Blog / Miraculous! Rewrite

As its name suggests, Miraculous! Rewrite is a blog run by Mods Vega and Aimee which aims to completely reimagine and revamp the Miraculous Ladybug series more to their liking. This includes adding a tighter focus on Character Development, some alternate akuma, and a stronger support network for the heroes (via the ability to designate a Secret-Keeper for themselves).

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This series contains examples of:

A-M

• Abusive Parents:
  • It's clear that Audrey wasn't a better mother to Amber than she was to Chloé; in fact, it's shown that Amber resents Chloé for seemingly getting the better deal.
  • "Father Knows Best" reveals that Nino's parents are divorced, and that his father is a Manipulative Bastard who intends to worm his way back into the family.
• Adaptation Name Change: Nora's wrestler persona and akumatized name is changed from Anasi to Hecate.
• Adaptation Personality Change:
  • Gabriel isn't as overtly evil, showing more genuine care and concern for his son and cutting back significantly on the dramatic monologues.
  • Miss Bustier is less of a Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher and doesn't encourage her 'model students' to be Extreme Doormats.
  • Natalie is not simply loyal to Gabriel, and does not have a crush on him. She also has her own personal motivations for helping him search for a way to save Emilie.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Marinette trusts Alya with her secret identity earlier here than in canon.
• Adaptational Intelligence:
  • Tikki offers actual advice instead of just saying "it was a bad move".
  • Alya, despite seeing Chloé's Ladybug cosplay, knows she isn't her, having seen them in the same place at the same time. Instead, she mistakes Chloé for her supplier.
• Adaptational Superpower Change:
  • The Bee Miraculous's power is changed from the canonical Venom, which paralyzes an opponent, to Swarm, which summons a swarm of bees that the user can command.
  • The Fox Miraculous's Mirage is buffed so that its illusion can be solid, to contrast Volpina better.
  • Chloé receives the Tiger Miraculous, which causes Juleka to get the cow Miraculous instead.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • In the original series, many of Mayor Andre's worst abuses of his power are spurred on by Chloé goading her doting father into it. Here, this is no longer the case; Chloé even tries to prevent him from ruining Clara's video shoot, and it's eventually revealed that he rigged the last election.
  • While they had some outdated viewpoints and weren't completely helpful, the Guardians were still heroes in canon. Here, upon being released, they become secondary villains.
• All for Nothing:
  • Amber fears that everything she sacrificed and endured under her mother was for naught after witnessing her casually offering to take Marinette on as an apprentice.
  • At the end of "Queen Wasp", Natalie personally berates and upbraids Gabriel for risking this with their decision to give up being Hawkmoth...and in doing so, abandon his efforts to save Emilie.
• Appeal to Tradition: Roland blames Sabine for his son developing an interest in trying new things after she beat him in a baking contest. When Marinette points out that her mother won that contest with a traditional Moon pie recipe, he claims that doesn't count because it's not his tradition.
• Anger Born of Worry:
  • The primary conflict in "Hecate" is that Nora wants to help ensure Alya's safety during akuma attacks, getting angry when her sister points out that she's got far more experience dealing with them than Nora herself does.
  • Along similar lines, Gina worries that Marinette is repeating her mistakes, believing herself to be more mature than she actually is and setting herself up for heartbreak by dating an older boy.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • Nooroo makes a good jab at his bearer in "Sandboy":
    Gabriel: "Nooroo, I want this over as much as you do. But I will see this through to the end."
    Nooroo: "Do you ever think that might be the problem?"
  • Alya gets under Roland's skin when she asks whether it's true that he hasn't spoken to his son in twenty years over something as simple as a bread recipe.
  • Lila scores one against Chloé when countering her attempt to blame all her recent absences on akuma:
    Lila: "Every single time? Every single time you’ve EVER ditched Sabrina to hang out with your sister and your new friends was actually an akuma attack? Here I thought the Ladyblog was more thorough than to apparently miss THAT many Akumas!"
• Ascended Fangirl: Alya gets to be the Secret-Keeper for Marinette and eventually gets the Fox Miraculous.
• Author Avatar: "Animaestro" introduces a pair of internet critics that act as these for the rewrite's creators; to loosely quote them, if Astruc can insert himself into an episode, so can they.
• Babies Make Everything Better: Averted. Nino's Jerkass father tried to smooth over his martial difficulties with Monika by siring Noel but only cares about the kid as emotional leverage.
