Is This The End Of Chloe Bourgeois?

Is this the end of Chloe Bourgeois?

She’s been exiled from her city after a brief but disastrous run as its absolute ruler. Her father has disowned her. Her mother is humiliated by her and seems intent on making her burn for it, now that she has sole custody of her. Her co-conspirator in her grand scheme has dropped contact, forsaking her to run her own game. Her childhood friend, the boy she once regarded as hers and hers alone, has washed his hands of her. Her only friend, whom she treated as an underling for years, has turned against her. And her favorite bullying target has just explained to her, in no uncertain terms, that she’s lost everything and has no power over anyone anymore.

Even from a Doylist perspective, there seems to be no place for Chloe anymore. She no longer lives in Paris, and Lila/Cerise has usurped her position as designated beta-villain. Some would see this as an opportunity to write Chloe out of the series entirely, and few people within the fandom would shed tears. 

And yet, Chloe does have her fans. Some of them object to the apparent beatification of Marinette, in-universe and out, or that Mr. Astruc and the writers have flanderized Chloe into the series’ hate sink at the cost of her character arc. Others sympathize with Chloe as a victim of emotional abuse and neglect who doesn’t understand how to be a good person because no one’s shown her how (although I would argue that Armand and Miss Bustier at least tried).

Putting Chloe on a bus (or in her case, a jet) while singing “Ding Dong, the Bitch is Dead” seems too easy and neat an ending for her. I would like to see Chloe return in season 6 with the increased capacity for empathy that often comes from losing something precious. I want her to learn that “nice” isn’t just an affectation one puts on to impress people you like. I want her to understand that true heroism takes effort and even sacrifice. I want her to experience the give-and-take of equitable relationships. I want to see her tempted to fall into old habits and make a few bad decisions, but ultimately prove herself to herself. And again shifting from the Watsonian to the Doylist, I would like to see Chloe become a powerful foil and counter to the increasingly diabolical Lila/Cerise.

The problem is that I don’t see how this is possible. Audrey seems intent on controlling Chloe’s every move to prevent her daughter from causing her further shame. Even if Chloe did return to Paris, everyone there seemingly hates her. The only way I can see it happening is if Audrey got tired of Chloe and sent her back, not knowing what else to do with her... and if someone, against their better judgment, agreed to shelter her... and if she adopted a new name and changed her appearance so that no one recognized her as the recently overthrown child-dictator of Paris.

Reinventing Chloe offers far more creative potential than discarding her. Also, it would show the kids for whom this show was created what it means to be a truly good person, that sometimes it takes real effort and hard choices but that it’s ultimately worth it.