Throwing out all my theories before the final episodes
Obviously spoilers for episodes 5 and 6.
After recovering from the episode 6 ending, I finally took some time to collect my thoughts and kinda managed to string everything together into what is hopefully a plausible theory. Keep in mind that a lot of this is just interpretation on my part.
I DO NOT think that there is an actual traitor in the Z-Team.
Over the past few weeks, this is the one thing people have been set on, aside from "Invisigal or Blode Blazer" being the new "Shego or Kim". But I think that's a red herring by the writers and per se also Shroud. We are so focused on observing/questioning the characters around us, we fail to see the obvious. There is no traitor; because we are the traitor. And no I haven't lost my mind, lets go through the characters one by one.
1. Chase: I dont think I have to elaborate much on this one? He is probably dead.
I really hope he is btw as it makes this entire thing more impactful. Him dying raises the stakes and makes everything even more personal and I think removing that emotional impact by having Chase alive or even in a coma would be a mistake. The majority of Robert's arc is the theme of revenge. Kill Shroud and avenge his father or throw him into jail like a hero would. The thing is, we as the players dont have any perticular strong feelings about Robert's father, since we dont have that much information on him (outside of the comics but not everyone bought those). Tbh from what we heard, he sounds like a neglectful parent and quite shitty dad. But with Chase that's different. We spend quite a lot of time with him and he is a very likeable and funny character. His death shifts the scale on how to deal with Shroud when the time comes.
2. Royd: A very common suspect but he risked his life and got quite hurt while trying to save Robert at the beginning of episode 6. Plus his emotions about "failing" Robert seem genuine. Also if he was working with Shroud, why would he help Robert rebuild the suit, Shroud was so focused on destroying? It just doesn't make sense imo.
3. Phenomamen: That guy barely knows his own name if he is actually a spy he is not the worst but the best actor in the universe.
4. Golem: Pretty much the same? I just dont see it.
5. Waterboy: I know people say that he is too innocent and that him being the real villain has become kind of a running gag after his crimes were revealed but while I agree that you can fake being insecure and having a stutter, him slipping all over the place seems too excessive. Also the fact that we haven't really seen him again since having to choose who to recruit doesn't really fit either. If he was a spy he would want to stick close to the Z-Team. His presence is too optional.
6. Malevola: Again she just doesnt have a motive or anything. I also wanna point out that she is the second of only two Z-Team members that has over 100 points on the scoreboard which makes me think that she genuienly cares about doing good.
7. Punch Up: The same again. No motive, he has the third best score (97) on the Z-Team, etc. It's hard to judge him because we dont know anything about him.
8. Prism: She want to be a star. Teaming up with a supervillain isnt exactly good press. A lot of people thought she was the spy cause she filmed the argument between Visi and Chase in episode 6. But she films then from the siide and she doesnt move. The angle doesnt match, she cant even see the map on the wall, especially since she also zoomed in on them.
9. Flambae: While he would have had motive, he seemed actually surprised that Robert is MM. He also wasnt present for nearly all of episode 6 and even if you don't reveal your identity he doesnt show up to the aprty until Visi leaves. Plus he has had the highest score and seems proud of being a hero as shown in the bar in episode 1.
10. Coupè and Sonar: Honestly if there is a spy after all i think its one of them. Specifically the one you keep on the team. Their situation is different then the one from Phenomamen and Waterboy. No way Phenomamen is a spy, but Sonar and Coupè are a lot more interchangeable. This is especially noticeable in episode 6 at the beginning of the fight between Visi and Chase. Depending on who you didnt cut, Coupè and Sonar are both in the same location, doing the same thing. Both are on the balcony with their phone out. Coupé is texting, Sonar is on a call. I would also say that they have some of the best "skills" for being a spy. Coupè is an assassin, while Sonar is highly interlligent. They also both have a motive: Coupè is a gambler and Sonar has some crypto stuff going on. Both of those things can cost you everything if the dice dont fall in your favor. It would also fit the old "the choice is an illusion" formula. No matter who you cut, you still keep the traitor on your team.
11. Blonde Blazer: Oh boy. Can of worms numero uno. Her being evil is probably the most common theory right now. But I have to major problems with that. For one, after the press conference, Robert was done. He was in a depressed state with seemingly no intention or way to repair the suit. He said it himself he was broke at this point. So why would Blonde Blazer give him the opportunity to do just that? Why would Shroud? Nevermind the fact that she seemed to have been a hero for a while before taking a desk job. Second off, yes, Mandy and Shroud look familiar. But not only is brown the second most common hair colour just like blue is the second most common eye colour, why in the ever living fuck would she reveal her real looks to Robert if she was Shroud's daughter? Robert knows who Shroud is. He knows what he looks like. Also Robert spend a lot of time around the Brave Brigade. I feel like he would have known if Shroud had a daughter, as Shroud and Roberts dad were said to be friends before Shroud became a villain.
