Gabriel Agreste: This was SO GOOD! Felix returns and while he's still a jerk, compared to his intro he's FAR more tolerable and comes off as properly cunning. It's clear that he has some kind of hidden agenda and has already figured out that Gabriel is Shadow Moth. Not even Gabriel making a sentimonster of himself and then akumatizing it is able to sway the kid. We still don't know what Felix is planning, but it's clear that getting his family's ring back was far from his only goal. His little moment with his mom was cute though, he seems to genuinely love her.
Mari's plot of disguising herself as a butler is nothing new, but this time it's to stop Chloe from revealing her and her friends plans about her confessing to Adrien to Gabriel. Which Chloe has really gone downhill, having zero issue making it so Adrien loses his freedom if it means that she can have him all to herself when before she outright sobbed when it looked like he was being pulled out of school. I hate this, Chloe has always been mean and awful but this is cruel even for her. But it doesn't ruin the plot for me, and I LOVE them comparing Adrien to a damsel-in-distress princess and Mari as his knight in shining armor. I love me some reverse fairytale tropes and it really symbolizes what Mari will be to Adrien as things continue to unfold.
This episode was freakin' excellent. Gabriel FINALLY remembering that he can use the Peacock Miraculous and putting it to very clever use. The build-up with Felix and the VERY heavy indication that he himself is a sentimonster, which has long since been confirmed which also adds a LOT more to Felix's actions and motives. Mari's plot was fun especially with the return of Marino and without beign too creepy or annoying like some episodes have been. Adrien doesn't really have anything to do, although his moment with Nathalie was sweet. There's my nitpicks but none of them ruined my enjoyment which is a great testament to it's quality. Also shutout to Bob Roth being the unwitting hero of the episode, I still hate him but hey gotta appreciate how his assholery screwed over Chloe XD. 5/5.
Mega Leech: Remember kids, the environment is important. Normally I'd be annoyed at how heavy handed the moral is, but not only is this still a kids show and probably introducing the ideas of environmentalism and civil protest to said kids for the first time, but given current events... yeah. The heavy-handedness might be appropriate to be honest. It even goes into how things may LOOK good, but you need to actually look into things to understand the true scope of something, especially if it looks like a 'miracle solution'. I love how Mari causes the mayor to out his true intentions, God I love her.
You know who else I love? Mylene. Poor girl is anxious and scared easily, but she and Ivan go forward with protesting anyways. It's terrifying to take action even for a cause that you believe in and know you have to do because no one else is. Her being entrusted with the Mouse Miraculous feels super well-earned compared to say... Zoe getting the Bee. Also... why didn't Kim and Luka get used in the big superhero team moment? Luka maybe wasn't around but where' the excuse for Kim?! And given Zoe shows up, why didn't they use her to talk directly to Andre? Especially with Chloe there she could have been a great contrast and helped Andre see reason better.
So yeah, not a horrible episode but it has some small things that annoy me. I am glad the protest work, even though it sadly got Adrien in trouble with his father who was funding Project Oxygen. Poor kid did the right thing and called it out, and given Gabriel lied to him about what he was being filmed for I don't blame him. But Gabriel grounds him and the shot of him and the ring... yeah I already know the big plot twist but the fact that Gabriel realizes that he's losing his control over his son is NOT good. Overall not a bad episode by any stretch and if it gets kids into helping the environment and civil protest then I'm glad it exists. But it's little issues do hold it back somewhat when you start thinking about them that hold back the rating somewhat. 3/5.
Guiltrip: Rose is one of my favorite of the student characters so I'm super happy to get an episode starring her! I'm not too surprised to find out that she has an illness, I think a lot of people suspected as such as far back as the first season. I feel awful for poor Juleka who had been keeping it a secret and finally broke when Rose had to got o the hospital. It was so sweet to see the majority of the class support her, but of course they get carried away and treat Rose differently despite saying that they wouldn't. We all say that we'd do that, but the truth is it's so easy to treat others different even subconsciously when you find out things like this and as well-meaning as everyone is, it makes Rose feel bad and Juleka to feel worse. I mean she felt so bad that she let the Sentimonster consume her after being Akumatized, just damn...
