In Defense of Desperada
I've seen way too much salt over this episode and I honestly do not understand why. First things first, you have to accept that these kids make choices that are more or less selfish and that they unintentionally hurt each other sometimes. However, that's just how life is and without those missteps we wouldn't have our plot and as long as they learn from it on the long run, there's no need to be upset.
Moreover, this episode actually had both, Marinette and Adrien, learn valuable lessons that weren't forced and actually mattered in regards to their lovesick team dynamic. It showed how putting someone on a pedestal (and making selfish decisions based on that) can have severe negative consequences! You can't always put your personal feelings before anything else.
Adrien completely dropped Chat Noir in order to spend some time with Ladybug as Aspik and try to woo her in another persona. Marinette decided not to entrust Luka with the Miraculous OR wait for Chat Noir just to spend some alone time with Aspik. Both of them acted very selfish (out of love) which had a negative impact on their battle. This ALSO shows that they need to try to rely on responsibility and rationality more often in order to succeed.
Next, I also liked how Alya respected the fact that Luka and Adrien have to make choices as well and it's not all up to the girls to decide on how the Love-icosahedron resolves. It's a good addition that I feel was lacking in the show before.
I am a bit tired of love rivalry so it's good to see Luka being open about his feelings and also respecting Mari's impulsiveness when it comes to Adrien. It's tough feeling like the second choice but I like that he gives her time and room to sort out all the feelings that she has.
Overall, I think it was a very nice episodes that showed some negative consequences of an early reveal! Adrien and Mari are not yet ready to dive into a crazy double life romance, not as long as they do not stop seeing each other as perfect, flawless and unreachable and start to seperate personal gain from responsibility and reason.
A little bittersweet, but totally necessary lesson.
