Nex is Not Like Riven — He’s Like Brandon
“Nex is like Riven.”
“He’s a copy of Riven.”
“He’s a less-interesting, less-developed, badly written Riven!”
I’ll say it again: if you need that many qualifiers, the argument is already dead. As it should be because Nex isn’t any kind of Riven. Also, Riven’s not a character type.
You read the title: Nex is more like Brandon than Riven. But before you call Nex a copy of Brandon instead, stick around for the part about how they’re different. First, we’ll get their similarities out of the way.
How Nex and Brandon Are Alike
Brandon’s WinxClub.com profile from Winx season two and three said:
- He’s vain. (“Of course, I am quite vain.”)
- His “favorite hobby” is “going out with girls”, and he’s “naturally gifted” at it.
What about Nex’s description from Winx season six? It said he:
- Is arrogant — specifically, Aisha would “be annoyed by his arrogance” (infastidita dalla sua arroganza).
- “Thinks every girl is bound to fall in love with him” (è convinto che ogni ragazza debba necessariamente innamorarsi di lui). Note: DeepL Translator lets you tweak translations using synonyms, so I adjusted this one because the exact translation doesn’t make sense in English.
So both Nex and Brandon have big egos and think they’re irresistible to women. By the way, if any of the Winx’s boyfriends deserves to be called a womanizer, it’s Brandon. Schmoozing girls was part of his character for four seasons. Yet Nex gets a lot more flak from the fandom for his flirting, even though he only did it once and hasn’t done it since he met Aisha. He’s not a womanizer, but the fandom still says he is. Why? ?♀️
Anyway, back to Nex and Brandon’s egos. Vanity and arrogance are related to each other, but they’re not exactly the same. As I’ll talk about in the “how they’re different” section, each guy has a different theme to his character.
Winx Club: Guida al Mondo Magico
Here’s another source of similarities: the book Winx Club: Guida al Mondo Magico (Guide to the Magical World). Brandon’s profile is longer than Nex’s, but none of the info is new. It says Brandon:
- “Is funny and full of vitality” (è divertente e pieno di vitalita)
- Is “very strong in combat” (molto forte nel combattimento)
- “Tends to brag about what he does, which can be unpleasant” (tende a vantarsi di quello che fa e può risultare antipatico)
Nex’s profile says he’s “good in combat” (bravo in combattimento), so we may have a match there. But Brandon’s line might mean he’s physically strong since his season two profile said he has “a powerful body”. Either way, both guys are handy on the battlefield.
If we look at other Winx media, we see more parallels between them:
- Nex’s season six description said he “often likes to joke around/play pranks” (si diverte spesso a fare scherzi).
- In the couples spread in Winx Magazine #179, Rainbow said both he and Aisha are “full of energy” (pieni di energia).
- We know he likes to show off, and in comic #131, “La Prova di Nex” (Nex’s Test), King Teredor called him a “braggart” (sbruffone).
Again, these might have slightly different implications:
- Brandon is goofy, while Nex likes to tease people (though Brandon does, too, sometimes).
- “Vitality” could mean “spirit” or “enthusiasm” rather than literal energy. (Not that Nex doesn’t have that, too.)
- The Italian word “quello” (what) is singular, which means Brandon brags about one specific thing he does. What is it? How about being a Specialist? If memory serves me, he’s bragged about that a lot throughout the series, while Nex brags about his abilities. (More about that later.)
Regardless, Nex and Brandon are both playful, energetic, and boastful.
Here are a couple more ways they’re alike.
1. They’re both extroverts.
What if I told you Nex and Riven don’t have the same personality? Disagree? Well, I can prove it.
Riven is a loner. His character descriptions say so, and we’ve seen it throughout the series. He’s not comfortable around people, and he likes to work alone if he can.
But Nex is an extrovert (estroverso). Extroverts get their energy from social interaction, so being alone would literally tire him out. He also prefers to work on a team. (We’ll talk about that later.)
I think the Winx fandom ignores this whenever they compare Nex to Riven, but these aren’t minor differences. Extroversion affects how you process the world.
Something I brought up in Riven’s “Nex vs. Riven” post is that he often wrestles with negative emotions: sadness, anger, hatred, betrayal, jealousy, etc. Of course, extroverts like Nex have internal struggles, too, but they focus their attention outward instead of on their inner lives. One way they do this is by talking through their feelings with others, whereas loners like Riven bottle things up.
