Fate: The Winx Saga is the Netflix adaptation to the kid’s show ‘Winx Club’. And oh boy, I have some thoughts. Before we start, I’d like to point out that I watched Winx Club until Season 5 (Sirenix Arc) and watched the later seasons partially. I watched Season 1 from both the Cinelune and 4Kids adaptation. So a lot of the critique will be based on if it can hold up to the original show.
[tds_warning]There will be spoilers for Fate: The Winx Saga and the Winx Club Cartoons [/tds_warning]
First Impressions
There was a comment on the internet that said around the lines off:
The darkest shades in the cartoon is the brightest shade in the Netflix Adaptation.
And it’s true… in one way. I’d like to say that Fate: The Winx Saga is more mature rather than dark. Winx Club creator Iginio Straffi said he wanted to create a mature adaptation that can appeal to the older generation. And after watching the show, it was spot on.
The show felt a bit reminiscent to what I watched when I was young but also felt something new without ruining… half of the source material.
Fact-checking… AGAIN
Just like when I watched Eurovision: The Story of Fire saga, I couldn’t help myself wanting to see how much of the original canon was put into the show and how much has changed. At least half of the original canon was placed into the show (like Bloom’s Earth life). Some were altered to fit the adaptation (eg: Musa’s backstory). And some were completely changed (eg: Magix doesn’t exist and Alfea is in Solaria – Stella’s planet).
Also, they changed why they’re called ‘Winx’. In the original canon (at least in the 4Kids dub), “Winx” is where their magic comes from… whatever that means. In the Netflix adaptation, that’s the name of their dorm.
The Otherworld knows Earth stuff
I thought that Magix or the Otherworld should be in a different dimension or separate to Earth. But for some reason, Instagram, Harry Potter, and The Secret Garden are known to them. I understand Tinkerbell because she’s a ‘famous fairy’ so to speak but I’d usually thought they’d be cut off from “Earth stuff”. I don’t know, the fact that they know stuff produced from Earth makes it seem like the Otherworld is part of Earth’s dimension rather than separate.
It’s Season 1 but slightly rewritten
Just watching the show, some of the plot had some similarities to the original canon. An example, Riven joining Rosalind’s cause with Beatrix and Dean isn’t a surprise as a similar thing happened in Season 1 when Riven joins the Trix. Bloom getting her wings and controlling her powers at the last episode reminded me of episode 3 when she had to fight against the Trix to save the Alfea ball. I was happy that some of the scenes paid homage to the original, yet making it their own.
The characters… what have you done?
Don’t get me wrong, the characters are great. They have chemistry and eventually, they do become good friends. But some… I question what have they done. Some of the dialogue is alright but some… felt really cringe. Like they were pushing it.
They made Stella really, really bitchy. I mean in the original cartoon, she’s high maintenance but in the Netflix adaptation… I wanted to punch her in the face. In the original cartoon, she helps Bloom get through Magix and Alfea. But in the Netflix adaptation, I was glad that Bloom has to meet Stella in her first day (makes sense) but then it’s like Stella isn’t pleased to be Bloom’s “buddy”.
It’s not all that bad as there was ‘representation’
I put ‘representation’ in air quotes because they did try. Terra is nice and all but it also felt pandering. Dane’s somewhat hinted but possible confirmed bisexuality was great but I hated that it was formed through Riven’s bullying and douchebaggery.
Aisha is great but I still wish that Terra/Flora and Musa were not whitewashed and just find actors that match the original canon. Aisha can’t be the token diverse character. Heck, Netflix can do it, they produce Love Alarm – A KOREAN DRAMA!!! It shouldn’t be that hard. Well, since Flora is Terra’s cousin, I do hope they give her justice when she does appear.
I will give them props for wanting to break gender norms by allowing Specialist and Fairies to be co-ed. At first, I was put out of place but the moment I see it them in action later down the track, it was alright. It showed that anyone could be soldiers or fairies.
They scream ‘Netflix generic chatacter’
While some of the characters feel like a mature reenactment from the original series, some just feel like your generic Netflix character. Riven in particular.
Riven reminds me of the guys from 13 Reasons Why. All he cares is about drugs and being an absolute dick because he can. Even the dialogue reminds me of your generic Netflix character. Riven in the original series felt more of a bad boy who finds it difficult to change. It took until Season 6 for him to realize that he needs to find himself.
The ending… ARE THEY GOING TO WAR?!
The ending took me a while to figure out. I had to watch it multiple times just to understand what’s going on. While Farah wanted to give her students a brighter tomorrow, Rosalind wants to prepare them for war. And apparently, Andreas (Sky’s father) and Queen Luna (Stella’s Mum) are ok with it. It kinda threw me off since I didn’t expect Winx Club to go to war. But after rewatching Season 1 in the cartoon… technically they did so why not have that for season 2.
But also, the ending really screamed Netflix. Just wanting to leave us hanging for another season. It’s not a bad ending but it was something that you probably know what’s going to happen next just by watching the last episode. Like come on, you say it’s a war but I wanna see the armies and the blood witches preparing for it. Just give me something!!!
The best scene: Bloom’s transformation
One of the big requests that Winx Club fans prayed for was that there would be a transformation sequence. They can change whatever they want, whitewash the character (even if we didn’t want that to happen but it’s Netflix so whatever), or steer away from the canon. MAKE THEM TRANSFORM INTO A FRICKING FAIRY!!!
And that they did. It was well done. Would have expected more but this was enough. Save the best for last I guess.
Final thoughts for Fate: The Winx Saga
Smosh made a parody of Netflix by showing what adaptation of ‘Casper the friendly ghost’ would look like. At first, we all thought it was a joke. But the rumours of a potential ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Netflix adaptation came last year. So when the trailer for Fate: The Winx Saga came out, of course, we would be worried. Will Netflix ruin our childhood? Will I have to cancel my subscription?
But overall, no… it wasn’t that bad. Yes, some parts are confusing and I do question some of the decisions made. But it was quite enjoyable. It does try to stick to canon, alter some bits to fit the story, and also tried to make it their own. I guess Season 2 is when it gets better… I think.
Fate: The Winx Saga tries to appeal to older fans while also targeting newer ones. And while it was enjoyable, it did remind me of the original cartoon yet twisting it into their own mature way. Yes, some parts of the show scream ‘Netflix’ but it did try to stay true to what Winx was about.
Rating: 3.5/5 – Season 2 better gives us full transformations if they’re going to a war… not just Bloom. I want FLYING FAIRIES IN SPARKILY DRESSES transforming with a killer song behind it.
Leave a Reply