Frank15's Winx Reviews: 2x10-2x12
Jun. 2nd, 2026 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsIn which Frank15 addresses a 4Kids change in a really big way, and yes, it is the one you're thinking of :-) even as he questions a bunch of other stuff that happens in that same episode
Reaching for the Sky
...or Sibling Rivalry
Inside Red Fountain, Sky calls Bloom on her cell phone, who is wandering outside Alfea. Bloom is exciting, rambling on about Stella and Brandon's date on a unicorn-drawn carriage ride through Magix River Park. Sky says he needs to see Bloom, sounding somewhat upset. Bloom continues rambling on about how they could go on the same ride, but Sky keeps interrupting, saying that he wants to have a serious talk with Bloom before they go out again. Bloom worries that something is wrong, and wants Sky to tell her there what's wrong, but Sky wants to talk about it in person. Bloom suspects it's something about Diaspro, Sky's secret ex-fiance for those of you who may not remember her from last season. Sky is denying it, but Bloom isn't completely trusting. Go Bloom! It's about time Bloom considered how he'd treated Diaspro, and realized that he could easily do the same thing to her! Last season, she seemed too happy when Sky told Bloom he'd dumped Diaspro, and Bloom was just happy because he chose her, oblivious to the fact that Sky had been cheating on Diaspro. Or just not caring. I guess Bloom's had a bit of time to think about that little incident, though. While complaining and pacing about, Bloom obliviously crashes into a wall, dropping her books. Sky and Bloom tell each other bye, and hang up, with Bloom just pretending to be agreeable, obviously not really wanting to end the conversation yet. After hanging up, Sky gets stuck in an elevator that quits working at Red Fountain, and declares it a lame day. Back at Alfea, Bloom also declares it a lame day, and Flora watches, worried about Bloom.
Inside Alfea, a fairy crab and fairy white fox seem to playfully spar, as the girls hurry to the magical cuisine seminar, but Stella, and later the other girls, are shocked and appalled when they see Griselda teaching the class. Even worse when Griselda tells them that the cooking class has been replaced with Griselda's master combat class, and yells at them to get to their assigned seats so she can get started. Of course Griselda would be the kind of teacher who would assign seats. Seemed more often than not that it was just done alphabetically... good thing for me that my best friend back in middle school had the same first two letters of my last name for hers!
We now go to Shadowhaunt, the Trix trio bow as Lord Darkar enters the room, and he declares that it's time for the witches to get the first part of the Codex. I thought he already had one part back in "Party Monster"... either I misunderstood, or they goofed. Might be either. Icy asks if she could be Darkar's "main witch" when they succeed. Gag me. Darcy and Stormy oughta' be teasing her.
Back in Griselda's class, she talks about how she competed in the All-Realm Magic Games, and how she was the first female blackbelt gold medalist. Musa teases about how long ago it must've been, but Griselda angrily shouts back that it was twenty years ago, but that she's still just as good as back then. Stella complains that they were going to learn how to make a twelve-course meal with a single spell, but Griselda says she'll just have to order in. For some odd reason, Stella holds her mouth, as if she'd just said something she should've kept to herself... except she didn't. I have this feeling she must've said something very different in Italian. Griselda also warns that the girls had better stop complaining, "or else."
Griselda takes her class outside. Oddly enough, save for the Winx girls themselves, it seems to be a completely different group of students: Amaryl and Francis were definitely not in the classroom! But that brings up the next point: Francis! Again, she isn't shown really doing anything, but she's there, and she's got the coolest fairy form of anyone: a red and black harlequin outfit! Almost have to wonder if the designers for the show were Batman fans. Griselda asks for volunteers, but no one wants to. Griselda picks Stella to go first, to try to attack Griselda. I think she does this just because she doesn't like Stella much. She seems somewhat quietly sadistically happy in making Stella go first. Stella continues to complain about their class schedule being disgraceful, that instead of a well-rounded education, they just keep having battle classes. Griselda complains back that their only mission currently is to survive. Stella attacks with her usual sun powers, but Griselda blocks and sends the attack back to hit Stella.
Griselda then orders everyone to attack. And by everyone, I mean the five other Winx girls and Amaryl: the other random girls and Francis seem to be forgotten from this point on. Flora, Tecna, and Amaryl all attack, not hurting Griselda at all, though. Amaryl, surprised, tells Tecna that Griselda really is as good as she says. Tecna agrees. Interesting to note that Amaryl seems to be on decent terms with Tecna. Makes me wonder all the more what's gone on with Stella and Amaryl in the past. Layla, in her only line of the episode, uses a wave attack against Griselda, doing nothing. Musa shoots a a sonic blast at Griselda, again doing nothing. Bloom shoots a dragon blast at Griselda, and Griselda just catches it as if it were nothing. So... Griselda is even more superpowered than Bloom?! I mean, dragonfire, hello! If Griselda was stronger than Mary Sue this whole time, then why couldn't she just handle the Army of Decay incident last season?! I'll chalk it up to inconsistent writing... sigh. Tecna nervously asks Griselda how she got so good. Griselda shrieks back that she took all the battle classes when she was in school, and hopes that the students have learned how important the battle training is. And we see why Tecna was so nervous asking in the first place. Poor students are all scared of Griselda! Fear and intimidation only get one so far: long-term respect isn't going to be earned by it, for sure. They shouldn't be so afraid to ask questions.
At night, in Bloom's room, she has trouble sleeping. Flora knows something is wrong, and asks Bloom what it is. Bloom says it's about Sky, that he wants a serious talk with Bloom tomorrow. Bloom fears that Sky is going to break up with her tomorrow. Flora says she'll go with Bloom for moral support. Bloom thanks her for being there for her.
The next day, outside Red Fountain, are the Trix sisters. The trio unleash a glowing purple mayhem globe, floating above them all.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Sky and Brandon are in their room at Red Fountain. Sky frets about needing to talk to Bloom, but Brandon encourages him to do so.
Brandon: Bro, everybody knows you have to have the talk after the three-month talk. If you don't, the relationship's done.
I don't know whether that's true or not, but it seems that usually women are the ones who are more concerned with the "hidden little" rules like this one. Guess Brandon's probably learned from experience! Brandon goes on to tell Bloom the stuff to talk about, like how much he likes her, and giving her his Red Fountain hero jacket. Sky calls, but gets Bloom's answering machine.
Bloom: Hey, you've reached Bloom--
Stella: That's princess Bloom of Sparx!
Musa: And planet Earth!
Bloom: Just leave a message!
That is so very Stella, trying to hype Bloom up! Even if Bloom isn't quite as braggy, I guess Stella likes having people know who her best friend is! Sky's message is just reminding her that she'll see her tomorrow. Sky practices what he'll say, saying that he wants to officially make Bloom his girlfriend, then realize how dorky he sounds. Which he is! As he paces on the balcony outside his room, though, he's attacked by the mayhem globe, which shoots him with a blast of electricity, which narrowly misses him.
Not far from Red Fountain, Bloom is walking there to see Sky, along with Flora and Tecna for moral support. OK... I'll buy Flora, but Tecna? The girl confused about the whole dating scene?! If she was only going to bring a couple of her friends, wouldn't it seem more likely for Stella to have gone with Bloom? I mean, aside from being her best friend, Stella is also the unofficial "guy expert," and the most likely to show Sky where to shove it if the situation got that bad. So why isn't Stella here? Who the heck knows!
Bloom: So statistically, this makes sense.
Tecna: That's correct. One out of two relationships ends in heartbreak.
Of course, that isn't to say it isn't nice to have Tecna around... more, just that, for this particular "mission," it didn't really make a lot of sense for Tecna to go with Bloom instead of Stella. Bloom has become a bit more accepting of the whole possibility. It's an obvious front, but she's trying, at least. The trio then spot a mayhem globe attacking Red Fountain, and rush on over to help. At Red Fountain, a random woman, completely unseen, using the school's PA system, orders the students to prepare to fight against the thing. Sky and Brandon use their flying ships to go after the thing. Codatorta and Timmy are working in a computer control room.
Codatorta: Gentlemen, we are being attacked by an unidentified mayhem globe.
Question: if Codatorta knows it's a mayhem globe, then it's not exactly unidentified, right? Kinda' like, if an unidentified flying object can be identified as an authentic alien spaceship, then it would no longer be an unidentified flying object, right? Then again, I'm probably looking way too much into a line that was meant to be just a throwaway gag. Not a great one, either. Codatorta orders Sky and Brandon to keep the mayhem globe away from the school. Timmy says the mayhem globe could destroy the entire school. Riven shows up for a random line. Codatorta orders a few other random students via the control room to defend the school. Some students fly on dragons to go after the globe. The whole scene is a bit too jumpy for my tastes. Helia enters, wearing a Specialists' uniform, no less, with Tecna, Flora, and Bloom to help.
Flying quickly toward Red Fountain, the Trix sisters break into the school on their own none-too-subtly, at a passageway leading straight for the Veritas Chamber, which holds the Codex they are seeking. Timmy tells Tecna to be careful, and vice versa. Right as the Winx girls are about to leave, with Riven, Sky enters, making for an unexpected awkward. moment between Sky and Bloom.
Meanwhile, the Trix sisters are continuing down the hallway to the Veritas chamber. Stormy blasts a random elevator, and hit the jackpot with her guess of "which elevator would have the biggest payoff to blast," since this one conveniently has six students trapped inside. They're never seen again. I guess they'll be trapped in the elevator for all eternity! Or probably someone just rescues them off screen, if you want to be all boring about it. The witches, oddly enough, wind up outside Red Fountain, where they easily ward off Riven and a few other random students. Of course, why did they break into the school, only to wind up back outside? I mean, I'm sure Stormy enjoyed blasting the elevator, but it seems Icy and, especially, more practical-minded Darcy would've preferred taking the absolute shortest route possible. Blasting through the roof where they did was obviously not the fastest way possible, since the route takes them back outside. Back inside the building, Stormy wants to trash the place more, but Darcy says they need to wait until after they get their hands on the Codex. That's better. Darcy back to her smart self, and Stormy... well, she's still the same. Stormy never was too keen on patience, though.
Brandon arrives right behind them, though Darcy gets him by multiplying herself and then using cloud of darkness to keep him blind. Sky and the three Winx girls arrive, and the fairies immediately transform. Stormy shoots a blast at everyone, and then flies off with her sisters, all headed for the basement, when Helia tries to grab hold of her with his strings. Helia goes to Tecna's side to see if she's OK. Funny... he didn't care two episodes ago. Flora notices, and asks if he's attending Red Fountain now. Sky says Saladin convinced him. Seems odd that he was somehow convinced so quickly, when he seemed so against the idea back in "Party Monster." Either he has a huge crush on Flora, and thinks being a Specialist will impress her, or... something else. Sky leads the others to a shortcut, climbing down an elevator shaft. They find Stormy, obviously trailing behind her sisters. Stormy and Flora shoot blasts at one another, but Stormy's blast completely nullifies Flora's, and hits Flora, and Stormy continues trying to catch up to her sisters. Flora's down, but sweetly tells the others that she'll be all right, and to just go on without her. It's a cute, sweet little Flora moment. She hasn't gotten many of them lately, really.
