Frank15's Winx Reviews: 2x04-2x06
May. 28th, 2026 11:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsIn which Frank15 finds himself annoyed by a bad Stella pun and amused by Tecna's rap, and decides to tone down his language for the kids to describe Amentia (given all the P-words in his reviews, kinda useless methinks) while the other girls continue their Underrealm excursion
Queen of Perfection
...or Just a Stereotypical Stella Clone
Riven stands on the Winx girls' balcony, staring at Tecna and Timmy down below, and Flora joins Riven on the balcony, though not really aware he's there too. Down below, Timmy tries to get Tecna to worry less about her friends on the dangerous mission, that it isn't like her to worry so much, but she can't help it. Back up on the balcony, Riven complains that if he could've gone on the mission instead of Brandon, that they'd already be back. Cocky much? Of course, though. That's why we love him! Flora got startled, not realizing she had company on the balcony, and asked why he wasn't with Musa, feeling very upset, so Flora goes off to try to comfort Musa herself. Riven doesn't know what he's supposed to say, anyway, realizing that everything most likely is going quite awry.
Back in the UnderRealm, Brandon and Stella fall at the end of a waterfall, and try swimming against a very powerful current, though not very well.
Brandon: If only there was a shoreline.
Stella: I've got a shoreline for you! We're sure going to drown if we don't get out of here.
Yep... I can't believe such an awful pun found its way into the show, either. Shame on you, Stella! From far up above, Bloom, Sky, and Layla can all hear Stella's screams as Bloom and Sky remove the solidified spit off of Layla, still pinned to the wall from last episode. As neither Bloom nor Layla can fly, Sky says they should climb down the cliff to get to Brandon and Stella, but Layla instead has enough magic to create a crane out of water molecules to bring them all down. At the bottom, the trio finds an underwater river, which they correctly guess Stella and Brandon have landed in, and have been carried off.
Back in the river, Stella and Brandon are being pulled into a whirlpool, as Brandon tries hooking his grappling hook onto a nearby rock to keep them from being pulled in, but as the rock breaks, they wind up going under anyway.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Back at the start of the river, Sky asks what they should do. Bloom thinks they should jump in the river after them, but Layla and Sky disagree, saying that they should ignore them and continue on with their pixie-saving mission. So if he already had his mind made up, why did he ask Bloom, anyway, if her opinion wasn't going to matter, anyway?
Sky: Back at Red Fountain, we have a saying: the quest is more important than the heroes.
Bloom: I'm sorry, what?! What kind of logic is that?! What about our friends?
First of all, after Sky's ultra-dorky line, Stella's bad pun from earlier is forgiven. Second, you have to appreciate Bloom at least a little after that exchange. Even if I do understand what Sky was badly trying to get at. Layla uses a bit more logic in her explanation, saying that they can take care of themselves a lot better than the pixies can, who likely don't have much longer before they die.
Back with Stella and Brandon, they've finally arrived, fainted, onto an underground beach. An ugly little man finds them, holding hands while faint. He sounds almost exactly like Futurama's Kif. And has about as much backbone, too. A bigger, though equally hideous guard, pokes them with a big stick to see if they're alive, and when they get up, he knocks them out so the two can be tied up and brought elsewhere. The little guy carries Stella and Brandon back, as the little guy starts explaining about the cave spirits, the keepers of Downland, and that when the cave spirits are disturbed, they send out monsters to Downland, so they must be quiet. The bigger guy doesn't believe those stories, though, saying that the queen just made that up. The smaller guy says the bigger one, named Abrupto, is just mad because Queen Amentia had decided that he and his girl were not a perfect couple, and as such had to be separated. Not really very smart of the smaller guy, now, is it? The smaller guy glows on about Queen Amentia, about how beautiful she is on both the outside and the inside. Neither is true, really.
Finally in the actual city of Downland, Brandon wakes Stella up in a room they're in together, along with the smaller guy. Stella looks pretty bad and green.
Stella: Brandon, I had the strangest dream that we were captured by the ugliest people ever.
Hilarious, true, and absolutely tactless! That's the Stella we all know and love! The small guy asks Brandon to fetch the water vase across the room as the guy tends to Stella, using magic to give her some energy, and realizing that Stella needs sunlight. As Brandon brings over the water vase, the guy sponges some out, and then tells Brandon to put it back exactly where it was before. As the guy explains how he was rapidly losing energy when he went above ground to pick some flowers for the queen, he quickly gets up to scold Brandon for not placing the vase back exactly where it was. Brandon insists he did put it in the exact spot, but the guy pulls it over a couple of inches, insisting that the queen likes it where he'd just moved it. Queen Amentia sounds high-strung to Brandon, but the little guy insists that she's actually wonderful, and wants to show them how wonderful she is. And how delusional the little guy is.
The little guy brings Brandon and Stella, who still looks sick, and looks very pissed off, to the palace entrance, right as Queen Amentia is about to step outside. He's holding flowers for the queen himself. Several other girls dance out the door first. The little guy insists that Brandon and Stella bow down before the queen steps outside, and they do, right before Queen Amentia finally steps outside herself. Queen Amentia herself... ugly. The dancing girls that came out before here were all prettier, but the queen is oblivious to that fact, the little guy is oblivious, and there's a good chance everyone else in Downland is too. We do finally learn the little guy's name, though: Sponsus. And Amentia... she's an interesting character. And by that, I mean a hilarious ultra-spoiled brat.
Amentia: Flowers rule!
Sponsus: Flowers rule indeed, my queen, and so do you.
Amentia: It's true, I do! Thank you, Sponsus. You may... live another day--wait! Grrr! Look at this petal! It's wilted!
Sponsus: But when I picked them, they were perfect. They wither in the darkness.
Amentia: THEY'RE OF NO USE TO ME!
Oh, Queen Amentia's apparently the queen of mood swings. Acting little a happy little kid, giddy about receiving a lovely bouquet, and then going completely psycho after finding a flaw, throwing the bouquet pretty hard at one of her dancers. Then again, Sponsus is probably even more nuts, being the one who's in love with her.
Sponsus: The girl's name is Stella.
Amentia: Your hair, what a horrid color.
Stella: This diva'd better be glad I don't have my powers--
Classic Stella, with Queen Amentia easily able to strike a nerve in her. Probably wise of Brandon to shut Stella up there. Queen Amentia reminds me of what Stella could've been like if she didn't have any good qualities. Almost like a Stella prototype, or something.
Amentia: Tell me, Brandon: where did you get such a glorious face?
Brandon: I take after my Dad.
Amentia: You know, it's perfectly symmetrical.
Brandon: You're right! A lot of people don't appreciate that about me.
Brandon is a big ol' dork. It's even more official now, speaking of his good looks as if they were some talent that deserves more recognition. On the other hand, though, it's no wonder Stella fell in love with him! Due to nothing more than his outward appearance, Queen Amentia has decided that she will marry Brandon, which devastates Sponsus, as he faints.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Musa's standing alone outside, obviously very upset. Riven walks up to her, though not really good at the whole comforting thing, tells Musa that Brandon and Sky probably screwed up everything after Musa wonders if she should be worried. Again, the whole tact issue: Riven has none. Flora looks from a distance, thinking it must be nice to have a shoulder to cry on, as she runs into Kiko, trying to cheer Flora up, even if it isn't much.
