Episode 52
- Catalyst - Tales of Nathalie the Assistant
Adrien lies on his bed, looking at his photo of Marinette with love. Suddenly, Plagg (much to Adrien's disgust) pukes on his holder, wishing him a happy Heroes' Day. Picking up the small object that his Kwami vomitted out, Adrien awkwardly thanks him. Meanwhile, Marinette rushes to put on her clothes to avoid arriving late to the festivities when Pollen gives her a present. Tikki identifies it as a Kwagatama, a symbol of great friendship between Kwamis and their holders that Pollen rarely makes. Marinette thanks Pollen for the present... and realizes where the mysterious present she got for her birthday came from.
At the Grand Paris Hotel, Zoé (dressed in Ladybug colors) attempts to bring breakfast to Chloé, who tells her to buzz off. When Zoé returns to the common room, Audrey laments how Chloé's skipping school on the last day, but Zoé points out that Chloé is likely feeling sensitive because today is Heroes' Day. She then leaves for school.
André meets Zoé at the entrance and asks her about Chloé, only for Zoé to report no changes in either her or their mother. André attempts to console Zoé, saying that, regardless of how badly she shows it, Audrey cares about her daughters. After all, she must have brought Zoé with her to Paris for a reason.
Adrien and Marinette meet at the school entrance, lovingly hugging each other as they compliment each other's clothes (Marinette is wearing Chat Noir-themed clothes, while Adrien wears Marigold-themed clothes). Alix jokingly tells them to get a room, and Marinette sticks her tongue at her friend while musing that the shock of learning Chloé was Scarlet Lady must have worn off if people are back to teasing them about being a couple. Adrien, though, points out that their classmates' reactions to that was not much of a shock—none of them were particularly surprised by the revelation.
The pair soon run into Nino and Alya (wearing Koki Marina and Fox Trot-themed clothes, respectively) at the doors, their classmates reacting with bemusement at how lovey-dovey Adrien and Marinette are acting. Adrien then jokingly points out that they still have one day of school to go through, causing Nino to groan in complaint.
Inside the classroom, Zoé informs Mme. Bustier that Chloé will be absent again, which the teacher naturally sees as a shame—but she's got a brilliant idea! Zoé should throw a party celebrating Chloé and everything she accomplished as Scarlet Lady and invite all her friends! By which she means the whole class, of course!
But Zoé points out the obvious flaw in that plan: Chloé bullied everyone. Though Bustier denies it, Zoé tells her point-blank that she knows the truth because Chloé bragged about it. Her half-sister's proud of how she's mistreated everyone, and while Zoé's not about to turn her back on Chloé, she's not going to force all of her victims to "play nice" and Turn the Other Cheek when the only thing Chloé regrets is the consequences of her actions, not the actions themselves.
Unbeknownst to either, Marinette and the rest of the class are right outside the room, eavesdropping... and brought to tears by the way that Zoé is standing up for them.
Back in her room, Chloé rages about Heroes' Day, particularly since the ones being celebrated are Chat Noir and Marigold. Not even turning off the TV and going out to the terrace allows her to escape it: she just ends up seeing a large Marigold balloon flying in the distance.
Meanwhile, Mme. Bustier explains Heroes' Day for the sake of Lila and Zoé: it's meant to be a day on which everyone performs good deeds for other people's benefit— and gets interrupted by M. Damocles disguised in his "hero" costume, stating that this year's heroes are Marigold and Chat Noir. While a clearly edited photo of himself with the heroes, M. Damocles states it's up to the students to show how heroes have inspired them... unaware of the students' reactions to said picture and speech.
Mme. Bustier then starts going around the classroom, asking everyone to explain what kind of good deeds they'll be doing to mark the holiday. Lila reveals that she'll be teaching sign language at a local youth center with her stepmom, along with donating her hair... though she's only doing the latter since she lost a bet with Alya. Nino's going to visit a retirement home to play songs for the residents, Adrien will be teaching Chinese to his fencing class and fencing to his Chinese class, Alya got the mayor's approval to make their school handicap accessible... while Marinette is starting to sweat, silently questioning whether she's done enough herself.
After class, Adrien notes Marinette is downcast, which she explains as her good deeds (making macarons for the class) not being good enough in comparison to what the others are doing. Adrien replies that she's a literal superhero, but Marinette doesn't accept it—those would be Marigold's good deeds, not hers. Seeing how intent Marinette is about trying to come up with some good deeds to make, Adrien decides to help her.
During lunch, Adrien sends a message to Nathalie, asking her to relay to Gabriel a request to do something for Marinette. Gabriel doesn't care—after he wins, it won't matter. Nathalie prepares to help Hawkmoth in his plans, and the villain apologizes for making her pull double duty: his plans originally revolved around akumatizing Lila, but Scarlet Lady's fall from grace has left her feeling vindicated and unusually cheerful.
So, Hawkmoth begins his plot: as the parade begins, Nathalie, akumatized into a Volpina-like form called Jackal, creates an illusion of Marigold fighting a white-clad Chat Noir. As the fake Marigold warns everyone to run, claiming her partner's been akumatized, the fake Chat Noir coldly Cataclysms her, then announces to the horrified crowd that "Hawkmoth has won, people of Paris!" Praising her for a job well done, Hawkmoth declares that they'll be meeting very soon... and drops down behind her as Nathalie remarks on his dramatic posturing.