A few guards are guarding the Veritas, as it suddenly starts snowing. The three Trix sisters storm into the room.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Tecna, Bloom, and Sky rush toward the Veritas Chamber. Sky says the guards there will be no match for the Trix sisters, though. Bloom looks like she has other things on her mind, seeming more worried about her relationship with Sky, even in the fight against the Trix.
The Trix sisters are right outside the Veritas Chamber, with the guards all frozen in ice. There's a scale that secures the chamber, which the trio is unsure of how to get past it to enter the chamber. And the Trix sisters are going to absolutely shine from this point on in the show!
Stormy: How do you think this thing works?
Darcy: Oh who cares! Let's just blow this thing up.
Stormy: Let me handle it!
Stormy shoots a blast at the scale.
Darcy: Wait, there's a riddle on it!
The scale shoots a blast back at Stormy, electrifying her.
Darcy: Sorry, I didn't see it.
Like hell she didn't! It seems odd that Darcy, of all people, would suggest trying to physically demolish the scale, but at the same time, perhaps she knew that Stormy would just jump right up at that suggestion, so if something went wrong--as it did--then Stormy would get the hurt, and not Darcy herself. I mean, Darcy didn't sound excited or anything, suggesting they blow it up: she sounded almost bored. Anyway, to the riddle!
Darcy: Of course those nerds are into riddles. What equals the weight of Red Fountain?
Icy: If you choose the wrong item, you will be destroyed.
The possible items: a weird bowl-thingy, a crystal, a miniature robed statue, a feather, a very small disc, a small wooden spear, a holosword, a scroll, and a pen. If anyone can tell what the bowl-thingy and small disc are meant to be, feel free to share! Meanwhile, Stormy gets back up, in obvious pain.
Stormy: Owie, my poor back!
Poor Stormy. I mean, I guess being evil, maybe she deserves it, but still.... Darcy reasons that these questions are usually a trick, and the biggest trick would be for the answer to be the lightest item: the feather. Darcy tries to get Icy to place the feather in the scale, but Icy won't have it, and insists that, since Darcy picked out the feather, that she should be the one to try it out. Right as Darcy is about to place the feather in, though, Sky throws a boomerang into the room, giving Darcy the perfect opportunity to "conveniently" get distracted from placing the feather. To think it probably would've helped the heroes out more if they had just come in a few seconds later. Nice of them to give Darcy the edge, anyway! Icy shoots Tecna with a platinum icicle. Um... platinum icicle? What makes it platinum? Has Icy sold more than a million of these suckers? Bloom puts herself in the "Griselda Bubble"--Tecna's own words--which protects her from Darcy's vibration wave attsck. As Stormy is about to attack, Timmy shoots at her--and misses by a long shot.
Tecna: That was a good one, Timmy!
Stormy: That's not a good one. This is a good one!
Sorry Tecna, but Stormy's right. Timmy missed Stormy with his shot--heck, he missed her by several yards, at least. Stormy, however, with her tornado, knocked down Bloom, Timmy, and you like three bowling pins. Simply, Stormy's attack worked well. Timmy's attack did nothing. Icy blasts Sky with a rather small blast, but it seems this particular blast put Sky into a 100-year sleep. In the original Italian, it killed Sky. And fellow fan Lori has got me thinking that the change works for the better. I'll get more into that later, though. For now, just know that Sky is doing the whole Briar Rose routine here. Icy tells Darcy to put a non-aggression spell on Tecna, Bloom, and Timmy. There's absolutely no sign that Darcy's done anything: I suspect this was a line simply added for the US version of the show, since there's nothing to suggest otherwise. Icy stands before the items, and goes into a great little monologue, even if not necessarily vital to the show's plot:
Icy: The crystal stands for magic, but these loser-wannabes have no powers. Hmm... the sword could stand for their battle skills; however, that would be kind of shallow, and these Red Fountain dweebs think they're so deep--wait! I've got it! Whenever they have a big event, their teachers always wear these pompous robes, which I'm sure they think indicates wisdom.
Sure enough, Icy puts the miniature robed statue onto the scale, and it balances, opening up part of the floor, leading down to the Veritas Chamber, holding part of the Codex.
Icy: It worked! So Red Fountain equals pomposity!
Seems she's gotten better with her humor! Bloom gets up, and rushes over to Sky, who she's noticed seems lifeless and limp.
The pixie Athena is hanging out in the basement, though, and right as Icy breaks the glass surrounding the Codex, Athena puts a kindness spell on Icy.
Icy: Help! It's a kindness spell! Make it stop!
Stormy: No, don't stop it! This could be good for her!
Athena: Put that back now!
Darcy sneaks behind Athena and smashes her between her hands.
Darcy: Boy, do I love smashing pixies.
Stormy: Good job, D! I'm glad you're OK, Icy.
Icy: Yeah, whatever wiatch, I heard what you said!
Yay for sibling rivalry! Stormy so wants to be the leader... but at the same time, their sisterly team wouldn't really work very well under Stormy's leadership, namely, in that she's too rash and unpredictable. She'd never admit it, though, and it's likely she's never really thought about it, either. On another note... kinda' stupid to say that right in front of Icy. Icy was put under a kindness spell, not a deafness spell, Stormy! Timmy goes to the start of the stairs, shooting at the Trix sisters. And missing badly, again. Bloom still worries about Sky, who's still asleep.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Timmy aims his gun straight at Icy, but he won't shoot it. Icy keeps telling him that he can't, that he has the non-aggression spell on him. Despite never actually seeing it cast. And despite that Timmy was shooting at them only a few seconds ago. Yeah, can you tell I'm not buying the whole non-aggression thing? The Trix sisters just calmly walk out, with the Codex, with Timmy just standing around like an idiot. Right then, Flora finally makes it to the room, and Tecna gets up too, and the four of them gather around Sky, who's going to be sleeping for a long time. And for some reason, Flora says he has no pulse. That really should have been edited out, since 4Kids went the sleeping route with the story. Bloom, with all her magical dragonfire might, and her love for Sky, wakes Sky up from his sleep. Bloom cries, Sky thanks Bloom, asks for her to be his girlfriend officially, and Bloom accepts--Diaspro's completely forgotten for the moment. And considering the situation, I guess we can forgive Bloom for not drilling him about Diaspro. At least not at this very moment. It's actually a sweet moment, ending with a nice hug between the two.
To end things, the Trix are shown flying away from Red Fountain, having succeeded in stealing their piece of the Codex.
Other Stuff
A pretty darn enjoyable episode! Especially thanks to the Trix sisters: this was their best showing of the season, not only proving how tough they are, but proving that they still quibble a lot with each other!
First, Lori's inspired me to think more about the whole Sky's death/sleeping thing, and she's right. In the Italian version, Sky dies, but in the US, he's just put to sleep for a hundred years. I mean, I've got no problem with death being used in a kiddie TV show, but I do have a problem with Bloom bringing Sky back from the dead--she is a fairy! She is not a god! Her dragonfire, and her love for Sky, waking him up is infinitely more believable, and less groanworthy... I mean, I know, I know, it's Sleeping Beauty all over again, but there's nothing wrong with that! Having said that, they should have lost the "no pulse" line.
Also, how could such a tiny blast kill Sky, anyway? It having been a sleeping spell makes more sense, because as often as these characters have gotten blasted by the witches, it seems unlikely such a relatively benign-looking attack would've actually killed him.
The non-aggression spell, though... that was lame. Darcy did not cast any spells on the group. None. Nuh-uh! And Timmy was shooting at the witches. He was a bad aim, sure, but he was still shooting at them! How would the use of a non-aggression spell explain that? It doesn't. I'm not sure why that was added in, since it had nothing to do with nothing. Timmy simply couldn't shoot Icy: that's all it was. He just didn't have it in him. Kinda' makes him a pretty bad student, when you think about it. Tecna needs to scold him for that.
So, who was the woman, sight unseen, using the Red Fountain PA system? Is it supposed to just be some computer voice that sounds nothing like a computer, some hidden female Red Fountain teacher who has never been seen before, or what. I'm curious if the Italian version has a female announcing over the school's PA system, or if it was a random oversight for the US version.
9 out of 10 on the old scale.
Homesick
...or Timmy Needs a Clue
At Red Fountain, Brandon and Timmy are in one of their rooms. Not sure whose. Timmy is using his computer, and complains that Tecna has his IMs blocked. On one hand, it seems odd that Tecna would just block Timmy without explanation, considering it is Tecna, known for kinda' being an open book, but on the other hand... well, we'll get to that a bit later, now won't we? Brandon says Tecna's probably just being a girl, wanting Timmy to give some chase. Timmy says that they're not really boyfriend and girlfriend anyway, that they've never actually officially stated so. Brandon tries giving suggestions to get closer to Tecna: Timmy seems to only be half getting it, though:
Brandon: Start by surprising her with a little gift, or something. I hear girls like flowers.
Timmy: Flowers?
Brandon: They grow in fields?
Timmy: I know what they are!
'Twas an honest mistake, Timmy. Anyone could've been fooled. Classic!
At Alfea, while Kiko is sunbathing in the quad, the Winx girls are in Profesor Palladium's class. Palladium is teaching ancient Elventian incantations, emphasizing the importance of exact pronunciation. He has Bloom try to unlock a padlock with such a spell, and she does so correctly. Palladium demonstrates what happens if the pronunciation is messed up, bringing several cute kittens into the room. Palladium continues explaining, as Flora stares longingly at her notebook. At first, it looks more like she's hot for teacher. Also, it looks like Kaie, a regular random student at Alfea, has gotten some facial reconstruction surgery, or something: she has a kiddie face.
Flora goes into a daydream, dreaming of Helia rescuing her from a large monster. After he defeats the monster, he carries Flora off, both dressed in wedding atire, and carries her down the aisle, with Palladium as the minister. Right as he's about to pronounce them husband and wife, real-life Palladium interrupts her daydream sequence, asking her to try a spell. She mangles it pretty badly, putting "Helia" into the pronunciation, causing the kittens to grow giant.
In the hallway, the Winx girls separate: Bloom goes off to study, Tecna to meet Timmy for lunch, and Musa and Stella go to hang by the lack. Flora and Layla stay behind at Flora's request. Knut passes by, with an ice cream cart, as a random hatted student skips off happily with ice cream in hand.
Flora: Well I--I've got this friend, right? And she kind of likes this boy, but she, uh--
Layla: You're crushing on Helia and you want some advice.
Flora: I guess it's written all over my face.
Layla: Yeah, that and all your notebooks.
Flora's obviously smitten, but Flora worries that Helia might not like her. He's not really being that subtle, Flora. She frets that he may already have a cool artsy girlfriend back at home. Interesting to note that her voice is notably more biting as she mentions the possibility of his having a girlfriend. Nice to see she isn't always Little Miss Perfect, prone to jealousy like anyone. Layla offers to do some snooping. Flora likes the idea, but convolutedly asks Layla to make sure he doesn't know that Flora wants Layla to snoop.
