Nabu: Enchanted Sleep or Death?

I have finished watching The Shimmering Shells episode.

In the first half of the episode, Stella, Bloom and Aisha must confront their doubts about themselves in the Labyrinth of the Abysses to find a clue to the Gem of Self-Confidence. The Winx are entrapped in an illusion that makes them confront the people that are the source of their doubts. In particular, Aisha confronts an apparition of Nabu.

In the last season, Nabu had sacrificed himself to close the Black Circle's abyss in Tir Nan Og. The Winx had tried to use the Gift of Darkness to revive Nabu but Ogron wasted it on a flower leaving Nabu doomed to whatever fate was in store for him. What had actually happened to him in that episode was obviously ambiguous. In the original version, Morgana mention she and the Earth fairies would take care of Nabu until he woke up for Aisha, but the way Sky placed Nabu's staff on his chest made it seem as if Nabu was a fallen warrior--as if he had died in battle. Wrapping up his body in flowers did not help the image either. However, the fact remains that Morgana said that she would take care of Nabu until he woke up, meaning that Nabu was simply in a deep sleep, maybe a coma or an enchanted slumber.

At first, I thought that this had been a case of Never Say "Die" or Disney Death. Either the writers had actually let Nabu die but due to various reasons did not want to use the word "death" and its related terms or Nabu really was in some sort of slumber and were planning to use him in the next season as a plot device.

Now, if we look to the Shimmering Shells episode, Aisha confronts an apparition of Nabu that accuses her of "letting [him] die."

Aisha: Nabu, I miss you so much!
Nabu: So why did you let me die? You let me die! You could have saved me, but you let me die.

Those are some harsh accusations! Granted, this is not the real Nabu speaking, but an illusion created by the Shimmering Shells and possibly Aisha's subconsciousness. As the audience, we must ask whether this is an accurate display of the reality of those events. Does Aisha see Nabu's actions as the cause of his death? Is he really (biologically) dead? Or does Aisha just view his unconsciousness as not living his daily life?

After so much time, we still do not have an accurate answer!

Season four's latter half definitely gave the series a darker tone after the introduction of the Earth Fairies and their need for revenge.It hit its darkest moment when Ogron wasted the Black Gift and let Nabu fall into his (pseudo?) death. I believe that this helps it appeal to its older audience, but as usual, the series abounds with story inconsistencies.

Personally, I think Rainbow and Nickelodeon have invested too much into Nabu's "death" to just leave him dead. Dafne apparently does not have a physical body yet she is a spirit bound to a lake. Isn't the fact that she has no body considered "death" too? With the advent of Dafne's role in season five, I think they might use her situation to somehow bring back Nabu.

The Spill: Reviewed

There are theories going around that the episode "The Lilo" was actually episode five and that Nick had aired it for the sake of being a season five premiere and the episode "The Spill" is the real first episode of the season. I have to say that those people could be right, but we will find out for certain if "The Lilo" airs again as the fifth episode. For now, watch the episode here! Or here!

From this point on, the post contains spoilers about the episode. Read at your own discretion.

In this episode, the Winx Club promote their concert and Roxy reveals that she has been accepted into Alfea. As usual, everyone meets up at the Frutti Music Bar and Aisha feels particularly lonely after Nabu sacrificed himself to save the fairies of Earth from the Black Circle's portal into the abyss. The fairies and specialists watch a live stream of the coronation ceremony of Nereus, the next king of the sea of Andros. The ceremony is interrupted by Nereus's jealous twin brother Tritannus and is captured. On Earth, an oil platform near the Gardenia catches fire due to negligence and it is up to the Winx Club (sans Roxy) and the specialists to save the workers and stop the ensuing oil spill.

Of course, the specialists don't get new outfits.

First of all, Sky got another haircut. This time, from the royal barber and it's actually more obvious than last season's. Can someone please fix this man's hair? After eight years of production, all the designers could come up was something that looks like a bad copy of Brandon's cut? They have the internet and millions of hair magazines at their disposal and we get this?

