Episode 26
- Animan - Tales of Otis the Zookeeper
As Nino scopes things out from afar, Adrien sneaks up behind him, asking if there's any particular reason he's been ogling Marinette so much lately. Nino claims that he's got a crush of his own on Marinette; the joke falls flat, and he rushes to reassure the devastated Adrien that he was kidding while the blond tries to force out some encouragement.
Nino explains that he's actually been trying to figure how ways to help them hook up. Maybe Adrien could ask her to check out the new panther exhibit at the zoo? Adrien's not so sure, though, given how exhausting his work as Chat Noir has been, but Nino insists that he's been livelier lately and that his father's been more permissive—if nothing else, he should try. Adrien wonders if he's actually allowed to be happy, and Nino advises him to chill: it's just a date, after all.
Alya's with Marinette when the boys approach and reveals that the new exhibit is the whole reason their family moved to Paris in the first place: her father Otis works with the panther and actually switched zoos with it. Now that its quarantine period is over, he won't stop talking about it. Nino suggests that they all check it out together; Alya agrees but warns them to be mindful of her dad while he's working since he gets weirdly protective of the animals.
After splitting away from the girls, Adrien wonders whether he should get flowers or a present for Marinette. Nino reminds him that they're starting slow—this is just a chill hangout to test the waters. But no worries; they'll be arranging real dates soon, and he can break out the smooth moves then.
Unfortunately, Chloé overhears their conversation. Racing back to her room, she fumes over how inconsiderate Adrien is being—not only is he trying to date someone other than HER, he's taking Marinette to the stinky, sweaty, gross zoo of all places! She vents to Tikki about the massive sacrifices she's forced to make in the name of love, ignoring the Kwami's observation that she doesn't have to do anything here.
While waiting for the boys, Alya remarks that she's surprised Marinette agreed to a date. Marinette declares that they're just hanging out... then asks if Alya wants it to be a date. A date... with Nino? Blushing, Alya replies that they've already established that it's not a date, so that doesn't matter; judging from Marinette's beaming grin, she clearly disagrees.
Max and Kim pass by; Kim explains that they're going to check out the new exhibit and see how he measures up to the panther. By which he means speed-wise, leaving Marinette to wonder just how they intend to gauge that.
Adrien and Nino arrive as Alya warns Marinette not to do anything weird. Marinette insists nothing's going to happen, grinning as she thinks to herself that if she and Adrien happen to leave Alya alone with Nino, well, that's just going to be a coincidence. Nothing more. (Alya remarks that her best friend's got a terrible poker face.)
Fuming over the sight of the quartet laughing together, Chloé declares that she needs to move closer. Tikki suggests hiding in the bushes (where she can sit in shame), but she insists she has a genius and original alternative as she sits down at a table and spies on the group through holes cut in a newspaper... while failing to notice that she's right next to somebody else doing the exact same thing. Namely Master Fu.
Otis yells at Kim, accusing the teen of stressing his panther out during her feeding time. Marinette asks why he's not feeding her in the back instead, only for him to order her to leave before he has her banned from the zoo. Even Hawk Moth is unimpressed when he learns that Animan wants to punish Kim and his friends for their "disrespect"—though of course, he still akumatizes him.
Leaving that exhibit behind, the quartet discuss their next move. Adrien wants to see the giraffes while Alya would rather visit the reptile house. Nino offers to go with her, and Marinette suggests that they split up—only for Chloé to choose that precise moment to spring out of hiding and latch onto Adrien. He's naturally suspicious that she just happened to be there, but she insists it's a sign of their deep, personal connection. As they argue, Max and Kim run by, yelling for everyone to get to shelter—all the animals are out of their cages and running wild!
As they split up, Chloé gloats that she still won—after all, Marinette and Adrien's "date" has been ruined! Both Adrien and Marinette are fuming; Adrien laments that he and Marinette were so close to going off on their own while Marinette's upset that Alya missed her chance to have some alone time with Nino.
But wait—there's still a chance! Under the pretense of getting them both to safety, Marigold shuts Alya and Nino into one of the exhibits together. This sends Alya spiraling into a panic attack—since Scarlet Lady only works with "real reporters," her only way of staying relevant is by filming akuma attacks. And oh yeah, that akuma is her dad. While she freaks out, Nino places his headphones over her ears, reminding her to breathe... though of course, she can't hear him with said headphones on.
As she adjusts them, he explains that missing one akuma won't ruin her. She can still post about it, and hey—maybe the other heroes will be more receptive to interviews. Calming down, she remarks that the song she's listening to is really good, and he reveals he mixed it himself. She asks what kind of software he uses, admitting that she has trouble editing out background noise; as they talk, her hand comes to rest gently over his.
Meanwhile, the heroes are overwhelmed. Clambering to higher ground, they decide that the best way to handle the outbreak is by focusing on the cause: defeating the akuma will make dealing with the escaped animals easier. Then they spot Animan threatening Kim, and even Scarlet Lady is thrown by the realization that he's willing to attack the teenager for claiming he could outrun a panther. They intervene, but Animan transforms into an eagle and flies off.
The trio catches up to Kim after he ducks into Tom and Sabine's boulangerie. Sabine is delighted to meet Marigold, which leaves Scarlet Lady fuming over the perceived slight. Marigold asks Kim if they can borrow one of his sweatbands so they can lure Animan into a bus, trapping him inside. Unfortunately, he starts tearing his way out by turning into a T-rex—but a dose of Venom puts a quick end to that.