Tecna and Timmy are having lunch in downtown Magix. Timmy says he's been thinking, and gives Tecna a new computer heat sink for a present. Tecna, looking bored, says it's not compatible with her computer.
Timmy: Speaking of compatibility...
Tecna: Yes?
Timmy: Guess who managed to download song files through his portable hero's assistant?
Tecna: Listen, Timmy... sometimes I get a little tired of talking about our computers all the time. Why don't you give me a call when you feel like talking about us!
That "us" at the end was a really nasty tone of voice, too! Tecna actually perked up after Timmy mentioned compatibility, but soured right back down after he started on about downloading song files. Look, Timmy, as much as Tecna likes fiddling with computers, you need a clue: she wants more from you than just that. Try anything else, anything non-computer related! Tecna storms off, leaving Timmy wondering what he could've done differently.
At Alfea, a mysterious cloaked figure--very obviously Professor Avalon--casts a spell on the pixies. The pixies themselves are playing in an obstacle course of some sort, dressed in funny little sporty outfits with ice skates, with Tune as the referee. Piff is asleep in the goal. Little green orbs attack the pixies.
Bloom is in the library, wanting to practice ancient spells. One large book falls off the shelf, The Archaic Spells of Spheria. Bloom takes off with it, thinking the book might have some good spells in it. From behind the bookcase, in very Scooby Doo-like fashion, the same mystery cloaked figure steps out from behind.
In her room at night, Bloom tries a spell to change the color of leaves, but all it does is kill one of Flora's plants. Stella barges in, worried about where Amore is. Bloom says they're probably just still playing bumbulini ball, but Stella says it was hours ago, and Musa can't find Tune, either. Bumbulini ball... sounds like a sport Zing would've come up with. Speaking of Zing, where is she, anyway?
On the bumbulini field, the six pixies wake up, sounding as if they're in a trance, headed back for the pixie village. Layla, spotting them, says they need to go after the pixies. Lord Darkar watches via a crystal ball-esque fog.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
The six Winx girls are out at night talking to their pixies. Bloom asks what the pixies are doing. Lockette says they wants to go back to the pixie village, though Bloom, and the rest of the Winx girls don't understand why, since the pixies know that Lord Darkar would find the location of the pixie village if they went back.
Layla: Why do you guys want to go home?
Digit: Because! Just because!
Tecna: "Because" is not a reason, Digit!
I'm sure Digit would be ashamed of herself for such an answer if she were in her right state of mind... it's so very not Digit, just as Tecna's reply so very is Tecna! Stella's upset that she won't be watching movies tonight with Amore, but she doesn't care. She's sweet about it, at least. Chatta shouts for all the pixies to scatter, and they all fly off. The Winx girls all transform, then chase after the pixies. Bloom finds Lockette, flying over a hedgemaze, and traps Lockette in some sort of bubble. Flora catches Chatta in a cage of vines. Stella uses night-light to find Amore: the poor thing seems absolutely terrified! Tecna and Musa work together, with Tecna using a tracking device to find Digit and Tune. The five pixies are put into a small cage, none of them willing to explain why they insist on going back to the pixie village. You'd think Digit and Chatta would normally jump at such an opportunity, too.... Musa notices Piff is gone, but Layla says not to worry, that Piff conked out shortly after she tried getting away, and is sleeping peacefully a few feet away. Lord Darkar, watching from Shadowhaunt with his crystal ball fog, is irate.
The six Winx girls meet Miss Faragonda in her office that same night, with Faragonda explaining that they were right to keep the pixies contained. She explains that there's an ancient homesickness spell put on the pixies, giving them an uncontrollable desire to go back to their village. Bloom complains about Faragonda's crypticness. 'Bout damn time she did! Go Bloom! Faragonda decides to give in--quite easily, oddly enough--to explain about the four parts of the Codex, one in each of the three schools, and the pixie village. As for the pixie's spell, Faragonda says breaking the spell will take some research.
At Red Fountain, Layla sneaks into Helia's room. I'm curious how she found it so easily. Layla finds a poem he'd written. Helia's obviously got a crush on someone whose name rhymes with "aura," except Layla didn't get to the last word before Helia walked into his room, and she had to hurry off into hiding. A safe bet that it's Flora, anyway.
Bloom tries another spell from the book of ancient spells, to undo the spell she'd tried earlier, only it turns Flora's plant that Bloom had killed earlier into a man-eater. Bloom quickly knocks the plant out with the heavy book, but she's now aware that there's something wrong with the book itself.
The six pixies are locked in a cage somewhere in Alfea, concerned for Piff, bawling. Before long, the same mysterious cloaked figure walks up to the cage, worrying the pixies.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Miss Faragonda watches an hourglass filled with green liquid in a thought bubble. That was... err, random. A thought bubble? Bloom walks in, asking about having trouble with the spells in the book. Faragonda is shocked whe she sees it's a book about vile magic that the witches of Spheria used, and says it's not a book that should've been in Alfea's library. Faragonda quickly finds another book for Bloom, a book of healing spells of Sparx, hoping there's something in there Bloom can use to help the pixies.
Meanwhile, the pixies are scared, with the Ava... err, the mystery man closing on them, but all he does is opens the cage, then walks away. The six pixies then fly away. Darkar, watching via his usual seat, orders a couple of monsters to follow the pixies, and eat anything else that follows them. I'm starting to think Lord Darkar idolizes Dr. Claw, just watching the heroes' every move, then getting others to do his dirty work while he sits back and relaxes. Tune and Digit carry Piff, struggling a bit, as they fly away. The Winx girls, minus Bloom, follow, but get lost soon. Stella gets Flora to listen to that voice of nature thing to help guide them, and it works!
Stella: I just love it when your whole "talking to trees" thing comes in handy.
We haven't had enough classic Stella lines lately. Back at Alfea, Bloom finds the right spell, and heads off to find the pixies.
Back in the forest, the Winx girls find the pixies, who stop for a moment to rest, but Lockette's worried that they're being followed. Layla's about to do something, when a couple of monsters step in, and Layla makes the goofiest expression we've seen for her yet.
Lockette: I knew it! Monsters are going to gobble us up!
Cutest Lockette line yet! Musa says they'll help the pixies, and the five girls transform. Twice in one episode! That's never happened before, I believe. A porcupine monster shoots its spines at Stella, but Tecna soon hits it with number cruncher, a ball of numbers that hurts it. Flora uses her Venus vine wrap to restrain it. Stella kills it with a sun blast. Layla fires a blast at the other monster, but it just eats it.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Bloom is running forth, hoping to get to the pixies in time. Transform already, dummy, and fly there!
Back at the fight, the pixies fly off, not wanting to wait for their fairies to finish. Musa uses her sonic boom, stamping her foot repeatedly to bounce the monster around on the ground. Flora ties it up with her vine, and Stella uses a sun blast to finish it off, as it explodes lots of mud everywhere. Especially cute expression from Musa covered in mud! Bloom catches up to the Winx girls, transformed by now thankfully, then flies off to get to the pixies, and cast the spell on them, which works, and the pixies no longer desire to go back to the pixie village.
The next day, Flora and Layla are lying out in the quad, talking about Helia: Layla tells Flora that she's sure that Helia likes her. Flora has some flowers grow in Helia's window, and he smiles.
Other Stuff
A decent episode. Tecna's and Timmy's relationship was interesting for a change. Tecna's arguing with Digit was cute, too. But on the whole, the episode felt a bit flat.
Why did Avalon not bother with Zing and Glim? I mean, they hang right out at Alfea too, and having eight pixies headed home is harder for the Winx girls to stop than just six... there's absolutely no reason he would've ignored them. Just bad writing.
Aside from making the pixies homesick, the spell also seemed to have the pixies all throw common sense out the window. Even Digit couldn't explain why she needed to go back so much... yeah, I'd say the spell did a little more than just making all the pixies homesick.
The character models looked very off at a few points in the episode, particularly when the mud splattered on everyone. Cute as Musa was, she looked a bit deformed, too.
6 out of 10 on the old scale.
Truth or Dare
...or 180 Turnaround, Bright Eyes
At Alfea on Sunday, the six Winx girls, as well as several other students, are taking an advanced placement power convergence class, taught by Miss Faragonda. Why an advanced placement class? Why would they be put in an AP class on a subject they know nothing of? Bloom says they combine their powers all the time, but Faragonda explains that converging their powers is very different from combining them, and how power converging can greatly multiply their powers, but that convergence can only happen when there's a connection between the fairies involved... in other words, they basically need to be friends. I'm kinda' surprised that Luna and Priscilla aren't in the class, since they seem to be the closest friendship among the random students at Alfea. Ah well. Stella gets hyped up about it.
At Red Fountain, we see a Red Fountain student named Jared. He looks much younger than the Specialists and the Winx girls, but as far as I can tell, he's supposed to be about their age. Jared is looking at a bunch of random photos of Musa, pinned to Riven's bulletin board, not all of them overly flattering. Jarad asks if Riven's around, but when he finds Riven is not, he takes one of the photos of Musa. probably the nicest one, too. Riven's gonna' be hella' mad when he finds that picture gone!
Back at Alfea, Stella wants to take a power convergence nap on a bench in the quad. The other five Winx girls are hanging around, as well. Flora asks Bloom what's become of the pixies and the homesickness spell put on them in last week's episode, and Bloom explains that Palladium permanently removed their homesickness spell, and they'll be cured for good after they sleep for four hours. Cut to Palladium, casting the spell on the six affected pixies: Piff, Lockette, Amore, Chatta, Tune, and Digit. Kiko hops around, sniffing Tune. Tune shrieks, and smacks Kiko with her umbrella, scolding Kiko for being rude. Gotta get a cute, uppity Tune moment in there somewhere! Palladium laughs. We then see the six pixies magically making little beds to sleep in.
Back at the quad, Stella mentions that she's teamed up with Bloom for the power convergence class. Musa asks Layla if she'd want to team up with Musa for the power convergence class, but Layla puts herself down, saying she isn't any good, and Musa wouldn't want her as a partner. Right then, Jared goes up to Musa, asking if he's too early, then rambles on, eventually saying they could go for lunch and a movie, unless that were too much for a first date. Musa is completely confused, and asks what Jarad is talking about. Layla, also unsure of what is going on, wisely goes off. Jared wonders if he got the date wrong... the other Winx girls are noticing now, with Tecna and Flora seeming surprised, and for Stella, who is smiling contentedly. Jared says they could still go out. Musa angrily asks who set up the date. Jared answers that Stella did, and is surprised that Stella didn't tell her about it. Musa storms off, but Jared rides his hoverbike in front of Musa, apologizing for what just happened. Musa forgives him, saying that it's just that Stella doesn't approve of Riven--with a very angry emphasis on "Stella." Jared says he's the editor for the Red Fountain Sentinel, and that he'd still like to interview her for the magazine if she goes for a ride with her. Musa, being nice, agrees. As the two take off on Jared's hoverbike. Stella and Bloom watch, with Stella confident that all is going well. Bloom smiles too, seemingly agreeing with Stella.
