Episode 8
- The Pharaoh - Tales of Jalil the Conspiracy Theorist
Chloé watches a Ladyblog video where she—as Scarlet Lady—accidentally drops one of her lipstick tubes on Alya's head. She complains that she'll never get it back now that it's in the reporter's hands. Tikki tells her that she should worry about her upcoming midterms instead, but Chloé states that's what Sabrina is for. Wanting to spare Sabrina from being forced to do all the work by herself (again), Tikki suggests that her holder take Sabrina to a Louvre exhibit on ancient Egyptian artifacts, mentioning that there might also be things related to the Ladybug Miraculous. However, Chloé misses the point; assuming the show is all about the Ladybug heroine, she grabs Tikki and takes off, not even bothering to cancel her "study date" with Sabrina—her butler is left to deliver the news.
Meanwhile, Alya miserably remarks on the upcoming exams, with Marinette ribbing her for wasting her time on Scarlet Lady's lipstick instead of studying. Alix calls to tell Alya that Scarlet Lady is at the Louvre Museum, prompting Alya to decide she'll head over as well. Marinette points out that they've got to study—Alya's phone privileges are on the line! Hearing this, Alya compromises by asking Alix to make it a study date.
Adrien also learns of Scarlet Lady being at the museum—he likes to keep track of his nominal partner's bullshitting. Plagg remarks that there's likely things related to other previous Miraculous holders there, including other Black Cats. Adrien decides to go, if only in hopes of seeing something good.
When Marinette and Alya enter the museum, Alix greets them—but Alya pushes her aside so she can get closer to Scarlet Lady, who's preening at the entrance. Alya quickly gets her just desserts when a boy pushes her aside as well—Alix's brother, Jalil. Marinette asks about doing some reviewing for the exams, but Alix points at a papyrus right behind Scarlet Lady.
Adrien arrives at the museum just as Jalil shoves Scarlet Lady aside, causing a chain of Disaster Dominoes that ends with Marinette falling into Adrien's arms. Unfortunately, any bliss he gets is immediately destroyed by Scarlet Lady, who quickly gets into his personal space, much to his horrified chagrin. Shoving her away, he states he came to see the exhibit, though the ensuing discussion is interrupted by Alix and Jalil's father, Alim, who angrily reminds people that the exhibit is about Tutankhamun, not the Miraculous.
Jalil attempts to present a theory he has "deciphered" from the papyrus about a ritual he claims the pharaoh Akhenaten carried out to bring his deceased wife back to life by replacing her with another woman. Alix, far more knowledgeable on the matters of Egyptology, keeps shooting down Jalil's theory with snarky comments. Finally, Alim makes it clear he won't let Jalil try to replicate the supposed ritual using the museum's artifacts. While Alya and Marinette ask Scarlet Lady and Adrien about the Miraculous stuff, Hawk Moth akumatizes Jalil, turning him into the Pharaoh.
The Pharaoh strikes at his sister, her classmates, and Scarlet Lady by invoking the god Thoth. This allows Alix to immediately identify the akuma as her brother since the akuma is just as wrong about Egyptian myths as Jalil. Alya begins to livestream the attack for the Ladyblog (which forces Scarlet Lady to actually work instead of leaving everything to Chat Noir) while Adrien sneaks away to transform.
Scarlet Lady tries to attack the Pharaoh with her yo-yo, but he gains super-strength and easily tosses her aside, remarking on her having become slow in the five millennia since their last meeting. Chat Noir arrives just then, but Pharaoh doesn't recognize him, causing Chat Noir to become depressed. Regardless of Alix's cheering, the akuma also overpowers him—and kidnaps Alya, who continues filming the entire thing, only to learn later on that the Pharaoh intends to sacrifice her to bring Nefertiti back to life.
Chat Noir, Scarlet Lady, Marinette, and Alix follow the Pharaoh in order to stop his plans. Chat Noir tries to distract the akuma's mummies while Scarlet Lady attempts to rescue Alya, but the akuma once again overpowers Scarlet Lady and takes flight with Alya in tow, leaving the heroes surrounded by the mummies. Scarlet Lady summons the Lucky Charm, which turns out to be a Scarlet Lady costume. Chat Noir gets an idea and shares it with the girls.
