What is Miraculousâs self contradictory philosophy on consent?
This topic has been on my writing list for a while, and it would probably be worth rewatching all 5 seasons to take detailed notes! That being said, I think Ladybugâs reaction to the attempted kiss in Felix is a pretty good microcosm of the idea:
Unlike our heroine, we, the audience, know that this is just not true: as Chat Noir, Adrien crosses Ladybugâs boundaries on multiple occasions â including several attempts to kiss her, despite her obvious lack of enthusiasm.
So why is it that one undesired kiss makes us so uneasy, while others are easily written off as quirky?
The answer, of course, is that the plot itself wants us to root for Adrien; and, in order to prepare for future plot twists and revelations, be (at least temporarily) wary of Felix. Consent is a somewhat fluid concept in Miraculous; not out of maliciousness (at least I certainly hope so!), but because it serves a bigger narrative purpose.
Let's take a closer look at how the notion of consent is declined through two radically different character categories: on the one hand, our heroes; and on the other hand, our antagonists.
I. The Love Square: allâs fair in love and plot
Letâs start off our analysis with the obvious: the Love Square is meant to be. You know it, I know it, everyone is Paris knows it. Most importantly, the writers have known it since the beginning; and it is their job to sell us their romance, through compelling interactions.
Part of this effort was to make Chat Noir fall in love with Ladybug almost immediately, and be very forthcoming about his interest â something she rarely reciprocates during the first seasons, because if she did, the show would have ended years ago and I would not be writing this instead of loading the dishwasher like Iâm supposed to. Chat Noirâs infatuation with the spotted heroine takes the form of many many many MANY flirty comments, outright love declarations and, on a couple of occasions, unwelcome kissing attempts.
It wouldnât be fair to argue Ladybug is 100% closed off to his attempts. But as the seasons go by, and other scenaristic stakes build up, she does become more and more frustrated with them. To his credit, Chat knows when to back off when she expresses discomfort or states her love for âââanother boyâââ⌠But he is always quick to try his luck again, which in turns brings even more frustration, until Ladybug finally snaps in S4.
Does that mean we, the public, see Chat Noir as a dangerous sociopath? Of course not. For the most part, we accept that his insistence is amusing at best, and harmlessly annoying at worst, because thatâs what the show wants us to accept. Concretely, this gives a situation Ă la Kuro Neko: the episode defends the idea that Chat Noirâs imperfections, including his misguided and at times overbearing love for his partner, is a crucial part of what makes them such a good team.
And letâs not forget Marinette herself! While several members of the Girl Gang (namely Alya) routinely and jokingly call her out on her stalking, we mainly get to reflect on how this affects her â not her clueless crush. Her obsession is always always framed as embarrassing, funny, and even cute â classic teenage girl behaviour, am I right ladies?
There miiight be a double standard between genders, which is also true with the antagonists â but what matters most is that we accept Chat and Marinetteâs behaviour, or more precisely this framing of their behaviour by the scenario, for two main reasons:
Because theyâre our heroes, and although they are flawed, they canât be too bad!
Because the romantic endgame we all know is coming âjustifiesâ their actions. If these two are meant to be together, does it really matter if they mess up along the way?
This second point is best exemplified by the contrast between how we perceive consent when it applies to the Love Square, and how we perceive it when it comes to Adrigami.
Having accepted her motherâs expectations, Kagami sees a future with Adrien and is therefore trying to push the relationship forward; she is not afraid to take the lead and generally does so through physical touch, attempting to kiss him before heâs ready and manually correcting his posture when sketching him.
Is Kagami crossing a few lines here? Sure; but itâs nothing a teenager wouldnât do, and she is a lot less persistent than Chat. Yet we canât help but notice and sympathise with Adrienâs unease⌠We perceive and react to Kagamiâs behaviour differently not because she is a bad person, but because she is but a secondary love interest â a temporary distraction from the grand love story weâve been invested in since the beginning. Adrigami is not a toxic or abusive ship, itâs just not going to work out.
II. The antagonists: red flags and black marks
In many ways, love and intimacy are the driving forces of Miraculousâ plot. After all, isnât it grief over the loss of a spouse that started this whole debacle?
The heroes we root for on the battlefield are the same dumb teenagers we desperately want to see smooch; so naturally, we start to think of morality and romance as inextricably linked. For the writing team, this is a great tool to make heroes easily identificable and, conversely, signal to the audience that a new antagonist has joined the chat: this phenomenon can be observed from the very first episodes, and is best embodied by a character we all know and⌠uh⌠definitely feel some type of way about.