• Badass Bystander:
  • Played With in the latter half of the Syren arc, as Alya and Nino spearhead the efforts to organize and navigate the flooded city, and Adrien jumps into the fight to help Ladybug and Calamity despite no longer having a Miraculous... or its protection, which nearly gets him killed.
  • Luka, Max, and Kim help take down Party Crasher despite not having any Miraculous to protect them. Chat is both grateful for their aid and mortified that they could have gotten themselves killed in the process.
• Big Brother Instinct:
  • Hawkmoth exploits Kenji's desire to help his sister Kagami out in order to akumatize him into Oni-Chan.
  • Along similar lines, he attempts to ensnare Chloé in the same fashion, after she snatches the butterfly out of midair to save Amber from being akumatized.
  • The Miraculous Team invokes and exploits this in order to defeat Ex-Friend, with Rena disguising herself as Chloé and protecting Amber, making it appear as though those instincts run deeper than any grudges.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Hawkmoth has one in "Robustus" when he's mocked for finally admitting that he's a supervillain... to Markov, in response to the little robot questioning why he wanted the Earrings and Ring.
• Birthday Hater: Chloé is melancholic and snappish around her birthday, due to her strained relationship with her mother and missing her twin sister, Amber.
• Both Sides Have a Point: The argument between Alya and Nora in "Hecate". Nora is right that Alya is in constant danger from Akumas and she and her friends learning how to fight might save their life, with Alya is right that Nora hasn't actually dealt with an Akuma yet.
• Brainwashed and Crazy:
  • Anyone who is touched by Anansi has their memories changed to become part of his story.
  • Syren also does this to Kim, turning him into a merman who's completely devoted to her.
  • Queen Wasp turns anyone she stings into her devoted followers.
• Broken Pedestal:
  • Adrien's respect for his father takes a considerable hit in "The Collector" after he realizes that Marinette was the one who made the scarf, not Gabriel. Downplayed in that this doesn't convince him that his father might have some connection to Hawkmoth; it 'merely' weakens his faith in him further.
  • Chloé is deeply upset by her father's actions in "Frightningale", as he not only causes the akuma in the first place but ditches her while running away.
  • Ladybug and her allies find themselves upon one during "Catalyst", as Paris starts to turn against their heroes.
• Caustic Critic: Subverted with the online critics in "Animaestro". While Astruc sees them as this, they make some legitimate criticisms of his film and are friendly towards Marinette and the other teenagers.
• The Chessmaster: Nathalie/Monarcha has shades of this, as they prefer playing the long game with her akuma, as well as the plots she comes up with following her stint with the Butterfly.
• Comically Missing the Point: When Hawkmoth tries to akumatize Kenji, he attempts to correct his mispronunciation of 'Onii-chan' before realizing that it's meant to be a Punny Name.
• Compelling Voice:
  • Catalyst has one, which she uses to turn Paris against its heroes and add more oomph to her Breaking Speech to Gabriel.
  • Lila gains one in "Chameleon", allowing herself to be akumatized right before the first day of the new school year. The similarity is Lampshaded, with the heroes directly comparing the two.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: The second she stops screaming after Ladybug yanks her away from Oni-Chan, Lila immediately starts criticizing her, insisting she's got an important meeting to go to.
• Continuity Nod:
  • When the Lucky Charm becomes a pair of handcuffs in "Frightningale", Chat wonders if this means there's a limited amount of things it can transform into, as they've seen this before.
  • Weaponized by Alya during "Chameleon" when she creates a mirage of Lady Temp and Temp Noir and has them loudly discuss how Hawkmoth tried a similar scheme before.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot:
  • In "Chef Master", rather than admit that she's having trouble making the bao dumplings, Chloé nastily dismisses the merits of Chinese cooking and culture. When she confesses the real source of her outburst to Marinette, she points out that she could have just asked for help.
  • Adrien also grapples with this during the Syren arc, as he realizes that Fu probably wouldn't have taken the Ring if he hadn't threatened to quit.
• Create Your Own Villain: An interesting case appears during the Queen's Battle arc. Gabriel convinced Natalie to join him by exploiting her devotion to her sister. This leads to her taking up the Butterfly once he attempts to retire in order to continue their quest, whether he likes it or not.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Played With in "Anansi and Lugh", wherein the former has a Red and Black and Evil All Over outfit, but has cast himself as the hero of an Alternate Universe alongside the latter. Said AU casts the heavily black-clad Chat Noir as the true villain, while Ladybug is a more tragic figure Forced into Evil by her abusive partner. Adrien's wardrobe while detransformed is also impacted by this.
