Episode 43
- Gorizilla - Tales of ____ the Bodyguard
As Adrien dons a disguise, Plagg asks him if they're really just sneaking out of the Manor. Adrien replies that they don't have much choice, given how his father completely ignored him when he tried asking for permission. In fact, Gabriel didn't seem to hear a single word Adrien was saying, being too focused on whatever he was working on, and dismissively told his son that Nathalie would let him know when he was available.
Just what had Gabriel's full attention? He was busy comparing Chat Noir's ring to the one Adrien wears, examining close-ups of both their hands. While not a perfect match, the make and shape has him wondering whether one of his adversaries has been secretly living under the same roof as him all along...
Meanwhile, André lets his daughter know that the perfume she'd ordered has just arrived. He tries inviting her to a special screening of his movie today, only for her to blithely slam the door in his face. Why should she care about something that only matters to him when she can bask in the scent of Adrien (the fresh new scent released by the Gabriel brand, that is).
Marinette's also getting ready to head out and meet the other girls at the water park. But before she goes, she's determined to ensure she's ready for anything that might go wrong. Pollen admires her queen's thoughtfulness as Marinette explains why she's packing so many extra swimsuits and what each one is meant for, even as the Kwami silently acknowledges that her holder is almost certainly going to be late.
Right when Adrien thinks the coast is clear, he abruptly encounters Wayhem, who cheerfully reminds him how they met during the Friendship Day contest. Gushing over their coincidental encounter, he promptly drapes his arm around Adrien's shoulders and snaps a selfie, posting it over Adrien's protests. To make matter worse, Wayhem is only the first of many fans to see through Adrien's Paper-Thin Disguise; as people start swarming, Adrien can only mutter to himself in dismay.
Chloé's busy spritzing everything in her room to make it "smell like Adrien" when her phone goes off, alerting her to Wayhem's latest post—and that Adrien is outside. Obviously, that means she simply must grace him with her presence—after spraying herself and poor Tikki with his perfume as well. As she announces that she's ready to go, Tikki wonders why she wants to smell like "teenage boy and cheese."
Marinette's rushing along, apologizing to Alya the whole way. Her bestie laughs it off, guessing that she tried packing five backup swimsuits "just in case." Distracted by the call, Marinette winds up running straight into Adrien; Alya sits up straight as she hears this, catching Lila and Sabrina's attention.
As they crouch down in an empty fountain together, Adrien explains that people seem to be going crazy due to the new ad campaign for his cologne. When she asks whether it's safe for him to be outside, he admits that he's not really sure... but there's something he can only do today, so he's willing to take the risk. Marinette tells him she'll do whatever it takes to help him out.
Unfortunately, the pair are spotted, and people start posting about catching Adrien with his "girlfriend," much to Chloé's fury. Her phone case cracks in her hands as she orders Tikki to transform her. Meanwhile, the rumor gets a much more positive reception from the girls at the pool; though Mylène remarks that she thought Marinette was into Chat Noir, Alya retorts that her best friend "couldn't stop staring at" Adrien while they were attending Fred's show the night before.
As they're catching their breath, Adrien apologizes to Marinette, noting that everyone now believes she's secretly his girlfriend (which he's secretly happy about). Both blush while she hesitantly asks whether things will be okay with his father; Adrien reassures her that nothing can happen to him thanks to the lucky charm she made for him. Flustered, Marinette reveals to his delight she's still got the one he gave her. But the tender moment is ruined when the mob spots them again—and not only is Wayhem there, so is Adrien's bodyguard! Adrien tackles Marinette onto the subway, their lucky charms falling forgotten to the ground while the mob turns its sights upon the Gorilla.
Adrien's bodyguard barely manages to escape the rabid fans when he runs into Officer Roger, who berates him over his parking violation. Meanwhile, Nooroo questions Gabriel: does he really think his own son is Chat Noir? Gabriel replies that Adrien is clearly hiding something from him, and as far as he's concerned, the best way to uncover his secret is by akumatizing his beleaguered bodyguard, whom Gabriel angrily berates over the phone as a butterfly flitters his way.
