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“ | "Did you really think we'd give you our Miraculous? We're superheroes! We are... Ladybug..."
"...and Cat Noir!" |
” |
"The Dark Owl" is a Season 2 episode of the series, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.[4] As based on the series' production order specifically, "The Dark Owl" is the 13th written and produced episode of Season 2. It is also the 39th written and produced episode of the series, overall.[1]
Synopsis
Netflix
After school principal Damocles is akumatized into Dark Owl, he traps Ladybug and Cat Noir in a warehouse and tries to uncover their true identities.[5]
KidsClick
The school principal Denis Damocles gets akumatized into Dark Owl. Armed with high-tech gadgets, he wants to get revenge on Ladybug and Cat Noir, who've humiliated him. To stop him, our heroes will have to ruffle his feathers![6]
Disney+
Ladybug faces Principal Damocles, now the Dark Owl.
Plot
At the end of the school day, Denis Damocles hurriedly rushes Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrien out of the school before closing the doors behind them. Denis Damocles then tip-toes into his office, making sure nobody is watching him, and boots up his computer program, Albert. He attempts to get Albert to open up the secret compartment behind his painting with a secret code; however, after several failed attempts, Damocles is forced to open it manually, revealing several framed Knightowl comics, a Knightowl figurine, a grappling hook, a boomerang and a custom-made Knightowl costume. Donning the (somewhat ill-fitting) suit, Denis Damocles takes up the identity of The Owl and heads out to patrol Paris.
Outside, Denis Damocles attempts to help a mother and son rescue their cat from a tree, although all his attempts to do so fail, until Cat Noir and Ladybug arrive to save him and the cat from falling. Ladybug and Cat Noir mention that this is the fifth time they've had to save Owl from himself and advise him to not attempt to be a superhero and endanger himself. TVi reporters arrive on the scene and Clara Contard interviews The Owl. The Owl claims that he will try to do better next time, being oblivious to Ladybug's and Cat Noir's real point, before running off, not realizing that the camera was following him the entire time, leaving Ladybug and Cat Noir to deal with the press. Both Ladybug and Cat Noir advise the children of Paris to not act like The Owl and try to be superheroes like him, as it is dangerous. At the end of her broadcast, Nadja Chamack asks the question of who The Owl's real identity is.
That evening, Ladybug and Cat Noir discuss Denis Damocles's superhero antics on a rooftop and decide to create a plan to make him feel like a real hero for at least one day so that his dream will be fulfilled and he'll stop acting like a superhero. Through the night, Marinette creates fake copies of her earrings, Cat Noir's ring, and a fake supervillain costume made out of cardboard.
The next day after school ends and Denis Damocles yet again takes up his Owl persona, Ladybug and Cat Noir go to Alya's house, and they tell her about their plan. Alya agrees to pretend to be a villain, named "Cardboard Girl", who is holding them hostage. Alya calls Denis Damocles and "reveals" that she has captured Ladybug and Cat Noir and that he is the only one who can save them. At the park, Cardboard Girl is taking Ladybug and Cat Noir's fake Miraculouses. Ladybug and Cat Noir then pretend to be in danger but act relieved when The Owl arrives. Owl fires his grappling hook at Cardboard Girl, only for it to end up snagging onto a moving garbage truck, which drags him into a fence. Ladybug apologizes for what happened and slips up by revealing The Owl's identity of Denis Damocles while people are snapping pictures of him. The Owl runs off crying, with Ladybug, Cat Noir and Alya left hoping that nobody has heard about what has happened.
Back in his office, Denis Damocles is on the internet, where the news has revealed his identity to Paris and Alec Cataldi is mocking him. Meanwhile, Hawk Moth senses Denis Damocles's sadness and sends an akuma after him. The akuma enters Damocles's computer, and Hawk Moth offers Denis Damocles real powers and weapons in exchange for Ladybug's and Cat Noir's Miraculouses. Denis Damocles accepts Hawk Moth's offer and is transformed into The Dark Owl.
