Frank15's Winx Reviews: 1x01-1x03
May. 5th, 2026 11:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsIn my post on Frank15's THE (recently-effectively-deceased) Unofficial Winx Club Site, I alluded to making a post relating to not being allowed to use the website's reviews in my podcast... I'm still working on that, but I also had another plan relating to the website's demise, and ironically, it involves reposting the website's reviews... They're good reviews, so I feel they deserve to be preserved for posterity, especially given that the other major Winx reviewer of the 4Kids era not only member-walled her reviews in her community, but also went out of her way not to let others repost them (even when the community was public) :-\ Anyways, I'm planning on posting three episodes per post, and posting on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays... All reviews will be reposted as-is, without edits (so there will be a few instances of non-child-friendly language) or additional commentary, though I'll add some at the top of each post, for example: In which Frank15 introduces us to the Winx, and their rivalry with the Trix :-)
It Feels Like Magic
...or The First Episode
Our tale today starts on a sunny day in Gardenia, a small, yet fully urban city on Earth. Bloom is riding her bicycle, with her bunny Kiko, to the park, to play with Kiko. Kiko goes off away and screams, running toward Bloom. Bloom goes over to check out what scared Kiko.
In the small forest, Bloom sees a blonde girl, Stella, fighting off small red demons, using what appears to be magic, and Bloom figures that she and Kiko can't both be hallucinating. From the shadows, an ogre, Knut, charges toward Stella, and knocks her down. Knut orders the demons to bring him Stella magical sceptre, as Bloom yells for the ogre to leave the girl alone, to get her instead. It dawns on Bloom then that she has no way of fighting the ogre, but somehow, after Knut grabs her, she sends out a fiery blast, knocking Knut down. She surrounds herself with a fire shield that defeat the demons that attack her, and finally, hits one with a stick that's about to attack Kiko.
Bloom, exhausted, sits down, as Stella walks up to her, telling her she's got major winx: Bloom isn't sure what she's talking about. Stella then blasts Knut with her sceptre, back in hand, and performs a powerful blast that turns several of the demons to dust. One of the demons takes a bite out of Bloom's jeans, then runs off to Knut, who teleports elsewhere. Stella faints, and Bloom goes to her side, realizing she needs help.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Bloom is asleep in her bed in her home. Her mother, Vanessa, spots a book Bloom was reading, about fairies, that she hadn't read since she was little. Vanessa mentions how Bloom used to pretend that she was a fairy, and then asks about the girl sleeping downstairs. Bloom, getting nervous about her mother asking about the girl, gets up and tries to think of some excuse about who she is. She also takes a shower and gets dressed in mere seconds. Vanessa asks Bloom to come downstairs for breakfast.
At the breakfast table, Bloom's dad, Michael, says that it's the day they're going to clean out the garage. Sadistically cheerful about it, too. Bloom says she has important stuff to do, and asks if her dad remembers about how she used to be into fairy stuff. Vanessa says she just wants to hang with her new friend. Michael agrees, as long as she at least gets the groceries. I guess they don't eat very much. It's difficult to ride a bicycle while carrying fifteen bags of groceries.
While walking her bicycle, Bloom bumps into Mitzi, who says its time for Bloom to retire her bicycle. Bloom says she likes her bike, but Mitzi just continues making fun of her, while showing Bloom her brand new scooter.
Knut walks into a dark fog, with three pairs of glowing eyes staring him down. These are Icy, Stormy, and Darcy, the Trix sisters, not yet seen. And in Stormy's case, not even yet heard. Icy demands for Knut to explain himself for not getting Stella's sceptre. Knut tells her that he had it, but an Earth girl with magical powers stopped him. Icy demands to be told what she looked like, but Knut isn't sure, as he wasn't wearing his glasses, since he thinks they're ugly. And they are.
Darcy: Don't you know you're as blind as a hairless mole rat without them, you buffoon?
Knut tells the Trio that he has a plan: one of the demons tore off a part of Bloom's jeans, and he could use a hunter troll to sniff Bloom out. And a hunter troll strolls on out. All too convenient. As if the Trio knew he'd want one, and already had one in waiting.
Back at Bloom's home, Michael does not believe that Stella is a fairy, and that he's going to call the doctor. Bloom's complaining, telling him that she's a real fairy. Vanessa asks Stella how she's feeling when she wakes up, and she says she's fine, thanks to Bloom. Stella and Bloom formally introduce themselves to the other. Vanessa wants to call Stella's parents, but Stella says they can't, since her parents live six realms away, in a kingdom called Solaria. Michael heads for the telephone to call the doctor, wanting to figure out why Stella and Bloom are seeing things that aren't there. Stella gets pissy with Bloom's dad not believing them, and changes the phone into a carrot and cabbage. Bloom thinks Stella's turning the phone into vegetables is awesome, but Stella says that Bloom's the awesome one. Stella says Bloom should go with her to Alfea, the best magic school in the around, though Michael protests that idea.
Outside a factory on Earth, Knut, the troll, and a few small demons are teleported. Knut tells the troll to do his thing, and the troll catches Bloom's scent.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Bloom brings Stella to her bedroom. Stella thinks it's nice, and says she can use a spell to pack her entire room to bring to Alfea. Bloom says, sadly, that she doesn't think she can go to Alfea, that she doesn't think she has her powers anymore. Stella says Bloom's definitely still got her powers, that they're probably just a little rusty from not being used for so long. Stella tries to encourage Bloom, and merges several of her pencils on her desk into one large pencil. Stella asks Bloom to change it back into the smaller pencils, but Bloom can't. Stella explains to Bloom that that's why she has to go to Alfea, so she can perform magic like that. Stella drops a little postcard that expands into an express portal. Stella steps in, and Bloom, a bit uneasy, follows her in, and wind up right outside Alfea.
Meanwhile, Knut and the troll are still searching out Bloom, but the troll loses Bloom's scent as she goes through the portal.
Stella shows Bloom Alfea. Bloom asks what goes on there, as Stella tells her that fairies, most of whom are princesses, attend to improve their magical abilities. Stella also excitedly mentions that they're only one forest away from Red Fountain, the school for heroics and bravery, full of hunks. Prince Sky, Brandon, Riven, and Timmy are shown clanking their swords together. She also mentions the creepy Cloud Tower school for witches is nearby as well. And Icy, Stormy, and Darcy are shown for the first time. Stella said to help Bloom make her decision, that she invited some of the Red Fountain guys over to Bloom's house, and they come back through the portal.
As Bloom returns back through the portal, though, the troll picks back up Bloom's scent, and Knut and the troll are right at her house. Kiko hears something trying to get in through the back door and panics, though Michael just doesn't get Kiko.
Michael: Maybe Bloom forgot to give him his dinner. Or maybe he's doing that thing where he pretends he didn't eat so he can get a second serving.
Kiko tries holding the door to keep whatever's trying to get inside from coming in. He tries piling up a chair, TV, vase, and other objects in front of the door to keep the creatures from coming inside. Doesn't work, though. The troll manages through, and the demons and Knut follow. Knut threatens Bloom's parents to tell him where the girls are. Stella appears behind him, telling Knut they're there. Stella transforms to her winx form, via an animation sequence on a glittery background--this stock animation plays every episode where any of the fairies change to their winx forms, though it's usually shorter than it was for this episode. Then again, there're usually multiple fairies transforming, as opposed to just one. Knut tells the troll to do something about Stella, and not to let her kick his butt. Stella says she'll take care of Knut and the troll, and asks Bloom to try to do something about the demons. Knut says that since Bloom's gone now, he'll easily take care of Stella. Fun in the background--scared, Michael and Vanessa escape through a window as Knut's threatening Stella. Outside, as the demons are preparing to attack Bloom, Knut is thrown from the house, squashing the demons. But the troll is fully in tact, coming toward Bloom.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
As the troll heads for Stella and Bloom, four Red Fountain guys--Prince Sky, Brandon, Riven, and Timmy--lasso up the troll. Riven insists he can do it by himself, but the troll tosses Riven over several yards. The troll starts pounding at Brandon, who has his shield up. Sky creates a hole in the ground, and Timmy says you have to aim at a troll's feet, which causes the troll to fall into the hole. Riven tries to fight the demons on his own, again, unsuccessfully, as Knut punches him away. Stella and Bloom both send a blast to Knut, knocking him down. Stella threatens to put a stinkus removus spell on Knut if he doesn't go away, and Knut promptly teleports off, along with the demons. The troll is still on earth, though, but Timmy puts a special collar on the troll to keep him at bay. Vanessa and Michael look terrified, watching this all unfold. Brandon tells Bloom that he hopes to see her at Alfea, and Bloom smiles and giggles. Ah, the start of a love that should not be. Lovely.