Meanwhile, Marinette confides in her mother that she feels like she's just not doing enough for Heroes' Day. Sabine reassures her that good deeds are more than just grandiose gestures; the little things matter just as much, such as bringing her parents lunch while they're working, something Marinette had just done without thinking about it. "You do good deeds every single day, no holiday required."
As their lunch period ends, Zoé meets up with Adrien on the front steps, carrying a bag. She confirms that she got what he'd asked for but wonders whether he really wants her to be involved with his plan. Marinette calls out to them both, causing them to jolt, something she naturally finds suspicious... but before she can ask further questions, they notice that their classmates are all bent over their cell phones, murmuring unhappily.
Rose shows them what they're all watching: Nadja grimly announcing that Marigold has been defeated and Chat Noir is trapped in Hawkmoth's clutches. As Adrien and Marinette gape in shock, Zoé shouts about how that's clearly not true! It's obviously another one of Hawkmoth's schemes! After all, everybody knows Marigold has the Ladybug earrings now, and the heroes wouldn't turn upon each other like that!
But her explanation is met with doubt: after all, akumas attack their loved ones all the time. And it's entirely possible Chat Noir got the earrings from her first. Plus, she's only been in Paris a week; she doesn't know what it's like living there...
Alix, Sabrina, and Lila step in, declaring to their schoolmates that they shouldn't attack Zoé for not letting fear override her better judgment. As Lila points out, Hawkmoth's already made one akuma that can create illusions; just what's stopping him from making another? Marinette and Adrien follow suit, boldly declaring their belief in Chat Noir and Marigold... only to be interrupted by Rose showing them that Nadja's broadcast has continued, the reporter screaming as she notices several mysterious red lights before being akumatized again. Prime Queen is swiftly joined by Guitar Villain and Frightningale as they all proudly announce that "Scarlet Moth" is coming.
A wave of miniature red butterflies sweeps across the school's courtyard, swarming various victims and alighting upon any objects they can use to forcibly transform them. Ivan, Mylène, Max, and Rose are swiftly overwhelmed... although Juleka finds that she's not that terrified by the sight of her newly transformed girlfriend laughing beside her. Alix is the next to fall, apologizing to Lila and Sabrina as she admits just how scared she is, while Ondine frantically calls Kim, informing him that Kagami's already turned before both she and her boyfriend succumb themselves.
While all of this is going on, Scarlet Moth gripes to an akumatized Nathalie, "Can't believe I don't get my Vanisher or Volpina. Total rip-off." Nathalie points out that he should be grateful he still snagged Dark Cupid.
However, not everyone has fallen prey to Scarlet Moth's attack: both Mme. Bustier and M. Damocles help defend their students from being transformed, and Alya and Nino, while scared, manage to force the red butterflies away by sheer will. Alya calls her sister to warn her about everything, but it turns out Nora's been smacking down every red butterfly that makes its way into the Césaires' home, much to the twins' delight.
Adrien and Marinette take refuge in a bathroom so they can transform. After sharing a few snarks, Adrien transforms into Chat Noir, with Marinette watching and appreciating the choreography. However, she's rather less appreciative of the circumstances, fretting about how Hawkmoth clearly planned all of this out... and this is her first time using the earrings! Hardly seems like an auspicious debut...
Chat Noir reminds her that they've already beaten all of these akuma before; in some cases, he'd handled them mostly by himself, with only Scarlet Lady as his "backup." Plus, they've got plenty of allies they can call on for help. Buoyed by his confidence, Marinette transforms into Ladybug for the first time. Praising her sleek new look, Chat Noir kisses her on the hand as she reminds him that they've got work to do. For starters, she needs to track down the person she's chosen as her successor.
This reminds Chat Noir that he needs to visit Master Fu—oh, but he doesn't know Koki Marina or Pigella's secret identities! Ladybug casually reveals that the Turtle heroine is none other than her best friend while Pigella is Rose; Chat Noir admits that Fox Trot is his best friend, before realizing that "Goldie" and his other nicknames for his partner don't work anymore. He playfully suggests "Buginette" before she shoots it down for being too close to her real name.
Meanwhile, Catalyst questions Scarlet Moth: is he absolutely sure that he wants to involve Chloé Bourgeois in this scheme? Scarlet Moth gloatingly insists that she's exactly what he needs: "It'll be all too easy to manipulate her against the heroes. She'll be my perfect little helper. And I'll handle any little tantrums if it comes down to it." Despite his confidence, Catalyst silently reflects that she's not worried about his ability to keep Chloé in line, but something else...
Zoé distracts Gigantitan by driving their Vespa around, baiting the akumatized baby into following her until Ladybug arrives on the scene and purifies him. As August is returned to his grateful mother, Zoé thanks the superheroine, hesitantly addressing her as Marigold. Ladybug declares that she can repay her right now, as she needs a ride—though rather than stealing her bike, she takes the startled owner along with her.
Once they're alone, Ladybug presents Zoé with her greatest treasure: the Bee Comb. She's the one she's chosen to serve as her successor, however temporarily. But even as Pollen introduces herself, Zoé bursts into tears, declaring that she can't possibly become a hero—not when she's a fraud, a liar who got Chloé akumatized. But Ladybug corrects her: she rescued Chloé from Style Queen, stood up to Malediktator, and prevented Hawkmoth from getting his hands on the Ladybug Earrings. Pollen takes a slightly different tack: if Zoé wants to atone for her past mistakes, what better way than helping to save Paris? Zoé agrees and transforms.