But I digress. Read my posts for more about Nex and Riven’s differences.
Back to the point. Nex is more like Brandon because they’re both extroverts. They love hanging out with other people, they love being the center of the attention, they’re not afraid to chat up strangers (especially females), and they’re usually upbeat.
As a bonus (especially for Aisha and Stella), they also both have Secure attachment styles. What’s an attachment style? Read more here.
2. They’re both athletic types.
Brandon’s not an athlete, per se, but he used to keep his “powerful body” in shape. We saw him lift weights and practice martial arts in his dorm room in the early seasons. And it paid off. He looked slightly more muscular than the other Specialists.
As for Nex, he is an athlete, so he stays fit through sports. He used to be the slimmest guy in the group. You can really tell in this season seven screenshot:
Geez! Was he competing with the Winx?
Of course, now all the guys have the figures of five-year-olds, thanks to the season eight redesign. But my point is Nex and Brandon’s physiques used to matter. Their character descriptions even mentioned them. Nex’s called him “slim and athletic-looking” (dall’aspetto snello e atletico), which is why he didn’t have the default Specialist body type.
Nex and Brandon’s bods also had something to do with what I hinted at earlier: their character themes. We’ve done with the similarity section, so no more vagueness. Here we go!
How Nex and Brandon are Different
Remember Tecna and Timmy’s only fight back in Winx season two? She called him a coward when he let the Trix steal the Codex from Redfountain, but she apologized several episodes later. “I judged you by surface data and not by who you are,” she said.
Well, the Winx fandom does that with Nex and Riven, too. “They’ve got the same hairstyle.” (Really?) “They both tease people. They’re both competitive. So Nex is a copy of Riven.”
These superficial comparisons ignore the core of each character. It’s like I said in Riven’s “Nex vs. Riven” post: he and Nex are the same only if you take his traits and behavior out of context.
So let’s bring the context back in for Nex and Brandon, too. We’ll start with — drumroll, please — their character themes. Brandon’s primary flaw is vanity, and Nex’s is arrogance. For the sake of this post:
- Vanity is overvaluing your appearance. That’s why we call those dresser-mirror combos in our bedrooms vanities. What a shock.
- Arrogance is overvaluing your skills. It’s about your public image, not your looks.
So Brandon’s theme is beauty, and Nex’s is ability.
Beauty: “Nature treated me well…”
One of the first things Brandon said in his season two profile was:
…nature treated me well and gave me a powerful body and a really handsome face!
He later said, “Of course I am quite vain.” Good for you, Brandon. Admitting your problem is the first step to overcoming it. ?
The point: he cares a lot about his looks. I mentioned how he used to lift weights in his dorm. Sure, it kept him in shape, but let’s face it: he probably wanted to bulk up to impress girls.
He also pays attention to how other people look. When he compliments girls, for example, it’s usually their appearance:
- (To Aisha, Winx season 2) “You can say that again, cutie.”
- (To Amentia, Winx season 2) “It’s good to see you’re looking so elegant, Your Majesty!”
- (To Stella, Winx season 3, 5, and 8) “Hey, gorgeous!” “You look beautiful, Stella!” “Beautiful as always, Stella!”
Also, like Stella, he gives unsolicited fashion advice sometimes. At least twice in Winx Club, he’s tried to makeover Timmy. The first time, in “Race Against Time” (Winx season 2, episode 11), Timmy turned him down:
TIMMY: So you think all’s not lost, and I might still impress Tecna?
BRANDON: Sure, and while you’re at it, some nicer clothes would really give you an edge, you know.
TIMMY: Uh, no, thanks. I kinda like how I dress.
BRANDON: You should try puffing up your hair a bit. Stella gave me this stuff. Works like magic!
TIMMY: No, really, it’s okay.
BRANDON: How ‘bout contacts?
TIMMY: Arrgh, never mind!
The second time, in “A Perfect Date” (Winx season 5, episode 21), Timmy gave in…reluctantly:
TIMMY: Guys, I’m telling you this isn’t a good idea. I’m not a date kind of guy.
HELIA: Man up. It’s going to work.
BRANDON: And that outfit makes you look totally hip!
