Recap / Scarlet Lady S5 E11: Style Queen

Episode 50 - Style Queen - Tales of Audrey the Fashion Critic

Gabriel Agreste's fashion show is starting! Nadja Chamack stands proudly outside Le Grand Palais, broadcasting live as celebrities and civilians alike make their way down the red carpet. Watching Alya, Nino, and Clara Nightingale, Pollen remarks how everyone looks so regal... while Marinette freaks out. Yes, the hat she designed won Gabriel's contest, but she's rapidly convincing herself that it's the worst thing she's ever made and that Adrien will hate it—and everybody else will, too!

But Pollen isn't going to let her Queen tear herself down, reminding Marinette of how she was personally picked by Gabriel Agreste! Buoyed by her Kwami's pep talk, Marinette thanks her, asking Pollen how she became so wise. Pollen declares that thanks to Marinette, she's learned when to be proactive and when to hold back. After all, she hasn't even shared how she knows who Chat Noir and Scarlet Lady are—whoops.

After her initial shock, Marinette looks on the bright side: maybe Pollen isn't supposed to tell her who they are, but she doesn't need to—she can just tell the Guardian instead! After all, he's supposed to know who all of the heroes are! They can finally save Tikki from her terrible excuse for a holder and—

Her good mood and positivity go flying out the window when Marinette spots Audrey Bourgeois on the red carpet and realizes just why the woman was in Paris: to attend this very event. As the world's harshest fashion critic, she can easily make or break a fashion career—and she's a thousand times worse than Chloé!

Nadja interviews Audrey, asking what the trend of the year is. Casually remarking that it's clear the reporter doesn't already know, Audrey declares that it's glitter. Undeterred, Nadja mentions it must be nice for Audrey to be with her family, which Chloé uses as a cue to give Audrey a present. Audrey rejects it because of the "ridiculous" wrapping, but Zoé manages to trick her mother into accepting the present by suggesting that perhaps Audrey just isn't into "new" things.

Marinette tries to leave with the hat since it has no glitter, but then Nathalie—surprisingly elegant and with her hair down—notices her and leads her to the dressing rooms, saying everyone's waiting.

Marinette trips, and her hat falls out of its box... landing right next to Audrey's feet, much to Marinette's horror. While Audrey inspects the hat, Chloé mocks Marinette. Fortunately, Nathalie calling to Marinette is enough of an excuse for her to recover her hat and slip away. But, regardless, she seems to have caught the attention of the harsh fashion critic.

Adrien tells Plagg that he feels like a dork in the suit he's wearing. The Kwami doesn't offer much sympathy, adding that Adrien looks like one, too. Marinette arrives then, completely morose over thinking Audrey hated the hat... but Adrien compliments her on how beautiful she looks, and after trying on the hat, states it's great. The young couple starts flirting, only for Nathalie to remind them she's still present.

Audrey takes a seat, complaining about the "lowlives" who are also sitting in her row, only for Alya to point out that the seat Audrey just took is reserved for Marinette. Chloé "takes charge" of the situation and attempts to use her mother's position to shoo the other students from their seats, much to Zoé's embarrassment.

Nathalie arrives with Marinette and informs Audrey that Gabriel reserved a seat for the critic... in the second row. An incensed Audrey attempts to fire her, but Nathalie points out that she doesn't work for Audrey. The critic then calls Gabriel to demand he fire Nathalie, only for him to seemingly miss her phone call. In response, Audrey becomes akumatized, much to Chloé's distress... and André's disappointment (although he saw it coming a mile away).

Zoé is led to her seat, and Sabrina asks if she doesn't plan to go after her mother. Zoé replies that her mother will be unhappier if she doesn't have photos of the event, so she'd rather save herself the headache and take photos herself... much to Sabrina and Lila's confusion.

However, the show is interrupted by Style Queen, Audrey's akumatized form, who demands to see Gabriel Agreste. When Adrien states his father is not present, Style Queen settles for him instead and attacks Adrien with a burst of golden glitter that turns him into a statue—while Hawkmoth decides to just press on with his plan since either way, Nathalie's going to hit him later.

