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spiderbraidsBack from my break now :-)
Whenever the Winx fandom talks about how great the old seasons were, they probably leave this episode out of their discussion... Doesn't help that this episode was the first new ep to air in three months in the US, either :-\
2x14: Battle on Planet Eraklyon / The Wrong Righters
Does anyone else find it ironic that one of the most edited episodes is titled "The Wrong Righters" in the 4K version? I mean, in a nutshell, 4K took out two of the things that this episode had going for it. And (in TF's eyes) this episode didn't have much going for it to begin with, either.
A big complaint about this episode is an entire subplot that got cut out.
Unedited: There is a subplot in which Musa fights AND BEATS Stormy using a rain dance she learned from Layla.
Edited: This subplot is stripped down to its bare essentials (omitting the "learned from Layla" angle)... and then put into the next episode.
(NB: To wit, they get rid of the scenes where Musa spots a spell in the sky and asks Palladium about it, so it just starts with Musa coming across Stormy, and whereas the original episode splays the scenes with Stormy throughout the episode, 4Kids just plays them out in one go... Also they don't get rid of the scene in which Layla shows Musa the dance, but instead place it after the fight with Stormy)
However, an even bigger complaint is related to this edit.
Unedited: Diaspro rants to Flora. She finds it unfair that Bloom rescued her, but her biggest rant is that after all the hard work and all she's learned to be a good princess (unlike Bloom), it's only fair for her to marry a prince. This is the translation of the original Italian dialog, and it's about the same gist in the version we watch.
(NB: For fairness, here's the Cinelume script for the scene...
Diaspro: *annoyed* It's so not fair! Bloom's the one who rescued me!
Chatta: Yes! But-
Diaspro: *shouting in anger* Oh, I HATE HER! Why does Sky have to like her?!
Chatta: Well, actually- Huh?
Diaspro: I've spent my whole life studying posture, etiquette, court protocol, everything!
Flora: *gently* We understand.
Diaspro: And after all that work, I'm suppose to marry a prince. That's the whole point!
Chatta: Hey, there are plenty of princes in the Magic Dimension.)
Edited: Flora has convinced Diaspro to be a better leader. She won't punish people who dress below her standards. Umm... isn't that supposed to be Amentia's doing? Where Chatta tells her that there are other princes around, she now agrees with her comment that hair accesories are essential (which went where her "It's only fair" comment went originally).
(NB: 4K's script:
Diaspro: You're right, Flora, no one should be without freedom. I don't want anybody to be without enough to eat.
Chatta: Then you-
Diaspro: I need to change. And I will change, I promise! I will become a great leader!
Flora: Okey-dokey.
Diaspro: Though, I still believe that hair accessories should be considered a basic necessity.
Chatta: Actually, I completely agree with you on that.
Given the events of S3 and, well, every Diaspro appearance afterwards, this dialog REALLY aged badly; another reason they should have just left it alone)
Like TF said. You KNOW she'd hold a grudge! And I'm feeling that half this scene's footage is missing.
(NB: TF said the part about holding a grudge in her review... Also, the scene doesn't actually have any of its footage missing; it's just that it abruptly wipes over to a couple seconds of Zing looking for an important scroll [in the original] or Zing flying, then a shot of the palace, then Zing looking for the scroll [in 4Kids])
In relative minorness...
At the start...
Unedited: After a brief meaningless scene of Musa walking around while a few background fairies argue over pixie pets, Yoshinoya has outsourced the kidnapping to the Technoninjas instead of his own.
Edited: Yoshinoya, seeing that Diaspro's already been 'napped, decides to just write the ransom note.
Zing is tagging along with Sky and co
Unedited: Zing wants to look at the Technoninjas on Sky's planet.
Edited: Zing wants to bond with some fairy.
(NB: Unedited: Eraklyon the kingdom plagued by evil ninjas! I gotta see it for myself. Edited: I've never been to Eraklyon. Maybe I'll find a fairy to bond with there!)
Some forest somewhere.
Unedited: Sky lets drop that Yoshinoya has always wanted to get rid of him (he IS after all a prince), so he switched identities with Brandon.
Edited: This angle of the switch is not pursued, since we have already explored the switch when it first came to light in 1x17.
One thing that isn't different is that in both versions, the much-awaited discussion between the three of them never happens. You see Diaspro getting rescued... and then instead of discussing Sky's break-up with Diaspro, Sky and Bloom are talking with the ninjas? I find it underwhelming.
I do NOT get at all why 4K namedrops Diaspro a few times (2x01, 2x10), AND recaps the whole Diaspro madness at the start of the episode... and then dubs over Diaspro's rant, the strongest (if not only) link between all that and today's episode.
