Fate: The Winx Saga - General Discussion

[paulvdb]

Quote

Fate: The Winx Saga follows the coming-of-age journey of five fairies attending Alfea, a magical boarding school in the Otherworld where they must learn to master their magical powers while navigating love, rivalries, and the monsters that threaten their very existence.

Premiered today on Netflix.

Trailer:

 

[meatball77]

I'm not familiar with the source material.  I'm liking it so far.  It's fun.

[Harvey]

I'm done with episode 3 now. There's a lot of things that I like, even though the series is so very different from the original Winx Club. But there are also many things that I dislike.

Some first thoughts:

1. The writing is really off sometimes. There's so many weird scenes! And I can't even tell you how hard I cringed when they said the word "mansplain" twice in the first episode for no reason... what was that about?
2. Whitewashing!!! But we knew that already. I still have hope that they'll bring Flora back for season 2.
3. When Terra shares her insecurities, the others ignore it and don't try to lift her up.
4. Why is Stella such a bitch? I mean, yes, she's self-centered but she also always cares about her friends? Also, her outfits are sooo boring.
5. Stella and Sky?? Ugh.
6. Where is Brandon?
7. I love Beatrix, would've loved to see a trio of witches tho.
8. I like Bloom, but she also seems a little off, angry for no reason other than "I'm a fire fairy, that's why!"
9. And... WHERE ARE THE WINGS? You "evolved"? Ok, then why did you call the series Winx? 

[nemesis]

I finished the 6 episodes.  I don't like Bloom at all.  She irritated me so much, so often.  She is dangerously impulsive and aggressive.  I couldn't see why her friends were her friends.  Proximity?  Did she help and support  them with anything?  All I saw was her talking about herself, except with her love interest, who strikes me as way too good for her.  I get that people lied to her, don't see why that would excuse the crazy that followed.  She got people seroiously injured or killed, could have gotten every child in that school killed, and I didn't see all that much guilt or anything.  I mean, I guess she reflected since her attitude changed.  Perhaps people who saw the original have more reason to find her sympathetic.  I find it annoying when the plot is being moved forward almost entirely by poor decision making.

I also don't see when the princess became a friend to any of them either.  They kept telling me they were friends but it was, what, that one conversation after she was invisible that did it?  She certainly wasn't hanging out with any of them any other time.

Edited January 24, 2021 by nemesis

[Yokosmom]

As someone who was way too old for the animated series, I have a question. Why do the male students during some of the later fighting scenes refer to their partners as fairies? Aren’t they all fairies? “You expect me to go out alone, without a fairy?” sort of thing. Is it just clunky writing?

Agree that Bloom is annoying. Also, if you have moved to an entire different world or reality, you might want to shut up and listen a bit. And possibly read some faerie history books. 

[non sequitur]

I'm on episode 3, and so far none of the girls are likable characters. They all seem selfish and mean.  Why is no one telling Terra that her crush is gay?  Especially Musa?

Stella and Riven look around 27-30, and most of the outfits are horrible.

 

 

[TrixieTrue]

13 hours ago, nemesis said:

I finished the 6 episodes.  I don't like Bloom at all.  She irritated me so much, so often.  She is dangerously impulsive and aggressive.  I couldn't see why her friends were her friends.  Proximity?  Did she help and support  them with anything?  All I saw was her talking about herself, except with her love interest, who strikes me as way too good for her.  I get that people lied to her, don't see why that would excuse the crazy that followed.  She got people seroiously injured or killed, could have gotten every child in that school killed, and I didn't see all that much guilt or anything.  I mean, I guess she reflected since her attitude changed.  Perhaps people who saw the original have more reason to find her sympathetic.  I find it annoying when the plot is being moved forward almost entirely by poor decision making.

I also don't see when the princess became a friend to any of them either.  They kept telling me they were friends but it was, what, that one conversation after she was invisible that did it?  She certainly wasn't hanging out with any of them any other time.

Yes to everything you wrote about Bloom! She was so self-centered. And at one point, in around episode four or five, she basically turned into the bad guy. And on a shallow note, I hate her name. I thought her parents were calling her by their last name at first. 

I'd have to go back and watch the first episode again (which I most likely won't), but I didn't think she said anything too terrible to her mother. At least not enough to warrant having her door taken away. That is horrible parenting. They could have taken her phone, computer, made her do extra chores, anything. Taking away a child's bedroom door, ensuring that they have no privacy to change their clothes and whatever else, is bordering on abusive. 

The only argument I can see for Stella becoming friends is that when she was invisible she realized they weren't saying bad things about her and also realized she needed them, because most people didn't like her. And I do think friendship alliances can change quickly when you're in high school. On another shallow note, I really liked the star brooch she was wearing when she was demonstrating her magic to her mother. 

Also wondering if the fighters have no magical powers and why their armor is so skimpy. It's not even metal. 

Is Bloom really a changeling? And is a changeling just a fairy that's switched out for a human baby? 

