Panic attacks are striking Marinette hard recently, and that's bad news as Adrien has invited her for a swim at the local pool, which may hold the key behind her trauma and why she struggles to confess to Adrien...
Tropes:
- Adults Are Useless: Marinette being bullied is only compounded by it getting her in trouble with Mr. Damocles and Ms. Mendeliev for being late and disrupting class respectively. That's before considering that both won't ever do anything about Chloé because of her connections.
- An Aesop:
- Mockery can really affect someone's feelings
- Don't do something at the expense of others
- Batman Gambit:
- Beware the Nice Ones: As Cat Noir, Nice Guy Adrien attempts to kill Dark Humor with Cataclysm out of anger at the cruel prank his civilian self played on Marinette. Even as his civilian self, he's struggling not to physically attack Kim, with pure, undiluted anger in eyes as he glares at him.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Anyone hit by Dark Humor's arrows will pull mean, and sometimes dangerous, pranks on others, believing it to be funny.
- Call-Forward:
- The conversation Marinette has with Sabine in the flashback echoes not just the conversation from this episode, but the one about Chloé from "Origins".
- In the flashback, Marinette notes that the blue pair of pants that Chloé ruined were her favorite pair. In the present, she's evidently got a new set.
- Marinette and her girl posse decide to hide from Chloé in the cafeteria, since she never goes in there. As of the present in season 5, Chloé frequents the cafeteria to bully Marinette and help plot with Lila.
- Category Traitor: Chloé hypocritically considers Adrien a traitor for defending someone less wealthy and therefore less deserving than her.
- Cerebus Retcon: All those previous times where Marinette acted nervous around Adrien? Turns out they're a side effect of Kim pranking her after she had confessed her feelings for him, traumatizing her into becoming nervous about trying to get romantically involved with a boy again.
- Composite Character: Dark Humour is one to Kim's previous Akumatized and Miraculous forms Dark Cupid and King Monkey.
- Compressed Vice: Marinette is seen in this episode as having Trauma Buttons from the day of Kim's prank on her when she tried going out with him that are fairly regular things she's done plenty of times before without issue, like seeing Kim, Adrien's hand, or looking at her own palm.
- Continuity Nod:
- Marinette was previously shown wearing her hair in a bun in a past school photo in "Reflekta". Sure enough, said photo appears in the flashback, and Juleka has her face obscured by Max's hand, referencing the "class photo curse" she suffered back then.
- Chloé previously considered putting cockroaches in Marinette's locker back in "Sole Crusher", evidently falling back on old material going by the flashback.
- Deadly Prank:
- When the swimming pool's lifeguard is hit by Dark Humor's arrow, he decides to drain the swimming pool to watch people jump onto the hard floor below which, as Ondine points out, is extremely dangerous.
- After Kim uses the power of Uproar on Cat Noir, turning him into a mean prankster and causing his ring to spew marbles, he runs around dropping marbles on the ground to make people slip and fall, and even leaves some in front of a bus, almost causing an accident.
- Death Glare:
- Adrien and Ondine both give one to Kim after he finishes his story about how he unintentionally humiliated Marinette and broke her heart in the past by playing a very mean prank on her.
- When Chloé refuses to apologize to Marinette and goes on by saying that people who are beneath her are nothing but doormats, Sabrina gives a silent one to her since Chloé treats her as a doormat too.
- Disproportionate Retribution: While the prank Kim played on Marinette was cruel, Cat Noir attempting to straight-up kill him with Cataclysm as retribution for it was going too far. Even he admits that he let his emotions get the better of him.
- Double-Meaning Title: Marinette is traumatized by the derision she faced at the hands of malicious Chloé and clueless Kim. Even in the modern day, derision is all Chloé feels for people other than herself. And, when Akumatized, Dark Humor receives Xuppu's power of Derision.
- Dramatic Irony: Subverted - after Kim's prank, Marinette swears to never fall in love without her now-signature overly-extensive plans or knowing absolutely everything there is to know about her romantic target, but especially with making sure the fellow is not friends with Chloé. As we know about Adrien being childhood friends with Chloé, that turned out to not be the case...until Adrien declared his friendship with Chloé right at the end of the episode.