On Musa's and Jared's "date," they sit on a beach-like shoreline, asking her questions. Musa is not sure why any of this would be interesting for the article Jared is writing, but Jared says it'll make a great story. A little later, Musa's eating a candy bar, then lies down for a nap, as Jared, finds some lilies to pick nearby. The pixies, meanwhile, are tossing and turning a bit in their beds. Or at least Tune is.
After the "date," Jared drops Musa off at Alfea. He then presents Musa with some lilies, which Musa said she liked in the interview, then says he hopes that they could go on a real date some time. Musa says that Jared was a nice guy, but that she already has a boyfriend, but that they could still be just friends. A little later, Stella and Bloom rush up to Musa, wanting to know how the "date" went. Stella asks if Musa was glad she set the date up, but Musa's mad that Stella did so without her permission.
Stella: Are you glad I set it up?
Musa: You really should've asked me first.
Stella: If I'd asked, you would've just said no. Please don't be made at me, Musa, didn't you like Jared?
Musa: Come on! That is not the point!
Stella: I knew it! You two are a perfect match!
And of course, Stella's right. And Musa just gets madder because she knows Stella is right. Otherwise, she would've given a straight answer, of course. Stella and Musa continue to bicker, with Musa upset about Stella setting up the date, until Musa ultimately storms off, with Stella yelling at her as she's running off.
Stella: I'm never wrong about this stuff! My matchmaking record is impeccable! I was trying to do her a favor!
Bloom: Did you consider she might not be looking for a boyfriend?
Stella: Sure I did, but people don't always know what's best for them, and hey, maybe they'll hit it off!
Bloom thinks Stella should probably stop with matchmaking for a while, but Stella quickly reminds Bloom who sent Sky to her house in the first place. Granted, she invited the other Specialists too, but Stella did point out Sky, specifically, for Bloom as a good guy for her. Course, whether or not Sky can really be called a "good guy" for Bloom....
Over at Shadowhaunt are the three Trix sisters and Lord Darkar. Stormy asks permission, on Darcy's behalf, that since it's her birthday, that he should allow her to have fun wreaking havoc at Alfea. Stormy's bit here is small, but I like it: it shows that, at least on some level, that they do... well, maybe not love, but they've got each other's backs, and care for each other. Darkar says Darcy has been bad, and he's proud of her for that, so he will allow Darcy to go out to wreak some havoc.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Another day in the convergence class, the students are paired up in, I'm guessing, a different classroom, since the desks in this class are made for two people to sit at. Tecna and Flora try to have a chest opened by converging nature and electricity, but it does not work. Flora complains to Tecna, saying that technology could never control nature. Musa's and Layla's project does not work either. Stella and Bloom don't even have a project ready, telling Miss Faragonda that they got into a fight about how to converge their powers.
A little later, the six Winx girls are in the magical reality chamber, with Faragonda telling them that they need practice, and they'll be having a test in here tomorrow. I wonder why Faragonda is only testing these specific six girls. Then again, she probably knows that they're a tight-knit group: randomly putting, say, Stella and Amaryl together would not have great results, after all! Stella notices Jared watching them from outside the chamber, teasing Musa about it. Musa angrily insists that he's just doing research for his article. Bloom says they need to bond, and to stop fighting. Stella says they could have a sleepover and tell best friendship stories, which causes Layla to start sobbing and run off.
Musa: I don't know what you said, but you always hurt people's feelings!
Stella: Sensiteeve! I didn't mean to upset her... I have feelings too, you know!
Musa's being upset is understandable, since no matter what Stella did, Musa's just going to be ticked off with her. Stella's comment didn't seem to warrant Layla's reaction, though. Then again, Layla's been on edge, and thinking about past friendships isn't helping. Musa goes after Layla, who's gone outside. Musa tries to tell her that Layla can tell her what's wrong, that they're friends. Musa correctly assumes it's the friendship-story slumber party that's got Layla upset. Layla says she's never really had a best friend in a really long time. Musa says that she's never had any close friends before she went to Alfea. Which isn't quite true. Back in "Secret Guardian," Musa mentioned a friend she had who died after her castle was infected with a case of little red bugs that killed fairies with one bite. Guess now that she's at Alfea, she's forgotten all about her poor, dead friend. Or more likely, it's just bad writing. Musa goes on to say that she grew up as a loner, and she still needs her alone time sometimes. She successfully convinces Layla to come to the sleepover. Bloom comes out to, and tells Layla that she needs to come to the sleepover, and Layla happily agrees by this point.
Outside Red Fountain, as Jared is returning, Darcy, in a gypsy disguise, tries to sells Jared jewely for the Gypsy Scouts. Really cool dress on Darcy's part! As she starts to hand a necklace to him with a crystal on the end, it hypnotizes him with a few magic words from Darcy.
In the magical reality chamber, for the Winx girls' sleepover, Stella starts to tell a story of when she was in the fifth grade, and how she had a giant crush on Robbie of Emphelion. Stella was so cute back in fifth grade, with a dorky outfit and really dorky glasses! Funny to see that Stella wasn't always the fashion expert she is today. Obviously grew out of her awkward phase! She says taht Robbie had a crush on Kimberly of Olympus. I wonder if she's Diaspro's sister, or something: Kimberly looks a lot like a younger Diaspro. Stella says that she wanted to ask Robbie to the spring dance, but that Robbie asked Kimberly to the spring dance, and she said yes. Stella tried to put a breakout spell on Kimberly, but instead of breaking out in pimples, she broke her leg. Stella says that she was excited that she might get to go with Robbie to the dance, but he still went with Kimberly, leg in cast and all: little dorky Stella was fuming watching the two, sitting on the bench during the dance! But now, years later, she and her friends all get a good laugh about it.
Meanwhile, danger lurks in the halls of Alfea, as Jared, in Darcy's hypnotic trance, goes to the magical reality chamber's controls to let Darcy cast a spell on it, and then he leaves.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Back in the girls' room, Bloom is imitating Griselda singing the Alfea song. At least I think it's Bloom. Neat, actually! I could only imagine that Griselda would have a bad singing voice, as Bloom's imitation would suggest! We see the girls are playing truth or dare, as Stella asks Musa the question. Musa chooses "truth," saying she knows better than to do a Stella "dare"--Stella admits she would've had Musa kiss Knut. Stella would be the "tough" truth or dare player, wouldn't she? Stella asks Musa if she has a crush on Jared. Musa doesn't like the question, but Tecna wants to hear the answer, too. Musa gives a roundabout answer, saying that she thought she knew how she felt about Riven until she met Jared. Stella, ever-so-sweetly, tells Musa that she only set them up because he's better than Riven, and Musa deserves the best. Stella honestly believes she's doing what's best for Musa. That makes it hard to stay mad at her. Course, that's what makes her Stella!
The next day, the six Winx girls are inside the magical reality chamber. Palladium explains the chamber to Musa. Jared is there; Musa says hi, but Jared just blankly walks away. Miss Faragonda says she's sending them to a desert, but they actually appear to be in a cold forest. The forest soon turns upside-down kinda', with the Winx girls suddenly walking on the sky, but then another ground starts growing beneath them. Palladium tells the girls that they were sent to the realm of Grim, which was supposed to have been deleted from the magical reality chamber. Jared watches evil. Or actually, Darcy watching through his eyes. Palladium sends an exit code--a basic sphere of light--into the software, which the girls can use to escape if they can get hold of it, as Jared quietly sneaks off, with Faragonda looking suspiciously. An ugly purple wolf-like beast runs up to attack the girls, as the exit code is sent to the girls. The girls have a bit of trouble getting ahold of it, though, as a holographic Darcy appears, tripling the dark magic in pseudo-Grim, and having the beast eat the exit code, while increasing the size and strength of the beast tremendously. The girls change to their winx forms. Musa tries a sonic blast on the beast, but it has no effect. Bloom suggests they all attack at the same time, but again, the monster isn't affected in the least. Palladium tells the girls to try something powerful. Tecna asks why Palladium doesn't just turn off the chamber, and Palladium warns that if he did turn off the chamber, that everything would disappear, including the Winx girls.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
The six Winx girls are flying away from the beast, as Bloom, thinking back to the convergence class, realizes they need to converge their powers to beat the beast and get the exit code from it. Tempting as it is to say "of course Bloom's the one who thought of it," I can't fault the girl for trying to save all their butts in a desperate situation such as this. Outside the chamber, Faragonda rounds up Jared, telling Palladium that Jared was under a spell, and the magical reality chamber was hacked through him. The girls' six pixies fly up to Faragonda, asking to be sent in to help. A little later, Jared comes out of his trance, with Faragonda explaining to him that he was put under a spell.
In the chamber, Layla uses her powers to create a giant purple water-molecule-based woman. Flora gives it strength with Venus vine wrap. Tecna gives it brain power with cerebrum processus implantus. Interesting spell name! Stella gives it sun vision. Bloom gives it dragon valor. That makes the giant purple woman more physically powerful, since the name itself does not make it too obvious. Needing the power of speech to say the spell with the other Winx girls, Musa grants it speech. As the six Winx girls, plus the Frankenstein monster the girls created, cast the spell, the monster explodes, and the girls get the exit code. Faragonda gives them an A+ for the "accidental" test here.
Outside Alfea, Jared apologizes for messing up with Musa, unsuccessfully trying to impress her. Musa still says she'd like to be friends, and Jared gives Musa a kiss on the cheek, surprising Musa. Down, Jared, down. She said friend. As in "just friends"! Bloom declares the Winx girls best friends forever, but Layla's off to the side. Stella grabs Layla to join the rest of them, and then the girls declare, again, "best friends forever"!
Other Stuff
Not a lot happened. Musa had conflicts with Stella, and her own feelings. Darcy tried to kill the Winx girls without fighting them herself. But still, the whole thing with Musa... wonderful!
First, Stella... much as I love Stella--and she's still my favorite, mind you--but this episode didn't put her in the greatest light. I fully believe she was trying to help Musa, and she honestly felt that hooking Musa and Jared up was the right thing to do, but it wasn't the right thing to do anyway. For one, not caring that Musa didn't want to be set up with anyone besides Riven. And two, Stella having such an ego as to not believe that Musa just "doesn't know what she wants." However wrong Stella may have been, it is part of the Stella we all know and love. And I put no blame on Stella for the "Layla running off" incident. And after seeing poor dorky fifth-grade Stella, you have to love her!
Musa has pretty much completely redeemed herself for her annoying presence last season, and pegs herself definitively here as the cute, bubbly, easy-to-anger girl. The moodiness perfectly understandable, though, considering the awkward position Stella put her in.
Riven versus Jared... Jared versus Riven... in a way, Jared may be better suited for Musa, as Musa's too full of conflicting emotions, and Riven needs a girl very much not like that. Jared just doesn't know when to give up, though, and while he accepted Musa's terms of "just friends," he didn't seem to take it to heart completely. He seems like he's going to try to coyote himself after Musa's love.
Darcy's role was surprisingly small, only appearing three times, and only substantially during the short gypsy disguise scene. It was enough to understand what she was doing, though, and why she was doing it--'cause she can! And Darcy was really cute in the gypsy getup!
And the pixies didn't do much, but gotta' love Tune for whacking Kiko with the umbrella. Why was Kiko sniffing her like that, anyway? I mean, Kiko's been around the pixies for a while now, and he oughta' know better than to be sniffing Tune by now!
