Episode 8 - Miss. Direct

The song choice for this episode is so on-the-nose: Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac. Lila tells lies with the talent of a virtuoso musician, so this song perfectly encapsulates that feeling.

Lila

Lila makes an excellent villain, because, as she’s been depicted in the show so far, she’s a charismatic, talented sociopath. At the point of writing Miraculous: Contingency and this commentary, we have no idea what her ultimate goal is once she obtains the Miraculous of the Ladybug and the Black Cat, no clue what wish she is willing to break the world for. Because I didn’t want to make a decision only to have it broken when we eventually get the answer, I’m attacking the problem slightly differently.

At this point in the story, Lila has no powers of her own (other than a remarkable talent for lies and deceit) and has a strong disdain for both sides of the battle for Paris. Whether he wants to admit it or not, at this point Gabriel needs Lila’s help so he’s willing to put up with her contemptuous attitude.

Whether she wants to admit it or not, Lila is effectively helpless without his help. The moment that something about this changes, the balance of power will shift. What Lila is counting on is that Gabriel will continue to underestimate her – in the show, that was certainly true.

Miss. Direct

Given this Akuma was sent for one specific reason, she was actually pretty easy to write. I quite like the concept that she is planning to be defeated. Ladybug and Chat Noir almost work it out in time but get distracted by the sudden appearance of Papillon at the end of the episode. The big reveal, that Papillon is ‘leaving Paris for New York’ is very clumsy, but that was all that it needed to be. Papillon just needs them to be paranoid and ready to travel if necessary. We’ll find out what’s actually happening in the next episode

Changing Miraculous Abilities

Similar to how Ladybug creates the bangles which protect you from being Akumatised in the show (after the split, so she hasn’t actually created them in Miraculous: Contingency) I wanted to show how the Miraculous work on a contextual basis – such as how Ladybug and Chat Noir can turn their weapons into communicators.

I started this in the last episode, when Chat Noir has worked out a way to make calls as Chat Noir, using the magic to disguise his voice to Adrien’s if necessary, and in this episode to act as a telescope. I have a few more modifications coming later on, with one especially egregious one from Papillon; it’ll be similar to a Megakuma, but with a different purpose. You’ll have to wait and see.

Adrien and Marinette’s ‘date’

Although Miraculous: Contingency is definitely going to have a romantic subplot, I wanted to avoid the most of it in Season 1. Adrien and Kagami are a happy couple here, so the suggestion that Marinette and Adrien’s conversation after Lila was a date genuinely upsets Adrien. Even so, I wanted to show that a) Marinette is finally learning how to talk to Adrien without dissolving into incomprehensible goo and b) there is definitely some mutual attraction going on between them, even if neither will act on it yet.

Félix

In the first draft of Miraculous: Contingency I didn’t include Félix. At that point, I’d seen one episode with him in, and he wasn’t a pleasant character, so I didn’t want to bring it in further. When I finished the first draft and rewatched the show (including the following seasons) I got a much bigger idea of Félix, but I still wasn’t really keen on writing him in.

I think that he got let off far too easily for betraying Ladybug and giving Papillon the rest of the Miraculous and was forgiven far too easily. He did a lot more harm to Paris and to Ladybug herself than other characters who didn’t get a chance to be forgiven. Nevertheless, with the revelation about Adrien’s origins, I needed something to protect him from Gabriel’s magical influence.

I still hadn’t planned an appearance from Félix into the story until I was already writing the second draft and I realised it would fit perfectly here. Therefore, I decided to fully take into account Félix’s plan from Season 4. He came to Paris, intending to blackmail Gabriel for the Peafowl, just like in the show, but then he learned that his cousin was Chat Noir – again, this is linked to the changing Miraculous powers.

He's given Adrien a massive protection now, and is gambling that Ladybug and Chat Noir will be able to defeat Papillon and Mayura quickly. Félix only makes one more in-person appearance across Miraculous: Contingency but his influence is integral to the whole story from this point onwards.