On another point (sorry, I have so many feelings about all of this), if you're a regular human and you find out you have magic powers and are going to a special magic school, you would be so busy being shocked by everything you see and learn everyday that you wouldn't have time to be so angry. Bloom is just storming around taking everything personally, but she's not asking Terra, who seems very knowledgable about fairy life, anything. Open a freaking history book. Ask older students. Is she the only fire fairy there? Are there no fire faculty? Find people with powers like yours and ask them for help. The writers are using a very tired trope here. "I just learned I'm magic and I must know everything about how to control my powers in three days or else I'm going to throw a tantrum and burn everything!" Also, another tired trope, adults acting secretive. These faculty should have been more open about what happened in the town Rosalind burned up. That seems like it would have been more of a big deal in the fairy community. A lot of the issues could have been cleared up with a conversation.      

 

[paulvdb]

1 hour ago, TrixieTrue said:

The writers are using a very tired trope here. "I just learned I'm magic and I must know everything about how to control my powers in three days or else I'm going to throw a tantrum and burn everything!" Also, another tired trope, adults acting secretive. These faculty should have been more open about what happened in the town Rosalind burned up. That seems like it would have been more of a big deal in the fairy community. A lot of the issues could have been cleared up with a conversation.

That does seem to happen in a lot of these kinds of shows. Just once I'd like to see the main character in a show be introduced to the supernatural and actually listen to the advice of people who have been dealing with this stuff their whole lives. But usually after five minutes they think they know everything and end up putting themselves, their friends and everyone else in danger.

[CAM]

Have two episodes left and while I like it, this is definitely not what I was expecting when I heard that there was a live action adaptation in the works.

Overall, since I am familiar with the original cartoon, I feel like this would maybe have worked better as a next-generation thing, featuring the kids or grandkids of the original group. Going this route would probably make some of the big changes easier to accept/handwave. As it is it is completely unrecognizable as the Winx.

[doesntworkonwood]

I just finished watching the series and I have... some issues with it. 

I don't think that the storyline was bad in itself. In fact it was the most intriguing part of the show. The questions surrounding it, what are the burnt ones? Why are they there? Who is Rosalind? Those were interesting and engaging. I found all of the adult characters engaging actually.

The weakness of this show is the writing and the younger cast members (though they were given some of the worst material to work with). It's clear the writers don't actually know what 'mansplaining' is, haven't realised that no one has said 'basic bitch' in about 5 years and don't realise that family caring about you isn't a symptom of the 'patriarchy'. The wokeness of the show is not going to be through the weird things that come out of the characters mouths, it's going to be their actions, and the whitewashing of the show shows that it's all surface level. 

If this show is aimed at people who watched the original show (which started airing in 2004, and was implied by the show runner to be the case) then I don't think having the show based around a bunch of 16 year olds was a good idea. I don't want to watch children snog. They could have raised the ages and set it at a university and it would have made a bit more sense than sending children to fight a war. 

On Bloom, why does every protagonist of a fantasy show like this have to be such a sad loner. In the original version of this she's (shock) pretty friendly, bubbly and popular. You don't need to make someone sad just because they're 'the chosen one'. She could still be going through some stuff without a sour look on her face the entire time. Why would anyone even want to be her friend? She never even tried to be friendly to anyone, why do they even like her? Plus she just believes what everyone tells her. Farah tells her something: she believes it. Then Beatrix tells her something: she believes it (even though Beatrix hadn't said anything before when she asked). Then Farah tells her something and she believes it, the Rosalind (who she's just met mind) tells her something and she believes it. 

Stella was a fun, friendly, character in the original show. Here she's a mean bitch archetype and goes from implying to someone that she will blind them to having a sleepover with them. Why couldn't she be nice and friendly and still feel pressure from her family (like she was in the original show?). It would make her friendship with the other characters make more sense. There was no need to add that love triangle with Sky either. That's just a relic of the showrunners previous stuff. 

They changed Musa's power from music to 'empathy' which is so boring. I get that it probably saves on the special effects budget, but it's still boring. She's nice, I guess. She didn't really have much of a storyline (and no getting with her roommates brother that gets resolved in the next episode doesn't count). 

Aisha (I-E-Sha which is not a pronunciation of the name that I like. 100% a pet peeve but it made me annoyed every time someone mentioned her name so I admit there's bias) is just basically a swot. She never really grows out of it and her character (and whether or not she's going along with the plan) seems more based on what they needed out of the narrative than anything inherent in her character, which is sad. 

And finally Terra (also known as Flora) who was very annoying from the first episode. I'm supposed to feel sorry for her because her Dad (who is busy trying to stop people attacking the school, saving people lives,

Spoiler

living with the guilt of killing a town

) didn't tell her everything. Why would he? She's known for having a big mouth (as is, to be fair, apparently everyone in the school) and she's a child. (Which is where this show would have made a lick more sense if they were older).

Sky was boring and I hate his hair. 