Inside Bloom's home, Michael's sweeping up the mess. Stella offers to use her magic to clean their home, but Michael wants nothing to do with magic. Vanessa and Bloom have a suitcase packed, but Michael's still concerned about Bloom attending Alfea.
Michael: Hey Stella, how do we get there? Car? Plane? Broomstick? Do they make a broomstick for four?
Bloom: Um, duh, Dad. Broomsticks are for witches.
Bloom asks if they're going to use the portal to go to Alfea. Stella says that regular humans can't use those portals, but she can bring them all to Alfea using her sceptre. And Stella, Bloom, Michael, and Vanessa all arrive in Magix, as the song "Feels like Magic" plays.
Other Stuff
Ah, the first episode. Nothing overly spectacular, but it's nice to see the little set up for the rest of the series, anyway. And nice to see just how well Bloom and Stella hit it off right away... Bloom's going to be better for Stella than Stella even knows.
What was Stella doing on Earth in the first place, anyway?
7 out of 10 on the old scale.
More than High School
...or Can You Hear Me Now?
Outside Alfea, Stella is telling Bloom and her parents about the realm-renowned school of Alfea, and showing them the school. Vanessa says they should check out the school before allowing Bloom to go. Michael walks forth, and crashes into an invisible wall. Bloom tries walking forth, and says that the wall must be gone. Stella explains that there actually is an invisible wall, which keeps non-magical creatures out. Though interestingly, Kiko has no trouble passing through. Stella shows Michael and Vanessa the official Alfea slide globe, which shows a few scenes from various future episodes, as well as playing the Alfea song. The students must be embarrassed by this song. Vanessa agrees that Bloom should have a great year at Alfea. Michael tells Kiko to take care of her. Odd that they don't wonder about Kiko being able to pass through. Stella transports Michael and Vanessa back to their home on Earth.
Stella: Fairy school is just like normal school, but we all have magic powers and better outfits.
Stella and Bloom enter the Alfea grounds. Stella says she won't like one scary-looking girl, telling Bloom its Griselda, head of discipline, that she is scary, and in need of a makeover. Griselda is giving one student a hard time, telling the student that she doesn't see her name on the list, but finally finds it before turning the poor girl into something. Poor girl, Elenor of Delona. She's cute. And frightened of big mean Griselda. Bloom frets that she isn't going to be on the list, but Stella says the princess of Vallisto was supposed to come to Alfea this year, but she's doing home schooling instead, so Stella rips apart a letter she was supposed to give to Griselda, but instead, decides to pass Bloom off as the princess, since no one knows what the princess looks like.
Stella: Hey, we're not lying! We're just not telling all we know.
Griselda recognizes Stella, upset that the school board decided to allow Stella back this year. Stella mentions that her parents did buy the school a new computer lab. Guess that might have something with the board allowing Stella back at Alfea. Stella introduces Bloom as Princess Varanda of Vallisto, and easily gets by Griselda.
Inside Alfea, three teachers are peeking through a window: Palladium, not yet named, Wizgiz, also not yet named, and a red-hatted lady. The red-hatted lady is never heard from again after this, and only occasionally seen. Palladium and the red-hatted lady talk about how they spend their summers. Wizgiz wants to show off what he learned and changes into a bunny with Wizgiz's face. He hops onto the red-hatted lady's shoulder, and she faints, as Wizgiz hops onto Palladium's shoulder.
Outside Alfea, before all the students, Griselda goes over the rules of Alfea. The first rule is that the students must follow all the rules in the code of behavior. Because, of course, without that rule, all the others wouldn't count, naturally. She mentions that Stella got expelled last year, after destroying the potions laboratory last year with an unauthorized spell. Bloom seems oddly impressed with Stella's accident, seeing the potions laboratory still in ruins. The second rule is no unauthorized magic. And how often is this rule broken, now? Not even Griselda could possibly keep that tight a lid on all the goings-on all the time. The third rule is to never associate with the witches of Cloud Tower, for which Griselda has no official punishment, since anything the witches may do would be far worse than any punishment she could give. Of course, there's no explanation on what to do if a witch were to target one of them. I mean, is it really unfeasible for one of the witches to just go finding a fairy to pick on for no reason?
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Inside Alfea, Miss Faragonda introduces herself as the headmistress of Alfea. She tells the girls how they're all unique, with different sources of power and different origins. Griselda orders the girls to their dormitories. Faragonda tells the girls to use every opportunity to connect with their winx.
Walking down the hallway to their room, Bloom asks Stella if she knows what she's going to be.
Stella: Duh, I'm gonna' like rule the kingdom of Solaria.
Stella, Stella, Stella... a bit more obnoxious in the earlier episodes, but she still gets along with Bloom nicely, anyway. Stella goes on to explain what "winx" is.
Stella: Winx is essentially three things. First, its your source of power, as in your strength and energy, and second, it's what guides you. Thirdly, its your magical identity.
As Stella and Bloom enter their room, Stella says she hopes her roommates are better than the ones she had last year, who had bad fashion sense, and goes on to say she's got a single bedroom in their dorm. Bloom goes into her room to see what her room looks like, but accidentally steps on a plant root, causing the plant itself to scream "That hurt!" Flora steps out and tells Bloom that the plant is her latest creation, that if more plants could talk, it would help prevent deforestation. Flora goes on about how the plant is cute, then accidentally knocks the plant off its little table, sending it crashing to the ground, complaining. Bloom introduces herself as Bloom by accident, then claims to be Varanda from Vallisto, and that she isn't named Bloom. Very subtle cover up there, Bloom. Tecna pops up behind Bloom, sprouting off random facts about Vallisto, then introduces herself as Tecna. To think Tecna does this sort of thing for fun. Stella introduces herself to Tecna, and Tecna recognizes Stella's name as the girl who blew up the potions lab. Musa, not yet named, comes out of her room, asking Stella to warn them if she plans to blow up anything else.
Stella: It was in the name of fashion. I don't regret it.
Tecna asks if Stella was able to create the new shade of pink, but Stella says she couldn't. In Flora's room, her plant is holding Kiko hostage. Flora scolds the plant, but Bloom says that Kiko was probably trying to eat it. Flora prepares some fast-growing organic carrots for Kiko. Stella says they should go to downtown Magix for pizza. Flora says downtown Magix is fun.
The five girls take a hoverbus down to downtown Magix, and Flora prepares Bloom, that she'll be blown away when she sees the city. Bloom's eyes are shut, and opens them once Tecna tells her to take a look. Bloom's a bit pissed-looking, disappointed that Magix looks more ordinary than she had hoped. Except for the hovercars, anyway. Bloom said she expected dragons, rainbows, unicorns, giants, and flying brooms. Stella says that's just fairy tale stuff. Bloom is impressed with a hovercar making room for its own parking space, though.
