Hello critters!
Over the weekend I binged the new Netflix series inspired by the beloved Italian animated series Winx Club. I went in there expecting to be bothered and disappointed by the differences with the source material, and lo and behold, as much as I whined about the lack of sparkles, I could not look away from the screen and ended up finishing it all in one go, unexpectedly going to bed at 3am.
Here are some thoughts.
It suffers from the Game of Thrones Season 8 syndrome.
The first season of Fate lasts for a mere 6 episodes of about 1h each. I truly believe it could have benefitted from a couple more episodes early on to allow more time to establish characters, relationships and give more gravitas to the plot twists. Just like the ill-fated Season 8 of the show that is the definition of an almost perfect soufflé that got taken out of the oven a tad too soon and collapsed on itself, this season of Fate felt rushed.
So much happens in the first episode that could have been spread out over time. For example, Bloom opens up about burning down her house and injuring her mother to someone she just met. And said person she just met has the audacity to declare that she's adopted. *dramatic reenactment* Bloom! Guess what? Based on the whole 3 hours I've known you, I think it's my duty to tell you that you're adopted and you're an abomination because changelings are practically monsters. Hope you're okay with that life-changing information, hope you don't do anything reckless and irrational with it. Toodles!
As for the antagonist, Beatrix deserved a better introduction than this completely ridiculous scene of introducing herself to the headmistress to try and get into her office. Sure, it shows that she's driven and arrogant, but come on! If that's supposed to be the main villain that the characters interact with, there was another way to show how manipulative and goal-oriented she is while still managing to keep some kind of mystery around her character's true motivations.
What happened to the queens of my childhood?
Oh Stella, what have they done to you? The stylish princess used to be bubbly, fierce, spontaneous, and popular. In this case, they kept the popular but made her a mean girl. Her haughty attitude is later revealed to be due to her insecurity caused by her mother's demanding expectations. This is a classic trope of faking confidence and power till you make it because of unresolved trauma, but I think we can all agree that this is a trope that needs to retire. Honestly, there was no reason for Stella, the literal fairy of light, not to be both insecure and a ray of sunshine.
No Flora or Tecna in sight. *sad sigh* Terra is the new fairy of nature of the group. She isn't used to being around kids her age which makes her desperate to make friends and feel included. The second-hand embarrassment from seeing her failing to respect other people's boundaries and then not understanding why they don't welcome her with open arms is almost too much to bear. The original Flora was sensitive and wore her heart on her sleeve, but not to the point of making everyone around her feel uncomfortable. But I guess she's just a kid. And who hasn't been cringey AF when they were teens?
Aisha was seriously underdeveloped and relegated to accessory. The inconsistency of her motivations and beliefs was annoying as hell. One minute, she wants to be super friends with Bloom because they're roommates, the next, she's ratting her out to the headmistress. And then again the next minute, she's like "oh yeah Bloom, of course I've got your back". Make up your mind! (I'm addressing the writers here, they're the ones to blame for the lack of proper personality attributed to the fairy of water.) Aisha was done dirty.
As for Musa, she's my baby. I'm not gonna lie, I was bummed her powers were not related to music, but empathy is cool too, I guess. (Also, why oh why did they have to whitewash her??) As an introvert myself, I can totally relate to needing solitude and quiet when one's out of energy from being around people for too long. Her budding romance with Sam was cute as hell though. And probably the least toxic of them all.
I guess poison ivy runs through the school because all I can see are toxic relationships.
Bloom, baby fairy who's simply trying to figure out who she is (I thought Abigail Cowen was a great Bloom and believable teenager) was surrounded by people who saw her as a pawn. Headmistress Dowling lied to her to "protect" her, creating a gap between the two and allowing others with bad intentions to slither in, because everyone knows that the more something is forbidden or withheld, the more humans are determined to get it. Beatrix completely used her too, and everyone else around her for that matter, to get what she wanted. Even her mother treated her in a way that's not acceptable. Like, hello! Privacy and respect much? Taking away "door privileges" is so fucked up. At least, by the end of the season, Bloom finally caught a break from all the negativity and lying.
Rosalind is a mastermind of manipulation, ruthless and unapologetic. She's the baddest bitch of all. This should be a good basis for a memorable villain. I wonder what her long-term scheme is and I hope the next seasons will give us more time to explore that. But back to the point, Rosalind seized her opportunity to exploit Bloom's power for her personal gain preying on the fairy's desire for the truth about her identity.
Sky and Bloom don't have the best foundation for a relationship since they both lied to each other to do the bidding of their mentors, but I have hopes. They look so cute together and their growing bond is pretty endearing. If they can get past all the deception and build a solid trust base, they have a good chance of being a lasting couple (like in the original series).
Stella is burdened with a mother who has insane expectations and is obsessed with appearance and power. That would be hard on anyone and I understand why she would be a bit fucked up, but that being said, I didn't like seeing her practice emotional manipulation with Sky. That's not fair to him and relying for everything on only one person is definitely not a healthy way to cope with trauma. Also, where the fuck is Brandon??
Riven is both easily influenced and usually under the influence, which made him the perfect target for Beatrix. A teen with unresolved trauma (whatever it might be since we have zero insight into Riven's past, another instance where it would have been good to have more episodes) and a desire to be seen as cool and edgy because that 100% makes a personality, what more could you want? I kinda feel bad for him and also not.
As a group, the Winx start off to a super rocky start. It is totally unrealistic for so many roommates to be instant best friends (like in the cartoon), but it's also a bit shitty to have them be somewhat jealous of one another. I really wish they had had more time to interact and develop a bond over normal teenage fairy stuff, like studying and practicing magic, or more trying on outfits together. I don't know, but like, more proper hanging out and getting to know each other so that it doesn't feel so rushed and weird.
You know what would be fun? Taking all the joy from the source material away!
Alfea is now a co-ed school that totally looks like a British boarding school. (The castle is located in Ireland, which absolutely calls for a road trip! Whenever safely possible.) So long brightly coloured outfits and adorable pets. Welcome to the lesser Hogwarts. I will admit though, that it's pretty cool that fairies and Specialists can be of any gender.
Based on the trailer, I knew it was gonna be more of a teen drama, but I didn't expect it to be so explicit. Not gonna lie, I was taken aback by some of the raunchy lines, most often uttered by Riven and Beatrix. At least, unlike in Riverdale and Rosewood, not all the teens were wearing unrealistically sexy outfits and hooking up left and right.
No more sparkly fairy costumes and pretty wings. That one is a big downer. For the new rules they made about the magic world, it does make sense, but still... Considering the transformation sequences and looks were a major appeal of Winx Club, it is disappointing not to get this treat. Fingers crossed for later seasons though.
As much as I wish they had taken more time to establish it all and hadn't gone such a dark path, losing the essence of the original show in the process, I still enjoyed Fate a lot. As previously mentioned, I couldn't look away. At the end of each episode, I was glued to my screen because I wanted more. It was a pretty addictive watch. I was delighted to see Barrow from Downton Abbey as a teacher, and even more so when I realized that he had been Sky's father figure, teaching him how to be a soldier but also how to have compassion and care for the ones who matter to you. When the group of girls finally found their chemistry and dynamic, it was nice to see them be friends. I'm hopeful that next season will allow them to strengthen their bond more organically. Because yes, when all is said and done, I liked the show and I want more seasons of The Winx Saga.
Rainbows and succulents 🌈
Nicky 🦊
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