- Dude, Not Funny!: This is how Adrien and Ondine react after Kim tells them about the “hilarious” prank he pulled on Marinette in the past.
- Easily Forgiven:
- Kim, upon realizing that his pranks have consequences and that they should never come at the expense of people's feelings, apologizes, and is quickly forgiven by Marinette and Ondine.
- Subverted with Chloé. Adrien encourages Chloé to apologize, saying that Marinette would forgive her, but Chloé refuses and he in turn refuses to be her friend any further.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Chloé doesn't understand why Adrien is mad at her for the way she tortured Marinette in the past, claiming that rich people like her and Adrien are supposed to torment "nobodies" and "doormats" like Marinette.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: As bad as Kim is with his prank, his akumatized form Dark Humor runs on this. His powers making others pull cruel pranks of their own, like the lifeguard draining the pool just to watch people get hurt when they jump in, or having Ondine break a child's toy.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Marinette used to wear her hair in a bun. She changed it to her signature pigtails in memory of Socqueline.
- The First Cut Is the Deepest: Marinette attempted to start a relationship with Kim, who played a prank on her (at Chloé's suggestion). The trauma of this is the reason why Marinette has been so unable to approach Adrien throughout the series.
- Flashback Effects: Scenes taking place in the past have a slight tint around the border.
- Freudian Excuse: Marinette's response to being traumatized by Kim explains everything about her behavior towards Adrien in the present. She vows to never tell a boy she loves him, and to never even approach a relationship without a plan of action or knowing absolutely everything there is to know about him.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: In the flashback, Rose says that Chloé acts the way she does because her mother left her at a young age. Mylène points out that her mom left her too, but she doesn't use it as an excuse to bully others.Rose: Don't be mad at her. She's this way because her mother left her when she was young.Mylène: So did mine! And you don't see me having fun bullying Marinette.
- Hard Truth Aesop: Don't mistake folly for kindness. Marinette learned that the hard way when Kim, who Marinette had a crush on at the time, traumatized her for life with a prank he was too dumb to realize went too far, until Odine makes him had a realization.
- Heel Realization: Kim finally has one about his Jerk Jock tendencies after Ondine calls him out on them after his de-Akumatization, and promises to change.Kim: You're right, Ondine. I'm just a fool who doesn't think about the consequences of what I say or do. But I'm gonna change. I'm sorry I hurt you, Marinette. Can you please forgive me?Marinette: Apology accepted, Kim.
- Held Gaze: Marinette and Kim shared one at the swimming pool where Marinette confessed her feelings to him.
- Heroic Willpower: Marinette throws off the attempted Akumatization after a flashback.
- Holding Hands:
- Marinette takes Adrien's hand as they enter the swimming pool, but then pulls away in panic after seeing a photo of Kim.
- After Adrien and Marinette flee Dark Humor, she tells Tikki that at least she doesn't shake like a leaf when they're running away hand in hand.
- Marinette and Adrien attempt to do this near the end, but Marinette pulls her hand back because she's too nervous to hold his hand due to the lingering trauma of Kim's prank.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Hitting Adrien with an arrow causes him to think it'd be quite fun to hit the Lucky Charm that was turned into a balloon floating by him, which heads toward Dark Humor and fouls his ability to aim, allowing Marinette to hid behind a pillar, de-transform and then transform back to give her another chance to use Lucky Charm.
- Innocently Insensitive: Kim thinks that Marinette would enjoy his prank, and even after she runs crying into the changing room Kim assumes she thought it was as hilarious as he did. He has no problem explaining what he did to Adrien and Ondine, not understanding why they'd be upset with him. He also says that Chloé is the prettiest, funniest girl in the world right in front of his girlfriend.
- Instant Humiliation: Just Add YouTube!: Subverted. Chloé intends to upload the video of Marinette being pranked by Kim and falling into the pool, but Socqueline destroys the phone before she can upload it or make any copies.
