (blithely ignoring Tikki's protest that her attendance record is already poor and the Kwami pitifully crying for a doctor.)
Over at school, Rose is watching the news on her cell phone, listening to Nadja talk about how Prince Ali, heir of the kingdom of Achu, will be visiting Paris to help organize a toy drive for a local children's hospital. With tears in her eyes, Rose muses that he's beautiful both inside and out, prompting Juleka to compare him to Rose herself. Rose then decides that she's going to write him a letter declaring how much she admires, loves, and respects him. Juleka asks how she intends to get it to him, but Rose simply insists that, "Love will find a way!" spurring Juleka to wonder, "Does love do delivery?"
Chloé finally arrives in class. when Mme. Mendeleiev asks where she's been, she snidely declares that she was fixing her hair and makeup. Marinette then trips through the door and stammers out a Lame Excuse about having to take her dog to the vet after he ate all of her socks. Naturally, Chloé leaps at the chance to mock her, remarking that maybe if she wasn't late, she could make sure her excuses were fully baked and wouldn't look like a drowned rat. Mme. Mendeleiev then angrily reminds Chloé she was also late.
Rose tries to discreetly spray her letter with perfume, only for Mme. Mendeleiev to catch her in the act. The teacher also notices that Rose's cellphone was out and orders her to take her things to the principal's office. Chloé twists the knife by comparing the scent of Rose's perfume to rotten fish, only for Sabrina to snark that Chloé keeps a bottle of the exact same perfume in her locker.
After class, Tikki tries getting Chloé's attention again, only to be harshly shushed: Prince Ali is staying at the hotel, so she has to get ready! Overhearing this, Rose asks Chloé if she was talking about Prince Ali, to which Chloé snaps, "Not to you!" Rose then wonders if her classmate was talking to her bag instead since she doesn't have any friends.
Rose then asks Chloé if she'd deliver a letter to the prince for her. Chloé happily accepts it... only to rip it apart before Rose's eyes. Getting into her limo, she cackles at the sight of Rose kneeling on the curb, mocking her naivete... but gets distracted by Tikki's groaning, complaining that the Kwami's ruining the moment. Worse, what if she gets sick in her bag?!
Chloé ends up taking Tikki out to prevent the Kwami from making a mess... only for Marinette to walk by and Tikki cradled in Chloé's hand. Horrified, she informs Pollen that Chloé has Scarlet Lady's Kwami—meaning she must have stolen her!
Meanwhile, Hawk Moth contacts Rose, addressing her as "Princess Fragrance" and declaring that nobody will be able to resist her perfume. Rose remarks that she mostly just wants her prince... but she isn't against tormenting Chloé a little. As a treat.
Marigold visits the hotel and asks to see Chloé, only to learn that aside from akuma attacks or personal invitations from the Bourgeoises, both she and Chat Noir have been banned from the premises. Why? Because the last time they were there, they flooded the whole place with ladybugs, which the staff are still finding squirreled away everywhere.
Tikki is groaning in Chloé's palm, but never mind that! Her Adricheri has just arrived! ...Alongside Kagami, who was also invited by Prince Ali. Chloé fumes at Adrien complimenting his friend's attire. Kagami teasingly calls him "Adricheri" as well, prompting a soft "How dare you" from Adrien.
Marinette sneaks into the hotel disguised as a delivery person sporting a motorcycle helmet. Shortly afterwards, Princess Fragrance arrives, blasting the doorman with her perfume and waltzing through... though she pops back to ask him where Prince Ali is, getting directed to the restaurant floor.
Chloé offers the prince a special figurine of Scarlet Lady (that she secretly grabbed off her shelf), claiming it's for the children. Adrien reveals that he commissioned a friend to make several plushies of Chat Noir while Kagami declares that the Tsurugis have delivered an entire truckload of Marigold merchandise in his name. Thanking them all, Ali then asks, "And who are these characters?" unaware of Paris's local heroes.