Afterwards, Chloé brags to Tikki about how well she did. Not only did she ruin Marinette's date with Adrien, she didn't even need to use her Lucky Charm! Of course, that was only because of Marigold paralyzing Animan, but that doesn't stop her from taking the credit, claiming that she's too good for Paris. Tikki silently decides that she's going to throw out Chloé's hairspray while she sleeps.
Adrien and Marinette track down Alya and Nino, apologizing for taking so long. They notice that the two of them are holding hands and ogle at the sight; Alya remarks that she knew they'd make it weird. The new couple explain Marigold locked them in a cage together, and they wound up learning just how much they have in common. Like a shared interest in video editing... younger siblings to deal with... best friends that ditch them...
While he congratulates Nino, Adrien notes the irony of how his best friend wound up with a new girlfriend when he was supposed to be wing-manning for him. Meanwhile, Alya calls Marinette out for trying to ditch them so she and Nino could be alone. Marinette insists she just really wanted to see the elephants, only for Alya to remind her that Adrien wanted to see the giraffes.
Still, she's in a good mood when she makes it home. Otis is embarrassed at how he got sent home early and apologizes to his daughter for getting akumatized. Alya just kisses him on the cheek and skips off to her room, leaving him incredibly confused.
This episode contains examples of:
- Adaptational Karma: Otis gets sent home early due to his akumatization.
- Adaptational Relationship Change: In the original episode, Nino actually was crushing on Marinette; that aspect was adapted out here. Alya is also given a preexisting interest in Nino before they get trapped together in order to make their hook up less sudden.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Otis insists that Kim and the others are stressing out his panther during her feeding time, Marinette wonders why he doesn't just feed her privately in the back of her enclosure. Having no good answer for that, he threatens to have her banned from visiting the zoo if she doesn't leave.
- Bad Liar: Marinette has a terrible poker face and can't even recall which exhibit Adrien wanted to visit.
- Bros Before Hoes: Adrien seems to believe this, at least with regards to his friendship with Nino. Whereas Adrien typically gives Death Glares to any guy who expresses romantic interest in Marinette (including Nathaniel and Luka), he actually tells Nino he hopes that he'll be happy with Marinette after Nino (jokingly) admits to crushing on her.
- By "No", I Mean "Yes": When Tikki asserts that Adrien has the right to date whomever he likes, Chloé agrees but adds, "so long as it's me!"
- Commonality Connection: Nino and Alya note that they have a lot of things in common: both are interested in video and sound editing, have young siblings, and have best friends who ditch them.
- Contrived Coincidence: Adrien sarcastically remarks on how coincidental it is to run into Chloé at the zoo when she shouldn't have had any idea where he was.
- Disappointed by the Motive: Nobody is impressed by Otis's reasons for getting akumatized. Even Hawk Moth himself expresses disbelief.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Akumatization aside, Otis threatens to have Marinette banned from the zoo for pointing out that if his panther gets stressed out by strangers watching her eat, it'd be better to feed her in the back.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: When Chloé intrudes on the group of four, Adrien glowers that she somehow managed to find him despite him never telling her he'd be at the zoo. Chloé completely misses (or chooses to ignore) the implications of his words or his angry tone, declaring she must've found him due to their "deep connection."
- Even Evil Has Standards: Even Scarlet Lady looks unnerved at the notion that Animan is threatening to kill Kim over how he claimed he was faster than a panther. Hawk Moth, too, is incredulous that Otis is that upset over something so minor.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Upon hearing that Nino apparently has a huge crush on Marinette, Adrien wishes the two of them will, even as he starts coughing up blood.
- It's All About Me: Not only is Chloé outraged to learn that Adrien legitimately wants to date Marinette, she complains about him choosing to take Marinette to the zoo since Chloé has no interest in spending any time there. She calls this incredibly inconsiderate on his end despite having eavesdropped on the conversation and not even being invited and notes that they'll need to discuss what sort of locations she finds acceptable.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Marigold puts Alya and Nino together in the same cage to keep them safe AND get them to hook up.
- Relationship Upgrade: Alya and Nino start dating.
- Shipper on Deck: Nino tries to help Adrien get together with Marinette while Marinette tries to engineer a similar hookup for Alya and Nino.
- Stating the Simple Solution: Marinette points out that if Otis is concerned about his panther getting stressed out during her meal, he could just feed the panther in the back, away from the eyes of the public.
- Verbal Backspace: Marigold nearly calls Sabine, "Maman," before catching herself and switching to "Ma'am."
- What the Hell, Hero?: Played for Laughs twice.
- Nino and Alya rib Adrien and Marinette for ditching them during the crisis (unaware that they were trying to stop the akuma as heroes).
- Adrien gives Nino a Nightmare Face when he points out that the latter got a girlfriend when he was supposed to wingman for the former.
- Why Didn't I Think of That?: While not said out loud, it's quite obvious that Otis hadn't realized he could have fed the panther at the back of her enclosure and saved himself the problem of making sure she was calm.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: This is basically everyone's reaction to Otis getting akumatized and then trying to eat Kim because the teen claimed to be able to outrun a panther.