Meanwhile, Adrien's arrived at Master Fu's teahouse. The Guardian reflects that he'd always known their enemy would eventually realize how powerful he could become, and now that day has come. With most of their allies already akumatized, Adrien decides they should stick with the Fox and Turtle for now; Fu states that he'll watch for any potential openings, as all it takes to win back their friends is a change of heart. If Hawkmoth wants a fight, he's getting it!
But that's not all Gabriel wants. As Chloé grouses on her balcony about how "none of this would have happened if those backstabbers hadn't stolen my Miraculous," Scarlet Moth drops in behind her. Though startled, she eagerly leaps at his offer at another chance for revenge, without giving him the chance to finish making his pitch.
As Alya and Nino discuss what to do once the current crisis is over (mostly who takes whom to the cinema), Chat Noir interrupts them. While Nino and Alya are glad that the Chat Noir they saw was false, Chat Noir thanks them for sticking together, because it makes things easier for him - and hands them their corresponding Miraculous. Nino is shocked to realize his girlfriend is Koki Marina, but Alya says that him being Fox Trot makes her crush less concerning: when Nino asks why she isn't surprised, Alya transforms and tells him it just made sense - after all, he comforted her as Fox Trot, so of course he would be a super hero. Nino answers with a blush and a smile even as Trixx teases him.
Chat Noir, Koki Marina, and Fox Trot meet Ladybug and the new Bee Heroine, who calls herself Vesperia. Scarlet Moth calls out to the heroes, telling them they have one last chance to save Paris by bringing him the Miraculouses. Vesperia mocks the villain for showing his hand - wouldn't he actually have them if he had truly won? The heroes state that not only they won't give up the Miraculouses, but they'll force Scarlet Moth to give the Butterfly Miraculous. And who cares if he has an army of supervillains? They are a team of super heroes! And they are ready to make him regret taking advantage of people for so long! So, they issue their challenge:
BRING IT ON!
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptation Origin Connection/Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: The fifth season of the show reveals there are three different women who have all implicitly been conned by Lila into raising her as a daughter while being completely unaware of each other's existence. Here, not only do all three of them know each other, but one of the women is Miss Rossi, Lila's biological mother; the second, Bianca, is Miss Rossi's best friend and Lila's godmother; and the third is married to Lila's biological father.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Season 5 of canon reveals that Lila has tricked multiple women into thinking she's their daughter. Here, her "three mothers" from canon are instead her biological mother, her godmother, and her deaf stepmother who married her father.
- Adaptational Early Appearance:
- Lila's godmother and stepmother both appear in this episode. The former was seen hugging Lila in the canon season 4 finale while the latter is the same unnamed deaf woman who first appeared in "Revelation" in season 5 of the show, though canon strongly implies that neither of them is actually related to Lila and that both have been separately tricked into thinking the teen is her daughter.
- Zoé makes her debut as the Bee Heroine, Vesperia, here, as opposed to doing so in Season 4's "Queen Banana".
- Adaptational Superpower Change: Nathalie gets an additional akuma form, Jackal, who has the power of illusions.
- Amicable Exes: Lila's biological parents are seen happily having lunch together with Lila, Lila's stepmother, and Ms. Rossi's best friend.
- Armor-Piercing Response: Downplayed; when Mme. Bustier attempts to downplay the extent of Chloé's mistreatment of her classmates, Zoé retorts that she knows all about it because her half-sister openly bragged about it. Bustier then visibly flinches when Zoé declares that she's got her own experience with such things.Zoé: You know Chloé bullied the entire class, right?
Mme. Bustier: "Bullied" is a little—
Zoé: I know because she bragged about it. Look, I know what it's like to be bullied.
Mme. Bustier: [sweating slightly, mouth twitching as she struggles to maintain her placating smile] O-oh?
Zoé: It doesn't feel good and it doesn't go away, especially if the bully isn't sorry. Which Chloé isn't. - Artifact Title: While Chloé's stint as Scarlet Lady ended in the previous episode, the webcomic's title remains the same. That said, her half-sister Zoé and Mme. Bustier dress up in honor of her "heroic" persona for Heroes' Day.
- As You Know: Mme. Bustier explains what Heroes' Day is about since neither Lila nor Zoé have ever been through one.
- Atrocious Alias: Marinette isn't impressed by Hawkmoth forcing Guitar Villain and Frightningale to introduce the supervillain as "Scarlet Moth."
- Badass Bystander: Mme. Bustier and M. Damocles protect their students from akumatization by shooing off or hitting the red butterflies. Nora is also smacking down all the butterflies trying to attach themselves to her or her younger sisters.
- Bait-and-Switch: Juleka initially panics when she sees Rose being transformed into Princess Fragrance... only to quickly note that the akuma isn't that scary.
- Big Entrance: Damocles busts into the classroom in the middle of Bustier's class while dressed as "The Owl" and then continues the lecture as though he'd been the one giving it. Everyone is staring at him, but not for the reason he thinks...
- Big "NO!": Delivered by those who fall for Jackal's illusion of an akumatized Chat Noir murdering Marigold.
- Blank White Eyes: Kim's reaction to M. Damocles as "The Owl" and the blatant Photoshop the man made to add himself to a photo of the heroes.
- Breakfast in Bed: Averted; though Zoé attempts to bring her half-sister breakfast, Chloé refuses to open the door.
