If you were to tell younger me, who was ashamed to tell anyone I enjoyed Winx Club, that one
day I could make a video about the show in literally any regard, and people would love
it…
I’d probably just look at you in disbelief and then go back to being a shy little nerd
turtle.
So, we’ve done videos about the villains, and the finales, so now let’s rank the premieres,
cuz why not?
A good premiere will welcome you back after a long hiatus and get you hyped up for what
the rest of the season has to bring.
So I figured why not rank the series’ premieres from worst to best?
These will strictly be about each season’s first episode, how compelling they are, and
how well they represent the rest of the season.
I’m still in awe that I can do this and people will watch, like wow.
Now without further ado, let’s begin the madness.
To be fair, this premiere’s poor pace, irrelevance, and generally poor quality are pretty good
indicators for how the rest of season 6 shapes up to be.
Similar to Season 5’s “The Lilo,” the premiere episode of Season 6 is a self-contained
story separate from the season’s main plot.
Unlike “The Lilo,” however, this episode was meant in production to be the first episode.
And also unlike “The Lilo,” this episode has barely any highlights to make it worth
the effort.
This episode follows the end of Season 5 where Daphne has been brought back to li-- I mean…
is corporeal again.
Yes.
“Corporeal.”
There are already so many problems with Daphne coming back from the dead, but ya know what?
Let’s try to make the best of it.
Unfortunately, that’s not what the writers did.
Rather than deal with, say, Daphne dealing with some form of survivor’s guilt given
her fellow nymphs are still dead, or just giving her an existential crisis now that
everyone she knew has aged like over 20 years while she’s still the same age as when she
di-- I mean, was cursed, of course unlike her family who are suspiciously exactly as
they were when she went kaput, we’re instead dealing with Daphne being… a klutz.
Which pretty much sums up the newer seasons, right?
Instead of having more mature, interesting stories about what the characters are feeling,
we instead have a half-baked plot rooted in dumb gags.
The closest we get is Daphne feeling powerless, which only has impact because of Elizabeth
Gillies’ wonderful voice acting.
Alas, even phenomonal voice acting can’t carry a bad script.
Also… breaking the worldbuilding for cheap drama.
There’s this… random monster called the Beast of the Depths that’s [stronger than
the Dragon Flame - whoops forgot to put that clip in!]… okay… why?
Where was this monster before now?
Why didn’t Tritannus use this during Season 5 with his ability to control marine life?
Hell, why didn’t every villain go after this thing?
It’s so clear the writers aren’t interested in creating new stories to expand the Magical
Universe anymore.
Nope.
The primary goal now is to throw in this monster on a whim and make it super strong to give
us cheap conflict, and then just dispose of it right after.
What could’ve been a potentially interesting, mature story about Daphne’s return and her
struggles in being alive again is instead made into a boring episode about getting Daphne
to believe in herself again.
And it’s all capped up with a kinda catchy song that has nothing to do with anything
that just happened.
Thanks, I hate it.
As much as I love season 4, it really has not held up with age.
At least, not as much as I would’ve liked it to.
And perhaps one of the key examples is its rather poor premiere.
Yes, the Winx have graduated and are now professors at Alfea, but the way the show goes about
that feels unstructured and purposeless.
Fanfic-y, is how I would describe it.
The Alice and Clarice plot isn’t inherently bad, as the whole point seems to be to show
the Winx are kinda letting their fame get to their heads.
However, Clarice’s lack of motivation for her hatred of the Winx just makes her feel
like a brat who’s jealous of her school’s alumni, and she has no reason given for her
remorse for framing Alice for… ya know, the act of terrorism and the near murder of
Flora.
Not to mention the Winx aren’t really struggling with any kind of arrogance.
Stella is the only one that comes close, but… it’s Stella.
This is who she is.
And going back to Flora, Jesus that girl couldn’t catch a break in this episode.
She keeps getting used as a punching bag to show how helpless the Winx are in their current
predicament, which already fails given the Winx themselves aren’t shown struggling
their new positions.
They’re not doubting themselves as they move into adulthood, just… reacting to random
things that happen to them.
Which, yeah, I guess that’s adulthood, but… not this way?
Even Faragonda bringing them into the Hall of Enchantments feels random.
I understand Faragonda giving them the Book of Fairies and telling them about higher-level
forms, because these girls have saved the world several times at this point.
You best prepare for some other apocalypse they’ll have to be ready for.
But… why Believix?
Shouldn’t they only learn about it once it’s clear their next mission will take
them to Earth?
And then the hall of villains, which…
okay, I admit I like this, but what I do not like is that the Black Circle… finds Bloom
through it?
How does this work?
Can Ogron just… see people through portrait renditions of himself?
Who commissioned this?
Does he really think Bloom is the last Earth fairy, when it’s well-known now her birth
planet is Domino?
Like literally every tabloid has been talking about how she saved her BIRTH planet?
Why hadn’t they gone after Bloom in the earlier seasons when she was showing her power
on Earth?