Later that evening, Marinette is sewing in her room while Tikki watches Clara Nightingale's music video on her computer. Dark Owl then hijacks the television broadcasts throughout Paris, to the disbelief and horror of Marinette and Tikki, as well as Adrien and Plagg. Dark Owl announces that he has kidnapped a multitude of zoo animals, locked them in a bus dangling off the Eiffel Tower, and, with the press of a button, can drop them all on a helpless kitten; and if anyone tries to save them, liquid nitrogen bombs will freeze and shatter the tower's structure, destroying them anyway. Dark Owl then demands that Ladybug and Cat Noir hand over their Miraculouses to him, also telling them to follow his Owl-Signal to find him before ending the transmission. Marinette and Adrien then immediately transform into their respective superhero identities. At the same time, Dark Owl gets Albert to activate the Owl-Signal.
Ladybug and Cat Noir meet on a rooftop, coming up with a plan of letting Cat Noir distract Dark Owl while Ladybug sneaks up on him from behind. At the Parc des Princes, Cat Noir, as per the plan, distracts Dark Owl by talking while Ladybug scouts the villain from the back, guessing that the akuma must be in one of his weapons on his belt. Ladybug attacks Dark Owl and manages to knock his detonator to Cat Noir, only to be flung away onto her partner by Dark Owl's hook line. Dark Owl tells the heroes that they have one last chance to surrender their Miraculouses, but they still refuse. Dark Owl ensnares the two using his grappling hook, and they are forced to roll away as Dark Owl attempts to pounce on them. Cat Noir uses his Cataclysm on the ropes to escape, and Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm soon afterward, receiving a fountain pen. Ladybug and Cat Noir incapacitate Dark Owl long enough for them to get a hold of the detonator on top of a shipping crate, only to find that the countdown will not stop. Dark Owl then has Albert open a trapdoor on the crate, dropping the two inside the crate and trapping them there; he reveals that the animals, bus and bombs were nothing but holograms.
At that moment, the crate begins to fill up with whipped cream, which Dark Owl claims will drown the two heroes if they refuse to give up their Miraculouses. Ladybug spots the camera lens at the top of the crate, Cat Noir's ring, and the pen. She then squirts the pen ink over the lens so that Dark Owl can't watch them, although the latter is unfazed by this. Cat Noir is unable to break down the crate's walls, and deems their situation hopeless; however, Ladybug instead decides to give up and hand over their Miraculouses, telling Cat Noir that they must close their eyes when they detransform.
Both Tikki and Plagg see each others' Miraculous wielders, which shocks Plagg, but they don't say anything. Marinette is about to take Adrien's ring but, remembering she still has the fake Miraculous she had made, gives those to Dark Owl, who in turn sends them to Hawk Moth. Feeling triumphant for a moment, Hawk Moth discovers the Miraculouses are fake, but by then, both kwamis have been able to recharge. The two heroes once again transform, and Cat Noir destroys the crate. Dark Owl wonders how they did it, but Ladybug merely tells him that they would never give him their Miraculouses and claims to have had a Plan A, B, C, and all the alphabet to Z.
Dark Owl fires his boomerangs at them while the heroes are still trying to figure out where the akuma is. Telling Cat Noir to cover her, Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm and receives a Knightowl comic book. Upon reading it, she figures out that since the "real" Knightowl has a partner, so must Dark Owl. Just as Cat Noir manages to restrain him, she realizes the akuma is back at the school and goes to Principal Damocles's office to try to destroy the akumatized computer, but Dark Owl gets there, too. She kicks the rolled-up comic book to the Knightowl figurine that's on the secret compartment, but the villain is able to remove one of her earrings, almost detransforming Ladybug. Then the falling figurine triggers a chain reaction that knocks over the monitor, releasing the akuma, and Ladybug retrieves her earring and purifies the akuma. Hawk Moth is once again defeated but vows to get revenge. Afterward, Ladybug and Cat Noir see that Denis Damocles has become a superhero on a smaller scale by doing good deeds and has genuinely earned people's admiration.
Now that Cat Noir and Ladybug have more free time, Cat Noir asks her if she'll go to the movies with him. She politely turns down his offer, saying that she made a promise to hang out with someone else and that he'll see her soon, as she swings away, leaving Cat Noir smiling wistfully. At Alya's house, Marinette is playing a video game with Alya. As Alya explains her latest adventure with Ladybug and Cat Noir, Marinette wins the game. Startled, Alya says it was unfair because she wasn't looking and tickles Marinette, leaving the two of them laughing. Tikki quietly laughs before the end card appears.