Sneaking in, Marinette spots Tikki hanging out of Chloé's handbag, visibly ill. Then Princess Fragrance enters the room, blasting her bully with a specially scented perfume—one that actually smells like rotten fish. Marinette muses that this might be her favorite akuma, but that doesn't mean she's going to stand idly by while innocents are threatened. She distracts Princess Fragrance by striking one of the nearby floral arrangements, sending flower petals swirling everywhere. Both she and Adrien take advantage of the distraction to transform while the others flee; Pollen tries to remind Marinette of the helmet, but there's no time to take it off.
After they've escaped to a new room, André tries to reassure his guests that the door is reinforced. While Prince Ali's escort wonders how anyone could keep to a schedule under such circumstances, Chloé notices Adrien's absence. Kagami suggests that he must have gotten caught, much like the news crew.
Princess Fragrance tries flooding the floor with more of her charming perfume, only for Marigold (sporting an appropriately transformed helmet) to distract her. André declares that they should make a break for it. Prince Ali is led along by Kagami, still clutching one of the Chat Noir dolls and shocked to learn that the characters they were telling him about were actually real. Marigold ducks into a dumbwaiter in order to escape the fumes.
Chat Noir catches up with the survivors downstairs; as he asks where the akuma is, Chloé orders one of the workers to close the door, revealing that her father has fallen victim to Princess Fragrance's Mind Control. The akuma then strides in but is knocked away by Chat Noir's baton as he reminds her that, "No means no!"
Making it outside, they reach a car... but Kagami refuses to let Chloé join them; she still smells like raw fish and will stink up the whole vehicle. Besides, Kagami reasons, the akuma isn't after HER. In the ensuing struggle, Tikki falls out into the car unnoticed. Chat Noir orders Chloé to wait for either Marigold or her supposed BFF, Scarlet Lady, leaving both her and Princess Fragrance screaming, "How dare yoooou!" in unintentional tandem.
Chloé's mood isn't improved by Princess Fragrance promptly proving Kagami right by ignoring her in favor of pursuing the car. Now she's finally ready to transform! But wait! Tikki's not in her bag anymore! Marigold arrives, and Chloé orders her after the car, claiming that Kagami stole her "important bug plushie."
Unfortunately, Princess Fragrance catches up first. Prince Ali's escort had cracked open the moon-roof despite Kagami trying to warn her against it, and the akuma gleefully floods the whole car with her Mind Control perfume while Tikki huddles on the floor, weakly whimpering for Chloé.
Marigold arrives on scene to find the car completely abandoned, save for the poor, shivering kwami. Tikki weakly protests that she needs to get back to Scarlet Lady and transform, but Marigold refuses, declaring that she's taking her to Master Fu right away. As he treats Tikki, Marinette explains how her classmate Chloé had her and must have stolen her from Scarlet Lady.
With his expert aid, Tikki quickly recovers. Though duty calls, Pollen convinces her to not leave without a goodbye hug from Marinette first, insisting that her queen gives the best hugs. As Marinette gently embraces her, tears spring into Tikki's eyes as she thinks about what might have been... and Pollen whispers to her that Tikki is the only one she's willing to lend her queen out to. For everyone else (especially Mullo), she's off limits.
Marigold arrives at the Pont Des Arts, knocking away the perfumed padlock she was about to use on Prince Ali to "seal [their] love for eternity." She asks Rose if she forgot she already has a girlfriend; Princess Fragrance retorts that she's got two hands, ordering her brainwashed servants to attack. As they rush in, Marigold notes that she's more afraid of Kagami than Chat Noir.
Meanwhile, Tikki finds Chloé sulking on the curb. Chloé demands to know where the Kwami's been, complaining about being stuck on the sidelines like some civilian. Then she notices Princess Fragrance flying overhead, Prince Ali hanging off of her, and promptly transforms, chasing after the akuma and arriving just in time to hear her declare that she'll enchant all of Paris (something that surprises Hawk Moth, who asks his akuma, "Wait, not me though, right?" only for the akuma to repeat her words).
