Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Fate: The Winx Saga

Credits

Cast

Network

Reviewer

Emily Tsiao

TV Series Review

Welcome to Alfea, the most prestigious educational institution of the Otherworld. Here, graduates go on to rule realms, lead armies, forge powerful relics and rediscover magic that was used long, long ago. They also all happen to be magical, wingless fairies.

Sixteen-year-old Bloom didn’t even know she was a fairy (let alone that the Otherworld existed) ‘til just a few weeks ago when her powers manifested and she nearly killed her human parents in a fiery inferno. Headmistress Dowling explained Bloom must come from a long-dormant fairy line. Although when others realize that she’s far too powerful for a first-year student to not be pure-blooded, she admits that Bloom is actually a changeling (a fairy baby switched with a human one at birth—which Bloom’s parents never knew). And as Bloom soon discovers, that’s also not the only mystery at Alfea waiting to be solved.

What with genocide cover-ups, jealous, entitled princesses, and murdered members of the faculty, Dowling and her staff have a lot on their hands. But worst of all is the sudden return of the Burned Ones—dangerous creatures who seek to wipe out life as these fairies know it.

It’s been 16 years since the last Burned One was spotted (tellingly, right around the time the former headmistress disappeared and Bloom was born in the human world), but is Bloom’s return to the fairy world a coincidence or the cause?

Just Think of a Happy Thought

If that all sounds rather dramatic, well, that’s because it is. And it doesn’t help that fairy powers are tied to emotions. Yes, let’s pile hundreds of hormonal teenagers into a building that apparently only has three members on staff and try to teach them that the secret to controlling their powers is to think of happy thoughts.

Kind of hard to do when the threat of Burned Ones (which sort of resemble burnt, rotting corpses with extremely long talons and super strength and speed) looms just outside the magical barrier protecting the school. The barrier is so strong that these Burned Ones wouldn’t even be that scary, except that these teens are being trained to leave its protection and kill the things. Not to mention if a Burned One touches you, you’ll turn into one.

The show’s premise is based on magic, which might be a non-starter for some. But that’s really just the beginning of the show’s problems. Cursing (including the casual slinging of the f-word) is fairly common amongst the students and teachers of this prestigious fairy boarding school. Sexual encounters are also not unheard of (or unseen for that matter). While we don’t see anything more than passionate kisses and scantily clad cuddling at this early juncture (including an encounter with a throuple), the not-at-all subtle innuendos give us a pretty clear idea of what’s happening behind closed doors.

It’s a lot for the staff and students of Alfea to handle. And while at the end of the day, everyone is just doing what they think is best (with varying degrees of success), it doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is doing what is right.

Fate: The Winx Saga does for Nickelodeon’s Winx Club (which it was based on) what Chilling Adventures of Sabrina did for Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. And no amount of pixie dust or happy thoughts can cover up the fact that this teen-centric show isn’t suited for teens.

Episode Reviews

Jan. 22, 2021: “To the Waters and the Wild”

A man is dragged offscreen by a Burned One and we see blood splatter. Later, his bloody, mangled corpse is found by a student. We see a sheep gutted and hanging in a tree as a trap. We hear a story about how a man had to kill his own father after he was infected by a Burned One. A girl is chased and attacked by a Burned One, but the headmistress uses her powers to fight it off.

Students and teachers at Alfea use fairy magic to control the elements—fire, water, earth, air, light and the mind. One girl uses her powers to temporarily choke a boy when he is rude to her about her weight. After an argument with her mom that resulted in the removal of her door from her room, Bloom accidentally sets fire to her parents’ bedroom while they are sleeping, causing her mom to receive third-degree burns. We see a demonic-looking image of a human baby being switched with a fairy one at birth.

We hear about drug use (including abuse of prescription medication) and some teens smoke marijuana. A teenager brings a flask to a party and pressures his classmate into drinking. People make rude comments about other students’ heritages, weights, hair colors and mental states. Someone talks about walking through sewage.

We hear uses of the f-word, s-word, “d–n,” “h—,” “a–,” “b–ch,” “a—hole,” “b-llocks,” and “p-ssy,” as well as misuses of God’s name. We hear multiple sexual jokes and innuendos, including crude terms for genitals. It is implied that a boy is gay. We see a teenage boy in a towel, and he later cuddles in bed (still shirtless) with a girl.

The Plugged In Show logo
Elevate family time with our parent-friendly entertainment reviews! The Plugged In Podcast has in-depth conversations on the latest movies, video games, social media and more.
Emily Tsiao

Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.

Latest Reviews

Comedy

Davey & Jonesie’s Locker

This latest original series from Hulu is silly and quirky in a lot of ways, but parents should exercise some caution before letting tweens or teens turn it on.

Drama

3 Body Problem

3 Body Problem is an intriguing entry into the sci-fi genre. But its own problems push it out of bounds for most families.

Drama

Manhunt

Manhunt combines the historical drama and police procedural genres for an intriguing look at two pivotal weeks in American history.