8 out of 10 on the old scale.
Reaching for the Sky
...or Sibling Rivalry
Inside Red Fountain, Sky calls Bloom on her cell phone, who is wandering outside Alfea. Bloom is exciting, rambling on about Stella and Brandon's date on a unicorn-drawn carriage ride through Magix River Park. Sky says he needs to see Bloom, sounding somewhat upset. Bloom continues rambling on about how they could go on the same ride, but Sky keeps interrupting, saying that he wants to have a serious talk with Bloom before they go out again. Bloom worries that something is wrong, and wants Sky to tell her there what's wrong, but Sky wants to talk about it in person. Bloom suspects it's something about Diaspro, Sky's secret ex-fiance for those of you who may not remember her from last season. Sky is denying it, but Bloom isn't completely trusting. Go Bloom! It's about time Bloom considered how he'd treated Diaspro, and realized that he could easily do the same thing to her! Last season, she seemed too happy when Sky told Bloom he'd dumped Diaspro, and Bloom was just happy because he chose her, oblivious to the fact that Sky had been cheating on Diaspro. Or just not caring. I guess Bloom's had a bit of time to think about that little incident, though. While complaining and pacing about, Bloom obliviously crashes into a wall, dropping her books. Sky and Bloom tell each other bye, and hang up, with Bloom just pretending to be agreeable, obviously not really wanting to end the conversation yet. After hanging up, Sky gets stuck in an elevator that quits working at Red Fountain, and declares it a lame day. Back at Alfea, Bloom also declares it a lame day, and Flora watches, worried about Bloom.
Inside Alfea, a fairy crab and fairy white fox seem to playfully spar, as the girls hurry to the magical cuisine seminar, but Stella, and later the other girls, are shocked and appalled when they see Griselda teaching the class. Even worse when Griselda tells them that the cooking class has been replaced with Griselda's master combat class, and yells at them to get to their assigned seats so she can get started. Of course Griselda would be the kind of teacher who would assign seats. Seemed more often than not that it was just done alphabetically... good thing for me that my best friend back in middle school had the same first two letters of my last name for hers!
We now go to Shadowhaunt, the Trix trio bow as Lord Darkar enters the room, and he declares that it's time for the witches to get the first part of the Codex. I thought he already had one part back in "Party Monster"... either I misunderstood, or they goofed. Might be either. Icy asks if she could be Darkar's "main witch" when they succeed. Gag me. Darcy and Stormy oughta' be teasing her.
Back in Griselda's class, she talks about how she competed in the All-Realm Magic Games, and how she was the first female blackbelt gold medalist. Musa teases about how long ago it must've been, but Griselda angrily shouts back that it was twenty years ago, but that she's still just as good as back then. Stella complains that they were going to learn how to make a twelve-course meal with a single spell, but Griselda says she'll just have to order in. For some odd reason, Stella holds her mouth, as if she'd just said something she should've kept to herself... except she didn't. I have this feeling she must've said something very different in Italian. Griselda also warns that the girls had better stop complaining, "or else."
Griselda takes her class outside. Oddly enough, save for the Winx girls themselves, it seems to be a completely different group of students: Amaryl and Francis were definitely not in the classroom! But that brings up the next point: Francis! Again, she isn't shown really doing anything, but she's there, and she's got the coolest fairy form of anyone: a red and black harlequin outfit! Almost have to wonder if the designers for the show were Batman fans. Griselda asks for volunteers, but no one wants to. Griselda picks Stella to go first, to try to attack Griselda. I think she does this just because she doesn't like Stella much. She seems somewhat quietly sadistically happy in making Stella go first. Stella continues to complain about their class schedule being disgraceful, that instead of a well-rounded education, they just keep having battle classes. Griselda complains back that their only mission currently is to survive. Stella attacks with her usual sun powers, but Griselda blocks and sends the attack back to hit Stella.
Griselda then orders everyone to attack. And by everyone, I mean the five other Winx girls and Amaryl: the other random girls and Francis seem to be forgotten from this point on. Flora, Tecna, and Amaryl all attack, not hurting Griselda at all, though. Amaryl, surprised, tells Tecna that Griselda really is as good as she says. Tecna agrees. Interesting to note that Amaryl seems to be on decent terms with Tecna. Makes me wonder all the more what's gone on with Stella and Amaryl in the past. Layla, in her only line of the episode, uses a wave attack against Griselda, doing nothing. Musa shoots a a sonic blast at Griselda, again doing nothing. Bloom shoots a dragon blast at Griselda, and Griselda just catches it as if it were nothing. So... Griselda is even more superpowered than Bloom?! I mean, dragonfire, hello! If Griselda was stronger than Mary Sue this whole time, then why couldn't she just handle the Army of Decay incident last season?! I'll chalk it up to inconsistent writing... sigh. Tecna nervously asks Griselda how she got so good. Griselda shrieks back that she took all the battle classes when she was in school, and hopes that the students have learned how important the battle training is. And we see why Tecna was so nervous asking in the first place. Poor students are all scared of Griselda! Fear and intimidation only get one so far: long-term respect isn't going to be earned by it, for sure. They shouldn't be so afraid to ask questions.
At night, in Bloom's room, she has trouble sleeping. Flora knows something is wrong, and asks Bloom what it is. Bloom says it's about Sky, that he wants a serious talk with Bloom tomorrow. Bloom fears that Sky is going to break up with her tomorrow. Flora says she'll go with Bloom for moral support. Bloom thanks her for being there for her.
The next day, outside Red Fountain, are the Trix sisters. The trio unleash a glowing purple mayhem globe, floating above them all.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Sky and Brandon are in their room at Red Fountain. Sky frets about needing to talk to Bloom, but Brandon encourages him to do so.
Brandon: Bro, everybody knows you have to have the talk after the three-month talk. If you don't, the relationship's done.
I don't know whether that's true or not, but it seems that usually women are the ones who are more concerned with the "hidden little" rules like this one. Guess Brandon's probably learned from experience! Brandon goes on to tell Bloom the stuff to talk about, like how much he likes her, and giving her his Red Fountain hero jacket. Sky calls, but gets Bloom's answering machine.
Bloom: Hey, you've reached Bloom--
Stella: That's princess Bloom of Sparx!
Musa: And planet Earth!
Bloom: Just leave a message!
That is so very Stella, trying to hype Bloom up! Even if Bloom isn't quite as braggy, I guess Stella likes having people know who her best friend is! Sky's message is just reminding her that she'll see her tomorrow. Sky practices what he'll say, saying that he wants to officially make Bloom his girlfriend, then realize how dorky he sounds. Which he is! As he paces on the balcony outside his room, though, he's attacked by the mayhem globe, which shoots him with a blast of electricity, which narrowly misses him.
Not far from Red Fountain, Bloom is walking there to see Sky, along with Flora and Tecna for moral support. OK... I'll buy Flora, but Tecna? The girl confused about the whole dating scene?! If she was only going to bring a couple of her friends, wouldn't it seem more likely for Stella to have gone with Bloom? I mean, aside from being her best friend, Stella is also the unofficial "guy expert," and the most likely to show Sky where to shove it if the situation got that bad. So why isn't Stella here? Who the heck knows!
Bloom: So statistically, this makes sense.
Tecna: That's correct. One out of two relationships ends in heartbreak.
Of course, that isn't to say it isn't nice to have Tecna around... more, just that, for this particular "mission," it didn't really make a lot of sense for Tecna to go with Bloom instead of Stella. Bloom has become a bit more accepting of the whole possibility. It's an obvious front, but she's trying, at least. The trio then spot a mayhem globe attacking Red Fountain, and rush on over to help. At Red Fountain, a random woman, completely unseen, using the school's PA system, orders the students to prepare to fight against the thing. Sky and Brandon use their flying ships to go after the thing. Codatorta and Timmy are working in a computer control room.
Codatorta: Gentlemen, we are being attacked by an unidentified mayhem globe.
Question: if Codatorta knows it's a mayhem globe, then it's not exactly unidentified, right? Kinda' like, if an unidentified flying object can be identified as an authentic alien spaceship, then it would no longer be an unidentified flying object, right? Then again, I'm probably looking way too much into a line that was meant to be just a throwaway gag. Not a great one, either. Codatorta orders Sky and Brandon to keep the mayhem globe away from the school. Timmy says the mayhem globe could destroy the entire school. Riven shows up for a random line. Codatorta orders a few other random students via the control room to defend the school. Some students fly on dragons to go after the globe. The whole scene is a bit too jumpy for my tastes. Helia enters, wearing a Specialists' uniform, no less, with Tecna, Flora, and Bloom to help.
Flying quickly toward Red Fountain, the Trix sisters break into the school on their own none-too-subtly, at a passageway leading straight for the Veritas Chamber, which holds the Codex they are seeking. Timmy tells Tecna to be careful, and vice versa. Right as the Winx girls are about to leave, with Riven, Sky enters, making for an unexpected awkward. moment between Sky and Bloom.
Meanwhile, the Trix sisters are continuing down the hallway to the Veritas chamber. Stormy blasts a random elevator, and hit the jackpot with her guess of "which elevator would have the biggest payoff to blast," since this one conveniently has six students trapped inside. They're never seen again. I guess they'll be trapped in the elevator for all eternity! Or probably someone just rescues them off screen, if you want to be all boring about it. The witches, oddly enough, wind up outside Red Fountain, where they easily ward off Riven and a few other random students. Of course, why did they break into the school, only to wind up back outside? I mean, I'm sure Stormy enjoyed blasting the elevator, but it seems Icy and, especially, more practical-minded Darcy would've preferred taking the absolute shortest route possible. Blasting through the roof where they did was obviously not the fastest way possible, since the route takes them back outside. Back inside the building, Stormy wants to trash the place more, but Darcy says they need to wait until after they get their hands on the Codex. That's better. Darcy back to her smart self, and Stormy... well, she's still the same. Stormy never was too keen on patience, though.
Brandon arrives right behind them, though Darcy gets him by multiplying herself and then using cloud of darkness to keep him blind. Sky and the three Winx girls arrive, and the fairies immediately transform. Stormy shoots a blast at everyone, and then flies off with her sisters, all headed for the basement, when Helia tries to grab hold of her with his strings. Helia goes to Tecna's side to see if she's OK. Funny... he didn't care two episodes ago. Flora notices, and asks if he's attending Red Fountain now. Sky says Saladin convinced him. Seems odd that he was somehow convinced so quickly, when he seemed so against the idea back in "Party Monster." Either he has a huge crush on Flora, and thinks being a Specialist will impress her, or... something else. Sky leads the others to a shortcut, climbing down an elevator shaft. They find Stormy, obviously trailing behind her sisters. Stormy and Flora shoot blasts at one another, but Stormy's blast completely nullifies Flora's, and hits Flora, and Stormy continues trying to catch up to her sisters. Flora's down, but sweetly tells the others that she'll be all right, and to just go on without her. It's a cute, sweet little Flora moment. She hasn't gotten many of them lately, really.
