Aisha and Roy, The NoTP — Pt. II: Going Nowhere Fast *UPDATE*

“You can’t marry a guy you just met!”

That’s what the Winx fandom screamed at Daphne as she walked down the aisle at the end of Winx season six. We had a lot of questions. When did Thoren propose? When did they date? (Did their walk on Calavera Island count?) How did they get to the altar before Bloom and Sky? (And aren’t Bloom and Sky cousins now? Awkward!)

It felt like we missed a chunk of Daphne and Thoren’s relationship, so their wedding came out of nowhere.

So did Aisha and Roy’s lovey-dovey moment in “Saving Paradise Bay” (Winx season 5, episode 24). A lot of Winx fans I talked to back then called it “awkward”. I remember thinking, “How did these two get to this phase already?” There wasn’t enough buildup to it.

Going Nowhere Fast

Here’s a question no one’s ever asked: how long was Aisha and Roy’s courtship in Winx season five? Let’s break it down.

1. Roy’s Debut

Rainbow shipped him in on the Odysea Explorer near the end of “Power of Harmonix” (episode 6). That was the first episode in the Winx’s quest to obtain Sirenix.

2. How Long Was The Sirenix Quest?

The Sirenix Book told the Winx:

You must complete the quest within one lunar cycle, or you will all lose your powers forever.

A lunar cycle is roughly one month (about 29 days).

Near the beginning of “Sirenix” (episode 13), Stella said they had to figure out how to get Sirenix that day, or, “We can kiss our fairy powers goodbye!” That means eps. 6-13 all happened within a month.

3. Where Did Roy Go?

Starting in “A Magix Christmas” (episode 10), Roy disappeared. “Gem of Empathy” (episode 9) was his last episode in the Sirenix Quest period.

He showed up again at the Sovereigns’ Council in “The Devourer” (episode 16), but he didn’t interact with Aisha. Then he vanished again until Stella’s fashion show in “The Shark’s Eye” (episode 23), but again, he didn’t even say “hi” to Aisha. The next episode, “Saving Paradise Bay”, had their “I guess we’re supposed to be a couple now” scene.

4. Summing It Up

So the Sirenix Quest was from episodes 6-13, which was a month in-universe. Roy only showed up in the first four episodes (episodes 6-9). Finally, in episodes 10-23 (fourteen episodes in a row), there were no Aisha/Roy scenes at all (and he was only in two of those episodes anyway).

That means Aisha and Roy’s courtship in season five was less than a month long. In fact, it may have been a couple weeks at most.

“Well, maybe they spent time together off-screen,” you say.

Probably not. He wasn’t a Redfountain student (yet?), so why would he stay in Magix? Also, he was King Teredor’s assistant, so he needed to be nearby. Most likely, he went back to Andros when he wasn’t with her.

No Content, No Progress

Let’s be fair: Aisha’s courtship with Roy was longer than she spent with Nabu before she accepted their arranged marriage. That was about two days. But what relationship-defining moments did she share with Roy in season five?

• She got mad at him when he acted like she needed his protection. (He got worse in season six.)
• She rolled her eyes at a compliment he gave her and the Winx.
• He avoided talking to her at a party. “But she smiled at him! That means something, right?” Yes, because a smile replaces an entire episode of relationship development. ?
• He went on a mission with her (and wasn’t much help).
• They almost had a swimming race before that. (At least I think that’s what it was.)

(UPDATE: I broke down these scenes in “Aisha/Roy YouTube Comment Response, Pt. II: Aisha and Roy — Slow Burn or Low Burn?”)

Most of these moments lasted a few seconds. The mission in “Gem of Empathy” stretched over the full episode, but it didn’t have many scenes between Aisha and Roy. And that was their only focus episode before the lovey-dovey scene in “Saving Paradise Bay”.

That was all we needed to justify Aisha’s new relationship? You expect me to believe she got over her dead fiancé and fell in love again that quickly and with that little effort? Gimme a break.

Here’s another problem. To give the relationship a sense of progression, the couple’s scenes need to build on each other. We should know when and how their feelings changed or grew. Was that the case with Aisha and Roy? No. Their “love” story was a bunch of random moments that didn’t connect to each other.

Part of the problem was Roy’s inconsistent personality. I’ll talk about that in a future post.

Bottom Line

Aisha and Roy’s courtship was rushed and thin on content, which made their lovey-dovey behavior in seasons five and six feel forced. Then came the love triangle. It may have been annoying (and the worst way to introduce Nex), but it exposed Aisha/Roy for what it was: a weak, slapped-together “love” story full of pretense, with nothing to expand on.

I’ll talk about that next time.

TL;DR

• Aisha and Roy’s courtship in season five lasted less than a month in-universe (episodes 6-9) and had no meaningful, relationship-defining moments. There were no interactions between them at all in episodes 10-23 (fourteen episodes in a row), yet in episode 24, they suddenly seemed close. That’s why their relationship felt rushed and forced.
• To give the relationship a sense of progression, the couple’s scenes need to build on each other. We should know when and how their feelings changed or grew. But Aisha and Roy’s “love” story was a bunch of random moments that didn’t connect to each other.