Miraculous Season 4: Did the Writer's Make the Right Choice with Chloe? | Discussion and Analysis

***Spoilers Ahead***

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Chloe, as most know, had caused a bit of a debate in terms of her character progression and, uh, regression. In season one and two, Chloe was a cruel, callous girl that got all she demanded for, bullying those who got in her way. Her best friend, Sabrina, was her lacky that did everything Chloe viciously requested, her father was terrified of her and, as a result, provided her every desire to avoid being yelled at, and the kids at school had no choice but to listen as she raged at them in the hallway regarding how “utterly ridiculous” they are. Her ultimate crush, Adrien, was the only one she treated with any sort of respect, with him and Marinette being among the very few that chose to stand up against her manipulative and intimidating tactics. Simply put, she was awful with essentially no redeeming traits to me at first.

Her Tragic Homelife

There is the perspective regarding her home life in which her mother is emotionally abusive and neglectful, with her father, the mayor, providing Chloe material gifts out of guilt (and fear) from not being around often. Both her parents are workaholics, and Chloe began mimicking her mother’s terrible attitude as both a survival tactic and effort to connect with her mother in any way she believed would make her proud.

Given the fact that Chloe is only 14, it's more understandable to recognize how her actions may be a result of her environment, making her character redemption arc in season three one that instantly garnered more empathetic fans of Chloe. And while I do empathize with her and fans, I also feel as though that backstory could’ve been utilized to create a more in-depth character that does villainous actions out of her hurt and, in later seasons, begins to have a character redemption after that side of her is explored a bit more.

Let me be clear in saying that I do not think those with bad upbringings should always be made to be villains and their actions growing up always define who they are, but I am saying a lot of villains have a backstory that motivate them to do what they do – whether it’s tragic or not. We see it in anime and superhero movies often.

Chloe, in my eyes, has always felt self-motivated and hateful even while performing heroic actions with the bee miraculous. Everything she did was not from the good of her heart or for others, but to be acknowledged and gain self-beneficial recognition/fame. Yes, that could possibly stem from neglect in her homelife, though that still doesn’t completely free her from the consequences of her poor treatment towards others, as well as her continuously narcissistic behavior. In season three, she put the entire city of Paris endanger because of her own self-absorbed decisions, and that deserves punishment. She’s continuously been a huge bully towards everyone around her, and the few times we saw her kindness was when she was trying to prove herself to Ladybug, her idol.

"Heart Hunter" and "Miracle Queen"

Now, the episodes “Heart Hunter” and “Miracle Queen” actually made some sense to me, as Ladybug is the only person Chloe feels is a safety net from her borderline abusive household. And when she feels as though Ladybug didn’t trust her to be the hero that aids in de-akumatizing her parents, we witness Chloe lash out because, in her mind, her hero had given up on using her as an ally in a moment that was especially personal.

Her parents were akumatized! Knowing how stubborn and tough Chloe is, it’s understandable no convincing would just force her to immediately become accepting again of the one person she looked up to betraying her. This, thus, is why I believe the writers weren’t wrong in the decision for Chloe. Chloe was set up to be more than a school bully that, in the span of a season, has a change of heart without ever having explored the darker side of her. In a real life setting, emotional trauma cannot be undone that quickly.

Besides, Chloe is not a very nice person and has remained mostly consistent in that throughout the series, meaning her season four persona was not a surprise and, quite frankly, spot on towards how she was presented since season one. I’m not mad Chloe didn’t get a positive character development boost, but rather more frustrated they didn’t expand on her personality and left her as a dull high school bully that’s given multiple episodes simply to hammer down that she’s just “irredeemable”. As stated, I thought she was set up to be more than that.

Lila and Chloe Should've Been Merged

Lila was not needed, and I will stand by the fact that I believe Lila and Chloe should’ve been merged into one person. Right now, Chloe is stagnant with not much new added to her character, and Lila, besides in the last two or so episodes, didn’t play a role throughout the entirety of season four despite being set up as a villain in season three. It would’ve made more since had Chloe became the secret confidant of Hawkmoth and turned her attention towards seeking revenge against Ladybug and Chat Noir, while simultaneously exploring her affections with Adrien a bit more to become an obstacle in the way of Marinette.

Eliminating Lila completely from the narrative, especially seeing how no one really trusted her anymore due to her repeated lies, would’ve allowed more plot and character development for Chloe to give more depth to her character. Lila was a rushed thought in season four who was made to seem like the biggest villain standing in Marinette’s way when she isn’t. Felix vs Gabriel, Chat Noir and Ladybug tensions, and sentimonster mystery provide more value than Lila, who just wasn’t given enough screen time. It feels wasteful for her character and if they were having trouble fitting all the characters, I believe they should’ve just eliminated her entirely and focused more on Chloe’s development.