TIMMY: Maybe on you, these clothes would look cool. On me, they just look…
RIVEN: Silly?
HELIA: Riven!
RIVEN: Hey! I’m just sayin’.
He’s full of it, Timmy. You looked handsome!
Finally, Brandon’s beauty almost got him married off to a Trog! In “Princess Amentia” (Winx season 2, episode 4), the titular princess fell in love with that “really handsome face” of his. And because his vanity got the best of him, he couldn’t help soaking up the compliments.
AMENTIA: *Gasp* I can’t believe it! Such perfectly harmonious features!
BRANDON: Well, with all due modesty…!
AMENTIA: Your face is absolutely perfect!
BRANDON: Princess, you’re making me blush, but good eye!
SPONTUS: No! Oh, please, princess! Nooooo!
AMENTIA: Brandon, you shall become my husband!
Don’t worry, Brandon. She wouldn’t wanna marry you now. ?
Ability: “I’ll give these guys a run for their money!”
When Nex strutted up to the Winx in “The Flying School” (Winx season 6, episode 3), the fandom honed in on his “Hey, ladies!” greeting. But his next line told us what we really needed know about him:
When it’s my turn, I’ll give these guys a run for their money!
So Brandon thinks his looks make him a dream guy, but Nex thinks it’s his skills.
Nex’s focus on ability took a few forms. Form #1 was his competitiveness. To steal a song lyric from a franchise I’m sure you’ve never heard of, Nex wants to be the best like no one ever was. ? Both his character description and his Guida al Mondo Magico profile said so:
- “Nex always wants to prove he’s the best at everything…” (Nex vuole sempre dimonstrare di essere il migliore in tutto).
- Guida al Mondo Magico: “Flaw: Sometimes, he thinks he’s the best at everything.”
If you think about it, this makes sense for his character. He’s an athlete, so sports and competition are his world. Athletes always aim for the top, right? When they’re not trying to beat someone else, they’re trying to beat their personal best.
Nex’s debut was all about competition. The best example, of course, was the stupid love triangle, which Rainbow shoved him in minutes after he introduced himself. But he had less annoying contests with other characters, including Aisha. One example was in “Broken Dreams” (Winx season 6, episode 11), when he challenged her to a roller blade race:
NEX: Let’s see if you can pass me!
AISHA: Oh, a challenge, huh? You sure about this? Then let’s do this the right way!
I think by this point, Nex understood her personality — she’s competitive, too — so he thought challenging her would cheer her up after her spat with Stella. Yes, this wouldn’t make sense for any other couple, but they’re both athletes, so they speak that language.
Fast forward to “Mystery of Calavera” (Winx season 6, episode 16) when the Winx and Specialists were looking for the Fantasy Emerald. Nex turned the windsurfing ride to Bajo Mundo Cave into a race, and even timid Timmy got into it.
Another form of Nex’s fixation on ability is how he always wants to prove himself, especially when people doubt him. That’s why he shows off. But remember what I said in his “Nex vs. Riven” post? He does it because he wants people to like him. (It’s an Enneagram Type 3 thing.)
But it’s not always for his own glory. For example, in comic #131, “La Prova di Nex” (Nex’s Test), Aisha’s father didn’t think he could protect her. So when the king proposed the titular test, Nex gladly accepted it. Aisha tried to stop him, but he explained he wanted her father to trust him.
AISHA: We love each other! That’s all that matters!
NEX: I know… but I want to show King Teredor that I’m willing to do anything for you!
NEX: It’s the only way I can earn his trust!
(NOTE: I used my translation. If you follow my blog, you know I disagree with how Winx Club Comics translated this scene.)
How Their Winx Girlfriends Played Into Their Themes
Nex and Brandon’s character themes affect their relationships, too. On the Winx Club website during season six, Stella said her ideal guy was “beautiful and full of muscles…like Brandon!” And like I said, he often tells her she’s beautiful.
But beauty also played a major role in their relationship development in Winx season three.
Stella and Brandon: Outer and Inner Beauty
Remember the arc where Stella got turned into a monster? She was afraid of Brandon seeing her mutated form, so Flora cast a spell on him so he’d only see Stella’s inner beauty.