- It's All About Me: Adrien accuses Chloé of only thinking about herself. She asks if there's anything else worth thinking about, proving him right.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kim in the flashbacks was known to pull pranks like stealing Max's glasses and later tricking Marinette into opening a box of spiders, but he genuinely thought he was being funny and everyone was in on the joke. In the present day, he still feels no regret, but after he is deakumatized he hopes that he didn't do too much damage as a supervillain and later apologizes to Marinette for his actions when Ondine tells him the worst part is he does awful things even when he's not akumatized. This is contrasted with Chloé who is not just unrepentant but downright proud of her cruelty.
- Jurisdiction Friction: When Chloé orders Principal Damocles to punish Socqueline for preventing her from humiliating Marinette, the Principal initially refuses to do so because he cannot punish students for things that have nothing to do with the school. He changes his mind when Chloé threatens to have her father fire him.
- "Just Joking" Justification: Kim's defense to being called out by Adrien and Ondine is that his prank was, in his eyes, hilarious. A number of similar justifications are made by both Dark Humor and the people affected by him (and Ladybug, when she pretends to be affected by him).
- Kick the Dog: In the flashback, Chloé and Sabrina stuffed cockroaches in Marinette's locker and later put a paint tube on her seat, ruining her pants. Chloé later mocks Juleka for her stuttering. And of course there's her giving the idea of the prank to Kim. In her defense of her actions to Adrien, she calls everyone who's beneath her losers that only exist for her benefit, something Sabrina picks up on as she's painting Chloé's nails since Chloé views her as a doormat too.
- Lack of Empathy:
- Kim is initially unable to comprehend how much his prank hurt Marinette emotionally, thinking it was just a harmless joke. It is only after Ondine calls him out on his callousness after his de-Akumatization that he has a Heel Realization.
- Everyone hit by Dark Humor's arrows thinks it's funny to pull nasty pranks on other people.
- Chloé flat out states she doesn't care about Marinette's feelings and that doormats like her exist for her to laugh at their suffering.
- Laugh Track: A laughtrack plays every time one of Dark Humor's targets plays a prank. And even though she never got hit by one of his arrows, it plays again when Ladybug puts the toilet bowl over Dark Humor's head, rather implying that it's more for fun than an actual effect of Dark Humor's powers.
- Love Bubbles: During Marinette and Kim's Held Gaze, the background is pink with bubbles floating around.
- Love Confession: In the past, Marinette made one to Kim, who she had a crush on before Adrien came along. It... didn't end well for her.
- Love Hurts: Marinette confessed her feelings to Kim, only for him to prank her with a box filled with spiders, humiliating her in front of everyone at the swimming pool. This still affects Marinette in the present, as it triggers a panic attack when she goes to the same swimming pool with her current boyfriend Adrien, and is the reason she had trouble confessing her feelings to him for most of the series.
- Misplaced Retribution: In the flashback, Ms. Mendeleiev sends Marinette to the principal's office for yelling out and accusing Chloé of pranking her, when Marinette's jeans are obviously covered in paint, there's a tube of paint on her seat, and Chloé is ready with mean-spirited barbs. May be justified due to Chloé being the daughter of Mayor Bourgeois, who could get Ms. Mendeleiev fired if she took action against Chloé.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Cat Noir attempts to use Cataclysm directly on Dark Humor as retribution for the prank his civilian self played on Marinette. Thankfully, Ladybug stops him, and he later admits that he let his emotions get the better of him.
- Near-Villain Victory: Exploited by Marinette, who pretends to have been by Dark Humor to bait him into approaching her freely and facilitating her hitting him with a toilet bowl covered in glue on the inside.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Monarch's attempt to akumatize Marinette helps her realize why she feels the way she does around Adrien.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Socqueline standing up for Marinette by destroying Chloé’s phone to prevent the latter from humiliating her favourite target further leads to Chloé using her favourite excuse to get the former suspended long enough that she's unable to graduate.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Cat Noir beats the stuffing out of Dark Humor due to being furious at Kim for hurting Marinette in the past.
- Pretend to Be Brainwashed: Ladybug pretends to have been hit with one of Dark Humor's destructiveness-inducing arrows to catch him off guard long enough to get an opportunity to slam her toilet bowl Lucky Charm onto his head, incapacitating him long enough for her to break his Akumatized object.
