After finding out that they were creating a live action Winx Club adaptation, I’ve been quite excited to jump into watching it. Despite the vast amount of changes in Fate the Winx Saga, I tried to go into it with a much more open mind to the fact that it wouldn’t be an exact re-make or even follow a similar story. This definitely made the experience more enjoyable, and reduced chances of disapointment.
Episode 1 – In the Waters and the Wild
In hopes of mastering her magic, Bloom begins her studies at Alfea – and crosses paths with her curous classmates. Meanwhile, a secret comes to light.
The pilot for Fate the Winx Saga starts with a predictable opening of an innocent bystander being killed to introduce the threat. There’s blood, a bit of gore, and it’s an opening which portrays that this will be a darker adaptation of the original Winx Club animated series.
Some key differences which are explicitly told are about the Otherworld, where Earth is named the First World. The Otherworld contains 7 realms, and we’re set firmly in Solaria. This change was probably down to not wanting to increase budget by filming in loads of different areas, and I appreciate that when it comes to the rest of the season as we’re not losing time to explaining places as we’re nearly always in the same realm.
There’s also an on screen explanation about why fairies don’t have wings, as transformation magic has been forgotten. I liked this nod to explain why these have been left out of the show, but I do hope that we re-discover that magic later this season or in future seasons (with bigger budgets and better CGI?).
Our introduction to Bloom as the main character is extensive, and again shows off the differences early on from the OG Winx Club series. Unfortunately she comes off as a “not like other girls” feminist character in this episode, and she straight up says she’s not a basic bitch or cheerleader. On top of this she accuses someone of mansplaining (before they really talk) and her parents call her out to be more feminist. This would have worked better if she didn’t seem to dislike the other women in her life so much.
Moving onto the story, it uses the loses control of powers and hurts the people she loves trope. This gives her a lot of negative feelings about her powers, which seems to stunt her growth for control. On top of this the backstory is changed drastically from the original story and instead includes changelings, which is a barbaric act of switching a human baby with a fairy.
A good thing about the Fate was that I was pleasantly surprised when Robert James-Collier turned up as a teacher. I’ve not seen him in much, but he’s a good actor.
The first episode is an introduction to the characters, the world, and the set up of the story in Fate: The Winx Saga. It shows off it’s differences early on, especially with the world building and showing off the mystery of the Burned Ones. The set up is intriguing, and you want to know about the Burned Ones, Rosalind and Bloom’s backstory too (as well as how these may all be linked!).
No Strangers Here shows off the school of Alfea and expands on all the characters we were introduced to in episode one. We get an insight to each of the girls’ powers as they start classes. There’s a brief off-side about learning to control your element in first year, so it will be interesting to know if the fairies can learn powers that aren’t immediately what they’re born with.
One of my favourite things about Fate the Winx Saga is that the characters feel like actual students. They wake up and look not their best and without a full face of makeup, because that’s what real people look like. Despite being a fantasy school, and them being fairies, they still feel grounded in reality.
Episode 2 – No Strangers Here
A new day dawns as the students explore their powers… and feelings. Bloom and Stella team up for a mission. The Burned One’s reign of Terror evolves.
This episode also explains a bit of backstory with Stella and Sky (which is vastly different from the OG Winx Club show). It portrays a very toxic relationship in general, and there’s a lot of jealousy involved which I just didn’t enjoy watching. However Stella was expanded on with how she’s worried for herself because of her ring being lost, and how she’ll put the work in to get it back to avoid her mother finding out.
Another great addition was how Musa’s powers were shown and explained. I’d say her magic is the most complicated in Fate, just because it’s not based on the elements like the others. So seeing her powers in action, and how these affect her made her a greater character which you’re excited to see more from.
It’s not just our main characters that are focused on either, each of the teachers have a bit more depth to them. Unlike some shows where adults are mostly ignored, the teachers are shown to have complex relationships between themselves and the fairies and specialists. They also take action and don’t just discuss what actions to take, so our main characters aren’t being pushed to run into danger because no one else is (but instead from their own motivations, they get into trouble).
This episode brings in more questions as Bloom starts to hear a voice calling out to her, which is linked to the Burned Ones somehow. The Burned Ones also bring up more questions, such as being infected by a burned one causes a lot of pain. However, we don’t know if just touching a burned one infects you or whether it needs to be a scratch from one. This episode brings in a lot of different questions which makes you want to keep watching Fate the Winx Saga.
Episode 3 – Heavy Mortal Hopes
Past meets present as Bloom explores a pivotal memory. Meanwhile, Aisha struggles with her studies, Silva shares a secret and a school party takes shape.
Episode 3 starts off with a fast pace to uncover some of the mysteries with Bloom having a vision of her past, and finding out who she sees by the end of the episode. With Fate only having 6 episodes, this fast pace is felt throughout all the episodes.
We see even more magic classes as they push past the pure basics that they can use instinctively. The stone circle helps build their magic too, and so many lessons are outside which links to a more folklore fantasy feeling.