Brandon, who are you to criticise? You gave Stella
a compact in season three and a ring with a huge
rock in season four.

Oh, and let's not forget another "royal trinket" that Sky loses: the Pendant of Eraklyon. One would think that he would have learned his lesson when he sold the seal of Eraklyon in the last season.

Seriously, who keeps entrusting this crowned prince with all this jewelry? You read that correctly. Sky is suddenly a crowned prince again. Nick and Rainbow better have a good and logical explanation about this. I have a gut feeling that this may have to do with the fact that Diaspro is making a return this season.

At the Frutti Music Bar, Bloom and gang decide to fly around and have a show of magic to promote their concert at the bar the next day. Did the Winx Club not teach Roxy to use her magic for good and the benefit of others in "Magic Lessons" (otherwise known as "The New Witch in Town")? I am fairly certain that in season one, the fairies were taught to not abuse their powers. So why are they using magic in such an ostentatious way to promote their show? Fireworks, aerial acrobatics and a flaming dragon is a little over doing it, isn't it? The Winx Club are really getting into a gray area about how to use magic, because that display of magic seemed like it was used for personal ends. Luckily, they saved face by turning their concert into a benefit for the victims of the oil spill at the end of the episode.

Fireworks, flaming dragons and music...it's starting to look like a circus now.

That is a pretty lengthy acceptance letter.
Hey, Varanda of Callisto! Where was yours?

It also looks like Roxy is back and she is being hastily shipped off to Alfea the next day. Watching Bloom tell Roxy that she should stay on the beach to keep everyone safe was painful to say the least. Judging from "The Lilo," the Winx Club go back to Alfea and maybe we will see Roxy studying every now and then.

Those of you who paid close attention to the episode will have noticed these little pixie replacements (pictured at right). There are several of them in varying colours in the throne room. One of them even holds the cushion holding the Nereus's crown. Rumor has it that they are called "Pescix." We will have to wait and see what comes of these little guys.

As seen in the preview, Tritannus is having issues with the order of succession and he attacks his father and brother during the ceremony. Personally, I was more concerned about Tressa because she is really the only person (erm, mermaid) who could amount to being the equivalent of a female specialist every time she picks up a weapon. I want to see more of her and less of her brothers sadly. I keep thinking that this is what this series needs. A real female to pick up a weapon and fight like a specialist. (I'm not a fan of Aisha in this aspect because of that feminist phase she went through in season two.)

In other news, the specialists are suddenly much more competent at, well...everything than they were in the last eight years when they went to save the oil platform workers. The fairies and specialists are now capable of working as a cohesive unit to save lives. That was truly something I was not expecting.  I wanted to do a spit take when I saw them following the girls into the scene. I would also like to add that they improved the music for the action scenes as well as made them more intense than last season's. I bet Nickelodeon had a hand in this entire scene and I admit it: I am impressed. Good job, Nick!

Catch!

The Trix make an appearance at the end of the episode. They share a cell next to Tritannus's. I do not understand how a cell underwater meant for mermaids and tritons prevents them from escaping but apparently, it is much more effective than their previous prisons. Why not send them back to Omega? The only reason that they could get away was because they used the powers of the ice serpents to open the portal, if I am not mistaken. Still, they are back and terrifying as ever. You would think that they would get tired of fighting the fairies, but I guess they really want their revenge.

Overall, I am pleased with the episode and I await the next one with bated breath to see how the Trix escape and see what Tritannus is planning.

Episode 2 Preview: Don't Cry Over Spilled Oil

Well, that is certain revealing. Tressa and Queen Ligea are thankfully back. Great to see that they're sticking to canon and going back to their established characters. So Tressa and Aisha are cousins, huh? The underwater world certainly did get much more colourful than it was in season three. I must admit that it is an improvement from when Valtor was there when the sea was dark and drab. I am surprised that they were brave enough to give a male character pink hair. It's an interesting choice, considering the colour palette for the underwater world. If I'm not mistaken, Nereus and Tritannus may have the same character model with just colour palettes swapped.

