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| “ | "It's the reveal scene, when they show each other's true faces. I'm just not sure that's what people want to see..." "But if you draw from the heart, people will feel it." |
” |
—Nathaniel Kurtzberg & Marc Anciel, "The Ruler" | ||
"The Ruler" is a season 6 episode of the series, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Based on the series' production order specifically, "The Ruler" is the 15th written and produced episode of season 6. It is also the 146th written and produced episode of the series, overall.
Synopsis
TFOU
While trying to hide her seasonal cold from Adrien, Marinette tries to help Nathaniel assert himself so that he can draw the next strip of the comic book that Marc has written for him.[4]
Gloob
While desperately trying to hide from Adrien that she has a cold, Marinette helps Nathaniel illustrate the comic written by Marc.[5]
Disney+
A villain wants to get Ladybug straightened out.
Plot
In the opening scene, we are provided in the morning an insight on Nathaniel and Marc after they show the next issue of their comic, 'The Adventures of Sun-Heart & Rain-Piercer', to their parents. With the Kurtzbergs, Aton is shown to be rather supportive, thinking the comic is lovely but only lacking genuine sentiment. Shirel, however, disapproves of the art and her son's comic, even thinking it lacks seriousness. Seeing this, Nathaniel is disheartened and skeptical of what he has built. The Anciels, on the other hand, fully support and love the comic, even giving Marc a warm hug as they are excited to see how Nathaniel draws the story.
Meanwhile, Marinette discovers that she has caught a cold, and her nose itches won't stop running. As she blows her nose, she worries that Adrien will think she was disgusting if he sees her like this. However, Tikki reassures her that Adrien loves her just the way she is. Just then, Sabine calls out to Marinette, reminding her that she will be late. Unfortunately, Marinette still has to go to school or else she'll try to get a doctor by force.
At school, students we know like Max, Alya, Rose, Mylène and Adrien are in awe as Diane explains how she accidentally dropped a paint can on the canvas in front of them, creating a portrait of Jagged Stone. Marinette retreats considering her nose runs again. Elsewhere, Nathaniel is about to voice his opinion on their comic to Marc, but the ground shakes again, since Marinette blew her nose. Resuming their talk, Nathaniel vents his worries about the script. He is unsure if the final reveal scene will meet people's standards, and how everyone will read the comic such as their friends, teachers, and parents. While Marc reassures him, he remarks how his parents even cried while reading. Because of this, Marinette stirs in between them, worried. Marc assures Marinette it's only about the storyline of their next issue. However, as Marinette exclaims out loud how they have written the next issue, every student such as Juleka, Kagami and Nino stop their activities and gather around them, showing just how amazing the comic actually is. Even so, Marc confesses how Nathaniel isn't sure everyone will like it, and suggests their friends to review it. Marinette gladly accepts. The script is a success, as they all leave positive reviews. In spite of all this, Nathaniel is still in doubt. Marc, Marinette, and the others provide some comfort. Seeing this, Nathaniel finally decides to illustrate the issue, then almost all of them share a group hug. After that, Marinette's nose starts running again. Adrien sees something is wrong, but she excuses herself of 'something that smells awful', additionally saved by the bell.
As the students start swarming out of school, Nathaniel seems to be bothered by his decision. Marc asserts that it's ok if he changes his mind, it won't change anything between them. Nathaniel reluctantly hands over the script back, and they exchange small reassuring smiles. They begin to part ways with each other. However, Nathaniel stops in his tracks. He dashes back to Marc, silently stating he will do it. A heartwarming hug follows.
Later at Nathaniel's residence, Ziggy is touched out of the perfection in the final scene of the script. She understands the pressure given to Nathaniel, as what he draws may not be as powerful as the text. Nathaniel agrees, it will be challenging, but he gives it a shot anyway. After drawing a few scenes, he pauses. He is unhappy with the ending. A lightbulb activates in his mind, and then, with unfiltered passion, he starts drawing a new ending to the story. Fast forward to next day, Marc praises Nathaniel's new resolution to the story. At that moment, Shirel barges in, and seeing the comic sheets spread out on her son's desk, deplores of it. Luckily, Marc defends Nathaniel by making up an excuse; it's only schoolwork, a group assignment due. Hearing this, Shirel appreciates their seriousness and excuses herself. After that fiasco, Marc believes they should keep the issue to themselves. Nathaniel disproves him, reminding him that this is the best thing they've ever made, and they should print it. Marc is dumbfounded. Nathaniel believes that once his mom reads their comic, she will see how beautiful and important it actually is.
