Big results require big ambitions.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Startrain! You all get to live my dream with me — shoot off the rails and fly up in a rocket to explore not just the moon, but the entire universe!"
— Startrain
Max's mom, Claudie, gets akumatized into Startrain. Now at the controls of a flying train, she wants to realize her dream of becoming an astronaut. Problem is, outer space is way out of Hawk Moth's range, so he has absolutely no control over her, and neither Cat Noir nor Ladybug can breathe in the airless compartments between them and Startrain. On the bright side, they have a spare Miraculous with them- the Horse Miraculous of Teleportation, which they give to Max, allowing him to become the hero Pegasus.
Tropes:
- Air-Vent Passageway: Chloé traps the Akuma in first class, but it uses the vent system to reach the engine and Akumatize Claudie.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Pegasus gets his own "AMP Factor" sequence as he determines what surfaces to bounce his Precision-Guided Boomerang off of, with said surfaces being highlighted in green with a horseshoe pattern. Calculating the trajectory of a projectile in his head is probably something Teen Genius Max can do naturally, similar to how a depowered and amnesiac Marinette was shown to possess innate MacGyvering skills in "Oblivio".
- Bait-and-Switch: At first, it seems like Captain Roger will be transformed. But then he calms down, the Akuma gets trapped in Sabrina's suitcase, which is loaded onto the train...
- Busman's Holiday: As Marinette's class go off to London, an Akuma just happens to get trapped on the train.
- Call-Back:
- The Startrain which was introduced in "Bakerix" plays an important role.
- Chloé is well known to be Queen Bee, and she uses this fact to reassure other passengers. Cat Noir says that she didn't get her Miraculous back "because we didn't know you'd be here".
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Adrien decides not to tell his father about the London trip, since they'll be back by the end of the day with no one the wiser. An Akuma finding its way to the train makes sure that Gabriel learns of his son's presence there, and the Gorilla and Nathalie are waiting for him when they get back from the Elizabeth Tower.
- Chekhov's Gun: Sabrina mentions packing hand warmers as she boards the train, which are later used to keep Markov warm when opening the last cabin. Also unsurprisingly, the Horse Miraculous that Marinette takes with her, both as her excuse and the way to ensure everyone doesn't die due to the train being in space.
- Clock Tower: The class takes a train with the intended destination of the famous Elizabeth Tower in London, home of Big Ben. They briefly wind up there by accident after the Akuma is captured before the Miraculous Ladybugs return them to Paris. (However, contrary to what Adrien and Nino claim, they did not get to see Big Ben itself, as that is actually the name of the largest bell inside the clock tower.)
- Continuity Nod: Simon Grimault from "Simon Says" is on the train, and he brings up the time he was Akumatized.
- Crazy-Prepared: Sabrina brings a huge suitcase for a day trip so she can be properly prepared for Chloé's every whim.
- Cutting the Knot: Unlike Ladybug, who can believably lie about her presence on the train, Cat Noir has no choice but to be honest about being one of the passengers. As he points out, there are too many passengers to figure out who he is. For her part, Ladybug only cares that his identity might be in jeopardy and uses her lie to cover for him in front of the other passengers.
- Death Course: The path to the driver's compartment is laid with death traps: first a super-heated room with strong air currents and then a cold, nearly airless one with shooting drones.
- Dramatic Irony: Upon learning about Startrain, Gabriel laments the irony that, with the akuma out of his range, all he can do is hope his enemies save his son — still unaware of the further irony that one of those enemies is his son.
- The Glomp: Marinette gives Alya a tackling hug from a seated position, overjoyed by the Sleep Cute situation that Alya arranged and photographed.
- Godzilla Threshold: Marinette doesn't have any specific plan to give Max the Horse Miraculous, but when Startrain vents the oxygen from first class to keep the heroes out, Marinette has to give him the Miraculous because it's the only way he'll survive being in the car.
- Irony: As Gabriel lampshades, with Adrien on the Akumatized Startrain and out of his range of control, he has to root for the heroes' victory this time to make sure that his son returns home safely.
- Lap Pillow: Rose rests her head on Juleka's lap at one point.
