I am gonna be a music junkie for a moment and say that the instrumental towards the end of Strike Back sounds incomplete.
What do I mean by this?
In music scales, there is a “home” or complete note that your song should always go back to in order to have the song be “completed”, which is usually the “Do” in the Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do scale. For example, if your song is in C-major, your “home” note you should end your song on is C (or any chord where C is prominent). In a minor scale, it would be “La” (or in the A-minor analogy, it would be A or any chord where A is prominent). If it doesn’t end at the “home” note, then it means the song will feel “incomplete” and if a musician makes that choice, then it might mean that they want to convey suspense or something along those lines.
So what does that have to do with the final scene of the season finale?
Well, the finale did not end on a good note, with all of the Miraculouses in the hands of Gabriel. But, Chat Noir is still there and the people of Paris are cheering them on (though they only chant “Ladybug” like what about Chat?). I don’t know how to describe the final scene, but it seems…somewhat hopeful? They are determined to get the Miraculous back one by one, which sets the stage for season 5.
In other words, there is still more to the story. And the instrumental in the final scene ending on an incomplete note (to me, it sounds like E, which is a half step below F, or the “Ti” in F-major).
This is a sign that we have yet to see the final outcome and it is not over!
Though we all know that already so carry on with your day
Adrien finding Marinette funny is wholesome! We are getting clarifications as to where they stand.
Harry is hilarious and just has a joyful attitude. Can I be this man for just one day?
Marinette befriending Harry (the comedian) and both of them being excited about his final show was everything
Reason the final show was important? A) Adrien will be there thanks to Harry, and B) Gabriel is “considering” looking at Harry’s script for a different genre of film.
Of course, things don’t work out well
Maybe Harry’s comedy didn’t work on Adrien and Marinette was humiliated. Did they learn nothing from Puppeteer 2???
Adrien’s face when Marinette squirted water on his face, the betrayal from a misunderstanding (from why Adrien was laughing, thank you Nino for giving Mari the wrong idea!)
I agree with Chat Noir, Psycomedian’s costume is creepy.
Ladybug/Marinette and Tikki being angry because of Psycomedian is quite funny even though it shouldn’t be
No but seriously, Marinette and Tikki arguing with each other is just pure gold
Not Ladybug destroying the Lucky Charm for being too simple
Though, her anger on Psycomedian is rightfully directed. I also interpret it as her also being righteously angry at ShadowMoth
Harry really needs a new producer. #bobsucks
I’m glad that Marinette and Adrien were able to clarify their misunderstanding and at least Marinette knows that she is the only other person (besides Plagg and Emilie though its not explicitly stated) that can make him laugh
Overall, I hate the akuma’s costume because it gives me nightmares, but I like this episode. It reminds me of previous season shenanigans that I missed this season (no seriously things are quite tense).
I’m sorry that I haven’t been posting for quite some time. These thoughts posts can be time consuming, especially when I mention every single detail. As a college student with declining mental health, its not easy to be on top of these. However, I’ll work on keeping them nice and short whenever possible. Till next time!
I was gonna edit my long post (link below) full of all things episode nine: reaction, analysis, details, but I decided that there’s enough on there already so this gets its own post
Apparently the creators wanted people to pay attention to animation, and while DQ is DQ, what I found interesting was the juxtaposition between Marinette’s house and Adrien’s house, or rather Marinette’s daily life outside of school vs Adrien’s.
Room 33 is covered in loud art in all sorts of vibrant colors, and it has huge windows to let in the sun. Marinette’s room is all pink and homey. Both are covered in creative projects and pieces of self-expression. Marinette’s friends are also brightly colored, all dressed in their own candy-colored styles and congregated close together. They emanate support, warmth, and positivity.
Even in the evening, after Marinette loses connection with them, they’re worriedly clustered in the corner of her room, waiting for her to come home safe. At first Alix tried to reassure everyone that she’ll be fine, but as time passes they aren’t so sure anymore. The colors are muted here to represent their concern. This part passes so quickly, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that nobody’s talking about it, but it was so cute. They care about her sm.