- Bring It: The heroes challenge Scarlet Moth with a loud "Bring it on!".
- Brutal Honesty: Lila says that, along with teaching sign language with her stepmother at the community center, she'll be cutting and donating her hair. When Bustier compliments her on her selflessness, Lila admits she's only doing the hair thing because she lost a bet on when/how Scarlet Lady (aka Chloé) would go down. The teacher doesn't really have a response to that.
- Call-Back:
- When Pollen gives Marinette a Kwagatama, Marinette looks at the mysterious pendant she got for her birthday, finally realizing it was a Kwagatama from Tikki.
- Scarlet Moth's mass akumatization leads to many past akumas reappearing. When Marinette later expresses apprehension about facing them all, Chat Noir reminds her that they've already beaten the akumas before, sometimes on his own (as Scarlet Lady typically wasn't much help).
- Chat Noir realizes that he still doesn't know Koki Marina and Pigella's Secret Identites since Marinette chose them herself. After she informs him that they're Alya and Rose, respectively, he also reveals Fox Trot's Secret Identity, recalling how he picked the latter on his own.
- Cardiovascular Love: Adrien is surrounded by hearts as he contemplates his photo of Marinette.
- Casual Danger Dialogue:
- When Alya calls home, Nora completely dismisses the danger posed by the hordes of red butterflies, asking "Who's afraid of a bunch of bugs?" while swatting several down with a push-broom.
- At the same time as the above, Marinette and Adrien slip into a bathroom and casually banter about how it's not exactly the most romantic location for them transform in front of each other for the first time.
- Celebrity Lie: M. Damocles presents a picture of his alter ego "posing" (read: "poorly pasted in") with the other heroes of Paris to the whole class.
- Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: Chloé, who is still sulking over the recent end of her time as Scarlet Lady, keeps seeing the current heroes being celebrated on TV and elsewhere in honor of Heroes' Day.
- Color Failure: Lila undergoes one when revealing she has to donate her hair due to losing a bet she made over how Scarlet Lady's downfall would go.
- Comical Overreacting: When the mass akumatization commences and Hawkmoth introduces his new form, Marinette looks on with a horrified expression while screaming, "So lame! 'Scarlet Moth'?!"
- Composite Character: Because Lila received a heavy dose of Adaptational Heroism and is in too good a mood to be akumatized, Nathalie (under the name Jackal) takes over Volpina's role in the Heroes' Day plan.
- Continuity Nod:
- The titles for each page are the names of the akumas the heroes have fought, in chronological order.
- Marinette notes that the rest of the class has seemingly already moved on from the revelation that Chloé was Scarlet Lady. Adrien, though, points out they weren't that shocked about it to begin with.
- Juleka chooses to dress as Maotif, in reference to how she was the one who helped deakumatize her and break her "photo curse" during the Reflekta incident.
- M. Damocles's "The Owl" costume returns this episode. He was first seen wearing it in "Party Crasher" when he arrived at the party at Agreste Manor.
- Lila reminds the panicking students that Hawkmoth already created an illusion-making akuma—herself, which happened in "Volpina."
- Deadline News: Nadja is broadcasting a live report about how an akumatized Chat Noir supposedly murdered Marigold when she's overtaken by a wave of red butterflies and transformed into Prime Queen.
- Didn't See That Coming: Due to how much Zoé wants to help her half-sister, Mme. Bustier is certain that she'll agree to her plan of throwing Chloé a party and getting the entire class to attend and show their appreciation of everything Chloé did for the city as Scarlet Lady. She's caught quite off guard when Zoé refuses.
- Didn't Think This Through: As Vesperia points out, Scarlet Moth's attempt to threaten Marigold and Chat Noir into surrendering reveals that their apparent defeat was nothing more than an illusion.Vesperia: Way to tell on yourself, idiot. Weren't you supposed to have won already?
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Because several of the classmates get turned into Scarlet akumas, Marinette and Adrien cannot gather up all the temp heroes to help fight against Scarlet Moth, which would almost certainly help turn the tides in their favor and shorten the length of the battle. Lampshaded by the tags.Tags: #lol some of you really thought I was gonna go into this fight with 17 heroes #didn't you see Part 2 is 38 pages long?!
- Dramatically Missing the Point: When Catalyst expresses concern over Scarlet Moth's insistence on treating Chloé as a lynchpin to his plans, he arrogantly reassures her that he'll be able to keep the former heroine under control. Nathalie is more concerned about the fact that Scarlet Lady was frequently The Load and The Millstone, actively dragging her "fellow heroes" down — who's to say she won't do the same to them?
- Dull Surprise: A Flashback shows that Alya and several other classmates were... not especially shocked to learn that Chloé was Scarlet Lady all along.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Audrey isn't happy that Chloé's been refusing to attend school the past few days, even if she's only missing the last week of classes.
- Zoé is committed to supporting her half-sister, but she draws the line at putting pressure on Chloé's victims to forgive their bully, declaring that it's not fair to them, especially when Chloé isn't even sorry.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: After being presented with a Kwagatama from Pollen and told that it represents a Kwami's close friendship with their holder, Marinette thanks the Bee Kwami before realizing that the mysterious anonymous birthday present she received months ago was also a Kwagatama, one that Tikki had made for her.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: After being aggravated by all the TV programs about Chat Noir and Marigold, Chloé complains about seeing the annoying heroes everywhere she looks as she marches out to her balcony... upon which she's greeted by a giant balloon of Marigold.
