Winx Club "Pushing the Envelope" Talkback (SPOILERS)

[sag_2002]

Here I am, comin' at ya once again with another Winx Club talkback thread.

Previously, on The Winx Club:

It's been a wild last few weeks for our firey friend Bloom. First, she discovers that Mike & Vanessa, her Earth parents, are really her adoptive parents, and she was born in another dimension.

Then, last week, a return visit to Cloud Tower, and a peek at its "Bloom" book told Bloom another tale: that she was a WITCH!!!

Luckily, the book turned out to be fake, as Bloom quickly learned from Mirta, our favorite witch that doesn't belong at Cloud Tower. Mirta sent Bloom back in the right direction, and even helped the gang in their big climactic battle with the Trio. Only downside: Mirta is now a pumpkin. Upside: She's safe at Alfea, until the girls can find a way to get her out of this mess.

THIS WEEK: It looks like Bloom's FINALLY gonna get some answers to her growing list of questions, courtesy of Daphne, her "secret guardian" from episode 5. What secrets will be revealed? What will Bloom find out? Will the other fairies be able to turn Mirta back to normal?

[Mighty_Bojingo]

All this and more may be revealed in the next episode of the Doughnut club... erm.. Im sorry... the Winx Club.

[FLoraMusaStella]

we also see the growing distance between brandon and bloom and brandon and riven which is so inevitable

[loyalheart]

okay fine, i missed probably one of the most important episodes of the season and get stuck with a so-so episode when i was able to wake up? lol

[Frank15]

It was cute. I guess that's mostly what I can say about the episode. It was mostly all fluff, but still pretty darn enjoyable. A 3.1 on the old scale.

Flora's asserting herself more :anime:. Not as wimpering as, say, back when she was cowering to Tecna when she was yelling at her a few weeks ago. Like when Flora told Musa off when she was annoying Musa when trying to change Mirta back human. And with Flora visibly upset with Bloom being chosen for the honor of hiding the envelope, though her intentions may not have simply been to be the "good guy." Not to mention, the look on her face when she wakes up in the middle of the night ....

On the subject of Mirta, she's still a pumpkin. I'm a bit surprised none of the girls seem to worry about having a witch "infiltrating" Alfea. It would be so Tecna to be suspicious. And it seems pumpkin Mirta is not completely defenseless, either, at least able to defend herself against Kiko .

I liked Stella a lot today too, really. Mostly in the "feel bad for her" sort of way, not wanting to fail again, wanting desperately to move on to the next grade, wanting to cheat out of fear... I can't remember who made the comment about Stella repeating the grade a third time, now....

It seems Tecna did a few things I enjoyed too, but for the life in me, I can't seem to remember what she did.

The little "sneaking around the kitchen" bit was just plain fun/cute . Especially the part with Stella injuring her foot :anime:. I am kinda' surprised they didn't play a song there, but then, the song probably would've sucked, or at least not fit the scene very well. I am somewhat surprised Tecna would resort to wanting to cheat, though. I liked Bloom's reaction to catching them, though: instead of another self-rightous speech, she just laughs .

I guess the series has a strong continuity. Still, I never thought a minor trailing joke would ever resurface. Like with Flora yelling at Musa for wanting to plant Mirta last week, and Musa saying that it was Stella who said that, which of course, it was: as you may recall, Musa was the one who called Stella on that comment last week .

Stella made an interesting observation: would it really be cheating if they just looked at the questions, but not the answers? I mean, they'd still need to find the answers on their own... right? Yes, I know a school would count it as cheating, but I'm talking more about the personal/moral aspect of it.

Right when it looked like our Trio wasn't going to make an appearence, they show up at the very end to give us a bit of a cliffhanger*. Hmm....

Musa gets the best grades? I thought surely it would have been Tecna....

So, I guess Amarill hasn't dropped out after all. OK, so why does everyone seem to think Bloom's name comes first alphabetically, again?

Really, I think Miss Griselda simply gets her jollies by picking on the students....

we also see the growing distance between brandon and bloom and brandon and riven which is so inevitable

Growing distance between Bloom and Brandon? Just because he wasn't able to answer the call at the moment? Sheesh....

*So tempting to make a Price is Right joke here... must... resist....

[Darcy]

So, I guess Amarill hasn't dropped out after all. OK, so why does everyone seem to think Bloom's name comes first alphabetically, again?

Extremely good question. Perhaps in Magix, B comes before A. Amarill not being in Professor Palladium's class could explain why she didn't go first for the magical reality test...except that the first time we saw Amarill was in episode 4...in Professor Palladium's class! *sigh* A little continuity would be nice.

Growing distance between Bloom and Brandon? Just because he wasn't able to answer the call at the moment? Sheesh....

I agree that there's a new distance. Riven made a comment to Brandon about not seeing much of Bloom lately and finding out who she really was or not being what she seems or something. Can't remember it exactly, as I haven't sat down to do my summary yet. If he hasn't talked to her since last week, he wouldn't know the "Bloom's a witch" book was a fake. Truthfully, after the way she pushed him away (even though it happened differently in the Italian episode), I wouldn't blame him for giving himself some distance from her. She's obviously volatile.

