Aisha/Roy Comment, Pt. 2: A Slow Burn?
Well, it’s been more than a week, but finally, here’s Part II of my response to the Aisha/Roy comment on Power of Charmix’s Roy video. If you haven’t read Part I, click here.
Possessiveness vs. Protectiveness
Roy does get jealous of Nex, but it is not possessiveness. He does not want to own her and frankly, even if he did, Aisha would never go along with that. She treasures her freedom too much. Roy is just being protective of her, and that can’t be a bad thing because she is just as protective of him.
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I’d argue Roy was overprotective, but I won’t get into that right now.
Anyway, if he didn’t wanna own Aisha, why did he start the love triangle?
Yeah, he started it, not Nex. The comment later says Aisha and Roy had a “mutual connection”, but since they weren’t dating, he had no claim to her. Yet when Nex showed up, Roy immediately got territorial. Ironically, his premature jealousy triggered the chain of events that ended with her and Nex falling in love.
Roy Creates His Own Love Rival
In “The Flying School” (Winx season 6, episode 3), Nex strutted up to the Winx and said:
NEX: Hey, ladies! When it’s my turn, I’ll give these guys a run for their money!
The Winx fandom misinterpreted this line to mean he’s a womanizer. (More on that in this post.) The funny thing is they’re harder on him for this imaginary crime than they are on Brandon, Mr. “Dating Girls is My Hobby”. Poor Nex, hobbled by double standards no matter what he does.
Anyway, notice he said, “Hey, ladies!” He was talking to all the Winx, not just Aisha. We only saw her reaction, but that’s because Rainbow wanted us to know this new character would be involved with her.
What happened next? Roy, who was about to spar with Helia, suddenly decided to fight this guy instead.
ROY: Hey, you! Let’s see what you’ve got!
NEX: Bring it!
Why did he do that? One Aisha/Roy fan I talked to on YouTube several years ago said he probably didn’t like Nex objectifying the Winx.
So when you flirt with someone, you’re automatically objectifying them? Why? It’s not like he got handsy and called them sexy or something. All he did was say “hi” and start bragging about himself. How was that objectification?
And if it was, why didn’t the other Specialists defend them? Roy was the only guy who reacted to Nex. Not even Riven, the usual jealous boyfriend, said anything!
This had nothing to do with Aisha’s dignity. Roy was just being insecure. He saw a guy talking to “his” girl — even though, again, she wasn’t his girlfriend — and he saw him as competition. The other Specialists didn’t care because they know their girlfriends won’t break up with them because of a flirty greeting. Maybe Roy knew his “mutual connection” with Aisha wasn’t that strong.
Roy Goes on an Ego Trip
I noticed something about Roy and Nex as Winx season six progressed. Contrary to popular belief, Nex’s worst moments were at the beginning of the season (his first two episodes). He settled down as he and Aisha grew closer because as I said in the first post, she brings out the best in him.
But the opposite happened to Roy. As she lost interest in him, he became more aggressive and confrontational. I think one reason is because, as I said in the last post, his character peaked in Winx season five. Without any flaws, he could only get worse rather than better like Nex.
We saw that in “Zombie Invasion” (Winx season 6, episode 16) when he demanded to know what Nex wanted with Aisha:
ROY: So what’s the deal with you and Aisha, anyway?
NEX: Hmm? My business. Mind your own!
ROY: This is my business because I care about her!
To some Winx fans, this probably sounded like a declaration of love, but think about the implication: “I have the right to know your intentions with her.” How does that not sound possessive? Who did he think he was? Her father?
Also, what was the point? Why did he need to know this? Did he think he could tattle on Nex to Aisha and win the love triangle that way?
What did he expect Nex to say? “I’m a shadow monster in disguise, and I’m gonna drag her to Downland and force her to be my queen”? You laugh, but a Winx fan on Instagram actually believed he was a shadow monster. ?
But I doubt Roy was that paranoid. He knew Nex wasn’t up to anything shady. Roy was just on an ego trip, and how he used his feelings for Aisha to justify it is right out of the possessiveness playbook. Did she need him to vet Nex? Of course not.
Nex’s snarky but sensible response showed he valued Aisha’s freedom and understood her personality more than Roy did:
She likes who she likes. Enough said.
Exactly. Roy and Nex could present themselves as options to Aisha, but they couldn’t control her feelings or her decisions. It didn’t matter if Roy cared about her; after all, Nex did, too. But the choice of who to date was still up to her.
Bottom line: Roy seemed possessive because he acted like he had “dibs” on Aisha. He didn’t. She’s a woman with agency and independence, and she decides who to give herself to.
Tell Me Why
I’ve also heard this argument: Why does Roy even like Aisha? First of all, I could easily counter and ask why Nex likes her, and second, why not? …If you ask me, I think Roy loves her because she’s so free-spirited. She has strong opinions and was never afraid to say what was on her mind. Roy admired that, while Nex (in my opinion) saw her as a challenge.
