2+3=5

Before you guys say anything, I’d like to tell you that no, this is not a post about basic addition facts.  In fact, I’d wager a guess that none of you find this post name to be groundbreaking.  It’s common knowledge.  However, when applied to the Winx world, it can explain why Season 5 is perceived as bad by fans (and not just because Alfea has yet to put up the magical barrier that they do in nearly every dangerous situation, therefore making Tritannus not as much of a threat).

A bunch of people have felt as though this season was copying past Winx plotlines.  However, I’ve found that most of these recycled stories come from either Season 2 or Season 3.  Therefore, 2+3=5.  Why might they have done this?  Well, I’m not really sure about why they would rehash parts of S3, but I can understand why it feels a bit like S2.  After all, they lost a lot of plot by compacting S2 into a one-hour special, which might make them feel like they could get away with more.  But this isn’t so much a post about why they do the things they do, but rather about a list of comparisons, some obvious and some surprising, that I’d like to make:

• Both S2 and S5 have the Winx bonding to magical creatures, pixies in S2 and selkies in S5.  The problem most fans have is that there’s a certain nostalgia that comes from the pixies, who were very well-received.  However, ever since S4, the pixies were kind of left in Pixie Village and sadly enough, forgotten.  That, plus the fact that the selkies all have similar designs and not a lot of personality.  If I had to pick a favorite selkie, I’d pick Serena just because I think the flame print on her tail (while oxymoronic) is also cool.  (By the way, my favorite pixie is Piff, since I think sleep powers are surprisingly cool, especially during finals weeks, and also because I’ve always had a soft spot for babies.)
• There are also the obvious Tritannus-Valtor connections.  The fact is that both had headquarters on Andros for a while, both turned mermaids into mutants, both acted as Icy’s love interest, both harmed Queen Ligea in some way, and both targeted Aisha (at least, Valtor targeted her when the Winx first went to Andros).  However, this can serve as a sort of disadvantage to Tritannus, as Valtor is a popular villain and Tritannus is much less developed.  I even want to draw a comic that has Tritannus signing “I am the undersea Valtor…”
• Both S3 and S5 have Aisha meeting with a new love interest.  However, Roy and Tritannus share a common problem: they are overshadowed by past characters.  Except Roy just might have it worse.  Nabu’s ambiguous “death” left a lot of things open, and many Winx fans (not just Nabu’s fangirls) still ship Aisha/Nabu.
• Some people notice some similarities between Enchantix and Harmonix, and Stella’s regular dress looks a little like Bloom’s Enchantix dress.
• There are also those who believe that Darkar was also a mainly undeveloped villain, like Tritannus.
• The Emperor’s Throne deal seems a bit like the Codex…
• Depending on the dub you watch, the Shadow Fire might have a curse on it just like Sirenix.
• Both S2 and S5 have a Musa spotlight episode dealing with her mother’s death, and both contain original songs.
• Timmy and Tecna also have issues communicating in S2.
• Both S3 and S5 have Diaspro trying to mess with Bloom and Sky’s relationship.
• S3 and S5 both have looks at all of the Winx home realms (except S3 never showed Zenith).
• The home realm sequences slightly develop the characters, a bit like the Charmix episodes.

If you have any other comparisons that I didn’t bring up, post them here!  Finding similarities can actually be pretty interesting…