I'm trying my hardest not to be mean to Marinette about Riginarazione (2026), because the episode would've been excellent in any other context. A children's show that teaches about the importance of grief, acceptance, and letting go. I'm sure there are many young children who are the actual target demographic of Miraculous dealing with familial heartbreak who have found consolation in Miraculous' representation. I have no particular feelings for Rolland, but the montage of his house emptying paired with the nostalgic melody was very emotional.
But the thing is, the episode doesn't exist in a vacuum, it has context, and the context is that the writers choose to focus on Marinette's pain for a tragic yet predictable bereavement where she is surrounded by a healthy support system in an understanding domestic environment, being comforted by the boyfriend she is actively gaslighting and manipulating.
Adrien was so kind and empathetic to Marinette in this episode; he lets her feel what she needs to feel, he doesn't push her to give more than she's ready to give, and he stands by in an encouraging, supportive role rather than seizing control of the situation. " You don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to. [...] You can cry as much as you need. [...] How was it, by the way?"
Then you compare their situations, how Adrien has lost all the members of his immediate family, how Marinette knows everything he doesn't, and how she's the main puppet-master pulling all the secret strings in his life taking over the role his father vacated. Adrien isn't allowed to grieve properly, to seek other resources, to reflect without judgement, because Marinette is desperately possessive of him. When he made friends with a new girl (change, change is good for grieving people and he met Sublime while trying out a new active hobby), Marinette stalked both of them to make sure there was nothing funny going on. When Adrien recall how terrible and abusive his father was, Marinette lies to him in an attempt to change his mind. When Adrien considers seeking a therapist, Marinette immediately tries to shut that down, preventing Adrien from building a proper (and professional) support system and make Adrien wholly dependent on her: "You can talk to me about him, right? [...] I help him! I'm his girlfriend, you know."
It's one thing for Marinette to be the main character of the show, but it's another thing to make her the main character of someone else's pain. No matter what Gabriel put Adrien through, Marinette will - with tear-filled eyes while consistently suffering in private, making sure to let the audience see how much she doesn't want to this as if she truly doesn't have a choice, as if she's not the most powerful superhero in Paris – continue his work.
It's just a jaw-dropping moment to see that after everything Marinette has done to Adrien in the name of 'love', he still comforted her during a hard time and Marinette actually had the audacity to accept his comfort as if she deserves it. It's extraordinarily tragic that Marinette is dealing with a dying grandfather, but making Adrien her emotional crutch in a case of bereavement is genuinely so cruel and perverse.
This universe is stretching the limits of what is reasonable, even in cartoon physics. The scale of the lies and isolation that Marinette put Adrien through is grounds for never seeing each other again at the minimum. I swear to God, when the Big Lie is finally exposed and Adrien still chooses to forgive Marinette and stays with her (honestly the most likely outcome), I might actually lose it.