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Actually, Nex loves Aisha for the same reason. It’s right there in his character description (translated by DeepL):
Nex will be very impressed by Aisha’s strong attitude and gradually fall in love with her…
https://www.movietele.it/post/winx-club-6-sesta-stagione-su-rai2-da-gennaio-2014
This came from a 2013 article from MovieTele.it, released a week before Winx season six premiered in Italy. I guess MovieTele.it is the place for Winx spoilers.
Aisha’s character book, which came out during season seven, mentioned it, too. In it, she says, “Self-confident and determined Nex appreciates my strong personality.”
What about Winx Club itself? Is there any proof there? Of course. I think the first Sirenix arc in season eight is the best example, but Nex has recognized her strength from the beginning. He treats her like an equal, someone as competent as he is. That’s part of what makes them a power couple.
Why does the fandom think he saw her as a “challenge”? Well, if he’s a womanizer, why would he want a serious relationship? He just wins his prize and moves on to the next girl.
At least that’s how he acts in a lot of Winx fanfics. In Winx Club, he’s committed to Aisha. He takes her on dates, he supports her personal projects, and in comic #131, “La Prova di Nex” (Nex’s Test), he met her parents and risked his life to earn her father’s trust.
So, no, she wasn’t just a challenge to him. He fell in love with her, and he wants to stay by her side.
Sure, Why Not?
“Why not” is why I don’t like Aisha and Roy. It felt like Rainbow said, “Sure, why not?” when they put them together!
There needs to be a reason two characters belong together. It can’t just because they like each other. That’s the minimum expectation for a successful love interest! Otherwise, there’d be no love and no interest! Couples don’t always click right away, even in real life, but if they never do, they’re obviously not in love!
If the partners were dating other characters instead, wouldn’t it also be because they liked them? This begs the question, “Why him?” or “Why her?” so we’d still need a specific reason the partners chose each other instead of other people.
That’s why Roy needed a reason to like Aisha. Otherwise, why her? If the only answer is, “Why not?” why not someone else, then?
Broadening Horizons
[Aisha and Roy] both have a lot in common, as they hail from the same world, Roy works for her father, and they both love and excel at water sports.
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First, all of Aisha’s canon love interests love water sports. It might as well be a requirement for dating her, since she comes from a realm that’s 90 percent ocean. Nabu liked to surf, and so does Nex. He can also swim, and he mentioned wakeboarding in “Mystery of Calavera” (Winx season 6, episode 15).
Second, working for her father isn’t something Roy had in common with her, of course. Rainbow also didn’t explain his job well or do enough to justify it. I talked about that in my fourth “Aisha/Roy NoTP” post.
Finally, even though Nex is not from Andros (as far as we know), I think he has more in common with Aisha than Roy did. Here are some of her and Nex’s similarities:
- They both love and excel in all sports.
- They’re both competitive, and since they’re equally matched, they can help each other exceed their limits.
- They’re both energetic, so they can keep with each other physically and mentally. (More on that in this post.)
- They appreciate speaking directly rather than beating around the bush.
- They value punctuality. (They’ve both gotten annoyed with Stella for being late all the time.)
- They have the same love language. (They both seem to love physical touch.)
Meeting someone from another city or country (or in this case, planet) who has the same interests and spirit is enriching. It gives you something to bond over, but also lots of things to introduce each other to. Nex can broaden Aisha’s horizons with fresh perspectives and new experiences she couldn’t have on Andros.
It worked for Tecna. She and Timmy are two peas in a pod: a pair of soft-spoken techno-geniuses who love video games and inventing things. But he’s not from her realm, Zenith.
That turned out to be a good thing for her. Zenithians are too logical, to where they suppress their emotions. But since Timmy didn’t grow up on Zenith, he didn’t have the same repressed upbringing, so he could help her learn to accept her emotions better than a boyfriend from Zenith may have.
One more thing: I only hear this “date within your realm” argument for Aisha. Why does she have to date someone from Andros, while the other Winx can date anyone they want?
Slow Burn or Low Burn?
Part of the appeal of Roy and Aisha is how it started off as a friendship, just like with Nabu. They were competitive and playful friends (once she warmed up to him) who were slowly falling in love with each other. They weren’t rushing right into it. It was nicely paced, full of mutual respect and joking around.
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That sounds more like Aisha and Nex’s love story.
Anyway, her slow-burn relationship with Roy is another false memory many Winx fans seem to have. (Read this post for another example.) As I said in the first post, maybe the fandom mentally added scenes to the pair’s “love” story to fill in the gaps. Here’s an episode-by-episode breakdown of Aisha and Roy’s courtship in Winx season five:
Winx Season 5, Episode 6: “The Power of Harmonix”
Roy debuted in this episode. He delivered the Odysea Explorer to Aisha, Stella, and Bloom. But before they could start the Sirenix Quest, he declared that these were “hazardous waters” and he should go before them.
