W.I.T.C.H. S1 E1

## Plot

The series starts with narration. A male narrator that I swear sounds exactly like Kevin Michael Richardson (if it is him, he's never been credited, at least according to Wikipedia) tells us that there is an alternate universe –actually a planet– where a rebellion is taking place. The rebellion is trying to overthrow the evil ruler. There are five ordinary girls on Earth who must fight this evil and win. Then comes the theme song. It's amazing! I wish they had used this version all season, but they replace it with a different singer after a certain number of episodes. It's still a great song though; I just like the demo better. *We are, we are, we are W.I.T.C.H. We are, we are W.I.T.C.H. There is a place where darkness reigns We've got the power to fight back We save the day united, five as one We can become more than you know The Heart will lead the way to what we can control (control) Water, Fire, Earth and Air Guardians unite! We are, we are, we are W.I.T.C.H. We are, we are W.I.T.C.H. We are, we are, we are W.I.T.C.H. We are, we are… W.I.T.C.H.* On this planet where the rebellion is happening, a rebel sneaks into the castle. His friend Aldarn is keeping watch. His name is Caleb. He starts sneaking supplies out, but is caught by the guards, who are creatures called Lurdins. He jumps into the water below, but now the whole castle is after him. He and Aldarn abandon the supplies and flee. A giant talking serpent creature orders the guards to find who did this. Cut to Earth, specifically a city called Heatherfield. A Chinese-American girl is getting ready for school when she has a sneezing fit; which proceeds to destroy her room. Her grandmother is downstairs. She hides something pink and glowing in a box from her granddaughter, whose name is Hay Lin. Her grandmother Yan Lin tells her that she should invite her friends Cornelia Hale, Taranee Cook, and Irma Lair to their house for an after school snack. Hay Lin also decides to invite the new girl Will Vandom, but she doesn't know why she thought of her. At the school, Sheffield Institute, Will's mother Susan drops her off for her first day, and she's soaked by the passing school bus. Back on the other planet, Aldarn and Caleb run into a canyon. They ride some wild ostriches. At least they look like wild ostriches. They're able to escape all the guards that are after them. On Earth, Irma, Taranee, and Cornelia are participating in the school science fair, but their project is about how too much fertilizer kills plants, yet Cornelia's keeps growing no matter what she does to it. Will is teased by the wannabe bully Uriah and his lame friends, but Hay Lin tells her to ignore them. She invited Will like she said she would, but Cornelia is less than nice to her, calling her the new girl and questioning why she was invited. On the other planet, the evil ruler instructs his right hand man with the job of tracking the rebel down. He uses his magic to transform him into the serpent we saw earlier. I remember being terrified of this scene as a kid. Heck, it's still just as terrifying now, and over a decade has passed. I don't know why it still scares me. It just does. I think I had nightmares about it when I was little. Back on Earth, Cornelia is being just as rude and snobby as ever. See why I don't like her? Hay Lin's grandmother comes in and tells them all a story. She makes a starry backdrop appear out of nowhere. She explains that the whole universe was once a single kingdom, ruled by good. But then evil began to spread. A veil was made to isolate the evil kingdom of Meridian from all other worlds. Without it, all the worlds would be overtaken by evil. Meridian is ruled by the evil Prince Phobos, but he isn't the true heir to the throne, because Meridian is ruled by queens. The real heir is somewhere on Earth. Holes have begun to appear in the veil, called portals. Evil can get through these portals to Earth. There are people called Guardians who have to close the portals with their powers. With a snap of her fingers, Yan Lin makes the backdrop disappear. She became a Guardian when she was their age, but now it's their turn. She opens the box. In it is the Heart of Kandrakar, which contains the elemental forces of nature. In the past few days, they've all had unusual experiences. Irma has power over water. Taranee is scared of fire, but she's been given the power of fire. Hay Lin has been given the gift of air, and Cornelia can control the earth. Will hasn't had any strange experiences though, excluding this one. Yan Lin explains that one of the five binds the others together with the Heart of Kandrakar and leads them. She's telling them this now because there's a rebellion going on in Meridian, and she fears their leader is in terrible danger. Prince Phobos sees this through the floor of the throne room with a special sand. Will says that she can't do it because it's too weird. Caleb and Aldarn abandon their ostriches to walk to a place called the Infinite City. Caleb isn't going. He has to find a portal to go to Earth to find the heir before Phobos. The two say their goodbyes and split up. Caleb runs into the serpent. Back on Earth, the girls find a secluded place to use their powers. Will puts on the Heart and starts floating in the air. "Guardians unite!" The girls transform into Guardian mode. They have blue and pink outfits with tights. They've also got wings. Hay Lin immediately takes off, showing her love of flying. No wonder she's air; she's so good at this! Their first practice doesn't go very well however. When they change back, Hay Lin is still flying. Don't worry, she lands on some conveniently placed boxes to soften her fall and not die, or even break any bones. Caleb and the serpent go through a portal, which appears in front of the girls. Will is too scared to move at first. They transform again, but can't do anything. Will closes the portal too late and Caleb is captured. Back at the Silver Dragon, the Chinese restaurant Hay Lin's family owns, the girls fight, and the serpent is revealed to be Lord Cedric. Yan Lin tells them that they shouldn't fight, and that they'll need each other and all of their powers just to survive. I'll give my review at the end of episode 2.