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| “ | Talking to Dr. Psiquat's different, Marinette. She's someone from the outside with specific skills to help. | ” |
—Alya Césaire, "Wreckless Driver" | ||
"Wreckless Driver" is a season 6 episode of the series, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. As based on the series' production order specifically, "Wreckless Driver" is the 12th written and produced episode of season 6. It is also the 143rd written and produced episode of the series, overall.
Synopsis
Traumatized by being akumatized, Aglaé has developed a phobia of butterflies and is now afraid to leave the house. Marinette would like to find a magical solution to help her friend, but as she will soon discover, not all problems can be solved with a Miraculous Ladybug!
Gloob
Marinette wants to find a magical solution for her friend's phobia, but not all problems can be solved by Ladybug.
Disney+
Ladybug faces a villain determined to help her.
Plot
Early morning on the beach, Parisians relax, unaware that a huge shadow belongs to an akumatized villain, who is destroying the tracks and continuing across the water. On the train, Aglaé cries for help. Vesperia, using her spinning top, climbs onto the train's roof and uses her powers to stop the speeding train. The car begins to dangle from the tracks, and Aglaé falls through the window, but Ladybug saves her at the last moment. Aglaé begs her to let go, then breaks free and runs away crying. Ladybug is surprised and sad, and Vesperia turns to Ladybug, saying she'll take care of the train and Ladybug will take care of the villain.
At school, Alya and Marinette are talking about how Aglaé was frightened by Ladybug. Suddenly, Aglaé collapses, so they both rush to help her. Marinette explains that it's just an insect, but Aglaé panickily uses an essential oil spray, and when she spots another one, she sprays herself a few more times. She later confesses that her fear began after her first akumatization. First, she was only afraid of butterflies, and now of all insects. Alya tries to calm her, explaining that Ladybug helps people, but Aglaé still fears being akumatized again. Marinette and Alya escort her to class, assuring her that she's safe there. Marinette feels guilty for not obtaining the Butterfly Miraculous, but Alya reminds her that she's doing her best to repair the damage caused by the new Hawk Moth, and gives her a comforting hug.
Later, Marinette brings food to the table where her friends are sitting. She notices Aglaé struggling to eat because a fly keeps buzzing over her plate. In a panic, Aglaé runs away, saying she can't stand it anymore. Marinette gets up and tells her friends that they need to help Aglaé. In the cafeteria, Aglaé confesses that she thought everything was fine, but her fears are getting worse again. She expresses her desire to never leave the house so she won't have to feel afraid. Marinette tries to comfort her, promising to find a solution—like making a suit to protect her from insects. However, Alya suggests a more sensible approach, encouraging Aglaé to gradually face her fears. Max then suggests seeing a psychiatrist, mentioning that he sees one for his autism spectrum disorder. However, Aglaé is not on the autism spectrum. Mylène explains that psychiatrists also treat phobias. She shares that she used to be afraid of the dark and germs, but seeing a psychiatrist helped her significantly. In the background, Ray chimes in, stating that he would never go to one, as it sounds "lame." Alya snapped back, saying that it could help someone as "senseless and mean" as them. Alya and Max then block Ray and his two friends, emphasizing to Aglaé that she should consider it. Aglaé is apprehensive about seeing a psychiatrist because she doesn’t know what to say, but Alya and Max reassure her that she will be able to share things that she wouldn’t tell anyone else. Eventually, Aglaé agrees to give it a try.
In the psychiatrist's waiting room, Aglaé thanks her friends for coming with her. When Dr. Psiquat arrives, she's surprised that Alya, Max, Juleka, and Mylène are waiting and explains that she can't see everyone at once. Marinette explains that they're only there to support Aglaé. Aglaé enters the office with the doctor. Dr. Psiquat hands her a small model car and tells her she can sit wherever she wants. She mentions that she spoke with her father but would like to hear the story from her perspective. Aglaé recounts that it all started when she was first akumatized. On the day the school year began, Ladybug announced that she had defeated Monarch, so Aglaé felt she could return to school, although she still stuttered and felt like an alien. The biology teacher organized a trip to the butterfly greenhouse. She wanted to participate because she loved butterflies, and akumatization wasn't supposed to happen anymore, but she couldn't. And then they showed up. In the waiting room, Alya praised Dr. Psiquat and mentioned that she used to go to her for family reasons. Marinette is surprised that she didn't know about it, and Alya replies that it's in the past. Adrien wonders if he could talk to the doctor about his father. Marinette reacts nervously, saying she can talk to her, but Alya explains that talking to the doctor is different. She compares it to a game where Adrien is chased by ghosts in a maze; Marinette can sometimes help him, but only the doctor can show him the way out. Adrien becomes thoughtful and says he'd like to try meeting Dr. Psiquat.