It was a good episode all in all, and Rose as Pigella is freakin' adorable and her power is passive but I can see it being very useful. I like the moral of the episode, to power through negativity and guilt through positive thinking, although I think it also implies that by doing so you should ignore and shove away your negative thoughts. That's NOT a good thing, those things build and build until you break like Juleka did. A better moral I think would be to reframe the negativity and accept it, but not let it control you and grow from it. Could just be me being the daughter of an LCSW talking though, plus this is still a kids show and this is a good first step for them. It's still important to not be overcome by dark thoughts and to have a positive mindset to get you through it, I'd have just adjusted it slightly.
Regardless it's a really sweet episode. I adore Rose and Juleka's relationship so much even if they can't let them go into official couple territory until way later. But even under the BFF lens it's still so sweet how much Rose trusts and loves Juleka and doesn't hold revealing her illness against her at all. I love how all Juleka wants is for Rose to be happy and for their friends to treat them all as normal, it's all anyone ever wants. Even though they were misguided it was so sweet of the class to support the two, we even see Sabrina sneak an encouraging message to Juleka. This goes into a surprisingly dark space, what with Cat Noir almost Cataclysm-ing himself, but it's still a cute episode that makes me love these characters so much. You tried ot make me hate them Chameleon but I will always choose sugar over salt~! 4/5.
Crocoduel: I'm just gonna say it now, I HATE how they had Jagged Stone be Luka and Juleka's father. He had been one of my favorite side characters because of how entertaining he was and being a cool guy who bonded with and appreciated Marinette. By revealing that he is their father and not having any kind of hints or such prior, it makes him look like a deadbeat and while I appreciate him trying to make up for it, it's still a REALLY bad look. It feels like they just decided it do it cause he's a rocker like Luka without putting any actual forethought into it. Also, them making Luka and Juleka's twin was a stupid decision but that's not as big of a deal.
Regardless, we're stuck with it now. I will give Jagged credit that he is trying and if Luka and Juleka are open to forging a relationship with him, then they are more than allowed to. I totally understand why Anarka is angry though given Jagged left her with two kids to raise that she had to throw her own career away for, but she can't allow her resentment to control her or control her kids. There's clearly a lot of issues between them and whatever side you agree with (I'm mainly on Anarka's cause clearly Jagged knew about the kids but still didn't so much as at least send child support) it really doesn't matter and the twins just want them to get over it and move on already.
I feel for both Luka and Juleka here. Luka still wants to be friends with Marinette, but she feels guilty for the breakup and choosing her love of Adrien over him and is afraid to face him. Juleka is feeling so much pressure in making everyone happy but unable to speak up for herself, even to her own dad. I REALLY love how Shadow Moth gets excited... but everyone keeps actually talking and realizing their faults and foil his Akumatization plots until he finally lucks out with Jagged and Anarka. I like Juleka's superhero form... although they really couldn't make her power a roar over a punch? Sorry, but that was a missed opportunity right there.
Not a bad episode, I'm glad to see Juleka get an episode and to have some follow-up to the Lukanette breakup. It makes me like Luka more as a character now that we can see him past just being a fake love interest. Given how Adrigami ended on rocky terms, it's nice for them to still be able to be friends. Juleka is learning to speak up for herself and that is great development for her! I just think that the execution of some stuff was a little too rocky, especially Ladynoir suddenly having issues following Guitar Villain and Captian Hardrock... when they've NEVER had issues like that before. But eh it's still a fine episode, though we've had better. 3/5.
So far Season Four has been such a delight! Even with some of the lower ranked episodes like Crocoduel and Mega Leech, I still had a really fun time watching them! It's not perfect but they've really improved on pacing, letting the supporting characters shine, and allowing plot developments and upholding continuity without breaking the formula. After Season 3 was such a disappointment even all these years later, now I wish that I'd stuck to the show cause this would have REALLY turned my opinion around. But hey better late than never, plus we still have the rest of the season to go. We'll see what happens~!
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