Characters
Major characters
- Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
- Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir
- Hawk Moth
- Tikki
- Plagg
- Akuma
- Denis Damocles/Dark Owl
Minor characters
- Alya Césaire
- Nino Lahiffe
- Mrs. Michelle
- Mrs. Michelle's son
- Whiskers
- Nadja Chamack
- Clara Contard
- Alec Cataldi
- Hessenpy
- Alix Kubdel
- Max Kanté
- Lê Chiến Kim
- Albert
- Juleka Couffaine (background)
- Rose Lavillant (background)
- Majestia (pictured)
- Knightowl (pictured)
- Sparrow (pictured)
- Clara Nightingale (pictured)
- Nathaniel Kurtzberg (pictured)
- Chloé Bourgeois (pictured/voice only)
- Sabrina Raincomprix (pictured/voice only)
- Mylène Haprèle (pictured)
- Ivan Bruel (pictured)
- Aurore Beauréal (pictured)
- Mireille Caquet (pictured)
- Civilians
Trivia
- Internationally, this episode first premiered in Spain on Disney Channel.
- In the French version, the episode is called "Le Hibou Noir", which literally translates to "The Black Owl."
- This episode was first released in Spain.
- Jun Violet, co-director for the episode, makes a cameo in it as the face of the akumatized version of Albert, Denis Damocles' computer program assistant.[7]
- It was inspired by PJ Masks villain, Dark Owl, but the gender is different as well as the design.
- This episode was first revealed in a promotional poster for Season 2 released by TFOU on October 16, 2017.[8]
- It was first announced it would be released on November 26, 2017, in France, but it was later confirmed to not be planned for that date anymore, "Gigantitan" airing instead.[9]
- Nearly the entire episode is a homage to the 1960s Batman series. Similarly, Dark Owl's ruse is similar to the Joker's plan in The Dark Knight.
- The Justice Comics #27 cover seen behind Denis Damocles's secret panel is a reworking of Detective Comics #27, in which Batman first appeared, and the cover of the Lucky Charm comic Ladybug obtains, Knight Owl #1, is based on Batman #1.
- On the back of the Knightowl comic book, there's an advertisement which is similar to the real-life 1960s vintage comic books.
- An animation error occurs when Ladybug leaves the Parc des Princes where the back cover of the comic book changes to a "Got Mint?" ad. The "Got Mint?" ad is an obvious reference to the real-life Got Milk? advertising campaign.
- Plagg and Tikki interact together onscreen for the first time and find out who the others' Miraculous holder is.
- Plagg recharges after eating a macaron instead of his regular Camembert.
- This is the second episode where Tikki and Plagg don't have any speaking roles.
- This episode reveals that Marinette is ticklish.
- At the stadium, one of the signs reads "GAZ" which is the Zag Logo backwards.
- This episode shows more things Ladybug's yo-yo and Cat Noir's baton are capable of doing and containing, like the yo-yo having a camera and both having communication earpiece sets.
- Ladybug and Cat Noir detransform in front of each other for the first time, although they keep their eyes closed while doing so to avoid discovering each others' identities.
- Adrien removes his Miraculous willingly with the intent of giving it away, yet Plagg does not disappear. This could be because Adrien gave up the Miraculous reluctantly but did not want to lose it.
- This episode marks the first instance where an akumatized villain manages to take a Miraculous, although it was only one of Ladybug's earrings.
- The instance confirms that Ladybug needs both earrings to maintain her transformation.
- While Ladybug's suit slowly disappears, her yo-yo remains.
- This is the first episode where the summoning sequence for Cataclysm isn't seen, despite the ability being used twice.
- Clara Nightingale makes a cameo appearance in a music video on Marinette's computer.
- This episode shows that an akumatized villain does not need to be in constant possession of the akumatized item to retain his or her powers.
- The picture Nadja Chamack shows of Denis Damocles is Miss Bustier's class photo that was taken in the episode "Reflekta".