Chloé naturally reacts dramatically to Adrien's plight (even while noting that she might actually prefer him this way). Unfortunately, she's a touch too dramatically for Style Queen's tastes as the akuma blasts her own daughter for giving her a headache with her simpering. While their respective Kwamis are safe (thanks to Plagg hiding while Chloé pawned her purse off on Zoé earlier), both realize that they're in serious trouble.

André is Style Queen's next victim, which is followed by the akuma reprimanding Zara—uh, no, Zoé for addressing her as "Mom" instead of Style Queen, threatening to have her join her sister. Thinking quickly, Zoé convinces Style Queen to take her on as an assistant and suggests they move Adrien and Chloé's statues to someplace more public in order to draw Gabriel and Scarlet Lady's attention. After all, both Scarlet Lady and Chloé have publicly claimed each other as BFFs, making her the perfect hostage. Of course, Zoé's real goal is to attract Marigold's attention—unaware that the heroine already knows the truth. Style Queen takes Zoé and the statues away as her new assistant tries not to be sick.

Marigold arrives too late to prevent this, only for Plagg to show up and catch her attention. When Marigold asks if he shouldn't be with Chat Noir, Plagg points out she already knows why he isn't, which she reluctantly confirms.

Meanwhile, Zoé asks Style Queen not to hurt Adrien nor Chloé, pointing out that it's not them she's angry with. Style Queen just declares everything will be fine once she gets her revenge and the Miraculous for Hawkmoth and orders Zoé to keep an eye out for the heroes. At the ground, Alya has managed to track the akuma, who is now threatening to turn Adrien and Chloé into glitter if Gabriel Agreste and Scarlet Lady (respectively) don't show up.

Zoé tries to reach out to Adrien and Chloé, but Style Queen has put a force field around them. Fortunately, Marigold shows up just then and gives Zoé a heads up to start running as soon as she frees everyone. One Bee Balm later, both victims wake up... and are quickly attacked by Style Queen, who complains about not having good help. Zoé and Chloé take off on foot while Marigold carries Adrien away. A dizzy Adrien compliments the Bee heroine as if she were Marinette, causing her to blush.

As Marigold flees with Adrien in her arms, dodging Style Queen's attacks while taunting the akuma. Style Queen claims she's invincible, only for the Bee Heroine to immediately prove her wrong by using Venom on her, paralyzing the akuma and leaving Marigold to wait for Scarlet Lady to show up.

Scarlet Lady, however, isn't available right now: as Chloé is still running downstairs with Zoé, and she can't just duck away and transform. Alya shows up just then and begins to talk with Zoé about the incident, allowing Chloé to escape. Scarlet Lady tries to practice how she will present herself to Audrey after her mother's deakumatized; Marigold just berates the Ladybug heroine for wasting time.

With Scarlet Lady finally fixing everything, Marigold offers to get Adrien back to the show, which he happily accepts. Scarlet Lady tries to do the same with Audrey, but the fashion critic rejects it, saying she "only flies first class." When Zoé finds her mother, she asks Audrey if she knows where Chloé is: Chloé appears just then, with Zoé admonishing her sister for disappearing all of a sudden. Audrey and Chloé descend the stairs, intent on giving Gabriel a piece of their minds, while Alya decides to just take the elevator.

Marigold and Adrien arrive at Le Grand Palais, and the latter thanks the heroine for saving his life, apologizing that she had to work alone. Marigold mentions Zoé helped, but then again, Chat Noir's absence can be forgiven considering the... extenuating circumstances...

"... weren't they, Chaton?"

"That they were... Marinette."

The two blushing teenagers discuss how they figured out each other's identities: while Marigold could tell because the only times Chat Noir didn't show up was when Adrien was held down or given a Miraculous, Adrien simply followed his heart and the many coincidences surrounding Marigold and Marinette. When Marigold mentions how risky betting things on that is, Adrien agrees that love made him a bit stupid, which Marigold understands quite well... before the two begin to kiss each other.

That is, for as long as they can deal with Plagg's complaints...