At the College Francoise Dupont art room, as the proofs are being printed, Adrien asks Marinette if she is still smelling something awful, then she pretends to fan away the bad smell that she believed smelled like dirty socks and cheese. She excuses herself when she sees that the proofs are done. Adrien, looking confused, smells his jacket, then walks away to the men's room. Marc and Nathaniel were pleased with the results of their comic book. Jean was pleased with it as well and said that they can start the final printing of their comic book. Marinette saw that Nathaniel was about throw away the proofs but then stopped him and ask if she can keep them in her room and then asked if the both of them could sign it. Jean announced that now with the proofs complete, he will distribute the comic book everywhere. Everyone cheered. In the men's room Adrien let Plagg out of his jacket asking if snuck camembert into school knowing how smelly it is. Plagg offended by the question, Adrien crossing his arms at him. Then admitted that it might of happened in the past but not that time. Adrien asked Plagg if he smelled like Camembert. But of course he wishes that Adrien did.
Back at the Kurtzberg household, Nathaniel was in shock to find that his mother found the script to his and Marc's comic book. She was furiously asking that he was planning to illustrate it and if his friend wrote the story, to which Nathaniel says yes. Asking if that was what she wanted and if the sentimental value was genuine, as well as feeling displeased with the comic book, Shirel forbid him from seeing Marc ever again and then shreds the script right in front of him. Distraught by her harsh words, Nathaniel runs away crying to the school. At school, he transforms into Caprikid and creates a big shredder that destroys all the comics, but remembers that Marinette still has the proofs.
In the Dupain-Cheng household, at Marinette's bedroom, she questions Nathaniel about why he wants to destroy the proofs and he says that he is done with comic books but when she tried to stop him, her nose starts to run again and then blows her nose and the whole building shaking around. She asks Nathaniel to not tell Adrien that she is sick with a cold. As she was going to say, that comic books are a big part of who he is. Which he believed she was only saying that because it's the only thing he has only done in his life and thinks that if he does something else he can become someone else but unfortunately it's not how it works. Pleading to Marinette to respect his decision, she reluctantly does but then is concerned that he will regret that decision one day and that he will be saddened with the choice that he made in the future. They hug and she asks Nathaniel what he’s going to tell Marc, making Nathaniel wonder.
In front of the Francoise Dupont High School's lake, Nathaniel tells Marc about his decision to give up being an illustrator for comic books. Marc points out that even if Nathaniel stops drawing comic books he will still be coming up with ideas to draw in his head but he insists that he wouldn't and that it would be his problem. So in that case they can still be friends, Marc also reminds him that he draws from the heart and doesn't hide who he truly is inside or gives up on his passions. Nathaniel says that he hopes Marc finds another illustrator then leaves, leaving Marc in tears.
At the high school's rooftop garden, Marinette cuts a tomato then hears someone crying and questioned to herself "tomato plants cry when you cut them". Her nose starts running again and she runs into the garden shed to blow her nose again, causing the camera to shake again. Max asks "another jet plane". Marinette looks up to find that it was Marc that was crying and walks up to him if he is crying because of Nathaniel. Marinette reassures him that Nathaniel will change his mind when he is ready. Unfortunately for Nathaniel to change his mind, he would have to change parents or his parents are the ones who need to change their perspective.
Marinette stops Nathaniel asking him since he isn't drawing comic books anymore if he didn't mind if she did it herself but then his mom answers for him and asked if she's illustrated comics before. Which she has but it wouldn't be the same as if Nathaniel did it though. His mom believing that comic books have no future and in her eyes if they were serious they would be in the Louvre and calling her son's comic book art "nonsense", which she wouldn't say if she actually read her son's comic since Nathaniel never drew the ending. When she asked Nathaniel, he gives her a death stare, making her realize that the comic book has already been drawn out and printed after she told him not to. She grabs her son's arm in a fit of rage, dragging him off to "straighten him out" as he pleas her to let go.
Marc walked in asking what was going, Marinette wanted to make the situation better but instead made it worse. Then an ultrakuma flies into Shirel's earring and gets akumatized into The Ruler. Marinette runs into the women's restroom letting Tikki out of her pocket. Tikki pointing that Nathaniel's mom looked really, really angry. Marinette sneezes and her nose runs again then transforms into Ladybug.