- Foil: Zoé and Mme. Bustier's sympathy for Chloé is directly compared and contrasted. While both are naturally worried about her and are the only two people in Paris who dress up in honor of Scarlet Lady for Heroes' Day, Mme. Bustier only cares about Chloé's feelings, prioritizing them over everyone else's and expecting her victims to Turn the Other Cheek, whereas Zoé, despite being new to Paris, shows more empathy for Chloé's classmates than their own teacher as she can relate to their suffering. While she still intends to support her half-sister, she refuses to do so at the cost of anyone else.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- Audrey is seen reading a book titled Parents Guide to Helping your Teen Through a Mental Health Struggle.
- When Chloé rips up her ladybug plushie, there are tears visible in one of its eyes.
- Get a Room!: Alix jokingly suggests Adrien and Marinette to do this after seeing their Sickeningly Sweethearts reunion at the school gates.
- Good Stepparent:
- André continues to do his best to be this to Zoé and tries to help her reconcile with Audrey.
- Lila's stepmother is also this, spending lunch on Heroes' Day with Lila, Lila's biological parents, and Ms. Rossi's best friend.
- Hero Stole My Bike: Downplayed when Ladybug borrows Zoé's Vespa, bringing the owner along with her because she wants her more than the transportation itself. The Vespa's only needed as a way to quickly find a private place to present her with the Bee Comb.
- Heroic Bystander: Zoé keeps Gigantitan distracted with her Vespa until Ladybug arrives on the scene to purify him.
- Heroic Wannabe: M. Damocles desperately wants to be seen as standing on par with the Miraculous heroes. To his credit, he actually stands his ground and tries to defend several students from the wave of scarlet akumatizing butterflies.
- Heroic Willpower: How Nino and Alya drive off the scarlet butterflies despite being afraid.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: André insists that Audrey has one and that she cares far more about her daughters than she's ever really shown.
- Honorary Aunt: Lila's "Mère" is actually her godmother and her mother's best friend.
- Hypocritical Humor:
- Audrey complains that both of her daughters are so dramatic, ignoring how that's one thing they have in common.
- Nino comments how Adrien and Marinette (dressed in Marigold and Chat Noir-themed outfits, respectively) are in "couples clothes"... while he and Alya are wearing Koki Marina and Fox Trot-themed clothes.
- I Reject Your Reality: Mme. Bustier's views about Chloé border on this. Despite all the evidence that Scarlet Lady was only a Nominal Heroine who never cared about Paris or its people, Bustier believes that her class should throw Chloé a party to show their appreciation of what she did for them as a superheroine. Likewise, the teacher tries to deny that Chloé bullied her entire class, even going so far as to refer to the victims as Chloé's "friends."
- In Spite of a Nail: The original episode was driven largely by Lila's hatred of Ladybug. She's long already completed her Heel–Face Turn, here, but many events from the canon episode occur anyway.
- Lila quickly returned to school after being outed as a liar by Scarlet Lady. Nevertheless, one of Mme. Bustier's students, namely Chloé, still decides to skip school on Heroes' Day, in part due to their resentment of one of the heroes. Moreover, like Lila in the show, Chloé also gets frustrated by the sight of a giant balloon of Marinette's superheroine alter ego that passes by her window.
- Lila is still being parented by a deaf woman. Here, however, it's her stepmother and not one of the multiple women she's implied to have conned into thinking she's their daughter. It's also implied that she'll end up sporting her canon late-season 5 pixie cut at some point, though in this case, it's because she's donating her hair rather than changing identities.
- Despite all her Character Development, Gabriel's original plan for Heroes' Day still hinged on akumatizing her: he'd presumed that Lila would still be nursing a grudge against Scarlet Lady for the Humiliation Conga she'd suffered at the Ladybug heroine's hands and would get set off from seeing all of Paris celebrating somebody she despises. But because Chloé fell from grace after revealing her Secret Identity, Lila's far too happy for him to even attempt akumatizing.
- An akuma with a fox-like theme and the power of illusions still creates one of Chat Noir and Marinette's superhero identity fighting. However, instead of Volpina—Lila is in too good of a mood for Hawkmoth to akumatize—Jackal (an akumatized Nathalie) takes up the role instead. Additionally, her illusion shows Marigold being Cataclysmed by an akumatized Chat Noir in white instead of a color-inverted akumatized Ladybug killing Chat Noir.
- Marinette still chooses Zoé to wield the Bee Miraculous. It just happens earlier than in canon.
- Chloé gets willingly Akumatized to take revenge on the heroes because they took a Miraculous from her.
- The hero team is still formed by the holders of the Ladybug, Black Cat, Fox, Turtle, and Bee Miraculouses.
- Insistent Terminology:
- Mme. Bustier refers to Chloé's classmates as her "friends"; when Zoé incredulously asks if she's aware how her half-sister has bullied everyone, Bustier tries to "correct" her by claiming bullying is too strong a term.
- When Nathalie calls Hawkmoth out for being dramatic, he says it's called "having fun."
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Played for Drama. Some of the classmates try to put on a strong front as the mass akumatizations occur, declaring they won't fall for Hawkmoth's tricks... only for Sabrina to notice that Alix is already transforming.
- Internal Reveal:
- Ladybug reveals the secret identities of Koki Marina and Pigella to her partner while Chat Noir reveals who Fox Trot is to her.