Either way, as TF says, comic issue #15 trumps both, simply for having the three-way discussion we wanted to see.
(NB: Reference to the comic "Dragon's Land" from the Winx comic series, which gives us something that this episode doesn't provide: Bloom and Diaspro actually having to interact with each other, and a plot that properly addresses their rivalry)
Responses:
TF: I'm at least happy 4Kids put the Stormy vs. Musa fight into the next ep. If things had to be cut for time, which is highly likely, then they did get put back in this case, which was excellent. I still don't mind Layla not teaching Musa this.
I really don't know why 4Kids did that to the Diaspro scene. That's one of the edits I just can't figure out. But I'm not satisfied with the original either. Both are wasted opportunities.
(NB: To add insult to injury, this blog post about the upcoming reboot of Winx Club cites this exact episode as "pure filler", which you'd imagine is exactly the last thing you'd expect out of an episode that should [and was probably expected to] focus on the conflict of interest inherent to the plot [instead of merely giving minor lip service to it, and only in the original at that], and possibly provide some sort of resolution, like having Bloom apologize to Diaspro for their Day of the Royals fracas; as it is, both versions just skip over to Bloom and Sky talking with Sky's parents as soon as Diaspro has been rescued, and that's what makes this episode such a wasted opportunity even in the original :-\)
Me: True, those are the really BIG issues.
But if I had to pick a 3rd place for the biggest head-scratcher edit, and it's a VERY distant 3rd place to boot... I'd be tempted to pick Zing wanting to bond with a fairy. Obviously viewers put two (Diaspro can transform, so she must be a fairy) and two (Zing wants to bond) together, and expected a Zing and Diaspro bonding, and complained when it didn't happen (heck, I don't recall Zing ever even SHARING a scene with Di, like Sky and Bloom). Once again, the original sidesteps the problem.
TF: Huh? Why does Zing wanting to bond with someone have to be about Diaspro? I don't think all viewers would follow that logic. I certainly didn't. What confuses me is that Zing didn't find anyone to bond with out of the whole of Alfea.
Me, responding to a different part of TF's response some time later: (...) I still don't mind Layla not teaching Musa this.
Is it because Musa is a fairy of music, and probably should know her dancing? (That said, I still would have preferred Layla teaching her. It's Chekhov's Gun in action.)
TF: Yeah, Musa should definitely know her dances. But also, I can easily recognize cuttable material and that's cuttable. I don't fret about most of that stuff being missing from my version. It's not worth my time.
Me: I should be nitpicking that technically it wasn't cut, it was only redialoged to no longer mention that the dance Layla is showing is a rain dance (kind of like how the Diaspro scene no longer has her tirade about learning to be a good princess so she can marry a prince).
But I'm probably flogging a dead horse at this point. Nutshell: Although it would make more sense with Layla teaching Musa the rain dance, and then Musa using it to vanquish Stormy (if un-Charmixed Musa can beat a Gloomixed Stormy, imagine what Charmixed Musa could do with her!); this works as well. Not as good as the original, but putting the dance showing scene first, probably would have just made the first couple scenes look rushed.
I really dislike the Diaspro edit not just for the obvious reasons, but the fact it gave certain 4Kids bashers (*cough*me*cough*) fuel to say, "Told ya 4Kids edits are ruining the show" and blame them for any shortcomings in the writing (even if, at least in this case, there were shortcomings in the original to begin with)... and of course, 4Kids fans never took kindly to such comments :-\
As for the reference to the comic... before the ban, TF mentioned that the mention of Diaspro in 2x10 was better than her actual appearance:
Me: Knowing how the original actually contained one of the things most of us expected to see must steam your coffee, yes?
(NB: Reference to a 4Kids line Mike said in 1x13)
TF: Nope, no steamed coffee here. Your version wasn't up to snuff either. Comic issue #15 trumps both.
(NB: I remember TF posting a review of the comic in question and saying that this comic is what the episode should have been like)
TF later said in an email interview, regarding this ep: I've often said I don't know what 4Kids was thinking, but if you're gonna bash them, I'm gonna bash Rainbow for even having this lame excuse for an episode in the first place. The entire main joke won't be understood by the target audience. That's just stupid.
