Considering Chloe
In case anyone was dying from the suspense, the mystery about the new batch of hymns was solved this morning when we got a correction email, informing us that the batch will be released on September 12. We have plans to be at Disneyland with friends that day, so here's hoping I can download it early like I did last time!
In other news, the YouTube algorithms are at it again. I had to stop and think what we were even doing at YouTube today, and then we remembered we were looking at visual effects tutorials for a translation we were working on. Our job really does take us to many different corners of the internet...and YouTube.
Anyway, this time, one of the videos they tried to tempt us with was about Chloe Bourgeois, which is interesting, because we've been thinking about her and how upset people were that... Oh wait, that's technically a spoiler. Season three happened years ago, but still. Time for an LJ cut!
We've been thinking about Chloe and how upset people were that she lost her right to be Queen Bee. One of our friends even referred to her treatment in the season three finale and on as character assassination, which is probably part of why we've been thinking about it, since we watched that video that's supposedly about the character assassination of Adrien. You guys, there is no character assassination going on by the writers of Miraculous. Only by the fans, and by characters in the show, like all the people on Jalil Kubdel's social media (see: Reunion).
The thing about Chloe is that she's always been a horrible evil brat. We all got our hopes up in season two when she started doing nice things here and there, and she really showed a lot of promise in Malediktator especially, but change doesn't happen all at once. She still had a lot of growing to do, as especially evidenced in Stormy Weather 2, where it almost looks like she's deliberately trying to akumatize someone so that she can have a chance to be Queen Bee again. That's not superhero behavior.
Of course, we do still believe, like Ms. Bustier, that if given the chance, Chloe could step up and do good and kind things. The problem (which is not a problem with the writing of the show, but a problem with human character) is that Marinette herself is not too keen on giving Chloe that chance. We saw how bad Chloe was in the past thanks to Derision... I mean, Athena remembers hearing something in one of those YouTube videos that indicates people think the writers were specifically trying to make Chloe look worse, but we know from Origins (and the rest of season one, let's be real) that Chloe was always that bad.
Look at Despair Bear, too. She was bored in class, so she disrupts the entire school day and the fire department to get out of it, thus getting everyone at school punished, except for herself (the guilty party), and she doesn't feel even a tinge of remorse about it. The only thing that even makes her consider changing her ways is that Adrien says he can't be friends with her if she doesn't. Then she gets him to promise to never stop being her friend, and she goes right to being evil to everyone. She was always a terrible person.
But back to Derision, that episode shows us that she directed most of her heinousness at Marinette specifically, so really it's hard to blame Ladybug for not wanting to make her a regular part of the team. Even in Heroes Day, when she needed heroes who already knew how to be heroes, she sent Chat Noir to get Queen Bee. (And she was still a jerk to him, prompting Adrien of all people to say, "You know what? Maybe you don't get to be a superhero today.") We also just watched Frightningale, where Marinette manages to overcome her greatest weakness (her crush on Adrien) to turn down the role of Ladybug in the music video, but changes her mind when presented with the idea that Chloe would be cast as Ladybug. It wasn't even "Chloe with Adrien" like it usually is, but "Chloe in my role? I don't think so!"
Then we have Animaestro, where Marinette forms an unholy alliance with Chloe to get Kagami away from Adrien, and the lesson Marinette learns is that teaming up with Chloe is bad.
All of these things together add up to Ladybug doesn't want Chloe on the team. Of course, one of the things we love about Ladybug is that she is willing to put those feelings aside if it will help the greater good, so why didn't she do it in The Battle of the Miraculous aka The Pain? The answer is simple: Adrien the Weakness strikes again.
Ladybug needed another superhero to help fight...Heart Hunter? Or is it Loveater? Anyway, Mangeamour. The supervillain in the first half of The Pain. Ladybug needed another superhero to help her out. She actually had several options at this point, most of whose secret identities were still unknown to Hawk Moth at this point. The show did its best to tell the audience that the right choice would have been Chloe--it was her parents that needed saving, after all. Marinette even thought of her when she was trying to decide which Miraculous to take.
But she chose the dragon Miraculous to give to Kagami instead. Why? Not because Hawk Moth doesn't know Ryuko's secret identity--she's the only hero other than Queen Bee that Hawk Moth does know. Ryuko was a risky choice for the exact same reason that Queen Bee would have been, and Kagami even points it out. She says to Ladybug, "I thought I couldn't get a Miraculous again because Hawk Moth knows my identity."
Marinette only chose Kagami to get her away from Adrien. It was a terrible choice, and the show told us as much. Chloe was understandably upset, leading her to make terrible choices that, despite being terrible, are still very much in character.
And really, that's what makes The Pain so painful. The writing is completely solid--all the characters are perfectly in character, there are no contradictions in the story or any of the worldbuilding rules, it's all very realistic. But it sucks.
Nevertheless, there's hope! Because the story isn't over yet. Marinette made some serious mistakes, and Chloe turned against Ladybug as a result, but we have seen that Chloe did want to be good. In Collusion, we saw hints that she's a lonely girl who just needs somebody to care about her and give her a chance. And I believe that the writers wouldn't have shown that to us if there was no hope for her. She pretty much hit rock bottom at the end of season five, so now there's nowhere for her to go but up, right?
