EbiArtics

Now, could he have handled everything all at once? Yeah. Eventually. And in fics I love to explore the angst involved with that.

But in the show? It would have been hard to incorporate him processing all of that grief and anger all at once in a way that felt narratively satisfying.

It's just not something that fits in neatly with the episode of the week format of Miraculous. Instead, they're telling the story in a way that does work with that — in bite size pieces which, coincidentally, allow Adrien to gradually build up the tools he needs to handle the truth (sort of like a vaccine? Shit I need to remember to book my flu shot. BUT ANYWAYS—).

Today's episode, Wreckless Driver, ends with Adrien going to therapy to discuss his feelings about his father, something this season has dropped lots of delicious breadcrumbs about this season. We KNOW he has conflicting feelings about his father. We known this since Season 1. But Adrien having the courage to voice that? He wasn't there, at the end of Season 5. He wasn't ready to pick up a megaphone and literally shout those truths in his father's cold as marble face (Mister Agreste, french dub). He wasn't ready for that before he was forced to sit for months with this feeling that something isn't right.

Wreckless Driver is near the midway point of the season (episode 12 in production order), and it seems like it could be a turning point. Like, maybe Adrien could switch gears and start playing a more active role in uncovering why things don't feel right. It would be really fun if that does turn out to be the case.

Yet, at the same time, I feel like he's learning that sometimes it's okay to sit with the feeling of things not being right.

In Climatiqueen, we see him learning to accept that it's okay if he doesn't know what he wants his passion to be. More broadly, I think that translates to what he wants his life to be.

He also states in that episode that being Chat Noir is his passion — another thing we've been seeing since Season 1. But things are different now — now that Adrien is getting used to used to having his freedom outside of the mask too. I think that's a huge factor contributing to him seeming to accept the fact that he knows Ladybug isn't telling the whole truth about what happened in the final battle with Monarch (Mister Agreste). Just imagine how Season 4 Adrien would react to that!

Being Chat Noir might still be something he's passionate about, but it's not the only thing he has going. It's not a lifeline or an escape he needs so desperately that he might explode without it. It's become something he just gets to enjoy, full stop, with no caveats.

The other things I have to say on this subject don't relate too much to specific episodes, but moreso to the passage of time. The time to process his grief and his anger. The time to discover himself. The time to strengthen the foundation of his relationship with Marinette.

When he finally does learn the truth, I do think he'll feel betrayed. I think he'll feel angry. And he has the right to feel that way.

But I also think he'll remember all the times Marinette validated how he feels about Gabriel. I think he'll understand the pressure she must have felt (especially with Nathalie weighing in, if Adrien learns about that too). And I think he'll be in a place where his whole entire world isn't falling apart.