Alright. Lets talk about Visi. I dont think she works for Shroud. But I am 100% certain (even if another member should be a traitor) that she workED for him. Past tense. The game hasnt been subtle in telling us, that Invisigal is the deuteragonist. She is certainly the most developed character alongside Robert. We also know a lot about her past, although that was relayed to us in a lot more subtle way and aminly through dialogue, especially in episodes five and six. But lets start at the beginning.
Visi is the only core Z-Team member who turned herself in. And as Robert remarks, that's suspicious asf.
In episode 2, we get the following dialogue between Visi and Robert.
Robert:" If you had people trying to kill you for the past 15 years, you would be jumpy too."
Invisigal snorts, and responds: "What makes you think my life has been any different? You think growing up surrounded by a buncha shitback villains I didnt need to watch my back?"
=> We learn that she grew up alone and in an environment that wasnt save. Not the biggest surprise but it lays out some groundwork we can build on more later.
Robert also says: "I cant just disappear, okay? I actually have to face my problems."
Invisigal just responds with "What the fuck?!", but tone and expression hint at her feeling insulted, which lines up with something Chase says during their fight later, so I will come back to that.
Moving on to the big one, episode 3, and the playground-convo.
She is obviously feeling defeated ever since Robert told her that she was the one most likely to get cut in the conference room. During the second shift, you cant send her on calls, and the you find her smoking in a playground. And she says:
"There you go. One more strike against me. You've got to get rid of somebody, right? I'm making it easy for you."
Robert then points out that she is not making it easy but quitting.
And yes. She is. Because quitting is easier than facing the shame and ridicule of failure and getting kicked out.
Visi proceeds: "You dont get it. Some people are born to be hereos. I'm not one of them. I tried it just wasnt meant to be. [...] They have hero powers. Strong, out there for all to see, flying through the sky. Nothing to hide. I have fuckin villain powers. I can turn invisible and skulk in the shadows. My powers let me steal shit and watch famous people fuck. Being a villain is my fate."
And this is so important because it shows that Visi actually cares. Behind her facade she cares a lot. She wants to do good, but hides all of this behind her "I dont care"-attitude, insults, and sex jokes. Her intentions are good, but she is used to being alone, used to constantly having to watch her back. Used to fucking things up. And resigning herself to her fate as a villain is the easy way out. Easier than admitting that she needs help. She is not used to suceeding at the hero thing. We all saw how awkward she was when she brought in Lightningstruck.
And then after the leaderboard update, you can see how proud she is off herself. That she cares a lot more than she lets on. And the second Robert and Chase notice she dips in embaressment.
Only to approach them anyways. She falls back into her old mannerisms, bickering with Chase. And then she thanks Robert. Its quiet. Its small. But its genuine. Because he not only cared enough to not just let her quit, but he also saw that she herself cared about doing good. He saw her, not her front.
Okay the next point is something I havent actually seen anyone mention before, but criminals related to the Red Ring keep recognizing Visi. And not just "hey I have seen you before" kind of way, but one that seems way more familiar.
Lightningstruck called her Invisibitch during both encounters, which isnt a lot on its own but this is were the bar scene from episode 5 comes into play. Specifically this scene:
Robert thinks Armstrong is adressing him. And we are supposed to think so too. But Armstrong is talking to Visi. His eyes are focused on her. He walks around, but keeps talking. And Visi knows he is talking to her. She isnt happy, her expression moves into a snarl.
I think "they" refers to the Red Ring.
Robert, still thinking Armstrong is talking to him, speaks up, but Armstrong says that no one is talking to him and throws him aside.
Visi's next line then confirms her familarity with Armstrong.
"I see they finally gave you some arms that can reach your dick."
Armstrong keeps going: "There's some people that wanna talk to you Invisibitch."
Again I think "some people" refers to the Red Ring.
The Red Ring, which all the other villains in the bar seem to be a part off. There were all chill with the other Z-Team members until the fight broke out. The Z-Team only got involved after they saw part of their group being attacked.
At the mexican food place, Golem says to Robert "give us a heads up next time you want to start a fight." Which makes me think that they didnt see how it started or why. Because Robert doesnt start the fight. No matter what you say to Armstrong, he still picks Robert up and throws him around. Armstrong starts the fight. Because he recognized Visi.
It happens again on the ship. The second she gets recognized, the attention diverts to her. Goons who were breaking open containers are now focused on breaking her neck.
While Robert is hacking the door, Visi says: "Take your time. Just catching up with some old friends." While I do think this was figure of speech, I also think it was kinda literal. They were never actual friends, but they are familiar with eachother to some degree.