I 100% believe in changes in adaptations. I'm not one to nitpick at things being different, especially because I didn't really have any particular attachment to the show beyond 'yeah I watched it when I was a kid'. But if you're going to change things, especially if you're going to change the core of the characters, then you've got to do a better job than the original or you've got to have cause for it. Making characters boring and depressed doesn't make them more interesting. I strips them of character. I don't think that they needed to strip the fun out of this show either. You can have darker storylines and hovering motorbikes and decent clothes at the same time. 

And then, at the end, 

Spoiler

they killed my favourite character!

 Before that I definitely would have watched the next season. Even though all of the young characters annoyed me, there was the backbone of a good story there and I could have happily ignored the children to focus on the adults. But now I'm not so sure. 

[Kromm]

So let me get this straight. Based on a really kiddy animated show, but per reading a summary of that taking only the bare bones, like names of things.  Transformed into a CW-ish whatevertheheck with sex, death, monsters, mean girls, etc.  Production value not TOO low, but the intangibles of the (first) episode I just watched have a kind of aura of cheapness around them, even if the effects and size of the production don't seem THAT bottom of the barrel.  But there's a lot of inference of something big, a whole university, in three or four rooms, Woods that all look like the same patch used over and over again, really stale camera angles, takes of scenes that looked like either the Director was a rank amateur or they just didn't have the budget to keep trying, etc.

Debating on whether to go past the 2nd episode (which I am watching now).  It's going to have to be pretty good to convince me.

[Kromm]

The effects hold up in Episode 2, and there are a few more locations.  So that's less cheap.

I was really trying to put my finger on what is still making this seem so cheap.  

I've decided part is the sound.  The scoring.  Something about it feels so badly done.  It's loud where it shouldn't be loud.  With lots of constant bullshit tension noise.  Intrusive at all times. 

Well, that and the general cheesiness.  Every last thing is cheesy.

[Quickbeam]

I know zero about this series, only started watching it because it was on the Netflix banner. I like it so far. I felt like it got a lot better around the 4th episode. My husband thinks I’m only watching it for the actor who plays Sky but I enjoy it overall. The actor playing Terra is my personal favorite, they have done a nice job grounding her with more than the usual overweight female storyline.

Edited January 29, 2021 by Quickbeam

[blugirlami21]

I couldn't get past the first episode. I hate Bloom. She's so stupid. It's your first day at a magic school. You make no effort to learn anything, you're rude, arrogant and impatient from jump. 

I didn't understand her relationship with her mom. They were talking to each other very stiltedly like they were strangers. And the insults were so over the top. Who yells at their child for not going out to socialize? She talks to her mom like she's a stepmom. It didn't make any sense.

You're in a new environment but you decide to go out beyond the barrier of the school to the forest to practice your fire magic, the worst place for it and you now know that magic is controlled by emotions and you have zero control over yours. What did you think was going to happen?

I'm so disappointed. It doesn't seem like Bloom gets any better either so I think I'm out.

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by blugirlami21

[Blue Plastic]

I haven't seen the original source material.  It's kinda weird for a story that's basically a mean girls/Twilight hybrid set in a Hogwarts style boarding school to be called something as whimsical sounding as "Winx."

I could do without the sexual capers and romantic triangles that seem to be getting set up at the beginning.  It's like I'm watching Gray's Anatomy Junior Edition.  I'm more interested in the friendships and the magic aspects.  If it's going to be all romance, all the time, I'm not interested.  I'm only on the third episode and not sure how far I'm going to continue if at all.  But I won't watch a show that's ostensibly about magic but is really just about high school rivalries with an occasional magic trick shown in the background.

Also not sure about the whole school aspect.  What have the students who grew up in fairy families been doing up until now?  Are there magic schools for younger students that Bloom just missed out on?  It almost would have been better to make it a university and everyone's a freshman or sophomore.  Calling Bloom's cohort "first years" is way Harry Potter and doesn't make sense if they're really just in high school, although Bloom's a bit old to be a freshman.  What are they learning anyway?  Is there any typical instruction or everything is magic classes?  (This is a thought I've had with Harry Potter also.)

Edited January 31, 2021 by Blue Plastic
Add a thought

[GaT]

I'm on the 3rd episode & I still don't know how Bloom found out she was a fairy & got to the school. Did they explain it & I just missed the whole thing? I could have sworn in the 1st episode she said something like "I didn't know I was a fairy until 3 months ago". If I'm right, how did she find out?

[CAM]

9 hours ago, GaT said:

I'm on the 3rd episode & I still don't know how Bloom found out she was a fairy & got to the school. Did they explain it & I just missed the whole thing? I could have sworn in the 1st episode she said something like "I didn't know I was a fairy until 3 months ago". If I'm right, how did she find out?

I can't remember what episode it was, so I'll put it in a spoiler tag.

Spoiler

If I recall shortly after Bloom caused the fire that burned her mom, she started spending the night in an abandoned warehouse and that was were Farah found her. They didn't go in to details about how Farah found her, but that could come up next season.