Meanwhile, Marinette and Adrien arrive with improvised costumes at the theatre that's showing Solitude, which stars his mother as the lead actress. When Marinette protests that he's not even allowed to go to the movies, Adrien reassures that he is, normally—provided he's accompanied by Nathalie or his bodyguard. However, his father seems to have something against this particular film since he hid their own copy of it and wouldn't give Adrien express permission to attend the screening when asked, telling him to go through Nathalie instead. Marinette fumes over this injustice but reassures Adrien that she's alright (though her anger at his father doesn't stop her from teasing her friend when his commercial comes on).
But the movie barely starts before one of Adrien's nosy fans snaps a picture of them, blowing their cover. Scarlet Lady bursts into the theatre, proudly declaring that she's found her prince, only to get trampled by more of his fans. Clawing her way over to confront Marinette, she angrily accuses her of deliberately pretending to be Adrien's girlfriend while Marinette blandly questions if this is really how she spends her free time.
Then a gigantic hand bursts through the ceiling, snatching Adrien up. To his shock, Adrien realizes that the giant gorilla who's kidnapped him is really his bodyguard. Meanwhile, Scarlet Lady shrieks for someone to save Adrien and gets side-eyed by a bystander who wonders, "Isn't that what you're here for?" (Meanwhile, Marinette ducks down in one of the back rows to transform as Wayhem dramatically swears that he's coming to save Adrien himself.)
Shaking off her initial terror, Scarlet Lady poses as she arrives on the rooftop, declaring, "I'll save you, mon prince!" Adrien replies that he won't hold his breath. Marigold arrives and tells him to stay calm—this'll be easy with her signature move, Venom... which Scarlet Lady quickly prevents her from using when she steps in and slaps the trompo right out of Marigold's hand, sending it flying off the building's ledge. Gorizilla then grabs Scarlet Lady in his other hand—but not before Marigold manages to snag the Ladybug heroine's yo-yo. Wrapping the string around Gorizilla's thumb helps her free Adrien; she asks him to trust her, to which he replies, "Always," before making a leap of faith.
Gorizilla then snatches Marigold out of the air before she can catch him! As Adrien free-falls, Plagg pops out and suggests that he transform before he "becomes runny Camembert." But Adrien reminds him that they're out in the open and reiterates how much he trusts Marigold.
Watching his son plummet through Gorizilla's eyes, Hawk Moth sighs and orders the akumatized bodyguard to let Marigold go. Clearly, the fact that Adrien isn't transforming in order to save his own life eliminates any possibility of him being Chat Noir, and the villain can't continue using his son to shill perfume and other products if he dies.
Marigold promptly dives after Adrien, catching him in midair before using her borrowed yo-yo to toss out a line. Adrien's mob of adoring fans cheer her on as she lowers them both gently down to the pavement. Adrien then thanks her, declaring, "I knew you'd save me, hon— uh, Marigold!" The Verbal Backspace doesn't go unnoticed by his fans, but before anyone can really react to it, Gorizilla lands over the crowd, shaking the whole sidewalk with the force of his landing.
Fortunately, Wayhem found Marigold's trompo and tosses it to her, allowing her to finally paralyze Gorizilla with her Venom. She thanks him for the assistance while Scarlet Lady yells for the others to help her out of the akuma's hand. Once she's freed, she casts Miraculous Cure; as the ladybugs flit about, Adrien thanks Wayhem as well. Wayhem apologizes, acknowledging that he was wrong to post Adrien's location... and his photo... and stalk him everywhere he went.
Taking out a pen, Adrien writes his email address on Wayhem's palm. Wayhem's shocked; Adrien tells him that he liked meeting him during the Friendship Day contest as well and wouldn't mind hanging out sometime... but only if it's him! He'd better not see any of this leaked over the internet.
Wayhem sees the returning Marinette and points her out as Adrien's girlfriend, which Adrien absentmindedly agrees to before catching and correcting himself. Adrien's bodyguard steps in, silently returning the pair's lucky charms. Thanking him, Marinette requests just one more teensy little favor, with Adrien and Wayhem joining in on giving him some Puppy-Dog Eyes. Everyone settles down at the theater to watch Emilie's movie, which ends up bringing tears to the Gorilla's eyes. Though Chloé complains about being stuck in the back, she's swiftly shushed.