Then there is her confrontation with Shroud. Or specifically how he handled her. The gas grenade felt oddly personal and specific. Her asthma was already acting up due to the constant moving and fighting. That grenade downed her instantly. Shroud could have finished her off then and there. Visi had no way to defend herself. But, instead, he watches her crawl towards her lifeline: her inhaler. He walks slowly alongside her and just as she was about to reach it he kicks it to the other side of the room, leaving her to slowly suffocate as her airways close up.
Thats a slow and cruel way to die.
And once again the way he toyed with her felt oddly personal.
i dont think Shroud is not this sadistic psychopath Robert makes him out to be. Cold hearted and ruthless, yes, but not outright sadistic. He only is when its personal. He wasnt sadistic to the two goons, trying to break through the Captain's Quarters door. He killed them so quick and quietly Visi didnt even notice it until she saw the bodies. Shroud also wasnt sadistic during the fight of episode 1. He was just watching. The taunting came from Toxic. In fact, I dont think Shroud even wanted to kill Robert. Robert says it himself during the press conference: Shroud wanted the Astral Pulse, and Mecha Man gone. Robert didnt matter to him. He gave Robert the opportunity to walk away as well, although he was also probably well aware that Robert wouldnt.
The only other instance of actual sadism we have seen was when Shroud killed Robert's father. And that, once again was very personal. And somehow related to the Astral Pulse.
But why would it be personal with Visi? I think, Invisigal used to work for Shroud and was part of the Red Ring, hence why all those villains associated with it seem to recognize her, but not the other Z-Team members. Her asthma also actually plays into this. These red augmentations aren't just a fashions choice, Toxic reveals in episode 1, that they are an enhancement. Visi could have had an interest in those in order to counter the effects of her asthma. Asthma is an overactive immune response in the airways, leading to swelling and mucus production. Shroud is a genius so I wouldnt say its far fetched for him to be able to counter this overreaction with the augmentations.
But we havent seen any augmentations on her body and we saw a lot of her body so that cant be, right? Yes we saw a lot of her body. But that was a dream. In her dream, Robert was with her. It was perfect. The augmentations wouldnt have fit into that perfect fantasy. So her subconsciousness didnt include them.
A common theory is, that Visi attached the bomb to the Mecha Man suit in episode 1. To be honest: I am not 100% sure, but I also dont think that this is a necessary part for this theory to work. We know robert was in a coma for months. Anything could have happened during that time. Visi did seem unfamiliar with the Astral Pulse, but on the other had if she just attached the bomb she also wouldn't have really seen it.
Either way, I think Visi was part of the Red Ring, but then something happened that crossed a line for her. Could have been the incident with robert, could have been something else. Personally i think, that someone was killed or nearly killed. Because Visi doesnt strike me as a killer. She seemed genuinely distraught after stumbling upon the bodies in front of the door.
I think, that whatever happened, ignited this guilt inside of her, that made her turn herself in and want to become a hero.
Visi has a very visable black eye in her mugshot. I think they tried to stopp her from turning herself in, as she is a potential leak. Its personal for Shroud, because Visi betrayed him/the Red Ring and got away with it. Visi's entire deal when turning herself in was that no one asked questions. Most likely because she is afraid, maybe telling herself, that as long as she keeps her mouth shut, they wont come after her.
During her conversation with Robert in the playground in episode 3, she says that other hereos "have nothing to hide". This feels like an indication, that she herself is actually hiding something. And i think, that Chase knew or had a hunch.
Chase has always been focused on Visi. His dislike for her is exceptionally strong, even when she does end up doing something right. He is quick to blame her, not thinking that she can change.
In episode 6, he says: "Your are no fucking hero! She (BB) named you Invisigal! You named yourself Invisibitch and you had it fuckin right! You wanna get people hurt?! Get people fuckin killed?! Then you need to go back to the team where you belong! She thinks she is like you (Robert) but she is not. Robert doesnt need to keep going ou there with no powers putting his life on the line to make up for assholes like you. He doesnt need to be Mecha Man to be a hero."
Okay lets stop here for a second. "Go back to the team where you belong": Chase might talk about villains as a whole here, but Visi could still interpret it as going back to the Red Ring. Also "to make up for assholes like you" makes me further think that Visi feels guilty about something.
But its Chase's next line, that really got to me: "You are playing them, you are playing yourself. You think you are invisible, but I fucking see you."
And Visi looks shocked and taken aback by this. She is hiding something, and even tho Chase might not know what it is exactly, he lets her know that he knows something is up wit her.
Visi response, in a very broken and hurt tone. Her voice cracks slightly due to the emotion in it:" You dont know anything about me" , once again hinting at some sort of secret.
