LogFAQs > #974531235

#96: The Chloe Bourgeois Saga

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"That's some nice character development you've got there. It'd be a shame if something were to happen to it."

Chloe Bourgeois is the school bully on the television show Miraculous Ladybug, and in season one, she lived up to that role quite well. Her selfishness and cruelty led to nearly a dozen of the show's villain transformations, and despite showing a few signs of deeper character traits, she mostly spent the first season as a bully and a baddie... but that didn't stop a good portion of the fandom from rooting for her to change her ways. Why not? Everyone loves a good redemption story, and soon, those fans got their wish when Chloe was revealed as the upcoming holder of the Bee Miraculous, set to join Ladybug and Cat Noir in their fight against villainy. The crowd erupted at this revelation, moreso even than when Alya was revealed as a future Miraculous holder, and soon, the fandom anticipated when she'd make the change. Sure enough, she acquired a Miraculous in season two, and despite some bumps along the road, joined the team fully in the finale... but during season three, this character development was entirely reversed, and Chloe not only lost her powers, but helped Hawkmoth acquire all the Miraculouses. If the story had ended there, this moment wouldn't be on this list. Thomas Astruc's decision to call an audible on Chloe's redemption arc did come off as a bit petty, and you could argue that it made her season two episodes pointless, but ultimately the move didn't hurt the show and Miraculous Ladybug is as popular as ever. And Chloe's fans had every right to be upset... but they took things to a whole different level. Chloe fans absolutely tore into Astruc after season three, insulting and even threatening him on Twitter, accusing him of all sorts of problematic things, and basically just being the most obnoxious fans imaginable. The storm of rage over Chloe's aborted redemption arc continues to this day, and the worst thing about it is that ultimately, regardless of how abrupt and petty Astruc's decision to reverse Chloe's redemption arc was, the fans' behavior afterward ultimately proved him right, and made Chloe fans pariahs in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom. Any chance there might've been of a reversal of the reversal was pretty much squandered through the actions of this group of fans, and what it comes down to in the end is a somewhat dumb decision to abort a popular redemption arc being overwhelmed by some of the most ridiculous fan behavior in recent memory. The whole thing vastly increased the toxicity of the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, and those Chloe fans who remain upset with the decision but who handled things in a more reasonable fashion (reading/writing fanfiction, voicing concerns respectfully), have had to pretty much go silent to avoid being lumped in with the crazy ones.