There are so many issues with all of this, and that’s just conceptually.
The Black Circle’s arrival also lacks in the plot department.
Rather than try and weave the student and fairy hunter plots together, like say, the
fairy hunters infiltrate Alfea and have Alice and Clarice weaken the Winx to lure them into
traps, they just… show up and start wrecking shit.
Which I guess is fun, but I would like some buildup.
So, for a season all about the Winx transitioning into adulthood and introducing a far more
insidious threat, playing on their doubts, this premiere feels like a poorly planned
fan fiction that had cool ideas, but thought almost none of them through.
It feels like I’m watching an episode of RWBY, basically.
The only area where it really succeeds is the Black Circle kicking the Winx’s asses,
and that’s only because the girls are now rendered incompetent when they fight.
Yeah, the fairy hunters absorb their magic, but even then the Winx of the older seasons
would’ve at least put up a hell of a better fight.
Oh god, Season 7.
Incredibly and thoroughly underwhelming, all the way through.
Some of the Winx’s banter is cute, especially when they're sneaking into Alfea, and I do
appreciate Faragonda finally reprimanding them… even if it does confirm they’ve
been retconned into students again.
And I also appreciate the design of the Alfea Natural Park, Roxy’s involvement in looking
over the park’s opening, and… basically anything Kiko does.
But ultimately, this premiere lacks any real tension.
Unsurprising given this season’s antagonists have such little presence to begin with, but
the Winx don’t even know who they’re up against.
They just… fight some random bird.
“I’M LOSIN’ TO A BIRD!”
For a power born of the goddamn Dragon Flame, Bloomix really seems useless against this
random creature that just wandered into the park.
I appreciate some of the choreography here, and that the fight is more action-heavy with
less of the old “generic beams of light here and there.”
But that doesn’t really matter if the Winx, who’ve saved the entire universe nearly
a dozen times by this point, are getting their asses handed to them by some rogue hawk.
“I’M LOSIN’ TO A BIRD!”
Like, what’s next?
Are they gonna get beaten up by a kangaroo?
Oh…
OH SHIT.
NEXT YOU’LL BE TELLING ME THEY’LL BE BEATEN UP BY A NET, OH WAIT, THAT WAS SEASON 4.
Oh god, Season 4.
There’s not even a real sense of danger with the par having been infiltrated by a
malevolent force.
Like, imagine if through this whole episode, the Winx were trying to locate a dark presence,
only to find it to be a shapeshifter who’s after some…
I don’t know, whatever the MacGuffin is this year.
But no.
Much like Season 4’s premiere, there is a profound lack of plot.
Also, why isn’t Roxy stepping in?
Couldn’t she transform and try to communicate with the bird, only to realize it’s a shapeshifter
with her animal powers?
Ugh.
Just let her be useful, please!
It’s not that hard!
You let Daphne do cool shit, why can’t Roxy?
#JusticeForRoxy Season 8 delivering on being just average.
No more, no less.
And I kinda appreciate that.
The story here’s fine enough.
Some random Lumen shows up in a dramatic falling star, has amnesia, relies on the Winx to help
her, and then they get attacked by Twinkly’s pursuers at the end of the episode.
Overall, pretty solid.
I can follow this.
I don’t appreciate all the filler that’s here, namely to do with the specialists being
useless yet again.
The only redeemable part is that Tecna and Timmy are working together on a machine to
help Twinkly, and one that actually helps them piece together how to defeat their enemy
later on, but it probably would’ve felt better had the specialists been present for
the fight.
Especially with Riven’s return, imagine how confused Musa would’ve felt with him
jumping in to try and protect her here?
That all aside, the story’s decent enough to keep you going, though it could’ve done
better had Obscurum gotten to do more, and had there been a tease for Valtor’s return
at the very end.
But what can ya do?
For what it is, this premiere’s solid and gets the job done.
But, one more thing before we move on: can we talk about how the storyboards look better
than the end result?
Like, I adore the style, the expressions, just everything about these storyboards.
They carry so much more impact and charm than the final product, and goddamn.
Oh Season 5.
You had such a compelling start, but all the red flags are so obvious in hindsight.
This is the true first episode of Season 5, starting with the Winx still in Gardenia before
they return to the Magical Universe.
And you know what?
I’m okay with all the cute filler here, specifically because this premiere followed
a long hiatus since the end of Season 4.
We’d all been wondering how the writers would follow up Season 4, so for Season 5
to start out more lowkey, it felt like coming back home after a long trip.
And the oil spill, while leaning on very hamfisted environmentalist themes, I’m honestly okay
with given… ya know, the planet legit is a mess and climate change is coming to kill
us all.
At this point, I’m okay with the Captain Planet levels of capitalist oil tycoons bad,
because that’s the hell world we live in right now.
I do wish it was more directly tied in with Tritannus’ plot, but the sequence itself
is actually pretty well directed.