Image from Sensational Winx Club

Episode 1: The Lilo

Thanks to EnchantixGermany for uploading!



That episode blew away my expectations in many ways. First of all, we got to learn about Mitzi and her little (adorable) sister Macy. Second, we got another Flora-centric episode. (I think that last one was in season one when she visited the Black Mud Swamp.) Third, the Trix's "vacuums" (Whisperian Crystals) are back! The Lilo flower felt like a total MacGuffin though and I hope that it gets a bigger role in the upcoming episodes.

What did you think about the episode?

Mark your calendars! Season five air dates!

According to michelle loves you from Fanfiction.net, August 26 may be the air date for Winx Club season five, Beyond Believix. Watch her video below for more information. Thanks for sharing, Michelle!



*super quiet voice* Yaaaaay!

Still don't believe? Watch this video from the same user visiting theslap.com. It's occurred to us that the ads are also based on the user's location, which explains why I could not see the ad. (I'm in Canada obviously.)

In other news, a quick visit on the official Italian Winx Club site confirms that season five will air October 23 on Rai Due at 7:20 in the morning from Monday to Friday. (So if they're going to air the first thirteen episodes, wouldn't the first half of season five be over in less than a month in Italy?)

In other wonderful news, the official Winx Club site has now also put out a new trailer on the front page showing Bloom transform into sirenix. We can at least confirm from this that at least Bloom's sirenix transformation from the leaked video footage is real.

HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR SEASON FIVE!?

"We Are Believix" by Elizabeth Gillies

This must be the music video Ms Gillies was tweeting about a few months ago. This is the official one posted on Nick's site.

What do you think about the video?

Season Five Ad: Beyond Believix

Besides the trailer being a little cheesy with the mythical rhyming voice, I'm still holding judgement for the season. So the villain "Tritannus" (I'm still wondering if that is his final name and whether that's how it's spelt) is apparently Aisha's cousin, but wait a minute...Aisha the fairy has a mermaid cousin (er, triton cousin--thanks Anonymous)?

So what do you think?

Season Five opening song preview at Rainbow Magicland

On August 4th, 2012, fans can go to Rainbow Magicland in Valmontone, Rome to see an exclusive preview of the season five opening theme sung by the Winx Club! (If it is by the actual voice actors of the Winx or not is unknown.) There will also be a karaoke version that the fans can sing as well with the Winx.

Hopefully, someone will bring a camera into the park to record and upload it to the internet.

Source: Official Winx Club Site

Harmonix

Here's a close up of Stella, Bloom and Flora's new harmonix form:

I'm not sure about Stella's hair. It does seems a little...inelegant. It looks more fitting on Musa. And of course, the wings still look like PopPixie wings. Stella's are particularly strange in terms of colour contrast.

What do you think about harmonix so far?

Source: Winx Club Episodios

What I need from Season 5

Okay. I'm going to set something straight RIGHT NOW. I am going to have a hard time with Winx Season 5 if they don't at some point acknowledge the events of the Season 4 finale.

Both Aisha and the rest of the Winx made huge mistakes... Aisha when she, in a surprisingly Willow Rosenberg-esque plotline, went to the side of vengeance- and the Winx when they diminished the value of her grief and actually ATTACKED her for it. Yes, the last episode shows her being let back into the Winx inner circle... but hurtful words and actions were exchanged. That doesn't just go away.

I recognize that Winx Club is not always the most realistic show. And of course, nor is it the best with continuity (especially if you don't believe in the canon split theory). However, one of the things that has drawn me to the show since I was ten years old is the realism that isn't immediately obvious. No, most people don't believe in growing wings and going off to fairy school, because the realism in the show is from how the characters grow up. Every single character, even the commonly ignored ones like Tecna and Musa, has experienced some form of character develoupment since Season 1 began.

And as they grow up, so do their situations.