- Alya and Nino learn their significant other is a hero - Koki Marina and Fox Trot, respectively.
- Large Ham: Lampshaded by Nathalie when she snarks at how dramatic her boss is. Hawmoth retorts that he's just having fun.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The reaction when Scarlet Moth sends out his empowered akuma butterflies, which are capable of forcibly akumatizing people he has affected before without him even needing to do his usual Deal with the Devil offer.
- Meaningful Rename: Hawkmoth rebrands himself as "Scarlet Moth" due to how everyone affected by the mass akumatization is wearing red and black, along with mocking how Scarlet Lady is no longer around.
- Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher: As usual, Mme. Bustier is this, referring to Chloé's classmates (and victims) as her "friends" and trying to dismiss the idea that Chloé's cruelty towards them counts as bullying. She also thinks that the best way to help Chloé is to throw a party and have all of her victims tell her how much they appreciate everything she did as Scarlet Lady.
- Moment Killer: Lampshaded when Adrien and Marinette get cut off while giving a Rousing Speech alongside Lila, Alix, and Sabrina.Caption: Don't ruin our motivational speech.
- Mood Whiplash:
- Adrien's overflowing love for Marinette gets interrupted when Plagg pukes his Kwagatama on him.
- The horror of Scarlet Moth's mass akumatization is slightly mitigated by the sight of him whining to Catalyst about how Lila and Sabrina's Heroic Resolve means he doesn't get to play with their alter egos this time. Downplayed by how he casually refers them as his Vanisher and Volpina, as though they're nothing more than his personal playthings and possessions to do with as he sees fit.
- Moral Myopia: Chloé thinks herself entitled to revenge because the heroes took the Ladybug from her - even though she started by stealing it from Marinette and then carelessly threw them at Zoé.
- Motivated by Fear: Scarlet Moth's mass akumatization is fueled by the fear and despair his victims feel over Marigold's apparent demise at the claws of her own partner, coupled with the rising terror of seeing so many akumas spawning.
- Mundane Solution:
- Caline wards off the red butterflies by waving her clipboard at them while "The Owl" appears to have armed himself with a squirt gun.
- Nora keeps herself and the twins safe from the butterflies by getting a broom and smacking down every one she sees. The twins are thoroughly entertained.
- Mythology Gag:
- Alya and Nino's poses with their Heroes' Day clothes are identical to their canon transformation poses.
- Mme. Bustier's plan to have the whole class throw a party for Chloé and praise all the good deeds she accomplished in her superheroine identity (while blithely ignoring all the awful things she's done) mirrors how canon had Marinette do the same for Chloé after Adrien guilt-tripped her for being happy that her long-time bully was seemingly leaving Paris. In this universe, Bustier effectively takes the role of Adrien by both suggesting the idea and downplaying the severity of Chloé's bullying, though Zoé points out the flaws in her teacher's plan and promptly shoots it down.
- Several concerning Lila:
- Lila knows sign language due to having a deaf stepmother, who happens to be the same deaf woman she was seen living and communicating with in season 5 of the show. The show, however, strongly implies that the unnamed deaf woman is only one of many adults whom Lila has fooled into thinking she's their daughter.
- Related to the above, Lila's godmother, Bianca, is the woman seen hugging her in the canon season 4 finale and one of Lila's "three mothers" in the show.
- Lila mentions she'll be donating her hair, implying she'll be left with the same pixie cut her canon counterpart was seen sporting near the end of season 5.
- Her full name ("Lila Iris Cerise Rossi") includes all three aliases she's used in the show.
- Gabriel's original plan to get the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous on Heroes' Day involved using Lila's grudge against the Ladybug heroine and the various celebrations in honor of the object of her hatred to akumatize the teen.
- The illusion of an akumatized Chat Noir takes the form of Chat Blanc.
- The heroes make a pose similar to the one they had in the canon episode.
- Named In The Adaptation: The woman who saw Lila off at the train station in the show's season 4 finale (and whom Lila has seemingly conned into raising her as a daughter) is named Bianca.
- Nightmare Retardant: In-Universe, Juleka thinks that Princess Fragrance (her girlfriend Rose's akumatized form) isn't scary.
- "No. Just… No" Reaction: When Mme. Bustier declares that they should throw a big party for Chloé and "convince" the whole class to cheer her up, Zoé bluntly declares, "Yeah, I'm not doing that."
- No OSHA Compliance: Alya mentions that the mayor approved of her plan to make the school more handicap accessible, referring to the construction of the ramp next to the stairs at the school entrance that's seen in later episodes of the show. However, the ramp is far too steep for any wheelchair user to safely descend or ascend without outside assistance.
- Not So Above It All: Hawkmoth outright declares being an overdramatic villain is fun for him.
- Not So Innocent Whistling: Nathalie's akumatized self, Jackal, does this as people start to panic after seeing her illusion.Caption: She feeds off the chaos of it all.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: As the classmates start to share what they plan to do for Heroes' Day, none of them seem to realize they're making Marinette start to doubt whether she's done enough herself.
- Odd Reaction Out: Ivan and Markov are both horrified when Mylène and Max, respectively, get akumatized by Scarlet Moth. Juleka initially panics as well when the same happens to Rose, though she quickly realizes that Rose's akumatized form isn't that scary.