On the other hand, Adrien’s life is the polar opposite. Everything is black and white with the occasional red accent, and the rooms are so spacious that everyone feels far apart. All of Gabriel’s guests wear black and hide their faces, and even Adrien’s family and friends don’t introduce anything more than an extra primary color.
Everything is so manufactured and performative, from the pretentious high society “clubbing” to the actual interactions between Adrien’s family and Gabriel’s inner circle. Even the creative work, Gabriel’s designs, feel uninspired and robotic.
Even tonally and plot-wise, the Marinette and Friends part of the episode was filled to the brim with comic relief as everyone played off each other while the Agreste part was pure serious lore, dark in tone, making the finer details of Adrien’s environment feel foreign.
What this episode shows us visually is how Marinette’s typical after-school life is full of warmth, vividness, and trust while Adrien’s is a dull and cold reality where everyone around him is hiding something behind a literal or metaphorical mask.
I put some of this in the tags of my last post but too many people are rbing and I’ve got more to say so here we go
The Ladyblog photos are so funny it’s like Ladybug got all the current holders together specifically for the photo op and told them to do whatever tf so Alya Cesiare, not that any of them know her, can put them on the Ladyblog. HC that HM and Mayura did the same to avoid Alya intentionally using the crummiest field photo possible of them. They’ve got the equipment, and if you’re gonna be on the Ladyblog, might as well look good
When I read the synopsis and trailer I wondered how Chloe was gonna film them without them noticing AND actually getting an acceptable angle with audio cause room 33 only has one door that they’re sitting in front of, so imagine my surprise when the ceiling tile crashes down. Did she drill a hole in it or something? Sabrina being the competent Totally Spy and Chloe flying around like a sack of potatoes cracked me up.
Okay to be perfectly honest I was kinda expecting Princess Adrien and Mariknight just based off Gabeleficent and the backgrounds we could see from the trailer, but zamn I wasn’t sure they’d actually do it
Marc: what if Marinette wrote Adrien a love letter and we delivered it so that she can’t panic and back out? Nath: what if Adrien wore a dress and Marinette had a big sword and they had hamster fairies and WE were fairies and Gabriel dressed like Billy Porter?
I think that if Chloe succeeded in showing Gabe the video he would be so distracted by his Malefisona that he’d forget to pull Adrien out of school. He’d be enthralled and probably just start plagiarizing designs off of middle schoolers again
The little fairy Marc and Nath are holding hands, I didn’t even notice at first
The goddamn. Hamsters. The hampters. Losing my mind
How did Nath even KNOW about the hamsters? Does Marinette talk about this around them? Does ADRIEN talk about this around them?
Marino is an icon but Nath carried the comic relief tonight idc idc
This was the comic relief this ep deserved between Felix’s big brainery and bad bitchery
I went in thinking whatever happens I’m ready to form ANY opinion of Felix, no matter how I felt before, and wow. It’s hard not to be impressed. Hit the slay button. He got ahold of The Braincell today
I’m- I’m not even gonna talk about the you know what in the you know where cause y’all have that covered. No surprises here though
I appreciated Zoe using her bitch powers for the greater good. Her presence in this episode felt more organic than it usually does imo. I hope she feels more and more natural as she’s allowed to participate in the plot over time
This question will probably be answered with subs but why was the party adults-only and so secure and confidential? What was it for? I’m guessing it must’ve been a design brand thing but what’s with the creepy masks, closed window shutters, and strict no tech rule? Sounds kinda horror movie-like. What was going on that was permitted to show on camera, just unreleased fashion? What is this, the MET gala?
I noticed that the comic logo changed from Nath! to Nath & Marc aw that’s neat
Marc’s hair thingy appeared and disappeared like five times over the episode and it bothered me so bad
Believe it or not Bob accidentally saved Adrien’s ass today? Tf?
