We have already reached the penultimate episode of Fate: The Winx Saga! And this episode is wonderful. Alfea’s story is finally revealed as the characters face key decisions that will shape not only their present … but their future as well.
Here we go!
The episode begins with Farah trying to get something out of Bellatrix but she just teases her … there is nothing Farah can say or do to convince her. Rosalind taught her too well … so Farah runs out of options as the burned lurk more and more in Alfea’s vicinity and the hope that it was a lone wolf faded long ago.
Queen Luna is unwilling to help Farah, not after Stella has run away and what happened in the previous episode. That leaves Alfea’s army of specialists to fight the burned … but nothing goes right. A specialist is wounded and Noura, who had been tracking them for a long time, holds on to the end but ends up dying … she can’t fight everyone. They are an army heading towards Alfea.
The Burned are an increasingly clear threat, so the fairies and specialists train together to defeat them. Bloom and Sky are together by order of Silva and Sky can’t help but feel guilty about it. He feels torn between his feelings for Bloom that tell him to tell her the whole truth, confessing to her once, before it is too late, and the intrinsic loyalty he feels towards Silva because, beyond duty, he is his father.
So he tries to mediate the situation. Sky doesn’t hesitate to tell Silva that he is sure of Bloom, he is convinced that she is not a danger to them and when he is better known her, the more … he feels things for her. Sky doesn’t say it out loud, although the implication is clear, he’s not ready to do it yet, and when he does, he wants Bloom to be the one to hear him.
Silva tries to get him to say the words but he can’t. Sky feels … broken in two halves and also betrayed by Silva because he is his father and he is making him choose, he is making him betray the person he has feelings for. Again, he was about to say it … although not yet.
Silva returns to deliver the sermon about honor. Orders are sometimes difficult to carry out but honorable, even if the road is lonely. That leads us to see Sky’s father for the first time. He abandoned everything, even his son, for duty. But is that the way to live? Not really.
I think the false promise of duty or honor is not important when you put it in perspective with family, with love … those are the things that really matter. That is why this attitude of Silva seems so cruel to me. Sky is not just another soldier, he is his son.
And he must behave like a father, not some kind of commander who is tearing his son to pieces. Wasn’t that Rosalind’s problem after all? Fanaticism? We go back to the dilemma of …do the ends justify the means? Well, they don’t, just as nothing justifies a parent doing this to a child.
On a break from training, we have a hugely special scene between Terra and Riven. It’s the scene that made me ship them. There is a spark, a connection between them, a change. For once, he doesn’t insult her and praise her powers, they just talk about her. I think this is the first time they do it. Terra returns the compliment because she really thinks he’s good, although Riven doesn’t see himself that way.
Part of Riven’s problem is that he’s so focused on being the best, on standing out that he doesn’t realize he’s really good and sabotages himself. And then they treat the elephant in the room: Bellatrix. Terra knows that Riven cared about her. Somehow she got through to him and Terra is so kind that she doesn’t care about her past with Riven, she really regrets that Bellatrix wasn’t who Riven thought she was.
And he does not deny it, nor does he attack her, he allows himself to be helped, he allows himself … to be consoled. What has happened with Bellatrix has been very hard and the worst thing is that Dane is still hooked on her, not caring what she did, without realizing that the relationship they have is toxic. He already realized that but Dane is still there, at the same point.
I love this scene because it is a shy conversation between them, sometimes with more awkward silences than words but it is the first real conversation we see them having and it is just how it has to be. And there is that connection between them … I almost expected Terra to offer Riven to train with him and be his fairy. But we’re not there … yet.
And I really would have liked to know, see Riven’s evolution and find out how we got from “the weird fat girl” to “you’re really powerful”, “Terra, the super spy.” Too bad we didn’t have time to see it. We needed more than 6 episodes! I melt with them, I don’t hide it. What is certain is that before anything happens between them, Riven must apologize because I have not forgotten who he is or what he did to Terra. And I really hope all of this plays out in season 2.
Continuing the scene, just then Dane arrives and we see how roles have been reversed with Riven. Now Dane is a real asshole and Riven just a tormented boy who needs someone who is really willing to meet him.
