Befana

"" is the fifth episode of the second season of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. It premiered on March 30, 2018, on Netflix.

Synopsis
When Marinette chooses to hang out with her friends on her birthday instead of her grandmother, her grandma is akumatized into a candy-gun-wielding baddie.

Plot
Marinette and Tikki are on the roof. It's Marinette's birthday. To celebrate, Tikki creates a special charm called a Kwagatama to give as a birthday gift. She tells Marinette that kwamis have given their holders gifts for years and is happy to be her kwami, but Marinette is distracted. Tikki is hurt that Marinette wasn't paying attention, but Marinette quickly explained that she was thinking about a surprise party her classmates were planning.

Marinette tells Tikki about the different things she's seen around the school (Juleka holding a bike pump in school, Nino listening to her favorite song, Alya and Adrien whispering) and tells her that she believes Alya's story about having to go to the dentist is just code for a surprise party. To verify this, she asks her parents, and their guilty and nervous response confirms her suspicion. Elated that her classmates would do something so nice, Marinette rushes to the door to greet them. At the door, however, isn't her classmates, but her grandmother.

Marinette's grandmother Gina greets Marinette and gives her a shirt. However, the shirt is for a much smaller child. She also gives her candy that she used to like as a child. Tom and Sabine try to convince Gina that Marinette is old enough to like new things, but Gina rebuffs her son and insists that they will have fun. Gina and Marinette leave on her motorcycle.

Grandmother Gina takes Marinette to the park and to the zoo; still under the impression that Marinette is a small child. Meanwhile, Marinette worries that she was wrong about the party. She doesn't like the candy Gina gave her but is too polite to tell her so. Then Alya calls Marinette and asks her to come to "the dentist". Marinette is overjoyed that the party is still on and asks her grandmother if she can go. The two of them have a misunderstanding, and Gina thinks that Marinette is just making excuses to get out of their day. She returns home depressed. Sabine tells Tom to talk to her, but he accidentally destroyed Marinette's birthday cake. The two of them work to make a cake so the party will be saved and forget about Gina. Meanwhile, Gina discovers that Marinette wasn't eating the candy she gave her. Hawk Moth senses her negative emotions and sends an akuma, which enters the candy tin. He gives her the ability to "punish the bad and reward the good" and akumatizes her into The Befana. The Befana goes downstairs and turns Tom, who had tried to correct her, into coal. When Sabine objects, Befana tells her that she has always been sweet and turns her into an angel. The Befana commands Sabine to take her to Marinette.

Marinette is having a wonderful time at her party and has just received a gift from Adrien when The Befana attacks. The Befana refuses to listen to her excuses and tries to turn her into coal. Instead, the shot hits Mylène. Adrien manages to get away and transform into Cat Noir. Befana's shot hits Adrien's gift, and she comments that Marinette doesn't deserve presents. Cat Noir confronts Befana, telling her that he likes that she wears black. She offers to help him wear white, as one of her angels, but he rejects the offer, saying black brings out the green in his eyes. Befana sets Sabine on Cat Noir and continues to attack Marinette. Marinette is unable to transform, and is in danger of being turned into coal. Alya and the other kids decide to rescue her themselves.

Alya begins to throw dishes at the Befana and is turned into coal. Then Kim tries to grab Befana's gun and is also changed. She orders the children to stand back, but Rose cries for her to leave Marinette alone, telling her that she was the sweetest girl in the world. Though Befana was annoyed that Rose spoke without permission, she thought that she was sweet to defend her friend and turned her into an angel. Marinette attempts to transform, but is interrupted by Cat Noir, who carries her off. Befana sends Rose and Sabine to attack them, but the remaining children lasso them with banners and try to stop them. Befana turns the remaining children into coal and heads off to get revenge on Marinette.

Cat Noir takes Marinette to the Eiffel Tower and goes back to face Befana after wishing her a happy birthday. Marinette takes the moment of solitude to transform. Meanwhile, Befana goes throughout the town turning "bad" people into coal and "good" people into angels. She is knocked off her bike in the midst of her song by Cat Noir, who makes up his own song. The song is finished by Ladybug, who arrives. Hawk Moth orders Befana to attack them, but Befana tells him to say the magic word which he replies to with a “please.” However, she decides to get Marinette first and heads off to the Eiffel Tower. Panicked, Cat Noir follows her, saying that he left the girl there. Ladybug almost tells him that she was fine by accident and follows him.

Cat Noir tries to take control of Befana's cycle but is knocked off the bike and has to be rescued by Ladybug. Befana tries to turn Ladybug into an angel, saying she'd make a perfect minion, but Ladybug avoids the blast and manages to get onto the tower. Befana is angry that she rejected her "gift" and has her angels attack her. While the angels attack Cat Noir, Ladybug is chased up the tower by Befana, who fires on her. She fires straight into the air, and Ladybug manages to duck out of the way. The projectiles are pulled down by gravity and almost hit Befana, who is afraid of her own attack. Befana avoids the shots and tries to shoot Ladybug, but has to refill her gun. Ladybug tells Cat Noir that Befana is vulnerable to her own bullets. He comments that the akuma is probably in the candy tin.