Letâs not tip-toe around the issue: ChloĂŠ, at least in the early seasons, is a typical mean girl. She is a bully, a pretentious and spoiled kid, and generally rude to everyone around her. But do you know what her worst crime is? She has the absolute nerve to be in love with Adrien!
ChloĂŠ and Marinetteâs rivalry over the prettiest boy in school is central to their conflict, and shapes our initial understanding of ChloĂŠ as a minor antagonist. When the show repeatedly has her throwing herself at Adrien, calling him aggravating nicknames, and plotting to eliminate her pig-tailed competition, it isnât trying to establish her as a viable romantic option; rather, it uses her disrespect of Adrienâs personal space to reinforce our conviction that she is bad news, and strengthen our sympathy towards Marinette.
In the grand scheme of things, however, ChloĂŠ isnât a huge threat to our heroes. The real issue comes with the introduction of a major antagonist, one that has the motivation and brain cells to do some actual damage (take some notes, Hawkmoth).
Felixâs debut episode is⌠well, to be fair, I think it is brilliant in a lot of ways! Once you shine the Sentimonster light on his âgratuitousâ and âpettyâ shenanigans, they take on a much deeper and more interesting meaning. But this introduction certainly doesnât do Felix any favours from a moral standpoint, and that is absolutely done with a purpose: to convince us, the audience, that this boy Absolutely 100% Cannot Be Trusted, so that we donât fall off our chairs when the Strikeback fiasco happens. And what better way is there to make us uncomfortable than having him (almost) forcefully kiss our heroine on screen?
Seriously, look at the way this scene is composed: the creepy look in his eyes, Ladybug literally having her back against the wall, the music, everything. Even younger viewers, who might not necessarily understand what is at play here, instinctively know that this is bad.
And you know what? This would be fair if Felix was meant to be this awful, terrible, psychopathic villain that kicks grandmas down the stairs and eats puppies for breakfast. But he isnât, and thatâs where you might lose your audience!
By the end of S5 (or the middle⌠these release dates are getting confusing), we are invited to look at Felix not as a dangerous, hardened criminal, but as a kid fighting tooth and nail to free and protect his fellow Sentibeings â in short, an abuse survivor. This explanation makes him sympathetic to us; his conflicting feelings make him a prime candidate for a redemption arc; and his true personality, which shines through his crush on Kagami and his impromptu musical number, make him an endearing character. So, we can all agree to like him now, right?
WRONG. Just because we understand the message S5 is trying to convey doesnât mean we donât remember what happened in S3, back when presenting Felix as an antagonist took priority over preparing his redemption arc. Many people still have, and will always have, major issues with his character because of this one scene and the very raw emotional response it successfully elicited. I, for one, adore Felix; but I understand how others may have trouble believing he is genuinely fighting for freedom and bodily autonomy, given how quick he was to disregard Ladybugâs. On the other hand, I can appreciate the message that abuse survivors, especially kids, can and will fuck up in major ways before learning how to actually be a person â but thatâs my interpretation of it, not what this debut tried to convey, at least I donât think so.
Closing thoughts
Like I said in the opening, I am sure there are many other situations to delve into, characters to psychoanalyse, and ways to interpret the examples I mentioned. An exhaustive essay would take pages and pages, and this is already way too long as it is, so letâs wrap up with a few personal impressions:
Is Miraculous bad / problematic / worth canceling over these scenaristic decisions?
The answer is no, obviously. Trying to overly sanitise kidsâ shows is a dangerous slippery slope that has led to the cancellation of some of my personal favourite gems for âââarbitraryâââ reasons (everyone involved in canceling The Owl House is on my personal hit list). But I do think it is important to take in stories with your critical brain turned on, and be aware of some of the messages they might be trying to convey.
In this case, Miraculous writers are less interested in consent as a real-life issue than they are in what it can do for their show, scenaristically and thematically. It doesnât make them evil, but it does make for a sometimes contradictory, sometimes uncomfortable final product.
2. Does that mean any of these characters are horrible monsters that should be burnt at the stake?
Of course not! They are dumb 14-year-olds just starting to navigate life and love. Whatever problematic behaviour theyâre exhibiting now is just par for the course: they will grow out of it. In fact, they are already starting to grow out of it, with some help from the plot and a chair:
Ultimately, what matters most is not where a character starts: it is how they learn from their mistakes and grow into a better person.
I am hopeful that all 4 of these kids are going in the right direction. ChloĂŠ is unlikely to make any progress given how Thomas Astruc feels about her, but hey, everythingâs possible.
So, here you go, Anon! I hope this has been an interesting read and worth the wait!
