Because of that, her actions are reinterpreted as not being purely egotistical entitlement, but also a coping mechanism for their greater insecurities. Queen Bee is probably the biggest smoking gun regarding that. Thomas and Co wanted us to believe Chloe viewed it purely as an ego stroking thing, but we were primed to see it as deeper than that considering how she was given the bee originally.

They really had to make her talk about lacking purpose in the same convo where she becomes Queen Bee again. That’s a generational fumble. If she also sees being Queen Bee as her serving a purpose then her insistence on her NEEDING it becomes, still selfish, but interesting. Putting those two subject together made viewers link them together, reasonably so.

We get to Miracle Queen and we still have that link of purpose in our heads. Suddenly our perception of her being manipulated rings of a different tone than intended. It’s not just taking advantage of her ego, but also her abandonment issues, desire for approval, want of a purpose, and care for her parents on some level. Queen’s battle made us consider how her surroundings affects her behavior (Her parents being akumatized and being directly confronted by hawkmoth), while Maledictator made us aware the insecurities (her purpose/usefulness, and Ladybug not conscripting her) that influence her just as much.

M A R I N E T T E 🍧🌿 *mûre sauvage x menthe poivrée

K A G A M I 🍨🍊 *orange x menthe poivrée . . .

Miraculous Ladybug, Season 3 finale 🐞🐾 — Mangeamour (Heart Hunter) part. 1

. . .

To this:

“Just you and me?”

Now we talk a lot about the parallel between Marinette and Gabriel, which is fair and true, but let's not forget her own dad and his overprotectiveness 💔

Rewatched Weredad recently and I'm thinking about how many things are the exact same in Marinette and Tom, he's such a romantic and caring person, often gets carried away with fantasies, starts acting on his ideas immediately, jumps to conclusions, which Sabine tells him in that episode...

In a way, Sabine and Tom remind me of Luka and Marinette. She's a rational, grounding and calming presence, keeper of balance, just like him.

just some more lovely considerate Sabine:

and as you’re gasping for the last of air, you’ll tra-la-la-la-la

It feels like whenever the writers make a joke it lands 50% of the time and sucks the other 50%.

But everything else that happens ends up unintentionally being the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

That scene at the end of season 3 where Luka finally figured out Marinette’s ‘song’ and he played it and it was the theme song of the show made me laugh harder than pretty much all of the jokes that were made on purpose.