The five girls pass by an eyeglasses store, with Knut inside, hoping to buy some new glasses. He has on a pair of pretty hideous pink glasses that the store owner or employee is trying to convince Knut look good on him. They don't. He spots what he thinks are the fairies, the store owner or employee confirms that they looked like Alfea students, and Knut rushes out, with the store owner or empolyee upset that he didn't pay for the glasses. Knut may be a villain, but he seems like the kind of villain who would've paid for those glasses had he not been preoccupied with the fairies at the moment. Knut immediately calls "Your Highness"--or Icy, though she is not yet named. Icy threatens that the call had better be important. Knut informs her that he saw Stella. Icy says they'll take her sceptre and kill or. Icy didn't actually use the word "kill," but that's what she obviously meant.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Inside the pizza parlor, Bloom complains to her four friends that her cell phone isn't working, that she can't even get a signal.
Tecna: Let me see it. I love taking these things apart.
Ah, Tecna. Getting glee from taking things apart like a small child. Tecna tells Bloom the phone is ancient technology, belonging in a museum. Bloom complains that it's the newest phone, then Stella quietly reminds her that it's only the newest phone on earth. Tecna says there's an interrealm phone on the corner that she can use.
In the booth, Bloom calls Vanessa, telling her mother how great things are. Bloom says she'll call again in the morning, spots Knut passing by, then tries to desperately hurry her mother off the phone, saying how badly she needs to get off. She eventually gets off, and hurries after Knut.
In the alley, Knut tells the three witches--the Trix sisters, though never officially named in the cartoon series itself--that he saw Stella on Wand Avenue. Darcy senses an intruder, and replicates herself.
Darcy: Sometimes I forget how pretty I am, honestly.
Knut continues on that he thinks the Earth girl was with Stella, as well as a few other girls. One of the Darcys push Bloom out toward Knut and the three Trix sisters. Icy threatens Bloom if she doesn't tell them where Stella is. Bloom threatens Icy back, telling the Trio that she has magic, and shoots little sprinkles at Icy, which float down to the ground before even reaching Icy. Icy makes fun of Bloom, that she barely has winx, and decides to show her what real magic is, and produces snow over Bloom, as well as some ice. Stormy conjures up a tornado that blows Bloom up to a roof edge, where she hangs on. Icy encases Bloom in a small ice coffin. Icy's favorite spell. Icy tells Bloom that fairies don't last long in ice, so she had better tell the Trio where Stella is... which soon becomes unnecessary, as Stella and the others show up before the sisters. Icy also has the audacity to scratch her nails on the ice, which makes the same sound as if she were scraping them across a chalkboard. As if being encased in a giant block of ice weren't bad enough!
Icy orders Knut to go after the other four fairies, and they decide to transform into their winx forms, going through a little transformation sequence. Like Stella did in "It Feels Like Magic," but involving all four of the girls, and less time spent on each individual's transformation. Tecna traps Knut in a digital web--a grid sphere that keeps him hovering above the ground. Musa uses her subwoofer blast, creating loud music Knut is forced to endure inside the digital web. Aside from the annoyance factor, though, it doesn't seem to actually do anything, though. Flora uses ivy rope, which ties Knut up, then catapults him away. Icy gets angry, and shoots several icicles at the "firsties"--one of many insults used for the fairies. Not to mention Mirta... but we'll get to her a little later in the series.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Icy: Now it's going to get piercing cold.
Ah Icy, queen of the bad pun. Darcy's usually better with the "cute" jokes. Tecna tells the other girls to get behind her, as she uses her firewall shield to protect them from the icicles. Stormy shoots lightning at the girls, which destroy Tecna's shield, and blows the girls back. Icy starts conjuring up a spell to defeat them, as Stella quickly changes her Solaria ring to her Solaria sceptre, and transports the five girls away. Icy is shocked when she realizes the girls got away, and starts yelling.
Stella tells Bloom how proud she is of her, and how great it is that an Earth girl could do so well in the ice. Tecna, Flora, and Musa hear this, and want Stella to tell them about why she called her Bloom and said she was from Earth. Flora in particular looks pissed. Stella's wide-eyed expression, though, is priceless. Stella says she'll explain on their way back to Alfea.
As the five girls sneak back into Alfea, Bloom feels she wants to tell Miss Faragonda who she really is. Griselda and Faragonda stop the girls, asking if they know what time it is, and saying they were worried. Faragonda says they'll talk about this tomorrow. Griselda insists on knowing what it was that she wanted to tell Miss Faragonda. Bloom tells her that she isn't Varanda and not from Vallisto. Griselda is upset about Bloom breaking so many rules, but Faragonda realizes that she must have magic, else she wouldn't have been able to get in in the first place. Stella tries to take the blame, but Bloom takes it herself. She says that she's Bloom and she's from Earth. Griselda wants to punish her, but Faragonda stifles Griselda, saying that they will give her a chance, and she can take Varanda's place. Griselda reluctantly agrees. Very reluctantly. She obviously so wants to turn Bloom into something, and doesn't really like Faragonda being, in Griselda's eyes, too soft. Miss Faragonda wonders just who Bloom is, though, since Earth doesn't have magical creatues.
Other Stuff
Very good episode. We got introduced to the school of Alfea itself, as well as the other three Winx girls: Tecna, Flora, and Musa. Tecna had a particularly enjoyable outing here. We also got our first battle with the Trix sisters, who weren't really using all their strength today. Then again, they don't yet realize how much trouble these Winx girls are going to cause them, so why should they have used all their might? Ah, but they'll learn....
Kiko somehow was able to get through the magical barrier. There must be more to Kiko than just being an ordinary bunny....
9 out of 10 on the old scale.
Save the First Dance
...or Bloom's Best Light
We start at Alfea, in Professor Wizgiz's class, teaching the first class of the new year, a class on metamorphosis. Wizgiz does a little demonstration, changing himself to Griselda appearance-wise. Voice too, for that matter.
Wizgiz: Don't worry, I'm not really the Queen of Detention.
Ooh, how much fun it would have been if Griselda had walked in at that moment! Wizgiz has the students do a simple transformation, having the students magically change their hair color. Bloom tries, without success. We see one random student's hair color change, which is a shame. It would've been fun to see the other Winx girls with differently-colored hair.
In their room, Bloom laments being the only one who wasn't able to change her hair color. Stella encourages Bloom, telling her that she just needs practice, and soon enough she'll get her fairy wings. Stella gives Bloom a pep talk, to think about her best hair day, and how happy that made her feel. Instead, Bloom successfully gives herself a Dragon Ball-esque hairstyle. Bloom gets snitty with Stella for pushing her, and Stella gets snitty back about Bloom not learning very well. The animation here is particularly bizarre.
The group of five is in the Alfea cafeteria, eating breakfast. Bloom again complains about not being able to use her magic very well. Shortly, though, Miss Faragonda speaks before all the girls. Griselda is sitting beside her, looking pissed. Faragonda is telling the girls all about their back to school dance tomorrow night, and that the boys from Red Fountain will be there, and to be friendly toward them. Griselda pipes in, warning the girls against being too friendly, and how love spells are crush potions are forbidden. Faragonda, giggling at Griselda's "kiss and die" attitude, tells the girls that dancing is encouraged, and the boys are bringing gifts for the girls. She goes on about how she met her husband at her back to school dance at Alfea, then quickly gets off that topic. Hmm... wonder what that was about.
Over at Cloud Tower, all the witch students are in the usual Cloud Tower assembly room, with Miss Griffin, Cloud Tower's headmistress, standing before the students. Griffin announces a schoolwide competition, for the students to suggest ideas for sabotaging Alfea's back to school dance, with the winners receiving gift certificates to Aberzombie and Witch. Funny that they'd name a shop in Magix after a shop on Earth. The Trix sisters are at the assembly as well, realizing that aside from getting to sabotage the dance, they'd also be able to get Stella's ring while at Alfea. Assuming they won this competition, that is. But come on--do you really need to be told who wins Griffin's contest?