My general opinion of this episode was pretty low. It's your standard moral dilemma ep, something that rears its ugly head in most cartoon series. There were a few things I didn't like, such as Tecna not having the highest grades. How could she not have the highest grades? She's basically a computer! Weird. Maybe Musa just has the highest grades in Wizgiz's class, not overall. And the fact that only the Winx girls didn't cheat was odd. Throw in a couple random girls that didn't cheat as well. Otherwise, the school looks like it has a pretty crappy balance of morality.

There were a handful of saving graces for the ep that rescued it from an abysmal rating.

1) Mirta defending herself against Kiko.

2) The witches stellar appearance at the end.

3) Stella. She was just amusing. I love her little nightgown.

4) The Bloom meets Daphne thing was pretty cool, though highly annoying. Could they drag this out any more?! And could it be more obvious?! It's just getting frustrating now. But that particular scene was cool.

5) Brandon vs. Riven, though I don't think Riven is technically dating Darcy.

6) Flora's attitude. Go, Flora!

There may have been more, but I can't recall them at present.

So my general opinion is that for a moral dilemma episode, it wasn't bad and there were a few good moments, but when it comes down to it, it was a moral dilemma episode and I hate those.

[Frank15]

Well, we needed an episode like this, Darce. You liked Meant to Be a lot more than I did, and I liked this one a lot more than you did, so it balances out. I know it was a standard "moral delimma" episode, but I still quite enjoyed it, even if it wasn't my favorite episode like last week's. I thought the "sneaking through the kitchen" scene was just great, which you did not mention as a plus for the episode... ah well.

I agree that there's a new distance. Riven made a comment to Brandon about not seeing much of Bloom lately and finding out who she really was or not being what she seems or something.

I should know to trust you on such things. It did not seem to me that he was trying to avoid her or anything, but again, it is just so me to not pick up on something like that .

Throw in a couple random girls that didn't cheat as well. Otherwise, the school looks like it has a pretty crappy balance of morality.

Excellent point, one that I am ashamed for not having thought of myself. This is just the sort of thing I should have noticed myself .

The Bloom meets Daphne thing was pretty cool, though highly annoying. Could they drag this out any more?! And could it be more obvious?! It's just getting frustrating now. But that particular scene was cool.

It seemed that maybe, after Daphne finished her speech except for that one word, that it should have been easy to figure out that she was referring to Bloom herself. Or maybe it's not so obvious, and it's just that we already know that.

[Viper]

Sorry, but I didn't care too much for this ep, it wasn't too exciting. Who knew "not opening the envelope" was their actual pop quiz?

So, Brandon is still not speaking to Bloom after the last ep. I hope they get back together soon.

The only parts I liked were when Stella thought the kitchen sign meant danger and when they all surprised themselves looking for the envelope. I also liked when "Pumpkin Mirta" stopped Kiko from eating her, which shows she CAN handle herself in any form.

Very disappointing ep. I give it 2 stars.

[Justice Gundam]

I'll probably give the impression of being a parrot, but I'll have to agree with Viper on this one: this episode was quite pointless. Guess they wanted to give us a little break from the action and present us with a somewhat uneventful episode before the real meat of the series starts in earnest.

So, I'll be ruthless and give it a 1.5 on the old scale. This is my least favourite episode together with "Miss Magix" (though I know most of you liked that ep., I didn't.)

Well, this is pretty much the only really pointless episode in the series: next week is surely going to be much, much better!

[Darcy]

Who knew "not opening the envelope" was their actual pop quiz?

I did. I knew as soon as I saw the envelope, even before what was written on it. That's why this is your standard moral dilemma episode and thus very annoying to me. It's so formulaic.

And Frank, I didn't care much for the kitchen sneak, except for Stella hurting herself. That was cute. But overall, the scene went on way too long. Though after watching the ep again, I did like Flora's evil little giggle as she sees "Bloom" asleep in her bed.

After watching it a second time, I have the same opinion: a mighty "eh."

[wrenchien]

anyone got a screencap of the lady who's a pumpkin right now?

[Darcy]

They're not big screencaps, but they are Mirta, both in her pumpkin and human forms.
http://www.livejournal.com/community...lub/52884.html

[TWS]

This was not a very good episode. Like Darcy said, as soon as you saw the envelope, you knew what was going to happen. I did enjoy the brief fight scene between Brandon and Riven. It's too bad that wasn't finished. I would have liked to have seen Riven kick his butt. Did anyone notice the gymnastics girl from the "Miss Magix" episode? She was in a few of the classroom scenes.

The little "sneaking around the kitchen" bit was just plain fun/cute . Especially the part with Stella injuring her foot :anime:. I am kinda' surprised they didn't play a song there, but then, the song probably would've sucked, or at least not fit the scene very well.

In the Italian version they do play a song there. It's this super-cool jazzy Winx Club song. I listened to the dvd episode in English first. I then went back and listened to that part in Italian and they had actually translated the song from Italian to English on the English audio track! I was impressed.