The scene between Riven and Terra, along with Dane’s attitude, shows us that there is an exchange of roles between Dane and Riven. With Riven I can understand him more because he signed up to be with a bad girl of the same style as him. Smoking, skipping classes, making sharp comments, sneaking into the teachers’ office … but he didn’t sign up for a relationship with a murderer.
Riven realized that everything he saw of Bellatrix was a hoax, a facade, she didn’t like the way he was, just as he thought, he was only a means to an end. So he’s disappointed, angry, and doesn’t want to see Bellatrix again.
Dane is on the other side of the coin. His toxic relationship with Bellatrix has not changed nor has he been broken by everything he has discovered about her, on the contrary. He prefers to convince himself that everything was true, she is different, he is too … and that is not bad. That is just what she made him feel and he is convinced that this is not tainted by what she did. That was real. So he is going to defend her and fight for her.
It’s a really important change in these two characters and I think they should have explained it better because we went from Riven defending Bellatrix in front of Sky and in front of the world and Dane is just … there … to Dane doing the impossible for her and Riven doesn’t want to see her or hear her name. It is a very radical change that happens without explanation or basis, beyond speculation. And we urgently needed an explanation for this to make sense.
Although I do not blame them much for not giving us this explanation because the truth is that they did not have time. They are only 6 episodes and they still had a lot to tell, so this was left in the air.
The point is, Dane is determined to help Bellatrix at any cost and Bloom wants to do it for her own reasons too. So both team up to achieve it.
With the help of Dane, Bloom manages to reach Bellatrix but she is still not sure that everything is true. At least Bloom has common sense here because her search for answers is clouding her judgment and she doesn’t even seem like our Bloom. Bellatrix understands that she is distrustful and gives her advice: not to trust anyone, not even her friends, except Rosalind.
Sorry? I mean, Bloom doesn’t know Rosalind at all, why would she trust her before she trusted her friends? Or even about Farah, because she did a lot more for Bloom than Rosalind did and at least she knows Farah more.
But while Bloom does not want to trust Farah, which may be understandable because she has insisted on hiding the truth from her, she should not trust Rosalind either. She has no reason to. And, of course, she should trust her friends. They have always been there for her.
When we think that Bloom is going to send Bellatrix to hell, we see how her words, incomprehensibly, seem to have penetrated her and Bloom is going to help her escape.
And, honestly, I can understand that Bloom needs answers. What’s more, that she deserves them all at once. But I cannot understand how she simply trusts what Bellatrix tells her, someone who, as far as she knows, despite her past, is a murderer and tries to reach Rosalind, someone she does not know but who clearly has a lot to hide. And all that without talking to her friends or giving Farah the benefit of the doubt. That is, without knowing Farah’s version and if she would be willing to give her all the answers she needs.
Bloom is not my favorite person right now. I said what I said.
Knowing that Bloom may be in danger and in a desperate situation … desperate measures are required. So Terra is determined to confront Dane again and learn what he is up to with Bloom. So she takes a deep breath, and my brave and strong girl goes for it … and we already have to give her a crown because she’s the QUEEN.
Dane, AKA the jerk, tries to make everything about him, wanting Terra to feel guilty because she turned her back on him after he laughed at her, because according to him she left him abandoned and Bellatrix never made him feel like shit. Well, Dane, what the hell did you expect? Seriously, I want to know. That is, according to him, Terra should have crawled before him and forgiven him without a second thought.
Well look, no, asshole. Terra is worth too much to stoop to hanging out, let alone forgiving, creeping snakes like you. It is you who would have to crawl before her. And if Dane does all this about him and tries to emotionally manipulate Terra, feeling offended that she did not forgive him when he pretended to be sorry, he never really knew Terra and never deserved her.
And since he mentioned Bellatrix, saying that she didn’t make him feel bad. Idiot, doesn’t he see that’s part of the problem? Someone who doesn’t mind you humiliating and making fun of another person and doesn’t make you notice means that he is a toxic person and probably just as terrible as you. All this makes me angry, pissed off, and disgusts me, all at the same time.
Seriously, Fuck Dane!
And bravo my Queen Terra for not being intimidated or manipulated!