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
In the fairies' room, Stella shows off her new dress that she had to max out her daddy's credit card to buy, saying how the dress was begging for Stella to buy it. A cute, albeit poorly animated scene, with Stella gushing about the dress. Flora wishes they could just use their magic to create dresses. Tecna goes on about how hard it was for her to find her bizarre-ish looking dress. Musa gives this line that's entirely bizarre when you consider she's from another realm entirely:
Musa: It's... interesting. Where'd you get it, Mars?
Um... Considering how little these girls should know about Earth--save for Bloom, that is--how the heck would Musa even know Mars exists?! Bloom's worried about Brandon seeing her without anything decent to wear. Stella says they'll go shopping with her.
"I Want to Know Where the Girls Are" plays as Bloom tries different dresses at different clothing stores. There's one dress that Flora loves, but Tecna hates. And I guess Bloom trusts Tecna's opinion on clothing more than she trusts Flora's opinion. Considering their own dresses for the dance, I'd have trusted Flora's opinion first. Bloom finds another dress that everyone loves, but it's too expensive. Stella wants to pay for it, but forgot that she had her daddy's credit card maxed out. Bloom lets the other girls leave, telling them that they need to get ready for the dance tonight. Bloom runs around, looking for a store, where she finds a sale at one store, and finds an affordable dress that she loves, though still needs to alter a bit back at Alfea, since it's too long. Back at the girls' room at Alfea, the other girls are getting their dresses ready.
At Cloud Tower, the Trix sisters are in Miss Griffin's office, seemingly scolding the witches for coming up with such a horrible, despicable idea for ruining the Alfea back to school dance. Which is, of course, why she declares the Trix sisters the winners. The sisters promise to do Miss Griffin proud.
Back at Alfea, Bloom rushes into her room with the dress, complaining that she can't find a pair of scissors, and complaining about not being able to use magic for the simplest things. She looks outside her window, and notices the boys from Red Fountain entering Alfea, specifically, spotting Brandon. Ew.
In the tunnels below the ground, the Trix sisters are headed for Alfea, not only to ruin the dance, but more importantly, to steal Stella's ring. Darcy is tired of walking in her heels, and complaining to her sisters.
Darcy: Fine, but please tell me we're almost there.
Stormy: You have the map.
Icy: Yeah.
Darcy: Oh... we're... almost there.
At Alfea, Bloom is searching through the entire school for a pair of scissors. She hears a noise behind a door, opens it, and spots the witches that attacked her in the previous episode sneaking through the school. The Trix sisters locate the gifts from the Red Fountain boys. Darcy uses a spell to show the Trix sisters where Stella's ring is: inside an oyster shell inside a small chest. After, Stormy opens the chest, to find eggs inside. Darcy opens one of the eggs, and out come little butterflies. Darcy looks just adorable opening the egg, along with her little "ooh." The Trio turn the little butterfly eggs into eggs containing something that will bite them, giving the victim nausea and vomiting. All the while Bloom is watching, figuring she's got to stop them. Though after the curse, the eggs go from having sparkling gems on them to having jagged brown stripes. You would think someone might get suspicious that the eggs don't look like they're supposed to.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
The Trix sisters hide in some bushes outside Alfea, and look inside through a window. Stormy mentions that the eggs contain snake rats. Darcy says that with a single bite, the girls will be puking in seconds.
Inside Alfea, Bloom searches the party area for the Trix sisters. She bumps into Brandon, and asks Bloom to dance. She says yes, but rushes off immediately. Bloom finds her friends, and tells them that the witches cast a spell on the gifts the boys were going to give them, something to do with a snake rat. Tecna looks up information on snake rats, discovering that they're creatures that cause projectile vomiting with a single bite.
Stella: I know why they're doing this. Those witches are so jealous of us. They wish they had a chance with the Red Fountain boys.
Probably true to an extent. While I'm sure many of the students at Cloud Tower would prefer to have the boys to themselves, and probably do think the pixies are unworthy, the Trix sisters have more important things on their minds. Bloom tells Stella that the witches are actually after Stella's ring. Musa says they can handle it. Stella tells the girls to form a circle so they can cast a counterspell, and surely enough, the eggs go from striped to gem-speckled, and as Sky hands one girl an egg, she opens it, and indeed, butterflies fly out. Sky delivers one to Stella in person, who seems unimpressed with the egg. Musa takes it from Stella and asks Flora about a spell. Stella's look of horror when Musa takes Stella's egg is absolutely priceless! Flora casts the spell on the egg.
Right outside, Icy is furious that the freshmen fairies counterspelled them. Icy forms some ice vines for the sole purpose of smashing them. Cool. Literally. She also knows she needs to stay focused, that they need to steal Stella's ring.
In her room, Bloom's excited about having performed her first spell. Just then, Stella's jewelry box floats away, and Bloom runs after it. The shell with Stella's ring soon frees itself from the box, still floating away, and with Bloom still chasing it, and even trying a spell to have it come back:
Bloom: One, two, three, come back ring! Four, five, six, stop that thing! Boy, that was pathetic.
The Trix sisters growl in anger as Bloom catches the shell, and talk about what they'll do to her.
Back at the dance, Miss Faragonda walks up to the four girls, asking Princess Musa to perform a hip hop number for the boys. Referred to as a princess for the first time. Musa frets.
Back outside, the Trix sisters walk up to Bloom. Icy uses her ice bracelet, which basically turns the ground to ice where Bloom is standing. It doesn't affect Bloom, though. Darcy uses her heel of oblivion to form a huge crack in the ground. Love Bloom's frightened expression here. Stormy summons a tornado that blows Bloom into the crack, hanging on for dear life. Icy has the oyster shell come to her. Icy asks to do "the honors," and Stormy tells her "of course." But wait... Stormy sounds suspiciously like Flora when she delivers that line... her "of course" sounded downright sweet! Stormy, what's become of you?! Icy asks Bloom how she got into Alfea, since she doesn't even have any winx. Bloom argues back, insisting that she does have winx. Icy doesn't believe it, and prepares to send a blast at Bloom, when lo and behold, Bloom goes through her first transformation sequence. Bloom is out of the hole, glowing, sending wind forth from her body--she is in her winx form for the very first time! Bloom commends herself for finally being able to transform. Love her little "tough girl" look she gives to the Trio. Darcy sends weird waves at Bloom that seem to confuse her, but she flies up to avoid them, and demands that the witches give back Stella's ring. The Trio don't like her attitude, and Icy sends a large ice structure to surround her, then blast her. And finally, Icy's favorite spell: ice-coffining Bloom. With Bloom encased in the ice, the Trix sisters teleport out with the oyster shell.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Bloom crawls out from the ice. Her friends meet her outside, asking if she is OK. Bloom says she is, and that she finally got her wings, and goes on about how cool it was. Bloom is upset that she wasn't able to get the ring back, though, but Flora says not to worry, that they don't have the ring. Bloom says they do, but Flora promises that they don't.
In their room, the Trix sisters, in their regular clothes for the first time, get comfortable. Icy opens the oyster shell, and finds an egg inside, looking like the ones with the butterflies. She wonders why Stella would keep her ring in the egg, then gets a bit concerned when the egg starts making noises. Soon the egg explodes, and a little duckling emerges, looking straight at Icy, lovingly calling her "Mommy." Stormy notes it as disgusting.
Bloom fixes her dress with some scissors she must've found somewhere, creating an admittedly very nice dress, in that sorta' homemade style... except it is homemade this time. Bloom talks about how great the day was, finally getting her magic, and her dress, and being at the dress... and Stella says it'll get better, as Brandon asks Bloom to dance, and she and Brandon dance to "Feels Like Magic."