Back in the caves, Sky, Layla, and Bloom are looking for the way to the pixies. Layla thinks she knows the way, but Lord Darkar is still spying on them, and sends some monsters their way. But back in Downland, still outside Queen Amentia's palace, everyone except Stella, who's feeling weak on the doorstep, is going inside, though Amentia wants Stella gone.
Amentia: You're still hanging around? You're cluttering up my doorstep, now get out of here! Shoo!
Stella insists she's not leaving without Brandon, but Brandon tells her that she needs to get out in the sun, for her own health. Queen Amentia translates that into "Brandon doesn't like Stella anymore, and wants to away from him." She also reminds Stella that he wouldn't want her, since he's with royalty now, as she goes back inside her palace, as Stella shouts back that she is royalty, but Stella leaves anyway, trying to search for a way to get above ground.
Brandon and Queen Amentia are alone together in the throne room, with Amentia very excited, and Brandon very... not.
Brandon: Look, why would you want to marry me? I mean, you don't know anything about me!
Amentia: Hmm... your head would look so perfect on this bust.
Brandon: You're... gonna' chop my head off?
Amentia: Hehe... a likeness, silly boy, this is the row of royal couples, and I've been looking for the perfect face to go next to mine.
Brandon: I never thought I'd wish I was ugly.
Amentia goes on to say that they'll be officially engaged once they kiss. Brandon keeps trying to tell her that he's in love with Stella, and doesn't want to marry her. It's then a chase around the throne room, with Queen Amentia, as any good old-fashioned Bugs Bunny tradition, seems to have that unique ability to transport herself right ahead of Brandon whenever she's off-camera. Eventually, Amentia threatens to have Stella forced to work in the mines until she dies unless Brandon marries her, so he reluctantly agrees. This whole ordeal really makes you appreciate how selfless a person Stella is. At least in comparison. Also makes one wonder if Sponsus is equally superficial, in love with Amentia for her beauty alone, or if he sees some inner beauty that she hasn't shown yet.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Stella, still in Downland, still very weak, tries to look for some way above ground. Meanwhile, Sky, Bloom, and Layla, still in all the caves, note how peaceful it is, with the water dripping from the ceiling, as the three comment on how Musa would love the drip-drip beat. But the peaceful moment is interrupted by several monsters that come out from the cave, leaving them running away, while Stella, somewhere else entirely, has found some sunlight, and powers up again, feeling better in seconds, and thinking she'd be able to take on Queen Amentia now. All the while the other three are trying to battle the monsters and losing, as Stella flies in and helps to defeat the monsters. Bloom and Stella are so happy to see each other again, and run up and hug in a cute little sweet moment. Lord Darkar, still spying, gets angry that his monsters were defeated, and causes an earthquake. Sky refers to it as a quake. Kudos to the writers for remembering that Sky would never call such a phenomenon an earthquake! As they run away, Layla tries to lead.
Back at Queen Amentia's throne room, Queen Amentia is still trying to steal a kiss from Brandon, and Brandon is still trying to avoid it the best he can.
Other Stuff
Somewhat enjoyable episode. Seemed a bit slow, and Queen Amentia is simply too over-the-top to be believed, and to an extent, not get annoyed by her, but she does play off Stella wonderfully! Heck, she's basically Stella without any of her good qualities, and with some sort of mental disorder. And speaking of Stella, she was much more enjoyable in this episode, with her quips to Brandon while being taken down the river, and her little sparring with Amentia.
Queen Amentia, despite what she thinks, is hardly that beautiful. And she thinks Stella, obviously more beautiful, is ugly. Guess it goes to show that beauty is just in the eye of the beholder. And that Sponsus is completely delusional.
As well, she's essentially a complete spoiled brat, with seemingly no good qualities. Like how I originally viewed Stella, before I learned to appreciate her. Except she seems a lot worse than Stella ever was, so what good qualities she may have, I'm not sure how they could ever shine.
It's nice to see Riven has not completely softened up since last season. His big head thinking that he'd be able to do the mission much faster and more easily than Brandon or Sky... ego much? And he's still not good talking to girls, and not good talking to Musa, though he still seems to remember that she has a crush on him. And that even if he can't say anything worth saying, it's still good to have him around for Musa to cry into.
6 out of 10 on the old scale.
Rescuing the Pixies
...or Tecna's Nerd Rap
Stella, Layla, Sky, and Bloom are all outside a cave in the UnderRealm. Sky's PHA can teleport them through rock for twenty seconds, but if they're still in the rock after the twenty seconds is up, they could be stuck in the wall for all eternity. Layla finds a spot that she's pretty certain such wouldn't happen.
In Shadowhaunt, the pixies are still trapped in the green magical barrier. Tune complains that some runebats outside are chewing their food too loudly, and Chatta agrees. Digit says the runebats only eat once a year, and that they aren't chewing, but making a predatory call intended to scare them. Chatta gets annoyed with Digit's logic, and the two get into an argument, and Tune, annoyed with it all, yells at the runebats to be quiet please. With the "please" being screamed from the top of Tune's lungs. Lockette sadly goes over to the edge of the barrier, looking over at where Charmy once was, sad that she's gone. Um... she's dead? I mean, 4Kids may not have actually used the word, but at least they're not trying some sort of lame cover up either. I mean, you could reasonably write off their not using the word "dead" since it might upset Lockette. Lord Darkar, spying as always, changes into a snake to go into their cage and threaten them, still wanting to know where the pixie village is. Darkar Snake wraps around the pixies, and even licks poor Chatta, insisting the pixies tell him where the pixie village is. Lockette and Chatta ultimately tell him, but he threatens that they'll regret it if they're not telling him the truth.
Back outside the cave, to get to the place where Sky should use the PHA, Layla figures they could snowboard down a nearby slope, except without the snow. Sky and Layla do just fine, but Bloom and Stella have trouble, as Bloom falls off, and Stella crashes into a large rock, breaking it. Only Stella is disgusted when Sky tells her it's actually petrified monster poop. It means there're tunnels nearby, though, but Sky thinks he's found a spot they could use the PHA.
Bloom: And what if it's just solid rock?
Sky: We'd implode.
Whatd'ya know? A funny Prince Sky line. He just says that so casually and happily, too. Brandon, Layla, and Sky exit the portal immediately, but Stella doesn't get through until the last second, leaving Bloom worried that she's been trapped inside the wall until then. Even managed to get a worm on her, grossing her a bit, but Layla's declared that they've finally made it to Shadowhaunt.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
In Queen Amentia's palace in Downland, Sponsus and others are getting Brandon prepared for marriage, and they must give Brandon seven doses of pristine complex-B, received with seven shots in the butt. Angry, Brandon throws all the clothes being prepared on the floor, as the guys all worry and try to clean up the mess Brandon made. But right then, Queen Amentia enters the room, very upset to see the clothes scattered on the floor, and wants to know who did it. She immediately goes for Sponsus, but Brandon owns up and admits he did it. Amentia doesn't believe him, though, and just thinks he's being sweet, taking the blame for the servants.
Meanwhile, back outside Shadowhaunt, our quartet tries to think how they'll get over the large chasm to get inside.
Layla: We can take that bridge.
Sky: I don't think Stella's going to want to go up there.
Stella: Sounds to me like you're the one who's scared. Maybe you should hang tight and let the fairies take it from here. You're slowing us down, anyway. Without you, we could just fly.
Bloom: We're not flying, Stell.