The plan, as it turns out, is to have Marinette wear the costume, and then have the three girls distract Pharaoh by claiming to be a better sacrifice than Alya. The akuma is so distracted by the constant back and forth that he doesn't realize the girls are getting closer until Marinette and Scarlet Lady push him while Alix grabs his necklace and tosses it at Chat Noir, who destroys it and frees the black butterfly.
While Marinette undergoes an embarrassing situation as Alix and Scarlet Lady force her to take off the costume, Chat Noir rescues Alya, who nonetheless still fangirls over Scarlet Lady. Chat talks with Marinette and Alix and compliments the former on how good the costume looked on her, making her blush.
After the heroes leave and things get restored to normality, Adrien makes his way back to the others. Believing Plagg was messing with him about the Black Cat stuff—just as he passes by a cat statue—Adrien accepts Marinette's offer to join their study group. On their way to where they plan to study, they pass by Alim, who is decidedly unhappy about his son's histrionics.
That night, Adrien asks Plagg about the Miraculous and their age: the scroll on the exhibit did have a ladybug on it, so there's likely some connection, but what is it? Plagg answers by mentioning that both Kwamis and the Miraculous are much older than ancient Egypt and that there were multiple Miraculous holders during that time: while the Black Cats of the time tended to be more subtle, he agrees that Adrien is still a cool Cat—if only he would get rid of the bell...
This episode contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: When Scarlet Lady learns Adrien's also at the museum, she immediately hugs him from behind, claims he must have come to see her, and attempts to kiss him. Adrien's completely horrified, realizing that she's one of those fans.
- Adaptational Dumbass: Jalil makes the same statements about Egyptology as he did in canon. However, whereas those statements went unchallenged and were thus implied to be correct in the show, here, Alix immediately points out how they're all demonstrably inaccurate and reveals getting his facts wrong is a habit of her Know-Nothing Know-It-All brother's.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Two unnamed bystanders, identified here as a young boy and his father, also appeared in the canon episode. However, whereas they were both visibly horrified by Alya being kidnapped by the Pharaoh in the show, the child is only mildly concerned here. The father, meanwhile, outright dismisses the idea of intervening, proclaiming, "This is our lives now." He also smokes while his son is standing nearby.
- Appropriated Appellation: A variation. Scarlet Lady calls Adrien "my prince," mirroring how Chat Noir refers to Marinette as "my princess."
- Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: After the Pharaoh is defeated and Chat Noir retrieves her from where she was being held hostage, Alya complains that she would have made a good sacrifice.
- Artistic License – History: Repeatedly lampshaded when Jalil introduces his theories regarding the scroll, only for Alix to snark about how inaccurate his claims are.Jalil: Papa, look, this is Akhenaten and Nefertiti. She died before him—
Alix: She literally didn't.
Jalil: —and Ra made her his goddess.
Alix: He literally wouldn't.
Jalil: Akhenaten offered up a new wife to Ra so his would be brought back to life.
Alix: Dude, Egyptians would be super not into that.
Jalil: This scroll details that very ritual - and only I have deciphered the hieroglyphics!
Alix: Lieeeeees!
Jalil: WOULD YOU STOP THAT?!
Alix: PEDDLE YOUR BAD FANFIC SOMEWHERE ELSE! - Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Jalil isn't all there, let's say.
- Combo Platter Powers: The Pharaoh has powers based on the Egyptian gods (or at least Jalil's interpretation of them).
- Comically Missing the Point:
- When Tikki suggests that the Louvre might happen to have things on display related to past Miraculous holders, Chloé instead assumes that an entire exhibit is explicitly devoted to them. This misconception spreads to the point that Alim is forced to remind everyone that the central exhibit is about Tutankhamun.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All Jalil has seemingly hilariously misinterpreted an Egyptian scroll at the Louvre, with Alix pointing out that all of his theories regarding it are demonstrably false. Moreover, though his father Alim Kubdel stresses that there are several reasons why using priceless museum artifacts to perform what Jalil alleges is a resurrection ritual involving Human Sacrifice is a terrible idea, Jalil brushes it all off as his Fantasy-Forbidding Father simply not getting him and his genius.Mr. Kubdel: Jalil, you're not using museum artifacts to perform a sacrificial ritual! For several reasons!
Jalil: [flipping him off] Gawd, you just don't understand me dad! - Alya takes offense to the other girls distracting the Pharaoh by implying that one of them would make a much better sacrifice, missing the fact that they were trying to save her.