But later, in “The Mirror of Truth” (Winx season 3, episode 4), Brandon revealed he could see monster Stella the whole time, and it didn’t change his feelings for her:
BRANDON: Stella, maybe this isn’t the best time to tell you, but I can see what you look like.
STELLA: But…but how is that possible?
BRANDON: I don’t know. The spell Flora cast on me never worked.
STELLA: And you…even though I look like this, you didn’t run away?
BRANDON: What? Me, run away from a beautiful person with a great big heart and a wonderful soul?
So even though Brandon is vain, he’s not shallow. He can love someone for who they are, not just what they look like.
Aisha and Nex: Courage and Teamwork
In the beginning, Aisha and Nex’s relationship revolved around sports and competition. But Nex didn’t fall in love with her because she’s “amazing at a lot of things” (*cough* Roy *cough*). Nex fell in love with her strong personality.
Soon, he stopped wanting to win against her and wanted to win with her. The first sign of this shift was in “Mystery of Calavera”, when he teamed up with her in the windsurfing race:
NEX: C’mon, let’s be the first ones there!
AISHA: Alright, let’s do it!
But their most notable “Power Couple Team Up” in season six was in “Legendary Duel” (Winx season 6, episode 24) when they took on Siobhan the Water Champion of Alfea. Even though they didn’t beat her, they felt proud of how well they worked together.
Aisha hatched a plan to free the Pixies from the Legendarium World, but Icy tried to stop her from leaving Alfea. That’s when Nex soared into action. He didn’t flinch at the witch’s ice bolt; instead, he hit it back at her, knocking her out of their way. It impressed the Fairy of Waves.
AISHA: Nex, you were so brave out there!
NEX: What? Did you expect anything less? Good luck in there!
That’s right. Aisha didn’t fall in love with Nex for his abilities, either. She fell in love with his courage. I guess we should have known. After all, her season six profile said her ideal guy is “loyal and courageous”.
I Can See Your Voice
Voice is another important part of characterization. Coincidentally, Nex and Brandon had the same voice actor in Winx season six: Adam Gregory. That means he had to create a distinct voice for each guy that fit their personalities, so he needed to understand what made them different.
Listen to these four clips from “Mystery of Calavera” (Winx season 6, episode 15). In each one, Nex and Brandon speak one after another. Can you tell who’s talking in what order?
Here’s Clip #1.
Whoa! We’re already on hard mode! I’ll admit: I’d get them confused if I didn’t know the show.
Clip #2 might be easier. The first voice is Timmy’s, so ignore him.
Here’s Clip #3. The voice order is obvious in this one because…well, you’ll see.
And here’s Clip #4. This time, the first voice is Sky’s.
Let’s see how you did. Here’s the speaking orders:
- Brandon, Nex
- Timmy, Brandon, Nex
- Nex, Brandon
- Sky, Nex, Brandon
Could you tell who was who? What were some of the differences in their voices, and what impression do you get from them?
What I noticed was Nex’s voice was raspier, feistier, and more masculine. He also sounded more like a teenager (older teens, though). Brandon’s voice was smoother and, while still masculine, not as stereotypical. He also sounded more mature.
So did Adam Gregory do a good job? Also, Nex and Brandon are voiced by Marc Thompson and Jake Paque, respectively, now. How do their voices compare to these?
TL;DR
If you read this whole post, thanks a lot! If not, that’s okay. I’m not mad. From now on, I’ll add “TL;DR” links to my posts because I know I have too much to say sometimes.
Here’s the summary. Nex and Riven may have some similarities, but Nex is more like Brandon. They’re both energetic extroverts who love to joke around, keep themselves fit through sports and exercise, and think all the ladies love them.
Does that mean they’re the same? No. Rainbow distinguishes them from each other by focusing on different themes. Brandon’s is beauty, and his flaw is vanity. Nex’s theme is ability, and his flaw is arrogance.
But both guys are overcoming their flaws with the help of their Winx girlfriends: Aisha and Stella. Coincidentally, both girls are princesses, which means Nex and Brandon will both marry into royalty. I think they’re on their right path to becoming men who are worthy to sit beside these queens.
