Intermission 3
: Tales of Marinette the Bee
Scarlet Lady might still be The Millstone, but all the new Miraculous holders have been lightening the load for Paris's true heroes. Nevertheless, Marigold's still concerned about their ability to handle themselves without her and Chat Noir's involvement. When Chat Noir suggests they have the newbies pair up and join them on patrols, Marigold cheerfully agrees, presenting him with a list she's already prepared of potential pairings.
Cut to Marigold surprising Alya on the latter's bedroom balcony. As she explains their intentions, we cut over to the Liberty, revealing that Chat Noir is informing Luka and Juleka at the same time, underscoring how the Couffaine siblings already know each other's secret identities. Then it's back to Marigold, now at Lila's... and taking the opportunity to straighten the room up a bit, much to Lila's discomfort.
First on the docket are Koki Marina and Fox Trot, with the former startling the latter when she catches him listening to DJ Nino. As she gushes over his work, Fox Trot wonders if she's been following him online... along with his girlfriend when she declares her intent to submit the selfie she just snapped of them together to the Ladyblog. Then they start talking shop: she wants to know who his top suspect for Hawkmoth is. Turns out he also believes Gabriel Agreste is a prime candidate due to the man's sheer wealth enabling him to go unaccounted for days if some scheme requires it, as well as potentially fund an evil lair (also, he's an emotionally distant asshat). Koki Marina agrees, and Fox Trot deems her the coolest person he knows (aside from his girlfriend), a sentiment Koki Marina happily returns with the same qualifier.
Viperion arrives at his assigned location to find Ryūko waiting for him, passing the time by working on her sketchbook. He praises her talent while she notes that her mother doesn't agree, constantly critiquing and criticizing her work despite being unable to even see it. Changing the uncomfortable subject, he asks if they can practice Japanese together: he wants to be able to speak to a friend of his in her native tongue. Ryūko notes that his friend will surely appreciate that... even though the Snake hero sounds like a weeaboo.
Pegasus and King Monkey greet each other with a high five, recognizing each other from "the Agreste party" where the latter made his debut. When asked what his Kwami is like, Pegasus refers to Kaalki as his muse, revealing that he's dedicated a special project to her. By contrast, King Monkey regards Xuppu as a bratty little brother, though that doesn't stop him from loving the little guy.
Upon learning just what Pegasus' special project is—a magical camera capable of seeing the Kwami—King Monkey suggests that he team up with Max Kanté, unaware of just whom he's actually talking to. Blushing at his partner's gushing, Pegasus notes that he can't actually ask Max to work with him without risking his secret identity in the process.
Next up, Pigella officially introduces herself to Purple Tigress, observing that while they've worked together before, they didn't exactly have time to get to know each other. Looking her over, Purple Tigress remarks that she looks like "a space ballerina," spurring the Pig Heroine to gush that a tutu would've been super cute! She keeps chatting merrily about the upcoming Heroes Day before abruptly cutting herself off, apologizing how much she was talking. Purple Tigress encourages her to, though: "People who speak their minds live without regrets. And it's cute how passionate you are." Pigella then gives her a warm hug, something Purple Tigress finds oddly familiar...
Things are a bit awkward between Ultimutt and Minotaurox at first as the two sit beside each other, fidgeting. Thankfully, the ice gets broken when she notices how he's fiddling with his hammer; when asked, he admits that he's trying to figure out if it's possible to play music on it. The Dog heroine then starts examining her ball, wondering if it can unscrew into halves. By the time Marigold drops by to check on them, they've developed a new game: he hits her ball as hard as he can, sending it flying off, only for her to summon it back with Fetch.
Comousiner and Fenice greet each other with exaggerated formality before bursting into laughter; unlike their peers, they already know each other's secret identities, after all. And frankly, Fenice could use the levity: despite her best efforts, she's still struggling to wrap her mind around how Orikko's powers even work—and seething over the Rooster's reluctance/inability to help her replace Scarlet Lady. She asks if Comousiner's been having similar issues; when her companion admits that her own powers and Kwami are much more straightforward, Fenice bursts into tears: "Ahhhh, my life is harder than everyoneee's!"