Afterwards, Gabriel confronts Adrien during his piano practice, claiming that all he needed to do was ask for permission. Adrien replies that he tried, only to be bluntly told that he had to make an appointment in order to speak with his own father. Gabriel then tries to lay on the guilt-trip by claiming his son should have trusted him; Adrien replies, "But you've never given me a reason to?"
Rather than actually addressing that, Gabriel tries to twist his way out by saying, "If you start hiding things from me, I'll imagine all kinds of things. Understand?" Adrien bluntly responds, "No," asking what kind of things his father means, only for Gabriel to dodge the question.
Meanwhile, Marinette finally makes it to the water park and is confronted by her friends, who want to know all the juicy details about what happened. When Rose asks if she wants to be Adrien's girlfriend, she shyly replies, "... I don't know." ... And promptly gets sprayed with water for it.
This episode contains examples of:
- 13 Is Unlucky: Adrien's shirt has the number 13 on it, front and center, and he deals with some serious bad luck throughout the whole episode.
- Abusive Parents: Gabriel targets his own son because he suspects Adrien might be Chat Noir, even deliberately endangering his son's life in order to test his theory. His muted, disappointed reaction when Adrien subsequently fails to transform while falling to his death underscores how little Gabriel cares about his son's safety. He then casually tells Gorizilla to let Marigold go so she can save him, remarking that he can't use Adrien to advertise his brand's products if he's dead.
- Adaptational Jerkass: In the original episode, Hawk Moth is horrified when Adrien takes a Leap of Faith off the building. Here, his only reaction to Adrien's imminent peril is disappointment that he's apparently not Chat Noir after all, and he leaves saving his son to Marigold, remarking only that he can't use Adrien to sell products if he dies.
- Armor-Piercing Question:
- Marinette is thrown for a loop when Rose asks if she wants to be Adrien's girlfriend, admitting that she honestly doesn't know the answer.
- Adrien gives two of these in short order during his father's attempt to manipulate and guilt-trip him:Gabriel: You should have trusted me.
Adrien: But you've never given me a reason to?
Gabriel: [sweating] If you start hiding things from me, I'll imagine all kinds of things. Understand?
Adrien: No? What kind of things?
Gabriel: Uh, nevermind.
- Brick Joke: Wayhem proclaims he'll save Adrien when the latter gets kidnapped by Gorizilla. He does in fact help save Adrien from the akuma by returning Marigold's trompo to her so she can defeat Gorizilla.
- Comically Missing the Point: The groupie who blows Adrien's cover at the movies gushes over how, "Adrien's at the movies with a helmet! And his girlfriend who just got out of the shower!" completely failing to pick up on (or just not caring about) the notion that they were trying to hide their identities from nosy Jerkasses like them.
- Commonality Connection: Parodied. Upon noticing that Adrien is at the movies, one of his fans exclaims that they also watch movies.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Played With during the denouement. Gabriel tells his son that everything could have been avoided if Adrien had simply asked him for permission to go see Solitude, only for Adrien to point out that he tried doing just that, only for his father to blow him off. Gabriel also "neglects" to mention how much he engineered things behind the scenes; his chiding Adrien is purely another manipulative tactic on his part.
- Crazy-Prepared: Played for Laughs; Marinette brings several extra swimsuits in hopes of countering any disaster that may arise at the pool. Not only does this cause her to be late, she winds up running into Adrien due to the delay.
- Curse Cut Short: When Gorizilla snatches up Marigold before she can save Adrien, she yelps, "Aw, fu—!"
- Death Glare:
- Kagami has one when spraying Alix a water gun.
- Marigold gives one to Scarlet Lady when the latter slaps the former's trompo out of her hand and causes it to fall off the building ledge just because she wanted to be the one to save Adrien.
- Adrien later gives one to Wayhem after sharing his email address with the latter, warning his fan-turned-friend to not share it with anyone.
- Didn't See That Coming: Adrien's bodyguard is used to dealing with fans but didn't anticipate the mob wanting to swarm and steal from him.
- Dramatic Irony: Gabriel starts to suspect that his son might be Chat Noir, comparing photos of the disguised ring to its transformed appearance, but ultimately dismisses the idea, unaware that he was on the right track.