With a shout of "I don't think so, Stink Bomb!" Scarlet Lady knocks Princess Fragrance's hand aside, breaking her concentration. Marigold arrives right behind her, with Princess Fragrance demanding to know what happened to her servants. While Marigold doesn't bother to answer, an Answer Cut reveals they all got dosed in the river, with Kagami, André, and Prince Ali's assistant tied up by Chat Noir with his belt. Snatching away Scarlet Lady's Lucky Charm—a balloon—Marigold tosses it so that it covers up the nozzle of Princess Fragrance's perfume gun, then stings her with Venom. Scarlet Lady remarks on how easy that was, only for an annoyed Marigold to counter, "Easy for you, maybe."
A deakumatized Rose then notices that Prince Ali is present and happily greets him. Scarlet Lady starts bragging about herself to the prince, only for Marigold to remind her that her timer's beeping and drag her off by the ear, leaving Prince Ali wondering if their heroes are usually so... eccentric. By the time Chloé gets back to them, the pair have already bonded, with Prince Ali deciding to escort Rose to the children's hospital. Chloé protests that Rose already has a girlfriend;, Prince Ali declares that he'd love to meet her as Rose gleefully replies that Juleka would love to meet him as well. By the time his assistant arrives at the hospital, not only have they already met, but he cheerfully introduces Rose as his girlfriend and Juleka as his girlfriend's girlfriend.
That evening, Chat Noir rendezvouses with Marigold upon a rooftop, declaring that he got her message and asking what's up. Is she upset about the akuma? He apologizes for having gotten hit, only for Marigold to interrupt him and declare that they need to talk about getting the Ladybug earrings away from Scarlet Lady.
This episode contains examples of:
- Answer Cut: When Marigold arrives and Princess Fragrance asks what happened to her servants, we see them sitting by the river, with Kagami, André, and Prince Ali's assistant tied up with Chat Noir's belt while he sits beside them licking himself clean.
- Battle in the Rain: The heroes' encounter with the Enchanted Florist took place in the rain, resulting in Tikki falling ill.
- Bittersweet Ending: While Rose's side of the story resolves happily, Tikki goes through the wringer, spending most of the episode seriously ill. Although Marinette ensures that Tikki gets the treatment she needs, it's only a small taste of happiness for the Kwami, who has to leave the safety of the Guardian's abode and all her friends behind in order to return to her abusive holder.
- Call-Back: Marinette recognizes Tikki from "Vanisher" and takes her to Master Fu for healing, having met the Guardian back in "Syren."
- Casual Danger Dialogue: As Princess Fragrance's brainwashed bodyguards, including an ensorcelled Chat Noir, close in on Marigold, the Bee heroine idly remarks to herself that she's honestly more concerned about facing Kagami.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Marinette thinks that Chloé stole Tikki from Scarlet Lady after seeing Chloé holding the Kwami.
- When Chloé protests that Rose has a girlfriend, trying to imply that she's off the market, Prince Ali simply declares that he'd love to meet said girlfriend (though this may instead be because he's perfectly fine with Polyamory, as later shown).
- Continuity Nod: Pollen tells Tikki that other than the Ladybug Kwami, she won't share her queen with anyone else—particularly Mullo, calling back to "Puppeteer."
- Creator Cameo: Zoe Rapporte is an Original Character designed to serve as the creator's counterpart in the world of Miraculous Ladybug.
- Curse Cut Short: Zoe responds to Nadja's comment about how often she's been akumatized by declaring, "Well maybe if people were a little less shi—" before being cut off.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Rose asks Chloé, resident Rich Bitch and class bully, to pass her love letter on to Prince Ali. Chloé brutally Lampshades this after ripping it up, asking her if she seriously believed she'd do such a favor for her.
- Played for Drama when Prince Ali's assistant cracks their car's moon-roof open. As Kagami immediately berates her for doing so while they're being pursued by an akuma with Mind Control powers, Princess Fragrance catches up and gasses them through the roof.
- Played for Laughs with Hawk Moth, who grants Princess Fragrance the ability to put anyone who smells her signature perfume completely under her control... without considering that she might do that to him. When she declares her intention to enchant all of Paris, he immediately asks "Wait, not me though, right?" only for the akuma to reaffirm that she means everybody.
