Winx Reboot Notes Episode 9

- “The Simulation Room.” I love that we’re not even trying with out episode titles.

- Also, not gonna lie, I still call it the magical reality chamber. Bless 4Kids terminology.

- Gurl I just said that song is a miss. Please stop playing it.

- Okay, so having to face your fears is a good plot. Generally good idea. And I like the magical reality chamber being tied into that. But the fact that your fears are on display FOR YOUR ENTIRE CLASS??? So we gotta get re-traumatized publicly to pass? Someone please shut down this school.

- My simulation room test would probably be the Winx reboot being the only Winx content I could ever consume again.

- Bloom saying that being dragged to Faragonda’s office is scary is so telling. In the original, Faragonda might’ve been strict, but she was first and foremost kind. She was a fairy godmother figure, always compassionate and caring and wise, and you felt safe around her. This Faragonda? I expect her to lecture me for defending myself from evil, and then to continue letting the evil torment me.

- “Your studies have suffered.” Can we see this please? Instead of being told this randomly?

- I love that all the generic spells — like for portals or other miscellaneous shit — are just three Latin words thrown together.

- Vexius just barging into the library and presumably killing a teacher… Faragonda and Griffin don’t sense that? But they could sense the fight in the city last episode???

- Also, the fact Barbatea only shows up now, is unnamed, and to my memory never is shown again for the rest of the season. No one even mentions her going missing or something happening to her. Like, did Vexius actually kill her and no one cares???

- The way only the Winx and Trix go into the simulation room, and none of the background students. Amazing.

- I get Bloom’s afraid of hurting her friends with her magic, but the way that they just teleported in front of her attack, and they all presumably die a horrible fiery death? Is very funny.

- “BLOOM! SAVE US!!!” Accurate summation of seasons 4 and onward.

- This also feels so odd. We still don’t have a solid understanding of these characters in their status quo, and they don’t feel like friends, yet we’re already being thrown into the deep end of their darkest fears???

- Radius looks HORRIFYING. Like a true GREMLIN.

- Wait, if he' represents the sun, why is he wearing a crescent moon necklace?

- I love that everyone else has these emotionally resonant fears of hurting loved ones, being looked down on, being a disappointment, meanwhile Flora’s is just, “OH NO I CAN’T SAVE TREES!!!” Like wow, for being Iginio’s favorite, he doesn’t seem to think about who she is very much.

- I think Lola made this exact joke when we talked about the Nightmare Gargoyle episode, lmfao.

- Tecna’s nightmare was definitely the best. That felt accurate to her character, and genuinely upsetting. I can see neurodivergent people especially relating to her in this scenario.

- Musa’s nightmare was good until the monsters just randomly attacked her father. That just killed the tone.

- Aisha’s nightmare has the same problem as Musa’s, but worse. Why is she suddenly transported to this random desert with an altered version of the monster from episode 5? What does that have to do with her parents being disappointed in her???

- Also, don’t think I didn’t notice y’all recycling that monster model and changing it slightly.

- I wanna like the Trix’s nightmare, where they all clearly distrust each other, but that doesn’t work when we don’t understand them as characters. I’d be hoping for some insight into who they actually are on their own.

- Darcy’s scream as she runs forward is so cursed.

- Icy’s running animation looks so meme-worthy.

- Damien’s clearly worried about his father’s identity being revealed by the simulator. That’s actually a nice touch.

- The Damien plot twist is obvious, but I’m assuming he and Bloom’s nightmares are in the same area cuz this is the ruins of Domino.

- Weird Bloom doesn’t realize they’re the same place though.

- Also, why would they both imagine Domino? They would’ve been newborns when it fell, meaning there’s no way even subconscious memories could’ve formed around it.

- How do the Winx not recognize Vexius as the fake music agent form last episode? His face is clearly visible.

- The Winx just… overcoming their fears no problemo is so anticlimactic.

- It’s giving Aisha telling Bloom and Stella to get their shit together in the Labyrinth of the Abyss.

- Okay, Flora’s Blossoming Bud spell is cute. I’ve always wanted her to have an actual closed flower for a shield.

- Not Flora being worried for Damien as a victim of actual abuse. It feels so weird to have that kind of real-ass conflict in such an insincere show.

- We really didn’t need Vexius and Damien. Why couldn’t it just be the Trix this first season as our villains?

- Oh, so… Faragonda just tells Bloom about her power. Not only is it super early, but Bloom doesn’t even get to go on a journey of trying to figure it out herself. It was a big deal that kept her an active protagonist, and ultimately, it being revealed by the Trix as they take her power was a devastating blow. A memorable moment. This just feels like a damn checklist.

- Also, Bloom having the Dragon Flame, but no one making the Domino connection… even though it’s clear by this point the Dragon Flame is from Domino???

- “There are dark forces that want to steal your Dragon Flame.” Like the Trix — WHO YOU KEEP PARDONING.

- The way Faragonda and Griffin already suspect it to be Vexius, but refuse to say his name, even when nobody else is in the room. It’s giving Ozpin’s council of losers in RWBY.