Stella: Oh, right, because why use our magic?
Bloom: Stell, because! Our winx drains big time down here! We have to save it for when we really need it!
You can just visualize Stella rolling her eyes when she gives her last line there. And how great it is to see Stella trying to toughen herself up by passing the buck over to Sky. I mean, hey, she can fly, and Sky can't, so by taking some of the facts, and ignoring others. Kinda' trying out her own Tecna-ish logic, except not really as well as Tecna does it. On the other hand, though, it is still a great exchange. Goes along nicely with one a little later, when they're crossing the bridge:
Stella: You people are forcing me to admit it, I'm still scared of heights! There, I feel better now.
Bloom: We knew that already, Stell.
Stella: That's embarrassing.
Ooh, poor Stella. Trying to release her burden, not even noticing that everyone else knew already. One of the reasons we all love her! Back at Alfea, though, Tecna is taking a shower. And rapping in the shower.
Tecna: If E equals MC squared's a fact, just add a spell and then subtract!
I actually found this amusing--even more surprised Lori did, too! Maybe something about a nerd, generally not knowing how to have fun, trying to rap about math... just something funny about it. Might also be that her voice just sounds so anti-rap... The Rapping Librarian! No one would ever see it coming! After getting out of the shower, Tecna finds her computer frozen, meaning someone's tried to hack into it, and she thinks it looks serious, despite Musa saying that it's probably nothing serious, and that she's just worried because of their friends' mission to Shadowhaunt. Tecna walks out onto the balcony, still worried about why her computer froze, as Livy, flying around on a message, crashes into Tecna's computer. Tecna picks her off, and she flies up, saying she's all right, but then she falls to the ground, then crashes into the ceiling, and falls back to the ground. After Tecna and Musa make her a little more comfortable, she tells them she's the pixie of messages, and that she was delivering a message to Red Fountain, but when she went back to the pixie village, everyone was gone, and she needs to tell someone named Faragonda. Then Piff pops out from under a pillow, and Livy is so happy to see Piff, hugging and crying. Even though Musa and Tecna had already told Livy that Piff was OK, and as such, they realize Livy's a bit on the forgetful side.
Back right outside Shadowhaunt, the quartet is still crossing the bridge, and Stella is still a nervous wreck crossing the rickety bridge. Layla swings on a vine to quickly get there, and get to the pixies, all very happy to see her. She tells the pixies that she brought backup to help this time. Still on the bridge, Stella looks like she's about to vomit, and Bloom worries that Stella is getting weaker, but right then, someone blasts at Bloom and Sky, and whatd'ya know? It looks like our favorite Trix trio is back for some revenge! Finally!
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Before any real fighting, the six all have some reminiscing about old times, all the fun they've had beating the witches, and the fun the witches should've had ruling everyone... but enough reminiscing! Time for some butt-kicking on our Trio's part, and they don't seem to have lost their touch! Course, our heroes are weaker, so it helps them, anyway.
Meanwhile, inside Shadowhaunt, Layla is still trying to free the pixies, and changes to her winx form to try, repeatedly, ultimately giving her very strongest attack, but still without luck. Darkar's pet runebat, who earlier must have been sent to go to find the pixie village where the pixies said it was, tells Darkar that they'd lied. Meanwhile, Layla's getting very hands-on trying to destroy the shield, which she succeeds, freeing the pixies.
Back right outside Shadowhaunt, the witches are still fighting. And winning, as Stella and Bloom finally decide to change to their winx forms. It doesn't really help enough, though, as the witches still defeat Stella and Bloom quite easily, with Sky on his own to defeat the witches, until Icy finally uses the ever-popular ice coffin on Sky. He still has one last shot, though, to destroy the bridge, so it'll crash right into Icy, but Icy spots it before it hits, and she freezes and destroys it. Layla comes out right then to try to stop these obviously evil witches, but she can't do very much either. Right then, though, a glowing angel-like figure appears before the witches.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
The angel-winged glowing man helps to heal the fairies and free Sky from the ice coffin, as well as very easily defeating the Trix sisters. He introduces himself as a paladin, and that helping them out is just his job, what paladins do. Stella and Bloom are absolutely gaga over the guy, because of his dashing looks and bravery. Sky's a bit jealous. Ha! The pixies all fly toward the quartet, all giggly and happy, all hugging and crashing into Layla. And right away, Amore latches right onto Stella.
Amore: You're so beautiful.
Stella: And you're so adorable!
Sky: Stella's returning a compliment? What's that about?
Layla explains that pixies will bond with their soulmate-like fairy at first sight, and that's what happened with Stella and Amore. Soon after, Lockette latches right onto Bloom. Digit notes that Layla should not have been able to break through the barrier, and Layla agrees, and that along with the paladin, Layla suspects something's up. Stella doesn't give her time to think about it much, though, telling them that they still need to save Brandon from being forced into marrying Queen Amentia.
Other Stuff
Good episode. The Trix sisters were back again! Stella was great, or at least seeing her dealing with her insecurities. Or not really knowing how to deal with them. And the pixies, all just adorable!
First, the Trix sisters... always nice to see them. Even nice to see them winning, until some highly improbable situation just had to defeat them. There's always gotta' be something to ruin their fun!
The pixies... Chatta seems very hyper-aware of her own pronunciation, as if she had speech problems at some point in her life. How ironic that would be for Chatta, of all pixies, to have had a speech impediment!
Tune, just too cool, trying so hard to be polite, even when screaming her head off.
Nice to see Stella back in classic form today. Even if, for the most part, she wasn't too helpful today... but with Brandon in trouble, methinks she'll be of great help the next show!
Flora was completely absent from the episode. I think it's the first episode since the very first episode that did not have all five of the main winx girls in it.
8 out of 10 on the old scale.
My Boyfriend's Wedding
...or Stella
In the caves of the UnderRealm, Layla, Sky, Bloom, and Stella are walking through, to get to Downland so they can save Brandon from his forced marriage to Queen Amentia.
Sky: Stella, we can't just storm into Amentia's castle. We need a plan.
Stella: You want a plan? I'll tell you what the plan is. I'm going in there, smackin' her around, and taking my man back! Nobody is going to steal my boyfriend!
Again, Stella's showing us why we all love her. Showing her loyal-to-no-end, though-rash side, similar in a way to when she went to earth when the girls weren't allowed to leave the school to get Bloom back to Alfea. Chatta, Digit, Bloom, and Sky--especially Sky--continue to try to talk Stella out of storming ahead, and all try to talk Stella out of marching forth, to give them time to come up with a battle plan. And all the while, Stella just grumbles and growls as she marches forth. Chatta flies right up to Stella to try knocking some sense into her, as Stella screams right back at her. And to think some people thought Chatta and Stella belonged together instead of Amore and Stella, just because of how Chatta looked. Let's face it: their personalities would so very clash. Stella is too headstrong, and Chatta's advice would just plain get on Stella's nerves to no end. Brandon eventually angers to a point where she marches right up to his face, scaring him, as she just swipes his flashlight out of his hands. Amore thinks Stella's doing right, though, even if no one else does.