The magic lessons show Aisha as being a perfectionist, and it shows her struggling with this as well as jealousy for those who are better than her. This causes tension with the others, but mostly Bloom. Aisha struggling with this seems to be her main story arc which is disappointing. She just feels like a supporting character for most of the episodes.
Whilst Aisha is relegated to be a support, the teachers are focused on again. I do actually like the actors in the adult roles, and how these characters can admit when they’ve been wrong. It again shows that they’re doing something and it’s not just the kids taking action.
Robert James-Collier as Silva is a huge part of my liking for the teacher storyline in Fate. He acts as a mentor for Sky, and his acting makes you really feel for him throughout Heavy Mortal Hopes. Unfortunately, some of the more heartfelt moments were a bit one-sided with Danny Griffin not quite fitting the standard.
Another annoyance is that despite the Otherworld being separate from Earth (the First World) they seem to use everything Earth uses like YouTube and Instagram. They name drop Huda Kattan, and like… surely they’d have their own tech and influencers who are fairies? It just pulls out the world building, and makes it seem more urban fantasy despite them not letting the story take place on Earth. Fate just doesn’t meet the high fantasy that I think they wanted.
This episode shows Musa and Sam being an all round cute couple, and I’m actually happy for this change from the source material. In the OG Musa was paired up with Riven in a totally toxic relationship, and it seems like they’ve given that toxicity to Stella/Sky and that will hopefully not be an ongoing thing.
This episode also brought Beatrix into the story a bit more, and we learn little hints about her. Turns out the person who sent her also sent Callum, the director’s assistant and they work together and plot how to uncover some secrets. This part of the story is interesting because I just really wanted to know how they fit into everything, and who they were working for.
Then my last complaint for this episode was that the CGI of the Burned One’s when in the daytime just wasn’t the best. Especially when they’re moving, it seems low budget (which is strange for Netflix). Unfortunately, Fate seems to focus more on high school drama, drugs and swearing over ensuring the quality is top-notch.
Episode 4 is a Beatrix heavy episode and we see her relationship with Riven as well as Bloom. I actually liked Beatrix and Riven as a couple as they have chemistry, but also work well as a team.
Seeing Beatrix and Bloom team up was also good to watch. They have a good dynamic between them, and actually because the 5 main girls have been written the way they have in Fate, this relationship between our lead and potential enemy doesn’t feel dissimilar to how Bloom is with her 4 suitemates.
Episode 4 – Some Wrecked Angel
Bloom continues her search for answers with Sky. Beatrix works to conceal her crime. A special guest visits Alfea – and leaves Stella feeling conflicted.
Whilst Bloom is finding out what she can, Aisha is helping her by filling in as the directors assistant. This allows her to listen in on important conversations, but again relegates Aisha to a back seat role when she could be so much more. Winx Fate just doesn’t seem to want Aisha to have her own storyline, however it could be becuase she’s focused on more in the second series (similar to her introduction in the OG show?) I can only hope.
When all this is happening, we also finally meet Stella’s mother, the Queen of Solaria. Her mother and how she treats Stella pretty much explains why Stella is the way she is. “Appearance is everything” is the motto, which counters the appearance doesn’t matter sentiment Sky says in an earlier episode. However there’s clearly a lot of trauma, and I found this added backstory and negative emotions built on Stella’s character so much.
This episode also introduces a new place, Aster Dell, which is the first time we’ve really expanded past Alfea in the Otherworld. This introduction also gives a lot of context behind Beatrix and we get a great insight into motivations. This being the only other place we visit also makes the world feel small, instead of expansive and high fantasy. I’m unsure if Fate was looking to make their world urban or high fantasy, but I think they missed the mark.
Overall Some Wrecked Angel was a packed episode, with focus in building up Beatrix and Stella’s stories. It does move Bloom’s along as well, plus gives detailing on Silva, Dowling and Harvey possibly knowing more than they let on. It definitely keeps you hooked.
Episode 5 – Wither into the Truth
In order to reconnect with Beatrix, Bloom seeks the help of a fellow student. Sky opens up about his past. Ms. Downling shares more of her story.
The penultimate episode, Wither into the Truth, starts to answer a lot more of our questions. We finally get to see (most) of the group start working like a team which I loved. However, there’s still a lot of disputes and it just didn’t feel like some of them are friends but more putting up with one another.
Beatrix is a well-written character, and I liked how she was powerful by manipulation rather than pure force. She uses others’ emotions and even makes Silva feel sorry for her by lying when Dowling is trying to find out info from her. Her control is really interesting to watch, and the hook of finding out who she works for is still a big question.
This episode builds up to the final by showing all the fairies and specialists in full war training. This shows that most of these characters are not ready at all, and reiterates that these are kids and shouldn’t be fighting a war against the Burned Ones. It actually reminds me a lot of the episode of Doctor Who RJC was in, and he’s great in that teacher role in this situation.
This is also an episode where we get a fuller understanding of Silva, Dowling and Harvey’s backstory. We also learn more of Sky’s father, Andreas who worked alongside the teachers. We also see the hero in a more negative light, which is a stark contrast and it pushes the narrative of you don’t know who is good or bad. This is a core story-telling technique for Fate, so I’m interested to learn more.