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by CAM
Typo

[GaT]

1 hour ago, CAM said:

I can't remember what episode it was, so I'll put it in a spoiler tag.

  Hide contents

If I recall shortly after Bloom caused the fire that burned her mom, she started spending the night in an abandoned warehouse and that was were Farah found her. They didn't go in to details about how Farah found her, but that could come up next season.

 

Thanks, I don't remember that at all, so maybe it hasn't come up yet. Also, did they ever explain why all the other students are British? It doesn't make sense to me that Bloom is the only non British student. And

Spoiler

what was Farah doing in the US in the first place?

 

[CAM]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

Thanks, I don't remember that at all, so maybe it hasn't come up yet. Also, did they ever explain why all the other students are British? It doesn't make sense to me that Bloom is the only non British student. And

  Reveal spoiler

what was Farah doing in the US in the first place?

 

The other characters aren't British, they are supposed to be from other places with in the Otherworld/Magical world. (This show hadn't touched on this that much, the original cartoon did though).

The Britishness is property just a case of following the movie/tv trend of having anything  that takes place in mythical/magical/fantasy/hidden world have a foreign accent and British is the easiest option. 

As for Farah finding Bloom in the States, the show hasn't touched on the specifics of how she found Bloom. 

Side note: parts of the original cartoon can be found on YouTube, for those that are interested in checking it out.

Edited January 31, 2021 by CAM
Typo

[Diapason Untuned]

On 1/31/2021 at 2:02 AM, Blue Plastic said:

I haven't seen the original source material.  It's kinda weird for a story that's basically a mean girls/Twilight hybrid set in a Hogwarts style boarding school to be called something as whimsical sounding as "Winx."

The irony is that the original was more like Sailor Moon than anything else.

I actually managed to finish this and it wasn't totally bad, though I may have enjoyed it more if it wasn't a horrible adaptation.

 

On 1/26/2021 at 10:47 PM, Kromm said:

The effects hold up in Episode 2, and there are a few more locations.  So that's less cheap.

I was really trying to put my finger on what is still making this seem so cheap.  

I've decided part is the sound.  The scoring.  Something about it feels so badly done.  It's loud where it shouldn't be loud.  With lots of constant bullshit tension noise.  Intrusive at all times. 

Well, that and the general cheesiness.  Every last thing is cheesy.

For me, the cheapness comes from the fact that the way they shoot scenes, the sets, even the sound effects feel like something I've seen before.

 

On 1/29/2021 at 9:51 PM, blugirlami21 said:

 Who yells at their child for not going out to socialize?

You'd be surprised. My mom used to do the same to me, insisting I go out and do stuff that she considered fun when I was perfectly happy enjoying myself in my room. That's why I sympathized with Bloom at first, though that evaporated after her behaviour got more and more erratic.

Others have mentioned, but Aisha was also super odd. One minute she's obsessing over Bloom's life, the next she's acting like she doesn't care. Just bizarre.

[boba]

I loveeeeeeeee this series, yes some people won't not argee. The cartoon version is for young kids and young adult but this series reach out to other generation. It reach out to adults. I grew up watching the cartoon version I love it and I also love this series. It a different concept but they still follow abit to the original version. And yes other have their own opinions, and some may hate it but I don't. I hope season 2 come out soon I can't wait to see bloom and sky relationship and the the girls friendship. I want to know more about Beatrix and Rosalind. And I do ship Sam and Musa.

[Kasienka]

😋I'm 50/50 about this series. The changes to the original didn't bother me as much as I thought they would. Aisha and Terra were actually two first characters that I grew to like. Changing Stella to mean popular girl and putting her into love triangle with our main protaginist , also worked for me in the beginning. Sky wasn't just pretty, but dumb boy who is getting manipulated by the bad girl Stella and only arrival of our new more "natural" beauty with a golden heart made him realise that. He knew what he was getting into and I find it very touching how he tried to help Stella through everything. Sky is just too good. Perfect boyfriend material, though neither Stella or Bloom deserve him tbh. His relationship with his mentor is something that I'm most interested in the next season, since that was actually nicely and believably portrayed. And that's when my problems with the show begins. Putting in the spoiler tag just in case.

Spoiler

The girls became besties to easily. In the beginning they were slowly showing us the dynamics between them , but then suddenly we get a speedrun to best friends forever and it felt very unnatural , especially in Stella's case. Same can be said for Bloom and Headmistress who mostly argue with each other , but then I'm supposed to believe they have some special mentor/student relationship like Harry/Dumbledore? Not buying it.  And then there's Beatrix and Dane. They smoke blunt one time and that was supposed to show me she was the only one to see and accept the real him? It felt like they just cut some scenes. And did anyone found it weird that Riven couldn't wrap his head around Dane sexuality? Bisexual people exist, and yet he seem to think you are either straight or gay. And they have tumblr in this world😋

That's just going to be a nitpick, but it kinda break the worldbuilding for me. Why all these people use earth social media? Isn't our wolrd the one with weak conection to magic and other realms? I get they wanted it to appeal to today's demographic , but wouldn't it be more believable if all these worlds had their own sites? I half expected them to mock Bloom for using Insta and showing her some Solarian apps or whatever. It's just so weird to me to see all this people who are not from Earth talking about Tumblr and posting they pics on Instagram:)

Edited February 12, 2021 by Kasienka

[Quark]

The storyline was interesting, but the acting of all the students was just atrocious, especially the guy that played Riven.