At Queen Amentia's palace, Brandon is brought into Amentia's room, as she's going on about how flawless and perfect he is. She and the guards talk about performing ridiculous treatments on Brandon to make him completely perfect, though when one of the guards mentions how one of Brandon's arms is one millimeter longer, Amentia goes psycho on the guards, screaming her head off, and marking one of them with a lipstick X. After the guards leave, though, and Brandon's stuck in the room alone with Amentia, Brandon hopes that by being imperfect, that Amentia will drop him, but she still wants him. She's just decided to use a stretcher to make his shroter arm the same length as his longer one. You know, however great it is to see Stella's reactions to Amentia's, Amentia herself is just too unlikable to like. Just a full-fledged wench, plain and simple. And the only reason I say "wench" is because there are probably young kids who read this site.
Back in the caves, the quartet with the tiny septet are still marching forth to save Brandon, with Stella still leading the way.
Bloom: I'm not getting married until I'm thirty.
Stella: That's old!
Isn't Bloom a little young to insist on not getting married until she's thirty? I mean, it just seems so arbitrary, especially since, in all likelihood, Bloom's going to wind up marrying Prince Sky anyway. Layla talks about how she's never going to get married, and Stella talks about what her wedding is going to be like, in its entirety. She's got this all planned out, every little detail, methinks.
The group makes it to Downland, as they all try to sneak past a guard. More sneaking, more one guard on the lookout, until they all sneak into a building. At some point, Stella collapses, and Bloom has to drag her. Seems to go on for longer than it needs to.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
A guard stands right outside the door, worrying the group, but the guard walks away. Seconds later, though, someone else comes back, and opens the door, though it winds up being just a cat. I'm curious how the cat opened the door, personally. I mean, yes, I know some cats can figure out how to open doors, but the cat wasn't even near the door when it opened... it was several feet away, yet it somehow managed to open the door. I guess the cat wasn't physically touching the door to build the mystery of who it was, but um... still, how did the cat open the door? I guess we can just say it was a magic cat. That's always a convenient way to explain such phenomena, least in this show! The pixies all peek out of small containers they were hiding in when they realize it's just a cat.
As the group exits the house, there's more sneaking around, with the pixies still hiding in their containers. As a random woman shouts "thieves!" though, the pixies all rush away, taking off their containers, except for Glim, who keeps inside her bean can, though Sky eventually helps her out. But a guard sneaks up behind Sky right then and knocks him out with a club, so Bloom casts a spell so he clubs himself with his own club. Ultimately, other guards come, as the group runs away, but they're blocked by a large, ugly guardworm. What happens next is a mystery. The next we see the group, they're already captured by the guards. Seems the guardworm itself was all for nothing, and served absolutely no purpose in anything. Completely pointless, and completely uninteresting.
Back at the palace, a parrot-like bird talks to Brandon about being a husband, and about how miserable his life will be, and how the bird can't escape either. After a bit, Amentia's mother--much fatter than Amentia, but not really any uglier--comes in the room to walk Brandon down the aisle for his wedding, telling him how he'll get to be Amentia's eternal slave, as if he's supposed to be happy. She also tells Brandon that they'll need to control his weight, since it must always be an even number, as Amentia hates odd numbers. She then says, obliviously cheerfully, how they'll eat Brandon for dinner if he doesn't make Amentia happy. Except she isn't joking. Seriously. Whack. Her parents seriously should've sought for some psychiatric help for the girl when she was younger, since it's so obvious she needs some. Then again, her mother isn't really all there either: Brandon should be happy why?!
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
In an alley in Downland, Sponsus is getting completely wasted, like any stereotypical bum getting drunk in a dirty alley. Amore runs into him, asking why he's crying, and he explains his soulmate, Queen Amentia, is getting married, and not to him. Amore gives Sponsus a special soulmate blossom, which will have the sniffer seek out his or her soulmate. As Sponsus gets up, though, it's obvious that he is completely wasted. Why does America think that kids can't handle the words "drunk" and "liquor," or anything like that? The guy is obviously drunk: why pretend he isn't? How are they "protecting the innocent children" by pretending it doesn't exist? I don't get it. Hut peeks inside a little shop, as two of the octuplet girls who serve Amentia prepare a perfect bouquet for Amentia. It's not shown, but we can assume that Sponsus sneaks the blossom in with the bouquet shortly after the scene changes.
Back outside Amentia's palace, it's wedding time! Amentia's father walks her down the aisle, and after that, her mother walks--or actually, drags Brandon down the aisle. The announcer for the wedding says Brandon is the luckiest man alive. For his sake, I hope he was just reading from a script Amentia gave to him, but I have this unsettling feeling he honestly felt that way anyway. At the altar, Amentia gives Brandon an air kiss, which causes him to faint. The scene changes, back to... the wedding. Extremely awkward scene transition. It looked like the scene would be changing back to Stella and the gang, but instead, it changed back onto itself, only forward in time. That's what fade transitions are for: time warps like this. Urgh, nevermind my ranting, just so unnerving, though. Anyway, Brandon is back unfainted. Brandon recites the vows that Amentia wrote for him to say. The justice of the peace continues rubbing in how awful a life Brandon will have with Amentia. At the standard "if anyone objects" part of the wedding, Brandon himself objects, but then is promptly told by the justice of the peace that he isn't allowed to object, that the groom is to be seen and not heard. But Brandon sees the gang, all tied up on a little bridge, as he calls out to Stella in his impersonation of Marlon Brando. Meaning I'm psychic! Yay for me! The guard has a sword to Stella's throat, all ready to slice if necessary. Why does America think this is more appropriate for children to watch than saying the word "alcohol," anyway? My, what a backward country we live in! Not that either is bad, mind you, but I don't get why the mere mention of alcohol could possibly affect a child more than a knife to the throat. Stella cries, worried for Brandon. And right before the commercial break, one of the lookalike non-ugly servant girls hands Amentia the bouquet.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
As Amentia gives the "I do"s, she smells the bouquet, and immediately realizes she shouldn't be marrying Brandon. She's wenchy about it too. I mean, is it Brandon's fault that Amentia was a control freak obsessive dolt? Course, Amentia's not exactly the type to take responsibility for her actions, anyway. Sponsus, very drunk, starts dancing on the seats at the wedding, proclaiming himself as Amentia, as she starts running toward him, knocking over her servants like bowling pins. Literally like bowling pins. Very cartoony, somewhat out of place. Amentia starts kissing Sponsus all over, Amore comes over to Brandon, and all-too-quickly, the scene changes to the Specialists' ship, flying home.
On the way home, Riven notes bottles of something. Brandon says it's "courage brew"--oh, screw it, it's liquor. The liquor is an apology gift from Sponsus, apologizing for taking his bride. Riven says Sponsus is going to need a lot of it to survive his marriage to the horrible Amentia, but back down in Downland, Sponsus seems to enjoy being married to Amentia, and seems to enjoy being a slave to Amentia's every petty demand. Because Sponsus is psychotic too. We already knew that. And their two oppositely psychotic personalities seem to click well together. Go figure.
Other Stuff
Eh... nothing too interesting here. Queen Amentia seemed more annoying then she did in episode 4. The "sneaking through the city" was too dragged out, and the resolution at the end came way too abruptly, as if someone just realized they had to wrap things up quickly, with all the time wasted earlier in the episode. And the guardworm? What was the deal with that?!
All the people of Downland are all complete idiots! You get the feeling that Bob Newhart could've had a successful show in a city like this. Being ruled under a superficial psychotic tyrant is one thing, but good golly, these people seem to enjoy it?!
