Miraculous Season 4: Luka and Kagami

Honestly, very disappointed with how this storyline turned out. Despite being a huge shipper of Adrien and Marinette, all miraculous fans know that they’re endgame, so it would’ve been nice to see alternative routes explored a bit; not finished in the first two episodes of the season. Luka and Marinette have a nice companionship to where he’s calm and extroverted, frequently hosting jam sessions with his friends on the boat he lives on, while Marinette is also extroverted and enjoys spending time with friends. Both have a desire to help people, offering support and advice to those who need it, meaning the two of them have a lot of similarities.

However, because of Marinette’s new role as guardian, she is constantly stressed, and her feelings for Adrien certainly don’t help in reducing those panicked emotions, effectively putting an end to the relationship between Luka and Marinette before it even started. In my opinion, Luka could’ve been the calming presence Marinette desperately needs, rather than quickly written off as a cheap plot point to show Marinette’s increased responsibility. Half the episodes of Miraculous focus on the fights, so this season was going to provide a fresh perspective where our characters get to experience something completely different in that first half of the episode – dating.

Plus, seeing Marinette and Adrien go on a double date with their partners, sparking even little bits of jealousy between the two, would’ve been fun. I do enjoy watching Ladybug and Chat Noir fight crime, understanding Marinette has more responsibility now, but I feel like the story is lacking in terms of showing stronger character and relationship development for her. It’s increasingly disappointing how the writers tend to put primary focus on creating villains and orchestrating fight scenes, while missing opportunities to flesh out their characters and craft stronger relationships.

Just because she likes Adrien, does not mean she’s not allowed to get close and/or develop feelings for another boy; especially after season 3 was spent setting up Luka and Kagami to be romantic partners in season 4. This incessant desire to keep her chained to only liking Adrien, who she hardly interacts with in his Adrien form, is seriously holding Marinette back while eliminating possible story arcs.

This applies to Kagami and Adrien, who are similar in personality and circumstances in which they’re forced by their parents to excel, constantly working in efforts to please them. They’re showcased off when it benefits their parents yet hidden away in the room while enduring emotionally abusive treatment if not in immediate, beneficial service to for their parents. As a result, they relate to each other and connect through this, with Kagami even reminding Adrien a few times that he is not just Gabriel’s puppet who can be pushed around. Kagami is the only one who can truly understand the amount of emotional abuse and pressure Adrien goes through at home, and I would’ve liked to see that explored further because I think that’s what he needs.

Again, Marinette and Adrien are not chained to one another. In fact, they hardly interact normally with each other, as Marinette acts like a stalkerish, stuttering mess around him unable to keep full sentences or consistent conversation for too long. Thus, I think Luka and Kagami were what Adrien and Marinette needed for themselves before being ready to engage in a committed path towards one another. It’s a shame that story arc was rapidly ended in the beginning episodes of season 4 as a means of quick plot points and, honestly, maybe even fear of exploring a realm outside the Adrien and Marinette path that the show is structured around.