“We can handle ourselves!” yelled Aisha. After they turned into Harmonix fairies, he decided she was right.
This scene is another reason I don’t support Aisha and Roy, but I’ll keep my thoughts to myself for now.
Winx Season 5, Episode 7: “The Shimmering Shells”
The pair only had a couple of minor moments in this episode. First, she stood next to him at the front of the Odysea Explorer on the way to the Royal Deeps (in Solaria). I guess that counts. ?♀️ They didn’t talk or anything, though.
Second, before Aisha, Stella, and Flora dove into the Royal Deeps, Roy V.2 (see the first post) yelled, “Lookin’ good, Winx! Yeah!” Aisha smirked and rolled her eyes.
Winx Season 5, Episode 8: “Secret of the Ruby Reef”
I don’t know why Roy was at a party for Alfea and Redfountain — he didn’t attend Redfountain yet — but we’ll ignore that plothole.
Anyway, Roy V.1 saw her frowning at photos of Nabu. He wanted to talk to her, but didn’t have the courage. (Roy V.2 would have.) But eventually, she put away her phone, noticed him, and smiled.
Unfortunately for him, Stella decided to play matchmaker and brought over some random Specialists to dance with her. Annoyed by her friend’s inconsiderate actions, Aisha bent the boys’ smoothies into their faces and stomped off past Roy.
Winx Season 5, Episode 9: “The Gem of Empathy”
Roy V. 2 returned as Aisha, Bloom, and Tecna prepared to head to Data Bridge Castle in Zenith. King Teredor had conveniently assigned him to patrol the oceans of Zenith. Aisha didn’t mind him coming along — if he could keep up. He dove in ahead of the Winx, then challenged her to a swimming race using her words against her: “Just try and keep up.”
But the race didn’t happen, as Lemmy, her bonded Selkie, showed up. Aisha introduced Roy to her, and the rest of the episode focused on the group finding the Gem of Empathy.
Winx Season 5, Episode 24: “Saving Paradise Bay”
Wait…what? We’re jumping to episode 24?
Yep. That’s not a mistake. Aisha and Roy didn’t interact with each other at all in episodes 10-23 — even though she visited her parents in “The Pillar of Light” (Winx season 5, episode 15), and he attended the Sovereigns’ Council with her in episodes 18 and 19. (My memory failed me, too. Roy was in episode 19, but he didn’t do or say anything.)
Anyway, the pair’s couple confirmation fake-out happened in “Saving Paradise Bay”. Roy took a hit to save Phylla, the Earth Selkie (no, not Aisha), but to Aisha’s relief, he was okay. She hugged him and…well, I’ll use Power of Charmix‘s words to explain my feelings:
So these two people who haven’t interacted for 15 episodes straight are suddenly in love and about to kiss? Why? I’m genuinely curious…Why would they want to?
https://youtu.be/v_wAAttGNkg
That’s how I felt when I first watched this scene. It came out of nowhere, both in the episode and the pair’s “love” story. Rainbow didn’t build up to it enough.
Also, remember that all of Aisha and Roy’s scenes in episodes 6-9 took place within one month in-universe. How do we know? Because 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 about 29 days. The Sirenix Quest began at the end of episode 6 (when Rainbow introduced Roy) and ended in episode 13: “Sirenix”.
This wasn’t slow or nicely-paced. If Rainbow had spaced out Aisha and Roy’s scenes and had more of them, and if he wasn’t such a shallow love interest, I might have supported this pairing. But as written, their “love” story made no sense. It felt rushed and sloppy.
I mentioned another problem in my fourth “Aisha/Roy NoTP” post. Check that out if you haven’t already.
Fake It and Don’t Make It
After that half-baked mess, I didn’t buy Aisha and Roy’s chemistry in Winx season six. In fact, all their interactions from “Saving Paradise Bay” onward felt exaggerated to compensate for their lack of relationship development.
For example, take how excited she got when he gave her the rollerblades in “The Lost Library” (Winx season 6, episode 7). First, she’s not a material person. As I said earlier, physical touch seems to be her love language. She likes gifts, but she doesn’t go crazy over them. Sometimes, she even turns them down, even if they’re from people she cares about.
So why was she so happy this time? Aisha/Roy fans might say it’s because she liked him, but to me, it felt like Rainbow made her act out of character to sell the love triangle. Also, ironically, those rollerblades ended up helping Nex bond with her!
What About Aisha and Nabu?
