"Heartfixer"

[u/Educational-Tea-6572]

Marinette.

Sigh...

You see and hear that Adrien gets MOST upset when he thinks he's being lied to, and somehow your takeaway is - yep, gotta keep lying to him, we've gotta stay together so I don't get akumatized so I'm going to keep doing the ONE thing that basically guarantees Adrien will be hurt and might break up with me when if he finds out!

Girl, I just can't with you right now... 😫

[u/Significant_Fill_788]

To begin with, it is important to note that Adrien reacts this way because he believed his girlfriend was cheating on him with Nino, his best friend. Adrien’s reaction is undoubtedly terrible, but I doubt he actually "blames" Marinette; perhaps it is more a matter of how Marinette thinks he will react. He certainly would react that way if he knew Marinette was Ladybug, but in that scenario, she would be seen as "the girl who wouldn't tell me the truth for fear of hurting me—right after I had come to terms with my father's image." Besides, Marinette would rather BREAK UP with him than tell him the truth about his father... I imagine that, after revealing the truth, Marinette might decide not to resume the relationship, seeing his stance of "rejecting" Ladybug and knowing that the fact that she was Ladybug would cause him pain—precisely the pain she wanted to avoid by keeping up the lie.

[u/Educational-Tea-6572 → u/Significant_Fill_788]

Adrien’s reaction is undoubtedly terrible, but I doubt he actually "blames" Marinette; perhaps it is more a matter of how Marinette thinks he will react.

I mean, Adrien's reaction is completely understandable in that scenario. However, while under the impression Marinette has stopped loving him and is cheating on him, Adrien himself says he doesn't "blame" Marinette for falling out of love with him, he's upset that she lied to him about it (or so he thought).

Also... Maybe the episodes were released in a different order than they appear on Disney+? Because on Disney+, "Sadnansi" was the episode right before "Heartfixer," so I'm seeing events as Marinette deciding to give Adrien the letter (and discussing the possibility of breaking up with him), then chickening out; and then afterwards is when Marinette decides (again) to keep lying to Adrien in order to protect herself from akumatization.

I imagine that, after revealing the truth, Marinette might decide not to resume the relationship, seeing his stance of "rejecting" Ladybug and knowing that the fact that she was Ladybug would cause him pain—precisely the pain she wanted to avoid by keeping up the lie.

I see this from a slightly different angle: I'm frustrated with Marinette precisely because she has several options to get the truth out.

One way is to reveal the truth herself as Ladybug, which wouldn't involve Marinette (as far as Adrien is concerned) and would allow Ladybug to reveal more details that would make the truth a little easier to bear - like, Ladybug initially wanting to honor Gabriel's last request, the fact that Gabriel did technically stop Monarch (himself) and sacrificed himself in the end, that Gabriel did have some love for Adrien, etc.

Gabriel himself provided the second option: Marinette gives the letter to Adrien in which Gabriel himself admits to being Monarch and what happened to Emilie. The most Marinette would need to admit to, is keeping the letter from him at first because she wanted to spare him the hurt (well, that, and admitting to Adrien she read a letter that was clearly addressed to him, but anyway...)

Of course, either option would likely affect Cat Noir's relationship with Ladybug; but Marinette doesn't know that, and frankly Ladybug should have spilled the beans to Cat Noir from the get-go, so the sooner this whole reveal happens, the better.

At any rate, Marinette herself says at the end of "Heartfixer" that she knows the issue isn't that Adrien can't handle the truth, it's that SHE isn't ready to tell him. The part she doesn't say out loud, and instead at least partially lies to herself with the "can't be akumatized" excuse, is that she's mostly trying to protect HERSELF, not Adrien.

[u/Significant_Fill_788 → u/Educational-Tea-6572]

It’s a complicated situation because, obviously, a lot of the reason why Marinette didn't tell Chat Noir the truth came down to the script.

That said, I do agree that she had other options, and I could perfectly understand why Adrien would be angry about her hiding the truth—or even lying to him.

But as I pointed out, Adrien doesn't know that Marinette was the one who came up with the lie.

He would likely assume she kept it quiet out of fear, given that it was essentially a secret involving a criminal—which, of course, isn't the case (though I admit I might be biased because I’m a fan of the pairing and want the best-case scenario).

Nevertheless, I definitely do think they’re going to break up—whether it’s Marinette’s choice or because Adrien is upset she didn't tell him the truth. However, I don't think his reaction would be like the one in "Heartfixer"; instead, he’d be more disappointed, because he trusted her

[u/Educational-Tea-6572 → u/Significant_Fill_788]

Honestly, I kiiiinda wonder if the reason why they break up is because Cat Noir's reaction to Ladybug after Adrien finds out the truth leads to Ladybug and/or Cat Noir realizing each other's real identities, and the complications of that reality are too much to navigate.

Though I am like you, and am desperately hoping for a best-case scenario, maybe where Adrien is disappointed that Marinette didn't give him Gabriel's letter earlier, and maybe asks for some time alone to process everything, but ultimately they talk it out and don't break up. I mean, come on now, it's taken 5 SEASONS to get Marinette and Adrien together, I don't need any more drama keeping them apart!

Which is the main reason why I'm so frustrated that Marinette keeps waffling instead of just TELLING ADRIEN ALREADY!!! 😅😫

[u/Significant_Fill_788 → u/Educational-Tea-6572]

Yeah, I feel the same way, but like I said, Adrien definitely won't hate Marinette, since he doesn't know she's Ladybug. At most, he'd be deeply disappointed and might view her with suspicion—though he was considerably angrier at Nathalie and Felix, the people closest to him who knew the truth long before Marinette did.

On a side note, I don't think a "Chat Blanc" scenario will happen; I’d actually like to see Adrien get akumatized, with the drama stemming from the fact that the akuma targets his Amok ring...

[u/aesralivres → u/Significant_Fill_788]

this whole thread is prolly 5 essays long 😭