Since some of yall stay pissing me off, the only reason that a Chloe redemption is even a conversation is because back in between s1 and s2, they released promo images of her as the bee miraculous holder, so naturally we assumed that if she was going to become a part of the hero team, then she was going to get a redemption. And fandom ran wild with that. An assumption. Based off an image. Meanwhile, the creator never cared for her and the only reason they made her a superhero in s2 was because the producer liked her and wanted to sell dolls. And after a lot of in fighting, the writers were eventually allowed to do what they originally wanted and leave her as the mean schoolyard bully. But because her standom are so loud and persistent and whiny, they eventually made her leave, probably hoping yall would shut the hell up, but you don't.
Thomas was very upfront even in s2 days that her redemption was not guaranteed, that was just an assumption the fandom made. And admittedly, some of the s2 episodes did make it seem like she had potential, but personally, her true colors were shown the moment she got a Miraculous. She caused a problem just so that she could be praised for fixing it (never seen anyone in power do that before *cough*), she immediately announced her identity to the world because she only wanted to be a superhero for the attention and glory, not because she had any interest in doing good. And the moment that Ladybug clocked that and decided that her having a Miraculous was a liability and refused to give it back to her (aka the moment she didn't get her way), Chloe switched up real fast and had a meltdown. Because again, she had no interest in actually doing the right thing and putting in the work to be better. She just wanted to be praised and adored. The question at hand was always will she or won't she become better? And the answer for the last 3 seasons is that she won't. She likes having power. She likes exerting that power over other people.
"bUt sHe wAs aBuSe-" Even if you truly believe that, it's an explanation, not an excuse, and it doesn't erase all of the harm she caused. She still likes hurting people. That is the core of who she is. I don't get why that is hard to comprehend. Having the spoiled rich white girl stay spoiled and rich is more realistic than her having some epiphany and seeing the error of her ways magically and everyone she ever abused just forgiving her.
"bUt tHiNk oF tHe cHiLdReN" You don't see anything wrong with teaching children that if they're just nice to the kids who bully them that eventually the bullies will see the error of their ways and they can all hold hands into the sunset? That if children of color are just nice to the rich white racists who bully them that eventually the rich white racists will eventually see them as people? Or do you maybe think a better lesson is that people like that often don't change because they have no reason to because society props them up and they never face consequences, so distancing yourself from them because you aren't responsible for fixing them and protecting yourself and healing is more important? Because the truth of the matter is people like Chloe in real life grow up to be just like their parents. Rich, entitled, out of touch, and mean. Her characterization is realistic. And the show has plenty of other lessons showing that people deserve forgiveness when they want to change and try to make amends. Sabrina is evidence of that very concept. Chloe's problem is that she has no interest in making amends because she genuinely does not see her own actions as wrong. Or she feels that even if they are wrong, she doesn't care. Because why should she?
Again. Just because you personally like her and created a version of her in your mind that is worth redeeming does not mean that the Chloe in canon is redeemable. Also, just because canon!Chloe wasn't redeemed, doesn't mean you can't write fic or create art or whatever the fuck you want where she is redeemed. I've written many a Chloe redemption arc. I've also left her mean in some fics. I also reserve the right to write her however the fuck I want in the future be it as redeemable or not. But regardless of how I or anyone else choose to portray her in my personal fan works, the reality is that canon!Chloe was not and will not be redeemed. And I fully accept that. Her potentially being abused doesn't magically mean she is capable of being better. Plenty of abused people grow up to be abusers and continue perpetuating that cycle. It's not the argument you think it is, especially given what we have seen of her as of late. And it's not automatically bad writing for them to have arrived at the conclusion that she isn't redeemable after testing the waters. I don't defend every writing decision that this show makes (especially not from earlier seasons), but Chloe not being redeemed isn't an example of bad writing. You just don't personally like it and can't tell the difference.
Again, Chloe is not the unsung tragic hero of this story. SHE NEVER WAS. SHE NEVER WILL BE. Get over it.
