spiderbraids

(Alternate)

Chimera and the Betas

IMO, Chimera is probably the poster child for the shortcomings of season 3, because her initial appearance showed so much promise, and came with a really interesting concept... I mean, one "bad" fairy was enough, but a whole school (and one we never even knew existed before, no less?) And considering how Valtor and the Trix were going places to steal magical spells (even Alfea), it seemed inevitable that they'd pay Beta Academy a visit sometime, maybe even attracting the attention of the Winx, who'd really have a hard time at a school that apparently doesn't like Alfea...

And it turns out I put more thought into that than the season actually did, because Beta Academy (or for that matter, those two girls Chimera came with) never figured into the storyline at any point. Huh?

Other than completely ignoring the dramatic possibilities of a new rival fairy school, the story always seemed to take the path of least interest with Chimera... Besides the well-trod "evil stepmother" route (in a show that used to make a point about being different from your typical fairy fantasy), here we have a girl with ties to one of the Winx seeking ultimate power, who alliances with the season's big bad. Sound familiar? Except that unlike with Selina, we never get "that moment" where Chimera realizes that maybe it wasn't such a good idea and flips sides, which I know some fans were hoping for... and IMO, the story seemed to be hinting at such a direction:
- Bloom randomly telling Cassandra after Stella's tiff: "It might not look like it now, but this could very well be the beginning of a lasting and beautiful friendship"
- Stella specifically mentioning Chimera upon hearing FG talking about saving someone from her own realm
- Someone pointed out to me it would have made more sense for Cassandra to leave Chimera behind during the chaos on Eraklyon rather than Radius

And that's to say nothing about how she and her mom were eventually dispatched... Seriously, it makes the S4 finale battle look epic in comparison :-\