Thank you for all these analysis. I don’t watch Winx anymore since the whole fiasco about how people went insane about Enchantix Redesign, but despite I wasn’t a Nex fan, it infuriated me how people threw crap at AishaxNex and Nex’s character. I don’t even understand why people need proof that Nex is not Riven when ANYONE can see that Nex was open to others and Aisha while Riven has a HUUUGE problem with talking, and treating poor Musa properly and not treating everything like a competition for at least ONCE.
Seriously, why did the Winx fandom spit on Nex when he did NOTHING wrong?! Rainbow obviously wrote him better than Nabu (who literally had ZERO flaws and Riven SUDDENLY opened himself for him in S3 WaterStars arc which qualifies him as a Mary Sue. Oh yeah, people LITERALLY spitting on Bloom for being a Mary Sue nowadays but Nabu is okay… hmmm… anyways, thank you so much! At least someone who doesn’t overlook obvious facts.
(Sorry if this was offtopic but I REALLY needed to say this, this still flabbergasts me to this day)
I think it comes down to nostalgia. The Winx fandom is obsessed with the “good old days” of Winx Club, so they often ignore any problems with the characters or worldbuilding. Honestly, this whole show had problems from the beginning. Even Bloom’s story, which was the focus of those beloved first three seasons, has a lot of plot holes.
But the fandom doesn’t care. Everything back then was perfect (or close enough), and everything now is garbage. Unfortunately, Nex falls into the “now” category.
As for why he’s compared to Riven, I don’t understand, either. It’s a weak comparison at best, yet it’s persisted for years. What’s stranger is that it even comes from fans who like Riven. They call Nex “a jerk like Riven” or “worse than Riven”, yet they defend all of Riven’s actions and even say he’s not a jerk. How does that make sense?
In the end, Riven is just a textbook bad boy, while Nex has more going for him like how he actually treats Aisha well. But again, nostalgia always wins. Same with Nabu being a textbook Mary Sue/Gary Stu, but the fandom is still too traumatized by his death to criticize him.
I am happy you mentioned Bloom’s story having many plotholes.
But i also always have felt like it was dragged out, too long.
Also it didn’t feel like it was planned out that good.
Sometimes it would feel like a total mess.
Well, last year they were SO sure Season 8 was the last Season. It just sounds skechy. Especially because the date is 2021 – 2022. Which doesn’t seem that likely to me. And now they are suddenly making it 52 episodes? ? 16 years into the franchise.
*sigh* the more Rainbow keeps changing, the more i see the show declining (If this is true). I do not wanna sound negative, change isn’t a bad thing, but sometimes trying to repair something too much is only going to destroy it further. I already make a blog post about that some weeks ago, i don’t think Winx needs another Season.
I wrote a post about it, but I’m not gonna post it so I’ll share my thoughts here. The date does seem sudden, so I’ll ignore that for now. But as for the 52 episodes, they’ll supposedly be 13 minutes each. That’s the typical length of an episode in an episodic children’s show.
It sounds like Rainbow plans to transition Winx Club to an episodic show instead of a serialized show. That means no more overarching plotlines. It’ll just be slice-of-life stuff and random adventures.
Now I have mixed feelings about that, but I won’t go into that right now.
Tori, can you lay out some of the flaws and plotholes you noticed in Bloom’s story? (I am just curious ?).
WinxClubRus said Rainbow confirmed a Season 9. But i do not really believe it. I have mixed feelings about it if it’s true.
Yeah, I heard. How come?
Didn’t they also change what happenend to Marion and Oritel a couple of times aswell?
I don’t remember, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
Sure!
– The fall of Domino was treated like an ancient event, known only by a few people and spoken of only in books. But if Bloom was 16 in the first episode, that’s about how long ago it happened. That’s not long at all, so why did so few characters know about it? (Roxy’s backstory had a similar flaw.) And even if it was a long time ago, magical beings live for centuries. The members of the Company of Light are all still alive!
– Daphne was shown to be an adult in the first season when Bloom was a baby, but the next season we saw an image of her as a child with baby Bloom. That’s probably because originally, Daphne was supposed to be her mother, not her sister, but like other things in this show, Rainbow retconned it.
– Helia is Saladin’s nephew, right? This is more of a missed opportunity thing, but why didn’t he know anything about the Company of Light or the fall of Domino? Saladin never told him?