Nathaniel was struggling to break free and was about to get hypnotized by The Ruler, but then Marc jumped on her to free Nathaniel. He went after Marc instead, and was hit by The Ruler's sword, which she then ordered Marc to never get near her son again. Nathaniel gasps, taking it out on him is one thing, but on his partner, she really shouldn't have done that. Getting ready to strike, Ladybug swings in at just the right time and tells Nathaniel that if he wants to help her, he should go somewhere and hide. Nathaniel goes into the closet to transform into Caprikid to help Ladybug in the battle. The Ruler and Ladybug continue to fight, and Ladybug tells her to think about what she is doing and if she wants her son to be happy, but she believes that she is doing this for his own good and so that he wouldn't suffer in the future. Caprikid arrives and says that her son is already suffering now because of her actions, and uses Genesis and gets a bag of crayons, throwing them at her. Caprikid tells Ladybug that the Ultrakuma is in her earrings under her helmet. he continues to throw crayons at her, but then runs out of crayons.
As Ladybug engages Ruler, Caprikid uses his Genesis power to conjure a giant pencil and throws it at her, but she slices it in half. They realize they'll have to dismantle all of her gear piece by piece. Fortunately, Cat Noir arrives just in time to use his Cataclysm ability to destroy her equipment. However, he gets hit by Ruler's sword, then she orders the human-sentimonster to retrieve Ladybug's Miraculous. Ladybug takes the opportunity to escape. In a dazed trance, Cat Noir attempts to use his Cataclysm on Ladybug. She tells him that she prefers it when he was making jokes. Ladybug finds a hiding spot, but her nose starts to run, and she feels a sneeze coming on. To avoid revealing her position, she pinches her nose. Cat Noir jumps away, and Ladybug cautiously comes out of hiding. She leaps onto the roof where Caprikid and Ruler are located. Summoning her Lucky Charm, she uses a stuffy-nosed voice to call forth a rope. With her Ladybug vision, she devises a plan to defeat Ruler.
The Ruler demands her son and thinks that she is doing this for his own good, but in reality, she is making him unhappy. She strikes again, but Ladybug swings in to catch him. Caprikid uses his Genesis to make a carabiner clip, then Ladybug goes ahead to make a diversion, but just when she was about to do her plan, Cat Noir sneaks up behind, tripping her, making her fall, and gets hit by The Ruler. Ladybug and Cat Noir are getting ready to hand over their Miraculous. Caprikid uses the rope and carabiner to take Ruler's sword and use it against her. Caprikid orders Ruler to take off her helmet and break her earrings, and Ladybug to throw her lucky charm into the air and say "Miraculous Ladybug". Everything goes back to normal after Ladybug de-evilizes the Ultrakuma. Ladybug gives Shirel a magical charm to remember that children must follow their own path and not one that is planned for them. Caprikid, Ladybug, and Cat Noir pound it.
On Marinette's balcony, she is seen writing in her diary, then Adrien comes upstairs to the balcony with a pink, flowery effect, telling Marinette that the good news is that she won't be bothered by the bad smell again. Marinette questions what happened to him. He says that he put three bottles of perfume on himself because he thinks that the reason Marinette has been avoiding him is that he smells like cheese. But then Marinette finally tells him the truth that she has been sick with a cold and was afraid to blow her nose in front of him because it was very loud. Luckily, he doesn't care that it's loud and that she can blow her nose anytime that she has to. Marinette blows her nose in front of Adrien, blowing him away. She goes over to check on him to see if he's okay and if he still loves her. Adrien teases her and tells her that he loves her just the way she is and to not change into someone else. Especially with someone who has a quieter nose, then share a laugh.
Meanwhile, Cerise writes in her journal and wonders about Nathaniel's true face. At the Kurtzberg apartment, Aton and Shirel were reading Marc and Nathaniel's comic book Marc held Nathaniel's hand for support, when they were finished reading their comic book, his parents were in tears saying they wouldn't change anything in the story and Shirel reconciles with Nathaniel by finally accepts who he is and apologizes to him. Then they hug and Aton allows Marc to join in too.
In the post-ending, Nathaniel and Marc are seen sitting close together on Nathaniel's bed as they discuss their comic. Nathaniel tells Marc that power or no power, he'll always be there to protect him, and Marc says he'll do the same for Nathaniel. Marc tells him to promise not to put himself in danger for him, saying that he isn't a superhero. Nathaniel thinks about this remark and reluctantly transforms into Caprikid, revealing his superhero identity. Marc becomes shocked and falls silent, and Caprikid, while a little flustered, asks him to say something. Marc, touched by this revelation, smiles and then transforms into Rooster Bold, showing Nathaniel that he's also a superhero. The episode ends with Nathaniel smiling at this revelation.