- Dramatic Irony: Marinette's assumption that Chloé stole Tikki from Scarlet Lady provides ample amounts of this since the audience (along with Pollen and Tikki) knows that Chloé is Scarlet Lady.
- Ear Ache: When Scarlet Lady tries to brag even though her timer is beeping, Marigold pulls her from the ear to take her away before she detransforms.
- Easily Forgiven: Despite not having any experience with akumas beforehand, Prince Ali doesn't blame Rose for her actions as Princess Fragrance, quickly discovering that they share a lot in common and kindling an actual relationship with her.
- Entertainingly Wrong:
- Upon spotting Tikki in Chloé's hands, Marinette mistakenly assumes that she must have stolen the Kwami from Scarlet Lady due to Scar's careless nature and Chloé being a selfish, thieving brat.
- Since he's unfamiliar with Paris's recent troubles, Prince Ali initially thinks that Scarlet Lady, Chat Noir, and Marigold are all fictional characters and is shocked to learn otherwise.
- Funny Background Event: When Marinette sees Chloe with Tikki and comes to the (technically true) conclusion that Chloe stole Tikki, Pollen is combing Marinette's hair.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Just barely Averted for Hawkmoth, when Princess Fragrance nearly puts him under her control with her perfume.
- Honor Before Reason: Tikki is so duty-bound that she pleads with Marigold to take her back to Scarlet Lady so she can help her transform despite clearly suffering from her illness. She also returns to her after being healed by Master Fu instead of outing Chloé and staying with the Guardian because Kwamis aren't meant to reveal their holders to anyone and the Ladybug earrings are still needed for cleansing akumas.
- Hope Spot: Pollen becomes excited when Marinette notices that Chloé has Tikki, thinking that her holder has finally figured out Scarlet Lady's secret identity (Pollen could tell Marinette herself but won't after Tikki drilled it in her that it's against the rules). Unfortunately, Marinette just assumes Chloé stole the Kwami from Scarlet Lady, causing Pollen to Sweat Drop in disappointment.
- Hypocrite:
- When Tikki begs to be taken to a doctor, Chloé refuses, declaring she won't let the Kwami ruin her attendance. As Tikki points out, Chloé has already ruined her attendance by leaving to show off as Scarlet Lady during akuma battles.
- Chloé mocks Marinette's tardiness despite showing up late to Mme. Mendeleiev's class herself.
- Chloé also repeatedly compares the scent of Rose's perfume to that of rotten fish, even after Sabrina points out that Chloé not only uses the exact same perfume herself but keeps a bottle of it in her locker.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: When confronted by Mme. Mendeleiev over her tardiness, Marinette stammers out that she had to take her dog to the vet after he ate all of her socks. Chloé mocks her for this (even though she was also late).
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Tikki is still the one who gets sick, but Chloé is much less sympathetic towards the Kwami's plight. The rainy weather that caused it still happened despite the heroes having fought a different akuma.
- Marinette is still denied entry to the hotel and forced to sneak inside disguised as a pizza delivery person in a motorcycle helmet on a quest to save Tikki. Unlike in canon, though, here, she initially tried to gain entrance as Marigold, only to get refused because of how magic ladybugs messed up the hotel in "Vanisher."
- Tikki still ends up in the car with Prince Ali as he's trying to escape Princess Fragrance. The difference is that Chloé accidentally flings Tikki in while trying to get into the car herself, only for Kagami to block her because of her stench. Additionally, Chat Noir still enters the car and gets brainwashed when Princess Fragrance fills it with perfume.
- Though she isn't the Ladybug heroine, Marinette still takes Tikki to Master Fu for healing (she has known where to find Fu since "Syren" when Chat Noir took her to see him without permission).
- Ironic Echo: Pollen excitedly chirps, "Oh my!" when Marinette notices that Chloé has Tikki, thinking that her holder has realized Scarlet Lady is actually Chloé. Then Marinette declares that Chloé must've stolen Tikki from Scarlet Lady, causing Pollen to repeat her words, this time in a disappointed tone.