Chase the finishes by saying:" I know you are a liar. A criminal. I know you are fucking dangerous, what else do I need to know?"
Skipping forward to the conversation on the balcony, I once again fin Chase's reactions quite interesting. As Robert tells him about the playground-convo, specifically the part where he quotes how Visi thinks that her powers meant she would always end up as a villain. Chase looks.... sad.
And in episode 6? Shroud left Visi to suffer because he was sure that she wouldnt survive. Adn fact is, she wouldnt have without Chase. And even if Shroud knew about Chase's true identity, there is no way he predicted him to give his life for someone like Invisigal, someone Chase so openely hated.
Chase eventually admits, that he might not have considered some things. He slowly realizes that he doesnt have the full picture. That Visi does care. Especially about Robert. That she does fuck up but wants to do the right thing. Even if that means she might get hurt or even die in the process. And thats what ends up making him save her at the cost of his own life. This is Chase's apology. For judging her wrong.
But why did Visi need saving in the first place? How was Shroud already there, if I am so set on there not being an actual mole on the Z-Team? One thing people seem to be overlooking is that Shroud is one smart motherfucker. He was able to perfectly predict nearly all of Roberts move during the first fight. He is also an expert on all things technical.
During episode 5, there is a blackout, that also hits SDN. The systems are down for a few seconds until they start the backup generator. I think that time was used to insert something into the secure network. Because then in episode 6, Galen asks Robert to stop a hacker who is "looking through his notes and has access to the secure network". The mission objective says to "stop and find the hacker". But we dont do that. We play a hacking minigame, stopping the hack, but we never learn the identity. There are also not any follow up calls related to the hack. I think Shroud was the hacker. The hack, that Galen notices and Robert stops serves as a distraction to a second hack happening at the same time. A second hack that went by unnoticed and succeded, granting Shroud access to the SDN network. And what was present the entire time in Robert's apartment while things were being discussed? Robert's work PC. Which we know has a build in microphone as Robert uses it later to talk to Visi.
But, Shroud had no way of predicting that they would bring the PC to Robert's apartment and start looking for the pulse, right? Correct. But fact is, that doesnt matter. Because Shroud had access to the whole network. And sooner or later soemthing would have been communicated over that network. Its how the entire team communicates. Shroud just needed the location, the rest he could do himself. The second he knew, he mobalized his goons.
But Shroud isnt perfect. He has a genius level intellect but he made the same mistake twice: He excludes options in his predictions that are too unrational.
In episode 1, I genuinely i think, that Shroud didnt expect Robert to actually go through with his escape attempt. The entire setup was too perfect, when we keep in mind, that Shroud wanted the Astral pulse. Blowing the suit up midair just reduces his chances of succesfully retrieving it. Which is exactly what happened. The suit was already heavily damaged before the explosion. There were literal holes in it. i think that the impact from the explosion, knocked the Astral Pulse loose, causing it to fall out of the suit mid air. It was then found by a third party, completly unrelated to the whole thing. Like Visi says in episode 6, the pulse changed hands a lot, caunting four times since they started tracking it. But as already stated, Robert was in a coma for months. it could have changed hands a lot more.
Shroud wanted to blow a hole into the suit so he could get the pulse. Robert's escape was completly nuts.
Bonus:
I think Visi actually played Shroud. When she opens the case with the Astral Pulse inside, it gives off a strong, blue, glow.
But later during the short frame were she closes the case again, its completly dark.
Visi is a thief. She has been stealing all her life. She knows how to protect her loot. At this point, she hasnt noticed that the fighting has stopped yet. As far as she knows she needs to get through this active warzone again. And while she can turn invisible, the case wouldnt. I think Visi pocketed the Astral Pulse and was planning to use the case as a decoy. And it worked. Shroud took the case.
Plus this is also the only way I can see them make Robert Mecha Man again before the final.
Thanks for comming to my TED talk.
Edit: Spoilers for the final!
Holy shit i actually got so much of the Visi shit right lmao.
On the one hand I'm glad they remembered Alix' existence. On the other hand I'm absolutely terrified of Marinette taking over as interim Keeper of Time and yeah Alix is never going to take a day off again, isn't she?
Cass is actually the only bat who doesn't vanish on Gordon while his back is turned. She vanishes on him while he's looking directly at her and he finds this much more alarming.
Since apparently some people mistook this little joke as a full-fledged review, here we go:
Spoilers ahead!
There were actually a lot of things I liked about the special. It helped fill some gaps and opened up a few new story points. But what I enjoyed the most was that it didn't just make everything okay.
Because it isn't.