Other Stuff
Great episode, despite the very off animation. Bloom herself is extremely likable throughout the entire episode, which is good since the episode has particularly heavy focus on her. Stella has her moments, but at the same time she also has her lesser moments. And while the Trix sisters were in the last episode as well, they shine much brighter here, and we see their little sisterly squabbles for the first time as well.
As for the animation, I'm not sure why some parts looked so bad... definitely the worst animation in the series. Not that it's that bad, but noticeable.
10 out of 10 on the old scale.
It Feels Like Magic
...or The First Episode
Our tale today starts on a sunny day in Gardenia, a small, yet fully urban city on Earth. Bloom is riding her bicycle, with her bunny Kiko, to the park, to play with Kiko. Kiko goes off away and screams, running toward Bloom. Bloom goes over to check out what scared Kiko.
In the small forest, Bloom sees a blonde girl, Stella, fighting off small red demons, using what appears to be magic, and Bloom figures that she and Kiko can't both be hallucinating. From the shadows, an ogre, Knut, charges toward Stella, and knocks her down. Knut orders the demons to bring him Stella magical sceptre, as Bloom yells for the ogre to leave the girl alone, to get her instead. It dawns on Bloom then that she has no way of fighting the ogre, but somehow, after Knut grabs her, she sends out a fiery blast, knocking Knut down. She surrounds herself with a fire shield that defeat the demons that attack her, and finally, hits one with a stick that's about to attack Kiko.
Bloom, exhausted, sits down, as Stella walks up to her, telling her she's got major winx: Bloom isn't sure what she's talking about. Stella then blasts Knut with her sceptre, back in hand, and performs a powerful blast that turns several of the demons to dust. One of the demons takes a bite out of Bloom's jeans, then runs off to Knut, who teleports elsewhere. Stella faints, and Bloom goes to her side, realizing she needs help.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Bloom is asleep in her bed in her home. Her mother, Vanessa, spots a book Bloom was reading, about fairies, that she hadn't read since she was little. Vanessa mentions how Bloom used to pretend that she was a fairy, and then asks about the girl sleeping downstairs. Bloom, getting nervous about her mother asking about the girl, gets up and tries to think of some excuse about who she is. She also takes a shower and gets dressed in mere seconds. Vanessa asks Bloom to come downstairs for breakfast.
At the breakfast table, Bloom's dad, Michael, says that it's the day they're going to clean out the garage. Sadistically cheerful about it, too. Bloom says she has important stuff to do, and asks if her dad remembers about how she used to be into fairy stuff. Vanessa says she just wants to hang with her new friend. Michael agrees, as long as she at least gets the groceries. I guess they don't eat very much. It's difficult to ride a bicycle while carrying fifteen bags of groceries.
While walking her bicycle, Bloom bumps into Mitzi, who says its time for Bloom to retire her bicycle. Bloom says she likes her bike, but Mitzi just continues making fun of her, while showing Bloom her brand new scooter.
Knut walks into a dark fog, with three pairs of glowing eyes staring him down. These are Icy, Stormy, and Darcy, the Trix sisters, not yet seen. And in Stormy's case, not even yet heard. Icy demands for Knut to explain himself for not getting Stella's sceptre. Knut tells her that he had it, but an Earth girl with magical powers stopped him. Icy demands to be told what she looked like, but Knut isn't sure, as he wasn't wearing his glasses, since he thinks they're ugly. And they are.
Darcy: Don't you know you're as blind as a hairless mole rat without them, you buffoon?
Knut tells the Trio that he has a plan: one of the demons tore off a part of Bloom's jeans, and he could use a hunter troll to sniff Bloom out. And a hunter troll strolls on out. All too convenient. As if the Trio knew he'd want one, and already had one in waiting.
Back at Bloom's home, Michael does not believe that Stella is a fairy, and that he's going to call the doctor. Bloom's complaining, telling him that she's a real fairy. Vanessa asks Stella how she's feeling when she wakes up, and she says she's fine, thanks to Bloom. Stella and Bloom formally introduce themselves to the other. Vanessa wants to call Stella's parents, but Stella says they can't, since her parents live six realms away, in a kingdom called Solaria. Michael heads for the telephone to call the doctor, wanting to figure out why Stella and Bloom are seeing things that aren't there. Stella gets pissy with Bloom's dad not believing them, and changes the phone into a carrot and cabbage. Bloom thinks Stella's turning the phone into vegetables is awesome, but Stella says that Bloom's the awesome one. Stella says Bloom should go with her to Alfea, the best magic school in the around, though Michael protests that idea.
Outside a factory on Earth, Knut, the troll, and a few small demons are teleported. Knut tells the troll to do his thing, and the troll catches Bloom's scent.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Bloom brings Stella to her bedroom. Stella thinks it's nice, and says she can use a spell to pack her entire room to bring to Alfea. Bloom says, sadly, that she doesn't think she can go to Alfea, that she doesn't think she has her powers anymore. Stella says Bloom's definitely still got her powers, that they're probably just a little rusty from not being used for so long. Stella tries to encourage Bloom, and merges several of her pencils on her desk into one large pencil. Stella asks Bloom to change it back into the smaller pencils, but Bloom can't. Stella explains to Bloom that that's why she has to go to Alfea, so she can perform magic like that. Stella drops a little postcard that expands into an express portal. Stella steps in, and Bloom, a bit uneasy, follows her in, and wind up right outside Alfea.
Meanwhile, Knut and the troll are still searching out Bloom, but the troll loses Bloom's scent as she goes through the portal.
Stella shows Bloom Alfea. Bloom asks what goes on there, as Stella tells her that fairies, most of whom are princesses, attend to improve their magical abilities. Stella also excitedly mentions that they're only one forest away from Red Fountain, the school for heroics and bravery, full of hunks. Prince Sky, Brandon, Riven, and Timmy are shown clanking their swords together. She also mentions the creepy Cloud Tower school for witches is nearby as well. And Icy, Stormy, and Darcy are shown for the first time. Stella said to help Bloom make her decision, that she invited some of the Red Fountain guys over to Bloom's house, and they come back through the portal.
As Bloom returns back through the portal, though, the troll picks back up Bloom's scent, and Knut and the troll are right at her house. Kiko hears something trying to get in through the back door and panics, though Michael just doesn't get Kiko.
Michael: Maybe Bloom forgot to give him his dinner. Or maybe he's doing that thing where he pretends he didn't eat so he can get a second serving.
Kiko tries holding the door to keep whatever's trying to get inside from coming in. He tries piling up a chair, TV, vase, and other objects in front of the door to keep the creatures from coming inside. Doesn't work, though. The troll manages through, and the demons and Knut follow. Knut threatens Bloom's parents to tell him where the girls are. Stella appears behind him, telling Knut they're there. Stella transforms to her winx form, via an animation sequence on a glittery background--this stock animation plays every episode where any of the fairies change to their winx forms, though it's usually shorter than it was for this episode. Then again, there're usually multiple fairies transforming, as opposed to just one. Knut tells the troll to do something about Stella, and not to let her kick his butt. Stella says she'll take care of Knut and the troll, and asks Bloom to try to do something about the demons. Knut says that since Bloom's gone now, he'll easily take care of Stella. Fun in the background--scared, Michael and Vanessa escape through a window as Knut's threatening Stella. Outside, as the demons are preparing to attack Bloom, Knut is thrown from the house, squashing the demons. But the troll is fully in tact, coming toward Bloom.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
As the troll heads for Stella and Bloom, four Red Fountain guys--Prince Sky, Brandon, Riven, and Timmy--lasso up the troll. Riven insists he can do it by himself, but the troll tosses Riven over several yards. The troll starts pounding at Brandon, who has his shield up. Sky creates a hole in the ground, and Timmy says you have to aim at a troll's feet, which causes the troll to fall into the hole. Riven tries to fight the demons on his own, again, unsuccessfully, as Knut punches him away. Stella and Bloom both send a blast to Knut, knocking him down. Stella threatens to put a stinkus removus spell on Knut if he doesn't go away, and Knut promptly teleports off, along with the demons. The troll is still on earth, though, but Timmy puts a special collar on the troll to keep him at bay. Vanessa and Michael look terrified, watching this all unfold. Brandon tells Bloom that he hopes to see her at Alfea, and Bloom smiles and giggles. Ah, the start of a love that should not be. Lovely.