- Embarrassing Ad Gig: Marinette ribs Adrien when his new perfume ad plays right before Solitude.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Averted. Hawk Moth only permits Marigold to rescue the free-falling Adrien because dealing with his demise would be inconvenient.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Hawk Moth concludes that Adrien can't be Chat Noir when his son doesn't transform even while falling to his death. It doesn't seem to occur to the villain that Adrien might have chosen not to transform because he trusted Marigold to save him or wanted to protect his secret identity even at the cost of his own safety.
- Foil:
- Both Chloé and Wayhem feel entitled to Adrien's attention, completely ignoring his reactions to them pushing their way past his boundaries. However, Wayhem actually comes to realize how his behavior hurt Adrien and tries making up for his mistakes. This contrasts sharply with Chloé refusing to recognize how she's upsetting and irritating her "Adrikins."
- Gabriel is also shown to not give a damn about his son. Like Chloé, he only cares about what he can gain from their relationship, specifically stating that he can't make any new ads with a "pancake son" as opposed to expressing genuine concern for Adrien as the latter free-falls towards the ground. Despite this utter lack of care or concern for Adrien, however, he still feels entitled to Adrien's unquestioning devotion as his son and seems shaken to learn that Adrien doesn't trust him at all.
- Funny Background Event:
- As Alya, Rose, and Mylène gossip about Adrien and Marinette being caught hiding in a fountain together, Kagami can be seen sporting a Death Glare as she shoots Alix in the back with a water gun.
- Wayhem loudly declares to a captured Adrien that he's coming to save him... while Marinette transforms just three rows behind him.
- Gaslighting: Attempted by Gabriel during the ending when he attempts to guilt-trip Adrien by refusing to acknowledge how his son had tried asking him for permission to go see his mother's movie and instead attempting to make Adrien believe that everything that happened was entirely his own fault. He's clearly thrown for a loop when Adrien bluntly points out that he has no reason to trust his father.
- Hidden Depths: The Gorilla sobs unashamedly during the watching of Solitude.
- Humiliation Conga: After losing sight of his charge and having to deal with Adrien's fans stealing from him, the Gorilla is scolded by Officer Raincomprix for illegally parking his car. Gabriel calling to yell at him for his incompetence ends up pushing the bodyguard past his Rage Breaking Point, leading to his akumatization.
- It's All About Me: Though it would end the fight and get Adrien to safety sooner, Scarlet Lady refuses to let Marigold use Venom to defeat Gorizilla because she wants to be the one who saves Adrien.
- Jerkass Realization: By the end, Wayhem realizes how many problems he caused Adrien with his stalking and apologizes, openly asking, "What was I thinking?"
- Karma Houdini: Wayhem, to some extent. Despite playing a key role in getting Adrien mobbed and stalked by fans, he winds up being rewarded after retrieving Marigold's trompo and thus helping defeat the akuma when Adrien giving him his email address. The author's notes on that page outright state, "Don't give your email address to people who stalk you, please," while the tags add, "if I didn't need [Wayhem] in 'party crasher'..."
- Laser-Guided Karma: Wanting to save Adrien herself, Scarlet Lady slaps Marigold's trompo out of the latter's hand just as the Bee heroine is about to subdue Gorizilla with Venom, causing it to fall off the building's ledge. Scarlet Lady then gets captured by Gorizilla, preventing her from showing off like she usually does and leaving Marigold to both save Adrien and defeat the akuma, to the gratitude of his many fans.
- Leap of Faith: Adrien puts all his trust in Marigold to save him, even after she's caught by Gorizilla.
- Loony Fan: Adrien has to deal with a whole mob of these thanks to his father's latest ad campaign and Wayhem's thoughtless actions.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Marinette, Adrien, and the crowd of his adoring fans all react this way when Gorizilla leaps down and lands right above them.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Scarlet Lady ends up delaying Adrien's rescue after she accidentally causes Marigold to lose her trompo due to wanting to save Adrien herself.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Upon recognizing him, Wayhem instantly hauls Adrien in close enough to snap a selfie. The rest of his fans are just as disrespectful of his boundaries, acting as if they're entitled to mob the poor kid.