- Oh, Crap!: Marinette eventually reacts this way as she hears about all of the various ways her classmates will be doing their parts for Heroes' Day, wondering if anything she does will stack up.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Defied when Ladybug refuses to let Chat Noir refer to her as "Buginette" on the grounds that it sounds too similar to her civilian name.
- Parental Neglect:
- Audrey's history of this leaves Zoé unconvinced that her mother is sincerely trying to change her ways, even after Audrey chooses to stay in Paris. It hardly helps how Audrey shows virtually No Sympathy for Chloé's misery, dismissing both her daughters as "overly dramatic."
- Gabriel doesn't even bother eating a meal with his son on Heroes' Day, being too busy preparing to enact his Evil Plan.
- Pet the Dog:
- Audrey has apparently started reading a parenting guidebook so she can learn how to be a better mother to her daughters.
- André Bourgeois tries to get his wife and stepdaughter to reconcile and approved of Alya's plan to make the school more accessible.
- Hawkmoth apologizes to Nathalie for making her pull double duty after they were forced to abandon their original plan.
- Averted when Gabriel agrees to Adrien's "special request" for helping out with Marinette's good deed for Heroes' Day without confirming what his son wants first; he openly admits that he considers this completely irrelevant, stating, "None of it will matter after our victory."
- Platonic Co-Parenting: Lila's biological father is an Italian diplomat like her bio-mom; while they never married, they remain on good terms. Lila refers to her biological mother as "Mamma," her bio-dad as "Papa," his wife/her stepmother as "Maman," and her godmother/mother's best friend as "Mère."
- Plot Parallel:
- Marinette's self-doubt and second-guessing whether her plans for Heroes' Day are grandoise enough mirrors Zoé's insecurities and belief that she isn't worthy of wielding a Miraculous. Both struggle to grasp how they've already proven themselves through past actions until having them directly pointed out by somebody else; Marinette is reassured by both Adrien and Sabine, while Zoé gets a pep talk from Ladybug and Pollen.
- Zoé's character arc also serves as a sharp contrast to Chloé and Gabriel, both of whom are self-centered, Entitled Bastards who want the Miraculouses for themselves, not giving a damn about the concept of "worthiness" — Gabriel just wants the power, while Chloé just wants the prestige.
- The parallels and contrasts between Zoé and Chloé are driven home by the dramatic differences in how they handle being offered power by Ladybug and Scarlet Moth. Zoé balks and insists she's not worthy, while Chloé interrupts Scarlet Moth in the middle of his sales pitch.
- The Power of Love: Played With. While Nino freely admits that he is scared by the mass akumatizations, he and Alya draw enough strength and reassurance from each other's presence that they're able to avoid being overwhelmed.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over:
- All victims of the mass akumatization sport red and black attire. This doubles as Palette Swaps for all of the former akumas who wind up being recreated by Scarlet Moth's power.
- Inverted by Marinette; her Ladybug uniform contains many more black elements than her canonical counterpart, several of which are edged in gold.
- Refusal of the Call: Briefly Played for Laughs; upon being presented with the Bee Comb, Zoé promptly bursts into tears and insists that she can't be a hero.Ladybug: (thinking to herself) Uh-oh, we got a runner.
- Related in the Adaptation: Played With. It's confirmed in the comic that Ms. Rossi is Lila's biological mother, that the woman who hugged Lila in the show's season 4 finale is her godmother and Ms Rossi's best friend, and that the nameless deaf woman whom Lila was briefly seen with in season 5 of the show is her stepmother. So far, the show hasn't confirmed whether any of them are actually related to Lila or if Lila's separately fooled each of them into thinking she's their daughter.
- Rousing Speech: Alix, Sabrina, Lila, Adrien, and Marinette all attempt this, defending Zoé and telling their peers to have faith in the heroes and not fall for Hawkmoth's tricks. Unfortunately, Nadja's akumatization distracts the crowd before they can finish.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- Marinette fashions the two Kwagatamas she's received from Pollen and Tikki into a ying-yang shape for a bracelet, representing how the two Kwamis are equally important to her.
- Marinette's first transformation into the red-and-black clad superheroine Ladybug is in response to Hawkmoth/Scarlet Moth and Catalyst creating hordes of red-and-black clad akumas.
- A Shared Suffering: Zoé notes that she has her own experiences with being bullied, so she relates to what Chloé's classmates have been going through.
- Shout-Out: Adrien and Marinette's pose when greeting Alya and Nino is a reference to Fruits Basket.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Mme. Bustier only cares about how Chloé has been coping with everything, neglecting the emotional state of the rest of her students.
- When people start being akumatized en masse, Marinette briefly focuses on how the Big Bad chose to rename himself "Scarlet Moth."
- After Marinette becomes Ladybug for the first time, Chat Noir realizes that all of his old nicknames for her don't work anymore and that he'll have to come up with new ones. His first suggestion of "Buginette" implies that he considers having a cutesy nickname for her more important than preserving her Secret Identity.
- Skipping School: In the wake of her humiliating fall from grace, Chloé has outright refused to return to Collège Françoise Dupont... or even leave her room.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: Adrien and Marinette are this, as witnessed by their classmates.
- Spanner in the Works: Scarlet Lady losing the Ladybug earrings has the side effect of making Lila much happier—meaning Hawkmoth's plan to akumatize the latter has to be discarded.
- Splash of Color:
- Plagg's vomit is the same shade of green as his eyes.
- Pollen's Kwagatama is yellow while Tikki's is red.
