Cat Noir: No, this is between me and him. I got myself into this mess, so I'm gonna get myself out.
"Hello, Copycat. I am Hawk Moth. Once you get rid of Cat Noir, you can take his place, and Ladybug will be yours forever!"
—Hawk Moth
After accidentally leaving an embarrassing message on Adrien's phone, Marinette tries to erase it, causing her to miss the reveal of a Ladybug and Cat Noir statue. To make things worse, Cat Noir tells Théo, the statue's sculptor, that he and Ladybug are dating. Heartbroken, Théo becomes infected by an Akuma and turns into Copycat, Cat Noir's perfect look-alike, and goes on a crime spree.
Tropes:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When Adrien tries to find his phone by calling it while it's in Marinette's hands, she fears he'll figure out she stole it, she'll be arrested for grand theft, spend the rest of her life in jail, and will never get to go to the movies with Adrien.
- Bluff the Impostor: Ladybug tricks Copycat by asking him if he told anyone about their secret promise.
- Clear My Name: Cat Noir gets framed by Copycat. Fortunately, the stolen painting magically returning back to the museum fixes the problem.
- Comically Missing the Point: Alya tells Marinette that she's at the museum looking to get more details on the Cat Noir robbery. Marinette responds, "Somebody robbed Cat Noir?"
- Didn't Think This Through: The cops try to trap Cat Noir in the museum when he has the well-known power to destroy anything he touches. At least they had cops guarding the entrance.
- Do I Really Sound Like That?: Adrien calls Copycat a terrible fake after hearing him make a bad cat pun.
- Embarrassing Voicemail: It isn't as though her initial attempt at a voicemail was anything to be proud of, but Marinette's sarcastic voicemail, which the phone did record, was bad enough to inspire Marinette to steal Adrien's phone.
- Evil Knockoff: Copycat, naturally, is an exact replica of Cat Noir, from costume to powers.
- Fearful Symmetry: Copycat has the exact same fencing-based fighting style as Cat Noir, his same Miraculous powers, and seemingly the same level of skill as well. Once Ladybug frees Cat from the chain trap, the two spend the rest of the fight trading blows, with neither having any clear advantage or disadvantage until Ladybug steals and destroys Copycat's akumatized photo.
- Foe-Tossing Charge: Cat Noir charges through a group of riot cops to escape the museum.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Ladybug uses Copycat's Cataclysm to free Cat Noir from his chains. Extra points since he pulled the same trick on Cat.
- Imagine Spot: When Marinette panics after stealing Adrien's phone, she fears she will end up in jail, complete with manga panels to illustrate that.
- Ironic Echo: When Ladybug tries to defend Cat Noir's innocence to the cops, Lieutenant Roger tells her to leave the case to the experts. After Cat Noir escapes their trap and Lieutenant Roger asks Ladybug to go after him, she says she's leaving the case to the experts.
- Is This Thing Still On?: Merely confessing her feelings to Adrien over the phone is already too much for Marinette. Knowing her dialogue with Alya was recorded...
- It's Personal: Once Cat Noir figures out Copycat's identity, he only calls Ladybug to tell her he found him, not to tell her where he is or who Copycat is. Fortunately, she's able to track him with her yoyo.
- Karma Houdini: Marinete steals Adrien's phone to delete an embarrassing message. At the end of the episode she manages to sneak it back in, unnoticed and she gets rewarded with going to the movies with Adrien despite stealing his phone.
- Cat Noir lies to Théo that he and Ladybug are involved. Not only does Ladybug never discover his lie, but also he leaves her believing that she caused Théo's Akumatization by not being at the unveiling, when it was really Cat taunting Théo that caused it. Ladybug, not Cat Noir, winds up apologizing to Théo.
- Love Bubbles: Copycat sees Ladybug surrounded by bubbles when he finally confronts her.
- Something Only They Would Say: During a struggle, Ladybug doubts which Cat is real until one of them calls her "Bugaboo", like the real Cat Noir did before.
- Something We Forgot: Adrien leaves his chauffeur hanging for the latter half of the episode. Not that you could tell by his reaction.
- Spot the Imposter: Ladybug manages to tell the two Cat Noirs apart by checking the number of pads on their rings.
- Stalker with a Crush: Played for Laughs when Marinette unveils a detailed schedule of Adrien's activities.
- Voices Are Not Mental: Copycat has the same voice as Cat Noir.
- What Does She See in Him?: Copycat wants to know what Ladybug sees in Cat Noir, and says as much when she shows up to rescue him. The fact that they're not actually dating in the first place escapes him entirely.
- Writers Cannot Do Math: Adrien's schedule not only has an incorrect number of days per monthnote , they also don't match up in weekdays between March and Aprilnote .