Ladybug uses Lucky Charm and gets a tuba. Before they can use it, Befana's attack turns the ground under them into coal and her angels push them through to the floor below. Surrounded by the angels, Ladybug and Cat Noir try to think of a way out as Befana moves forward. Ladybug notices the water main and discovers how she should use the tuba. To buy time, she surrenders and tells Cat Noir to show Befana where Marinette was. Befana procrastinates taking his Miraculous until she gets her granddaughter and tells the angels to guard Ladybug. However, Ladybug manages to tie them up with a fire hose.

Nervous that he might accidentally betray Marinette, Cat Noir shows Befana a closet. He is relieved when Marinette isn't there. Befana accuses him of lying again, but before she attacks him she hears the elevator go down and runs to meet it, thinking Marinette was in it. Instead, inside are her angels, tied with the hose. Ladybug reassures Cat Noir that Marinette is safe and tells him to use his Cataclysm on the fire hydrant. She puts the tuba over the stream of water, and the water is redirected towards Befana. Befana tries to get away from the stream of water and shoots it with her gun, however, the water has covered her. The tuba, the water, and Befana are all turned into coal. Ladybug breaks the candy tin, captures the akuma, and uses Miraculous Ladybug to set things right. Hawk Moth promises that he will punish Ladybug and Cat Noir one day.

Back at the party, Gina flirts with the ice cream man before Marinette pulls her aside to show her the bag cover she created with Gina's gift. She comments that she has learned a lot since the last visit, and Gina tells her that for her next birthday, her gift will be a trip. Marinette thanks her, but tells her that the gift wasn't important; the giver was. Sabine and Tom approach with the cake, and Kim and Ivan hold Marinette up to blow out the candles. Then Adrien gives her his gift again; a charm bracelet like the one she gave him in The Gamer. Marinette struggles to thank him and her family enjoys watching her happy.

As the party goes on, Marinette and Tikki talk about Adrien's gift. Marinette was happy that he made it himself, but Tikki called it strange. Marinette said Tikki’s gift was stranger, which angers her, but Marinette then reveals that she was wearing it as a charm necklace around her neck. She said that it was just as precious, saying that the gift itself didn't matter, but the person giving it. The episode ends with Adrien looking happily at the bracelet Marinette gave him.

Major characters

 * Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
 * Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir
 * Hawk Moth
 * Tikki
 * Plagg
 * Akuma
 * Gina Dupain/Befana

Minor characters

 * Tom Dupain
 * Sabine Cheng
 * Alya Césaire
 * Otis Césaire
 * Marlena Césaire
 * Nathaniel Kurtzberg
 * Juleka Couffaine
 * Alix Kubdel
 * Lê Chiến Kim
 * Max Kanté
 * Manon Chamack
 * Nino Lahiffe
 * Rose Lavillant
 * Ivan Bruel
 * Mylène Haprèle
 * André
 * Fred Haprèle
 * Ancient Chinese Ladybug Miraculous holder (pictured)
 * Ancient Egyptian Ladybug (pictured)
 * Jeanne d'Arc (pictured)
 * La Coccinelle (pictured)

Trivia

 * The first premiere of this episode globally was in France on October 30, 2017.
 * This episode features Marinette's birthday. Tom confirms that Marinette turns 14 in this episode.
 * This confirms that Marinette was 13 in the first season.
 * Marinette celebrates her birthday in this episode. Other characters who have celebrated their birthdays in previous episodes include Adrien in "The Bubbler", Alix in "Timebreaker" and Nathaniel in "The Evillustrator".
 * Adrien gives Marinette a bracelet that is similar to the one she gave him in "Gamer".
 * Chloé and Sabrina are the only students in Marinette's class who do not attend the party.
 * In the webisode "My Birthday Party", Marinette notes she wouldn't invite them to her birthday party.
 * Ladybug's Lucky Charm object gets affected by Befana and yet still works.
 * Notably, after Marinette has done something to her Lucky Charm, it doesn't magically reform or repair itself when she uses Miraculous Ladybug.
 * The song Befana sings throughout the episode is "La donna è mobile".

Errors

 * In a scene where Gina is buying ice-cream at Marinette birthday party, Alix’s hair is brown.
 * In the scene where Gina rebuffs Tom at the bakery, her necklace disappears for a frame.
 * The last time Gina calls Marinette by name, she calls her "Marinette", not "Marinetta".
 * Alya's bangs are miscoloured throughout the episode.
 * When Cat Noir sings along to Befanas song, he says his name in French in the third person: Chat Noir comes to, unexpectedly-"

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