However, as soon as the Winx find out that there is something going on between them, they are not going to make it easy for them, including Stella.
Because she escapes from the clutches of her mother and returns to Alfea, to her room, with her friends, her safe place. Only she’s still very … insecure. She does not want to be judged so she does not dare to be seen, despite the fact that Terra and the others miss her. She was a constant in Terra’s life and not having her there seems strange … and there is a void in her heart that she did not expect to feel.
In the end, Stella shows up to Musa and talks to her. She really talks to her, opens up to her and tells her all. What it’s like to be the queen’s daughter, how she treats her, her training … and what happened to Ricky. And this is character growth because this is the first time that Stella has talked to someone other than Sky. It is the first time that she has allowed herself to be vulnerable with another person and that she allows herself to be helped and supported. And I’m so proud of Stella that I’m going to cry.
Still, it is still difficult for Stella to be so open because she is afraid that others will judge her or treat her badly, after all, she did not treat them exactly right and she could not blame them. But it is a huge advance that Stella opens up with Musa. She promised herself that if she could have said goodbye to them, it was what she would have done and now she is there, doing it. Proud mama here!
And now that Stella is there, she has opinions. And Bloom is no exception. Terra, Aisha and Musa want to stop Bloom from making the mistake of releasing Bellatrix so they are going to stop her. They know she needs answers but … that’s not the way. Bloom is so determined to do what she thinks best that she almost attacks them and that is when she realizes that she almost harmed her friends, causing her to react and give up … for now.
Stella, for her part, thinks they should do just the opposite: help Bloom. This may be the only way for her to find out the truth and she deserves to do so. They are her friends and should help her in whatever way. Aisha is erased from that plan but the others follow Stella’s advice and, together, they reach Farah’s trap, leaving Bellatrix seriously injured … and they manage to reach Rosalind. Leaving us with honey on our lips while Aisha tells Farah everything.
Again, I have to say that I’m quite disappointed in Aisha. You may not agree with your friends, but you never betray them, especially not in that way. Friendship implies loyalty and trust and Aisha has shown neither the one nor the other.
On the other hand, I have to say that I do not agree with Stella here. Of course, Bloom deserves to know her past but unleashing an unknown threat and Bellatrix, who know perfectly well is capable of killing does not seem the ideal solution or the most intelligent. I think Terra, Aisha, and Musa did well to stop Bloom.
And we come to the scene of Riven and Musa. I know you were all waiting for something between them and … here it is. More or less. The truth is that they have chemistry between them. This scene does not in itself add anything to the plot beyond knowing the characters a little more so they may have put it to wink at the fans of that couple or as a clue that something will happen between them in the future.
You know that I don’t ship them but hey, it’s up to them to make me change my mind. Personally, I prefer Riven with Terra, as you know, but hey … I don’t quite close the door on these two either. Who knows…
As for the scene itself. I like to see this warrior Musa who wants to do more than know the feelings of others. She wants to fight like a specialist and this is an extension of what she later tells Sam. She wants to feel that she is useful and with her powers she doesn’t feel that way. What Musa doesn’t see is that she’s really useful, just in a different way.
But I would like to see Musa fight because fairies also train and can kick ass without their magic, hopefully we will explore this story in season 2. I think it is unfair that they are not allowed to do it or that they do not train their physical abilities, apart from their powers.
As for Riven, Musa has detected that he doesn’t like being there. He feels that being in Alfea, being a specialist … all that has been imposed on him. But no one asks him what he wants. He is screaming in silence, he has been doing it for a long time … and nobody listens to him so he is tired of being there. He is tired of being alone. And it’s funny because with this character I’ve gone from wanting to kill him to wanting to hug him.
For his part, Sky catches Bloom just when she is trying to carry the piece that Bellatrix gives her and it is time to open up with her. He knows that for her to do it, he can’t keep anything either. So he confesses everything: Silva, his mission … everything. Bloom feels angry but, above all, disappointed. She thought there was something between them … something real, and now she thinks she knows that everything is a lie.