- Properly Paranoid: Socqueline correctly suspects Marinette is getting in over her head at the pool and gets off the bus to shadow her there, allowing her to intercept Chloé before she can ruin Marinette's life.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Adrien angrily but calmly gives one to Chloé after learning about the mean prank she pulled on Marinette, telling her that he gave her multiple chances to show everyone that she can be a better person, yet she never once took the opportunity. When she proves herself completely unapologetic even now, Adrien renounces his friendship with her, permanently.Adrien: You're nothing like a princess, Chloé. I supported you. I gave you multiple chances to become a better person. Everyone reached out to you, including Ladybug and Cat Noir when they gave you the Miraculous of the Bee again, but all you ever think about is yourself.
Chloé: And what else is there to think about? Losers and nobodies? The little bees? The planet?
Adrien: (angrily) We will never be friends again, Chloé. You and I are done. - Redemption Rejection: After Kim makes amends with Marinette, Adrien confronts Chloé and demands her to apologize for the prank she pulled on Marinette. He says she will most likely be forgiven, while also proving that she can change. Chloé reacts by saying she doesn't care about being forgiven and that people like Marinette only exists to suffer for her amusement. This action causes Adrien to end their friendship, for good.Chloé: (laughs) Forgive me? What do I care about her forgiveness. I couldn't care less about Dupain-Cheng's feelings. She and the likes of her only exist to suffer for my entertainment. Why bother having power if you can't use it against those who don't have any? You're the one who's getting things wrong with your baker girl. You're a prince. You belong with me, the princess. You're in this world to shine. To make fun of all the losers who are only good enough to be use as doormats.
- Rule of Symbolism: The charm the Ladybug hands Kim has a broken Heart Symbol on it, which he ends up looking at before deciding to apologize to Marinette and pledge to change his thoughtlessness.
- Skewed Priorities: Faced with a supervillain with a bow and wings, the lifeguard tells him off for flying in the pool. Naturally, he's Dark Humor's first victim.
- Soft Water: Marinette recovers almost instantly from a backwards fall into the pool from the high-dive. It should have at least knocked the wind out of her.
- Tempting Fate: In the flashback, Sabine notes that it’s unlikely Marinette will be in the same class as Chloé again. Marinette laments that they’ve been in the same class for 3 years, and it’s unlikely that her luck will change. Marinette is proven right when she gets to school.
- Toilet Humour: Downplayed. No bodily functions are shown, but when Ladybug receives a toilet bowl from her Lucky Charm, Dark Humor mockingly asks her if "nature's calling". When Cat Noir dodges the toilet, she asks if he'd prefer a litter box.
- Transformation Is a Free Action: Averted; Dark Humor shoots Ladybug's Lucky Charm as she's in the middle of conjuring it, canceling out the summon and turning her yo-yo into a balloon. A timely distraction by Cat Noir allows Ladybug to duck behind a wall, reset her transformation, and then summon it properly.
- Trauma Button: Marinette being at the pool with the boy she likes, looking at her own palm, and seeing Kim as well as her bowl of cereal and milk reminds her of her past experience and triggers a panic attack. She's definitely not had any problems with doing these things before, though.
- Unstoppable Rage: After hearing what Kim did to Marinette, Adrien is pissed, and when Kim gets akumatized into Dark Humor, he takes the opportunity to absolutely wallop him as Cat Noir. He almost goes so far as to Cataclysm him in his fury, even though destroying the akumatized goggles would be quite sufficient. He only stops because Ladybug intervenes out of concern.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Neither Adrien nor Ondine condones Kim's mean prank; Ondine thoroughly chews him out for his stupidity while Adrien barely restrains himself from punching him. Kim, for his part, doesn't understand what's making them so angry until he himself comes to the realization when they tell him the pain he caused Marinette wasn't any less real after he gets de-akumatized.Ondine: The worst thing is that you do awful things when you're not akumatized, Kim.
Kim: Again with that story? It was just a joke.
Ondine: A girl liked you and you broke her heart.
Kim: But I had no idea.
Ondine: Just because you had no idea, is no excuse. The pain is still real. - Whole Episode Flashback: The first half of the episode is a flashback explaining the incident with Kim that made Marinette reflexively averse to expressing her love for someone else.