– Bloom’s relationship with Sky screwed up the ending to her story. Everything was building to her becoming the future queen of Domino. Rainbow even said in Magical Adventure that that was her destiny. But because Sky is a prince, marrying him means she’ll have to become the queen consort of Eraklyon. That would have left Domino without a heir again, which is most likely why Rainbow retconned Daphne’s death and married her off to Thoren. Now they can rule Domino while Bloom and Sky rule Eraklyon.
If I think of more, I’ll let you know.
“nostalgia always wins” AND THAT’S BAD in this case. Awful.
I mean, I am nostalgic for things too (except despite I loved Winx, seasons 1,2 and 4 and Season 2’s mediocre Charmix form ARE NOT the things I would be nostalgic to) but when nostalgia normalizes bad morals (Riven),bad writing at times (I CAN’T STAND AishaxNabu “perfectness” and relationship dramas in Season 4!) plotholes (can people stop blaming Nickelodeon for plotholes when actually wordbuilding problems in Winx were SINCE THE BEGGINING), well… something is just wrong. I remember when I saw Winx for the first time back in 2007, despite people did not care about that, Riven’s acts in S1E08 screamed “wrong” to me. (I’m glad I sticked with Brandon and Timmy as my favourites)
Back to the topic about Aishaxnex, what flabbergasts me is that people want Aisha to mourn Nabu as single forever. Get it? They want her TO BE SAD/DEPRESSED FOREVER AND SUFFER MENTALLY FOR NO REASON. Disgusting. I know Aisha is just a fictional character but I can’t stand it and don’t want it. Imagine if she was a real person… terrifying, people are taking it TOO far, to say at least. I’m glad you analyze things with fresh eyes.
I always thought Adam Gregory did a good job distinguishing Brandon and Nex from each other. I think he’s also just generally a good actor – he can handle both of their more dynamic character moments. Seriously, his voice acting for Nex at the end of 6×24 is SO GOOD. You can hear the happiness and relief and even the giddy excitement in his voice, it’s precious.
However, I do have to acknowledge nostalgia bias – the Nick dub was how I was introduced to Winx, so I usually default to it when asked for my favorite Winx voices. To be fair, sometimes Gregory’s Nex comes off less naturally raspy and more like he just really needs some water. ? However, I still think he did a really good job for the most part.
Not gonna lie – when I first heard Nex’s s7 voice, I lowkey hated it. He sounded like a generic meathead, which actually kinda works since he is an athlete. But when I first heard it, I was not a fan.
I changed my mind after hearing Marc Thompson some more – specifically the part where Nex spaces out on his and Aisha’s date. He’s also good in his scenes with Squonk, where he’s trying to figure out how to be a “dad” to this centuries-old magic creature. And he was a lot better in the Sirenix arc than I was expecting – I underestimated his ability to do more serious scenes.
Overall, I still prefer Gregory’s voice for him, because I think the raspiness adds a level of maturity while still showing his less mature sides. It also makes his voice more unique from the rest of the cast’s. However, I do still like Thompson’s take on the character quite a bit.
I didn’t listen to the audio. So, what I am about to say boils down to personal opinion. When it comes to voices among the Specialist, Brandon’s voice strikes to me as more masculine than Nex. It’s not just only Nex, I guess his voice seemed to be a lot more baritone than the other Specialist.
Actually, I heard it.
Which voices do you mean? I feel like in the current dub, Brandon’s voice definitely sounds more masculine.
The current dub actually. I think that in the current dub, the voice actors did a better job differentiating the voices of their characters.
The fandom should understand that
just because Nex has SOME similarities with Riven, doesn’t make him “like Riven”. There’s a difference.
Exactly. Heck, Aisha has some similarities to Riven, too. Does that make her “like Riven”? Of course not.
It’s defenitly not the first time the fandom has called a charachter “Like Riven”. Even Flora at one point!
What I can see bits of Riven in Aisha like in terms of there competition and sports, and bits of his Nex, they need to win at everything, and their insecurities, and bits of him in his girlfriend Musa, their inability to communicate but Musa does better at him most of time anyways, and he and Bloom are both Hot-headed like in Day of The Rose when Bloom Poured A Vase of Roses over his head get me everytime, but how he like Flora, other that they close relationship (although very different dynamic) with Helia?
