by Deidra Kathleen Thursday 28th January 2021

Fate: The Winx Saga – Worth the Watch?

Growing up, there were a few years or more where my family could not afford cable – so Saturday mornings were an event – especially for my brother and I, the designated geeks of the family. Though one cartoon in particular was definitely more my own thing – The Winx Club.

Fairly recently, Netflix unleashed their live-action recreation of one of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons, Fate: The Winx Saga. And amongst an insanely talented co-star ensemble is Abigail Cowen playing the fairy equivalent of Beyoncé in that of protagonist, Bloom – an incredibly powerful fire fairy.

As a whole, this series felt a bit rushed – especially certain performances and plot points earlier on. The last couple to a few episodes felt a bit better directorially, but maybe because there was a lot less establishing to be done by halfway through the first season of the magical live-action series.

Overall my favorite performances came from co-stars, Eliot Salt (Terra), Precious Mustapha (Aisha), Elisha Applebaum (Musa), and Hannah van der Westhuysen (Stella). I really enjoyed how much in particular Applebaum was able to say without even saying a thing at times. And Eliot Salt is a gem – humanizing the stereotypically sole plus-sized character into someone who deals with bullying with multiple coping mechanisms of which you can see all over her face the internal battle. Aisha is the Spock of this series – with much better hair – trying to get Bloom to have some sort of sense as they all go down their journeys of self-discovery. Stella reminds me so much of the fairy version of Ivy from SMASH. I would go on, but alas, spoilers. I will leave you with this vague complimentary statement, Van der Westhuysen is a force to be reckoned with. And Eve Best as Farah Dowling – the school headmistress – is spot on casting.

One thing I am tremendously appreciative of is that I can truly feel each co-star’s sense of being. No one in the main cast feels like that of a living embodiment of set decoration – which can be a task in itself with a fairly large ensemble.

Altogether, with how rushed protagonist performances and plot points felt at times – I am not certain I would purposely watch this series if not for my own nostalgia and that of the superb co-star cast.