Adrien is an emotional mess, Marinette's mental state is a trainwreck, Nathalie, Kagami, Fèlix, Alix, and the Kwamis are kinda forced to roll with her choices, Tomoe (and Nathalie) get away scotfree and Cerise is worse than Monarch.
And especially children's shows tend to ignore trauma stuff like that but Miraculous isn't just like they weren't back in season 4 and that makes me really happy. It's okay to not be okay, is a lesson I am glad is taught to a younger audience.
Let's start with Adrien before we head into the clusterfuck that is Marinette's mental state. His reaction as both himself and Chat Noir was very well written. Sad, but also angry at Ladybug and himself. That's what grief looks like. His outburst towards Ladybug was so realistic because she ALWAYS fixed everything. So why wasn't everything fixed this time? Why did he have to lose not only his mother but also his father? And most importantly: If he had been there, could he have saved Gabriel? (No he would have destroyed the universe but that's only something we and Alix know and Marinette kinda semi-knows)
But he is not just Adrien. He is also Chat Noir. And Chat Noir has no personal relation to Gabriel Agreste. Chat Noir has no reason to be upset with Ladybug. But Chat Noir has reason to question what Ladybug fucking meant when she said: "I want to tell you everything that has happened but I can't.", admitting that her public statement at least wasn't the entire truth. And that was kind of a weird scene to me. Because Ladybug telling Chat Noir either the entire truth or nothing at all would both make sense (the first option more than the second but whatever). What doesn't make sense is her kinda teasing that she held something back. Especially since Chat Noir feeling left out has caused friction between them in the past. I mean I guess that was more or less meant as some kind of teasing/foreshadowing to us but it doesn't make much sense if you view the scene in-universe-wise. But aside from the "secret-identity-plot-armor", that scene was perfect. Because although Monarch was beaten, neither of them feels like they have won. This was not the ending they had expected and they are allowed to grieve that too.
And Marinette? She had to go through it. Again. It's actually kind of ironic how both she and Adrien are going through the same cycle of emotions but for different reasons. Sadness, anger, guilt, and shame. Adrien is grieving his father, is angry at himself and Ladybug, and feels guilt and shame for not being there to save his father. Marinette feels sad for Adrien (+ she never actually wanted Monarch to die) and angry, guilty, and ashamed for not being able to fix everything this time.
Marinette's mental is more or less back to the beginning of season 4. A secret and burden that threatens to crush her under their weight. But it's even worse this time. Because lying to the whole world is one thing. But lying to the person she loves the most? Every day? That's devastating. And as the Alixes said: "Actions have consequences."
But enough of the emotional shit, for now, let's talk plot.
1. Why did Marinette lie to Alya and Su-Han?
This focuses more on the season 5 final when Marinette said that she had searched for the butterfly miraculous but couldn't find it. But Marinette already knew that there was a Monarch 2.0 running around. Her initial "Gabriel died a hero"- lie wouldn't have been affected if she had told them about her little time-travel adventure. Marinette is putting together her team, the least she can do is tell them that the new threat is already there. Once again, this is probably teasing/foreshadowing to us viewers but it doesn't make much sense if you view the scene in-universe-wise.
2. What is Cerise's goal?
Gabriel's goal was to save the love of his life, but what is Cerise's?
The thing is, we don't know yet, we can however make a few assumptions.
We know she hates both Marinette and Ladybug. And she doesn't have much love for Chat Noir or the other heroes either. Also since she is a selfish bitch I think it's safe to say that her wish is for her personal gain alone. We also know her wish has a BIG impact on reality, rewriting it so massively that the entire current timeline is no longer true. This might indicate that she wants to remove Marinette and or the heroes from existence.
Of course, this is just a theory but given everything we know about her time as Lila, removing Marinette would solve nearly all her problems. She could keep lying without consequences, she could be with Adrien, etc.
And I think that's what makes her so much more dangerous than Monarch. Because as evil as he was Gabriel just wanted to save his wife. He never had a personal problem with Ladybug and Chat Noir or their civilian personas. He was frustrated with their interferences, yes, but I wouldn't say he ever outright hated them.
But for Cerise it is personal. Marinette and Ladybug made her life difficult. They exposed her lies and ruined what could have been an easy and perfect life. She is also more cunning than Gabriel, thinking of a bigger picture instead of just akumatizing person after person and hoping to get lucky eventually.
We also can't forget that she is one of the few people who knows that Gabriel was Monarch. Something that can certainly be used to drive a wedge between Ladybug and Chat Noir.
Which is not just a bad thing for the obvious reasons. but we can't forget about the three major events that led to Chat Blanc:
Adrien figures out that Marinette is Ladybug
Adrien finds out about his mother and her status
Adrien learns that his father is Monarch
And given what the Alixes said about Marinette's choices having consequences, I am 100% certain that Chat Blanc will play some sort of role in the future. Maybe not season 6 per se but at some point for sure.
