Gabriel does not like whats changing
The more we kept getting references to feathers and rings being close to Adrien and those in his family, who knew of the peacock miraculous, the more it became obvious that he was a sentimonster brought to life with the help of the peacock miraculous.
(Moments from "Miraculer" and "Gorizilla" subtly showing two rings and feathers being constantly close to the Agreste family and Nathalie)
And per the power of the peacock miraculous, Adrien's amok was attached to something, specifically two rings, the very ones his parents wore, a terrifying thing to learn because it meant that anyone who was in possession of Gabriel and Emelie's rings, could gain full control of Adrien and make him say and do whatever it is they wanted, which is what Gabriel has been doing a lot, each time worse than the last as he becomes more and more willing to ruin the happiness his son has built on his own.
(In "Adoration, Gabriel attempted to stop a moment that would've solidified Adrien and Marinette's relationship even further, by using one of the rings in his possession to take control of Adrien and stop him from kissing Marinette, forcing him to tell Marinette to leave. )
We don't know for how long Gabriel has been controlling Adrien throughout his life, but it doesn't seem like it was always this way, at least not when Adrien upheld his title as the "perfect son" to the Agreste family, but when he did, he would almost always start his command with the same words, "Adrien, I am your father...". Gabriel had his little moments in the past where he showed just how much he cherished his son, how worried he was over Adrien's safety if he was ever too close to danger, but the longer he let his obsession over defeating the heroes consume him, the more he lost sight of his moral boundaries, seeing no wrong in controlling Adrien through the ring during times he believed Adrien was showing defiance or was just plain not being the seemingly perfect well mannered son who took his parents word.
("Megaleech" was one of many times when Gabriel had been shown clearly reaching for his ring to take control of Adrien. )
(In "Protection," Gabriel aimed to end the relationship between Marinette and Adrien, at first by trying to convince Adrien he shouldn't settle for dating Marinette, believing his own son deserved to be with someone who was considered to be as perfect as he was, like Kagami. When Adrien rejected Gabriel's advice to break up with Marinette, Gabriel used the ring to command Adrien to stop seeing Marinette, an order that was later removed, thanks to Nathalie, who was in possession of Emelie's ring.)
Unlike in previous seasons, Gabriel is shown to be more willing to use his ring to take control of Adrien during the most important moments of his life, because unlike before, too many things were changing.
Gabriel has always had this picture perfect image in his mind over what his family will be like once Emelie was brought back, and it for one would be exactly as he remembered and expected it to be. But now, everything Gabriel was hoping for his family and their future, is all gradually crashing down, and while he for one wants to believe it is the fault of Ladybug for preventing him from obtaining the miraculous that will restore his family, he also wants to believe it is the "bad influence" of Marinette, and others whom he views as imperfect, that's corrupting Adrien and ruining the perfect future that was made for him, but its not. Things are changing, because the people who are the closest to him are changing. Adrien is changing.
The fact of the matter is, the Agreste family could never go back to the way Gabriel remembered. Emelie had been gone for more than a year now, and while he still clings to the past, Adrien has tried the best he can to move on with his life, by learning to live it.
Adrien has made efforts to learn to live his life by gaining new experiences, meeting new people, building new friendships, forming his own independence by developing his own views and opinions, and has made his share of mistakes while simultaneously learning from them.
Adrien will always keep his mother's memory in his heart just like Gabriel said he should back in "Felix", but now that Gabriel is watching Adrien step farther and farther away from the son he remembers spent his days in the mansion, close to him and Emelie, it upsets him.
Gabriel has said before in "Passion" that everything he is doing is for Adrien's happiness, but his idea of what Adrien's happiness should be, does not align with what is making Adrien happy now. Adrien was most certainly not meant to find happiness without his mother in his life, he wasn't supposed to question his fathers judgment over what was truly right and wrong, and he was definitely not meant to find true love in a baker girl like Marinette. Gabriel has talked to Adrien about everything in his life that is falling a stray from the path that he believed was best for him, or rather, set for him, but for the majority of those times, Adrien chose to politely disagree with his father and stood up for what he wanted in life.
Adrien didn't want to start a relationship with Kagami again out of his fathers insistence, because they both realized on their own that they were not meant to be. Adrien didn't want to cast Marinette aside because having her in his life gave him that sense of love and happiness he never thought he could have. Marinette wasn't Gabriel's idea of perfect, but Adrien knew she was perfect for him. Gabriel and Adrien's relationship has always been a distant one, and although it was obvious to everyone else that their relationship was strained, Gabriel remained blind to the unhappiness Adrien was constantly facing over his lack of understanding and attention.
In season 5, after Gabriel realized he was dying from the power of Cat Noir's cataclysm, for a few brief moments, he became the understanding father Adrien always hoped for, and even though he never intended it, it was his willingness to allow Adrien the freedom to experience time away from the mansion, with friends, that gave him the chance to properly spend time with Marinette and start a relationship with her.
Gabriel had an agreement with Tomoe to wed Adrien to Kagami, and he made a promise to Emelie that he would bring her back and restore their family, restore their happiness, but that can’t happen if Adrien is making decisions that go against it all. Rather than accept that his son was living his own life, away from the one he wants to think is best for Adrien, he instead found it easier to use the ring that Adrien was bound to, and order him to do as his father told him.
Gabriel has had the advantage of taking control of Adrien at any given point in time, but the one time Gabriel realized he couldn't, was back in "Risk," when Felix took Adrien's place without him knowing. Felix, disguised as Adrien, talked back for Adrien about not wanting to go on the modeling trip, a trip that would last months. Gabriel had angrily disapproved of Adrien's(Felix) defiance and did not hesitate to reach for the ring that would allow him to put a stop to it, but for the first time in likely his entire life, Gabriel had to face Adrien without that sense of control over him conveniently within reach, and it must have been terrifying, because what he saw in Adrien's(Felix) eyes, was something he never thought he would have to actually experience facing alone, but is now forced to face regardless of possessing a means to control him, and that something, was Adrien's free will.