What I loved about this episode was that Stella finally opens up about herself. This shows that she has a connection to Bloom because she had similar struggles when she first started at Alfea. Stella, despite being the fairy of light, is very much in her mother’s shadow and is seen as an extension of her by being part of the royal family. The deep expectations on her really do affect her, and it shows a lot of depth to her character.
One of the issues I had was because of the limited episodes, a lot of the romances and loyalties feel like they’re too fast. Whilst some of the episodes take place over a few days, it’s not always clear and so it feels like a lot of loyalty between some characters in about a week’s worth of time.
A Fanatic Heart is a fast paced final episode, and it involves a lot of moving pieces falling into place.
First things first, we finally understand more about Rosalind and how she’s been working with Beatrix. I loved how these characters mirrored one another, and both were exceedingly good at charming others and being manipulative.
Episode 6 – A Fanatic Heart
As the Alfeans fight for survival, the truth about Bloom’s destiny is revealed. Can she help defeat the Burned Ones – or will evil outperform magic?
Bloom proves the strength of both her powers and her ability to lead (most of) her friends into her plans. Honestly one of the worst parts of the episode was that the girls didn’t all act like a team. I wish they’d spent more time building these characters into actual friends, and didn’t have some of them act like support characters.
However, we did get to see some powerful magic from Bloom as she uncovers more about who she is. This I liked as it felt closer to the source material, and I loved that Stella and Aisha both helped her to achieve this despite them having vastly different views on how Bloom should learn magic in the previous episodes.
This episode definitely has the most use of CGI, which is unfortunate. It’s not the best and it does feel like Netflix invested a lot more into shows like Sabrina than this one or something changed last minute and these were rushed.
The episode really caught my attention when one of the characters mentions witches. In the final act we learn that witches are a thing, and so hopefully this is part of a set up for Season 2 and it brings in the witchy element.
The season finale for Fate The Winx Saga is a lot. We get a lot of answers about Bloom, the Burned Ones and Rosalind which is exactly what we needed to complete this season’s story arc. However it also sets up the next season with the introduction of other questions and things that happened.
Overall Fate: The Winx Saga, really doesn’t resemble the animated show, The Winx Club, that it’s based on. However, it brings both good and bad things to the table. It adapts the premise of 5 girls (who share most of the same names) in a magic school, with Bloom wanting to find out who she is. It’s an adaptation based on the broad concept of the show, and not the show and storyline itself – and this actually does work better for the Riverdale-like gritty show they clearly wanted to make.
First up is the main characters, they are all heavily flawed individuals who do start to balance one another out by the end of the season. However, these flaws are so exaggerated in Fate that you almost dislike all of the characters which doesn’t make you want to continue watching. Whilst Stella’s, Musa’s and even Terra’s (not including the whitewashing as she’s replaced a latina-coded character from the OG series) flaws are explained by their backstory, others like Bloom’s do just make her a brat. Which she actually calls herself in the show.
I would say the actual storyline of the Burned Ones, Rosalind, and Bloom finding out who she is are all intriguing. I genuinely wanted to find out about all of these little mysteries and it kept me hooked to the end. It helps that there’s only 6 episodes, because there’s barely any time for filler content and the fast pace keeps pushing you along.
The fast pace also limits the ability for character growth and relationship development. The start of the series shows Bloom as, to be honest, being a “not like other girls” and not liking other people and by the end she’s the leader of a group of friends. The group of friends spend the majority of the show not getting along, and it does just feel like there wasn’t enough time spent on scenes which showed them becoming friends.
On the other hand, some characters like Stella are really well written. She’s got a completed backstory which explains why she acts the way she does, and it is not just told to us but shown throughout the season. We also see her slowly become more open to other people, and this strengthens her. We then have Terra who’s super insecure and learns to stand up for herself with multiple other characters, based on her experience with the girls she lives with. My only complaint here is that I wish Aisha had a similar arc where she improved because she didn’t have as much of a flaw to overcome, and so doesn’t feel like the main character she should be.
The world building isn’t quite there either, but I do think it’s probably down to budget. We’re pretty much only in Alfea and surrounding grounds, which is most likely due to location budgets. This is also likely why the Otherworld is a single world rather than multiple planets which look vastly different and would possibly cost more. The CGI is also not the best, so we can tell it’s not the highest quality show and probably has a lower budget than shows like Game of Thrones.
The actors are mostly good actors, and also lesser known. I enjoyed seeing a range of British actors that I’ve seen on my screen before and taking on roles which are pushing their acting from what I’ve seen before. Both Silva and Rosalind’s actors were stand outs for me. Out of the main girls I’ve not really seen any of them except Abigail Cowen in other shows, but I thought they did a great job of acting like young girls who are not the most confident and have a lot of pressure on them.
Overall Fate is not the Winx Club, but it also doesn’t seem to be trying too hard to be that either. It’s clearly taken a lot of inspiration from shows like Riverdale, Sabrina, and even Euphoria. It just so happens that a concept was initially about a magical fairy school with 5 girls that share a name with the original animated series.
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