(NB: Referencing things the target audience are unlikely to understand isn't inherently stupid [see My Little Pony G4 referencing The Big Lebowski]... Ignoring what should be such a major aspect of the plot and only paying minor lip service to how terrible it must feel for Di to be rescued by her ex and his new GF, now that's just stupid)
And finally, nothing to do with the comparison, but just thought I'd drop this little link here ;-)
Whenever the Winx fandom talks about how great the old seasons were, they probably leave this episode out of their discussion... Doesn't help that this episode was the first new ep to air in three months in the US, either :-\
2x14: Battle on Planet Eraklyon / The Wrong Righters
Does anyone else find it ironic that one of the most edited episodes is titled "The Wrong Righters" in the 4K version? I mean, in a nutshell, 4K took out two of the things that this episode had going for it. And (in TF's eyes) this episode didn't have much going for it to begin with, either.
A big complaint about this episode is an entire subplot that got cut out.
Unedited: There is a subplot in which Musa fights AND BEATS Stormy using a rain dance she learned from Layla.
Edited: This subplot is stripped down to its bare essentials (omitting the "learned from Layla" angle)... and then put into the next episode.
(NB: To wit, they get rid of the scenes where Musa spots a spell in the sky and asks Palladium about it, so it just starts with Musa coming across Stormy, and whereas the original episode splays the scenes with Stormy throughout the episode, 4Kids just plays them out in one go... Also they don't get rid of the scene in which Layla shows Musa the dance, but instead place it after the fight with Stormy)
However, an even bigger complaint is related to this edit.
Unedited: Diaspro rants to Flora. She finds it unfair that Bloom rescued her, but her biggest rant is that after all the hard work and all she's learned to be a good princess (unlike Bloom), it's only fair for her to marry a prince. This is the translation of the original Italian dialog, and it's about the same gist in the version we watch.
(NB: For fairness, here's the Cinelume script for the scene...
Diaspro: *annoyed* It's so not fair! Bloom's the one who rescued me!
Chatta: Yes! But-
Diaspro: *shouting in anger* Oh, I HATE HER! Why does Sky have to like her?!
Chatta: Well, actually- Huh?
Diaspro: I've spent my whole life studying posture, etiquette, court protocol, everything!
Flora: *gently* We understand.
Diaspro: And after all that work, I'm suppose to marry a prince. That's the whole point!
Chatta: Hey, there are plenty of princes in the Magic Dimension.)
Edited: Flora has convinced Diaspro to be a better leader. She won't punish people who dress below her standards. Umm... isn't that supposed to be Amentia's doing? Where Chatta tells her that there are other princes around, she now agrees with her comment that hair accesories are essential (which went where her "It's only fair" comment went originally).
(NB: 4K's script:
Diaspro: You're right, Flora, no one should be without freedom. I don't want anybody to be without enough to eat.
Chatta: Then you-
Diaspro: I need to change. And I will change, I promise! I will become a great leader!
Flora: Okey-dokey.
Diaspro: Though, I still believe that hair accessories should be considered a basic necessity.
Chatta: Actually, I completely agree with you on that.
Given the events of S3 and, well, every Diaspro appearance afterwards, this dialog REALLY aged badly; another reason they should have just left it alone)
Like TF said. You KNOW she'd hold a grudge! And I'm feeling that half this scene's footage is missing.
(NB: TF said the part about holding a grudge in her review... Also, the scene doesn't actually have any of its footage missing; it's just that it abruptly wipes over to a couple seconds of Zing looking for an important scroll [in the original] or Zing flying, then a shot of the palace, then Zing looking for the scroll [in 4Kids])
In relative minorness...
At the start...
Unedited: After a brief meaningless scene of Musa walking around while a few background fairies argue over pixie pets, Yoshinoya has outsourced the kidnapping to the Technoninjas instead of his own.
Edited: Yoshinoya, seeing that Diaspro's already been 'napped, decides to just write the ransom note.
Zing is tagging along with Sky and co
Unedited: Zing wants to look at the Technoninjas on Sky's planet.
Edited: Zing wants to bond with some fairy.
(NB: Unedited: Eraklyon the kingdom plagued by evil ninjas! I gotta see it for myself. Edited: I've never been to Eraklyon. Maybe I'll find a fairy to bond with there!)
Some forest somewhere.
Unedited: Sky lets drop that Yoshinoya has always wanted to get rid of him (he IS after all a prince), so he switched identities with Brandon.
Edited: This angle of the switch is not pursued, since we have already explored the switch when it first came to light in 1x17.
One thing that isn't different is that in both versions, the much-awaited discussion between the three of them never happens. You see Diaspro getting rescued... and then instead of discussing Sky's break-up with Diaspro, Sky and Bloom are talking with the ninjas? I find it underwhelming.
I do NOT get at all why 4K namedrops Diaspro a few times (2x01, 2x10), AND recaps the whole Diaspro madness at the start of the episode... and then dubs over Diaspro's rant, the strongest (if not only) link between all that and today's episode.
