Statues and rings
We're back to obsessing over Miraculous! (Did we ever stop? I mean, sometimes we have to focus on other things...) We're between season five part one viewings again, and we kind of want to time our next viewing so that it finishes right in time for the new episodes in two weeks...or we could watch it twice... We haven't decided yet. But for today we watched Puppeteer 2, and that means...I want to talk about Determination!
We didn't feel the need to point out that the statue of Adrien that Adrien takes Marinette to see in Determination is not the statue that Veronique set up at the end of Puppeteer 2, or the one in Ikari Gozen. Obviously the creators of the show wanted to use the pose from the infamous kiss scene, even though that pose was the real Adrien and not the pose that the statue of Adrien is in, because the kiss scene pose is the one that's going to have the most narrative impact in this episode.
...Of course, fudging details like that is the kind of thing that could completely derail our theory about the twin rings and who all is wearing which one. Maybe it was just a careless mistake that Nathalie was wearing a ring in this scene but not wearing a ring in that scene. And it actually really annoys us when movies and TV shows fake things and lie to the audience in an effort to keep their plot twist hidden, like in a certain movie where a photograph of someone has a completely different physique than he's ever had in his life or afterlife...
But we can always count on Miraculous. See, after that first important scene with the Adrien statue in Determination, every time the statue is onscreen, it's in a different pose! I think it only alternates between the two poses, but the point is, the show is letting us know that they did it on purpose, and now it can be an in-joke between them and all the people who notice. So it's less like changing a dude's entire physique to trick the audience, and more like having a stone statue bob in the water for a second to remind the audience that the statue is a thing (a la The Little Mermaid). Besides, the museum could have easily made another Adrien statue, so who's to say there's not two or three or a dozen?
And while we're on the subject of Miraculous, in our last viewing of season five part one, I noticed some details about Monarch's powers. In Illusion, he tells the kwamis (he has to monologue to somebody!) that, now that he's Monarch, he can use up to five Miraculouses at once! Considering how much he wore himself out in Evolution, that seemed like more than just a quick bit of exposition. He doesn't explain how he can now use five Miraculouses--maybe it has something to do with his new stupid Alliance tech. And frankly, the writers don't have to explain it--they just have to say it's a thing, and not have anything contradict it...
...Which brings us to Passion. In Passion, Monarch tells Safari to remember that she can only use up to six Miraculouses. That's one more Miraculous that Monarch was able to use by himself.
So here's my theory (and it always goes back to the twin rings, because the twin rings having powers that are not related to Sentimonsters is one of my main arguments against the Sentimonster Theory). Monarch/Gabriel is connected to Felix via twin rings, and that connection allows them to share the load of using a Miraculous. We know from the entirety of season four that a human being can use two Miraculouses at once without suffering too many adverse effects. So Gabriel plus Felix would mean they could use four Miraculouses. Felix has the Peacock Miraculous, so he can make a Sentimonster, which would be connected to him either through the Miraculous or the ring or something, and the Sentimonster could carry the load of one more Miraculous. Then connect a supervillain to Gabriel and now they can use six. Tadah!
...Or maybe it really is just the new-fangled Alliance tech, or the writers saying, "That's the rules now." Maybe someday we'll find out...
Today I'm thankful for getting to watch more Miraculous, the all-around brilliance of Puppeteer 2, the amazing pose-changing statue, finally making it to the Zora village, and getting to hang out with a friend tomorrow.
We didn't feel the need to point out that the statue of Adrien that Adrien takes Marinette to see in Determination is not the statue that Veronique set up at the end of Puppeteer 2, or the one in Ikari Gozen. Obviously the creators of the show wanted to use the pose from the infamous kiss scene, even though that pose was the real Adrien and not the pose that the statue of Adrien is in, because the kiss scene pose is the one that's going to have the most narrative impact in this episode.
...Of course, fudging details like that is the kind of thing that could completely derail our theory about the twin rings and who all is wearing which one. Maybe it was just a careless mistake that Nathalie was wearing a ring in this scene but not wearing a ring in that scene. And it actually really annoys us when movies and TV shows fake things and lie to the audience in an effort to keep their plot twist hidden, like in a certain movie where a photograph of someone has a completely different physique than he's ever had in his life or afterlife...
But we can always count on Miraculous. See, after that first important scene with the Adrien statue in Determination, every time the statue is onscreen, it's in a different pose! I think it only alternates between the two poses, but the point is, the show is letting us know that they did it on purpose, and now it can be an in-joke between them and all the people who notice. So it's less like changing a dude's entire physique to trick the audience, and more like having a stone statue bob in the water for a second to remind the audience that the statue is a thing (a la The Little Mermaid). Besides, the museum could have easily made another Adrien statue, so who's to say there's not two or three or a dozen?
And while we're on the subject of Miraculous, in our last viewing of season five part one, I noticed some details about Monarch's powers. In Illusion, he tells the kwamis (he has to monologue to somebody!) that, now that he's Monarch, he can use up to five Miraculouses at once! Considering how much he wore himself out in Evolution, that seemed like more than just a quick bit of exposition. He doesn't explain how he can now use five Miraculouses--maybe it has something to do with his new stupid Alliance tech. And frankly, the writers don't have to explain it--they just have to say it's a thing, and not have anything contradict it...
...Which brings us to Passion. In Passion, Monarch tells Safari to remember that she can only use up to six Miraculouses. That's one more Miraculous that Monarch was able to use by himself.
So here's my theory (and it always goes back to the twin rings, because the twin rings having powers that are not related to Sentimonsters is one of my main arguments against the Sentimonster Theory). Monarch/Gabriel is connected to Felix via twin rings, and that connection allows them to share the load of using a Miraculous. We know from the entirety of season four that a human being can use two Miraculouses at once without suffering too many adverse effects. So Gabriel plus Felix would mean they could use four Miraculouses. Felix has the Peacock Miraculous, so he can make a Sentimonster, which would be connected to him either through the Miraculous or the ring or something, and the Sentimonster could carry the load of one more Miraculous. Then connect a supervillain to Gabriel and now they can use six. Tadah!
...Or maybe it really is just the new-fangled Alliance tech, or the writers saying, "That's the rules now." Maybe someday we'll find out...
Today I'm thankful for getting to watch more Miraculous, the all-around brilliance of Puppeteer 2, the amazing pose-changing statue, finally making it to the Zora village, and getting to hang out with a friend tomorrow.