[Review/Recap] Miraculous Ladybug Season 2 Episode 9: "Glaciator" (SPOILERS) · 5:41am May 1st, 2018
Marinette's friends search Paris for Andre the Sweethearts Ice Cream Maker, and try to invite Adrien along to pair off with Marinette. Meanwhile, Chat Noir is planning an elegant, romantic rooftop picnic for Ladybug. Both plans fall through, Andre is caught in the crossfire, and Hawk Moth serves up a giant scoop of evil.
We open with Ladybug and Chat Noir saving a runaway bus from certain doom. After the peril, Chat Noir asks Ladybug to meet him that evening for a special rendezvous. She doesn't commit, citing other plans, but he says he'll be waiting anyway if she changes her mind.
Marinette's plans are to go with Alya, Nino, Ivan, and Mylene in search of Andre, the Sweethearts Ice Cream Maker. A local legend, Andre's cart can only be located by word of mouth. It's said that his ice cream is magical and binds true soulmates with his expert selection of flavors--he always seems to know exactly what flavors best complement a customer's true love. The plan was to have Adrien join them and share Sweethearts Ice Cream with Marinette, but Gabriel refused to let him out for the evening. Dejected, Marinette goes with her friends anyway, but she's in a bad mood.
Meanwhile, Adrien transforms and heads to where he planned to meet Ladybug, because he needs time to set up a romantic rooftop picnic he plans to share with her as he confesses his love.
Andre is a kind, jovial man who loves seeing people in love. When he meets Marinette, he guesses (correctly) the ice cream that matches her soulmate, but since Adrien never showed up, Marinette is in a pissy mood. When someone bumps into her and knocks her ice cream to the ground, she refuses a second cone--and brusquely tells Andre that she doesn't think his ice cream is magical at all before running away in tears, casting a pall over a fun outing and hurting Andre's feelings.
Later that night, Andre is Akumatized into Glaciator, a giant ice cream snowman who has the power to turn people into melting ice cream. He immediately proceeds to hunt down Marinette to punish her for her unkind words. Elsewhere in Paris, Chat Noir has given up on Ladybug coming to his little rendezvous, and forlornly blows out the candles he'd set up. As he's sighing and feeling lonely, he notices Marinette on her balcony, and leaps over to drop in on her. They commisserate over their broken hearts; Marinette realizes that Chat Noir is really in love with Ladybug, and that he's serious about it. This makes the entire evening awkward, especially when Chat Noir takes Marinette to see the picnic he'd set up for Ladybug, even going so far as to relight all the candles.
This unexpected, awkward "date" is wrecked by the appearance of Glaciator. Chat Noir rushes off to fight, and Marinette retreats to her room and transforms. When Ladybug arrives on the scene, Chat Noir is bitter and snippy with her at first, but later apologizes, realizing he was making assumptions and that she never actually promised to meet him. Things take an awkward turn when Ladybug suggests they have to pretend to be a couple to avoid Glaciator's attack, as he's refusing to attack couples in love with his ice cream.
After they defeat the Akuma, Chat Noir gives Ladybug a rose and confesses his love to her. She sadly and gently rebuffs him, saying there's somebody she fancies already, but Chat Noir refuses to let this get him down: he gives her the rose anyway, and says for now, their friendship and partnership is important to him and it's all he needs.
The next day, Marinette finds Andre again and apologizes. She accepts his ice cream and happily shares it with Tikki. Seconds later, just barely missing each other, Adrien shows up and gets ice cream from Andre--the ice cream SCREAMS Ladybug, it's uncanny--and settles down on the opposite end of the bridge from Marinette to eat it. Neither is ever aware the other is there...
Christ, Marinette. There was no call for acting that way to poor Andre.
Christ, Chat Noir. You were a bit TOO shitty to Ladybug, especially since she never committed to your little rooftop date.
The balcony scene is one of my favorite things to come out of season two yet. Marinette is now aware of just how genuine Chat Noir's feelings for Ladybug are, which puts her in an awkward and uncomfortable position. Also, more Marichat is always a good thing. 10/10.
While this was a good episode, I'll admit that the characters were being somewhat bitter towards each other, and Andre deserved absolutely none of the flak that Marinette gave him. Still, the aforementioned balcony scene was really well done and built up the romance between the two a fair bit.
Amazing episode, love is in the air, kinda sorta maybe not but still!!