---

This episode has examples of the following:

• Abusive Parents:
  • Audrey was already this to her daughters before her akumatization, neglecting and constantly deriding them for little to no reason at all, to the point she's always getting their names wrong. She gets worse after getting akumatized into Style Queen, having no qualms about turning both her daughters into statues just for annoying her; she only spares Zoé to keep her as an assistant.
  • Gabriel shows up his props once more: his only reaction to Adrien becoming Style Queen's first victim is to complain about getting hit by Nathalie for it later.
• Adaptational Dumbass: In canon, Audrey and Chloé only go down the stairs from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower because the elevator is broken, which Audrey even complains about. Here, the elevator is working just fine, but the two's first instinct is to take the stairs anyway, and Word of God confirms they ended up going down the entire flight (which usually takes around twenty minutes in Real Life), even after Alya pointed out there's an elevator.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Hawkmoth was genuinely concerned about his son when Adrien became Style Queen's first victim in the show. Here, the villain just complains that Nathalie will likely hit him for it later.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Heavily downplayed, but Style Queen seemed to feel at least a little bad about upsetting Zoé when her daughter begs her not to harm Adrien or Chloé. The author later confirmed this to be the case, explaining this is to contrast the character with her canon self, whom the author considers completely irredeemable. However, this doesn't really make Style Queen any less of an Abusive Parent and Bad Boss.
• Bad Liar: Upon noticing Plagg, Marigold hesitantly asks why he isn't with Chat Noir. The Kwami simply replies that she already knows why he isn't, which the Bee heroine concedes.
• Batman Gambit:
  • When Audrey rejects Chloé's present because of the wrapping, Zoé declares that she can take it since Audrey doesn't like "new" things. This prompts Audrey, who prides herself on being the discoverer of new things, to demand she be given the present.
  • Gabriel deliberately reserves a seat for Audrey Bourgeois in the second row instead of the first, knowing this will enrage the critic and make her ripe for akumatization.
  • Zoé manages to avoid being turned into glitter by suggesting she could play assistant to Style Queen, allowing her to help Marigold.
• Big Damn Heroes: Marigold uses Bee Balm to turn Adrien and Chloé back into humans, then quickly carries Adrien to safety when Style Queen attacks in retaliation.
• Big Damn Kiss: Adrien and Marinette (as Marigold) share their first onscreen kiss at the end of the episode. Followed by many more.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Marinette interrupts Style Queen's Evil Gloating with one of these, simultaneously using Venom to render the akuma immobile.
• Bonding Over Dislikes: After spending most of the episode ignoring or disparaging Chloé, when Chloé suggests heading back to the fashion show so they can give Gabriel a piece of their minds over the seating arrangement, Audrey mutters, "At last, something we can agree on."
• Bruce Wayne Held Hostage: Adrien and Chloé wind up as golden statues and bait for Scarlet Lady, with Style Queen unaware that she's already taken down the Nominal Heroine and Chat Noir.
• Building Swing: Marigold gets Adrien back to the show by using her top this way. Scarlet makes the same offer to Audrey but gets turned down.
• Brutal Honesty: When Adrien laments feeling like a dork, Plagg adds that he looks like one, too.
• Callback:
  • The hat Marinette created for the contest in "Mr. Pigeon" reappears as Adrien prepares to wear it to the fashion show.
  • Marigold mentions she was clued in on Adrien being Chat Noir because, among other things, one of the times Chat Noir didn't show up was when she gave Adrien a Miraculous.
• Calling Your Nausea:
  • As Style Queen takes off with her hostages and new assistant, Zoé declares that she's going to be sick with how fast they're moving.
  • Plagg groans that he'll lose his lunch if Adrien and Marigold keep acting like Make-Out Kids.
• Change the Uncomfortable Subject: After Audrey insults her fashion sense, Nadja pivots to ask about how nice it must be for the critic to see her family in Paris.
• Character Catchphrase: Audrey's default response when she doesn't get what she wants is to tell someone nearby (whether they're responsible for it or not), "You're fired." This includes people whom she has no business firing. She retains this trait as Style Queen, yelling the phrase at her victims before transforming them into golden statues.