Either way, as TF says, comic issue #15 trumps both, simply for having the three-way discussion we wanted to see.
(NB: Reference to the comic "Dragon's Land" from the Winx comic series, which gives us something that this episode doesn't provide: Bloom and Diaspro actually having to interact with each other, and a plot that properly addresses their rivalry)
Responses:
TF: I'm at least happy 4Kids put the Stormy vs. Musa fight into the next ep. If things had to be cut for time, which is highly likely, then they did get put back in this case, which was excellent. I still don't mind Layla not teaching Musa this.
I really don't know why 4Kids did that to the Diaspro scene. That's one of the edits I just can't figure out. But I'm not satisfied with the original either. Both are wasted opportunities.
(NB: To add insult to injury, this blog post about the upcoming reboot of Winx Club cites this exact episode as "pure filler", which you'd imagine is exactly the last thing you'd expect out of an episode that should [and was probably expected to] focus on the conflict of interest inherent to the plot [instead of merely giving minor lip service to it, and only in the original at that], and possibly provide some sort of resolution, like having Bloom apologize to Diaspro for their Day of the Royals fracas; as it is, both versions just skip over to Bloom and Sky talking with Sky's parents as soon as Diaspro has been rescued, and that's what makes this episode such a wasted opportunity even in the original :-\)
Me: True, those are the really BIG issues.
But if I had to pick a 3rd place for the biggest head-scratcher edit, and it's a VERY distant 3rd place to boot... I'd be tempted to pick Zing wanting to bond with a fairy. Obviously viewers put two (Diaspro can transform, so she must be a fairy) and two (Zing wants to bond) together, and expected a Zing and Diaspro bonding, and complained when it didn't happen (heck, I don't recall Zing ever even SHARING a scene with Di, like Sky and Bloom). Once again, the original sidesteps the problem.
TF: Huh? Why does Zing wanting to bond with someone have to be about Diaspro? I don't think all viewers would follow that logic. I certainly didn't. What confuses me is that Zing didn't find anyone to bond with out of the whole of Alfea.
Me, responding to a different part of TF's response some time later: (...) I still don't mind Layla not teaching Musa this.
Is it because Musa is a fairy of music, and probably should know her dancing? (That said, I still would have preferred Layla teaching her. It's Chekhov's Gun in action.)
TF: Yeah, Musa should definitely know her dances. But also, I can easily recognize cuttable material and that's cuttable. I don't fret about most of that stuff being missing from my version. It's not worth my time.
Me: I should be nitpicking that technically it wasn't cut, it was only redialoged to no longer mention that the dance Layla is showing is a rain dance (kind of like how the Diaspro scene no longer has her tirade about learning to be a good princess so she can marry a prince).
But I'm probably flogging a dead horse at this point. Nutshell: Although it would make more sense with Layla teaching Musa the rain dance, and then Musa using it to vanquish Stormy (if un-Charmixed Musa can beat a Gloomixed Stormy, imagine what Charmixed Musa could do with her!); this works as well. Not as good as the original, but putting the dance showing scene first, probably would have just made the first couple scenes look rushed.
I really dislike the Diaspro edit not just for the obvious reasons, but the fact it gave certain 4Kids bashers (*cough*me*cough*) fuel to say, "Told ya 4Kids edits are ruining the show" and blame them for any shortcomings in the writing (even if, at least in this case, there were shortcomings in the original to begin with)... and of course, 4Kids fans never took kindly to such comments :-\
As for the reference to the comic... before the ban, TF mentioned that the mention of Diaspro in 2x10 was better than her actual appearance:
Me: Knowing how the original actually contained one of the things most of us expected to see must steam your coffee, yes?
(NB: Reference to a 4Kids line Mike said in 1x13)
TF: Nope, no steamed coffee here. Your version wasn't up to snuff either. Comic issue #15 trumps both.
(NB: I remember TF posting a review of the comic in question and saying that this comic is what the episode should have been like)
TF later said in an email interview, regarding this ep: I've often said I don't know what 4Kids was thinking, but if you're gonna bash them, I'm gonna bash Rainbow for even having this lame excuse for an episode in the first place. The entire main joke won't be understood by the target audience. That's just stupid.
(NB: Referencing things the target audience are unlikely to understand isn't inherently stupid [see My Little Pony G4 referencing The Big Lebowski]... Ignoring what should be such a major aspect of the plot and only paying minor lip service to how terrible it must feel for Di to be rescued by her ex and his new GF, now that's just stupid)
And finally, nothing to do with the comparison, but just thought I'd drop this little link here ;-)