- It's All About Me: Chloé refuses to get Tikki any medical attention as it would distract from the things she wants to do. She also complains about Tikki going off and getting aid on her own because it left her stuck on the sidelines.
- I've Heard of That — What Is It?: After brainwashing the doorman to let her into the hotel, Princess Fragance proclaims, "I'm coming, my prince!"... right before turning back to ask the doorman where Prince Ali actually is.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Mme. Mendeleiev does it in a brusque manner, she's right in telling Rose off - not only is she using her phone in the middle of class, but they are in the laboratory and the perfume could react with the experiments they're carrying in unwelcome ways.
- Kidnapped by an Ally: Marigold basically has to kidnap Tikki to take her to Master Fu for medical attention. Because Tikki was all but begging Chloe to take her there for most of the episode, we know that Marinette had the Kwami's consent.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Chloé repeatedly claims that Rose's favorite perfume smells like rotten fish. Princess Fragrance pays her back by blasting her with perfume that actually smells like rotten fish.
- On a larger scale, Chloé's refusal to do a simple favor for Rose and ripping up her love letter leads to Rose not only meeting her crush after being cleansed but hitting it off so well that he escorts her to the children's hospital and kicks off a Long-Distance Relationship, much to Chloé's chagrin.
- Chloé tries to get Prince Ali to lose interest in Rose by telling him about the latter's relationship with Juleka... only for it to be revealed that Prince Ali has no problem with Polyamory and would love to meet Rose's girlfriend, which only frustrates Chloé further.
- Marinette becomes determined to take the earrings from Scarlet Lady after seeing the Ladybug heroine neglect Tikki's health.
- Mind Control: Princess Fragrance's primary perfume enchants everyone who breathes too much of it in, brainwashing them into her loyal servants.
- Mythology Gag: Chloé mocks the scent of Rose's perfume, only for Sabrina, now her enemy, to point out that Chloé has the same perfume in her locker. The author notes that in the canon version of "Lady Wifi," a perfume bottle identical to Rose's can be seen in a Freeze-Frame Bonus when Chloé has her locker open.
- Noblewoman's Laugh: Scarlet Lady laughs this way after the Enchanted Florist's defeat, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
- Original Position Fallacy: Hawk Moth is surprised to learn that Princess Fragrance is willing to subject all of Paris, including him, to her Mind Control.
- Polyamory: Despite her relationship with Juleka, Rose still wants to confess her crush on Prince Ali, which accelerates into wanting to marry him as Princess Fragrance. When Marinette tries to remind the akuma about her girlfriend Juleka, Princess Fragrance proclaims she has two hands. By the end of the episode, Ali casually introduces Rose and Juleka to his assistant as his girlfriend and his girlfriend's girlfriend, respectively.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Upon seeing Tikki with Chloé, Marinette leaps to the conclusion that she must have stolen her... from Scarlet Lady, "'cuz she's a thief and Scarlet is careless!" All of that is correct aside from the notion that Chloé stole the Kwami from Scarlet Lady: Chloé IS Scarlet, thanks to how she stole the Ladybug earrings from Marinette all those months ago. Pollen knows the truth but isn't allowed to say anything.
- Self-Deprecation: The author writes her Scarlet Lady counterpart as someone with a Hair-Trigger Temper.
- Skewed Priorities:
- When she hears Tikki sneeze, Chloé complains about her doing so inside her handbag. She then dismisses Tikki's request to be taken to a doctor by claiming she can't let her attendence record suffer, ignoring Tikki's declaration that it's already been ruined.
- Despite her condition clearly worsening, Tikki asks Marigold to help her get back to her wielder instead of seeking medical aid, feeling that dealing with the akuma is a much more immediate matter.
- Splash of Color: Princess Fragrance's perfume is hot pink when used for Mind Control and light green when used to make Chloé smell like rotten fish
- Unsatisfiable Customer: It's implied that Rapporte keeps getting akumatized due to dealing with Jerkass customers.
- Wham Line: Marigold drops one hell of a bombshell at the end of the episode:Marigold: We need to talk about taking the earrings from Scarlet Lady.