A few guards are guarding the Veritas, as it suddenly starts snowing. The three Trix sisters storm into the room.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Tecna, Bloom, and Sky rush toward the Veritas Chamber. Sky says the guards there will be no match for the Trix sisters, though. Bloom looks like she has other things on her mind, seeming more worried about her relationship with Sky, even in the fight against the Trix.
The Trix sisters are right outside the Veritas Chamber, with the guards all frozen in ice. There's a scale that secures the chamber, which the trio is unsure of how to get past it to enter the chamber. And the Trix sisters are going to absolutely shine from this point on in the show!
Stormy: How do you think this thing works?
Darcy: Oh who cares! Let's just blow this thing up.
Stormy: Let me handle it!
Stormy shoots a blast at the scale.
Darcy: Wait, there's a riddle on it!
The scale shoots a blast back at Stormy, electrifying her.
Darcy: Sorry, I didn't see it.
Like hell she didn't! It seems odd that Darcy, of all people, would suggest trying to physically demolish the scale, but at the same time, perhaps she knew that Stormy would just jump right up at that suggestion, so if something went wrong--as it did--then Stormy would get the hurt, and not Darcy herself. I mean, Darcy didn't sound excited or anything, suggesting they blow it up: she sounded almost bored. Anyway, to the riddle!
Darcy: Of course those nerds are into riddles. What equals the weight of Red Fountain?
Icy: If you choose the wrong item, you will be destroyed.
The possible items: a weird bowl-thingy, a crystal, a miniature robed statue, a feather, a very small disc, a small wooden spear, a holosword, a scroll, and a pen. If anyone can tell what the bowl-thingy and small disc are meant to be, feel free to share! Meanwhile, Stormy gets back up, in obvious pain.
Stormy: Owie, my poor back!
Poor Stormy. I mean, I guess being evil, maybe she deserves it, but still.... Darcy reasons that these questions are usually a trick, and the biggest trick would be for the answer to be the lightest item: the feather. Darcy tries to get Icy to place the feather in the scale, but Icy won't have it, and insists that, since Darcy picked out the feather, that she should be the one to try it out. Right as Darcy is about to place the feather in, though, Sky throws a boomerang into the room, giving Darcy the perfect opportunity to "conveniently" get distracted from placing the feather. To think it probably would've helped the heroes out more if they had just come in a few seconds later. Nice of them to give Darcy the edge, anyway! Icy shoots Tecna with a platinum icicle. Um... platinum icicle? What makes it platinum? Has Icy sold more than a million of these suckers? Bloom puts herself in the "Griselda Bubble"--Tecna's own words--which protects her from Darcy's vibration wave attsck. As Stormy is about to attack, Timmy shoots at her--and misses by a long shot.
Tecna: That was a good one, Timmy!
Stormy: That's not a good one. This is a good one!
Sorry Tecna, but Stormy's right. Timmy missed Stormy with his shot--heck, he missed her by several yards, at least. Stormy, however, with her tornado, knocked down Bloom, Timmy, and you like three bowling pins. Simply, Stormy's attack worked well. Timmy's attack did nothing. Icy blasts Sky with a rather small blast, but it seems this particular blast put Sky into a 100-year sleep. In the original Italian, it killed Sky. And fellow fan Lori has got me thinking that the change works for the better. I'll get more into that later, though. For now, just know that Sky is doing the whole Briar Rose routine here. Icy tells Darcy to put a non-aggression spell on Tecna, Bloom, and Timmy. There's absolutely no sign that Darcy's done anything: I suspect this was a line simply added for the US version of the show, since there's nothing to suggest otherwise. Icy stands before the items, and goes into a great little monologue, even if not necessarily vital to the show's plot:
Icy: The crystal stands for magic, but these loser-wannabes have no powers. Hmm... the sword could stand for their battle skills; however, that would be kind of shallow, and these Red Fountain dweebs think they're so deep--wait! I've got it! Whenever they have a big event, their teachers always wear these pompous robes, which I'm sure they think indicates wisdom.
Sure enough, Icy puts the miniature robed statue onto the scale, and it balances, opening up part of the floor, leading down to the Veritas Chamber, holding part of the Codex.
Icy: It worked! So Red Fountain equals pomposity!
Seems she's gotten better with her humor! Bloom gets up, and rushes over to Sky, who she's noticed seems lifeless and limp.
The pixie Athena is hanging out in the basement, though, and right as Icy breaks the glass surrounding the Codex, Athena puts a kindness spell on Icy.
Icy: Help! It's a kindness spell! Make it stop!
Stormy: No, don't stop it! This could be good for her!
Athena: Put that back now!
Darcy sneaks behind Athena and smashes her between her hands.
Darcy: Boy, do I love smashing pixies.
Stormy: Good job, D! I'm glad you're OK, Icy.
Icy: Yeah, whatever wiatch, I heard what you said!
Yay for sibling rivalry! Stormy so wants to be the leader... but at the same time, their sisterly team wouldn't really work very well under Stormy's leadership, namely, in that she's too rash and unpredictable. She'd never admit it, though, and it's likely she's never really thought about it, either. On another note... kinda' stupid to say that right in front of Icy. Icy was put under a kindness spell, not a deafness spell, Stormy! Timmy goes to the start of the stairs, shooting at the Trix sisters. And missing badly, again. Bloom still worries about Sky, who's still asleep.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Timmy aims his gun straight at Icy, but he won't shoot it. Icy keeps telling him that he can't, that he has the non-aggression spell on him. Despite never actually seeing it cast. And despite that Timmy was shooting at them only a few seconds ago. Yeah, can you tell I'm not buying the whole non-aggression thing? The Trix sisters just calmly walk out, with the Codex, with Timmy just standing around like an idiot. Right then, Flora finally makes it to the room, and Tecna gets up too, and the four of them gather around Sky, who's going to be sleeping for a long time. And for some reason, Flora says he has no pulse. That really should have been edited out, since 4Kids went the sleeping route with the story. Bloom, with all her magical dragonfire might, and her love for Sky, wakes Sky up from his sleep. Bloom cries, Sky thanks Bloom, asks for her to be his girlfriend officially, and Bloom accepts--Diaspro's completely forgotten for the moment. And considering the situation, I guess we can forgive Bloom for not drilling him about Diaspro. At least not at this very moment. It's actually a sweet moment, ending with a nice hug between the two.
To end things, the Trix are shown flying away from Red Fountain, having succeeded in stealing their piece of the Codex.
Other Stuff
A pretty darn enjoyable episode! Especially thanks to the Trix sisters: this was their best showing of the season, not only proving how tough they are, but proving that they still quibble a lot with each other!
First, Lori's inspired me to think more about the whole Sky's death/sleeping thing, and she's right. In the Italian version, Sky dies, but in the US, he's just put to sleep for a hundred years. I mean, I've got no problem with death being used in a kiddie TV show, but I do have a problem with Bloom bringing Sky back from the dead--she is a fairy! She is not a god! Her dragonfire, and her love for Sky, waking him up is infinitely more believable, and less groanworthy... I mean, I know, I know, it's Sleeping Beauty all over again, but there's nothing wrong with that! Having said that, they should have lost the "no pulse" line.
Also, how could such a tiny blast kill Sky, anyway? It having been a sleeping spell makes more sense, because as often as these characters have gotten blasted by the witches, it seems unlikely such a relatively benign-looking attack would've actually killed him.
The non-aggression spell, though... that was lame. Darcy did not cast any spells on the group. None. Nuh-uh! And Timmy was shooting at the witches. He was a bad aim, sure, but he was still shooting at them! How would the use of a non-aggression spell explain that? It doesn't. I'm not sure why that was added in, since it had nothing to do with nothing. Timmy simply couldn't shoot Icy: that's all it was. He just didn't have it in him. Kinda' makes him a pretty bad student, when you think about it. Tecna needs to scold him for that.
So, who was the woman, sight unseen, using the Red Fountain PA system? Is it supposed to just be some computer voice that sounds nothing like a computer, some hidden female Red Fountain teacher who has never been seen before, or what. I'm curious if the Italian version has a female announcing over the school's PA system, or if it was a random oversight for the US version.
9 out of 10 on the old scale.
Homesick
...or Timmy Needs a Clue
At Red Fountain, Brandon and Timmy are in one of their rooms. Not sure whose. Timmy is using his computer, and complains that Tecna has his IMs blocked. On one hand, it seems odd that Tecna would just block Timmy without explanation, considering it is Tecna, known for kinda' being an open book, but on the other hand... well, we'll get to that a bit later, now won't we? Brandon says Tecna's probably just being a girl, wanting Timmy to give some chase. Timmy says that they're not really boyfriend and girlfriend anyway, that they've never actually officially stated so. Brandon tries giving suggestions to get closer to Tecna: Timmy seems to only be half getting it, though:
Brandon: Start by surprising her with a little gift, or something. I hear girls like flowers.
Timmy: Flowers?
Brandon: They grow in fields?
Timmy: I know what they are!
'Twas an honest mistake, Timmy. Anyone could've been fooled. Classic!
At Alfea, while Kiko is sunbathing in the quad, the Winx girls are in Profesor Palladium's class. Palladium is teaching ancient Elventian incantations, emphasizing the importance of exact pronunciation. He has Bloom try to unlock a padlock with such a spell, and she does so correctly. Palladium demonstrates what happens if the pronunciation is messed up, bringing several cute kittens into the room. Palladium continues explaining, as Flora stares longingly at her notebook. At first, it looks more like she's hot for teacher. Also, it looks like Kaie, a regular random student at Alfea, has gotten some facial reconstruction surgery, or something: she has a kiddie face.
Flora goes into a daydream, dreaming of Helia rescuing her from a large monster. After he defeats the monster, he carries Flora off, both dressed in wedding atire, and carries her down the aisle, with Palladium as the minister. Right as he's about to pronounce them husband and wife, real-life Palladium interrupts her daydream sequence, asking her to try a spell. She mangles it pretty badly, putting "Helia" into the pronunciation, causing the kittens to grow giant.
In the hallway, the Winx girls separate: Bloom goes off to study, Tecna to meet Timmy for lunch, and Musa and Stella go to hang by the lack. Flora and Layla stay behind at Flora's request. Knut passes by, with an ice cream cart, as a random hatted student skips off happily with ice cream in hand.
Flora: Well I--I've got this friend, right? And she kind of likes this boy, but she, uh--
Layla: You're crushing on Helia and you want some advice.
Flora: I guess it's written all over my face.
Layla: Yeah, that and all your notebooks.
Flora's obviously smitten, but Flora worries that Helia might not like her. He's not really being that subtle, Flora. She frets that he may already have a cool artsy girlfriend back at home. Interesting to note that her voice is notably more biting as she mentions the possibility of his having a girlfriend. Nice to see she isn't always Little Miss Perfect, prone to jealousy like anyone. Layla offers to do some snooping. Flora likes the idea, but convolutedly asks Layla to make sure he doesn't know that Flora wants Layla to snoop.
Tecna and Timmy are having lunch in downtown Magix. Timmy says he's been thinking, and gives Tecna a new computer heat sink for a present. Tecna, looking bored, says it's not compatible with her computer.
Timmy: Speaking of compatibility...