3. No consequences for Tomoe or Nathalie
That's actually the part that kinda bothers me. Tomoe is a bitch, but whatever Ladybug can't expose her without exposing her own lie. Shitty situation. Not to mention how Kagami plays into all that.
But Nathalie? Even if she had a change of heart in the end, this woman committed terrorism. She is just as much at fault as Gabriel himself. She was never forced to do anything. And now she gets a pass because Adrien is an orphan and needs a mother figure. Okay, I guess? I just wish that all of her actions aren't just forgotten by Marinette and that Nathalie still has to work to earn forgiveness. If you are going to let her get away with everything at least bother to give her an actual redemption arc (RIP Chlóe).
4. Time travel bullshit aka what my original post was kinda about
Now finally let's talk about my girl Alix. I love her.
"Miraculous London Special only exists as an excuse to remove time travel from the plot again lmao rip Alix you are back to 0 screentime girl"
This is based on Marinette suggesting that Alix might have to stay in the Burrow again. "Might" because she did appear in the season 5 epilogue after the time skip. We know a few months have passed and it doesn't seem like Cerise has actually done anything yet since she attempted to figure out Ladybug's identity. So that inactivity might have allowed her to return for now.
But the main issue remains. The writers have introduced an overpowered concept. Which time travel just is and always will be. Krux and Acronix from Lego Ninjago used to say: "Control time, control everything!" And they were right. You do control everything. One small change can lead to major consequences.
The thing is, the writers have introduced more than one overpowered concept. Take the Rooster Miraculous for example. Sublimation can give you any power you can think of, as long as it doesn't interfere with the powers of another miraculous. Alright, then my power is, that if you are akumatized and look at me you get major diarrhea. Or if you are currently in possession of the Butterfly Miraculous you want to give it to Ladybug.
But the overpoweredness of the Rooster was never acknowledged in the show.
The overpoweredness of the Bunny, however, was. And that's a problem.
Back in the early 2000s, when Justice League the Animated Series aired, there was a very common theme across the majority of episodes: They had to come up with a reason why Superman couldn't just fly in and destroy whatever threat they were currently dealing with. Either he was away in space, or there was Kryptonite involved, or he couldn't act without revealing his identity, etc.
And Miraculous has the same problem. They need to come up with an active reason to why Bunnyx can't just fix everything. And the easiest (and cheapest) way to do that is to just not have her present at all.
This will be a little shorter since I'm kinda busy but I still have to share my thoughts even if I'm gonna cut back on the analysis (might do one later this week tho) a bit.
Jade helping Kit walk? Gay. Jade taking care of injured Kit? Gay. Gay sparring? Very Gay. The look before Kit threw herself and Elora down into potential death? The Gayest.
THEY KISSED
the whole thing with Kit having a throwing star stuck in her arm and Jade baiting her with a kiss only to slap her when pulling it out was just hilarious.
Kit has her confidence back. Yaay.
Also her will to live is a fucking rollercoaster. Before it was up, then after the whole Madmartigan thing it was gone, she kinda got it back again until they reached the waterfall and there she was just like: fuck it either I die or I make it.
That's probably not a healthy way of living but I support you, you go girl!
Kit and Elora finally laid all their differences aside. Kit admitting that she was jealous of Elora showed how far she has come since the beginning. It was already kinda clear to me that Kit has no actual interest in becoming queen, but hearing her say it was good
The whole scene at the waterfall was just amazing. Also if Jade does not jump after her gf I'm gonna be mad.
I know I've said this many many times by now, but this episode once more showed how deeply hurt Kit actually is by the actions of her parents, specifically by Madmartigan's in this case.
Kit loves her dad. She truly does, even to the point, where in the heat of the moment, she is willing to choose him over her brother.
So knowing that he once more chose Elora over her is tearing her apart. It's making her wonder if Mads even cares about his own daughter, which I'm sure he does. Sending Kit away, not being able to see her again after so many years, must have broken his heart even if he didn't let it show in his voice.
But for Kit? For Kit, it looked like it had been easy.
She is understandably angry. But not at Madmartigan. No, she can't be mad at him because he is her dad and she loves him so goddamn much.
She is angry at herself. Kit said, that if she saved her father she might finally understand why he keeps choosing Elora instead of her. To me, that sounds a lot like she is partly blaming herself. Like she is trying to find out what she did wrong to make him leave.
But the thing is: You can be angry at yourself all you want, but you don't really have a way of letting it all out. You just keep bottling it up until you eventually explode.
So Kit is redirecting all that anger in her toward the only other option she has: Elora.