• Character Development: Pollen shows she has become better at supporting Marinette... even if she still has to learn how to stop herself from revealing things she shouldn't.
• Chekhov's Gun: When presenting her present for Audrey, Chloé hands her purse over to Zoé; this ends up saving Tikki from sharing Chloé's fate when Style Queen turns the latter into a statue.
• Color Failure: Marinette experiences this after Pollen accidentally reveals to her holder that she knows Chat Noir and Scarlet Lady's secret identities.
• The Comically Serious: Nathalie's stoic expression doesn't change when she interrupts Marinette and Adrien's flirting to remind them that she's still in the room. Nor does she flinch when she snarks at Audrey about the fashion critic's failed attempt to get Nathalie fired.
• Damned by Faint Praise: When Zoé suggests moving Adrien and Chloé's statues to a more public location to draw out Gabriel and the heroes, Style Queen simply mutters, "It's not a completely idiotic idea." Then again, considering this is Audrey Bourgeois, that should already be treated as high praise.
• Deadly Euphemism: Style Queen doesn't kill people by turning them into statues, she "fires" them.
• Deadpan Snarker: Nathalie is in fine form once more, particularly when Audrey tries to get Gabriel to fire his assistant after being told she doesn't have the power to do it herself.
  Nathalie: So, am I fired?
  Audrey: ARGHHHH!
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Gabriel takes advantage of Audrey's egomania by deliberately slighting her at his show, convinced that her irrationality will make her the most powerful akuma he's ever created. While he makes sure to keep himself well out of harm's way, he puts Nathalie and his own son right in the line of fire without considering that the akumatized Audrey might target "Agreste Junior" for some Revenge by Proxy.
  • After deciding to head back to the fashion show, Audrey and Chloé walk all the way down from Eiffel Tower's second floor to the ground (something that takes about twenty minutes), not thinking to take the elevator instead.
    Caption: Did you all forget the elevator exists?
• Disproportionate Retribution:
  • Audrey tends to react to even the slightest offense by attempting to fire the person (whom she believes is) responsible.
  • Audrey is akumatized over being assigned a seat in the second row at Gabriel's fashion show instead of the first and intends to make the designer pay for it.
  • Style Queen turns her daughter Chloé into a statue simply because the akuma found the latter's talking annoying.
  • Narrowly averted for Zoé, who nearly joins her half-sister when she calls Style Queen "Mom"; thankfully, she convinces the akuma to keep her as an assistant. It almost happens again when Zoé asks her not to hurt Adrien and Chloé.
• Elimination Catchphrase: A non-Game Show variant. Style Queen tells each of her victims, "You're fired!" right before turning them into a golden statue.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Downplayed, with Marinette getting a Luminescent Blush when she sees Nathalie wearing an elegant jumpsuit with her hair let down.
• Experience Entitlement: Audrey seems to think she deserves whatever she asks for because of her reputation as the world's harshest fashion critic. She tries to fire Roger because Gabriel didn't prepare a marble red carpet like she asked, takes the seat clearly reserved for Marinette without a concern, tries (and fails) to get Nathalie fired for telling Audrey that the critic's assigned seat isn't in the first row, and then gets angry enough over it to be akumatized.
• Face Palm: Zoé's embarrassed reaction when Chloé tries to force her classmates out of their seats.
  Caption: [regarding Chloé and Audrey] How do either of you go out in public when you act like this....
• Failed a Spot Check: While running down the stairs, Zoé doesn't realize Tikki is floating around in plain sight right behind her. Moments later, neither Zoé nor Alya notice Chloé tiptoeing away to transform.
• Fearless Fool: Adrien faces an akuma with a grudge against his father untransformed; he gets turned into a statue as a result.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: Marinette blushes when she sees how different Nathalie looks with her hair down. Soon afterwards, Adrien makes a similar comment about Marinette.
• Flat "What": Marinette's reaction when Pollen says too much.
• Flirting Under Fire: Marigold and a semi-conscious Adrien flirt with each other while the former is carrying the latter away from Style Queen's attacks.
• Foil:
  • Gabriel is every inch as self-absorbed and entitled as Audrey, which is why he's convinced she'll be his most powerful akuma yet and be able to triumph over the heroes of Paris. He overestimates her just like he overestimates himself.
  • Chloé is just like her mother, though she lacks the clout and fearsome reputation Audrey has built up over the course of her career, relying entirely upon the connections and clout of others.
  • The contrast between Chloé and Zoé is heightened by how her half-sibling knows how to "play the game" and manipulate others in order to get what she wants from them. For instance, Chloé's attempt to give Audrey a gift fails until Zoé offers to take it instead, claiming their mother isn't interested in new things, nettling Audrey just enough that she snatches the gift up.
• Freak Out: Marinette has one near the beginning, thinking that her bowler's hat is the worst, that Adrien will hate her for the rest of his life for having to wear it, and that everyone's about to see she has zero talent.
• Genre Savvy: When Audrey becomes akumatized, André states he's not surprised it happened.
• George Jetson Job Security: Seeing as Audrey attempts to fire people left and right (including some who aren't even employed by her) for not meeting her insane demands, this can safely be assumed to be the case for anyone who works for her.
• Get a Room!: As Marinette and Adrien begin flirting in the latter's dressing room, Nathalie clears her throat and reminds them she's still there.
• Guile Hero: Zoé shows off her skill in this, first by tricking Audrey into accepting Chloé's present, next by getting Style Queen to accept her as an "assistant" and agree to Zoé's plan to catch the heroes' attention. She also tries to keep Adrien and Chloé safe from Style Queen.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Audrey Bourgeois's sense of entitlement leads to her often exploding over minor things. Style Queen is even worse: she turns Chloé into a statue simply because her daughter's simpering was giving her a headache and threatens to do the same to Zoé when the latter calls the akuma "Mom" instead of Style Queen.
• Honor Before Reason: Though it would get her back to the fashion show much faster, Audrey refuses Scarlet Lady's offer to get the critic down from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower because Audrey only flies first class. She doesn't even seem to regret her decision when it apparently means walking down the entire flight of stairs connecting the second floor of the Eiffel Tower to the ground (there was an elevator, but she didn't think to take it instead).
• Hypocrite: Chloé scoffs at Marinette for "believing herself a designer"—conveniently ignoring that she's stolen Marinette's designs twice, with one of them being the same hat Marinette brought to the red carpet. She then mocks Marinette for signing the hat as well, also forgetting that Marinette was able to prove said plagiarism and win Gabriel's design contest because of it.
• I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You!: Pollen proudly declares how she hasn't even revealed she knows Chat Noir and Scarlet Lady's identities... right before realizing she just did.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Chloé taking the time to dramatically lament Adrien being transformed into a statue annoys Style Queen enough for the akuma to turn her into a statue as well. However, Style Queen still ends up sparing one of her daughters (Zoé) despite said daughter making the mistake of calling the akuma "Mom" because the daughter offered to be the akuma's assistant.
  • Even though Marigold's Bee Balm changes Adrien back from being turned into a statue, Chat Noir still misses out on the fight with Style Queen because Adrien doesn't get a chance to hide and transform.
  • A minor Played for Laughs example; even though the elevator in the Eiffel Tower is still working in this AU (in the show, it was broken during the events of the episode), Chloé and Audrey still decide to take the stairs. Alya, though, declares she'll be taking the elevator.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Marinette finally learns that Pollen knows Scarlet Lady and Chat Noir's secret identities.
  • After nearly an entire season of both of them suspecting the other's Secret Identity, Adrien and Marinette confirm they are Chat Noir and Marigold, respectively, to each other.
• Irritation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: Chloé's mimicry of her mother is highlighted by the latter's presence: she copies Audrey's poses and echoes her words, looking especially gleeful whenever she affirms to someone that they're "fired!"
• It's All About Me:
  • As mentioned under Experience Entitlement, Audrey is this in spades.