Characters
Major Characters
- Nathaniel Kurtzberg/Caprikid
- Marc Anciel/Rooster Bold (Rooster Bold off-screen/indirectly mentioned)
- Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
- Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir
- Cerise Bianca/Chrysalis
- Tikki
- Plagg
- Ziggy
- Ultrakuma
- Shirel Kurtzberg/The Ruler
- Aton Kurtzberg
Minor Characters
- Alya Césaire (Rena Rouge/Scarabella indirectly mentioned)
- Max Kanté (Pegasus indirectly mentioned)
- Rose Lavillant (Pigella indirectly mentioned)
- Mylène Haprèle (Polymouse indirectly mentioned)
- Diane
- Mr. Anciel
- Mrs. Anciel
- Jean-Pierre Monlataing
- Fred Haprèle
- Gine Jinet
- Nino Lahiffe (Carapace indirectly mentioned)
- Zoé Lee (Vesperia indirectly mentioned)
- Juleka Couffaine (Purple Tigress indirectly mentioned)
- Kagami Tsurugi (background; Ryuko indirectly mentioned)
- Sabrina Raincomprix (background; Miss Hound indirectly mentioned)
- Lê Chiến Kim (background; King Monkey indirectly mentioned)
- Markov (background)
- School nurse (background)
- Gardening teacher (background)
- Sabine Cheng (voice only)
- Orikko (off-screen/mentioned)
- Jagged Stone (pictured)
- Gabriel Agreste (pictured)
- Félix Fathom/Argos (indirectly mentioned)
- Alix Kubdel/Bunnyx (indirectly mentioned)
- Luka Couffaine/Viperion (indirectly mentioned)
- Ivan Bruel/Minotaurox (indirectly mentioned)
- Sublime Varlette (indirectly mentioned)
- Ondine (indirectly mentioned)
- Prem (indirectly mentioned)
- Aurore Beauréal (indirectly mentioned)
- Aglaé (indirectly mentioned)
- Manon Chamack (indirectly mentioned)
- Chris Lahiffe (indirectly mentioned)
- Raymond Pugnant (indirectly mentioned)
- Loïc Stompet (indirectly mentioned)
- Nelson de Glusset (indirectly mentioned)
- Jalil Kubdel (indirectly mentioned)
- Olga Mendeleiev (indirectly mentioned)
- Armand D'Argencourt (indirectly mentioned)
- Anne-Jeanne Théoxanne du Bocquale (indirectly mentioned)
- Greek teacher (indirectly mentioned)
- Japanese teacher (indirectly mentioned)
- Nathalie Sancoeur (indirectly mentioned)
- Tomoe Tsurugi (indirectly mentioned)
- Nadja Chamack (indirectly mentioned)
- Anarka Couffaine (indirectly mentioned)
- Tom Dupain (indirectly mentioned)
- André Bourgeois (indirectly mentioned)
- Otis Césaire (indirectly mentioned)
- Marlena Césaire (indirectly mentioned)
- Alim Kubdel (indirectly mentioned)
- Roger Raincomprix (indirectly mentioned)
- Claudie Kanté (indirectly mentioned)
- Séverin Varlette (indirectly mentioned)
- Caroline (indirectly mentioned)
- Raúl Bruel (indirectly mentioned)
- Ivan's grandmother (indirectly mentioned)
- Aglaé's father (indirectly mentioned)
- Mr. Pugnant (indirectly mentioned)
- Mr. Lavillant (indirectly mentioned)
- Mrs. Lavillant (indirectly mentioned)
- Vadim Ature (indirectly mentioned)
- Lê Cường Minh (indirectly mentioned)
- Mrs. Lahiffe (indirectly mentioned)
- Civilians
- Students
Plot Developments
- More about Nathaniel is revealed in this episode, including his family:
- His father is an artist.
- His mother is a famous architect. She hates comic books, and wants him to become a "serious" artist.
- His parents are at the root of Nathaniel's insecurity about his art, with his father thinking he should comply with what people want/expect from his creations and his mother disapproving of his inclination towards illustration to focus on more serious forms of art.
- The scene where Nathaniel's mother reprimands him may instead imply his father is influenced by his wife's domineering personality and that the "people" he says Nathaniel should be more compliant to are actually his wife. This is because while Shirel shouts at Nathaniel, his father looks sad/guilty and says again in a small voice that Nathaniel should be more "compliant to the people".
- The Kurtzberg family lives in fancy apartment, as their home is first shown in this episode. The view from Nathaniel's bedroom window shows Notre-Dame relatively close in the distance, indicating that Nathaniel lives close to Collège Françoise Dupont and Marinette's bakery/home.
- Marc's parents also appear for the first time and they are shown to fully support their son's writing aspirations and his relationship with Nathaniel.
- Cerise wonders about Nathaniel's true face, possibly thinking that he is Caprikid, though she can't prove it.
- Nathaniel and Marc reveal their identities as Caprikid and Rooster Bold to each other.