Inside Bloom's home, Michael's sweeping up the mess. Stella offers to use her magic to clean their home, but Michael wants nothing to do with magic. Vanessa and Bloom have a suitcase packed, but Michael's still concerned about Bloom attending Alfea.
Michael: Hey Stella, how do we get there? Car? Plane? Broomstick? Do they make a broomstick for four?
Bloom: Um, duh, Dad. Broomsticks are for witches.
Bloom asks if they're going to use the portal to go to Alfea. Stella says that regular humans can't use those portals, but she can bring them all to Alfea using her sceptre. And Stella, Bloom, Michael, and Vanessa all arrive in Magix, as the song "Feels like Magic" plays.
Other Stuff
Ah, the first episode. Nothing overly spectacular, but it's nice to see the little set up for the rest of the series, anyway. And nice to see just how well Bloom and Stella hit it off right away... Bloom's going to be better for Stella than Stella even knows.
What was Stella doing on Earth in the first place, anyway?
7 out of 10 on the old scale.
More than High School
...or Can You Hear Me Now?
Outside Alfea, Stella is telling Bloom and her parents about the realm-renowned school of Alfea, and showing them the school. Vanessa says they should check out the school before allowing Bloom to go. Michael walks forth, and crashes into an invisible wall. Bloom tries walking forth, and says that the wall must be gone. Stella explains that there actually is an invisible wall, which keeps non-magical creatures out. Though interestingly, Kiko has no trouble passing through. Stella shows Michael and Vanessa the official Alfea slide globe, which shows a few scenes from various future episodes, as well as playing the Alfea song. The students must be embarrassed by this song. Vanessa agrees that Bloom should have a great year at Alfea. Michael tells Kiko to take care of her. Odd that they don't wonder about Kiko being able to pass through. Stella transports Michael and Vanessa back to their home on Earth.
Stella: Fairy school is just like normal school, but we all have magic powers and better outfits.
Stella and Bloom enter the Alfea grounds. Stella says she won't like one scary-looking girl, telling Bloom its Griselda, head of discipline, that she is scary, and in need of a makeover. Griselda is giving one student a hard time, telling the student that she doesn't see her name on the list, but finally finds it before turning the poor girl into something. Poor girl, Elenor of Delona. She's cute. And frightened of big mean Griselda. Bloom frets that she isn't going to be on the list, but Stella says the princess of Vallisto was supposed to come to Alfea this year, but she's doing home schooling instead, so Stella rips apart a letter she was supposed to give to Griselda, but instead, decides to pass Bloom off as the princess, since no one knows what the princess looks like.
Stella: Hey, we're not lying! We're just not telling all we know.
Griselda recognizes Stella, upset that the school board decided to allow Stella back this year. Stella mentions that her parents did buy the school a new computer lab. Guess that might have something with the board allowing Stella back at Alfea. Stella introduces Bloom as Princess Varanda of Vallisto, and easily gets by Griselda.
Inside Alfea, three teachers are peeking through a window: Palladium, not yet named, Wizgiz, also not yet named, and a red-hatted lady. The red-hatted lady is never heard from again after this, and only occasionally seen. Palladium and the red-hatted lady talk about how they spend their summers. Wizgiz wants to show off what he learned and changes into a bunny with Wizgiz's face. He hops onto the red-hatted lady's shoulder, and she faints, as Wizgiz hops onto Palladium's shoulder.
Outside Alfea, before all the students, Griselda goes over the rules of Alfea. The first rule is that the students must follow all the rules in the code of behavior. Because, of course, without that rule, all the others wouldn't count, naturally. She mentions that Stella got expelled last year, after destroying the potions laboratory last year with an unauthorized spell. Bloom seems oddly impressed with Stella's accident, seeing the potions laboratory still in ruins. The second rule is no unauthorized magic. And how often is this rule broken, now? Not even Griselda could possibly keep that tight a lid on all the goings-on all the time. The third rule is to never associate with the witches of Cloud Tower, for which Griselda has no official punishment, since anything the witches may do would be far worse than any punishment she could give. Of course, there's no explanation on what to do if a witch were to target one of them. I mean, is it really unfeasible for one of the witches to just go finding a fairy to pick on for no reason?
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Inside Alfea, Miss Faragonda introduces herself as the headmistress of Alfea. She tells the girls how they're all unique, with different sources of power and different origins. Griselda orders the girls to their dormitories. Faragonda tells the girls to use every opportunity to connect with their winx.
Walking down the hallway to their room, Bloom asks Stella if she knows what she's going to be.
Stella: Duh, I'm gonna' like rule the kingdom of Solaria.
Stella, Stella, Stella... a bit more obnoxious in the earlier episodes, but she still gets along with Bloom nicely, anyway. Stella goes on to explain what "winx" is.
Stella: Winx is essentially three things. First, its your source of power, as in your strength and energy, and second, it's what guides you. Thirdly, its your magical identity.
As Stella and Bloom enter their room, Stella says she hopes her roommates are better than the ones she had last year, who had bad fashion sense, and goes on to say she's got a single bedroom in their dorm. Bloom goes into her room to see what her room looks like, but accidentally steps on a plant root, causing the plant itself to scream "That hurt!" Flora steps out and tells Bloom that the plant is her latest creation, that if more plants could talk, it would help prevent deforestation. Flora goes on about how the plant is cute, then accidentally knocks the plant off its little table, sending it crashing to the ground, complaining. Bloom introduces herself as Bloom by accident, then claims to be Varanda from Vallisto, and that she isn't named Bloom. Very subtle cover up there, Bloom. Tecna pops up behind Bloom, sprouting off random facts about Vallisto, then introduces herself as Tecna. To think Tecna does this sort of thing for fun. Stella introduces herself to Tecna, and Tecna recognizes Stella's name as the girl who blew up the potions lab. Musa, not yet named, comes out of her room, asking Stella to warn them if she plans to blow up anything else.
Stella: It was in the name of fashion. I don't regret it.
Tecna asks if Stella was able to create the new shade of pink, but Stella says she couldn't. In Flora's room, her plant is holding Kiko hostage. Flora scolds the plant, but Bloom says that Kiko was probably trying to eat it. Flora prepares some fast-growing organic carrots for Kiko. Stella says they should go to downtown Magix for pizza. Flora says downtown Magix is fun.
The five girls take a hoverbus down to downtown Magix, and Flora prepares Bloom, that she'll be blown away when she sees the city. Bloom's eyes are shut, and opens them once Tecna tells her to take a look. Bloom's a bit pissed-looking, disappointed that Magix looks more ordinary than she had hoped. Except for the hovercars, anyway. Bloom said she expected dragons, rainbows, unicorns, giants, and flying brooms. Stella says that's just fairy tale stuff. Bloom is impressed with a hovercar making room for its own parking space, though.
The five girls pass by an eyeglasses store, with Knut inside, hoping to buy some new glasses. He has on a pair of pretty hideous pink glasses that the store owner or employee is trying to convince Knut look good on him. They don't. He spots what he thinks are the fairies, the store owner or employee confirms that they looked like Alfea students, and Knut rushes out, with the store owner or empolyee upset that he didn't pay for the glasses. Knut may be a villain, but he seems like the kind of villain who would've paid for those glasses had he not been preoccupied with the fairies at the moment. Knut immediately calls "Your Highness"--or Icy, though she is not yet named. Icy threatens that the call had better be important. Knut informs her that he saw Stella. Icy says they'll take her sceptre and kill or. Icy didn't actually use the word "kill," but that's what she obviously meant.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Inside the pizza parlor, Bloom complains to her four friends that her cell phone isn't working, that she can't even get a signal.