• Debate and Switch: Zigzagged in "Bakerix"; rather than relying upon the metaphor of Roland being upset about Tom adding rice to a traditional recipe, Gina calls him out on how he wanted Tom to 'marry a French girl who could trace her ancestors back a thousand years like you'. However, she goes on to add that the rift was more about his pride than specifically about Sabine. Once Roland himself enters the picture, he is blatantly racist towards Marinette and her mother, making a number of pointed comments about their heritage, and Alya doesn't hesitate to call him out on this.
• Didn't See That Coming: Lila expected Kagami to get akumatized by her stunt in "Oni-Chan", only to find herself dealing with her angry brother instead.
• Disappointed in You:
  • When confronting Adrien for his failed enrollment attempt in "Origins", Gabriel points out that he only could have gotten as far as he did if he forged his signature. Adrien refuses to confirm it, but Gabriel still makes clear how much he disapproves.
  • Master Fu says as much when confronting Adrien over his threat to quit during the Syren incident.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • While pleading with Gigantitan to be gentle while handling Adrien, Hawkmoth tells him that 'he's soft like a kitty'. Gigantitan's chirp of "Kitty!" leaves Adrien and Plagg shaken, wondering if Hawkmoth is aware of his Secret Identity.
  • Hawkmoth's decision to bring Natalie into the fold ultimately backfires upon him once he attempts to retire, only for Natalie to take up the Butterfly instead and rip into him for leaving the job unfinished.
  • While Astruc's movie is mostly a cliché-riddled mess, one detail is semi-accurate: he has Hawkmoth as Chat Noir's mother.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: In "Sandboy", Marinette's Akuma-induced nightmare involves her being harassed by an angry mob of mannequins. Come "Catalyst", Paris starts turning against the heroes.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Supervillain or not, Gabriel is still a father here, and actually cares about his son — enough that he's honestly horrified when Adrien accidentally gets caught up in an akuma attack. (Of course, he's completely unaware that one of his targets is his son.) Gabriel's concerns about Adrien's safety eventually reach the point that he's willing to give up his efforts to save Emilie for the sake of his son.
• Evil Costume Switch: Hilariously applies to Adrien's civilian wardrobe in "Anansi and Lugh", as he gets a black coat, Messy Hair and Creepy Shadowed Undereyes.
• Evil Gloating:
  • Largely Averted; unlike Canon, Hawkmoth is more of a No-Nonsense Nemesis and doesn't engage in private theatrics.
  • Played straight in "Anansi and Lugh", where Adrien (brainwashed into playing the role of the villain) monologues about how he's going to return the world to its natural state. Plagg gets some good snark out of this.
• Exact Words: The Order use this against Gabriel, promising to spare the life of the Dog Wielder, whom he believes is Adrien. They say nothing about sparing the lives of anyone else... like, say, Chat Noir.
• Face–Heel Turn: In "Animaestro's" Ladybug: The Movie, Chat briefly switches sides after learning that Hawkmoth is his own mother.
• Faux Action Girl: Ladybug is depicted this way in Ladybug: The Movie, as a Not Like Other Girls walking cliché who's ultimately dependent upon Chat Noir to protect her while the plot revolves around him. Lila, who voiced her, insists that this is true to real life.
• Foreshadowing:
  • After "Timebreaker" is dealt with, Plagg complains about the headache from regaining their conflicting memories and comments on how this is why he can't stand Hopps.
  • "Despair Bear" sees Chloé melancholic for the whole episode, and ends with her messaging somebody who has the same bear as her with the colors reversed.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: Audrey calls Amber by her full name right before attempting to slap her, only for Chloé to take the blow instead.
• The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Chloé has been spoiled rotten by her father and is struggling to recover from her Alpha Bitch ways; Amber was raised by their mother to better suit her tastes. While the twins do love each other, the distance and stark differences in how they were raised have taken their toll.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: Played With; While Marinette's tireless efforts as a fashion designer are rewarded in "Queen Wasp" when Gabriel announces his intention to take her on as an intern, this sparks Amber to question the point of all HER efforts after her mother tries to poach Marinette away.
• The Hecate Sisters: The basis of Nora's akumatized form; she splits into three beings (the younger Maiden, the wizened Crone, and the Matron, which shares its age with her) and gains the ability to change someone's age depending on which one does it.
• Heroic Bystander: As in canon, though the circumstances are different, Marinette's birthday guests fight back against Befana, starting with Kim throwing Alix at her to knock her off her motorcycle. Once she's on the ground...
  "DOG PILE ON THE AKUMA!!!" Kim shouts.