Specifically in letting the girls use their powers creatively, and also foreshadowing
that the Believix wings being the size of monster trucks probably isn’t going to help
them underwater.
And Tritannus’ assassination attempt on Nereus is likewise pretty solid.
It feels weird given all the male tritons never existed until now, and it was pretty
clear Tressa was meant to one day inherit the Mermaid Throne, but… fine, whatever
I guess.
But it sets up Tritannus as a vengeful, power-hungry tyrant-in-the-making for the rest of the season,
and for that, I give this props.
Also… appreciation for the season 5 outfits.
This season’s actually quite refreshingly solid after suffering through seasons 6 through
8, and I have to say this season might actually have the best fashion out of the entire show.
Like, look at these outfits.
Iconic.
Simply perfect.
Though yes, I’m still bitter Roxy got written out of helping with the oil spill, and then
later with fighting the mutants.
Like, what the fuck, y’all?
Let her help goddammit.
Season 2 on the whole is far more character-driven than the other seasons, and the premiere showcases
that.
We actually don’t start off with anyone we know.
Instead, we follow the new girl Aisha trying to rescue the pixies’ from Darkar’s citadel,
risking her life and nearly dying in the process, and my god, this shit is tense.
Now this is how you open a season, especially to introduce a new antagonist.
Once that’s done and Aisha is presumably murdered, we mostly follow Bloom as she wanders
around Alfea, meets up with the other Winx briefly, discovers the Magic Archive, and
then has some cute moments with Sky.
It’s nothing special, but it’s enough to welcome you back after the break from Season
1, especially after Aisha’s story at the start being so… hoo, that girl has been
through some shit.
And then wrap it all up with Aisha emerging from the woods and passing out (gurl same),
and the girls worried about what she could’ve gone through, and you got yourself a pretty
good setup for what’s to come.
The series premiere, we actually start on a pretty cliché beginning with Bloom waking
up late, and then going about her daily routine before mystical mayhem ensues.
It’s enough to set her up as a girl who wants to grow up already, but also is clinging
to childhood ideas of magic and fairies.
Stella’s arrival on Earth could’ve used some more explanation, but the setup’s enough
to make the plot of Bloom helping her evade Knut and his monsters interesting.
Especially given Bloom is actually quite active here, jumping in without knowing she can use
magic to try and help Stella, and then later taking on the ghouls, knowing they’re probably
the only enemies she can handle as just a human, or rather, a fairy without mastery
over her magic.
And Stella?
Oh boi, she is fun.
Casually talking about magic to Mike and Vanessa probably isn’t the best idea, but it’s
Stella.
When has Stella ever cared for the rules?
Her messing with Mike, along with her teasing of Bloom and her mocking of Knut and the troll,
make for quality content.
10/10, Forever Stan Stella.
And while the specialists’ arrival feels kinda deus-ex-machina-y (*gay confusion*),
given… how did Stella find the time to call them offscreen?
But it does make for a solid introduction for them as nonmagical fighters from the Magical
Universe, and for one of them as Bloom’s love interest.
My only question is… how did no Earth people notice this?
This isn’t so much an issue with the show itself, as it is with fiction in general,
but… no city works like this.
Like, people are out and about hours of the day, and even if they were home and were asleep,
people would hear all the commotion and wanna check on it, or at least make a noise complaint
to the police.
But eh.
Who cares?
I’s fine.
The best season couldn’t manage to have the best finale, but it did manage to have
the best premiere.
Funnily enough, Season 3’s plot hits the ground running right out the gate, with this
being the only episode the girls are chilling the whole time like the old days.
It’s all tied together with the girls having finished their year at Alfea, and now trying
to get ready for Stella’s party, with the driving motivation being the hope that Stella’s
parents might finally be getting back together.
Which I get the feeling was a thing a lot of fans were lowkey wondering about ever since
season 1.
It’s a pretty chill, endearing start to a season that’s going to put all of the
girls through the goddamn wringer, especially with the introduction of Chimera before she
becomes a more prominent antagonist.
And all the while, the Trix are meeting up with the new big bad Valtor and making their
escape from Omega, a far crueler place for crueler criminals.
It’s actually fun seeing these witches do most of the work to bust themselves out, meanwhile
Valtor hangs back and only involves himself when he absolutely needs to, until he can
show off his full power as he breaks through the Gate and turns the mermaid guards into
his monsters.
And wrap it all up with Valtor’s actions having a direct effect on not only Aisha’s
home world, but Magix as well.
The tidal wave is a result of Valtor attacking the heart of all oceans, and Aisha has to
leave immediately to save her people, leaving her friends behind.
The stakes are already raised, and they would only escalate from here.
Anyways, if you enjoyed that video and would like to see more like this from me, then be
sure to subscribe and ring that bell for notifications because YouTube hates creators.
Also please consider, if you’re willing and able, pledging yourself over on Patreon,
especially given all Patrons will have access to the private Union of War Discord server.
I’m the Unicorn of War, and Roxy deserved better.