- Non-Malicious Monster: Without Hawk Moth's control, Startrain isn't interested in getting the Miraculous and her goal of going into space doesn't involve hurting anyone intentionally.
- Noodle Incident: The episode starts with Marinette returning the Fox Miraculous, with almost nothing said about the villain defeated the night before.
- Poke the Poodle: Lila is not happy to see Marinette sleeping with her head on Adrien's shoulder and tries to ruin the moment.
- Powerful and Helpless: This episode's akuma got carted halfway to London and out of Hawk Moth's range before finally finding a target. When Gabriel hears the news of the akuma and learns that Adrien was on the train, he quickly realizes that all he can do is watch and hope that his enemies find a way to save his son.
- Precision-Guided Boomerang: Pegasus has a horseshoe-shaped boomerang which he can flawlessly bounce off surfaces and have return directly to him, with him calculating its trajectory using Awesomeness by Analysis.
- Properly Paranoid: Marinette initially decides to skip the field trip, not willing to take the risk that Hawk Moth might Akumatize someone while she's out of the country, even if it's only for a day. Master Fu gives her the Horse Miraculous so she'll have a means to teleport back to Paris in case of an emergency, allowing her to have some time off. Said Miraculous later proves crucial to her victory over Startrain, as well as providing a handy excuse for why she is on the train.
- The Reveal: The reason that Hawk Moth's attacks are always limited to Paris, his geographical proximity aside, is because there's a limit to how far away he can control an Akuma. Beyond the city limits, he can no longer communicate with the Akuma and it behaves of its own accord. Left to its own devices, it Akumatizes Claudie into Startrain and she takes the train into space, even further beyond his reach.
- Shipper on Deck: After Alya arranges a Sleep Cute moment between Marinette and Adrien, every girl in the class turns to watch them with glee, except for Lila (who tries to ruin it), Chloé (who was in first class and didn't see it), and Sabrina (who doesn't react to it at all).
- Shout-Out:
- Markov hacks the door panels by spinning a circular dial with his claw, not unlike R2-D2.
- Kaalki's refined manner of speaking and snobbish attitude suggest she was inspired by Rarity.
- Pegasus's appearance and the background during his transformation takes clear inspiration from The Matrix series.
- Claudie's first name may be a reference to the first female French astronaut Claudie Haigneré
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- Sleep Cute:
- A quick shot shows Rose sleeping with her head in Juleka's lap.
- Marinette falls asleep during the trip, having been up all night dealing with an Akuma, so Alya switches seats with Adrien to capitalize on the situation. Adrien, likewise having been up all night, falls asleep not long after. Every girl in class except Lila very much approves. Alya makes sure to get a pic for Marinette, and when Marinette wakes up briefly and notices, she does the smart thing for once and just falls right back to sleep without saying a word.
- Space Is Cold: Startrain vents the oxygen in first class to prevent the heroes from reaching her. This causes the entire car to freeze solid, in addition to the lack of oxygen making crossing problematic.
- Teleporter Accident: Played for Laughs. The result of the portal made by Pegasus is that the train ends up crashed through the Elizabeth Tower in London. Ladybug's World-Healing Wave gets it back on the tracks.
- Tempting Fate:
- Adrien assures Plagg that Hawk Moth isn't likely to Akumatize two people in the same day, which Plagg is happy to go along with. Naturally, that happens. Marinette, on the other hand, is wise enough not to take that risk without a backup plan.
- Adrien also assumes his father won't find out about the trip because it will only be for the day. His father unintentionally ruins that plan by sending an Akuma that gets trapped in the train.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: After many episodes of making no progress with her crush on Adrien, Marinette gets to have a Sleep Cute moment with him and a picture from Alya to commemorate it.
- Transformation Sequence: The transformation from Max to Pegasus is shown for the first time, with technological motifs.
- Vacation Episode: Pretty much the whole episode is about Marinette's class taking a trip to London, though Startrain forces them into an outer space detour. They do eventually make it to the Elizabeth Tower, or rather through the tower, only to get transported back to France almost immediately thanks to Ladybug's power.
