#ml rewatch

yes I did make it there and I didnt make reviews of the other episodes but a thought just occured to me while watching guiltrip, a thought about how the moral is so good, how its against treating people differently due to sickness, whatever the case its a really good lesson because it really shows that you shouldnt treat struggling people differently and that your problems dont define you but how you make it through them and I think thats a message thats not talked about enough and I love that they did this in a kids show and it proves another point someone else said a while back, the thought that miraculous might do some things wrong but one thing it understands is mental health and diversity both that are represented in such a good way.

The lgbtqa+ representation, the topics of generational trauma with Su Han and Fu and Marinette, the representation of neurodivergent people, the representation of different body types and the representation of different types of abuse and just in general a lot of topics that effect individuals so in general this is so good for representation that Im really glad Im still with this show.

This episode also showed more differences between Adrien and Marinette, like how hes the only person who treated Rose normally while marinette while good intentioned was quite pushy and a big worrywart which caused problems and this is a consistent characterisation that we see even in season 6 with marinette and Adrien because even in season 6 Adrien is the levelheaded person who stops Marinette's spirals which was notably seen in daddycop where Marinette again does too much and tries to cancel on her friends because shes anxious and Adrien draws boundaries so really even now in season 6 theyre the same characters we grew up with. I know people are saying he has less personality but honestly I think we still see the Adrien we've seen all along just less cat noir maybe which does make sense because Adrien is grieving and frankly we dont spend much time with cat noir anymore so in general I dont think Adrien is completely lacking even in season 6 but yeah this is what I thought.

Honestly I am genuinely so glad for this rewatch because I can see so many more things with extra context and skills, something I could not do during season 4 airing because that time I didnt think too much about personalities or characters and have only now learnt more about it through life experiences and possibly my psychology degree which i am in the process of getting loll but yeah this is veering into personal territory so imma stop right there and talk a little bit more about the episode.

In general this episode had a clear value which I am happy for and it was nice to see the class and most notably marinette finally learn how to be with Rose, you could argue that she struggles with the same problem when she overprepares for Max staying over at her house due to worrying about him having autism but genuinely I dont think its negative character development, just that her overthinking is not something Marinette cant get over easily because it is a trait that she can only reduce, never remove and how she does need someone to ground her, on that note this is why I feel like people shouldnt abandon her when the secret comes out because Marinette as a person is incapable of coming out of spirals withous support, its like if shes down she remains down and drowns in guilt so she needs guidance which is fine because she is literally 15 but yeah this episode just once again shows marinette's well meaning intentions which dont always pan out clearly and shows just how well Adrien understands her which I found really sweet but in general even guiltrip taught me something new which is surprising because I didnt expect it to.

overall I must say miraculous has at least since seasin 4 which I am rewatching always dealt with some complicated topics, it probably did in season 3 as well but im rewatching season 4 right now so I cant attest for season 3. I do tink they explored different topics there too like Chloe but in general I think the real meaty stuff started in season 4.

Simon Says: This was one of my favorite episodes the first time around, and I'm happy to say it's as good as I remember. Not only is it a generally good episode, but as we're getting to the end of the season, it does a fantastic job setting up for future seasons. Let's be honest, they were not subtle AT ALL about Gabriel being Hawk Moth, people were calling it from his first appearance, and this only sealed the deal. But I don't think it's a bad thing, especially with this episode doing more to show his character, the strain between him and Adrien, and hinting at his motivations, thus giving us plenty of intrigue for why he's doing what he is. This was also a good episode for Adrien, with Cat Noir getting to be proactive and more focused on his family issues that have only been briefly brought up a couple of times. Him as CN getting to yell at his father for not listening is so cathartic. The akuma plot is nothing unique and the stuff about Mari being grounded wasn't really necessary (we really didn't need a reason for her to not be at the studio, just saying), but the plot still works fine. We also to my knowledge never have any follow-up on Gabriel seeing Adrien's ring which REALLY sucks but that's not this particular episode's fault. Overall, it does it's job while setting up for later on very well and I love it! 5/5.