- Not So Stoic: The normally expressionless Gorilla gets upset enough to undergo akumatization and later cries while watching Solitude.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Adrien suffers complete Color Failure and murmurs, "Oh no," as his Loony Fans start recognizing him. He and Marinette later share this reaction multiple times as they attempt to hide from the fans, only to quickly get discovered each time.
- Scarlet Lady has this reaction when she realizes she accidentally caused Marigold to lose her weapon, all while the Bee heroine is staring daggers at her.
- Opportunistic Bastard: Gabriel takes advantage of his son sneaking out of the manor and getting harassed by a mob to akumatize Adrien's bodyguard.
- Paper-Thin Disguise:
- Adrien initially tries to disguise himself by wearing clothes that are slightly more concealing, like a shirt with a hoodie he can flip up over his head and a pair of dark-lensed glasses. It doesn't stop Wayhem or the rest of his obsessed fans from recognizing him.
- Marinette helps him upgrade it slightly later; he starts wearing a visored helmet while she wraps her hair in a beach towel and dons some swimming goggles. Again, this ultimately proves futile.
- Plot Parallel: Adrien's strained relationship with his father further highlights just how much he's come to trust both Marinette and Marigold. Gabriel brusquely dismisses his son's efforts to speak with him, then turns around and tries to convince Adrien that it was his fault he faced so much harassment and got kidnapped by Gorizilla despite how Gabriel manipulated everything behind the scenes. Gabriel also dismissively leaves actually saving his son from his impending doom to Marigold, highlighting both his utter lack of care for Adrien and how Marigold/Marinette has been left to pick up his slack and earn the trust that he's taken for granted.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Hawk Moth permits Marigold to save Adrien from becoming a smear of "runny Camembert" on the pavement not because he's his son, but because he can't force him to continue modeling and promoting his brand's products if Adrien's dead.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Marinette, Adrien, and Wayhem all simultaneously do this to Adrien's bodyguard in order to convince him to let them watch Emilie's movie.
- Rage Breaking Point: Losing Adrien, getting robbed by Adrien's adoring fans, being scolded for his illegal parking by a police officer, and then having to hear Gabriel yell at him finally pushes the Gorilla past this, making him vulnerable to akumatization.
- Refuse to Rescue the Disliked: After Gorizilla is hit with Venom, Scarlet Lady complains that she's still stuck in the akuma's grasp, only for someone to snark that her arms are free rather than help her.
- Shipper on Deck: While Alya was willing to support Marinette's crush on Chat Noir, she's thrilled to see her original ship of Marinette with Adrien seemingly sailing, telling Mylène that Marinette "couldn't stop staring at Adrien" during Mylène's father's show. She also immediately demands details when Marinette finally arrives at the water park.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Scarlet Lady prevents Marigold from using Venom on Gorizilla because she wants to be the only one to save Adrien.
- Hawk Moth orders Gorizilla to let Marigold rescue Adrien, though only because he "can't make ads with a pancake son" and not because of any horrified realization about his actions.
- Social Media Before Reason: Instead of simply talking to Adrien when they unexpectedly run into each other, Wayhem immediately hauls him in to snap a selfie together before promptly posting it without permission. Adrien's other rabid fans do the same.
- Strict Parents Make Sneaky Kids: Though he tried asking for permission first, Adrien ultimately resorts to sneaking out of the house again when his father refuses to even hear out his request in the first place.
- Sweet and Sour Grapes: Wayhem realizes that he's been outright stalking Adrien and apologizes for his behavior. Adrien then rewards him by sharing his email address, offering to hang out with him in the future.
- Tempting Fate: Marigold remarks that her Venom will make subduing Gorizilla easy right before Scarlet Lady irritably slaps her weapon away.
- This Is Going to Suck: Adrien reacts with dismay when he gets spotted by Wayhem when the former was trying to stay hidden.
- Ungrateful Bitch: Par for the course with Chloé, whose father spends a lot of money to buy her several boxes of Adrien's new fragrance, only for her to casually slam the door in his face when he asks if she'd like to go watch a screening of the movie he directed.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Wayhem never intended to cause any problems; he's just so excited to see Adrien and eager to buddy up with him that he doesn't realize how he's drawing unwanted attention to the model.
- Verbal Backspace: Adrien reflexively starts to address Marigold as "Honeybee" but catches himself just a little too late, cutting off at "Hon."