Dr. Psiquat suggests a break, though Aglaé wants to continue. Dr. Psiquat asks her who "they" were. Aglaé says that Ray, Loïc and Nelson were supposed to help her get into the greenhouse, but they locked the door, leaving her alone. She couldn't think straight; she saw butterflies, including an Ultrakuma, and heard strange voices. She claims a new villain has appeared, who stole the Butterfly Miraculous and is much more dangerous than the last one. He promised her help in ridiculing those who made fun of her, so she accepted his offer. She doesn't remember what happened next, but there are recordings online. She was Lady Butterfly, trapping people in cocoons and attacking Paris until Ladybug and her team stopped her. Aglaé is afraid of being akumatized again because she constantly feels anxiety. Dr. Psiquat asks why she's so afraid. Aglaé says that it was because of Timebreaker when she made her disappear, she was afraid she wouldn't see her loved ones again. She shows her a photo, claiming she's in it, even though no one is there. She explains that after Ladybug fixed everything, she tried to enjoy life until a butterfly landed on her shoulder. Since then, she's been terrified of butterflies and has stopped leaving the house. Dr. Psiquat thanks her and says they'll do the exercises at the next session. Aglaé angrily gets up, saying she wants to fix it now. She slams the toy car on the floor and runs out of the office, crying. She runs into the elevator and goes down. Marinette and her friends run after Aglaé.
An Ultrakuma flies into Dr. Psiquat's office and flies into the toy car that Aglaé had previously thrown on the floor. Chrysalis tries to convince Dr. Psiquat that she couldn't help Aglaé. Dr. Psiquat says she won't let anyone toy with her emotions. Chrysalis replies that everyone thinks she's evil, even though she only wants to help others and never meant any harm. She tries to convince her that there's a magical solution to everything, but Dr. Psiquat objects, saying there's no magical method to heal someone. Chrysalis replies that that's exactly what Ladybug does. Finally, she adds that people should find their own solutions, even if they suffer for months or even years. Haunted by that thought, Dr. Psiquat tells her to wait, saying she'd like to try, and then calls herself Wreckless Driver.
Outside, Marinette and the others try to reason with Aglae, who has announced her intent to go home and lock herself in her room again. Suddenly, Dr. Psiquat, fully akumatized as Wreckless Driver, bursts out of her office in a new car, aiming to capture Aglae and cure her phobia. Aglae, terrified, flees, and several of the Miraculers do the same. Marinette finds a spare bike to duck into an alleyway and transforms into Ladybug, while Adrien also finds an alleyway to duck into so he can become Cat Noir.
Wreckless Driver quickly catches up to Aglae, captures her, and siphons her fear away, curing her in the process. She then ejects Aglae into the air with a parachute, despite Ladybug’s attempt to save her. As a result, Aglae is no longer afraid, even of Ladybug. Despite this, Ladybug uses the Miraculous Call to contact Cat Noir for assistance. He replies that he's already in pursuit but needs to stop to rescue another of Wreckless Driver's cured victims, who is dangerously playing Russian Roulette with traffic due to his newfound lack of fear. Soon, Pegasus and Purple Tigress join Ladybug and Cat Noir, but Wreckless Driver evades Purple Tigress’ attempt to stop her with Clout, as well as Pegasus’ Voyage portals.