  And a dog pile there was. And it was great.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: "Catalyst" sees Marinette's nightmare from "Sandboy" starting to come true, as the public turns against her and the other heroes.
• Hidden Depths: Master Fu shows quite the temper while feverish in "Backwarder".
• Hoist by Her Own Petard: In order to fake having tinnitus, Lila forges a doctor's note. After her defeat, when she returns to school the next day, she attempts to move further back, only for Mme Dubois to stop her due to her condition.
• Hope Spot: Gabriel has one in the middle of the "Queen's Battle" arc: after retiring as Hawkmoth, he begins tentatively repairing his strained relationship with his son, with Adrien noticing that his father seems to have changed for the better and praising his efforts. Unfortunately, Monarcha refuses to let him give up so easily.
• How We Got Here: Combined with Book Ends in "Chameleon". The episode opens with Marinette psyching herself up before her first day of the new school year, telling herself "New Lycee, new me." The ending scene flashes back to Lila starting her day in much the same way, while also revealing how she was willingly akumatized.
• I Have No Son!: Despite declaring this, Roland is shown to be incredibly possessive when it comes to Tom, showing himself to be a racist Control Freak who spitefully despises Sabine because he blames her for Tom expanding his horizons beyond his narrow-minded traditions.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: This is what drives the akumatization of Amber into Queen Wasp, who brainwashes anyone she stings into admiring her.
• I've Come Too Far: In "Queen Wasp", this is more a matter of "We've come too far," as Natalie refuses to let Gabriel quit peacefully.
• Important Haircut: After Amber gives up on getting Audrey's approval, she has Chloe cut her hair shorter.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Marinette still initially believes that somebody else should become the new Ladybug after her first outing, and tries to slip the Earrings to Alya without being noticed.
  • Chloé still calls for Alya to be suspended after she breaks into her locker, not wanting anyone to think that her efforts to become less of an Alpha Bitch make her vulnerable.
  • Chloé almost shrugs off misplacing her mother's bracelet, saying it can be replaced, only for her father to reveal it was one of Audrey's prototype designs, sending her into a panicked BSOD.
  • Andre abuses his position to interfere with Clara's music video, ironically going against Chloé's wishes in the process.
  • Despite Ladybug informing him quite clearly that she has a boyfriend in her civilian identity, and that she has plans to spend the afternoon with him, Chat Noir still misinterprets her saying "See you later" as implying she might come and see him if her boyfriend cancels.
  • The Syren arc still sees Adrien threatening to quit, and learning Master Fu's identity. However, the events surrounding this are dramatically different.
  • "Gigantitan" still involves the Girl Posse trying to set up Adrien, though their other target has changed from Marinette to Kagami.
  • In the Queen's Battle Arc, Chloé still becomes Queen Bee — not by accident, but because she was chosen as a temporary bearer to help fight Style Queen.
  • As of "Robostus", it's clear that being Le Paon is still taking a toll on Nathalie's health.
  • Though Nino and the other boys aren't throwing any kind of 'secret party' at the Agreste residence, Wayham still believes that they are, leading to him attacking as "Party Crasher".
  • Chloé still gets a moment of Heroic Resolve where she resists Hawkmoth's attempt to akumatize her into Sister Dearest.
  • Despite Marianne successfully tracking down Master Fu on her own in "Backwarder", she still gets akumatized after a tragic misunderstanding, as he mistakes her for a hallucination and angrily rebuffs her.
  • At the end of "Miracle Queen", Master Fu still erases his memories in order to avoid being used against the heroes.
• Internal Reveal:
  • "Lady Wifi" ends with Ladybug revealing her Secret Identity to Alya.
  • Nino gets let in on Adrien's secret during "Timebreaker".
  • "Dawnbreaker" eventually reveals that Chloé confessed to Adrien and got rebuffed.
  • Two cap off "The Collector": Adrien realizes who really made his scarf, and Gabriel reveals Emilie's cyro pod to Natalie, bringing her into his fold.
  • The Syren arc leads to both Adrien and Alya meeting Master Fu and realizing that he's the Guardian.
  • In "Queen Wasp", Chloé learns more about what her sister's life with their mother has been like, and that Amber knows that she was Queen Bee.
  • "Catalyst" has two as well: Ladybug learns that Chloé has been helping the Ladyblog under an alt account, and Alya overhears an incriminating phone call between Nino and Adrien that causes her to connect the dots.
  • Robostus figures out why Hawkmoth wants the heroes' jewelry and loudly declares it in the arena.