Because blaming Elora is easy. It's easy to make her the villain of this story.
And Elora knows that. From her reaction, when Kit started yelling at her, I'm also guessing that she knows that Kit doesn't actually hate her. But she's letting Kit blame her because Kit needs someone to blame.
Hearing Madmartigan's voice fucking broke Kit.
And I'm bowing for Ruby Cruz because the performance she delivered in this episode was absolutely incredible. The raw emotion in her voice as she was being dragged out was heartbreaking.
Kit and Jade
This two did not kiss and I can't believe I have to wait another week.
I'm hoping for some whump/CPR as compensation.
The hug was sweet tho. As was the whole: I'm not letting you leave thing and oh fuck my gf is drowning I need to save her
I'm a sucker for angst and a certified whumper pls let me be
Theories
I'm pretty sure Kit will be the one wearing the cuirass. Boorman explained that it was a shield. And Kit just fell into what is apparently a liquid of pure evil. So maybe the cuirass can work in more than one way, not only shielding from outside evil, but also the evil within?
Anyway, if Tanthamore doesn't make out in the next ep I'm fucking rioting who's with me?
you suggested 842 prompts for febuwhump 2023 (aka 4buwhump) and i shortlisted the best 100. so now is the time to vote! choose your top 28 and the highest voted will make up the febuwhump prompt list for 2023! the next 10 will make up the alternates list!
the voting will be open from december 16 - 23, and the prompts will be announced the week after.
this is your last chance to get involved with the creation of the 2023 febuwhump!
Just a short reminder that febuwhump is just around the corner and that you can still vote for your favorite prompts.
A lot of those work greatly in the world setting of Willow and since I'm planning to write a few pieces myself this year, there might be others in this fandom interested as well.
I noticed quite a few people dislike Kit for the way she is acting, which I can understand let's face it she is a little shit. But that's exactly what I love about her.
One of the biggest problems in fiction is that characters tend to be too perfect. Especially queer ones. In so many instances, queer characters only have very few flaws that are easily overlooked or have none at all.
But not Kit. Kit's flaws are right there.
She is cocky, arrogant, confrontational, impulsive, hostile, stubborn, and so on.
But that's a good thing. Flaws are incredibly important for a character. Not only will nothing tell you more about a character and their past than their flaws, but a character without flaws is stuck in place. They can't develop because they don't have a reason to change.
Something Kit is starting to do, because of the events in episode 3 (I made a post about that too if you are interested)
She was still somewhat of a bitch to Elora, but they had a heart-to-heart and in the end, it was Kit, who gave Elora the confidence she needed to save Graydon. And I don't just mean Kit telling Elora about performing the growing seed spell successfully, but the way Kit made it clear she believed Elora could save Graydon.
If the one person, who was constantly hostile toward you, suddenly tells you that you can do something it has a huge effect. Because you can 100% trust that they actually believe in you.
Kit still has a long way to go. No one just changes overnight.
But if the writing team keeps up the good work and realistic portrayal they have shown so far, I'm sure that we are going to see a change in Kit's cocky behavior.
Here's a fact: No one is born cocky or arrogant. It's something that develops over time. For example through a history of being right or having frequent, competitive success.
Like sparing with your best friend and beating them basically all your life and being right when you say that you will keep beating them.
Just to make it clear, I'm not trying to blame Kit's flaws on Jade nor am I trying to defend Kit's actions.
Kit blaming Boorman for their situation was completely uncalled for as was the way she was acting toward everyone the whole time.
What I am going to defend, however, is her suggestion to kill Graydon. And before you yell at me through your screen, try to see the situation from Kit's point of view:
Her brother, who she had a fight with, has been kidnapped and could be tortured or dead any minute for all she knows. Every second they are not moving forward they are wasting time. Especially now that they have lost their horses.
If they can't magically heal Graydon, he will only slow them down until he eventually tries to kill them. Keep in mind that Willow had made no move to reveal that he might have a way to help Graydon until Elora explicitly asked him.
So for Kit, who had asked Willow directly if he could do the same thing he did earlier (again Willow didn't mention that there is something they could try to help Graydon), there were only two options. Either leave Graydon chained to the floor so he can suffer a lot of pain and turn into a monster that will try to hunt them down or grant him the quickest and most merciful death they could manage to give him.
Like Jade said later in the episode: Kit was right.
Kit was just the only one who had the guts to actually say what had to be done sooner or later.
And that's something no one can blame her for. In fact, speaking the truth no one wants to hear takes great courage and is something I will always respect. Even if I don't like what I'm hearing.
So I just saw the new Willow episode and I wanna share some thoughts about Kit's character and her relationship with Jade, Boorman, and Elora.
Spoilers ahead.