But is not. Sky tries to make it clear that she can trust him, although Bloom does not believe it, right now her trust in him is on the ground but maybe … she maybe she can convince him, so that he understands. So she tells him everything Bellatrix told her. Sky doesn’t quite believe it because he knows everyone involved, especially Silva, and he knows they would never kill innocent people but Bloom makes a fair point. For the greater good, perhaps they would.
Bloom needs the truth, whatever it is. And Sky can relate to that. He also did not know his parents or his past. And Bloom is in the same situation … only she doesn’t need help, she can go through it alone, she’s not broken … not like him. She doesn’t need anyone to fix her and that drives Sky crazy. After all, he is the son of a hero, or so they say, he is just an ideal … he never met his father.
And it is tough. It’s very hard trying to live up to a ghost. He feels that everyone, including Silva, has certain expectations of him for being the child of who he is and he strives to meet those expectations. That is what they expect of him, to help people … and he does it without thinking because if he did, if he thought, he would have to think, he would have to accept how broken he is.
Because no one notices, no one knows or no one cares enough but he is broken. He never knew his father and that, despite having Silva there, created a huge void in his chest, in his heart. He doesn’t even know the circumstances of his death and Silva … sometimes he treats Sky more like a soldier than a father, not caring what that means to him.
And there is a dark and strange charm in having a broken soul, in being broken, in healing together, we all are to a greater or lesser extent, and together they could … not be broken anymore. And finally, Sky does what she has wanted to do since he met Bloom: kisses her.
It is a passionate kiss, full of unspoken promises, full of hope for a future. Full of endings and beginnings. And it is perfect. From the kiss itself to the music and the place, in the stone circle with the power of Bloom surrounding them.
However, with that kiss everything is not yet clear between them. Bloom has not yet confessed what she was doing in that stone circle or what her plans are. And it hurts Sky that she doesn’t trust him. But Bloom does, he may be the one she trusts the most … she doesn’t want him to stop her. And she knows that he will do it because she sets out to do something crazy. It is then that the drug that Bloom gave him moments before takes the effect and Sky is knocked unconscious. And we confess that here we want to kill Bloom. A little.
At the end of the episode, Bloom and Farah finally see each other’s faces and talk. They really talk. Bloom reveals her cards. She already knows everything. Aster Dell, what happened there, why and … that she was born there. Farah is shocked. So Farah finally tells Bloom her story. Rosalind was not the good woman she seems … in fact, she was the one to blame for it all.
Now, Bloom has two versions of the same story but she needs answers. She needs the truth. She needs to analyze everything for herself and form an opinion. And, for that, she needs to speak to Rosalind in person. But Farah can’t allow it. Rosalind is locked up for a reason … whatever she has to say she won’t be worth it to be released again. The destruction Rosalind would do … no, Farah can’t free her.
So she begs Bloom to wait and promises that she will help her get all the answers she needs, fill in all the blanks. And here Bloom does something again that makes me want to shake her to make sense of her. She ignores Farah and, along with all the Winx, frees Bellatrix and reaches Rosalind, willing to free her.
I understand that Bloom needs answers, I really do understand that. She is already tired of waiting, of not knowing who she is, that each person she talks to will tell her something different. But she knows Farah or at least she should know that she is more trustworthy than Bellatrix or Rosalind herself, whom she does not know, at least Farah saved her and brought her to Alfea under her protective wing. That alone would deserve the benefit of the doubt from Bloom and for her to realize that if she locked up Rosalind and begs her not to release her it is for good reason. As well as trusting her promise that she will help her.
That is to say, Farah does not refuse to get her answers or to give her what she can, as before. She now she is willing to discover with Bloom the whole story of 16 years ago. And I really don’t understand why Bloom is so willing to unleash hell instead of relying on the people who have shown her that they are going to be there for whatever she needs or at least give them the benefit of the doubt. But she doesn’t and that will have dire consequences.
This episode really marks a before and after and, along with episode 4, is one of the best of the entire season. It is a turning point in the story where the characters face their decisions and the consequences of them and have to choose their path.
Here, ends the review of episode 5. Stay tuned for our episode 6 review tomorrow! That episode is SO LIT.
Agree? Desagree? Don’t hesitate to share it with us in the comments below!
Fate: The Winx Saga is available to stream on Netflix.