Princess Fragrance: Rose is one of my favorites of the classmates because of how much of a sweetheart she is, so seeing her so heartbroken when Chloe rips apart her letter right in front of her is really sad and makes me hate Chloe more. Makes me almost understand why they took he direction with Chloe they did later on. Almost. The episode overall is fine, though not one of my favorites. The whole plot with Tikki feels... convoluted and just a way to have Mari unable to transform, even with the Master Fu appearance. Which honestly, I think Fu needed more appearances to build up to the reveal in Origins and Volpina, but that's for those episodes. While I enjoy Princess Fragrance and her aesthetic in and of itself, I'm not a fan of her singing minions. I get they're going for some kind of Disney Princess-esque vibe, but it's REALLY distracting, and we have Cat Noir brainwashed again. Like... come on guys, three times in one season?! (and the sidenote, the dub's singing voice for him is not even close to resembling Bryce Papenbrook's voice, if you're gonna use a different performer for singing stuff, at least try to be roughly in the ballpark). I like the prince though, he's an adorable dork~! Nothing wrong with the episode, it does its job, I'm happy to see Rose get her time in the limelight, Mari and Tikki's bond is adorable, and it's still an enjoyable watch. But it's nothing that we haven't seen at this point, Cat Noir REALLY got the short end of the stick, the episode just kinda... ends, and especially compared to Simon Says, it's not as exciting nor does it build up for later nearly as well. It's average. 3/5.

- It occurs to me that we got two Alix episodes almost back to back, and that Alix is the kingpin who is the ONLY one who hasn't got her miraculous in present timeline, and oh my god I suddenly want Alix to step up and be more than just one of the classmates. please. p l e a s e

- Everyone else has alrady done it, but let me join the club in pointing out that this episode is a summary of the meta-plot of the series

- Alix' poor dad failed so hard at raising that boy, but someone DID put that sceptre on exhibit where everyone and their toddler could just reach out and touch it so I'm not sure what he expected, and that someone was probably himself

- I realise that they're just throwing together the ancient Egyptian royalty the audience might've heard about, but Nefertiti was at best King Tut's stepmum and this entire episode then becomes the primary school version of milf porno (at worst, Nefertitit was King Tut's real mum and then this show became even more like Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles than anyone wants it to be)

- Also The Pharao being BAMF when King Tut IRL was short and sickly and was buried with a collection of some 130 walking canes because he probably never did walk without aid

- Not sure exactly WHY Jalil so badly wants to carry out a magic ritual to return a woman three thousands years dead to life, though, or what exactly is happening during this akumatisation. Is he posessed by King Tut's ghost? Just really invested in this old dead bride?

- We as a fandom do not talk enough about the fact Ancient Egyption Polytheism is proven the canonical god of this universe. That old spell is working. Whoever it was Pharao summoned there, they responded and they were seconds away from accepting Alya as ritual sacrifice in exchange for Nefertiti.

- Alya is hilarious in this episode

- We don't get a lot of Adrien, but I adored his discussing the ladies with Plagg, and also him just casually sitting by the Mona Lisa while Plagg eats. Also, he gets two transformation sequences

- The big question: why was she carrying around her history book as Ladybug, in the first place (further questions: how did Alya check with every school in the city? Why is no-one else using that textbook? the only answer I can imagine is that there was a recent curriculum change and Francois Dupont for whatever reason hasn't got around to getting updated textbooks)

- There's a lot of re-use in these early episodes: trapped in a bubble, trapped behind bars in the Louvre, LB being pulled along by flying akumas

The in universe implications of this?!? They transform in that courtyard all of the time! Why would the principals office not be a private place? Disciplining children in front of the entire library seems counterproductive to helping them learn from their mistakes. Also there’s a supervillain who thrives on public humiliation on the loose, also how does he get away with being so corrupt in Lady Wifi when there’s literally cameras in his office?

Did M. Damocles have the security system output moved to his office when he started cosplaying as a vigilante? Did they fully remove it? Oh to be a fly on the wall in that staff meeting...