So, was there anything redeeming about the episode? Yes: Stella. She stole the show, really! The story itself wasn't all that great, but she just absolutely shined! This is the Stella we all know and love, back in full form today!
6 out of 10 on the old scale.
Queen of Perfection
...or Just a Stereotypical Stella Clone
Riven stands on the Winx girls' balcony, staring at Tecna and Timmy down below, and Flora joins Riven on the balcony, though not really aware he's there too. Down below, Timmy tries to get Tecna to worry less about her friends on the dangerous mission, that it isn't like her to worry so much, but she can't help it. Back up on the balcony, Riven complains that if he could've gone on the mission instead of Brandon, that they'd already be back. Cocky much? Of course, though. That's why we love him! Flora got startled, not realizing she had company on the balcony, and asked why he wasn't with Musa, feeling very upset, so Flora goes off to try to comfort Musa herself. Riven doesn't know what he's supposed to say, anyway, realizing that everything most likely is going quite awry.
Back in the UnderRealm, Brandon and Stella fall at the end of a waterfall, and try swimming against a very powerful current, though not very well.
Brandon: If only there was a shoreline.
Stella: I've got a shoreline for you! We're sure going to drown if we don't get out of here.
Yep... I can't believe such an awful pun found its way into the show, either. Shame on you, Stella! From far up above, Bloom, Sky, and Layla can all hear Stella's screams as Bloom and Sky remove the solidified spit off of Layla, still pinned to the wall from last episode. As neither Bloom nor Layla can fly, Sky says they should climb down the cliff to get to Brandon and Stella, but Layla instead has enough magic to create a crane out of water molecules to bring them all down. At the bottom, the trio finds an underwater river, which they correctly guess Stella and Brandon have landed in, and have been carried off.
Back in the river, Stella and Brandon are being pulled into a whirlpool, as Brandon tries hooking his grappling hook onto a nearby rock to keep them from being pulled in, but as the rock breaks, they wind up going under anyway.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Back at the start of the river, Sky asks what they should do. Bloom thinks they should jump in the river after them, but Layla and Sky disagree, saying that they should ignore them and continue on with their pixie-saving mission. So if he already had his mind made up, why did he ask Bloom, anyway, if her opinion wasn't going to matter, anyway?
Sky: Back at Red Fountain, we have a saying: the quest is more important than the heroes.
Bloom: I'm sorry, what?! What kind of logic is that?! What about our friends?
First of all, after Sky's ultra-dorky line, Stella's bad pun from earlier is forgiven. Second, you have to appreciate Bloom at least a little after that exchange. Even if I do understand what Sky was badly trying to get at. Layla uses a bit more logic in her explanation, saying that they can take care of themselves a lot better than the pixies can, who likely don't have much longer before they die.
Back with Stella and Brandon, they've finally arrived, fainted, onto an underground beach. An ugly little man finds them, holding hands while faint. He sounds almost exactly like Futurama's Kif. And has about as much backbone, too. A bigger, though equally hideous guard, pokes them with a big stick to see if they're alive, and when they get up, he knocks them out so the two can be tied up and brought elsewhere. The little guy carries Stella and Brandon back, as the little guy starts explaining about the cave spirits, the keepers of Downland, and that when the cave spirits are disturbed, they send out monsters to Downland, so they must be quiet. The bigger guy doesn't believe those stories, though, saying that the queen just made that up. The smaller guy says the bigger one, named Abrupto, is just mad because Queen Amentia had decided that he and his girl were not a perfect couple, and as such had to be separated. Not really very smart of the smaller guy, now, is it? The smaller guy glows on about Queen Amentia, about how beautiful she is on both the outside and the inside. Neither is true, really.
Finally in the actual city of Downland, Brandon wakes Stella up in a room they're in together, along with the smaller guy. Stella looks pretty bad and green.
Stella: Brandon, I had the strangest dream that we were captured by the ugliest people ever.
Hilarious, true, and absolutely tactless! That's the Stella we all know and love! The small guy asks Brandon to fetch the water vase across the room as the guy tends to Stella, using magic to give her some energy, and realizing that Stella needs sunlight. As Brandon brings over the water vase, the guy sponges some out, and then tells Brandon to put it back exactly where it was before. As the guy explains how he was rapidly losing energy when he went above ground to pick some flowers for the queen, he quickly gets up to scold Brandon for not placing the vase back exactly where it was. Brandon insists he did put it in the exact spot, but the guy pulls it over a couple of inches, insisting that the queen likes it where he'd just moved it. Queen Amentia sounds high-strung to Brandon, but the little guy insists that she's actually wonderful, and wants to show them how wonderful she is. And how delusional the little guy is.
The little guy brings Brandon and Stella, who still looks sick, and looks very pissed off, to the palace entrance, right as Queen Amentia is about to step outside. He's holding flowers for the queen himself. Several other girls dance out the door first. The little guy insists that Brandon and Stella bow down before the queen steps outside, and they do, right before Queen Amentia finally steps outside herself. Queen Amentia herself... ugly. The dancing girls that came out before here were all prettier, but the queen is oblivious to that fact, the little guy is oblivious, and there's a good chance everyone else in Downland is too. We do finally learn the little guy's name, though: Sponsus. And Amentia... she's an interesting character. And by that, I mean a hilarious ultra-spoiled brat.
Amentia: Flowers rule!
Sponsus: Flowers rule indeed, my queen, and so do you.
Amentia: It's true, I do! Thank you, Sponsus. You may... live another day--wait! Grrr! Look at this petal! It's wilted!
Sponsus: But when I picked them, they were perfect. They wither in the darkness.
Amentia: THEY'RE OF NO USE TO ME!
Oh, Queen Amentia's apparently the queen of mood swings. Acting little a happy little kid, giddy about receiving a lovely bouquet, and then going completely psycho after finding a flaw, throwing the bouquet pretty hard at one of her dancers. Then again, Sponsus is probably even more nuts, being the one who's in love with her.
Sponsus: The girl's name is Stella.
Amentia: Your hair, what a horrid color.
Stella: This diva'd better be glad I don't have my powers--
Classic Stella, with Queen Amentia easily able to strike a nerve in her. Probably wise of Brandon to shut Stella up there. Queen Amentia reminds me of what Stella could've been like if she didn't have any good qualities. Almost like a Stella prototype, or something.
Amentia: Tell me, Brandon: where did you get such a glorious face?
Brandon: I take after my Dad.
Amentia: You know, it's perfectly symmetrical.
Brandon: You're right! A lot of people don't appreciate that about me.
Brandon is a big ol' dork. It's even more official now, speaking of his good looks as if they were some talent that deserves more recognition. On the other hand, though, it's no wonder Stella fell in love with him! Due to nothing more than his outward appearance, Queen Amentia has decided that she will marry Brandon, which devastates Sponsus, as he faints.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Musa's standing alone outside, obviously very upset. Riven walks up to her, though not really good at the whole comforting thing, tells Musa that Brandon and Sky probably screwed up everything after Musa wonders if she should be worried. Again, the whole tact issue: Riven has none. Flora looks from a distance, thinking it must be nice to have a shoulder to cry on, as she runs into Kiko, trying to cheer Flora up, even if it isn't much.
Back in the caves, Sky, Layla, and Bloom are looking for the way to the pixies. Layla thinks she knows the way, but Lord Darkar is still spying on them, and sends some monsters their way. But back in Downland, still outside Queen Amentia's palace, everyone except Stella, who's feeling weak on the doorstep, is going inside, though Amentia wants Stella gone.