• It's All About Me:
  • Audrey shows this attitude in spades when she throws a fit over the reserved seating at Gabriel's fashion show, demanding that she be allowed to sit there instead, young talent be damned!
  • She also attempts to poach Marinette away from Gabriel despite his declaration that he'd be taking her on as an intern.
• It's All My Fault:
  • A critical example in the Syren arc: Rather than blaming Fu or anyone else, Adrien recognizes that it was his own actions that cost him the Ring.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: A twisted example in "Malediktator": the akumatized Andre brainwashes Audrey into feeling this way regarding her soon-to-be-ex husband and daughters after she responds to his initial decree by snarling about how they're all failures.
• Jerkass Has a Point: During an argument in "Ex-Friend", Lila calls out Chloé's claim that she's only ever skipped out on spending time with Sabrina due to being caught up in akuma attacks. This causes Chloé to freeze up, realizing that she's right — there were times when she ditched her just to hang out with other friends.
• Let Me Get This Straight...: Said word-for-word by Master Fu during the denouncement of "Mayura", as he summarizes what they have done and asks for the reasoning behind said decision.
• Loves My Alter Ego: Marinette, Alya, and Tikki figure out early on that Adrien has a crush on Ladybug.
• The Maiden Name Debate: Roland is furious to learn that his son chose to hyphenate his surname into Dupain-Cheng when he married Sabine.
• Malicious Misnaming: If Audrey doesn't care about you, she won't bother remembering your name. She does this to her own daughter. Both of them.
• Moment of Weakness: Adrien takes a few minutes to enjoy the party that the Bubbler has thrown for him since he's never been to a party, and Marinette in Ladybug form uses her Lucky Charm to get him away from Chloé, then takes time to sign a birthday present she gave to Adrien. As both heroes realize, they gave the Bubbler an opening to start spiriting away dissenting partygoers.
• Mutual Envy: Chloé envies her twin for living a jet-setting lifestyle with their mother and being held in higher regard. Turns out that Amber also envies her for having a more stable life, and not having to deal with their mother's constant criticism and casual cruelty.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • During "Riposte", Hawkmoth is horrified when she appears to have Adrien cornered in the sarcophagus and goes for the kill shot. Afterwards, he promises himself that he's never going to akumatize her again.
  • After she's healed, Ondine struggles with the knowledge that she nearly killed Adrien, on top of everything else she did as Syren.
  • In the wake of "Style Queen", Gabriel has a Villainous Breakdown where he cites the fact that Adrien's nearly been killed in three different incidents now as unforgivable on his part.
  • Andre has one of his own in "Malediktator" after witnessing his ex-wife hauling off to slap Amber, forcing him to recognize just how abusive Audrey is.

N-Z

• Named by the Adaptation: Adrien's bodyguard 'the Gorilla' is given the name Vladamir.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: A recurring theme in Season 3 is that the Monster of the Week tends to shoot themselves in the foot when choosing their amok. On several occasions, their decision unintentionally gives the heroes an extra edge rather than working the way they intended.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
  • Marinette's attempt to cheer up Chat Noir by introducing him to Andre sparks off his transformation into Glaciator, as he interprets the gesture as romantic and begins shipping the pair over their protests.
  • Markov exposes himself to M. Barlow while trying to help Max help their teacher get rid of a nasty virus on his computer. M. Barlow immediately confiscates the AI. Played With, however, in that Markov gave him the virus in the first place, believing that he would be rewarded for helping.
• No-Sell: Queen Bee takes a load of Queen Wasp's mind control stingers to the face and keeps fighting.
• Not a Game: Chat Noir's tendency to joke and pun around contributes to the growing tensions between him and Ladybug, until Master Fu confiscates the Ring. Adrien subsequently earns it back when he proves that he recognizes when things are a Matter of Life and Death.
• Not Helping Your Case: During the Syren arc, Adrien's attempts to blackmail Plagg into revealing his secrets don't convince him that he's ready. His threat to quit only makes matters worse — especially as Master Fu witnesses it.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: When Marianne arrives at the tea shop, a feverish Master Fu dismisses her as a mere hallucination, ranting about how she must have died ages ago, as that's the only thing that could have possibly kept her from finding him before now.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • Lila attempts to make it appear like she fell victim to this when she makes a play for Adrien, claiming that she wasn't aware that he already HAD a girlfriend. Played With in that most of the core cast doesn't actually fall for the stunt, but Kagami's brother Kenji gets akumatized instead due to mistaking her refusal to rise to the bait as resignation.
