W.I.T.C.H. S2 E25

## Plot

Phobos is constructing a Great Ring to transport his massive army to Kandrakar. Meanwhile, the girls explain everything to the others. They hatched a plan weeks ago, during "V is for Victory". They knew Phobos couldn't be trusted, and fully expected that he'd betray them. They knew he was unstoppable, so they secretly yielded to his conquest. They only put up enough of a fight so that he wouldn't suspect their plan. Because of his oath, if he sets foot on Kandrakar, all his power will be taken away. They kept as many people in the dark as possible so Phobos wouldn't find out. I wouldn't be surprised if Will got the idea from Nerissa, considering that she made the same deal with them in episode 20. They swore on the Heart of Kandrakar that they wouldn't flee the battle, and they didn't. And as for not telling anyone else, Phobos himself did the same thing to them in episode 22. "You didn't need to know, and your ignorance helped fool Nerissa." Raythor suggests that Phobos throw Caleb and Blunk into the Abyss of Shadows, only for Cedric to point out that Raythor himself proved that escape is possible. They'll be eliminated at dawn instead. The ladies in the scepter hear about this and have to find a way to save them. They try to act in harmony to fuel Halinor's telepathy so she can contact Taranee, but so far all she's done is give her a bad headache. The girls and Matt head back to Earth. They have final exams the next day. While studying that night, Taranee learns about Caleb and Blunk via telepathy and heads back to Meridian with Will. It's revealed that Raythor, Sandpit, and Gargoyle have switched sides and joined them. The girls free Caleb and Blunk and send them to Kandrakar. Hay Lin spoke to Raythor in prison right before Will made the deal with Phobos. She said that Phobos would break his vow. When he did, Raythor switched sides. Yeah, Raythor's all about loyalty and honor and stuff, like many Klingons from *Star Trek*. He's been their double agent since then, like convincing Phobos to attack Kandrakar. Phobos uses the Mage ring and the Tonga tooth to power the ring. Taranee figures out that her headache was caused by someone trying to reach her telepathically. The old guardians put themselves in harmony with Elyon, who speaks to Taranee. They find out that Nerissa created an Altermere of Yan Lin, and that Phobos is about to attack Kandrakar. Everyone takes part in this "final battle". Yeah, they plan to throw this fight too. Phobos gives Cedric a fraction of his power, and his minions quickly "conquer" Kandrakar. He's about to cross over, but right as he does… Cedric kind of (oh this is so gross) *swallows him whole.* And gains all of his power. He knew about the girls' plan all along, and let it happen so he could take all the power for himself. As for the permission rule with Hearts, he used literal words like Nerissa did. After all, 2 halves, 3 thirds, 4 quarters, etc., are all literal fractions that equal 1, a.k.a. 100%. He plans to take over Earth next. Oh, I'm gonna be sick! Still, ignoring the rather large squick factor, especially surrounding Cedric, this was a great episode. The twists were brilliant and legitimately surprising. The writing is excellent. I guess that's just what happens when you get Greg Weisman involved. That being said, by this point Taranee and Hay Lin have started openly dating Nigel and Eric, to the point where they even have lunch with the others sometimes. It just seems like a double standard (at least in-universe) to have Will and Cornelia's boyfriends know about their double lives as Guardians and fight alongside them, but not Nigel and Eric. Sure, Caleb is from Meridian and Matt found out by accident, plus he has powers, and none of the girls would want their significant others to be caught in the crossfire, but still, it just seems like an easy way to get them involved in the main plot and give them more screen time and development as a result. That being said, juggling that many main characters would be incredibly difficult, and I wouldn't want this show to run into a Winx Club problem, where the main male characters either regress into caricatures or flanderized versions of themselves, are poorly written off, or are basically treated as props by the writers and even the main female characters as the show goes on.