Tecna: Let me see it. I love taking these things apart.
Ah, Tecna. Getting glee from taking things apart like a small child. Tecna tells Bloom the phone is ancient technology, belonging in a museum. Bloom complains that it's the newest phone, then Stella quietly reminds her that it's only the newest phone on earth. Tecna says there's an interrealm phone on the corner that she can use.
In the booth, Bloom calls Vanessa, telling her mother how great things are. Bloom says she'll call again in the morning, spots Knut passing by, then tries to desperately hurry her mother off the phone, saying how badly she needs to get off. She eventually gets off, and hurries after Knut.
In the alley, Knut tells the three witches--the Trix sisters, though never officially named in the cartoon series itself--that he saw Stella on Wand Avenue. Darcy senses an intruder, and replicates herself.
Darcy: Sometimes I forget how pretty I am, honestly.
Knut continues on that he thinks the Earth girl was with Stella, as well as a few other girls. One of the Darcys push Bloom out toward Knut and the three Trix sisters. Icy threatens Bloom if she doesn't tell them where Stella is. Bloom threatens Icy back, telling the Trio that she has magic, and shoots little sprinkles at Icy, which float down to the ground before even reaching Icy. Icy makes fun of Bloom, that she barely has winx, and decides to show her what real magic is, and produces snow over Bloom, as well as some ice. Stormy conjures up a tornado that blows Bloom up to a roof edge, where she hangs on. Icy encases Bloom in a small ice coffin. Icy's favorite spell. Icy tells Bloom that fairies don't last long in ice, so she had better tell the Trio where Stella is... which soon becomes unnecessary, as Stella and the others show up before the sisters. Icy also has the audacity to scratch her nails on the ice, which makes the same sound as if she were scraping them across a chalkboard. As if being encased in a giant block of ice weren't bad enough!
Icy orders Knut to go after the other four fairies, and they decide to transform into their winx forms, going through a little transformation sequence. Like Stella did in "It Feels Like Magic," but involving all four of the girls, and less time spent on each individual's transformation. Tecna traps Knut in a digital web--a grid sphere that keeps him hovering above the ground. Musa uses her subwoofer blast, creating loud music Knut is forced to endure inside the digital web. Aside from the annoyance factor, though, it doesn't seem to actually do anything, though. Flora uses ivy rope, which ties Knut up, then catapults him away. Icy gets angry, and shoots several icicles at the "firsties"--one of many insults used for the fairies. Not to mention Mirta... but we'll get to her a little later in the series.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Icy: Now it's going to get piercing cold.
Ah Icy, queen of the bad pun. Darcy's usually better with the "cute" jokes. Tecna tells the other girls to get behind her, as she uses her firewall shield to protect them from the icicles. Stormy shoots lightning at the girls, which destroy Tecna's shield, and blows the girls back. Icy starts conjuring up a spell to defeat them, as Stella quickly changes her Solaria ring to her Solaria sceptre, and transports the five girls away. Icy is shocked when she realizes the girls got away, and starts yelling.
Stella tells Bloom how proud she is of her, and how great it is that an Earth girl could do so well in the ice. Tecna, Flora, and Musa hear this, and want Stella to tell them about why she called her Bloom and said she was from Earth. Flora in particular looks pissed. Stella's wide-eyed expression, though, is priceless. Stella says she'll explain on their way back to Alfea.
As the five girls sneak back into Alfea, Bloom feels she wants to tell Miss Faragonda who she really is. Griselda and Faragonda stop the girls, asking if they know what time it is, and saying they were worried. Faragonda says they'll talk about this tomorrow. Griselda insists on knowing what it was that she wanted to tell Miss Faragonda. Bloom tells her that she isn't Varanda and not from Vallisto. Griselda is upset about Bloom breaking so many rules, but Faragonda realizes that she must have magic, else she wouldn't have been able to get in in the first place. Stella tries to take the blame, but Bloom takes it herself. She says that she's Bloom and she's from Earth. Griselda wants to punish her, but Faragonda stifles Griselda, saying that they will give her a chance, and she can take Varanda's place. Griselda reluctantly agrees. Very reluctantly. She obviously so wants to turn Bloom into something, and doesn't really like Faragonda being, in Griselda's eyes, too soft. Miss Faragonda wonders just who Bloom is, though, since Earth doesn't have magical creatues.
Other Stuff
Very good episode. We got introduced to the school of Alfea itself, as well as the other three Winx girls: Tecna, Flora, and Musa. Tecna had a particularly enjoyable outing here. We also got our first battle with the Trix sisters, who weren't really using all their strength today. Then again, they don't yet realize how much trouble these Winx girls are going to cause them, so why should they have used all their might? Ah, but they'll learn....
Kiko somehow was able to get through the magical barrier. There must be more to Kiko than just being an ordinary bunny....
9 out of 10 on the old scale.
Save the First Dance
...or Bloom's Best Light
We start at Alfea, in Professor Wizgiz's class, teaching the first class of the new year, a class on metamorphosis. Wizgiz does a little demonstration, changing himself to Griselda appearance-wise. Voice too, for that matter.
Wizgiz: Don't worry, I'm not really the Queen of Detention.
Ooh, how much fun it would have been if Griselda had walked in at that moment! Wizgiz has the students do a simple transformation, having the students magically change their hair color. Bloom tries, without success. We see one random student's hair color change, which is a shame. It would've been fun to see the other Winx girls with differently-colored hair.
In their room, Bloom laments being the only one who wasn't able to change her hair color. Stella encourages Bloom, telling her that she just needs practice, and soon enough she'll get her fairy wings. Stella gives Bloom a pep talk, to think about her best hair day, and how happy that made her feel. Instead, Bloom successfully gives herself a Dragon Ball-esque hairstyle. Bloom gets snitty with Stella for pushing her, and Stella gets snitty back about Bloom not learning very well. The animation here is particularly bizarre.
The group of five is in the Alfea cafeteria, eating breakfast. Bloom again complains about not being able to use her magic very well. Shortly, though, Miss Faragonda speaks before all the girls. Griselda is sitting beside her, looking pissed. Faragonda is telling the girls all about their back to school dance tomorrow night, and that the boys from Red Fountain will be there, and to be friendly toward them. Griselda pipes in, warning the girls against being too friendly, and how love spells are crush potions are forbidden. Faragonda, giggling at Griselda's "kiss and die" attitude, tells the girls that dancing is encouraged, and the boys are bringing gifts for the girls. She goes on about how she met her husband at her back to school dance at Alfea, then quickly gets off that topic. Hmm... wonder what that was about.
Over at Cloud Tower, all the witch students are in the usual Cloud Tower assembly room, with Miss Griffin, Cloud Tower's headmistress, standing before the students. Griffin announces a schoolwide competition, for the students to suggest ideas for sabotaging Alfea's back to school dance, with the winners receiving gift certificates to Aberzombie and Witch. Funny that they'd name a shop in Magix after a shop on Earth. The Trix sisters are at the assembly as well, realizing that aside from getting to sabotage the dance, they'd also be able to get Stella's ring while at Alfea. Assuming they won this competition, that is. But come on--do you really need to be told who wins Griffin's contest?
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
In the fairies' room, Stella shows off her new dress that she had to max out her daddy's credit card to buy, saying how the dress was begging for Stella to buy it. A cute, albeit poorly animated scene, with Stella gushing about the dress. Flora wishes they could just use their magic to create dresses. Tecna goes on about how hard it was for her to find her bizarre-ish looking dress. Musa gives this line that's entirely bizarre when you consider she's from another realm entirely:
Musa: It's... interesting. Where'd you get it, Mars?