  • "Party Crasher" comes about because Wayham refuses to believe that Adrien and the group of friends that accompanied him into the mansion are honestly working on a school assignment.
  • The Battle of the Miraculous arc has a massive, game-changing one: Chloé's decision not to warn anyone about her Fake Defector ploy leads to Master Fu wiping his memories to prevent his knowledge from falling into the wrong hands.
• The Power of Hate: "Chameleon" shows Lila deliberately working herself into a rage over being embarrassed in the past in order to attract an akuma.
• The Power of Love: Implied to be how Queen Bee resists Wasp's stingers in "Queen Wasp".
• Psychological Projection: One of the roots of Gina's issues in "Befana". Not only is she unable to accept that Marinette has grown up significantly in the five years since she last saw her, she fears that her relationship with Luka will follow the same path that she did with Roland. That Marinette mistakenly believes that she's more mature than she actually is.
• Rage Breaking Point: Sabrina hits hers in "Ex-Friend" after witnessing Chloé protecting her sister by snatching a butterfly away and resisting Hawkmoth's attempt to change her, smashing her phone against the ground.
• Reality Warper: Marc has this power as Anansi, warping the world around him to match his fanfics; Nathaniel becomes his superhero partner once he gives him a "Miraculous", Chat Noir becomes a destruction-happy villain (with Ladybug playing along as his poor, abused partner), and the Ladyblog becoming the Spideyblog.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • In the denouncement of "Queen Wasp", Nathalie delivers a scathing one, berating Gabriel for trying to quit — and, in doing so, abandoning Emilie.
  • A similar exchange takes place in "Catalyst", with Nathalie lecturing him about pretending that he's still a good man rather than a monster... and using her akuma power to seize control of his mind.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Catalyst has bright red eyes that help her ensnare her victims, brainwashing them into believing her claims.
• Rejected Apology: When Amber attempts to soothe Sabrina in "Ex-Friend" after her blow-out with Chloé, Sabrina rejects her efforts, making clear that she blames HER for Chloé's neglect.
• Related in the Adaptation: "The Collector" reveals that Nathalie is Emilie's sister.
• Remembered I Could Fly: When Nino sees that Plagg has Chloé's bracelet stuck on his head, he comments on how he thought he could phase through objects. Adrien then realizes that he was faking being stuck to try and wheedle more cheese from him, and is less than pleased.
• Rule of Three: Adrien has three brushes with death before Gabriel is shaken enough to abandon his quest.
• Saying Too Much: Lila accidentally does this during "Chameleon" when she sneers about 'your silly little temps', causing the heroes to realize that she's still holding a grudge about Lady Temp exposing her before.
• Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: In "Frightningale", the Mayor refuses to give Clara Nightingale permission to record her video unless she casts his daughter in the lead role. Unlike canon, he does this entirely on his own initiative, and very much against his daughter's wishes.
• Secret-Keeper: Each holder of a Miraculous is able to choose one other person to let in on their secret, in order to provide them with extra stability and support. Marinette chooses Alya, while Adrien picks Nino.
  • Another benefit of being aware of the holder's identity is that they can sub in when necessary, as Lady Temp or Temp Noir.
• Secret Test of Character: Played With during the "Syren" two-parter: After stripping the Ring from Adrien, Master Fu and Wayzz observe his behavior afterwards and determine that his heroic actions and humble words afterwards prove that he learned from his mistake...enough to be given another chance. While Adrien guesses that the whole thing was a test, and Wayzz doesn't deny it, the circumstances themselves imply that Fu originally had no intention of giving it back, and was simply moved by his deeds to reconsider.
• Shipper on Deck: Andre the Ice Cream Vendor becomes fixated on the prospect of Chat Noir and Marinette getting together, despite both vigorously protesting the idea.
• Shout-Out:
  • Nora nicknames Marinette Sanrio, while Adrien is Project Runway.
  • The critics in "Animaestro" have the last names Statler and Waldorf. Doubles as a Meaningful Name, since Statler and Waldorf are best known for their constant criticisms of the other Muppets.
  • During "Catalyst", Chloé references a real-life incident where an activist countered an anti-Muslim protest by blasting the "THEY'RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGUARD!!" meme.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!:
  • Ladybug kicks one off against Mayura in the episode of the same name, countering her Breaking Speech and spurring each of the others to join in with their own thoughts.
  • Nino shuts down his former father's attempts to guilt-trip him into letting him back into their lives; later, Monika does the same.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift:
  • Ladybug gets one during "Origins Part 2", as her resolve to become Ladybug is reflected in her appearance.