Today I'm thankful for the mystery of the new hymns being solved, having new-to-us hymns to look forward to next week, managing to survive the 107-degree weather, getting to watch Frightningale, and having plans to spend a long time in an air-conditioned building tomorrow.
In other news, the YouTube algorithms are at it again. I had to stop and think what we were even doing at YouTube today, and then we remembered we were looking at visual effects tutorials for a translation we were working on. Our job really does take us to many different corners of the internet...and YouTube.
Anyway, this time, one of the videos they tried to tempt us with was about Chloe Bourgeois, which is interesting, because we've been thinking about her and how upset people were that... Oh wait, that's technically a spoiler. Season three happened years ago, but still. Time for an LJ cut!
We've been thinking about Chloe and how upset people were that she lost her right to be Queen Bee. One of our friends even referred to her treatment in the season three finale and on as character assassination, which is probably part of why we've been thinking about it, since we watched that video that's supposedly about the character assassination of Adrien. You guys, there is no character assassination going on by the writers of Miraculous. Only by the fans, and by characters in the show, like all the people on Jalil Kubdel's social media (see: Reunion).
The thing about Chloe is that she's always been a horrible evil brat. We all got our hopes up in season two when she started doing nice things here and there, and she really showed a lot of promise in Malediktator especially, but change doesn't happen all at once. She still had a lot of growing to do, as especially evidenced in Stormy Weather 2, where it almost looks like she's deliberately trying to akumatize someone so that she can have a chance to be Queen Bee again. That's not superhero behavior.
Of course, we do still believe, like Ms. Bustier, that if given the chance, Chloe could step up and do good and kind things. The problem (which is not a problem with the writing of the show, but a problem with human character) is that Marinette herself is not too keen on giving Chloe that chance. We saw how bad Chloe was in the past thanks to Derision... I mean, Athena remembers hearing something in one of those YouTube videos that indicates people think the writers were specifically trying to make Chloe look worse, but we know from Origins (and the rest of season one, let's be real) that Chloe was always that bad.
Look at Despair Bear, too. She was bored in class, so she disrupts the entire school day and the fire department to get out of it, thus getting everyone at school punished, except for herself (the guilty party), and she doesn't feel even a tinge of remorse about it. The only thing that even makes her consider changing her ways is that Adrien says he can't be friends with her if she doesn't. Then she gets him to promise to never stop being her friend, and she goes right to being evil to everyone. She was always a terrible person.
But back to Derision, that episode shows us that she directed most of her heinousness at Marinette specifically, so really it's hard to blame Ladybug for not wanting to make her a regular part of the team. Even in Heroes Day, when she needed heroes who already knew how to be heroes, she sent Chat Noir to get Queen Bee. (And she was still a jerk to him, prompting Adrien of all people to say, "You know what? Maybe you don't get to be a superhero today.") We also just watched Frightningale, where Marinette manages to overcome her greatest weakness (her crush on Adrien) to turn down the role of Ladybug in the music video, but changes her mind when presented with the idea that Chloe would be cast as Ladybug. It wasn't even "Chloe with Adrien" like it usually is, but "Chloe in my role? I don't think so!"
Then we have Animaestro, where Marinette forms an unholy alliance with Chloe to get Kagami away from Adrien, and the lesson Marinette learns is that teaming up with Chloe is bad.
All of these things together add up to Ladybug doesn't want Chloe on the team. Of course, one of the things we love about Ladybug is that she is willing to put those feelings aside if it will help the greater good, so why didn't she do it in The Battle of the Miraculous aka The Pain? The answer is simple: Adrien the Weakness strikes again.
Ladybug needed another superhero to help fight...Heart Hunter? Or is it Loveater? Anyway, Mangeamour. The supervillain in the first half of The Pain. Ladybug needed another superhero to help her out. She actually had several options at this point, most of whose secret identities were still unknown to Hawk Moth at this point. The show did its best to tell the audience that the right choice would have been Chloe--it was her parents that needed saving, after all. Marinette even thought of her when she was trying to decide which Miraculous to take.
But she chose the dragon Miraculous to give to Kagami instead. Why? Not because Hawk Moth doesn't know Ryuko's secret identity--she's the only hero other than Queen Bee that Hawk Moth does know. Ryuko was a risky choice for the exact same reason that Queen Bee would have been, and Kagami even points it out. She says to Ladybug, "I thought I couldn't get a Miraculous again because Hawk Moth knows my identity."
Marinette only chose Kagami to get her away from Adrien. It was a terrible choice, and the show told us as much. Chloe was understandably upset, leading her to make terrible choices that, despite being terrible, are still very much in character.
And really, that's what makes The Pain so painful. The writing is completely solid--all the characters are perfectly in character, there are no contradictions in the story or any of the worldbuilding rules, it's all very realistic. But it sucks.
Nevertheless, there's hope! Because the story isn't over yet. Marinette made some serious mistakes, and Chloe turned against Ladybug as a result, but we have seen that Chloe did want to be good. In Collusion, we saw hints that she's a lonely girl who just needs somebody to care about her and give her a chance. And I believe that the writers wouldn't have shown that to us if there was no hope for her. She pretty much hit rock bottom at the end of season five, so now there's nowhere for her to go but up, right?
Today I'm thankful for the mystery of the new hymns being solved, having new-to-us hymns to look forward to next week, managing to survive the 107-degree weather, getting to watch Frightningale, and having plans to spend a long time in an air-conditioned building tomorrow.