#after rewatching

He may have done it in a nice way, but he still called her out. He still stood up to her.

Think that at the end of season 1 he believed all her lies, but now he’s not as gullible, and that is character development.

Also, can we talk about the very beginning? When Lila sits beside Adrien, he wants to move away. Politely, but still. He stands up and says he’ll go sit in the back, because he doesn’t want to sit beside her.

Think that this is the same boy who only a while ago let Lila do whatever she wants with him only for information on Ladybug. Now he acts so he could get away from her.

It’s Miss Bustier who forces him to stay in place so he could help Lila. And he does, just because he still wants to give Lila, not because he’s afraid of rebelling.

Just look at this:

Notice how Adrien is moving away from Lila. He doesn’t want to be there, but he does want to help her. (As he says later in his confrontation.)

And when Lila becomes “Chameleon”, not only does she push Adrien back into the locker room VIOLENTLY, but she betrays his trust. She tells him that she’ll stop lying, only to choose him as her first victim. (And stick him inside a locker. Seriously- how cruel can one person be?)

Adrien is a forgiving person. He could forgive Lila’s violence (like the way he forgave her for forcing himself on him), but he can’t forgive someone who uses others in such a cold way. That is what Adrien realizes after he wakes up.

And when Lila becomes a clam? He hardly even seems bothered by it.

This is the same boy who pushed Ladybug to be kind to Volpina, but when Lila is about to be revealed he just laughs.

I doubt he would have acted this way if this was anyone else. The Adrien we know and love would feel sorry for the akuma victim, but here there isn’t even a sign of sorrow. Just playful banter.

The next day, as everyone returns to class, Adrien sits beside Marinette.

And it wasn’t like the place beside Lila was taken. On the contrary, right beforehand we see it’s empty:

Now, if Adrien would have still been as obedient as he was at the start of the show, he would’ve sat beside Lila. After all, everyone else sat in their seats from before. And Miss Bustiers did tell him to sit beside Lila so he could help her.

But Adrien didn’t. He moved a place, and that is a big step. In a way, it’s him saying “You don’t deserve my kindness, Lila.”

Between Mari and Lila, he chose Mari. He supported her, when everyone knows how much she hates Lila.

That is saying something.

And this is his face when Lila finds an excuse to sit next to him again:

He is not happy.

So when Alya moves back beside Marinette, Adrien hurries to sit back beside Nino.

Look at his smile and her shocked face. She never expected him to have the guts to do that! And the way he pulls off that innocent act? PRICELESS.

In conclusion, Chameleon really develops Adrien’s character. It’s there, but very subtle. You just need to know where to look.

I love seeing how much Adrien develops throughout the show, and I hope you enjoyed reading this! I had a lot of fun writing this. 😊