When SM tried to akumatize Felix I was kinda shocked, thinking he’d pull some convoluted ass shapeshifting like “real Felix is the Collector and they’re protecting new sentifelix” but he broke the hold zoo wee mama. That would’ve been impossible for little kids to follow too lol. As of rn I still think that Felix is gonna be Risk in the season finale. I think SM is gonna get him eventually.
Edit: OKAY apparently when Gabe threatens to Thanos snap Felix he says, “Are you ready to take that risk, Félix? Think about your dear mother…” I am even more convinced.
He’s clearly SM’s enemy, but does that make him the heroes’ friend? I wonder how he’d react to having to work with them. I’m a supporter of future Peacock!Felix and wow what poetic irony we see there.
I didn’t even think about this until someone pointed it out, but the Gloob spoilers with the hand holding the butterfly and peacock miraculous and Gabriel cracking the coffin did NOT appear here. AAA. What if they’re from the episode the Rena Furtive clip is from? I hope Gloob is gonna give us whatever this juicy stuff is the week after they air this episode. Can’t wait for more info since we’re currently out of premiere airdates to look forward to.
Overall, I really liked this episode, probably more than Ephemeral. I’m satisfied!
I can’t believe there will be at LEAST two new hero episodes in season four after that freaking bomb. It feels like everything else from now on should be strictly main story content but here we are.
Sabrina busting a move, just absolutely breaking it down to turn into Traquemoiselle:
Ladybug, Chat Noir, Viperion, Rena Furtive, possibly Carapace, and any other Squidwards we should know about:
Upon first inspection it seems like her miraculous tool should be her tail… whatever it is. After all, there’s nothing obvious sitting on her back or hip like the other users have.
I don’t think it’s the tail because I can’t identify it as an actual specific object like the other tools. It doesn’t look like bolas or a whip or anything, so could it be that those three balls are the tool and her tail is just a belt holding them? Could they be juggling balls or something? I’ve seen fan designs from before we knew anything about Tigresse of the tiger miraculous being circus themed, and juggling balls could be used to trip someone or as projectile weapons.
Another possibility is that her gauntlet is the tool. I haven’t seen anyone else mention this yet, but it looks like she only has claws on one hand; the black one. When she slashes the air, both give off light, but I managed to screenshot her open hands in the part where she makes her tail.
As you can see, the left one is unremarkable, while the right, where the miraculous is, is bejeweled with sharp gold claws, but ends at her forearm. Maybe this glove is her tool.
The three balls on the end make the tail definitely seem to be some type of tool to me, that type of decoration is not normal. I’m 50% sure it could be a bolas of some type, and if it’s not that it’s likely a whip.
However I also remember someone once saying something about the leaked concept art (not the promo image I mean actually concept art) and how the tail reminded them of a cat toy?
The glove being so clawed and decorated, though, does raise a point that it might actually be the item.
Basically that’s four options, 3 of them the tail.
I don’t know if it’s lazy or clever, but it seems the Tiger weapon MIGHT be a homage to Thundercats’ Tygra weapon
It is a “handheld” that extends inthe whip thingie, with the three balls either remaining together or becoming a bit separated, becoming essentially a cat nine o’ tails.
Of interest is that Tygra also used the whip to become invisible
WAIT A FREAKING MINUTE DOES THAT MEAN THE TIGER IS GONNA BE A FREAKING THUNDERCATSREFERENCE?!?!
I have never seen Thundercats but oh chaos from what you’re saying…this might just be it.
@sparklyaxolotlstudent I’ve never seen Thundercats so this never occurred to me but… that seems really correct??? Wow. Invisibility is the most popular theory for Tigresse’s power, and it makes perfect sense considering Juleka’s personality, tigers being associated with stealth, and Reflekta’s power of hiding in plain sight juxtaposed with flamboyancy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she activates her power the same way as Tygra because that’s exactly how Multimouse activated Multitude. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see Polymouse properly activate her power with a “special cutscene”, but maybe she’ll do it too. Or maybe she doesn’t do that because the Extra™️ dances don’t fit her Get Down to Business style.