  • The only reason Gabriel cares about Adrien getting turned into a statue by Style Queen is that he knows he'll be in trouble with Nathalie over it.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • After turning several people into statues, Style Queen is frozen still by Marigold's Venom before being defeated.
  • Word of God confirms that Chloé and Audrey walking down an entire flight of stairs in this AU despite the elevator being in service is meant to be this for their antics at the fashion show. Were they not so unpleasant, Alya might've reminded them about the elevator. Audrey in particular got herself up there in the first place due to throwing a tantrum over the seating arrangements and arrogantly refusing to let Scarlet Lady take her down.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: Both Chloé and Zoé dress like Audrey for the fashion show.
• Loophole Abuse: Marinette figures that even if the rules forbid Pollen from telling her Scarlet Lady's secret identity, the Kwami can still tell the Guardian later. Pollen cautiously voices her agreement.
• Love Makes You Stupid: Adrien cites this as his reason for going with his gut instinct about Marigold's secret identity (though he did also notice other coincidences).
• Loving a Shadow: Chloé's crush on Adrien is all but stated to be this. After briefly lamenting his transformation into a statue, she quickly muses that she might actually prefer him this way.
• Luminescent Blush: Adrien and Marinette have one when they meet in the dressing room.
• Make-Out Kids: Even when Plagg makes his presence known, Marigold and Adrien continue making out; Adrien just tells the Kwami to not interrupt them.
• Malicious Misnaming: Audrey cares so little about her daughters that she can't even keep their names straight. It's clear that she recognizes this since she keeps correcting herself after using the wrong names.
• Mama Bear: Nathalie is implied to be this towards Adrien. After the teen is turned into a statue, Hawkmoth grumbles that Nathalie will definitely hit him for that later (and the caption confirms he'll deserve it).
• Misplaced Retribution:
  • Audrey tells Officer Raincomprix he's fired due to the red carpet at Gabriel's fashion show not being marble like she requested. Roger is naturally puzzled by this since, as a police officer, he doesn't work for Gabriel or Audrey, and it certainly isn't his job to make sure Gabriel meets all of Audrey's demands.
  • Zigzagged when Nathalie tells Audrey that her seat is in the second row and not the first. Initially, Audrey seems to blame it all on Nathalie and tries (unsuccessfully) to fire the latter, even though Nathalie had explicitly stated Gabriel was the one who assigned the seats. While Audrey then calls Gabriel, her goal seems to be to get Nathalie fired rather than to confront the designer himself over the seating arrangements. After being akumatized into Style Queen, her target switches to Gabriel, though when told he's not present, she settles for attacking Adrien before attempting to draw Gabriel out in public.
• Moment Killer:
  • Nathalie cuts off Adrien and Marinette's flirting by reminding them she's present.
  • Plagg complains about Adrien and Marigold kissing each other.
    Plagg: You two are gonna make me lose my lunch. My cheesy lunch.
    Adrien: Not now, Plagg!
    Caption: No sweet moment left unruined by your needy cat.
• Oblivious to His Own Description: Marinette notes how different Nathalie looks with her hair down. The caption points out that the same thing applies to Marinette herself.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Pollen's reaction when she realizes she said too much.
    Pollen: Oh no. Tikki's going to end me.
  • Marinette when she sees Audrey Bourgeois arriving at the fashion show and again shortly afterwards when her hat bumps right into the fashion critic's heel after Marinette trips and drops it, getting the critic's attention.
  • Chloé reacts this way as her mother's akumatized.
    Chloé: Mommy, no!
  • Plagg and Tikki when their wielders are turned into statues.
• Open Secret: Downplayed when Marigold asks Plagg why he isn't with Chat Noir. Plagg points out she already knows why, all but confirming the two heroes both know the other has figured out their secret identity. Played a bit straighter when Adrien and Marigold confirm their suspicions about each other's Secret Identities after Style Queen's defeat.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Chloé gets her mother a present and is thrilled when Audrey takes it (even if it's after Zoé tricked their mother into accepting it). She then tries to help her mother get a seat in the first row, though her attempts don't really accomplish anything and arguably just makes her family look worse in the eyes of the public. Additionally, she seems genuinely concerned when her mother gets akumatized.
