#caroline bartlett

Not inherently to salt on the characters or anything. Just because I don't think theres really a set-in-stone "best version" of themselves that can be detected by Lila's power, its not the rabbit miraculous or anything to judge when they'll peak in life. And like the show itself says, theres always room to evolve, and both Marinette and Adrien are gonna improve from here on out, so theres really no reason for the show itself to say they peaked 3/7th (or 6/14th) through the show.

That, and I don't actually believe Sublimation's power fundamentally changes a person. Just their behaviour and determination to suit her own standards of what a person should be like in regards to their actions. For example, how the stadium employees got motivated to do their job, or how Sublime's dad began acting like her mother towards her, instead of

Like if Marinette got hit by one, she'd be more determined to go forward with the lie because thats what she was already doing, and Adrien, if he got hit, would be determined put up an even faker persona to show that hes fine, without the power considering anything other than the quality of these actions themselves, because thats what these two were already doing.

Because the stadium workers getting more enthusiastic didn't inherently make them a better version of themselves. Just more determined. If they were now "better", wouldn't they be made into being some sorts of prodigies? Instant masters of the arts? Elite politicians with tons of charisma? Instead, they were only made to be more enthusiastic about the job they were already saddled with.

Likewise, Ladybug and Chat Noir are, as stated, in the episode, by themselves to Bob Roth, volunteers. They don't have to do their job. Adrien could've, in theory, just listened to Plagg and went to the cafeteria to eat snacks. Just like Marinette could've just left to go to safety, or just never shown up as Ladybug. Hell, they didn't have to do any of this this in the first place.

They have no legal bindings, no contracts, nothing. They're already more than willing to do the job, enjoy it regularly (at least for Chat), already put an extensive amount of their time into, even during nights to patrol, and they have the world's best success rate. They're already enthusiastic about this and sublime at what they do. They don't even need a paycheck to do it.

"Illustrhater" running ahead of this episode spoiled us slightly, but at least we still got to wonder who this new girl was. So no harm, no foul.

Marinette's reaction to Sublime recalls her reaction to Adrien in the earlier seasons: someone she wants to get closer to but can't because of her insecurities and overthinking their interactions. Sublime herself is very much like Adrien in that despite appearing perfect, someone who has it all and can do it all, she suffers from unseen challenges complicated by parental expectations.

Marinette's usual brand of cringe is especially painful in this ep as it appears tinged with underlying ableism. She assumes that Sublime will need her help at some point, even though it's obvious she doesn't and won't. Many people with disabilities deal with this same condescending and unhelpful attitude from others, and mainstream media rarely addresses it. I appreciate the writers tackling this subject by giving the episode's idiot ball to Marinette, our designated hero who means well but ends up interfering and nearly causing irreparable damage.

Caroline gives off vibes of a former athlete living vicariously through her daughter. She's so insistent on success that she can’t engage constructively with her child's emotions and anxieties. But more than that, she's controlled by a toxic perfectionism that Chrysalis easily exploits. As Sublimation, she's a unique adversary, someone with "good" powers who uses them wrong.

Once again, the heroes are forced into the undesirable position of protecting Bob Roth. Congratulations, Bob--with Gabriel and Chloe out of the picture, you're now officially the worst identifiable person in Paris.

Chrysalis can not only dispatch “ultakumas” that establish connections with victims, but she can also create “antikumas” that neutralize a Miraculous holder's powers. We knew the Ladybug Miraculous granted its user to create new powers for themselves. Similarly, the Butterfly's ability to grant superpowers to someone else can be used on the holder themselves. Chrysalis has found a way to counteract Ladybug's power of creation, something not even Gabriel realized he could do.