Fate: The Winx Saga (2021-2022)

Watched out of curiosity and because of the small amount of episodes. The animated series, and if I remember correctly, especially the first season, was quite a guilty pleasure for me as a child. I was curious what Netflix would do with it by taking that series as a starting point and pouring a more mature sauce over it.

The result is a somewhat erratic product. The tone fluctuates a bit, because one minute it's quite gory and 'hard', while the other times it feels like a mediocre teenage soap. The similarities with Harry Potter are numerous, but I would have immediately taken an example from those films, because far too little time is set aside for the construction of the world. It's all a bit too obvious and casual. So I honestly wondered what those fairies actually learn there. You actually only see them demonstrating their tricks in a classroom, but there seems to be very little talk of education. The biggest annoyance, though, is that Netflix seems like a Woke mission with this series. There are politically oriented references in the script all the time. Completely out of place in a fantasy series like this that could be about so many other things.

Much depends on the next season, because it can be said that this first season lays a nice foundation. Especially during the last episode, the series manages to surprise every now and then, so that the cliffhanger may be there. The chemistry between the girls is also pretty good, so the follow-up season can focus more on that; as well as the specialists. For example, such a character as Riven could get a nice arc.

Still a lot to do, but the potential is there.

3*

Translated from Dutch · View original

Here's the confirmation, I'm guessing the target audience is between 12 & 16 years old. Or you have to be able to deal with the fact that it is a "hack on the branch" series with muddled, poorly developed storylines. There are really big gaps between defining moments and important moments are treated very lightly.

On the plus side it got a little better throughout the season and the ending left a bit to the imagination.

Translated from Dutch · View original