By: A.C.
This past Saturday, after months of waiting, fans of Miraculous finally got to see the first two episodes that are part of the Queen Bee trilogy episodes.What was even more exciting was that we finally got to see two mothers that have been subjects of much speculation for some time now: Chloe's mom, Audrey Bourgeois, and Adrien's mom, Emilie Agreste!
Honestly, after watching both episodes, I have to say that these were both some of the most heart-rending episodes in the series. For this lighthearted children's series, things got really dark. But these particular episodes also opened up a whole new can of worms while also confirming a few long-held theories, including some of mine. So, without further ado, let's break down a few points that I feel need to be discussed.
Point 1: Audrey Bourgeois is a horrible wench!
When we first are introduced to Audrey Bourgeois, the mother of the most spoiled brat in Paris, Chloe Bourgeois, we find out very quickly just who Chloe gets her nasty personality from. The woman's style is obviously en pointe, but her attitude needs serious tailoring and stitching. She spends her first few minutes complaining and berating anyone who crosses her path and disappoints her in any way, no matter how small, declaring all who do "fired". She even 'fires' Chloe at one point because she didn't like the gift wrap her daughter used to wrap a present she had for her. Talk about a snob. These were one of the first moments I felt a little sorry for Chloe, because it hinted at a pretty glaring problem with the relationship she has with her own mom.
Throughout the rest of the episode of her first ever appearance, she continues to insult anyone she deems beneath her and gets angry when she is denied the front row seat for the fashion show by Gabriel's assistant, Natalie. This is what gets her akumatized into the villainess, Style Queen, and starts one of the best battles in the series.
Style Queen, in this episode, proved to be one of the most formidable opponents Ladybug would have to deal with on her own. The last time she dealt with such a villain was shortly after she denied her charge a Ladybug doll. Everything from Style Queen's way of taunting Ladybug to her threats remind me so much of how her daughter speaks to Marinette as well in some episodes. She's so callous in her attacks, not even her husband and daughter were safe from her wrath! Yikes!
Due to the new evil queen turning Adrien into a status of gold glitter, our favorite black cat is out of commission for remainder of that episode and Ladybug is left to fend for herself. Though, previous episodes like Puppeteer made it seem like Ladybug can handle herself just fine without Chat Noir, episodes like this one seem to imply quite the contrary. In this episode, she deals with another highly competent villain who proves to be quite the challenge and honestly quite scary. If it wasn't for Plagg showing up to help her when she needed it (despite his destructive powers doing more harm than good) she might not have been able to solve the issue the way that she did and save everyone.
In the next episode, after the fashion show ends, Audrey asks Marinette is she designed the pigeon-themed hat, Adrien wore in the show, to which Marinette confesses to doing. This allows her to get praise from everyone, including Audrey, and get offered a trip to New York with the famous fashion editor, to Chloe's dismay. Chloe chides her mother for choosing Marinette to go to New York over her, her mother says that she chose Marinette because she's "exceptional". After Chloe angrily insists that she's exceptional as well, Audrey tells her that the only thing exceptional about her (Chloe) is her mom, to everyone's shock. This is one of the most horrible things I've ever seen a mother say to her child, fictional or not! Talk about dysfunctional! At this point, I started feeling really bad for Chloe, because it is very clear in this episode that this woman, her mother, is someone she looks up to and wants nothing but acceptance from. But unfortunately for her, her own mother doesn't seem interested in her at all and has no qualms about insulting her in public.
Even worse, she doesn't let up, either when Nadja Shamack, who I will get to later, put her up on a webcam so she can comment on Chloe's behavior. After Chloe causes trouble around town trying to play superhero and stop a problem she caused, Audrey continues to berate her on live television. The poor girl just can't catch a break in this episode! At the end of the episode, after everything is resolved between the two, thanks to Marinette, Chloe and her mom share a moment and her mom finally hugs her.
One thing I always hated about that scene is how it took Chloe proving how much of an obnoxious, conniving brat she is to get her mother's approval and affection. Not only is her mom an abusive bitch, but also a very bad influence on her daughter. Chloe's dad sometimes throws his weight around as mayor, but he loves his daughter to pieces whether she's nice or not and he always tries to have her be on her best behavior. Meanwhile, Audrey takes pride in seeing her daughter act rudely and dole out verbal abuse to the help in order to dominate the "lowlifes". It's honestly just shameful.But hey, if it will get her to hug Chloe for once, I guess it's worth it for her daughter to act her usual nasty self, right?