- Hawk Moth's desire is hinted at, as he wishes to change a certain event from the past.
- Alya's bedroom debuts in this episode.
- Within her room, there are action figures of Ladybug and Cat Noir that are holding hands.
- When the closeup of the Knightowl comic book is shown, Knightowl and his butler are seen saying "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing" and "Elit, sed do eiusmod", from the Latin Lorem ipsum graphic design placeholder text.
- After emerging from the crate Ladybug says, "A superhero never reveals their secrets", referencing to the famous rule of magicians, "A magician never reveals their secrets".
- Hawk Moth mentioning turning Ladybug and Cat Noir into heroes from a comic book foreshadows Nathaniel and Marc making a comic about them in "Reserver".
Errors
- When Clara Contard pans the camera to Ladybug and Cat Noir after Denis Damocles runs off, the microphone she's holding disappears for one frame.
- When Denis Damocles picks up his phone, his arm and the phone didn't have any shadow reflection.
- When he rolls on his table, his body doesn't have any shadow reflection either.
- When Denis Damocles gets up after he was pulled into a trashcan by a bus trying to save Ladybug and Cat Noir, his head disappears for a few frames and only his mask's ears are visible.
- When Alec is declaring Denis Damocles as the "Biggest Loser", he puts his arms up and skin is visible near the neck of his shirt.
- When Dark Owl is being akumatized, his keyboard and mouse are shown to have wires, but in every other scene, they are wireless.
- When Dark Owl is threatening the Eiffel Tower, his description contradicts the fact that, whether the temperature scale is Fahrenheit or Celsius, there is no such temperature as "minus 700 degrees", because the lowest possible temperature is what's called "absolute zero", which is not as low as –700 in either scale, only being -273.15ºC (-459.67ºF).
- However, he later states that his related threats were holograms, so his temperature threat was likewise made up.
- In one shot, the kitten had green eyes and in the second shot, before the hologram disappeared, the kitten had blue eyes.
- When Cat Noir uses Cataclysm to destroy the ropes tying him and Ladybug together, his ring is on his left hand instead of his right.
- The detonator that Ladybug is holding disappears for a few shots but then reappears when she and Cat Noir are in the crate.
- After The Dark Owl shows Ladybug and Cat Noir that the kitten and the bus were holograms and they both are shocked, Cat Noir's left eye glitches weirdly.
- The whipped cream was rising at a rate that would've at least reached their shoulders or above by the time it stopped and drained; however, it remained at only their waists the whole time.
- The fake Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses switch places in Hawk Moth's hand.
- In the Tikki and Plagg flashback, the macaron is whole in Marinette's hand, but is suddenly broken in half when held by Tikki. It's broken in such a way that in real life, it wouldn't have held together.
- On the back of the Knightowl comic book, there's an advertisement for various objects that are similar to the real-life 1960s vintage comic books. However, when Ladybug leaves to get to Collège Françoise Dupont, the back of the comic book changes to a "Got Mint?" advertisement.
- When Ladybug triggers the chain reaction in Denis Damocles's office, the item that started it was the Knightowl action figure which falls off the secret compartment and lands on two books. However, when the lamp knocks Denis Damocles's computer monitor off the table, the action figure is back on the secret compartment.
- When Dark Owl releases Ladybug and jumps to catch Albert, Ladybug is shown with her full suit and mask before retrieving her earring.
- Clara Contard incorrectly uses the model of Lila's first mother, which was confirmed to be an animation error.
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://web.archive.org/web/20210623201452if_/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/fyt89x/miraculous-tales-of-ladybug-cat-noir-season-2/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Ladybug_Cartoon/status/938452881333739521
- ↑ http://www.movistarplus.es/ficha/prodigiosa-las-aventuras-de-ladybug-t2/episodio-13?tipo=E&id=1472930
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax_yHEuFdPg
- ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80164216
- ↑ Archieved from KidsClick.com/Miraculous.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/MiraculousMX/status/938517845692092417
- ↑ File:MLS2 TFOU press 2017 - New Villains.png
- ↑ https://twitter.com/MLadyblogFrance/status/933019958132527105