In recent years, there’s been a lot of frustration with Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug and Cat Noir. Fans have commented that the show goes too slowly, Adrien is too blind and Marinette is creepy. There’s also been a lot of controversy that I will not touch on. For today, we’re only talking about the show in terms of its writing.

I love this show and have loved it since it came out. And I think the reason why so many people complain that it’s too slow is because of how long it has taken for us to get to season 5. Because I think in show time, the pacing’s not that bad. Season 1 sets up the premise of the world. Season 2 introduces a few new heroes. Season 3 starts to have long term consequences for mistakes. And season 4 is when all of Marinette and Adrien’s mistakes come out to bite them. And season 5 is madness. All of this has canonically taken place within the span of months but for us, it has been years.

I don’t think season 4 and 5 would’ve been this enjoyable if it came earlier. We’re obsessed because we had to wait years for this. And season 4 absolutely blew my mind. There was actual character development that lasted. There were actual consequences for the mess ups. And it all ended with Marinette losing every single miraculous except her own.

But season 5? Season 5 doesn’t feel real. Season 5 has made me so emotional, I might just scream.

Season 5 Said No To The Status Quo ***Spoilers***

Most of us had assumed that the status quo would never change. Adrien and Marinette would forever be blind to the others identity and reject each other for each other. Gabriel would forever be losing to a bunch of teenagers with no progress. Nathalie would forever be blind to Gabriel’s flaws and how much he doesn’t deserve her. And the conflict would go on without much escalation.

Season 5 destroyed those ideas.

Most of us had assumed that each episode would be about the duo getting a miraculous back. But outside of them retrieving the bunny miraculous in the first episode, they haven’t had much luck. Gabriel has finally grown some brain cells and actually has a plan in place. And the fact that Nathalie, after ignoring Gabriel’s flaws for four seasons, has finally asserted herself is amazing. I was really growing to hate her for her blind allegiance. But now, she’s prioritising Adrien (and boy does he deserve it).

And most amazing of all, the love square actually FLIPPED. We have been waiting for this for years. And it finally happened.

The Romance Is The Best Part

The love square flipping is the best thing to have happened to Miraculous Ladybug. They both fell harder for the other (I didn’t even think that was possible). And the Marichat scenes feel like fanfiction. Adrien is so obsessed with Marinette and it’s just about the best thing that could’ve happened. And Marinette has finally stopped being a little creeper and learned how to communicate her feelings.

The Elation episode honestly blew my mind. I never expected a Marichat kiss and it was better than anything I could’ve imagined. But now, I will forever hate Andre the ice cream man for not knowing how to mind his own business. But at least he brought conflict, I guess. Watching Marinette almost get accumatised was so satisfying. Although a twisted part of me wishes it would’ve gone through. But seeing Cat Noir break her out of the accumatisation with a kiss? How could I ask for more?

And I’m loving the maturity of Ladynoir. Sure, at first Marinette went a little feral. Especially in the Passion episode. My god, Plagg mixed with Marinette is the best combination. She’s a raging flirt and I’m here for it. And I’m convinced that she would’ve killed Nathalie if Nathalie hadn’t been protected by the akuma. But after their awkward moments, Ladybug and Cat Noir were able to move on and still be the ultimate duo.

And Adrienette is canon! It genuinely felt like that was never going to happen. And I’m glad they made us wait because that’s just made it more satisfying. And shy Adrien is adorable. The fact that he kept coming back despite Marinette rejecting him? Sweet boy. So happy he’s finally getting a taste of his own medicine. And getting a handshake when he went for a kiss has got to hurt.

Gabriel Is The Worst

I HATE Gabriel. Previously, he would’ve never accumatised Adrien. The only reason he did so in Cat Blanc was because he discovered Adrien’s identity as Cat Noir. But now? That man is not a father. At least he pretended to care before. Now, he’ll break Adrien just to have a cool villain. He doesn’t care about his son.

In fact, Gabriel doesn’t care about Emelie either. Emelie specifically told both Gabriel and Nathalie she didn’t want to be saved. She even asked Nathalie to keep Gabriel in check. The fact that he’s going against this just shows he doesn’t truly love Emelie. He never would’ve hurt her son and gone against what she asked for if he actually cared about her.

No, he’s obsessed and this is an ego boost for him. Because let’s be real for a second, he’s doing this for power. He didn’t need all of the miraculous. He wants them so he can control everything. I’m not even certain that he would bring Emelie back if given the choice. We already see him choosing his petty vendetta with Ladybug over saving Emelie and Nathalie’s life.

Nathalie And The Gorilla Need To Adopt Adrien

At this stage, Nathalie and the Gorilla are the only parental figures who care about Adrien. Nathalie is only staying with Gabriel to protect Adrien and she has stepped in multiple times to stop Gabriel when he goes too far. She genuinely cares about Adrien and I love her for that. Same with the Gorilla. I know he never speaks but I know that man loves Adrien like a son. And I seriously need to know what his real name is, can’t keep calling him the Gorilla.

The Backstory

I’m so happy that we finally got Nathalie, Emelie and Gabriel’s backstory. For years, people have been theorising that Emelie was the villain all along but I don’t think that’s the case. I personally believe that Gabriel and Nathalie were hired by Tomoe Tsurugi to hunt down miraculous. And that’s when Emelie joined in. They used the peacock miraculous to create children. That’s why Adrien, Felix and Kagami all only have one parent each.

I think originally, the miraculous was probably only for Tomoe and Nathalie and Gabriel were just treasure hunters but with Emelie’s influence as a Grahamme de Vanily, they were able to use the miraculous for themselves too. And it’s so interesting to see that Tomoe has had a hand in Gabriel’s plans from the very beginning. But I do feel sorry for Kagami.

Kagami and Felix? Scandalous!

I’ve seen a lot of ships for Kagami and Luka so having Felix come onto the scene has been jarring for me. I adore Kagami and don’t think she should be blamed for getting in the way of the lovesquare. Adrien was being blind and he wasn’t going to go for Marinette if Kagami hadn’t been there. She’s completely innocent in this and was honestly screwed over. I’m shocked at how accepting she’s trying to be of Marinette and Adrien’s relationship.

And I’m not going to lie. I did hate Felix. But watching him in season 5 makes me want to give him another chance. This is a boy who has never known free will. Sure, his mum spoils him but that doesn’t erase how traumatic his existence is. And then knowing that Ladybug killed sentimonsters (his kind), I can understand his hatred of her. I definitely don’t condone the attempted non-consensual kiss but it’s forgivable. He’s a 14 year old boy who has never known bodily autonomy. He can learn and be better. And he got punished when Ladybug knocked him across a roof (something that probably would’ve killed him if he’d been human).

So I genuinely do like this pair. They understand each other. He’s compassionate towards Kagami and she calls him out for his behaviour. I think they’d balance each other out in a relationship. And I genuinely do believe that once Felix gets over his hatred of humanity, he might actually end up being a good person. Plus, I like the compassion he has for Marinette. I think it shows that he doesn’t fully hate humans like he believes.

Final Thoughts

I like where the show is going. And if you stopped watching it in the last few years, I hope you get back into it. I think you’ll genuinely enjoy the changes that have been made. The pace is a lot faster and so much is happening right now. I can’t wait to see how this conflict will be resolved.

Also, small disclaimer, I haven’t finished the whole season so I may be wrong about everything. We’ll see.