Amentia: You're still hanging around? You're cluttering up my doorstep, now get out of here! Shoo!
Stella insists she's not leaving without Brandon, but Brandon tells her that she needs to get out in the sun, for her own health. Queen Amentia translates that into "Brandon doesn't like Stella anymore, and wants to away from him." She also reminds Stella that he wouldn't want her, since he's with royalty now, as she goes back inside her palace, as Stella shouts back that she is royalty, but Stella leaves anyway, trying to search for a way to get above ground.
Brandon and Queen Amentia are alone together in the throne room, with Amentia very excited, and Brandon very... not.
Brandon: Look, why would you want to marry me? I mean, you don't know anything about me!
Amentia: Hmm... your head would look so perfect on this bust.
Brandon: You're... gonna' chop my head off?
Amentia: Hehe... a likeness, silly boy, this is the row of royal couples, and I've been looking for the perfect face to go next to mine.
Brandon: I never thought I'd wish I was ugly.
Amentia goes on to say that they'll be officially engaged once they kiss. Brandon keeps trying to tell her that he's in love with Stella, and doesn't want to marry her. It's then a chase around the throne room, with Queen Amentia, as any good old-fashioned Bugs Bunny tradition, seems to have that unique ability to transport herself right ahead of Brandon whenever she's off-camera. Eventually, Amentia threatens to have Stella forced to work in the mines until she dies unless Brandon marries her, so he reluctantly agrees. This whole ordeal really makes you appreciate how selfless a person Stella is. At least in comparison. Also makes one wonder if Sponsus is equally superficial, in love with Amentia for her beauty alone, or if he sees some inner beauty that she hasn't shown yet.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Stella, still in Downland, still very weak, tries to look for some way above ground. Meanwhile, Sky, Bloom, and Layla, still in all the caves, note how peaceful it is, with the water dripping from the ceiling, as the three comment on how Musa would love the drip-drip beat. But the peaceful moment is interrupted by several monsters that come out from the cave, leaving them running away, while Stella, somewhere else entirely, has found some sunlight, and powers up again, feeling better in seconds, and thinking she'd be able to take on Queen Amentia now. All the while the other three are trying to battle the monsters and losing, as Stella flies in and helps to defeat the monsters. Bloom and Stella are so happy to see each other again, and run up and hug in a cute little sweet moment. Lord Darkar, still spying, gets angry that his monsters were defeated, and causes an earthquake. Sky refers to it as a quake. Kudos to the writers for remembering that Sky would never call such a phenomenon an earthquake! As they run away, Layla tries to lead.
Back at Queen Amentia's throne room, Queen Amentia is still trying to steal a kiss from Brandon, and Brandon is still trying to avoid it the best he can.
Other Stuff
Somewhat enjoyable episode. Seemed a bit slow, and Queen Amentia is simply too over-the-top to be believed, and to an extent, not get annoyed by her, but she does play off Stella wonderfully! Heck, she's basically Stella without any of her good qualities, and with some sort of mental disorder. And speaking of Stella, she was much more enjoyable in this episode, with her quips to Brandon while being taken down the river, and her little sparring with Amentia.
Queen Amentia, despite what she thinks, is hardly that beautiful. And she thinks Stella, obviously more beautiful, is ugly. Guess it goes to show that beauty is just in the eye of the beholder. And that Sponsus is completely delusional.
As well, she's essentially a complete spoiled brat, with seemingly no good qualities. Like how I originally viewed Stella, before I learned to appreciate her. Except she seems a lot worse than Stella ever was, so what good qualities she may have, I'm not sure how they could ever shine.
It's nice to see Riven has not completely softened up since last season. His big head thinking that he'd be able to do the mission much faster and more easily than Brandon or Sky... ego much? And he's still not good talking to girls, and not good talking to Musa, though he still seems to remember that she has a crush on him. And that even if he can't say anything worth saying, it's still good to have him around for Musa to cry into.
6 out of 10 on the old scale.
Rescuing the Pixies
...or Tecna's Nerd Rap
Stella, Layla, Sky, and Bloom are all outside a cave in the UnderRealm. Sky's PHA can teleport them through rock for twenty seconds, but if they're still in the rock after the twenty seconds is up, they could be stuck in the wall for all eternity. Layla finds a spot that she's pretty certain such wouldn't happen.
In Shadowhaunt, the pixies are still trapped in the green magical barrier. Tune complains that some runebats outside are chewing their food too loudly, and Chatta agrees. Digit says the runebats only eat once a year, and that they aren't chewing, but making a predatory call intended to scare them. Chatta gets annoyed with Digit's logic, and the two get into an argument, and Tune, annoyed with it all, yells at the runebats to be quiet please. With the "please" being screamed from the top of Tune's lungs. Lockette sadly goes over to the edge of the barrier, looking over at where Charmy once was, sad that she's gone. Um... she's dead? I mean, 4Kids may not have actually used the word, but at least they're not trying some sort of lame cover up either. I mean, you could reasonably write off their not using the word "dead" since it might upset Lockette. Lord Darkar, spying as always, changes into a snake to go into their cage and threaten them, still wanting to know where the pixie village is. Darkar Snake wraps around the pixies, and even licks poor Chatta, insisting the pixies tell him where the pixie village is. Lockette and Chatta ultimately tell him, but he threatens that they'll regret it if they're not telling him the truth.
Back outside the cave, to get to the place where Sky should use the PHA, Layla figures they could snowboard down a nearby slope, except without the snow. Sky and Layla do just fine, but Bloom and Stella have trouble, as Bloom falls off, and Stella crashes into a large rock, breaking it. Only Stella is disgusted when Sky tells her it's actually petrified monster poop. It means there're tunnels nearby, though, but Sky thinks he's found a spot they could use the PHA.
Bloom: And what if it's just solid rock?
Sky: We'd implode.
Whatd'ya know? A funny Prince Sky line. He just says that so casually and happily, too. Brandon, Layla, and Sky exit the portal immediately, but Stella doesn't get through until the last second, leaving Bloom worried that she's been trapped inside the wall until then. Even managed to get a worm on her, grossing her a bit, but Layla's declared that they've finally made it to Shadowhaunt.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
In Queen Amentia's palace in Downland, Sponsus and others are getting Brandon prepared for marriage, and they must give Brandon seven doses of pristine complex-B, received with seven shots in the butt. Angry, Brandon throws all the clothes being prepared on the floor, as the guys all worry and try to clean up the mess Brandon made. But right then, Queen Amentia enters the room, very upset to see the clothes scattered on the floor, and wants to know who did it. She immediately goes for Sponsus, but Brandon owns up and admits he did it. Amentia doesn't believe him, though, and just thinks he's being sweet, taking the blame for the servants.
Meanwhile, back outside Shadowhaunt, our quartet tries to think how they'll get over the large chasm to get inside.
Layla: We can take that bridge.
Sky: I don't think Stella's going to want to go up there.
Stella: Sounds to me like you're the one who's scared. Maybe you should hang tight and let the fairies take it from here. You're slowing us down, anyway. Without you, we could just fly.
Bloom: We're not flying, Stell.
Stella: Oh, right, because why use our magic?
Bloom: Stell, because! Our winx drains big time down here! We have to save it for when we really need it!