- Conspiracy Theorist: As the episode's subtitle denotes, Jalil is one of these, insisting that his wild interpretations of Egyptian lore and history are entirely correct despite all evidence to the contrary.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Pharaoh easily manhandles Scarlet Lady (twice) and Chat Noir.
- Deadpan Snarker: Alix is this in fine form as she keeps shooting down her brother's "theories" and ideas.
- Disaster Dominoes: When Jalil shoves Scarlet Lady, it causes her to crash into Alya, who hits Marinette, who falls into Adrien's arms, which he wouldn't have minded... if that hadn't caught Scarlet Lady's attention.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Hawk Moth feels irritated at having to deal with Jalil and his craziness.
- Face Palm: Alix does this as her father shouts that the exhibit is about Tutankhamun.
- Failed a Spot Check:
- Neither Scarlet Lady nor Adrien notice the black butterfly flying behind them as it seeks Jalil.
- Marinette and Alix miss Adrien sneaking away to transform.
- Adrien passes right by a cat statue while complaining about how Plagg was probably pulling one over on him about there being Black Cat stuff at the museum.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Played for Laughs. Alim makes it clear he won't let Jalil act out his fantasies—namely his desire to conduct a sacrificial ritual with the artifacts that have been loaned to the museum.
- Flipping the Bird: Jalil flips off his father for not letting him use museum artifacts to conduct a sacrificial ritual.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Jalil is established as foolish one, obsessed with his off-the-wall theories, to the point that he wanted to recreate a Human Sacrifice before getting akumatized. By contrast, his sister Alix does her best to counter his misinformation and calls him out for getting so caught up in his fantasies.
- Gave Up Too Soon: Adrien decides to give up on looking for the Chat Noir artifacts that Plagg mentioned, convinced his Kwami was just messing with him... right as he walks past a statue of a black cat. Said statue even Sweat Drops as it stares at Adrien's passing figure.
- I Have No Son!: Said verbatim by the caption for the bonus strip where Alim admits that he saw Jalil's entire mess on the CT camera system.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Alim can be seen with one near the end after seeing Jalil's rampage as an akuma.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Jalil claims to be an expert on Egyptian mythology but is quickly shown to be anything but, caught up in bizarre and fantastical theorizing that contradicts documented facts.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Alya shoves Alix aside so she can get closer to Scarlet Lady, only to get promptly bumped aside herself by Jalil.
- Legacy Character: Plagg reveals that several people wielded the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous in ancient Egypt.
- Luminescent Blush: When Chat Noir compliments Marinette by telling her she looked very cute in the Scarlet Lady costume, she begins to flush all over her face.
- Meaningful Background Event:
- At the beginning, Chloé's seen painting her nails as she watches the Ladyblog. When Sabrina arrives and the butler tells her that Chloé bailed on her, Sabrina mentions that they were going to do their nails while she read the review to her friend. This underscores how little Chloé cares about Sabrina: even before she ditched their study date, she was already doing by herself what Sabrina was looking forward to the two of them doing together.
- When Adrien and Scarlet Lady try to figure out where the Miraculous stuff is, the akuma butterfly can be seen flying in the background.
- Running Gag:
- People getting shoved aside. It happens three times.
- Alix also repeatedly corrects her brother's various misstatements about Egyptian history and mythology.
- Sadly Mythtaken: Jalil takes quite a lot of liberties in his interpretation of the Egyptian scrolls he "studies." As the Pharaoh, he summons new powers by invoking an Egyptian god or goddess without caring whether they are thematically appropriate.
- Skewed Priorities:
- When Tikki suggests that Chloé take Sabrina to the exhibit, her comment on maybe there being some Ladybug stuff makes Chloé think that the exhibit is about the Ladybug heroine, and she ditches her study date with Sabrina to go to the museum.
- Alya is so focused on the lipstick Scarlet Lady accidentally dropped that her studying has suffered for it. She also films the entire akuma attack live, even after Pharaoh kidnaps her for his planned ritual.
- Something Only They Would Say: Pharaoh invoking the god Thoth for time-based powers is enough to tell Alix that her brother is the akuma.note
- Time Abyss: According to Plagg, both the Kwami and the Miraculous are much older than ancient Egypt.