It was very average overall. I wouldn't be surprised if this show was cancelled.

[paulvdb]

Renewed fpr a second season with eight episodes

[Check Sanity]

On 1/29/2021 at 9:51 PM, blugirlami21 said:

I couldn't get past the first episode. I hate Bloom. She's so stupid. It's your first day at a magic school. You make no effort to learn anything, you're rude, arrogant and impatient from jump. 

I didn't understand her relationship with her mom. They were talking to each other very stiltedly like they were strangers. And the insults were so over the top. Who yells at their child for not going out to socialize? She talks to her mom like she's a stepmom. It didn't make any sense.

You're in a new environment but you decide to go out beyond the barrier of the school to the forest to practice your fire magic, the worst place for it and you now know that magic is controlled by emotions and you have zero control over yours. What did you think was going to happen?

I'm so disappointed. It doesn't seem like Bloom gets any better either so I think I'm out.

 

It seems like a lot of the issue with Bloom is the fact that she's a certain type of teenager. My brother was the same way, despite repeat attempts from our dad and myself for him to get a lay of the land before jumping in when first starting high school (at a boarding school). Unlike my brother, I think with Bloom it was more her insecurity at looking lost and impatience of not knowing about a fundamental part of herself that propelled her to do the things she did. Based on the amount of annoyance I see regarding Aisha online, it seems like most teens these days still relate more to the teen that doesn't consider the possible consequences. 

As @Diapason Untuned states in the quote below, my mom also pushed me to go out and do stuff. Even to the point of signing me up and forcing me to join sports teams (soccer, swimming, dance), music lessons, and language lessons. Mostly based on trying to get me out of my shy shell, rather than considering my interests. 

On 2/1/2021 at 11:33 AM, Diapason Untuned said:

You'd be surprised. My mom used to do the same to me, insisting I go out and do stuff that she considered fun when I was perfectly happy enjoying myself in my room. That's why I sympathized with Bloom at first, though that evaporated after her behaviour got more and more erratic.

Others have mentioned, but Aisha was also super odd. One minute she's obsessing over Bloom's life, the next she's acting like she doesn't care. Just bizarre.

Bloom got more erratic due to her world and all that she'd known to be "true" being completely ripped out from under her. It's pretty common for kids who find out they're adopted later in life to freak out. Add in fire magic, and a possible (but like actual) conspiracy to keep it a secret, nothing she did seemed out of character to me.

As for Aisha, I understood it as her trying to make friends and then when she wasn't doing well in school (aka not being successful at a particular type of magic control), she withdrew inwards. She was still there for Bloom, working as the assistant (not her idea). I think it's interesting people are so upset with her for making boundaries and sticking to them. It's not like they were surprising boundaries. She's one for staying under the radar except with regard to school or swimming. She's the type that likes to excel and aims for self perfection. I think it'll be interesting to watch her be challenged with the fact that adults are humans who make mistakes, and that sometimes she's going to fail or be bad at something (which we got a bit of, but I want to see more). 

On 1/31/2021 at 2:02 AM, Blue Plastic said:

I haven't seen the original source material.  It's kinda weird for a story that's basically a mean girls/Twilight hybrid set in a Hogwarts style boarding school to be called something as whimsical sounding as "Winx."

I could do without the sexual capers and romantic triangles that seem to be getting set up at the beginning.  It's like I'm watching Gray's Anatomy Junior Edition.  I'm more interested in the friendships and the magic aspects.  If it's going to be all romance, all the time, I'm not interested.  I'm only on the third episode and not sure how far I'm going to continue if at all.  But I won't watch a show that's ostensibly about magic but is really just about high school rivalries with an occasional magic trick shown in the background.

Also not sure about the whole school aspect.  What have the students who grew up in fairy families been doing up until now?  Are there magic schools for younger students that Bloom just missed out on?  It almost would have been better to make it a university and everyone's a freshman or sophomore.  Calling Bloom's cohort "first years" is way Harry Potter and doesn't make sense if they're really just in high school, although Bloom's a bit old to be a freshman.  What are they learning anyway?  Is there any typical instruction or everything is magic classes?  (This is a thought I've had with Harry Potter also.)

