Fate: The Winx Club Saga has been getting alot of talk on the internet, mostly on the changes from the original child TV shows. Unlike the original bubbly 2k children show, this show draws on darker edgy teen themes like Vampire Diaries, The Magicians, Riverdale, and Supernatural. The show has been gettings a ton of bad reviews by Winx fans and critics alike. But is Fate: The Winx Club Saga really as bad as they’re saying?
The series is about a fairy named Bloom, who is attending the fairy school, Alfea. The story follows her learning how to be a fairy while uncovering her mysterious past. The show is an adaptation of the Nick TV show Winx Club and was produced by Brian Young- who also produced Vampire Diaries.
This show actually strongly reminded me of the SciFi show The Magician(also on Netflix) because of the use of magic and the dark themes in a school setting. It is something that is raw and that many people will relate to. I must admit I am a fan of dark shows and this is why I think I loved the reboot. I loved the ways they introduced the themes and the aesthetic of the show, even if it wasn’t bright and bubbly.
The way Netflix chose darker themes and plots for their reboot reminds me of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Riverdale. When the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina came out there was alot of backlash comparing it to the original, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Likewise with Riverdale, with angry fans comparing the angsty teen show to the original comic books. If you liked that edgy reboots you are sure to like Winx Club. I think this is a great example of a successful reboot with an original plotline, so you aren’t repeating the same show.
As much as I’d love to have a live-action similar to the original Winx club this type of reboot allows for the most creativity. We need to separate the original show from this Netflix remake and accept they’re not supposed to be the same, think about how fan-fiction approaches original stories.
If this was an original show and not a reboot of a happy beloved childhood TV show, I believed that this would be one of the most raved about shows of the year. The majority of the hate stems from the casting and how the original TV show was. You got everything you need for a teen supernatural drama- magic, romance, secrets, and drama. We need to separate the original show from this Netflix remake and accept they’re not supposed to be the same.
In other shows cliche characters would be applauded and adored. I actually think the characters were given more dimension than the orginal children’s TV show because as a mature show they’re allowed to talk about more mature themes. You can relate to the characters and actually connect to their fantasy experiences. Even the catty and confrontational relationship between the characters is relatable. It allows us to see the friendship of the Winx club grow over the show.
There are, however, some issues with the TV show because nothing is perfect.
There has also been alot of discourse on the removal of diverse characters like Flora/Terra and Musa. They took out Flora who was supposed to be Hispanic repression and replaced her with a white character named Terra, who is supposedly her cousin. However, it is nice to point out that Terra isn’t your stick-thin character like in the original show and encourages body diveristy. Musa is also an Asian character who was originally modeled after a Chinese American woman. The actress who plays Musa is 1/4 Singapore and 3/4 European, which has caused a backlash from the Asian community. With how diverse the original show was, this is a setback no matter how to choose to frame it.
The series was also rushed, packed into only six episodes. This took a serious effect on the world-building and what the viewer knew about the way this universe was set up. The story can easily be confusing for people not familiar with Winx Club, because of how they throw casual references to the world around them without full context. In this first season, we are only introduced to two of the nine realms. We also are not fully aware of how the school sets up and operates until the end of the series. The producers should have been more considerate to the viewers and helped further develop the world before diving into the thrilling storyline.
Overall I enjoyed the show despite the problematic casting and the fact it is nothing like the original series. If you’ve never seen the original Winx Club or are open to watching something as a new series, give this Netflix show a try.