Fortunately, Polymouse arrives to disorient Wreckless Driver by covering her windshield with mini-clones from Multiplication. This distraction allows Rena Rouge to force Wreckless Driver to navigate an illusionary hedge maze that Rena creates with Mirage. Eventually, they manage to use one of Pegasus’ Voyage portals to drop Wreckless Driver into the Seine River. Cat Noir transforms into Aquanoir and goes after her, but he gets captured and has his fear of revealing his secret identity extracted. When Ladybug arrives through Pegasus’ Voyage, she uses her Lucky Charm, which turns out to be a sandwich, to prevent Cat Noir from disclosing his identity to her. However, when Wreckless Driver proves too daunting for Ladybug, she sends Polymouse via another Voyage portal to distract her. Earlier, Chrysalis had already used an Antikuma to de-power Cat Noir, and when she attempts to do the same to Ladybug to cut off her access to her Miraculous powers, one of Polymouse’s mini-clones blocks the attempt with her skip-rope to protect Ladybug.
Finally, Ladybug signals Purple Tigress, who uses her Clout to drain the river and then employs another one to destroy Wreckless Driver's vehicle, ensuring that Ladybug, Cat Noir, Wreckless Driver, and Polymouse remain unharmed. As Rena and Pegasus join them, there’s no sign of the Ultrakuma. However, Ladybug uses her Lucky Vision to spot Aglae’s toy car from her earlier session and realizes that’s where the Ultrakuma is. Wreckless Driver tries to recover the toy car first but arrives too late, as Ladybug crushes it underfoot to free the Ultrakuma. She captures and purifies it, then repairs everything with Miraculous Ladybug. Afterward, Ladybug gives Dr. Psiquat a Magical Charm and shares some wisdom regarding her practice. After Psiquat expresses her thanks, the Miraculers celebrate with a “Pound It!” fist bump.
In her lair in La Plage, Cerise makes it clear Ladybug won't be keeping secrets from her forever. Back at the school, Dr. Psiquat and the others attempt to help Aglae overcome her phobia by escorting her back into the butterfly habitat, but Aglae is only able to stay in there for a short bit before coming back out. Nevertheless, Dr. Psiquat praises her effort, and assures her that, with time and patience, she'll be able to stay in there longer and overcome her phobia completely. Some time later, Marinette and Adrien are back in Psiquat's office as she calls Adrien in to discuss his issues regarding his father, Gabriel.
Characters
Major characters
- Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
- Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir/Aqua Noir
- Aglaé/Lady Butterfly (Lady Butterfly flashback)
- Alya Césaire/Rena Rouge
- Max Kanté/Pegasus
- Markov
- Mylène Haprèle/Polymouse
- Juleka Couffaine/Purple Tigress
- Cerise Bianca/Chrysalis
- Plagg
- Ultrakuma
- Antikumas
- Dr. Psiquat/Wreckless Driver
Minor characters
- Zoé Lee/Vesperia (Zoé flashback)
- Raymond Pugnant
- Loïc
- Nelson
- Prem
- Rose Lavillant (flashback; Pigella indirectly mentioned)
- Ivan Bruel (flashback; Minotaurox indirectly mentioned)
- Sublime Varlette (flashback)
- Anne-Jeanne Théoxanne du Bocquale (flashback)
- Alix Kubdel/Timebreaker (flashback; Bunnyx indirectly mentioned)
- Lê Chiến Kim (background; King Monkey indirectly mentioned)
- Olga Mendeleiev (background)
- Marc Anciel (background; Rooster Bold indirectly mentioned)
- Nathaniel Kurtzberg (background; Caprikid indirectly mentioned)
- Unnamed candy villain (background)
- Tikki (background)
- Nooroo (background)
- Gabriel Agreste/Hawk Moth/Monarch (pictured; Hawk Moth/Monarch mentioned)
- Aglaé's father (mentioned)
- Carapace (indirectly mentioned)
- Viperion (indirectly mentioned)
- Ryuko (indirectly mentioned)
- Miss Hound (indirectly mentioned)
- Argos (indirectly mentioned)
- Otis Césaire (indirectly mentioned)
- Marlena Césaire (indirectly mentioned)
- Etta and Ella Césaire (indirectly mentioned)
- Nora Césaire (indirectly mentioned)
- Gimmi (indirectly mentioned)
- Civilians
Plot Developments
- More about Aglaé is revealed:
- It's revealed that her deep fear of akumatization is an accumulation of untreated trauma that started in "Timebreaker", when the titular villain touched her and made her disappear. The event was so traumatic that Aglaé developed a fear of butterflies and she ended up locking herself in her room.
- After Monarch's defeat, Aglaé found courage to return to school, but she felt herself unable to socialize like she used to and her fear of butterflies persisted.