Caprikid's kind of the odd one out, though he reassures Chat Noir that he doesn't mind going solo. But somebody has other plans. A mysterious new heroine arrives in a corona of cyan light, introducing herself as Bunnyx and declaring she's there to spruce up the Goat hero's boring, lonely patrol. With spray paint. Chat Noir arrives to find the pair doing some tagging. Upon hearing that he doesn't know her at all, Bunnyx states that's good: that means they're on track. Rather than explaining just what that means, she hops back into her portal and disappears, leaving Chat Noir yelling after her to "Come back here and tell [them] who Hawkmoth is!"
This episode contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Ryūko notes that her mother's inability to see her work doesn't prevent her from freely insulting it and her skills.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Viperion laughs when Ryūko says he sounds like a weeaboo.
- Berate and Switch: When King Monkey describes his relationship with his Kwami...King Monkey: [Xuppu]'s like an annoying little brother. A total brat who likes to mess with me!
Pegasus: Oh, I'm sorry to hear you don't get along.
King Monkey: What do you mean? He's the worst and I love him. - Comical Overreacting: Hearing about how straightforward Comousiner's power is makes Fenice slouch and cry about how hard of a time she's having with figuring out the limitations of her own Sublimation power.
- Commonality Connection: Koki Marina and Foxtrot bond because they both believe Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth. Additionally, Fox Trot learns that Koki Marina apparently follows both his civilian self online as well as Alya's Ladyblog.
- Crazy-Prepared: When Chat Noir suggests having the temporary heroes pair up for patrol, Marigold produces a list she's already made of potential pairs. Her partner even lampshades it.Chat Noir: Wow, so prepared! Wait, how'd you know I'd suggest—
- Didn't Think This Through: After King Monkey suggests that Pegasus work with Max Kanté to develop a magical camera that can see Kwami, the Horse hero points out how he wouldn't be able to do that without risking compromising his secret identity (though that was only an excuse to hide he is Max Kanté).
- Dramatic Irony: Naturally. Most of the partnered heroes aren't aware that they're already familiar with their companions in their civilian lives, leading to moments like Fox Trot and Koki Marina bringing up their respective partners or King Monkey unknowingly suggesting that Pegasus team up with himself.
- Foreshadowing: Pigella and Purple Tigress mention "Heroes Day," which will take place in two episodes.
- It Amused Me:
Word of God is that Bunnyx is actually the canon version, coming to the Scarlet Lady universe because she was bored. - Loophole Abuse: Subverted. Lila apparently kept trying to find ways around the restrictions on Orikko's Sublimation power so she could replicate Scarlet Lady's World-Healing Wave and replace the obnoxious Ladybug heroine. However, none of her attempts have succeeded.
- Mundane Utility: Minotaurox tries to see if his hammer can play music since the heroes can already use their weapons as phones. Later, he and Ultimutt use their weapons in a new game they invented.
- Neat Freak: Marinette seems to be one if her cleaning up Lila's room while visiting as Marigold is any indication.
- Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: When Caprikid asks if the spray-painting he and Bunnyx are doing is legal, the latter just replies, "Good luck trying to arrest me."
- Not So Innocent Whistling: Caprikid does this when Chat Noir comes across him and Bunnyx right when they were doing some tagging on the side of a building.
- Ominous Message from the Future: Played With and Played for Laughs. Bunnyx's visit seems entirely casual rather than a strict mission, and Chat Noir's alarmed by her offhanded remark that things seem to be "on track."
- Overly Polite Pals: Coumousiner and Fenice initially greet each other this way before laughing it off and acting more casually like they usually do.
- Splash of Color: Bunnyx's portals give off a light blue glow.
- Theme Naming: Each chapter is titled after a Kwami superpower that's already appeared in the comic: "Bee Balm," "Fetch," "Gift," "Genesis," "Uproar," "Resistance," "Sublimation," and "Multitude."
- Vitriolic Best Buds: King Monkey and Xuppu seem to have this relationship.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Viperion's reaction when he learns that Ryūko's mother freely insults her drawing skills, even though she's blind.