I’ve been working on a miniseries of theory posts about how every superhero’s themes are in reference to something from pop culture or mythology. I’m trying to use these connections to predict what they might be able to do. So far, I’ve only posted Minotaurox and Coq Courage, but I’m working on the last two we don’t have info on, and once season four ends, I want to explain every reference in every hero. I think what you just said might be what Tigresse Pourpe’s reference is. That leaves only Polymouse for me to figure out, and it feels like her reference is on the tip of my brain.
Upon first inspection it seems like her miraculous tool should be her tail… whatever it is. After all, there’s nothing obvious sitting on her back or hip like the other users have.
I don’t think it’s the tail because I can’t identify it as an actual specific object like the other tools. It doesn’t look like bolas or a whip or anything, so could it be that those three balls are the tool and her tail is just a belt holding them? Could they be juggling balls or something? I’ve seen fan designs from before we knew anything about Tigresse of the tiger miraculous being circus themed, and juggling balls could be used to trip someone or as projectile weapons.
Another possibility is that her gauntlet is the tool. I haven’t seen anyone else mention this yet, but it looks like she only has claws on one hand; the black one. When she slashes the air, both give off light, but I managed to screenshot her open hands in the part where she makes her tail.
As you can see, the left one is unremarkable, while the right, where the miraculous is, is bejeweled with sharp gold claws, but ends at her forearm. Maybe this glove is her tool.
The black stripes on Tigresse’s costume are lace like the black lace on her regular outfit! Now that we have a higher res image we can see it if we zoom in.
When Zag spoiled her design I thought they were some sort of rough-textured patches of glitter, but nope! They’re cutouts! Much more her style.
Predictions that are kind of just shots in the dark, idk, don’t get too excited:
Episode 15 will be Sandboy 2.0. Feri said that she liked this one and that she thinks a lot of other people will too. Since most episodes this season come in pairs, and we saw nightmare Chat Blanc in Sentibubbler, this could be the continuation of that idea. Also, the English voice director posted a story with Sandboy’s VA which is what started this whole Sandboy 2.0 craze in the first place. If this does happen, I don’t think Chat Noir will encounter “nightmare brought to life” Chat Blanc. Ladybug will hide him and become even more paranoid about identities coming out, which we see in Rocketear. I also think we’ll get a little bit of context for the actual akuma himself this time.
Episode 16 will introduce Anne-Jeanne Théoxanne du Bocquale, the prodigy mad scientist who brought dinosaurs back to life. She will get akumatized over something like her project not being taken seriously. When we see her in the beginning scene of Rocketear, she seems like a member of the recurring minor cast because of her strong personality and interesting design, more like Bob Roth level vs August’s mom level, and it feels like we’re supposed to know who she is. It would make sense if this scene is a callback to the previous episode.
A lot of people predict episode 22 to be Chat Blanc 2.0. I think this is a good theory, and we know it’ll be something huge for sure. Probably the culmination of all the problems building up so far. I won’t talk about it in detail because a ton of people have already written entire essays making predictions about this ep.
That one leak in May called episode 24 Penalty, and I’m willing to believe this because of all the other stuff they said that already came true. Since 22 will be a massive deal, the two episodes between it and the finale will probably be important continuations related to the main plot line. Maybe this episode will have to do with the consequences of the rules Ladybug established as guardian and the penalty for breaking them. Or maybe they’ll kill the entire mood and this episode will just be like,,, an akumatized goalie who forced the heroes to play super-soccer/football. Idk there’s nothing to go off, but the name sounds ominously serious.
If we assume that 22 onwards will all be main plot, and that 18, Wishmaker, won’t have a new hero because it’s implied to have main plot relevance and those types of episodes usually aren’t hero episodes, then we’re left with 15, 16, 19, 20, and 21. We also have five heroes left. Convenient. That doesn’t mean that someone can’t get brought in near the end since I’m making assumptions, but like, these and 23 are the episodes we know literally nothing about yet. All the people left rn have gotten significantly less screen time this season than Bob Roth so I hope we see them soon. (Unrelated but Bob has been so prominent lately? What? Akuma potential.)