  • Word of God confirms that Style Queen genuinely did regret making her daughter cry (if only a little bit) when Zoé sheds a Single Tear while begging the akuma not to hurt Adrien or Chloé.
• Playful Cat Smile: It's subtle, but Plagg (appropriately) has one when he snarks that Marigold should know why he isn't with Chat Noir right now.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Style Queen agrees to spare Zoé due to being in need of an assistant after firing her last one earlier that day.
• Reflectionless Useless Eyes: Both Adrien and Chloé have these immediately after Bee Balm undoes their transformations into statues, showing they haven't fully regained consciousness.
• Saying Too Much: Pollen accidentally reveals she knows Chat Noir and Scarlet Lady's identities while bragging about how well she's been hiding that information.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Subverted. After Nathalie tells Audrey her to go to her seat in the second row, the fashion critic attempts to fire her. When Nathalie points out she doesn't work for Audrey, the fashion critic then calls Gabriel to get him to fire Nathalie, but he doesn't answer the phone (and even if he had, it's extremely unlikely he would've dismissed Nathalie from her job).
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Many secondary characters (Marinette and Adrien's classmates and friends, Jagged Stone, Penny, Alec Cataldi, and Clara Nightingale) are shown being dressed to the nines for Gabriel's fashion show.
• She Cleans Up Nicely:
  • Marinette is shocked by how much Nathalie changes by putting her hair down.
  • Adrien later blushes when he sees Marinette all dressed up for the fashion show.
• Shoot the Messenger: Because Nathalie informed Audrey that Gabriel assigned the fashion critic a seat in the second row, Audrey tries to get Nathalie fired.
• Shout-Out: Style Queen boasts, "I am invincible!" right before she's frozen by Marigold's Venom. This is Boris Grishenko's Character Catchphrase in GoldenEye, and the last time he says it in the film is immediately followed by him getting splashed with liquid nitrogen and flash-frozen to death.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • Scarlet Lady wastes several minutes thinking of how she'll present herself to her mother when she should have been fixing things with the Miraculous Cure.
  • When Scarlet Lady offers to take Audrey back to the show, the fashion critic rejects it, saying she only flies first class.
• Splash of Color: Style Queen's powers are golden-yellow in color, as are the statues that she turns people into.
• Stating the Simple Solution: As Chloé and Audrey start descending the stairs so they can head back to Gabriel's fashion show, Alya snarks that she'll be taking the elevator instead.
• Symbol Swearing: Upon realizing Audrey Bourgeois will be attending the fashion show, Marinette promptly utters, "Oh $%#&."
• Taken for Granite: Style Queen's power lets her fire glitter that turns people into golden statues. Adrien is the first victim.
• Tempting Fate: Style Queen does the classic "I am invincible!"; it's immediately followed by Marigold using Venom on her.
• This Is Gonna Suck:
  • Mayor Bourgeois sighs that his wife's akumatization is "Disappointing but not surprising."
  • After Adrien is transformed into a statue, Hawkmoth groans about being hit by Nathalie for it later.
• Too Dumb to Live: Confronting an akuma while untransformed probably wasn't Adrien's smartest move, especially when the akuma had just announced that she's after Adrien's father.
• Unsatisfiable Customer: Though not technically a customer, Audrey feels slighted because Gabriel didn't prepare a marble red carpet for her, never mind that carpet by definition is a textile.
• Wham Episode: Adrien and Marinette finally confirm their suspicions about the other's Secret Identity at the end of the chapter.
• Wham Line: While Marigold and Chat Noir already suspected each other's identities, the end of the episode finally confirms it for them.
  Marigold: As for Chat Noir... I think we can agree these were extenuating circumstances... weren't they, Chaton?
  Adrien: That they were... Marinette.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Both Pollen and Adrien tell Marinette not to doubt herself and that her hat is great the way it is. Gabriel deemed it the winning design in his contest for a reason, after all.
• You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With: When Audrey is told she's sitting in Marinette's seat, Chloé tries to invoke this about her mother. It doesn't exactly impress anyone, though.

---