You can just visualize Stella rolling her eyes when she gives her last line there. And how great it is to see Stella trying to toughen herself up by passing the buck over to Sky. I mean, hey, she can fly, and Sky can't, so by taking some of the facts, and ignoring others. Kinda' trying out her own Tecna-ish logic, except not really as well as Tecna does it. On the other hand, though, it is still a great exchange. Goes along nicely with one a little later, when they're crossing the bridge:
Stella: You people are forcing me to admit it, I'm still scared of heights! There, I feel better now.
Bloom: We knew that already, Stell.
Stella: That's embarrassing.
Ooh, poor Stella. Trying to release her burden, not even noticing that everyone else knew already. One of the reasons we all love her! Back at Alfea, though, Tecna is taking a shower. And rapping in the shower.
Tecna: If E equals MC squared's a fact, just add a spell and then subtract!
I actually found this amusing--even more surprised Lori did, too! Maybe something about a nerd, generally not knowing how to have fun, trying to rap about math... just something funny about it. Might also be that her voice just sounds so anti-rap... The Rapping Librarian! No one would ever see it coming! After getting out of the shower, Tecna finds her computer frozen, meaning someone's tried to hack into it, and she thinks it looks serious, despite Musa saying that it's probably nothing serious, and that she's just worried because of their friends' mission to Shadowhaunt. Tecna walks out onto the balcony, still worried about why her computer froze, as Livy, flying around on a message, crashes into Tecna's computer. Tecna picks her off, and she flies up, saying she's all right, but then she falls to the ground, then crashes into the ceiling, and falls back to the ground. After Tecna and Musa make her a little more comfortable, she tells them she's the pixie of messages, and that she was delivering a message to Red Fountain, but when she went back to the pixie village, everyone was gone, and she needs to tell someone named Faragonda. Then Piff pops out from under a pillow, and Livy is so happy to see Piff, hugging and crying. Even though Musa and Tecna had already told Livy that Piff was OK, and as such, they realize Livy's a bit on the forgetful side.
Back right outside Shadowhaunt, the quartet is still crossing the bridge, and Stella is still a nervous wreck crossing the rickety bridge. Layla swings on a vine to quickly get there, and get to the pixies, all very happy to see her. She tells the pixies that she brought backup to help this time. Still on the bridge, Stella looks like she's about to vomit, and Bloom worries that Stella is getting weaker, but right then, someone blasts at Bloom and Sky, and whatd'ya know? It looks like our favorite Trix trio is back for some revenge! Finally!
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Before any real fighting, the six all have some reminiscing about old times, all the fun they've had beating the witches, and the fun the witches should've had ruling everyone... but enough reminiscing! Time for some butt-kicking on our Trio's part, and they don't seem to have lost their touch! Course, our heroes are weaker, so it helps them, anyway.
Meanwhile, inside Shadowhaunt, Layla is still trying to free the pixies, and changes to her winx form to try, repeatedly, ultimately giving her very strongest attack, but still without luck. Darkar's pet runebat, who earlier must have been sent to go to find the pixie village where the pixies said it was, tells Darkar that they'd lied. Meanwhile, Layla's getting very hands-on trying to destroy the shield, which she succeeds, freeing the pixies.
Back right outside Shadowhaunt, the witches are still fighting. And winning, as Stella and Bloom finally decide to change to their winx forms. It doesn't really help enough, though, as the witches still defeat Stella and Bloom quite easily, with Sky on his own to defeat the witches, until Icy finally uses the ever-popular ice coffin on Sky. He still has one last shot, though, to destroy the bridge, so it'll crash right into Icy, but Icy spots it before it hits, and she freezes and destroys it. Layla comes out right then to try to stop these obviously evil witches, but she can't do very much either. Right then, though, a glowing angel-like figure appears before the witches.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
The angel-winged glowing man helps to heal the fairies and free Sky from the ice coffin, as well as very easily defeating the Trix sisters. He introduces himself as a paladin, and that helping them out is just his job, what paladins do. Stella and Bloom are absolutely gaga over the guy, because of his dashing looks and bravery. Sky's a bit jealous. Ha! The pixies all fly toward the quartet, all giggly and happy, all hugging and crashing into Layla. And right away, Amore latches right onto Stella.
Amore: You're so beautiful.
Stella: And you're so adorable!
Sky: Stella's returning a compliment? What's that about?
Layla explains that pixies will bond with their soulmate-like fairy at first sight, and that's what happened with Stella and Amore. Soon after, Lockette latches right onto Bloom. Digit notes that Layla should not have been able to break through the barrier, and Layla agrees, and that along with the paladin, Layla suspects something's up. Stella doesn't give her time to think about it much, though, telling them that they still need to save Brandon from being forced into marrying Queen Amentia.
Other Stuff
Good episode. The Trix sisters were back again! Stella was great, or at least seeing her dealing with her insecurities. Or not really knowing how to deal with them. And the pixies, all just adorable!
First, the Trix sisters... always nice to see them. Even nice to see them winning, until some highly improbable situation just had to defeat them. There's always gotta' be something to ruin their fun!
The pixies... Chatta seems very hyper-aware of her own pronunciation, as if she had speech problems at some point in her life. How ironic that would be for Chatta, of all pixies, to have had a speech impediment!
Tune, just too cool, trying so hard to be polite, even when screaming her head off.
Nice to see Stella back in classic form today. Even if, for the most part, she wasn't too helpful today... but with Brandon in trouble, methinks she'll be of great help the next show!
Flora was completely absent from the episode. I think it's the first episode since the very first episode that did not have all five of the main winx girls in it.
8 out of 10 on the old scale.
My Boyfriend's Wedding
...or Stella
In the caves of the UnderRealm, Layla, Sky, Bloom, and Stella are walking through, to get to Downland so they can save Brandon from his forced marriage to Queen Amentia.
Sky: Stella, we can't just storm into Amentia's castle. We need a plan.
Stella: You want a plan? I'll tell you what the plan is. I'm going in there, smackin' her around, and taking my man back! Nobody is going to steal my boyfriend!
Again, Stella's showing us why we all love her. Showing her loyal-to-no-end, though-rash side, similar in a way to when she went to earth when the girls weren't allowed to leave the school to get Bloom back to Alfea. Chatta, Digit, Bloom, and Sky--especially Sky--continue to try to talk Stella out of storming ahead, and all try to talk Stella out of marching forth, to give them time to come up with a battle plan. And all the while, Stella just grumbles and growls as she marches forth. Chatta flies right up to Stella to try knocking some sense into her, as Stella screams right back at her. And to think some people thought Chatta and Stella belonged together instead of Amore and Stella, just because of how Chatta looked. Let's face it: their personalities would so very clash. Stella is too headstrong, and Chatta's advice would just plain get on Stella's nerves to no end. Brandon eventually angers to a point where she marches right up to his face, scaring him, as she just swipes his flashlight out of his hands. Amore thinks Stella's doing right, though, even if no one else does.
At Queen Amentia's palace, Brandon is brought into Amentia's room, as she's going on about how flawless and perfect he is. She and the guards talk about performing ridiculous treatments on Brandon to make him completely perfect, though when one of the guards mentions how one of Brandon's arms is one millimeter longer, Amentia goes psycho on the guards, screaming her head off, and marking one of them with a lipstick X. After the guards leave, though, and Brandon's stuck in the room alone with Amentia, Brandon hopes that by being imperfect, that Amentia will drop him, but she still wants him. She's just decided to use a stretcher to make his shroter arm the same length as his longer one. You know, however great it is to see Stella's reactions to Amentia's, Amentia herself is just too unlikable to like. Just a full-fledged wench, plain and simple. And the only reason I say "wench" is because there are probably young kids who read this site.