Did you end up continuing? Magic is a pretty big part of it. The whimsical title of the show makes sense for a show about faeries, though maybe not this kinda more grounded take on it. 
I think that grounding is also the explanation for the social media. Also, it's less expensive than the CGI required for magical equivalents of it. It's why they have cars too. 
My understanding of how the school is that it's a college. The faeries are strengthening their powers for a purpose, for combat. Just as the Specialists are being trained for hand to hand combat. In the real world people are able to do programs that start in grade 10 (sophomore? 15/16 years old) of interning one semester and classes another, if they know what trade they want to pursue (ex, mechanic, carpentry, plumbing). There are also countries that have college start at 17 for specialized schooling for certain jobs. I have friends in Mexico that did this to become a dentist and a psychologist, in Germany a friend worked in radio. 

On 2/12/2021 at 10:55 AM, Kasienka said:

  Hide contents

Spoiler

The girls became besties to easily. In the beginning they were slowly showing us the dynamics between them , but then suddenly we get a speedrun to best friends forever and it felt very unnatural , especially in Stella's case. Same can be said for Bloom and Headmistress who mostly argue with each other , but then I'm supposed to believe they have some special mentor/student relationship like Harry/Dumbledore? Not buying it.  And then there's Beatrix and Dane. They smoke blunt one time and that was supposed to show me she was the only one to see and accept the real him? It felt like they just cut some scenes. And did anyone found it weird that Riven couldn't wrap his head around Dane sexuality? Bisexual people exist, and yet he seem to think you are either straight or gay. And they have tumblr in this world😋

 

That's just going to be a nitpick, but it kinda break the worldbuilding for me. Why all these people use earth social media? Isn't our wolrd the one with weak conection to magic and other realms? I get they wanted it to appeal to today's demographic , but wouldn't it be more believable if all these worlds had their own sites? I half expected them to mock Bloom for using Insta and showing her some Solarian apps or whatever. It's just so weird to me to see all this people who are not from Earth talking about Tumblr and posting they pics on Instagram:)

I mean, they lived together as roommates. As much as we didn't see them in their room much, there's a lot of bonding that happens after hours in a dorm. They stuck together at lunch too. It's unfortunate they didn't show

Spoiler

Stella being open and vulnerable more than Musa,

 but we can guess since they were all in a group chat whenever "danger" reared its head, and they seemed to share most things eventually, that the rest got filled in. 
Every time Bloom confronted Farah, Bloom got information, and then she learned where Farah's loyalties were, which were good. I don't think they're Harry/Dumbledore close though (even though that was a... misleading relationship. I'd argue Bloom and Farah have a healthier one.) 
Beatrix and Dane was a weird sell for sure. 
I've seen someone describe Riven as the "toxic masculinity trope we don't like to see", which I agree with. However, he's also a teen and a product of his environment which we don't know too much about yet. He's the character that likely will have the biggest character growth and redemption arc.

Spoiler

I'd be surprised if they try to redeem Beatrix, considering she actually flippantly murdered someone.

 

[Kasienka]

On 2/19/2021 at 5:06 AM, Check Sanity said:

i I mean, they lived together as roommates. As much as we didn't see them in their room much, there's a lot of bonding that happens after hours in a dorm. They stuck together at lunch too. It's unfortunate they didn't show

  Reveal spoiler

Stella being open and vulnerable more than Musa,

 but we can guess since they were all in a group chat whenever "danger" reared its head, and they seemed to share most things eventually, that the rest got filled in. 
Every time Bloom confronted Farah, Bloom got information, and then she learned where Farah's loyalties were, which were good. I don't think they're Harry/Dumbledore close though (even though that was a... misleading relationship. I'd argue Bloom and Farah have a healthier one.) 
Beatrix and Dane was a weird sell for sure. 
I've seen someone describe Riven as the "toxic masculinity trope we don't like to see", which I agree with. However, he's also a teen and a product of his environment which we don't know too much about yet. He's the character that likely will have the biggest character growth and redemption arc.

  Reveal spoiler

Still wish we actually saw them bonding. But hopefully 2nd season will improve on weaknesses of this one. I think it'll should be longer, so we get more of all these characters, I mean it's a pretty big cast and only 6 episodes?

I do hope Riven will get his redemption and as for Beatrix, after watching Vampire Diaries I think anything could happen;)

 

[Check Sanity]

23 hours ago, Kasienka said:

Still wish we actually saw them bonding. But hopefully 2nd season will improve on weaknesses of this one. I think it'll should be longer, so we get more of all these characters, I mean it's a pretty big cast and only 6 episodes?

I do hope Riven will get his redemption and as for Beatrix, after watching Vampire Diaries I think anything could happen;)

 

Yeah, though I did like that we at least got to see them spending their lunches together, and sitting together during classes and assemblies. 

Season 2 is supposed to be 8 episodes so that gives a bit more space for breathing room. I do like more condensed seasons because the storytelling is tighter, but 6 episodes was super tight. However, I  believe the second season is  supposed to have more characters, so it'll be interesting how they manage the new relationships/friendships. I think we're going to have to accept that the girls did a bunch of bonding at Bloom's and are close friends from here on.
 