Episode three certainly was something. And while it had a great impact on a lot of characters, I want to focus on Kit a little bit (mainly because she's such a little shit and I love her for it).
This episode changed a lot of things for her. Kit can no longer deny that Dove, this unimportant kitchenmaid who just seemed to be her brother's latest plaything, is actually Elora Danan, the woman who is destined to save all of them. Kit saw the result of Elora's magic.
But what does that mean for her? What does it change? The answer is everything.
First it means that her mother has lied to her all her life. In episode one, Sorsha said:
"[...]Tomorrow Prince Graydon marries my daughter, Kit. At last unifying Tir Asleen and Galladoorn, [...] strengthening us against any threat we might face. [...] may they rule wisely and justly, and defend our realm till that day when the true empress Elora Danan returns"
When I first saw this scene, I must admit, I was a little pissed. Sorsha basically called her daughter a fucking stand-in.
But looking back now gives this scene even more weight. Because Elora was never gone. She was there, hidden in plain sight, the whole time. Sorsha was willing to marry her (very gay) daughter off to some guy she doesn't even know, obviously forcing Kit into a situation she felt very uncomfortable with, just to keep up her charade. Something she even admitted to Boorman later on.
That alliance through marriage is only necessary to unite the kingdoms to protect the realm until Elora returns. If Sorsha had decided to let Willow train Elora from the beginning on, the marriage most likely wouldn't have to exist since the realm would already be united under Elora.
I don't know if that's too far-fetched. If Kit still would have been married off to Graydon to secure an alliance. My point is, that Kit feels betrayed by Sorsha. She already did so because Sorsha tried to force her into a loveless marriage, but that betrayal just became a lot more impactful.
But her mother is not the only person she feels betrayed by. If Elora was with them all the time, it also means that Madmartigan didn't have to leave them to protect Elora. That tale, that explanation of his departure that Kit tried to make up for herself, has now completely fallen apart.
So far as Kit knows, her father left her and Airk to chase after some myth about magical armor. And that's where Boorman comes in. He was with her father. He knows what happened to at least a certain point.
The thing is, he is obviously not being completely truthful either. After episode three I honestly don't really trust him anymore. He acted very suspiciously when they reached the Slaughtered Lamb. Plus he lied to Kit about what he found in the well. So I keep asking myself, what is his goal. Boorman claims that Madmartigan found the Kymerian Cuirass, yet he never returned from his adventure.
I doubt Sorshad would have sent Boorman away with her daughter if she truly thought that he had something to do with Madmartigan's disappearance. But I'm sure that Boorman knows a lot more than he lets on and that he is following some sort of agenda on his own.
And that he is using Kit to get to it. He keeps feeding her breadcrumbs about her father and although she keeps asking, Boorman always deflects from Madmartigan's fate.
Of course, that's only theory and could be complete bullshit but at the same time, I find it too suspicious to just ignore.
And that leaves us with Jade in the end. Over the first three episodes, their relationship got pretty dented. At first, Kit felt betrayed by Jade because she was prepared to leave her when she needed her the most. Jade felt hurt by this as Kit wasn't happy for Jade following her dreams. All of that changed, however when Airk got taken. Kit clearly appreciated Jade coming with her and probably wasn't even that mad at her anymore (given the straddling and kissing and overall very gay behavior).
But then Elora came into the picture and better turned to worse again. They became hostile toward each other and more distant. Before Dove's true identity was revealed, there were comforting touches (like when Jade talked about her deceased parents) or soft smiles (like when Jade was watching Kit sleep). But once Willow said who Dove really was, that stopped. Jade believes in Willow and Elora, something that Kit clearly didn't. In Kit's eyes, they were just wasting valuable time that could determine Airk's fate. Airk, who she had a very big fight with. Kit is feeling a huge amount of guilt.
So their relationship strained over time, but the reveal that Jade let Kit beat her during their sparring sessions, that was a huge blow. You could literally see the hurt and betrayal in Kit's eyes. How she questioned everything. Has Jade been letting her win since the beginning? Has she ever actually beaten her or was it all just an act? How much did Jade hold back? Was their friendship just an act too? Was Jade only her friend because she was the princess? What else has Sorsha told Jade to do?
And now combine all that with the fact that Kit has feelings for Jade. That fucking hurts.
But Kit still cares. When Jade was forced to kill her mentor, Kit tried to comfort her, even if they were interrupted before she actually could.
How Kit handles the situation in the next episode is going to be very important. I love her, but girl needs to forget about her pride and swallow that ego of hers.
She saw that Dove truly is Elora Danan. And she saw that Willow was much more than she originally thought. And I believe that that will have a huge impact on not only how Kit interacts with those around her but also how she views this quest.
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