Your Newfound Popularity

*****Your Newfound Popularity***** is the third episode of the second season of Fate: The Winx Saga and the ninth overall episode of the show.

## Synopsis

*The school prepares for the alumni banquet, where Stella is determined to expose Rosalind's true nature. Sam struggles to cope, and Aisha takes a risk.*

## Plot

Sky notices Silva in school grounds, and his surrogate father apologizes for what’s happened between them and tries to mend the damage. It’s no good, and eventually Sky tells him to leave and never come back.

Silva steps out and comes face to face with Andreas. Rosalind also appears too and has him taken to the East Wing.

Meanwhile Alfea College is prepping for the upcoming alumni banquet. As it turns out, it’s a big deal, and every important Alfea graduate from the past 50 years is going to be there. Bloom and Aisha are out together doing shopping to get ready for the event, which happens to be part of Aisha’s big 20 point plan to become headmistress of the school.

However, they’re not just out to shop though. The pair appear before Sebastian, who suggests they break Saul Silva out of the East Wing during the Banquet. They deduce this is where the other Fairies are being kept too. Not only that, but this night could also work in Bloom and the other fairies’ favour. Rosalind’s position as headmistress is tentative at best and certainly not locked in stone. Orchestrating a bad night (such as showing that she’s deceptive and stealing a fairies’ magic) would be the perfect incentive to make sure their plan is a success and Rosalind is knocked down from her position of power.

The night is split into two events. with the first being a mixer, where the alums and students chat and then the banquet itself, which is just for the alums and VIPs. Stella is, naturally, a VIP even without her mom attending.

Everyone prepares for the big day, with numerous influential figures arriving at the gates. Back inside though, Bloom deduces that she should go into the East Wing herself so it doesn’t arouse too many suspicions.

Meanwhile, Grey and Aisha are awkward around one another, but Musa interjects and tells Grey in confidence that Aisha is totally into him.

When he leaves, Musa goes looking through Sam’s bag and finds a vial of Eldwyn Amalgam and a syringe. Sam notices her snooping, and states that he’s going to get revenge on Rosalind.

Sam looks set to leave but before he does, Musa admits she’s been taking his anger away for weeks but didn’t realize it was going to effect him so badly. When Sam finds out, he’s unhappy and demands she stay away.

At the Banquet, Rosalind immediately takes Bloom and decides she should stay with her the entirety of the evening. She’s of course being used as a star pupil to make Rosalind look better. Bloom is immediately thrown into the firing line by meeting big names in the magic world.

With Bloom unable to go into the East Wing, and Sam with his own plan to stab Rosalind, everything is hanging on a precarious knife edge. If that wasn’t enough, Stella’ father appears drunk and immediately berates several of her friends, including Sky and Bloom.

Away from the table, Rosalind gives Bloom a pep-talk, pointing out that she’s a special fairy and that she’s on her side, even though she knows Bloom was the one who bust Silva out originally. While this leaves Bloom conflicted, Flora and Aisha head off together, wandering through the abandoned East Wing.

Aisha admits she’s worried about her feelings for Grey, especially as she’s never been with a guy before. While they talk, they stumble into an abandoned lab but also, straight into the path of some Scrapers.

It pounces at Aisha but she tries to channel her magic and stops it. It doesn’t work, given we know these things absorb magic. Unfortunately, it appears behind Aisha and tries to ambush her. Nevertheless, Aisha manages to catch it in mid-air. Flora then smashes it with a vial, and burns the creatures and snaps a picture as evidence.

The duo then scramble back to the main chambers, where Bloom has had a change of heart and doesn’t think they should go through with this after all. She’s decided to believe Rosalind but Stella rolls her eyes, pointing out that she’s blinded by her 15 minutes of fame. So instead, Stella takes the initiative and decides to oust Rosalind in front of everyone.

As for Musa, she head off to talk to Sam about what’s happened between them. He’s not mad at her for taking away his anger, but admits he’s not okay. He’s leaving Alfea with his father, who can’t teach there anymore after what’s happened.

Back inside, Rosalind shows up with Devin, who’s absolutely fine and debunks Stella’s story. Rosalind reveals that she’s actually been trying to help these students, not harm them.

Rosalind’s research has helped her learn about ancient creatures called Scrapers, which are native to the Realm of Darkness. This is what’s happened to those students and she’s been trying to find out what these Scrapers are and how to stop them.

It would appear that these scrapers are being called upon by Blood Witches. Their old foes have figured out how to steal their magic and Rosalind warns that if they continue, fairy magic could disappear completely.

Rosalind goes on to applaud Stella and the others for being vigilant and their part in this, but they’re quickly ushered away. Except for Bloom, who sticks around. Bloom is presented as the fabled fairy who happens to be the key to saving their world, as she holds the Dragon Flame inside of her.

In confidence, Rosalind speaks to Bloom and admits she’s pardoned Silva, deciding they should draw a line in the sand. They need to work together to stop the Blood Witches before it’s too late. Unfortunately, Beatrix is attacked by a number of scrapers while alone outside in the academy grounds.

## Cast and Characters

* Hannah van der Westhuysen as Stella
* Precious Mustapha as Aisha
* Eliot Salt as Terra Harvey
* Elisha Applebaum as Musa
* Danny Griffin as Sky
* Sadie Soverall as Beatrix
* Freddie Thorp as Riven
* Robert James-Collier as Saul Silva
* Miranda Richardson as Rosalind Hale
* Theo Graham as Dane
* Jacob Dudman as Sam Harvey
* Ken Duken as Andreas
* Brandon Grace as Grey Owens
* Éanna Hardwicke as Sebastian Valtor
* Paulina Chávez as Flora
* Leah Minto as Kat
* Sean Sagar as Marco
* JJ Battell as Luke
* Shameem Ahmad as Bavani Selvarajah
* Jayden Revri as Devin
* James Lance as Uncle Arthur

## Trivia

* The episode title is a reference to the song "Popular" from the musical *Wicked*.
* This is the final episode of Season 2 to feature Ben Harvey and Sam Harvey.