Tecna: Yes?
Timmy: Guess who managed to download song files through his portable hero's assistant?
Tecna: Listen, Timmy... sometimes I get a little tired of talking about our computers all the time. Why don't you give me a call when you feel like talking about us!
That "us" at the end was a really nasty tone of voice, too! Tecna actually perked up after Timmy mentioned compatibility, but soured right back down after he started on about downloading song files. Look, Timmy, as much as Tecna likes fiddling with computers, you need a clue: she wants more from you than just that. Try anything else, anything non-computer related! Tecna storms off, leaving Timmy wondering what he could've done differently.
At Alfea, a mysterious cloaked figure--very obviously Professor Avalon--casts a spell on the pixies. The pixies themselves are playing in an obstacle course of some sort, dressed in funny little sporty outfits with ice skates, with Tune as the referee. Piff is asleep in the goal. Little green orbs attack the pixies.
Bloom is in the library, wanting to practice ancient spells. One large book falls off the shelf, The Archaic Spells of Spheria. Bloom takes off with it, thinking the book might have some good spells in it. From behind the bookcase, in very Scooby Doo-like fashion, the same mystery cloaked figure steps out from behind.
In her room at night, Bloom tries a spell to change the color of leaves, but all it does is kill one of Flora's plants. Stella barges in, worried about where Amore is. Bloom says they're probably just still playing bumbulini ball, but Stella says it was hours ago, and Musa can't find Tune, either. Bumbulini ball... sounds like a sport Zing would've come up with. Speaking of Zing, where is she, anyway?
On the bumbulini field, the six pixies wake up, sounding as if they're in a trance, headed back for the pixie village. Layla, spotting them, says they need to go after the pixies. Lord Darkar watches via a crystal ball-esque fog.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
The six Winx girls are out at night talking to their pixies. Bloom asks what the pixies are doing. Lockette says they wants to go back to the pixie village, though Bloom, and the rest of the Winx girls don't understand why, since the pixies know that Lord Darkar would find the location of the pixie village if they went back.
Layla: Why do you guys want to go home?
Digit: Because! Just because!
Tecna: "Because" is not a reason, Digit!
I'm sure Digit would be ashamed of herself for such an answer if she were in her right state of mind... it's so very not Digit, just as Tecna's reply so very is Tecna! Stella's upset that she won't be watching movies tonight with Amore, but she doesn't care. She's sweet about it, at least. Chatta shouts for all the pixies to scatter, and they all fly off. The Winx girls all transform, then chase after the pixies. Bloom finds Lockette, flying over a hedgemaze, and traps Lockette in some sort of bubble. Flora catches Chatta in a cage of vines. Stella uses night-light to find Amore: the poor thing seems absolutely terrified! Tecna and Musa work together, with Tecna using a tracking device to find Digit and Tune. The five pixies are put into a small cage, none of them willing to explain why they insist on going back to the pixie village. You'd think Digit and Chatta would normally jump at such an opportunity, too.... Musa notices Piff is gone, but Layla says not to worry, that Piff conked out shortly after she tried getting away, and is sleeping peacefully a few feet away. Lord Darkar, watching from Shadowhaunt with his crystal ball fog, is irate.
The six Winx girls meet Miss Faragonda in her office that same night, with Faragonda explaining that they were right to keep the pixies contained. She explains that there's an ancient homesickness spell put on the pixies, giving them an uncontrollable desire to go back to their village. Bloom complains about Faragonda's crypticness. 'Bout damn time she did! Go Bloom! Faragonda decides to give in--quite easily, oddly enough--to explain about the four parts of the Codex, one in each of the three schools, and the pixie village. As for the pixie's spell, Faragonda says breaking the spell will take some research.
At Red Fountain, Layla sneaks into Helia's room. I'm curious how she found it so easily. Layla finds a poem he'd written. Helia's obviously got a crush on someone whose name rhymes with "aura," except Layla didn't get to the last word before Helia walked into his room, and she had to hurry off into hiding. A safe bet that it's Flora, anyway.
Bloom tries another spell from the book of ancient spells, to undo the spell she'd tried earlier, only it turns Flora's plant that Bloom had killed earlier into a man-eater. Bloom quickly knocks the plant out with the heavy book, but she's now aware that there's something wrong with the book itself.
The six pixies are locked in a cage somewhere in Alfea, concerned for Piff, bawling. Before long, the same mysterious cloaked figure walks up to the cage, worrying the pixies.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Miss Faragonda watches an hourglass filled with green liquid in a thought bubble. That was... err, random. A thought bubble? Bloom walks in, asking about having trouble with the spells in the book. Faragonda is shocked whe she sees it's a book about vile magic that the witches of Spheria used, and says it's not a book that should've been in Alfea's library. Faragonda quickly finds another book for Bloom, a book of healing spells of Sparx, hoping there's something in there Bloom can use to help the pixies.
Meanwhile, the pixies are scared, with the Ava... err, the mystery man closing on them, but all he does is opens the cage, then walks away. The six pixies then fly away. Darkar, watching via his usual seat, orders a couple of monsters to follow the pixies, and eat anything else that follows them. I'm starting to think Lord Darkar idolizes Dr. Claw, just watching the heroes' every move, then getting others to do his dirty work while he sits back and relaxes. Tune and Digit carry Piff, struggling a bit, as they fly away. The Winx girls, minus Bloom, follow, but get lost soon. Stella gets Flora to listen to that voice of nature thing to help guide them, and it works!
Stella: I just love it when your whole "talking to trees" thing comes in handy.
We haven't had enough classic Stella lines lately. Back at Alfea, Bloom finds the right spell, and heads off to find the pixies.
Back in the forest, the Winx girls find the pixies, who stop for a moment to rest, but Lockette's worried that they're being followed. Layla's about to do something, when a couple of monsters step in, and Layla makes the goofiest expression we've seen for her yet.
Lockette: I knew it! Monsters are going to gobble us up!
Cutest Lockette line yet! Musa says they'll help the pixies, and the five girls transform. Twice in one episode! That's never happened before, I believe. A porcupine monster shoots its spines at Stella, but Tecna soon hits it with number cruncher, a ball of numbers that hurts it. Flora uses her Venus vine wrap to restrain it. Stella kills it with a sun blast. Layla fires a blast at the other monster, but it just eats it.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Bloom is running forth, hoping to get to the pixies in time. Transform already, dummy, and fly there!
Back at the fight, the pixies fly off, not wanting to wait for their fairies to finish. Musa uses her sonic boom, stamping her foot repeatedly to bounce the monster around on the ground. Flora ties it up with her vine, and Stella uses a sun blast to finish it off, as it explodes lots of mud everywhere. Especially cute expression from Musa covered in mud! Bloom catches up to the Winx girls, transformed by now thankfully, then flies off to get to the pixies, and cast the spell on them, which works, and the pixies no longer desire to go back to the pixie village.
The next day, Flora and Layla are lying out in the quad, talking about Helia: Layla tells Flora that she's sure that Helia likes her. Flora has some flowers grow in Helia's window, and he smiles.
Other Stuff
A decent episode. Tecna's and Timmy's relationship was interesting for a change. Tecna's arguing with Digit was cute, too. But on the whole, the episode felt a bit flat.
Why did Avalon not bother with Zing and Glim? I mean, they hang right out at Alfea too, and having eight pixies headed home is harder for the Winx girls to stop than just six... there's absolutely no reason he would've ignored them. Just bad writing.
Aside from making the pixies homesick, the spell also seemed to have the pixies all throw common sense out the window. Even Digit couldn't explain why she needed to go back so much... yeah, I'd say the spell did a little more than just making all the pixies homesick.
The character models looked very off at a few points in the episode, particularly when the mud splattered on everyone. Cute as Musa was, she looked a bit deformed, too.
6 out of 10 on the old scale.
Truth or Dare
...or 180 Turnaround, Bright Eyes
At Alfea on Sunday, the six Winx girls, as well as several other students, are taking an advanced placement power convergence class, taught by Miss Faragonda. Why an advanced placement class? Why would they be put in an AP class on a subject they know nothing of? Bloom says they combine their powers all the time, but Faragonda explains that converging their powers is very different from combining them, and how power converging can greatly multiply their powers, but that convergence can only happen when there's a connection between the fairies involved... in other words, they basically need to be friends. I'm kinda' surprised that Luna and Priscilla aren't in the class, since they seem to be the closest friendship among the random students at Alfea. Ah well. Stella gets hyped up about it.
At Red Fountain, we see a Red Fountain student named Jared. He looks much younger than the Specialists and the Winx girls, but as far as I can tell, he's supposed to be about their age. Jared is looking at a bunch of random photos of Musa, pinned to Riven's bulletin board, not all of them overly flattering. Jarad asks if Riven's around, but when he finds Riven is not, he takes one of the photos of Musa. probably the nicest one, too. Riven's gonna' be hella' mad when he finds that picture gone!
Back at Alfea, Stella wants to take a power convergence nap on a bench in the quad. The other five Winx girls are hanging around, as well. Flora asks Bloom what's become of the pixies and the homesickness spell put on them in last week's episode, and Bloom explains that Palladium permanently removed their homesickness spell, and they'll be cured for good after they sleep for four hours. Cut to Palladium, casting the spell on the six affected pixies: Piff, Lockette, Amore, Chatta, Tune, and Digit. Kiko hops around, sniffing Tune. Tune shrieks, and smacks Kiko with her umbrella, scolding Kiko for being rude. Gotta get a cute, uppity Tune moment in there somewhere! Palladium laughs. We then see the six pixies magically making little beds to sleep in.
Back at the quad, Stella mentions that she's teamed up with Bloom for the power convergence class. Musa asks Layla if she'd want to team up with Musa for the power convergence class, but Layla puts herself down, saying she isn't any good, and Musa wouldn't want her as a partner. Right then, Jared goes up to Musa, asking if he's too early, then rambles on, eventually saying they could go for lunch and a movie, unless that were too much for a first date. Musa is completely confused, and asks what Jarad is talking about. Layla, also unsure of what is going on, wisely goes off. Jared wonders if he got the date wrong... the other Winx girls are noticing now, with Tecna and Flora seeming surprised, and for Stella, who is smiling contentedly. Jared says they could still go out. Musa angrily asks who set up the date. Jared answers that Stella did, and is surprised that Stella didn't tell her about it. Musa storms off, but Jared rides his hoverbike in front of Musa, apologizing for what just happened. Musa forgives him, saying that it's just that Stella doesn't approve of Riven--with a very angry emphasis on "Stella." Jared says he's the editor for the Red Fountain Sentinel, and that he'd still like to interview her for the magazine if she goes for a ride with her. Musa, being nice, agrees. As the two take off on Jared's hoverbike. Stella and Bloom watch, with Stella confident that all is going well. Bloom smiles too, seemingly agreeing with Stella.
On Musa's and Jared's "date," they sit on a beach-like shoreline, asking her questions. Musa is not sure why any of this would be interesting for the article Jared is writing, but Jared says it'll make a great story. A little later, Musa's eating a candy bar, then lies down for a nap, as Jared, finds some lilies to pick nearby. The pixies, meanwhile, are tossing and turning a bit in their beds. Or at least Tune is.