Um... Considering how little these girls should know about Earth--save for Bloom, that is--how the heck would Musa even know Mars exists?! Bloom's worried about Brandon seeing her without anything decent to wear. Stella says they'll go shopping with her.
"I Want to Know Where the Girls Are" plays as Bloom tries different dresses at different clothing stores. There's one dress that Flora loves, but Tecna hates. And I guess Bloom trusts Tecna's opinion on clothing more than she trusts Flora's opinion. Considering their own dresses for the dance, I'd have trusted Flora's opinion first. Bloom finds another dress that everyone loves, but it's too expensive. Stella wants to pay for it, but forgot that she had her daddy's credit card maxed out. Bloom lets the other girls leave, telling them that they need to get ready for the dance tonight. Bloom runs around, looking for a store, where she finds a sale at one store, and finds an affordable dress that she loves, though still needs to alter a bit back at Alfea, since it's too long. Back at the girls' room at Alfea, the other girls are getting their dresses ready.
At Cloud Tower, the Trix sisters are in Miss Griffin's office, seemingly scolding the witches for coming up with such a horrible, despicable idea for ruining the Alfea back to school dance. Which is, of course, why she declares the Trix sisters the winners. The sisters promise to do Miss Griffin proud.
Back at Alfea, Bloom rushes into her room with the dress, complaining that she can't find a pair of scissors, and complaining about not being able to use magic for the simplest things. She looks outside her window, and notices the boys from Red Fountain entering Alfea, specifically, spotting Brandon. Ew.
In the tunnels below the ground, the Trix sisters are headed for Alfea, not only to ruin the dance, but more importantly, to steal Stella's ring. Darcy is tired of walking in her heels, and complaining to her sisters.
Darcy: Fine, but please tell me we're almost there.
Stormy: You have the map.
Icy: Yeah.
Darcy: Oh... we're... almost there.
At Alfea, Bloom is searching through the entire school for a pair of scissors. She hears a noise behind a door, opens it, and spots the witches that attacked her in the previous episode sneaking through the school. The Trix sisters locate the gifts from the Red Fountain boys. Darcy uses a spell to show the Trix sisters where Stella's ring is: inside an oyster shell inside a small chest. After, Stormy opens the chest, to find eggs inside. Darcy opens one of the eggs, and out come little butterflies. Darcy looks just adorable opening the egg, along with her little "ooh." The Trio turn the little butterfly eggs into eggs containing something that will bite them, giving the victim nausea and vomiting. All the while Bloom is watching, figuring she's got to stop them. Though after the curse, the eggs go from having sparkling gems on them to having jagged brown stripes. You would think someone might get suspicious that the eggs don't look like they're supposed to.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
The Trix sisters hide in some bushes outside Alfea, and look inside through a window. Stormy mentions that the eggs contain snake rats. Darcy says that with a single bite, the girls will be puking in seconds.
Inside Alfea, Bloom searches the party area for the Trix sisters. She bumps into Brandon, and asks Bloom to dance. She says yes, but rushes off immediately. Bloom finds her friends, and tells them that the witches cast a spell on the gifts the boys were going to give them, something to do with a snake rat. Tecna looks up information on snake rats, discovering that they're creatures that cause projectile vomiting with a single bite.
Stella: I know why they're doing this. Those witches are so jealous of us. They wish they had a chance with the Red Fountain boys.
Probably true to an extent. While I'm sure many of the students at Cloud Tower would prefer to have the boys to themselves, and probably do think the pixies are unworthy, the Trix sisters have more important things on their minds. Bloom tells Stella that the witches are actually after Stella's ring. Musa says they can handle it. Stella tells the girls to form a circle so they can cast a counterspell, and surely enough, the eggs go from striped to gem-speckled, and as Sky hands one girl an egg, she opens it, and indeed, butterflies fly out. Sky delivers one to Stella in person, who seems unimpressed with the egg. Musa takes it from Stella and asks Flora about a spell. Stella's look of horror when Musa takes Stella's egg is absolutely priceless! Flora casts the spell on the egg.
Right outside, Icy is furious that the freshmen fairies counterspelled them. Icy forms some ice vines for the sole purpose of smashing them. Cool. Literally. She also knows she needs to stay focused, that they need to steal Stella's ring.
In her room, Bloom's excited about having performed her first spell. Just then, Stella's jewelry box floats away, and Bloom runs after it. The shell with Stella's ring soon frees itself from the box, still floating away, and with Bloom still chasing it, and even trying a spell to have it come back:
Bloom: One, two, three, come back ring! Four, five, six, stop that thing! Boy, that was pathetic.
The Trix sisters growl in anger as Bloom catches the shell, and talk about what they'll do to her.
Back at the dance, Miss Faragonda walks up to the four girls, asking Princess Musa to perform a hip hop number for the boys. Referred to as a princess for the first time. Musa frets.
Back outside, the Trix sisters walk up to Bloom. Icy uses her ice bracelet, which basically turns the ground to ice where Bloom is standing. It doesn't affect Bloom, though. Darcy uses her heel of oblivion to form a huge crack in the ground. Love Bloom's frightened expression here. Stormy summons a tornado that blows Bloom into the crack, hanging on for dear life. Icy has the oyster shell come to her. Icy asks to do "the honors," and Stormy tells her "of course." But wait... Stormy sounds suspiciously like Flora when she delivers that line... her "of course" sounded downright sweet! Stormy, what's become of you?! Icy asks Bloom how she got into Alfea, since she doesn't even have any winx. Bloom argues back, insisting that she does have winx. Icy doesn't believe it, and prepares to send a blast at Bloom, when lo and behold, Bloom goes through her first transformation sequence. Bloom is out of the hole, glowing, sending wind forth from her body--she is in her winx form for the very first time! Bloom commends herself for finally being able to transform. Love her little "tough girl" look she gives to the Trio. Darcy sends weird waves at Bloom that seem to confuse her, but she flies up to avoid them, and demands that the witches give back Stella's ring. The Trio don't like her attitude, and Icy sends a large ice structure to surround her, then blast her. And finally, Icy's favorite spell: ice-coffining Bloom. With Bloom encased in the ice, the Trix sisters teleport out with the oyster shell.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Bloom crawls out from the ice. Her friends meet her outside, asking if she is OK. Bloom says she is, and that she finally got her wings, and goes on about how cool it was. Bloom is upset that she wasn't able to get the ring back, though, but Flora says not to worry, that they don't have the ring. Bloom says they do, but Flora promises that they don't.
In their room, the Trix sisters, in their regular clothes for the first time, get comfortable. Icy opens the oyster shell, and finds an egg inside, looking like the ones with the butterflies. She wonders why Stella would keep her ring in the egg, then gets a bit concerned when the egg starts making noises. Soon the egg explodes, and a little duckling emerges, looking straight at Icy, lovingly calling her "Mommy." Stormy notes it as disgusting.
Bloom fixes her dress with some scissors she must've found somewhere, creating an admittedly very nice dress, in that sorta' homemade style... except it is homemade this time. Bloom talks about how great the day was, finally getting her magic, and her dress, and being at the dress... and Stella says it'll get better, as Brandon asks Bloom to dance, and she and Brandon dance to "Feels Like Magic."
Other Stuff
Great episode, despite the very off animation. Bloom herself is extremely likable throughout the entire episode, which is good since the episode has particularly heavy focus on her. Stella has her moments, but at the same time she also has her lesser moments. And while the Trix sisters were in the last episode as well, they shine much brighter here, and we see their little sisterly squabbles for the first time as well.
As for the animation, I'm not sure why some parts looked so bad... definitely the worst animation in the series. Not that it's that bad, but noticeable.
10 out of 10 on the old scale.
