We live in a world where, unfortunately, people set their worth based on how many followers they have. They worry about a number on social media and based on that number we tell ourselves how popular and loved we are. A number based on an algorithm that someone who doesn’t know us wrote – so many of us base our worth on that.
But can you imagine being a teenager and your school program is also giving the stress of followers and popularity is based on that? Hard pass. And that’s what Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, Episode 5 explores.
MORE: OUR REVIEW OF THE FIRST EPISODE OF THE SEASON HERE
For Billie, she’s excited that she’s finally gotten her school tablet. The tablet connects kids to Badger Book. Badger Book is supposed to be a place where kids can keep up on their assignments and their parents can get their grades. It was created to be a device to help the students, but Winter quickly explains the concept of followers equals popularity.
And when Billie gets her first follower she feels the rush of what someone following you can feel like. She loves it. She wants more. And she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get more – from food to unboxings and everything that she can think of in between. But she isn’t getting followers.
Instantly, I think that the show is trying to tell the viewer that followers aren’t something that you should worry about, it’s the content of your character. This isn’t a bad lesson to learn. Especially when you’re a child – though I think it’s something that we could learn from at any age.
Billie though, needs to learn the lesson the hard way – she uses magic. Magic means that her followers are really going to be all in on this follow thing. They are entranced zombies wanting more and more of her. They hang on her every word and try to literally get a piece of her. She’s afraid and even stuffs herself into a locker to try and get away from them.
MORE: OUR REVIEW OF THE SECOND EPISODE OF THE SEASON HERE
Magic is something that I think we all wish we were capable of doing. It’s something that we all think would make our lives easier, but it’s something watching shows like this that you’re reminded that it’s just another thing that can complicate life. But that’s part of the beauty of shows like this coming back for their target audience – of middle schoolers and kids – that they are given the chance to see something and learn it.
Now, I think that this show has gone far from the original and I do miss the way that it felt more like a family show and the whole family dynamic of the sandwich shop. I miss the more of a family feeling that The Wizards of Waverly Place gave and the things that it taught us about friendship.
I understand that Winter is supposed to be the new Harper – and I do love Winter. But I would love her more if they utilized her more. The heart-to-heart moments that friends have, the ideas that they would bounce off of each other, and the way that they would bond. I want to see that with Winter Billie and Roman.
MORE: OUR REVIEW OF THE THIRD EPISODE OF THE SEASON HERE
But I digress.
In order to try to fix the situation, Billie transfers her followers to Roman’s so she can get to the lair and get a spell to stop it. It turns out that they have to break the enchanted tablet in order to break the spell.
It turns out that Milo has been in the lair all day and understands why he’s not supposed to be in there but enjoys every minute that he’s in there. He even bonds with the Wizard encyclopedia dude and helps him to have fun.
Back to school – Giada and Billie can’t find Roman’s tablet to break, so they just start destroying everyone. Can’t even imagine what Justin would have to say about that if he wasn’t a zombie and had seen them do it. But they do it and he doesn’t notice, and they are able to make up excuses as to why it happened.
What I did love about this episode is at the end, Justin realizes that he needs to remove the follower feature from Badger Book.
MORE: OUR REVIEW OF THE FOURTH EPISODE OF THE SEASON HERE
Having a wizard in the house is a new experience for them all, and I am loving seeing the family grow. I wish that it had more of the heart that the original had, but I am getting used to what is.
And I am not mad at what is.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is streaming now on Disney+.
