I don’t think it’s a dumb gripe at all! That kind of thing gets on my nerves, too. As I said in another post on the topic, I get why someone would find Werepapas upsetting. There’s a visceral negative reaction that comes from seeing Marinette break Adrien’s amok, but the problem isn’t Marinette’s actions. Not really. There are actual multiple writing issues at work here:
- The writers decided to have this super serious moment in an episode that didn’t have time to actually set up that serious moment and let it breathe. Marinette should have been given time to freak out over smashing the rings while also seeing it was her only option. Denying her that undermined her character and denied the moment proper narrative weight. If the writers didn’t want to give her time to think the moment through, then they needed to up the threat with something like Adrien’s grandfathers running toward her, forcing her to act now.
- The amok lore is so poorly established that we have no idea what Marinette knows or even what we apparently don’t know. Does she know that he’s a senti? Does she know that you can apparently break amoks without releasing their feather? No one knows even though the writers had five seasons to set this shit up!
- The akuma being the rings was silly since it doesn’t even seem to matter to the plot. If Marinette isn’t going to be allowed a proper freakout over smashing the rings, then just use a different object for the akuma.
- This should never have been Marinette’s fight in the first place.
That last one is the big one for me. I touched on it here, but for me, this episode was just a mini version of the season five final. In terms of the episode’s plot, your question should not be, “why did the writers have Marinette break the rings?” It should be, “why did the writers have Marinette be the focus of another episode about Adrien family dynamics?”
Marinette should have never been put into the position where she had to make a call about the rings because it’s not her fight. Time and time again this show has let minor characters be the ones to win when a fight involves their loved ones, but when it’s Adrien’s loved ones? He gets left out even though the fight is literally centered around a character feeling like they have no control:
Chrysalis: Hello. Forgive my intrusion. (Puts her hand on Milly’s shoulder.) You’ve had enough of people fighting and making decisions for others, haven’t you? I know what would be fitting for you – to finally be in charge. I can give you this power. Only if you agree, of course. (Milly looks up and smiles.)
That’s terrible writing. I’m not looking for another Adrien akuma, but it’s really weird that his newly introduced Grandma is the one getting akumatized over this issue and not him given the fact that he’s the one who we’ve actually seen suffer long term. If anyone has a right to snap over this particular issue, it’s Adrien. Similarly, if anyone has a right to save the day here, it’s Adrien.
The last two seasons were packed with examples of people other than Ladybug getting to save their family, romantic partners, and friends. Why does Adrien never get those moments? Why was an episode about his custody focused on Ladybug fighting his grandparents? That should be what upsets you, not the dumb ring thing which was obviously not going to kill him. It was there for cheap drama, nothing more, nothing less. That’s why the episode didn’t give it the attention it deserves.
That and the fact that it would be too strong of a serialized element for this show as you’d have to know all about the rings to get what’s going on, but that’s just why the akuma should have been something other than the rings. I’m not sure why the writers tried to make the rings matter at all in this episode because it really doesn’t work. There’s not enough time to give them proper weight for viewers “in the know” so it’s just an endless parade of Marinette being way too casual about this super important thing because the episode can’t let her react properly without openly acknowledging Adrien’s status and other serialized elements.
I read through the script and it seems like Ladybug’s brief hesitation over breaking the rings is the only moment where the episode even tries to acknowledge what the rings are. Outside of that, they’re treated like normal rings because Marinette doesn’t react to any of the ring-based shenanigans that go on like Adrien giving the rings to his insanely controlling grandfather:
Emil: Hand me the Grahams’ twin ring.
(Adrien, without protesting, takes the rings off and sets them down on the table. As Emil reaches for them, his wife interrupts him.)
Or the rings being lost. Two moments that should have been accompanied by horror and Marinette considering that maybe Adrien should know what exactly those rings are. But there’s not time for that so we get a total mess instead, making me very glad I’m not watching this season. Based on the way Lila was handled in previous seasons, I knew the writers were not going to be able to handle another lie-based subplot without people looking terrible and, oh look, I was right! It’s just that Marinette is the main victim this time instead of Alya.
Minor side note now that I’ve read the script: Emilie, why did you make your family’s deeply treasured heirlooms your son’s remote control? That seems incredibly short sighted. You had to know your family might want them back, right? At the very least, you might want to pass on the rings to Adrien or his kids and then where are you? If you’re going to give your kid a remote control, go with a custom one!
And if this was about breaking free of your family’s control by claiming something of theirs for yourself (which I bet would be what the writers claim) then talk about being oblivious! You turned a symbol of control into a literal control! There’s potential for something interesting there, but only if Emilie gets to be something less than perfect and canon doesn’t seem to be going there. Fanfic writers go nuts with that one if it sparks an idea.