[Kasienka]

On 2/21/2021 at 11:05 PM, Check Sanity said:

Season 2 is supposed to be 8 episodes so that gives a bit more space for breathing room. I do like more condensed seasons because the storytelling is tighter, but 6 episodes was super tight. However, I  believe the second season is  supposed to have more characters, so it'll be interesting how they manage the new relationships/friendships. I think we're going to have to accept that the girls did a bunch of bonding at Bloom's and are close friends from here on.

That's good news. Longer season should give them more space to develop plot and relationships. Despite my complaining I do wait for continuation:)

[Jenniferbug]

I liked this. I've never seen the source material so this was all new to me. I wouldn't rate it as amazing or anything, but it was a fun and interesting enough binge watch. I'll watch a second season for sure. 

Bloom was kind of annoying and is not my favorite character, but I don't hate her. Stella was kind of bland. I wish the show had been 8 or 10 episodes to give some characters more breathing room. I'm not sure why they all like and accept Stella so much, I don't know why Dane is so loyal to Bellatrix, etc. 

Speaking of Bellatrix, I'm not sure what her whole deal is.

Spoiler

Why was she at Aster Dell as a baby/child? Why was she raised by Endreas but Bloom was dumped in the human world? Maybe it's that I don't understand what Rosalind is hoping to accomplish. She knows the Burned Ones were once fairies (I think? Or humans?) But wasn't on a mission to save them. But also seemed to have some control or leadership over them? All so she can get the school back for...reasons? I'm a little lost there. Also really bummed she killed Farah who I liked a lot. Probably too much to hope they'll somehow bring her back. 

 

[Check Sanity]

On 2/27/2021 at 1:01 PM, Jenniferbug said:

I liked this. I've never seen the source material so this was all new to me. I wouldn't rate it as amazing or anything, but it was a fun and interesting enough binge watch. I'll watch a second season for sure. 

Bloom was kind of annoying and is not my favorite character, but I don't hate her. Stella was kind of bland. I wish the show had been 8 or 10 episodes to give some characters more breathing room. I'm not sure why they all like and accept Stella so much, I don't know why Dane is so loyal to Bellatrix, etc. 

Speaking of Bellatrix, I'm not sure what her whole deal is.

  Hide contents

Why was she at Aster Dell as a baby/child? Why was she raised by Endreas but Bloom was dumped in the human world? Maybe it's that I don't understand what Rosalind is hoping to accomplish. She knows the Burned Ones were once fairies (I think? Or humans?) But wasn't on a mission to save them. But also seemed to have some control or leadership over them? All so she can get the school back for...reasons? I'm a little lost there. Also really bummed she killed Farah who I liked a lot. Probably too much to hope they'll somehow bring her back. 

 

I believe Terra and Stella have known each other a while and Stella wasn't always playing the "I blinded my bff" act. I think Musa and Aisha were rather indifferent towards her until she showed up to help Bloom. Dane claims it's because Bellatrix takes him as he is and "didn't cut him off after one mistake". It's kind of trash reasoning in terms of trying to put blame on Terra, but makes sense for a naive new kid who is just trying to fit in and whose only guidance on how to do so has come from Riven.
 

Spoiler

The theory options are that A) Bellatrix is a blood witch herself, and she was raised by Andreas so that Rosalind could have a blood witch in her pocket, or B) Bellatrix was also a kidnapped fairy but didn't have anything or anyone after her. 

The Burned Ones were human, soldiers from an ancient (1000 years) war. The power used against them and that created them, legend says (according to Rosalind) was Dragon Flame, which is the same primal magic that Bloom has. Bloom having that magic made her a target to the Burned Ones, so they could destroy her before she destroyed them. Rosalind put Bloom in the human world because there are no Burned Ones there. She claims to have put Bloom with parents who would love her on purpose. This, presumably, because positive emotions are better for controlling one's magic. However, it also had the dual purpose of curbing Bloom from hating Rosalind, the person who put her with them.

Rosalind had no power over the Burned Ones, she just brought down the barrier around the school to allow them to attack Bloom, as a way of testing Bloom's powers.

Rosalind getting back control of the school, means that she gets control of the new generation to build an army for whatever bigger event she believes is coming (that has to do with the "f*ck ton" of other Burned Ones that are still out there). Also, to have influence over Bloom whose magic is important to defeating the Burned Ones.

I, myself, and I think most people are with you in feeling the loss of Farah so soon. Though I think she really is dead. People cite her eyes glowing as a reason to think she used magic and didn't die. However, Riven and Dane's eyes also glowed when they first met Rosalind, which I think was her using her magic to read them. Farah's eyes glowing, I think was because Rosalind took control of her to break her neck. 

 

[rove4]

I just started watching this out of boredom.  I'm not at all familiar with the source material, have never even heard of Winx (what does that mean, anyway?).  I was expecting to hate it because it's a show about teenagers and they usually annoy in spades.  I've watched the first two episodes and I'm surprisingly liking it. I've read the reactions to Bloom and some of the other girls but, amazingly, none of them have really annoyed me so far.  I'm finding them fairly reasonable compared to some other teen focused shows.  