Back in the caves, the quartet with the tiny septet are still marching forth to save Brandon, with Stella still leading the way.
Bloom: I'm not getting married until I'm thirty.
Stella: That's old!
Isn't Bloom a little young to insist on not getting married until she's thirty? I mean, it just seems so arbitrary, especially since, in all likelihood, Bloom's going to wind up marrying Prince Sky anyway. Layla talks about how she's never going to get married, and Stella talks about what her wedding is going to be like, in its entirety. She's got this all planned out, every little detail, methinks.
The group makes it to Downland, as they all try to sneak past a guard. More sneaking, more one guard on the lookout, until they all sneak into a building. At some point, Stella collapses, and Bloom has to drag her. Seems to go on for longer than it needs to.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
A guard stands right outside the door, worrying the group, but the guard walks away. Seconds later, though, someone else comes back, and opens the door, though it winds up being just a cat. I'm curious how the cat opened the door, personally. I mean, yes, I know some cats can figure out how to open doors, but the cat wasn't even near the door when it opened... it was several feet away, yet it somehow managed to open the door. I guess the cat wasn't physically touching the door to build the mystery of who it was, but um... still, how did the cat open the door? I guess we can just say it was a magic cat. That's always a convenient way to explain such phenomena, least in this show! The pixies all peek out of small containers they were hiding in when they realize it's just a cat.
As the group exits the house, there's more sneaking around, with the pixies still hiding in their containers. As a random woman shouts "thieves!" though, the pixies all rush away, taking off their containers, except for Glim, who keeps inside her bean can, though Sky eventually helps her out. But a guard sneaks up behind Sky right then and knocks him out with a club, so Bloom casts a spell so he clubs himself with his own club. Ultimately, other guards come, as the group runs away, but they're blocked by a large, ugly guardworm. What happens next is a mystery. The next we see the group, they're already captured by the guards. Seems the guardworm itself was all for nothing, and served absolutely no purpose in anything. Completely pointless, and completely uninteresting.
Back at the palace, a parrot-like bird talks to Brandon about being a husband, and about how miserable his life will be, and how the bird can't escape either. After a bit, Amentia's mother--much fatter than Amentia, but not really any uglier--comes in the room to walk Brandon down the aisle for his wedding, telling him how he'll get to be Amentia's eternal slave, as if he's supposed to be happy. She also tells Brandon that they'll need to control his weight, since it must always be an even number, as Amentia hates odd numbers. She then says, obliviously cheerfully, how they'll eat Brandon for dinner if he doesn't make Amentia happy. Except she isn't joking. Seriously. Whack. Her parents seriously should've sought for some psychiatric help for the girl when she was younger, since it's so obvious she needs some. Then again, her mother isn't really all there either: Brandon should be happy why?!
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
In an alley in Downland, Sponsus is getting completely wasted, like any stereotypical bum getting drunk in a dirty alley. Amore runs into him, asking why he's crying, and he explains his soulmate, Queen Amentia, is getting married, and not to him. Amore gives Sponsus a special soulmate blossom, which will have the sniffer seek out his or her soulmate. As Sponsus gets up, though, it's obvious that he is completely wasted. Why does America think that kids can't handle the words "drunk" and "liquor," or anything like that? The guy is obviously drunk: why pretend he isn't? How are they "protecting the innocent children" by pretending it doesn't exist? I don't get it. Hut peeks inside a little shop, as two of the octuplet girls who serve Amentia prepare a perfect bouquet for Amentia. It's not shown, but we can assume that Sponsus sneaks the blossom in with the bouquet shortly after the scene changes.
Back outside Amentia's palace, it's wedding time! Amentia's father walks her down the aisle, and after that, her mother walks--or actually, drags Brandon down the aisle. The announcer for the wedding says Brandon is the luckiest man alive. For his sake, I hope he was just reading from a script Amentia gave to him, but I have this unsettling feeling he honestly felt that way anyway. At the altar, Amentia gives Brandon an air kiss, which causes him to faint. The scene changes, back to... the wedding. Extremely awkward scene transition. It looked like the scene would be changing back to Stella and the gang, but instead, it changed back onto itself, only forward in time. That's what fade transitions are for: time warps like this. Urgh, nevermind my ranting, just so unnerving, though. Anyway, Brandon is back unfainted. Brandon recites the vows that Amentia wrote for him to say. The justice of the peace continues rubbing in how awful a life Brandon will have with Amentia. At the standard "if anyone objects" part of the wedding, Brandon himself objects, but then is promptly told by the justice of the peace that he isn't allowed to object, that the groom is to be seen and not heard. But Brandon sees the gang, all tied up on a little bridge, as he calls out to Stella in his impersonation of Marlon Brando. Meaning I'm psychic! Yay for me! The guard has a sword to Stella's throat, all ready to slice if necessary. Why does America think this is more appropriate for children to watch than saying the word "alcohol," anyway? My, what a backward country we live in! Not that either is bad, mind you, but I don't get why the mere mention of alcohol could possibly affect a child more than a knife to the throat. Stella cries, worried for Brandon. And right before the commercial break, one of the lookalike non-ugly servant girls hands Amentia the bouquet.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
As Amentia gives the "I do"s, she smells the bouquet, and immediately realizes she shouldn't be marrying Brandon. She's wenchy about it too. I mean, is it Brandon's fault that Amentia was a control freak obsessive dolt? Course, Amentia's not exactly the type to take responsibility for her actions, anyway. Sponsus, very drunk, starts dancing on the seats at the wedding, proclaiming himself as Amentia, as she starts running toward him, knocking over her servants like bowling pins. Literally like bowling pins. Very cartoony, somewhat out of place. Amentia starts kissing Sponsus all over, Amore comes over to Brandon, and all-too-quickly, the scene changes to the Specialists' ship, flying home.
On the way home, Riven notes bottles of something. Brandon says it's "courage brew"--oh, screw it, it's liquor. The liquor is an apology gift from Sponsus, apologizing for taking his bride. Riven says Sponsus is going to need a lot of it to survive his marriage to the horrible Amentia, but back down in Downland, Sponsus seems to enjoy being married to Amentia, and seems to enjoy being a slave to Amentia's every petty demand. Because Sponsus is psychotic too. We already knew that. And their two oppositely psychotic personalities seem to click well together. Go figure.
Other Stuff
Eh... nothing too interesting here. Queen Amentia seemed more annoying then she did in episode 4. The "sneaking through the city" was too dragged out, and the resolution at the end came way too abruptly, as if someone just realized they had to wrap things up quickly, with all the time wasted earlier in the episode. And the guardworm? What was the deal with that?!
All the people of Downland are all complete idiots! You get the feeling that Bob Newhart could've had a successful show in a city like this. Being ruled under a superficial psychotic tyrant is one thing, but good golly, these people seem to enjoy it?!
So, was there anything redeeming about the episode? Yes: Stella. She stole the show, really! The story itself wasn't all that great, but she just absolutely shined! This is the Stella we all know and love, back in full form today!
6 out of 10 on the old scale.