Since the comment brings up that couple, too, I’ll talk about them briefly. Their relationship did not start as a friendship. Here’s a quick summary:
- First, he stalked her. He flat out watched her from the bushes with a telescope. Just the facts. And I’m not calling it “stalking” just to make it sound worse. When the Winx caught him eavesdropping on them in “Valtor’s Box” (Winx season 3, episode 18), Stella called him “an adorable stalker”.
- Second, the Winx and Specialists thought Nabu might be a spy for Valtor, so they didn’t trust him. Aisha especially didn’t since, you know…he stalked her.
- Finally, all of the couple’s episodes together in Winx season three happened in the last third of the season. In fact, they met and became a couple within six episodes (18-23), so their love story was rushed, too.
The sad thing is she had a slow-burn relationship with Nex, yet the Winx fandom thinks it was the fastest and least developed. I don’t know why, but I’ll break it down in the next post.
TL;DR
- Roy seemed possessive because he tried to call “dibs” on Aisha. As soon as Nex showed up, he saw him as a threat, even though he wasn’t even interested in her (yet). Ironically, Roy wound up starting the love triangle, which led to her and Nex falling in love.
- Nex loves Roy for the same reason Roy supposedly did: her strong attitude and free spirit. He didn’t see her as a challenge — he was falling in love with her.
- Roy needed a reason to like Aisha because without one, it begs the question: “Why her?” If the answer is, “Why not?” you can counter with, “Why not someone else, then?”
- Even though they’re not from the same realm (as far as we know), Aisha and Nex are more alike than she and Roy were. This sheltered princess could benefit from dating someone who’s not from Andros, since he can offer her new experiences and a fresh perspective.
- Aisha and Roy didn’t have a slow, nicely-paced relationship. Instead, they interacted with each other a few times in his first four episodes (6-9) and had no other scenes together for 15 episodes. Then at the end of “Saving Paradise Bay”, they suddenly seemed in love. Because of this, their chemistry in Winx season six felt exaggerated to make up for their lack of development.
Alright, enough about Roy. Next time, I’ll talk about Nex and his love story with Aisha in Winx season six.
Your shade is on point about Terredor’s convenient assignments for Roy. Almost like what Oritel attempted during that brief respite in season 4 (least amount of plot-holes for MA in my opinion. We can always excuse the return to Mike & Vanessa’s as L&P & the loft undergoing repair maintenance at the time and it coming out of Stella’s salary because she’s so clumsy.), but with no one to actually divert Roy…Terredor succeded.
As for Roy himself? Dude, chill and don’t go insulting your princess like that, especially if she happens to be in the company of two other princesses, one of whom could literally roast you if she felt like it. You are aware that the Winx are the reason why Andros still sees a sunrise right?
I don’t know if Teredor sent Roy to Zenith on purpose, but I’ve always felt like that detail was too convenient. Part of the problem is that we don’t really know what Roy’s job was. First, he was a yacht driver, then he was ocean patrol?
Rainbow didn’t care. They just stuck him wherever Aisha was. Yeah, technically, they did the same thing with Nex, but it was more like what we’ve been used to with the other Specialists since season one. But with Roy, his added king’s assistant status complicated things. If he had just been a regular Specialist with no connection to the monarchy, it wouldn’t have been a problem.
Also, why would Teredor send one guy to patrol an entire ocean? It would have been more believable if Roy had been with someone else like some mermaids or other Andros Specialists.
As for how he insulted Aisha in his first episode, I originally planned to talk about it in this post, but I changed my mind. But yeah, that bothered me. I don’t think a protective boyfriend — at least in the sense that Roy was — is right for a girl like Aisha.
That is something strange. Terredor would never send just one person to patrol the oceans. Isn’t he supposed to be Aquaman who commands the seas? Or was that what they wanted Roy to be and failed. Either way it’s really fishy. Though yeah, this type of person isn’t right for Aisha.
Wait, someone from Instagram DID think Nex is a shadow monster? What the actual heck ??
Also for me, the love triangle was unnecesary and only made Nex look bad which is wrong. Also Roy’s moves were so weird, his weird reaction after Aisha transformed in Harmonix form with Bloom and Stella, and ALSO his rivalry with Nex EVEN despite he rarely interacted with a girl who they are fighting for. I know that Rainbow did this just to highlight Aisha but this was too plothole-ish and weird. But hey, it was HER decision and it was obvious that he chose Nex, especially when she and Roy rarely talked and Aisha didn’t approve that thing in Season 5 party. Nex accepted and supported her while not being overprotective and “a womanizer” (when did the fans get this idea that he’s a womanizer) THROUGH THREE SEASONS
[…] focused on Aisha and Roy in the first two posts (Part I and II). Now let’s talk about the power couple my blog is all about: Aisha and […]
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[…] The first three posts talked about what Roy lacked as a character (and as a love interest), how rushed his “love” story with Aisha was, and whether she and Nex fell in love suddenly or not. Now, let’s wrap this series up with…how […]