When I was ten, and the Winx were sixteen and seventeen, I related to how the girls were looking to find themselves. In Season 3, I related to their search for morality, how they were trying to learn what the right thing was, and how they always tried to do it. Even at great personal cost (remember the Water Stars plotline?). I watched Season 4 when I was seventeen, and the problems they faced echoed the problems of my emerging adulthood- getting a job, trying to make a path after school is finished, dealing with increasingly serious relationships, and your friends around you getting engaged!

Winx is a kids show, but it is the rare kids show that grows up. And I need Winx to keep this. As I, who will be nearly nineteen when the new season begins, learn to deal with the fallout of serious arguments... I need the Winx Club to learn, too. I need Winx Club to keep that realism, that personal growth that makes it stand out from so many other cartoons. I need to see the characters keep growing.

I hope so much that this isn't too much to ask.


NOTE: I don't know what's up with formatting. So apologies.

Bloom's Harmonix

A full preview of Bloom's new harmonix transformation for season five is available on Rainbow's Youtube channel.

I get disturbed by how long Bloom's hair gets longer and longer every season in her transformations. Other than that, I'm curious to know how these transformations will look like animated. I was very sceptical about enchantix in season three because I did not think that it would look well animated. (I was somewhat right when it came to fighting in mini-dresses.)

More Sirenix (Harmonix?) Images

Credit goes to various people, but foremost rickydshow for taking these images.

I believe the following is a launch calender.

From what I understand, there are going to be not one, but TWO transformations: sirenix and harmonix! It seems that the first half of season five will air this fall and go on until spring where we will see the girls achieve the harmonix transformation. Serenix will appear in the latter half...but, the "ability to use their powers under water?" Um, can't they do that anyways? The water on Andros did not really stop them in season three.

There will also be a Christmas special for this year. Hmm...I'm guessing that it'll just be a winter holiday special because Magix doesn't exactly celebrate Christmas or have winter for that matter.

Hey, look, it's the old mermaid transformations.

I've noticed that Flora's hairstyle never really changes, except when she transforms. And even then, how do you change her signature blond bangs while still make her look pretty. It's strange.

Sirenix Images from Bologna Children's Book Fair

Rickydshow recently visited Bologna Children's Book Fair and took some pictures of the new Sirenix transformation. Check it out! (Pictures are from Una di noi.)

What do you think of the new transformations so far? I think the designs are cool, but I'm waiting to see how they implement the water/mermaid theme into their magic before I make any real judgements.

Are you prepared to let Roxy go?

I'm not going to argue about whether or not Roxy is a real member of the Winx Club in this post. That topic has been beaten to death across the internet.

Instead, I wonder: are fans ready to accept that Roxy may not appear in season five? EDIT: As pointed out, (I genuinely forgot that) Roxy will appear in season five. Thanks, guys!

The point wasn't to argue whether she will appear or not in season five, but to wonder how viewers would feel that an important character who drove much of season four be demoted to a unimportant role in the next season.

Clearly, she has not been featured in any of the recent merchandise or previews for season five, which makes me think that she won't appear at all (or that it just proves that she was truly a temporary important character). On the other hand, she appears frequently in the comics just like Aisha and has her own article section, making me think that she has some sort of permanence in the series. (For those of you who don't know, Aisha and Roxy sometimes don't make appearances in certain comics, leaving just the original five.)

Personally, I don't mind that Roxy does not appear in season five. I would be a little disappointed, but I could cope with the idea. As for other fans, I think they might either go crazy. Are you prepared to let Roxy go?

Fairy Concert/Super Star Outfits

Images found at MagiaDelWinx

According to Mirtillo, the company that produces the Winx Club clothing line, this series is either "Fairy Concert" or "Winx Super Star."

?

Stella legs look really weird, don't they?

Just one thing: Aisha, um, no to open toe boots.

Confusion over a possible S5 Roxy outfit

So back in December on Una di noi, there was a little bit of confusion about piece of fan art claiming to be based on a real outfit. Here's your answer:

The image on the left was printed in issue 13 of the French Winx Club magazine. Whether this is an outfit for season five or not, I have no answer. It's not unknown that the issues would print outfits that have nothing to do with the series or that are not part of a set, notably the Italian edition. Look below to see preppy Aisha and a boyish Flora from the Italian magazines.