  • Another happens during "The Collector", with her attire looking more like an armored bodysuit and hair growing out longer with red spots.
  • Chat Noir has one of his own in Season 2 after being reinstated, with the silver changing to gold and gaining more armored padding.
  • Amber gets one at the end of the Queen's Battle trilogy, symbolizing her giving up on her efforts to please her unpleasable mother.
• Split-Screen Phone Call: Used dynamically in "Malediktator" to represent the group chat for Operation: Gemini, a plan to keep Chloé and Amber in Paris and away from their mother.
• Spotting the Thread: Rose admits she figured out Chloé and Luka were superheroes after noticing various signs, such as them caring for each other before they even started dating and them being tired in class.
• Status Quo Is God: Played With several times:
  • Adrien undergoes some critical Character Development during the "Syren" arc, so while this ultimately resolves with him returning to the role of Chat Noir, he still comes away from the experience all the stronger for it.
  • Similarly, the "Queen's Battle" trilogy serves as a Wham Arc that instates some drastic changes. While one of its plotlines resolves with Gabriel taking up the Butterfly again, it's also quite clear that the whole experience has changed their outlook on matters.
  • As of "Peacemaker", Marinette and all of the other 'main' members of Team Miraculous have been pulled out to attend different schools.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Played for Drama with how much Nino physically resembles his manipulative Lazy Bum of a father.
• Superhero Paradox: Forms the crux of Catalyst's Malicious Slander against the heroes, blaming them for Hawkmoth's continued activity and insisting that if they retired, Hawkmoth would surely give up as well.
  • As a direct result of the above, Lila learns that her apparent 'victory' is anything but: the rest of her classmates immediately peg her as the culprit and call her out. This also costs her Sabrina's support, as she angrily declares that she won't be manipulated by another False Friend.
• Take That!:
  • "Animaestro" is dedicated to both pointing out some legitimate flaws the original show has and criticizing Thomas Astruc's reactions on social media whenever these flaws are pointed out.
  • Also from "Animaestro", the critics' negative review of the movie describes it as having all the wit of a YouTube Kids original cartoon and a romantic subplot comparable to the ones in Voltron: Legendary Defender. A bonus picture also sees the critics wondering if replacing "YouTube Kids original cartoon" with "Neko Sugar Girls" would be too harsh.
  • Alya mentioned that she was worried that the Miraculous was gonna make her super skinny or something. Marinette states that it's ridiculous since that physique would be unhealthy for a teenager, while looking at the screen.
• Threat Backfire: Played very seriously when Master Fu responds to Adrien's threat to quit by taking the Ring. When Adrien protests that he didn't mean it, Fu points out that he still disarmed and claimed that he was willing to quit in the middle of a dire situation.
• Time Skip: The final scene of "Mayura" cuts ahead to the Miraculous Team starting a new school year at a new school, with Marinette having continued her training to become the next Guardian.
• Timey-Wimey Ball: Dawnbreaker's power allows them to screw with time, in a way that forces everybody but Dawnbreaker to have experienced the full period before the 'reset'. By the time Ladybug and Chat Noir are able to deal with the akuma, this has been going on for two weeks.
• Torches and Pitchforks: Marinette/Ladybug's Sandboy-induced nightmare features an angry mob of Parisian mannequins carrying these while calling for her blood, blaming her for everything that's gone wrong.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Played for Laughs when Team Miraculous learns that kwami can eat anything for a recharge, leading to questions about why Plagg always insists on cheese and Pollen favors croissants over something more thematic like honey buns.
• The Unfavorite: Chloé, in her mother's eyes.
• Unhand Them, Villain!: Prime Queen pulls this after Chloé confesses for her father, dropping both of her hostages at once.
• Villainous Breakdown: Befana breaks down after she finally manages to corner Marinette, only to find that her amok looks older than Marinette despite her gingerbread trappings, reflecting how she actually IS more mature than Gina gives her credit for.
• We Can Rule Together: Part of Syren's proposal to Kim is that they'll transform Paris into their underwater kingdom, ruling side-by-side.
• We Need a Distraction: In "Style Queen", Chloé assumes that Ladybug wants her to distract her akumatized mother and psyches herself up for a Heroic Sacrifice. That's not what she has in mind.
• We Want Our Jerk Back!: Played With in "Ex-Friend". Sabrina wants the old Chloé back because she misses their 'friendship'; Chloé may have been mistreating her, but at least she'd paid more attention back then. Nobody else wants to deal with the old Chloé, and they also react with dismay at Adrien being briefly rewound to his pre-Syren self-centeredness.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: How Gabriel sees not just his actions as Hawkmoth, but his stifling and overprotective behavior as Adrien's father.