Chloe's behavior is based entirely on her own insecurities
Throughout this entire episode, I noticed some glaring issues with Audrey's behavior towards Chloe's that reflected in her daughter's own actions. Audrey doesn't seem to pay much attention to Chloe nor do they seem very close. Despite how a mother and daughter should be.
Because of this, Chloe spends a lot of time trying to impress the emotionally-distant mother any chance she gets. This means acting like her, following her around so she can be close by at all times, and agreeing with everything she says. In this episode, alone, Chloe behaves the way her best friend and minion, Sabrina, does; like a sidekick. Depending on who you ask, it could be see as either cute or annoying. I thought it was mostly the former, but also kind of sad, mainly because her mother doesn't even acknowledge her for most of the episode no matter what she does. I remember the first time it was first indicated, at the beginning of season 2, what the relationship was like.
Her mother had been hinted as being neglectful first in episode, Despair Bear, where we see in a background picture when Chloe is receiving advice from her butler about kindness. In it, you can see a picture of Audrey with her back turned while carrying a roll-on luggage as Chloe stands there watching her leave while holding her teddy bear. The next episode where it's hinted even more is in Zombizou, when Sabrina spills the beans about Audrey never remembering Chloe's birthday, and probably never being in Paris to celebrate it with her.
I already mentioned before how horrible Audrey was to Chloe and, to a lesser extent, her husband. But while Chloe's father,Audre, could probably deal with Audrey and might be used to her verbal abuse, Chloe, a mere child likely isn't. Like Adrien with his busy dad, she doesn't even get to see her mother very often. The woman's always working in another country, miles away from home and barely wants to stay in Paris where her family is. Not to mention, she's never taken Chloe to New York with her, as we learned in this episode, and didn't seem concerned about her daughter's desire to be closer to her at all for most of the episode.
Chloe doesn't even make it inconspicuous that she wants to be just like her mom, either. Like the old saying goes, "imitation is the highest form of flattery", and Chloe tries making sure all her mannerisms matches mom's to a T. The biggest examples of this how she imitates her mother's every movement from her walking style to the way she pull down her sunglasses as pictured above. The girl's sunglasses aren't even on her face and she still tries to mimic those very actions. As funny as these scenes are, Chloe's actions further drive home how she's so desperate to get any shrivel of respect from her mother and be just like the woman.
Now I know that Chloe is not everyone's favorite character. For the past two seasons, she's been nothing but a bully and a spoiled brat that causes more trouble for the people of Paris than she realizes. She even guilty of bullying our main character prior to the start of the series. But honestly, after watching these two new episodes, and the recent episodes of this season that have focused on her character arc, I think I'm beginning to see why.
Looking at things from, Chloe's perspective, she's never has a positive female role model in her life who truly loves her and cares for her as much as her father does. The closest thing to a mother that she actually has is her homeroom teacher, Ms. Bustier, who's one of the kindest characters on the entire show. Aside from her, there's also Ladybug, who we know the true identity of and are aware of how much she despises Chloe (though she's never admitted to her face) despite how much she admires her.
In regards to her behavior towards Marinette, when you think about it, even she doesn't come from a wealthy and powerful family, she stills gets everything Chloe would kill for: Two parents that love her and are always at home, a nice home, lots of friends, guys who have a crush on her, a talent for fashion design, and recently, the admiration of Chloe's mother and famous fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste. Not to mention, Chloe's childhood friend and longtime crush, Adrien might even start developing feelings for her soon because she's so kind and caring. Marinette is popular and talented and, unbeknownst to Chloe and every other resident of Paris, she's a superhero.
When you consider all of that, even though her actions in the following episode are reprehensible, it's understandable. It makes the humiliation conga line she goes through in this episode quite sad, as she is publicly shamed and humiliated for her actions. One particular scene I found poignant in the Queen Wasp episode, is the scene near the end when Chat Noir destroyed her miraculous after he and Ladybug capture her underwater. The way she takes the remaining pieces and holds it close to her chest, made me almost tear up. Deep down, Chloe's just a sad, socially inept kid who wants to be loved and admired. As her teacher stated episodes ago, she just needs a little guidance in becoming a better person. In due time, Chloe might actually learn to do just that and truly learn what it really means to be a superhero.
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