- This is the second episode where a couple reveals their hero identities to each other, after Alya and Nino in "Catalyst".
- Them revealing their respective superhero identities match the final scene of their comic, where the two knights reveal their identities to each other.
- The transformation phrases of the Goat and Rooster Miraculouses are revealed to be "Bleat it" and "Sunrise", respectively.
Trivia
- Marinette is shown as being with a cold for the duration of this episode, as she is shown blowing her nose very loudly, something that causes her to get self-conscious about and tries very hard to hide from everyone else, especially Adrien.
- Her cold is included in the de-evilization sequence, where she has a stuffy nose voice.
- Her Lucky Charm and Magical Charm Sequence also has her nose being red added due to her having a cold.
- This is the second time an akumatized villain breaks their own akumatized object, even if The Ruler did it while under control of her own power and Caprikid told her to. The first akumatized villain that breaks their own akumatized object is Penalty, who broke hers when breaking free from her megakuma.
- This may be because Caprikid knew where the Ultrakuma was despite Nathaniel being the only one near his mother when she was akumatized.
- The knights' story is extremely similar to Marinette and Adrien's.
- This may be because Caprikid knew where the Ultrakuma was despite Nathaniel being the only one near his mother when she was akumatized.
- This is the first time Ladybug and Cat Noir have been mind-controlled by a villain in the same episode.
- This is also the second time Ladybug was put under the control of the akumatized villain after "Miracle Queen" and the first and only time this occurs in the permanent timeline.
- This is the most times Genesis was used in an episode on screen, having been used six times in one episode.
- When the episode was aired in Russia, most of the queer aspects were censored:[6]
- All of Mylène's badges were blurred, despite only one being a pride flag, and it not being censored in other episodes.
- The rainbow bolt on Marc's jacket was blurred.
- The end card was zoomed in, not showing Sun-Heart and Rain-Piercer's kiss.
- Multiple scenes were cut, making the episode significantly shorter.
References
- In Nathaniel's room, it's possible to see two drawings belonging to the fairytale he and Marc created in the episode "Gabriel Agreste" depicting Marinette and Adrien's romance and the obstacles they are facing, showing Marinette as a knight, Adrien as a princess and Gabriel as a witch.
- Nathaniel's comic pages were drawn by Gaëlle Geniller, known under the username avril_circus.
- As Marinette transforms in the boiler room, a part of her transformation theme from seasons 4 and 5 can be heard.
Errors
- In the version aired on TF1, Gine Jinet's right eye is miscolored. This was fixed when the episode was aired on Gloob.
- In the beginning scene where Marc shows the script to his parents, his dad's nose vibrates weirdly when they all hug.
- For a split second, Marc is already back to his original self before the magical ladybugs go over him.
- The Rooster, Tiger and Dragon Miraculous have their textures missing.
- In one scene, the pink and blue dye on Zoé's hair are missing.
- Sometimes, a few of the glowing parts on The Ruler's armor are not glowing.
- Caprikid, using Genesis, launches an enlarged pencil at The Ruler, although the titular villain slices it in half because of her stamp-like sword. In the next scene, the pieces are nowhere to be found.
- In one scene, Kagami's hair loses some of it's lighting and hair texture.
- Sometimes the goat miraculous does not have the segmented curved lines in its charged mode.
- In one shot, the nurse's sleeve clips into her body.
- During Ladybug's "vision" sequence, the goat fur on Caprikid's pants isn't highlighted.
- At the beginning of the gardening lesson scene, a small part of Mylène's hair doesn't seem to be fully rendered.
- At one point during Nathaniel and Marc's heart-to-heart at the end of the episode, a weird tangled texture is present on the back of Marc's head.
- Three errors can be spotted during Ladybug's purification sequence:
- When she opens her yo-yo and it drops to the ground, it is briefly closed.
- Before she captures the Ultrakuma, the lighting on the yo-yo is missing for a second.
- When she says "Gotcha", her left earring is black.
- When Caprikid uses The Ruler's own weapon against her, the stamp-like sword is partially bent.
- After Cat Noir cataclysms the Ruler's shield, it still appears in some of the later scenes.
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
References
- ↑ https://web.isan.org/public/en/isan/0000-0004-8636-001B-T-0000-0000-O
- ↑ https://cabletvt.powerrangermail.net/index.php/topic,7140.0.html
- ↑ https://x.com/ladyblognewss/status/1917577548931948601
- ↑ https://x.com/MLBFansWorld/status/1920178814291743077
- ↑ https://x.com/MiraculousPress/status/1927457832133153096
- ↑ https://x.com/ChikaraYT/status/1972267379280453831