• Wham Episode:
  • "Syren Part 1" ends with Master Fu reclaiming the Ring from Adrien, deeming him unworthy after his threat to quit.
  • "Syren Part 2", meanwhile, sees Adrien nearly die while trying to help Ladybug and Calamity, and earn his reinstatement and Significant Wardrobe Shift.
  • The "Queen's Battle" trilogy is effectively a wham arc, with each episode bringing its own status-quo-shaking moments:
    • "Style Queen" officially reveals the existence of Amber, Chloé's twin sister, and ends with Gabriel deciding to quit being Hawkmoth.
    • "Queen Wasp" follows that up with Natalie stepping up to become Monarcha, while Marinette accepts an internship with Gabriel.
    • And "Prime Queen" has the revelation that Mayor Andre has been rigging the elections, with Prime Queen — and Chloé — revealing this to all of Paris.
  • Finally, "Malediktator" sees Andre removed from power, Amber getting a turn with the Bee as Bellflower, and Audrey attempts to take both of her daughters out of Paris before her cruelty is publicly exposed.
  • In "Catalyst", Nathalie uses her akuma power on Hawkmoth himself and claims the Peacock from his vault, becoming Mayura while keeping Hawkmoth under her control. Meanwhile, it's hinted that Alya figures out Chat Noir's secret identity by eavesdropping on Nino's call to him.
  • "Mayura" sees the heroes form a brand-new Order of the Guardians and reveal their secret identities to each other.
  • "Full Disclosure" lives up to its name, as Gabriel fights the heroes as Argus the Peacock and is forced to reveal under the akuma's influence that he knows Adrien is Fenrir, and that he's been trying to bring his wife back. This spurs Adrien moving out in the following episode.
  • "Peacemaker", the series' equivalent to "Ladybug", has Lila attempt to get Marinette and the rest of Team Miraculous expelled... leading to their parents, infuriated by the principal's utter lack of professionalism, pull all of their kids out and enroll them in different schools.
  • The End of Time arc incorporates its own version of Chat Blanc, with several heroes getting to witness what's become of the world... and Adrien discovering that his own father is Hawkmoth.
  • In the Battle of the Miraculous arc, Chloé fakes a Face–Heel Turn, pretending to fall for Scorpion's lies in order to lure him into a trap... but this backfires when another member of the Order arrives, leading to the Miraculous Box being stolen with all of the currently inactive Miraculi still inside.
  • "Flashback" contains several shocking reveals about the past... including that Emilie used the Peacock to help against natural disasters and that Gabriel used the Butterfly to edit Natalie's memories after Emilie fell ill. There's also the Internal Reveal of Gabriel realizing that Adrien is Chat Noir.
• Wham Line: The final line of "Style Queen" is Gabriel informing Nooroo that he quits.
• Wham Shot: The moment that Prince Ali walks in the door as a New Transfer Student in "Chameleon", the stakes shift considerably.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Queen Bee questions whether or not Markov can be rebuilt if they wind up trashing Robotus in the process of taking him down. She phrases her concerns rather callously.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • In "Syren Part 1", Master Fu is understandably not pleased by Adrien's threat to quit and dresses him down while confiscating the Ring.
  • Downplayed in "Sandboy"; Master Fu isn't thrilled to learn that the kwami got together behind his back in order to combine their powers and try to contact Nooroo but acknowledges that they had their reasons.
  • Max snaps at the rest of his assigned group in "Party Crasher" for completely neglecting their assignment in favor of goofing around in Adrien's room.
• Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: Discussed briefly; instead of thinking Chloé could be Ladybug herself, Alya instead suspects that she could be her supplier using her father's wealth and connections as the mayor of Paris to help fund the superheroine.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Discussed in "Hecate", as Nora grapples with the notion that Alya has grown up too fast due to all of her experiences with akumas.
• Xanatos Gambit: Implied in "Prime Queen": while the titular akuma fails to get the Miraculous, she successfully exposes Mayor Andre's corruption, priming the city for far more emotional fallout from the scandal to come.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!:
  • Ladybug secretly makes a face as she hears Lugh reminding her of the time she took Marinette hostage.
  • Hawkmoth has this reaction after accidentally akumatizing Auguste while trying to hit Vladamir, questioning whether or not he's desperate enough to use a baby.
  • Max phrases this in the form of a question after Party Crasher interrupts his attempt to get his study group back on task.

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