- After being locked in the butterfly room by Ray, Loïc and Nelson, she was akumatized by Chrysalis into Lady Butterfly, a butterfly-themed supervillain.
- She is most likely one of Chrysalis' first victims.
- Her experience as an akumatized victim and the reminder of the recorded footage of it caused Aglaé's fear of akumatization to become even greater and her fear of butterflies to extend to all bugs and anything related to them, including bug-themed superheroes, like Ladybug.
- It's revealed that Max is autistic, and is sometimes distressed by situations such as being tardy, losing something, or being in a new environment.
- It's revealed that Collège Françoise Dupont possesses a psychotherapy office and a butterfly garden.
- Dr. Psiquat, the school's psychotherapist, is introduced.
- She is revealed to have given therapy to some of Marinette's friends:
- Max has been seeing her to better deal with distress caused by unpredictable situations, due to being autistic.
- Mylène has been seeing her due to her phobias.
- Juleka has been seeing her to deal with her inability to speak up.
- Alya has received her help regarding some family issues.
- Aglaé starts seeing her due to her trauma related to akumatizations and deep fear of bugs (especially butterflies)
- Adrien starts seeing her due to his issues regarding his late father, Gabriel Agreste.
- All of the secondary superheroes Ladybug calls to help her deal with Wreckless Driver are all patients or former patients of Dr. Psiquat.
- She is revealed to have given therapy to some of Marinette's friends:
Trivia
- A picture of Gabriel's new model, wearing his outfit from Seasons 1-4 and his hair being blonde, can be seen on the cover of a magazine in Dr. Psiquat's office.
- In France, this episode was released as part of the 36th Mental Health Awareness Week (Semaines d'information sur la santé mentale or SISM in French.)
- It was also released on October 10, which is World Mental Heath Day.
- The episode is a pun of "reckless driver", a driver who operates a vehicle disregarding the safety of their surroundings.
- "Wreckless" has a double meaning, aligning the villain's motive of not hurting but helping people and "curing" their victims' sense of danger.
- The 2D drawings shown while Aglaé's explaining her story were drawn by French artist Anaïs Flogny, known online as Hakunette.[4]
- Though Aglaé's not on the autism spectrum, her English VA Analesa Fisher is actually on the spectrum.
References
- This is the third time Cat Noir has been hit by antikumas, after "Sublimation" and "Daddycop".
- The same with "Mister Agreste", Cerise as Chrysalis, started to tell her victims that Ladybug and Cat Noir's jewels can grant wishes to convince them to work alongside her which is the opposite of Gabriel as Hawk Moth, who after the "Robostus" incident never told any of his villains the true power the duo's jewels for out of fear they'd betray him and take the power for themselves and use it anyway they wanted without thinking of the consequences which is how Gabriel acted.
- Which is also being reckless on their parts because neither fully explained how the duo's wishing power worked which is pretty often a classic warning for people to never wish for something so recklessly.
- This is the first time Chrysalis controls a villain's body part as she stopped Wreckless Driver from removing Cat Noir's Miraculous right away before removing his powers with an Antikuma, just like how Hawk Moth did in "The Evillustrator" and "Pixelator".
- The cold open scene of Vesperia using Venom on a subway train and her strength to slow it down parallels her predecessor Queen Bee from "Queen Wasp".
Allusions
- The way Alya explains to Marinette the difference between professional and interpersonal help is a clear reference to the Pac-Man series.
- The rail bridge being partly cut off and Vesperia stopping the train from just falling off the rails is a reference to a scene from Pixar's "The Incredibles", where Mr. Incredible stops a train at the beginning of the film.
Errors
- When Wreckless Driver drives away, the road is completely intact even though Purple Tigress just used her power on the road.
- When Ladybug tries calling Cat Noir, some of the heroes' emblems are distorted.
- In some shots, Wreckless Driver's seatbelt floats over her shoulders and chest.
- When Aglaé falls out of the train, her braid clips through her head so the tip of it is seen at the back of her head.
- Aqua Noir's ears have a different design in the first two scenes underwater, and switch to their normal design only after he talks with Ladybug.
- When Aqua Noir gets sucked into Wreckless Driver's vehicle the fins on his feet lose their colors and light.
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
References