- The butterflies in Gabriel's lair have a light blue glow.
- Gabriel's transformation into Hawkmoth is bright purple.
- When Nathalie's fox-themed akuma creates illusions, they're initially surrounded by an orange glow.
- When the white Chat Noir from Nathalie's illusions does a Cataclysm, it's tinted blue.
- Scarlet Moth's butterflies are red, matching the highlights on his and Catalyst's designs. Likewise, the akumatized forms of victims of the mass akumatization are a Red and Black and Evil All Over Palette Swap of their typical forms.
- Adrien's transformation into Chat Noir has a greenish tint to the light flash it emits.
- Spotting the Thread: Zoé quickly points out that the scene of Marigold supposedly getting Cataclysmed by an akumatized Chat Noir doesn't make sense: Marigold already has the earrings, so she would be using them. Lila also adds that Hawkmoth has already made one akuma that creates illusions, so it stands to reason that he could do it again.
- Squick: In-Universe. Plagg vomits his Kwagatama straight on Adrien's chest.
- Tantrum Throwing: Hearing Chat Noir and Marigold being heralded on TV in honor of Heroes' Day angers Chloé so much that she rips up a ladybug plushie before throwing the remote at the TV so hard that the screen cracks.
- Technically a Smile: Bustier offers a Downplayed example of one when Zoé rejects her party plans. The teacher's initial bright, cheery smile then turns into a small, twitchy one that looks more like she's clenching her teeth and flinching as Zoé reveals she has personal experience with being bullied.
- They Just Dont Get It: Mme. Bustier still refuses to comprehend why the rest of the class dislikes Chloé so much, acting as though THEY should make all the effort to make amends with their long-time bully despite how poorly she's treated them during the entirety of their time as her students.
- This Explains So Much: A Flashback reveals most of the class reacted this way upon learning Scarlet Lady's Secret Identity.
- This Is Gonna Suck: How Nino responds to the reminder that they still have one day of school left, even though it's a holiday.
- Time Skip: A small one. Since Zoé arrived in Paris right before the last week of classes and Chloé has skipped school at least twice, no more than a few days could have passed since the previous episode.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Lila's mother notes her daughter's been in an unusually good mood all week, unaware that it's from Scarlet Lady (whom Lila despises for humiliating her when she first moved to Paris) recently undergoing a Humiliation Conga after outing herself as Chloé Bourgeois. This creates problems for Hawkmoth, whose plan initially counted on Lila being in a bad mood on Heroes' Day due to seeing the source of her hatred celebrated by the whole city.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Audrey has apparently started reading a parenting book so she can learn how to help Chloé overcome this difficult period.
- Turn the Other Cheek: Discussed and deconstructed, with Zoé pointing out the obvious flaw in Mme. Bustier's approach to the concept: she expects Chloé's victims to shoulder the burden of "being the bigger person" and easily forgiving Chloé for all her bullying antics while doing absolutely nothing to address how Chloé's hurt others. As a result, Chloé feels absolutely no remorse for her actions while Bustier has left all her victims to suffer.
- The Unapologetic: Discussed. Zoé knows all about how Chloé mistreated her classmates because her half-sister outright bragged to her about all the horrible things she did. She also stresses to Mme. Bustier that this utter lack of remorse renders any efforts to "reconcile" matters between Chloé and her classmates completely pointless: Chloé doesn't regret what she's done and is only upset over having to face the fallout.
- Verbal Backspace: Nathalie starts referring to Marinette as Adrien's girlfriend before catching and correcting herself:Nathalie: Sir, Adrien has a special request for his gir-uh, friend's Heroes' Day event.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Plagg presents Adrien with his new Kwagatama by puking it right onto his shirt. Said puke is even bright lime green.
- What You Are in the Dark: Alya got a crush on Fox Trot after he comforted her during "Sapotis". Learning that Fox Trot is her boyfriend Nino only makes her feel glad as it makes said crush less concerning.
- The World Mocks Your Loss: A variant. Chloé treats the very existence of Heroes' Day as an unwelcome reminder of what she's lost, especially when she spots a parade float of Marigold passing by right outside her balcony.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
- When Marinette starts second-guessing if she's done enough for Heroes' Day, Adrien reminds her of all the good she does as Marigold.
- Sabine steps up to the plate next, reminding her daughter that good deeds don't have to be big and showy; they're all about being kind and thoughtful towards others, something Marinette does all the time just as a matter of course, such as by bringing her parents lunch when they're working.
- Marinette is apprehensive about using the Ladybug Earrings for the first time since Hawkmoth seems to have a clear plan of assault this time. Chat Noir reassures her that they've already beaten all of these akumas before, some of them effectively on his own, and that they've got plenty of allies they can call upon for help.
- Zoé panics when presented with the Bee Comb, revealing how she regards herself as nothing more than a lying fraud who got her half-sister akumatized. Ladybug reminds her of all the heroic things she's done since her arrival in Paris, while Pollen asserts that the best way she can make up for past mistakes is by helping the heroes out.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: How most of the class reacts (albeit nonverbally) to M. Damocles dressing up as "The Owl" and presenting a clearly edited photo of his heroic persona with the heroes.
- Your Television Hates You: Chloé rages as the television keeps hitting her with reminders that her hated "rivals" Chat Noir and Marigold are beloved by Paris while her "heroic" alter ego has already been quickly forgotten.