As far as Musa getting better grades than Tecna, I don't see a problem with that. I doubt that the girls are taking calculus and physical chemistry. Tecna may be part computer but that doesn't mean that she's better at all things magical.

[lostrune]

1. It was so obvious: "... fire within you," Bloom.

2. Instead of hiding it, why didn't they just burn the envelope? They didn't know that it was magical.

3. After all this time, news over the grapevine hasn't yet reached Brandon that the witchbook was a lie? Don't his buddies have girlfriends who don't stop yapping?!

4. Doesn't want to be the "girl who calls twice".... Erg.

5. So, they all wanted to sneak out and cheat, even Bloom?

6. Another obvious: the envelope as the test, coming from a mile away. The way the teacher didn't give any clues, how one surprise test could get you kicked out of school (suggesting it's not an ordinary paper test), the teacher disappearing after dropping the envelope, etc.

[Draven]

On the subject of Mirta, she's still a pumpkin. I'm a bit surprised none of the girls seem to worry about having a witch "infiltrating" Alfea. It would be so Tecna to be suspicious. And it seems pumpkin Mirta is not completely defenseless, either, at least able to defend herself against Kiko .

I really think the girls saw Mirta's intentions as sincere. She really went out of her way to help Bloom. I can SEE how you'd think Icy making fun of Mirta and then changing her into a pumpkin would be a very elaborate plan to get Mirta into the WinX Club's good graces, but the Witch Trio like to do all their scheming amonst themselves, and the girls know this. As far as Mirta defending herself, was reassuring to see she wasn't totally helpless, but I think she's still VERY limited in her defense. I'm sure she'll be much happier in human form.

Stella made an interesting observation: would it really be cheating if they just looked at the questions, but not the answers? I mean, they'd still need to find the answers on their own... right? Yes, I know a school would count it as cheating, but I'm talking more about the personal/moral aspect of it.

I still think it's cheating simply because you now KNOW the contents of the test. You know what questions will be asked and can be prepared for them. All you have to do is make a list of the questions, and then study the answers, or look them up. Makes the test 90% easier, and almost gaurentees your 100% on the grading! And also for me, I would find it INSANELY hard not to just move my eyeballs a little more down to the answer key and catch one or two answers before I stop myself. So I think the girls made the right move. So what it really comes down to is do you feel ok about taking the easy way out, and avoiding the hard work? Obvioulsy the rest of the class is!

Who knew "not opening the envelope" was their actual pop quiz?

I knew the envelope was going to be the subject over much of the episode, but I didn't expect "don't open and you pass!" would be the actual pop quiz, although a few others did.

2. Instead of hiding it, why didn't they just burn the envelope? They didn't know that it was magical.

Because they felt Professor Wizgiz wanted it back. It also makes them look better in returning it.

5. So, they all wanted to sneak out and cheat, even Bloom?

Seems that way. She clearly had the urge to look just as much as the others. She just kept stopping, thinking and saying "Let's do the right thing."

I enjoyed this episode. A 9 on the NEW scale.

[Freedom Fighter]

So now, Winx Club is "Pushing the Envelope." It's strange how some things can make you turn into a totally different person, as Professor WizGiz establishes and drives home in this very episode. But when you get a semi-filler that's still this exciting, it says a whole lot about how good this show really is, and why the normal stereotypes and the network it's on doesn't help get it better ratings than it has.

But I digress. The notes for Episode 15:
- This week's discussion: Tecna's not the smartest girl in the bunch? Some say we all thought she was the most technologically advanced of the group. Others think Tecna needs a flaw (as if her nagging rightness wasn't enough), so they have to say at least one of the girls had better grades in WizGiz's class was established. As for the selection being Musa... well, not crazy about, but at least they didn't pick Stella!
- As for the envelope, I can't believe that many students were stooped to trying to cheat! Or the Winx girls tempted to, for that matter. Somebody check the morality level of Alfea's students here! Are we sure there aren't any witches among them (referring to Mirta's and Bloom's escapade from Ep 14).
- And as if Tecna slightly out of perception wasn't enough, Flora's out of character! Why is she, of all people, questioning Bloom getting to hide the envelope instead of herself? Granted, the temptation of cheating may have influenced that, but still... I thought Flora was supposed to be the mature one!
- Ah, the girls in nightgowns. 'Nuff said.
- (QOTW) Four great quotes this week, but I can only choose one:
"Oh, Flora's upset because she wants to be our resident goodie-goodie." Stella, reacting to Flora's untrust of Bloom getting to hide the envelope.

Wow, Stella having the quote of the week in back-to-back episodes? Maybe my opinion of her is changing. Also in the running this week was the quote from the first segment when one of the girls says WizGiz should be kicked out if they fail because he didn't teach them well, and Flora's personal questioning of the decision on Bloom to hide the envelope.

Okay, so I watched today's episode ("The Nightmare Monster," #16), but I don't have my notes complete yet... so that review will wait 'til Monday.

[Skank]

Episode was so-so. It didn't have a vey exciting plot. I give it an 8 out of 10.