Backwarder

""But what I want more than anything else in the world is written on this piece of paper and...only you can give it to me...""

- Marinette Dupain-Cheng

"" is an episode of Season 3 of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Its world premiere was on February 12, 2019 (at 17:00 EST) in Canada for English viewers on Family Channel.

Synopsis
An old friend of Master Fu's, Marianne, gets akumatized into Backwarder. Armed with a magic wand, she wants to make up for lost time by stealing it from others! There's not a second to lose for Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Plot
In a flashback taking place during World War II, a young Master Fu and Marianne Lenoir are running from Nazi soliders looking for the Miracle Box. Marianne believes that they should fight and suggests that she use the Ladybug Miraculous while Fu uses the Cat Miraculous. However, Fu points out that if they lose, the Nazis will get ahold of the Miracle box and insists that they go to England instead. But Marianne wants to stay and resist even without the Miraculouses. Fu allows this but gives her a pin to remember him by. He also attempts to tell her something else, but Marianne says to wait until he gets back. When spotted by Nazi soliders, the duo part ways.

In present day, Marinette has assembled Alya, Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Mylène at her house for an emergency meeting. All the girls, with the exception of Rose, are extremely tired as it is early in the morning. Marinette informs them that Adrien and his father have been invited to a royal wedding in England. Alya doesn't understand why that is such an emergency, so Marinette explains that Kagami and her mother were also invited and fears that Adrien may end up falling for Kagami while there. She asks the girls for some idea to prevent this from happening. Mylène suggests that they organize a demonstration and make the trains go on strike, but Alya points out that they'd probably just take a helicopter or private jet. Rose suggests that Marinette dress up as a famous British star and sneak into Buckingham palace to lure Adrien away from Kagami. However, Alix points out that when Adrien finds out who she really is, he'll get angry because he doesn't like lying and quite possibily fall for Kagami while Marinette gets locked in jail. Juleka suggests that Marinette kidnap Kagami, but all the other girls agree that's a bad idea. Alya decides that the best solution would be for Marinette to simply confess her feelings to Adrien before he leaves. Marinette nervously asks to try Juleka's idea instead, but the girls shake their heads in disapproval. Marinette says that she can't just confess her feelings to Adrien as she can't even talk to him without stuttering. However, upon noticing Wayzz by her bedroom window, Marinette quickly agrees with the idea and pushes the girls out. Once they're gone, Wayzz enters her room and alerts Marinette that Master Fu needs her before taking off. Marinette wonders if it's serious. Tikki says that Master Fu wouldn't send Wayzz if it was nothing, though Marinette reminds Tikki of the time he lost his keys and locked himself out of the house. Tikki says that Master Fu needs to learn to write and send texts, which gives Marinette an idea.

On the subway ride to Master Fu's place, Marinette writes a love letter to Adrien. However, she unintentionally says her thoughts out loud, causing her to get laughed at by several of the passengers onboard. An embarrassed Marinette exits the train and heads inside Master Fu's place. She finds out that he is ill and a doctor is watching over him. Marinette asks her if he'll be alright, and the doctor responds that he will be and he's just being overdramatic. She gives Marinette a prescription for some pills Master Fu must take and tells "Mr. Chan" that he needs more fiber before exiting. Marinette is confused by the doctor calling him Mr. Chan, to which Master Fu explains that one can never be too careful. He also tells her that if anything happens to him, he wants her to watch over the Miracle Box, much to Marinette's surprise. He then gives her a note and tells her to give it to a woman by the riverbank wearing a Chinese ideogram brooch. Marinette asks who the woman is, and Master Fu explains that she is someone he's always loved but never got the chance to tell. Marinette finds it sweet that Master Fu has a lover but asks him why the letter must be delievered today. Master Fu says that it's because he has realized that he has waited far too long. This inspires Marinette to go through with delivering her love letter to Adrien as well. Wayzz begs Marinette to hurry with the prescription, as despite what the doctor said, he has a bad feeling about whatever Master Fu has. Marinette agrees and takes off. However, she soon realizes that Adrien's train will be leaving in about 20 minutes. Tikki says that between delivering her love letter, Master Fu's love letter, and the prescription, she won't have time to do everything. Marinette says that maybe she can't, but they can. She transforms into Ladybug.

Ladybug heads to the train station and detransforms just as Gabriel, Mrs. Tsurugi, Kagami, and Adrien begin to board the train. However, before Adrien goes inside, Marinette appraoches him and hands him a note, telling him to read it on the train and what's written in it is something she's always wanted but only he can give it to her. She then takes off, transforms into Ladybug once again, and heads to her next destination.

On the train, Mrs. Tsurugi tells Gabriel that she senses some uneasiness in him. Gabriel claims that he doesn't like being away from home. Mrs. Tsurugi tells him that those who hope give themselves the opportunity to obtain what they desire, but those who fear end up with the very thing they dread the most. Gabriel tells Mrs. Tsurugi that he'll remember that. Meanwhile, Adrien reads the note Marinette gave him and is surprised by it.

