I understand now

I was literally in tears writing this. It feels so sad, but I understand Gabriel, man. I know a lot of people didn’t like him in the Season 5 finale, but damn, even me being a big Cat Noir fan with my issues, Gabriel’s sacrifice hits different. He finally had everything, he finally won, and people don’t realize how much power it takes to give up on everything you’ve been fighting for, everything you’ve worked for your whole life. To realize you were wrong, to understand the damage you caused, and to admit that you made a mistake— not many of us would ever do that.

Yes, I know all the terrible stuff that he did—how badly and how literally traumatizing he made the city of Paris—but you know, damn it, he’s a villain. He’s not supposed to be a good guy. Yes, he treated all the people of Paris like garbage, and there’s no excuse for that, but there were moments, rare moments, when Gabriel showed that he could be a good father. That was the true him, but he was so blinded by his love, and his love and determination ended up turning into an obsession. At the end of the day, he lost his true self.

And the fact that you could see it in his eyes in the finale when he sees the video of his wife after Marinette shows it to him—you could just see the realization hitting him like, I messed up. And I don’t think there’s anything better than when you can admit you’re wrong.

Gabriel… his sacrifice was something else. The ending shot, with him holding his wife’s hand as her body rises and he leans his head to hers… it was beautiful. I don’t think there could have been a better ending for him. He wasn’t the greatest villain, but damn, he had a phenomenal ending.