These outfits are only for the monthly articles "Fashion & Style" which does write up on what sort of clothes needed for a certain style.
Now, as for the Roxy outfit above, I don't know if it falls in the same category the "Fashion & Style" articles or if it's for season five, but I can say for sure that it's not fan art.

(If you're going to use these images, at least give some credit where its due.)

Season 5 airs this September; SotLK airs March 11

According to Total Licensing Italy, season five of Winx Club airs September 2012!

Time to start the countdown, Winx fans!

In other news, Winx Club: Secret of the Lost Kingdom, despite all the confusion, will air this weekend March 11 at 12 pm EST.

Season 5: Take everything with a grain of salt

Hey everyone,

I would like to address some recent pieces of news that may or may not be rumours or spamming.

I would like to remind everyone that season five is far from being released. Remember, it will be released in Fall 2012. That is a year away.

Recently, we have received some news about the premise of season five: it will likely take place in an aquatic location. To learn more about it, go here. To see the video preview, go here. Remember, despite the fact that the video preview uses CGI animation, it will be animated using the traditional 2D art that everyone is used to. At first, many fans had voiced their disappointment in the use of the CGI. I said that it might be placeholder art. Our fears were quickly quelled when we found out that it would be in the usual 2D. To see a promotional poster using tentative designs for next season's transformation, go here.

Next, apparently episode titles have been released for season five on the Internet Movie Database. Initially, only three were found and only one of them has been confirmed by Molly Quinn herself: the episode "The Selkies Devourer." All the other episode titles should still be taken with a grain of salt, meaning: accept it with a degree of skepticism. Why? IMDb is an open-source database like Wikipedia. Anyone can edit it. While I do not know the full capacities of a registered user on that site, it is a site run by movie lovers. False episode titles were rampant across the various Wikipedias for the Winx Club page for the latter half of the run for the fourth season and I believe that we should give this phenomenon the same treatment: be skeptical.

Now that fans are more aware about Winx Club on IMDb, I should say that it makes that series just as easy a target for trollers and spammers to...well, troll and spam the Winx Club pages with false information. Remember, the Devilrus incident? I am convinced that there are still people out there who believe that Flyrix, the fan transformation made by Tata, is season five's next transformation. Currently, half of a season's worth of episode titles are out on IMDb, and while I have nothing to disprove those titles, I do know that not everything I read on the internet is true. To makes worst, the mention of Sirenix only appeared today which only makes me doubt further the credibility of IMDb.

The above reasons are why I did not post about the titles on IMDb on this blog. I am waiting for a legitimate source, such as a press release or a video from Rainbow, Nickelodeon or Viacom, before anything happens.

With all that said, according to the title of the eight episode, the new transformation is apparently called Sirenix. While the transformation name does follow the tradition of ending with an "x" and its root word, "siren" (a Greek mythological creature that resembles a woman with varying degrees of bird features that lures men at sea to their deaths by sailing into rocky coasts) does have similar themes about the sea, this is proof of nothing. (Addendum: "Sirenix" is confirmed by Molly Quinn, but I would not hold my breathe.)

My doubt outweights any belief I have for this to be the genuine truth at the moment. This is subject to change but I want to remind people that season five is long from being released. It would kind of suck if we knew what the story of the fifth season was a year before it is even released, no?

- Kikurukina

PS: Nickelodeon will release the first episode of season three on November 14, and not November 7.

New Outfits

So I found these images from http://youloveit.ru/. They are a little old but I wanted to share it. I'm not sure from what convention they are from but I assume they are either from the Las Vegas Expo or some Russian expo.

Will Nabu come back in season 5?

I wonder: now that we know that the next Winx Club season will take place in an underwater world, will this provide the setting for Aisha to bring back Nabu because water ("waves") is her element and it seems that the next season will take place in an aquatic place?