After the "date," Jared drops Musa off at Alfea. He then presents Musa with some lilies, which Musa said she liked in the interview, then says he hopes that they could go on a real date some time. Musa says that Jared was a nice guy, but that she already has a boyfriend, but that they could still be just friends. A little later, Stella and Bloom rush up to Musa, wanting to know how the "date" went. Stella asks if Musa was glad she set the date up, but Musa's mad that Stella did so without her permission.
Stella: Are you glad I set it up?
Musa: You really should've asked me first.
Stella: If I'd asked, you would've just said no. Please don't be made at me, Musa, didn't you like Jared?
Musa: Come on! That is not the point!
Stella: I knew it! You two are a perfect match!
And of course, Stella's right. And Musa just gets madder because she knows Stella is right. Otherwise, she would've given a straight answer, of course. Stella and Musa continue to bicker, with Musa upset about Stella setting up the date, until Musa ultimately storms off, with Stella yelling at her as she's running off.
Stella: I'm never wrong about this stuff! My matchmaking record is impeccable! I was trying to do her a favor!
Bloom: Did you consider she might not be looking for a boyfriend?
Stella: Sure I did, but people don't always know what's best for them, and hey, maybe they'll hit it off!
Bloom thinks Stella should probably stop with matchmaking for a while, but Stella quickly reminds Bloom who sent Sky to her house in the first place. Granted, she invited the other Specialists too, but Stella did point out Sky, specifically, for Bloom as a good guy for her. Course, whether or not Sky can really be called a "good guy" for Bloom....
Over at Shadowhaunt are the three Trix sisters and Lord Darkar. Stormy asks permission, on Darcy's behalf, that since it's her birthday, that he should allow her to have fun wreaking havoc at Alfea. Stormy's bit here is small, but I like it: it shows that, at least on some level, that they do... well, maybe not love, but they've got each other's backs, and care for each other. Darkar says Darcy has been bad, and he's proud of her for that, so he will allow Darcy to go out to wreak some havoc.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Another day in the convergence class, the students are paired up in, I'm guessing, a different classroom, since the desks in this class are made for two people to sit at. Tecna and Flora try to have a chest opened by converging nature and electricity, but it does not work. Flora complains to Tecna, saying that technology could never control nature. Musa's and Layla's project does not work either. Stella and Bloom don't even have a project ready, telling Miss Faragonda that they got into a fight about how to converge their powers.
A little later, the six Winx girls are in the magical reality chamber, with Faragonda telling them that they need practice, and they'll be having a test in here tomorrow. I wonder why Faragonda is only testing these specific six girls. Then again, she probably knows that they're a tight-knit group: randomly putting, say, Stella and Amaryl together would not have great results, after all! Stella notices Jared watching them from outside the chamber, teasing Musa about it. Musa angrily insists that he's just doing research for his article. Bloom says they need to bond, and to stop fighting. Stella says they could have a sleepover and tell best friendship stories, which causes Layla to start sobbing and run off.
Musa: I don't know what you said, but you always hurt people's feelings!
Stella: Sensiteeve! I didn't mean to upset her... I have feelings too, you know!
Musa's being upset is understandable, since no matter what Stella did, Musa's just going to be ticked off with her. Stella's comment didn't seem to warrant Layla's reaction, though. Then again, Layla's been on edge, and thinking about past friendships isn't helping. Musa goes after Layla, who's gone outside. Musa tries to tell her that Layla can tell her what's wrong, that they're friends. Musa correctly assumes it's the friendship-story slumber party that's got Layla upset. Layla says she's never really had a best friend in a really long time. Musa says that she's never had any close friends before she went to Alfea. Which isn't quite true. Back in "Secret Guardian," Musa mentioned a friend she had who died after her castle was infected with a case of little red bugs that killed fairies with one bite. Guess now that she's at Alfea, she's forgotten all about her poor, dead friend. Or more likely, it's just bad writing. Musa goes on to say that she grew up as a loner, and she still needs her alone time sometimes. She successfully convinces Layla to come to the sleepover. Bloom comes out to, and tells Layla that she needs to come to the sleepover, and Layla happily agrees by this point.
Outside Red Fountain, as Jared is returning, Darcy, in a gypsy disguise, tries to sells Jared jewely for the Gypsy Scouts. Really cool dress on Darcy's part! As she starts to hand a necklace to him with a crystal on the end, it hypnotizes him with a few magic words from Darcy.
In the magical reality chamber, for the Winx girls' sleepover, Stella starts to tell a story of when she was in the fifth grade, and how she had a giant crush on Robbie of Emphelion. Stella was so cute back in fifth grade, with a dorky outfit and really dorky glasses! Funny to see that Stella wasn't always the fashion expert she is today. Obviously grew out of her awkward phase! She says taht Robbie had a crush on Kimberly of Olympus. I wonder if she's Diaspro's sister, or something: Kimberly looks a lot like a younger Diaspro. Stella says that she wanted to ask Robbie to the spring dance, but that Robbie asked Kimberly to the spring dance, and she said yes. Stella tried to put a breakout spell on Kimberly, but instead of breaking out in pimples, she broke her leg. Stella says that she was excited that she might get to go with Robbie to the dance, but he still went with Kimberly, leg in cast and all: little dorky Stella was fuming watching the two, sitting on the bench during the dance! But now, years later, she and her friends all get a good laugh about it.
Meanwhile, danger lurks in the halls of Alfea, as Jared, in Darcy's hypnotic trance, goes to the magical reality chamber's controls to let Darcy cast a spell on it, and then he leaves.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Back in the girls' room, Bloom is imitating Griselda singing the Alfea song. At least I think it's Bloom. Neat, actually! I could only imagine that Griselda would have a bad singing voice, as Bloom's imitation would suggest! We see the girls are playing truth or dare, as Stella asks Musa the question. Musa chooses "truth," saying she knows better than to do a Stella "dare"--Stella admits she would've had Musa kiss Knut. Stella would be the "tough" truth or dare player, wouldn't she? Stella asks Musa if she has a crush on Jared. Musa doesn't like the question, but Tecna wants to hear the answer, too. Musa gives a roundabout answer, saying that she thought she knew how she felt about Riven until she met Jared. Stella, ever-so-sweetly, tells Musa that she only set them up because he's better than Riven, and Musa deserves the best. Stella honestly believes she's doing what's best for Musa. That makes it hard to stay mad at her. Course, that's what makes her Stella!
The next day, the six Winx girls are inside the magical reality chamber. Palladium explains the chamber to Musa. Jared is there; Musa says hi, but Jared just blankly walks away. Miss Faragonda says she's sending them to a desert, but they actually appear to be in a cold forest. The forest soon turns upside-down kinda', with the Winx girls suddenly walking on the sky, but then another ground starts growing beneath them. Palladium tells the girls that they were sent to the realm of Grim, which was supposed to have been deleted from the magical reality chamber. Jared watches evil. Or actually, Darcy watching through his eyes. Palladium sends an exit code--a basic sphere of light--into the software, which the girls can use to escape if they can get hold of it, as Jared quietly sneaks off, with Faragonda looking suspiciously. An ugly purple wolf-like beast runs up to attack the girls, as the exit code is sent to the girls. The girls have a bit of trouble getting ahold of it, though, as a holographic Darcy appears, tripling the dark magic in pseudo-Grim, and having the beast eat the exit code, while increasing the size and strength of the beast tremendously. The girls change to their winx forms. Musa tries a sonic blast on the beast, but it has no effect. Bloom suggests they all attack at the same time, but again, the monster isn't affected in the least. Palladium tells the girls to try something powerful. Tecna asks why Palladium doesn't just turn off the chamber, and Palladium warns that if he did turn off the chamber, that everything would disappear, including the Winx girls.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
The six Winx girls are flying away from the beast, as Bloom, thinking back to the convergence class, realizes they need to converge their powers to beat the beast and get the exit code from it. Tempting as it is to say "of course Bloom's the one who thought of it," I can't fault the girl for trying to save all their butts in a desperate situation such as this. Outside the chamber, Faragonda rounds up Jared, telling Palladium that Jared was under a spell, and the magical reality chamber was hacked through him. The girls' six pixies fly up to Faragonda, asking to be sent in to help. A little later, Jared comes out of his trance, with Faragonda explaining to him that he was put under a spell.
In the chamber, Layla uses her powers to create a giant purple water-molecule-based woman. Flora gives it strength with Venus vine wrap. Tecna gives it brain power with cerebrum processus implantus. Interesting spell name! Stella gives it sun vision. Bloom gives it dragon valor. That makes the giant purple woman more physically powerful, since the name itself does not make it too obvious. Needing the power of speech to say the spell with the other Winx girls, Musa grants it speech. As the six Winx girls, plus the Frankenstein monster the girls created, cast the spell, the monster explodes, and the girls get the exit code. Faragonda gives them an A+ for the "accidental" test here.
Outside Alfea, Jared apologizes for messing up with Musa, unsuccessfully trying to impress her. Musa still says she'd like to be friends, and Jared gives Musa a kiss on the cheek, surprising Musa. Down, Jared, down. She said friend. As in "just friends"! Bloom declares the Winx girls best friends forever, but Layla's off to the side. Stella grabs Layla to join the rest of them, and then the girls declare, again, "best friends forever"!
Other Stuff
Not a lot happened. Musa had conflicts with Stella, and her own feelings. Darcy tried to kill the Winx girls without fighting them herself. But still, the whole thing with Musa... wonderful!
First, Stella... much as I love Stella--and she's still my favorite, mind you--but this episode didn't put her in the greatest light. I fully believe she was trying to help Musa, and she honestly felt that hooking Musa and Jared up was the right thing to do, but it wasn't the right thing to do anyway. For one, not caring that Musa didn't want to be set up with anyone besides Riven. And two, Stella having such an ego as to not believe that Musa just "doesn't know what she wants." However wrong Stella may have been, it is part of the Stella we all know and love. And I put no blame on Stella for the "Layla running off" incident. And after seeing poor dorky fifth-grade Stella, you have to love her!
Musa has pretty much completely redeemed herself for her annoying presence last season, and pegs herself definitively here as the cute, bubbly, easy-to-anger girl. The moodiness perfectly understandable, though, considering the awkward position Stella put her in.
Riven versus Jared... Jared versus Riven... in a way, Jared may be better suited for Musa, as Musa's too full of conflicting emotions, and Riven needs a girl very much not like that. Jared just doesn't know when to give up, though, and while he accepted Musa's terms of "just friends," he didn't seem to take it to heart completely. He seems like he's going to try to coyote himself after Musa's love.
Darcy's role was surprisingly small, only appearing three times, and only substantially during the short gypsy disguise scene. It was enough to understand what she was doing, though, and why she was doing it--'cause she can! And Darcy was really cute in the gypsy getup!
And the pixies didn't do much, but gotta' love Tune for whacking Kiko with the umbrella. Why was Kiko sniffing her like that, anyway? I mean, Kiko's been around the pixies for a while now, and he oughta' know better than to be sniffing Tune by now!
8 out of 10 on the old scale.