I am curious about what happened to the human child that Bloom was swapped for.  Anyway, four more episodes to go so I'll be back with my final thoughts. 

[Kasienka]

On 3/20/2021 at 1:10 AM, rove4 said:

I'm not at all familiar with the source material, have never even heard of Winx (what does that mean, anyway?).

I think it's supposed to be different spelling of the word "wings", because in the cartoon they  have them, after they transformed Sailor Moon style.

[DigitalCount]

Well, I'm a huge sucker for supernatural soap operas. Watched some of the original cartoon and it bored me to tears, but also I'm not sure what they would have done for a live action show that was a closer adaptation of the source material. So I guess I'm basically the target audience? I know Riverdale has soured a lot of people on melodramatic darker teen remakes, but I think that's a function of Riverdale's writing, rather than the concept being poor. And for these reasons, I was prepared to enjoy it, and I did. I found Bloom's floundering about mildly annoying, but I figured as long as I focused on the characters I liked (Aisha, Terra, and Sky--not that I didn't like Bloom, but she made it tough at times) it could buoy my enjoyment even when focused on the characters who needed a bit of help

Spoiler

(gee Beatrix, you think committing murder might make other people suspect you have impure motives and thus be slow to trust you?)

The season got better as it went on, which is always a plus; it's always disappointing to have a great pilot followed up by plenty of nothing, but this had an iffy beginning and found its stride as the season went on. I also found that I liked Bloom more as the season continued, which might be related to my opinion on the season as a whole.

As far as the ending, there was a bit of disappointment, I'll admit.

Spoiler

I'll join others in saying that Farah seemed to be a character with more potential. Maybe she left behind a video diary or has an identical cousin?

I'm still willing to stick with it though, and I'm glad it's been renewed.

[Diapason Untuned]

Season 2 is officially in production.

[MissL]

Ok so they have modern technology but no security cameras? Wouldn’t the headmistress have been better served to put a camera along with her magical security measures?  Also record Beatrix saying all that evil shit? 
 

I was enjoying this show until it became a show where issues could be solved if they would just talk to each other.  Hate that stuff.

[paulvdb]

Get your first look at Paulina Chávez as Flora in Season 2, coming this fall to Netflix.

[paulvdb]

‘Fate: The Winx Saga’ Reveals Miranda Richardson & Daniel Betts As New Cast Additions, Season 2 Premiere Date & Video

Season 2 premieres September 16.

[paulvdb]

Just a quick reminder: season 2 just premiered on Netflix. If you don't want to be spoiled you should not read new posts in this topic before you finish watching the season.

[Quickbeam]

Boy-boy-girl three way action! I’m in. 🤣

[P2C2E]

Welp, all the problems the series had in it's first season were still present, like pacing and time frames. I assume it's because of budget but it would go from afternoon to completely dark as if no time had passed. And the recasting of the adults was terrible. Both the new actors for Ben and Rosalind did not capture the previous characters at all. I wanted to like this, but oof.

[kryss]

Those transformations... She-Ra did it better in the 80's.

[P2C2E]

And the costuming was TERRIBLE, especially Stella and Terra.

[Kymmi]

I actually really liked S2. I didn't like losing some characters that we did this year, and Flora felt odd. I kept waiting for her to be exposed as evil or something. I really hope there is a third season, but knowing Netflix ...

[norcalgal]

8 minutes ago, Kymmi said:

I actually really liked S2. I didn't like losing some characters that we did this year, and Flora felt odd. I kept waiting for her to be exposed as evil or something. I really hope there is a third season, but knowing Netflix ...

I kind of thought the same thing, esp. with the weird way they introduced her. The music and atmosphere made it seem like Terra was in danger or something when she and her cousin met up. Also, was I the only one who felt zero family vibes between the two? Show should have gone with diversity in the first place instead of trying to shoe-horn it in with Terra and Flora (Hispanic/Spanish cousins, iirc) as cousins/besties thing they tried  - and failed.

[Quark]

This show is entertaining, and everyone is very attractive, but the acting on Fate: The Winx Saga (bar a few) is pretty poor.

[AnimeMania]

‘Fate: The Winx Saga’ Canceled After Two Seasons at Netflix

[Kymmi]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

‘Fate: The Winx Saga’ Canceled After Two Seasons at Netflix

Arghhh. This is why I don't trust Netflix. I thought S2 was much stronger than S1 and was interested in where this would go. 

[P2C2E]

Not surprised. I wanted this to be good, and it just wasn't.

[DigitalCount]

19 hours ago, Kymmi said:

Arghhh. This is why I don't trust Netflix. I thought S2 was much stronger than S1 and was interested in where this would go. 

Same, Netflix strikes again. I guess Eve Best made the right choice after all.

[AnimeMania]

‘Fate: The Winx Saga’ Will Live On, As Creator Details Two Upcoming Projects

There are other projects in the works.

A brand new CG Winx animated series reboot is going into production.

A “big budget Winx movie” is also in the works.