By the riverbank, Marianne sits besides Xavier Ramier and tells him how she is confident that today is the day "he" is coming. Xavier calls "him" a lucky man just as Ladybug shows up and gives Marianne a note. She then heads to the pharamcy and gives the pharamcist a note. After reading it, she tells Ladybug that while she appreciates the heart-felt declaration, she's already taken and her name isn't Marianne. Horrified by the mix-up, Ladybug wonders who has the prescription. Meanwhile, Marianne reads the letter Ladybug gave her. Upon coming across the part that says that it might be "too late" and "all your hopes and dreams are ruined", Marianne fears that this means that Master Fu no longer loves her. Though Xavier attempts to comfort her, Marianne walks off sadly.

Gabriel senses Marianne's negative emotions and heads to the train bathrooms. As the conductor announces that the train is about to depart, Gabriel tells him that no one is leaving as he is not feeling well. At first the conductor gets angry with him, but when Gabriel yells at him, the conductor relents and agrees to halt the train departure. As he announces the delay in depature to the other passengers, Gabriel goes into one of the bathrooms, transforms into Hawk Moth, and sends an akuma after Marianne. It infects her brooch as she is walking up some stairs. Hawk Moth offers her the power to make up for lost time by stealing it from others in exchange for Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses. Marianne agrees and is transformed into Backwarder. The first thing she does is tap Xavier with her wand, making him perform his previous actions in reverse and repairing a crack on her face. She then does the same thing to a boat and a car. Adrien hears about Backwarder on a news broadcast in his phone. He tells Kagami that he is going to check on his father and takes off to the bathrooms. The first one he attempts to enter is occupied by Hawk Moth, so he enters another one and transforms into Cat Noir.

Major Characters

 * Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
 * Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir
 * Gabriel Agreste/Hawk Moth
 * Tikki
 * Plagg
 * Akuma
 * Marianne Lenoir/Backwarder
 * Wang Fu

Minor Characters

 * Alya Césaire
 * Alix Kubdel
 * Mylène Haprèle
 * Rose Lavillant
 * Juleka Couffaine
 * Wayzz
 * Jean Duparc
 * Master Fu's doctor
 * Mrs. Tsurugi
 * Kagami Tsurugi
 * Xavier Ramier
 * Pharmacist
 * Startrain conductor
 * Nooroo
 * Nadja Chamack
 * August's mother (background)
 * August (background)
 * Civilians
 * Nazis (voices)
 * British megastar: Adeline (mentioned)

Trivia

 * It turns out that Marianne, the “old friend” of Master Fu, is actually his lover whom he had separated from for decades ago.
 * The flashback of young Master Fu and Marianne Lenoir in the opening might be set in World War 2, but the details are unknown and yet to be revealed.
 * The flashback also reveals that Master Fu and the Miraculous holders aren't the only people that are aware of the kwamis' existence. The soldiers chasing Master Fu and Marianne Lenoir are aware of the Miracle Box.
 * It's revealed that Master Fu wants Marinette to become the next guardian of the Miracle Box in case something happens to him.
 * This is the second time Cat Noir does the Moonwalk, the first time being "Mr. Pigeon".
 * In this episode Hawk Moth learns that the guardian is named Master Fu and goes by an alias.
 * However, he does not learn that Master Fu is "Mr. Chan" (which Fu also used when he visited the Agreste mansion in "Syren").
 * This is the first time Hawk Moth transforms and creates an akuma somewhere else besides his lair onscreen.
 * It is also the first time his lair is not seen.
 * It's revealed that Hawk Moth's cane can create or summon the butterflies he uses to create akumas.
 * However, the cane might only store it, as in the episode "Stoneheart".
 * This is the first time Ladybug stores or captures something else inside her yo-yo in the main series.
 * It also reveals that the things in her purse remain inside the yo-yo while she is transformed.
 * It is further revealed that Ladybug's yo-yo has its own timer.
 * The sign 爱 on the brooch means "love" in Simplified Chinese. This sign was not used before 1956, the traditional one is 愛. This might either indicate that the episode plays long after WW2 or this is an anachronism.

Errors

 * Cat Noir's Cataclysm disappears after he summons it.
 * In the scene where Backwarder uses her powers on a fallen leaf, there are still cracks present on her mask. However, in the scene directly after, the cracks have all disappeared.
 * When Ladybug prompted Cat Noir to say "Cataclysm" backwards, it took her about five seconds to figure out how to say it. During that time, Cat Noir had his right hand in the air. Played backwards, there should have been a five-second pause between him saying "Cataclysm" and lowering his hand. Backwarder staggered forward after she tripped but it only took about a second. There would be several seconds left before the hand was lowered, giving Backwarder ample time to recover her balance and escape the trap.

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