World of Winx S1 E1

So, I'm really doing this. You know how some people are saying that *DuckTales (2017)* is the only good reboot out there? And even then, there are die hard fans and trolls who disagree with even that. Well, I *wish* this had been a reboot of Winx Club. Like probably everyone else, I was nervous about a spin off show, especially since the first one didn't go so well. I did say that I liked the pixies, but I hated their focus episode for a reason. Giving them a whole show, plus new, barely recognizable designs, was not a good idea. Even after seeing the trailer, I didn't feel good about it. Yes, this does take place in an alternate universe. There is no Alfea College, no Red Fountain, no Specialists, no Cloudtower. Heck, even all of the Earth characters are gone! There's no Mike or Vanessa or Mitzi or Rick or Morgana or even Jason Queen! Except Roxy, for some reason. At least, for the first season. She disappears again in the second, and she's not super important anyways. So, if it was a reboot, it wouldn't be a very faithful one. But I will never judge something solely on whether it's a good adaptation or reboot or not. I will judge it on its own merits first. Plus, there can be benefits to essentially restarting things. The girls act like their old selves from seasons 1 through 3. Tecna is the smart genius, Stella is the fashion obsessed ditz, albeit good natured, Aisha is the athlete, complete with no emotional baggage this time, Flora is the kind, gentle one, and a good cook, Musa is the music lover, and Bloom is the leader. They even resurrected old traits that have since been more or less forgotten. Flora being a cook could be a reference to her being very proficient at potions. This was seen again in season 6, but that's it. Bloom even has her drawing talent back again. That is a trait that is so old that I doubted whether it was ever even in the original show or not. Then again, she did draw their logo at one point. Some traits are still lost, like Musa being a tomboy (or at least having short hair), but as long as the rest of the show is good, I can live with that. Anyways, onto the plot! Finally!

## Plot

So, the theme song is good. It's catchy. I love the animation. It's called Winx Couture Style. The characters look and sound more their own age. Since this is an alternate universe though, we don't know how old they are. We don't even know if they went to or graduated from Alfea. They're obviously not 16, and they do seem like 20 somethings. I believe they're 22 in season 7. 23 in Stella's case. Also, in the early episodes, the girls act more like spies in awesome catsuits than fairies. And I love it! I admit to being a big fan of both *Totally Spies!* and *The Amazing Spiez!* on Cartoon Network when I was a kid. Seeing them actually use their physical abilities instead of always relying on their magic is great. Also, let me take a moment to praise the sound design, something I never did in the original show, possibly because it was never super noticeable, never this well done, or both. It's pouring rain, and you can actually *hear it*. You can hear the sound of footsteps and cars moving in the rain. And it all sounds so real! This is especially noticeable during the chase scene, which is brilliant by the way. Everyone is running and jumping on various metal structures while it's raining, and you can hear it all. Major props to the sound designers and foley artists. Musa, Bloom, and Aisha are checking various sectors, looking for someone. Stella, Tecna, and Flora are in their van, the Winxmobile. They're looking for someone they call the Talent Thief, hence the name of the episode. They've been on Earth for six months, but they still don't know his identity. Then how do they know it's a guy? He's been kidnapping young people for their extraordinary talents, probably to take them for himself. Also, Tecna just says that they've been on Earth for months, but for simplicity's sake I'm just going to go with six. Their suspect is a man with purple hair and eyes, a yellow hoodie, and one purple glove who was at a concert the previous night. The guitarist was kidnapped, and hasn't been seen in 24 hours. I love how Aisha just wants to crash the club and flush him out. Bloom, acting like a real leader for once, points out that they need a plan to catch him, and that no one's seen him, so they don't know if he's even in there. Admittedly, Aisha was never quite *this* brash and impulsive in the original. She did follow plans, but when they didn't work, she knew how to improvise. The girls in general don't get along as much, but they're still best friends and they work well together as a team. All that was found at the previous crime scenes was some sort of gold powder. Oh, fairy dust! Bringing back Enchantix, huh? Classic! I'm kidding obviously. Anyways, Musa, Aisha, and Bloom spot the suspect and chase after him. They believe that they've cornered him in an alley, but all they find is a cat. He somehow turned invisible to avoid being seen. He has purple hair and eyes and he can turn invisible at will? Are we sure that he's not an Anacondrai from Ninjago? In order to find potential targets and save them before they're kidnapped, the girls are on a reality show called WOW. They're the talent scouts. They can't use magic in front of people, because the humans of this Earth don't know that fairies exist. I guess instantly changing clothes on camera doesn't count? They don't find anyone good at the auditions, but they hear a girl singing and think it sounds beautiful. Her name is Annabelle, and she works at a nearby restaurant. They want her to perform at the Frutti Music Bar. Unfortunately, her coworker Louise says that they have to prepare a hundred cupcakes that night. The girls decide to help them out. Even Flora is apparently a terrible baker though, so Stella uses magic to get it done. Annabelle performs and everyone loves her. The Winx get a vision of their newest transformation, Dreamix, because they helped make Annabelle's dreams come true. However, someone approaches Annabelle in her dressing room, and the power is turned off. The girls chase after someone they think is Annabelle, but it's clearly Louise. The power comes back on, and a spotlight blinds her. She falls over the railing and towards some rocks, but Aisha uses her powers to save her. Yay, she actually has water powers now! They discover that it's Louise. She's the one who turned off the power. She tried to sabotage Annabelle. The others leave to look for her while Bloom, Tecna, and Flora listen to Louise. She auditioned for WOW the previous year, but didn't make it. She was jealous of Annabelle. They also leave to look for Annabelle. Okay, I know what Louise did was wrong, but she feels bad about it. Are you just gonna leave her there? I guess you are. The girls can't find Annabelle or the talent thief suspect anywhere. Annabelle wakes up in a forest somewhere. The person who approached her in her dressing room kidnapped her. All we see is their shadow, as she asks the figure who they are and what they want.

## Review

I admit it, I still hate Bloom so far, but some old habits die hard. While there are advantages to having a clean slate to work with, there are also questions. How did the girls meet in this universe? How did the Winx Club form? Are they the only fairies in existence? Who sent them on this mission, or did they do it themselves? Are they from the same planets as the original? Was Bloom still adopted and raised on Earth in a town called Gardenia by Mike and Vanessa? Do their boyfriends still exist? Or their teachers? Did they ever defeat the Trix, Darkar, and Valtor? Is Roxy still a fairy? Does Mirta still exist? What about Amaryl? And yes, I did read about this show before it premiered, so I've known about the big twist for awhile now. I was really mad about it at first, but I'll wait until I watch the second season before jumping to any conclusions. As for the other girls, they're fine. Not good, but not bad. They're just kind of there. I'm glad that Aisha is no longer suffering through all of the stuff that happened to her in the main show, but at the same time, that made her so much more interesting and complex, at least to me, than her just being "the athlete" or "the new girl" of the show.