I think it reflects badly not only on the fandom, but on Winx Club itself. Rainbow has focused way too much on Riven, a secondary character. He gets more attention in a season sometimes than some of the Winx, including his own girlfriend!
Plus, remember that fan on YouTube who said that Nex really is “a bad copy of Riven” because his behavior improved in season eight? The fact that they associate character growth with Riven means Rainbow hasn’t allowed to other characters, specifically the guys, to change enough. This fan expects the guys’ characters to stay stagnant, and if one of them improves, that makes him “like Riven”. Not a good sign.
I agree with the part where an episodic show allow more slice-to-life moment and character development. Pretty Cure is an example of an episodic show being executed well. If they are going to change WinX club into an episodic show, let’s hope they include slice of life moments and character development. (This show has seriously ran out of plots till the point that they oversell Bloom’s story way too much till the point that we still don’t know the backstory of some of the WinX especially Tecna and Flora.)
I think the part where slice of life moment could lead to character development would apply more to Flora. Tecna and Musa to a certain extent. We already saw how Tecna began to tap into her emotional side. As for Musa, we saw how she started standing up towards Riven for his abusive behavior. (Then again, she needs her own character development without involving another character.)
As for Flora, we still don’t know anything about her flaws. She seemed to be the only girl who doesn’t seem to have a flaw. You could say she is shy but how is her shyness being displayed in the show? Is it in terms of being less likely to take risks? You could say she is insecure but what is she insecure about? Her powers? Not being to help the group in battles? We don’t know. Or is it that she needs to learn that voicing out opinions is better than keeping it to yourself just to avoid conflict?
A little sidenote: the biker outfits is Timmy’s idea? Also, he also knew what they like in terms of fashion and it was his idea to ask the pixies for help? That is interesting. I thought the bikers outfits was requested by Stella.
Well, I just hope that they do the show justice when they convert the show into an episodic show.
Yep. Flora and Tecna are extremely underdeveloped, Flora more so, so an episodic series that focuses more on developing the characters could be great for them.
The Specialists need more development, too. Sky’s fine, of course. We really don’t need to know more about him. Brandon is okay, since he at least has a backstory, but it would be nice to know how he became Sky’s right-hand man.
Riven has experienced the most character growth of all the guys, but he actually doesn’t have a backstory. The one the fandom constantly cites to pardon his bad behavior was mentioned on the Winx Club website back in season two, but has never been brought up in the show. Until Rainbow makes it part of his character in the show, it’s only semi-canon.
As for Helia, Timmy, and Nex, they all need backstories and more character growth. Helia kinda has a backstory, but it hasn’t added much to his character. Rainbow needs to do more with it. Timmy and Nex have no backstories.
If they do go more slice of life i really want to see them actually show us some things we don’t often see. Also maybe just maybe with slice of life we could (but it’s a big maybe) see a Roxy episode that wasn’t about her being a fairy park ranger. I would actually like to see her finally get a pixie, but unlike most fans, i don’t think Zing is for her. Zing’s kinda…Zingy for lack of a better word…i don’t think Roxy could handle that all week. Though i do think she might have one of the pop pixie characters. Morpho, Martino or Giga. Morpho would probably work the best with the similar yet different thing the way digit was with Tecna. Also if they wanted to use distinctive looks for the boy pixies, they can always have them in their pop pixie state (or pixie Enchantix as the fandom calls it)
Yikes. I guess that everyone, Rainbow included feels that Winx isn’t Winx without Riven. Ah no. As for the specialists, if i had to say who could carry the show the best out of them since Rainbow doesn’t want to give them their own show, it would be Timmy, he’s the only one who can actually communicate with the girls to an extent, including knowing what they liked in terms of fashion (because it was his idea to make those biker outfits and get pixie assistance.) that is of course if we were not clamped to a princess+Flora or Musa season.
For season 9? Maybe the 52 13 minutes could actually help if they split adventures in one half and slice of life in another? Also the slice of life could allow character development for Musa, Tecna and Flora.
Yeah, it sounds like Rainbow is shifting Winx into an episodic show instead of a serialized show. It’s an odd change, but like you said, if they incorporate more slice-of-life moments and character development, it could be a good thing. The benefit of an episodic series is that because they’re not bound to an overarching plot, the writers can write about anything, and what they often write about is the characters.
So Winx season nine could be interesting if Rainbow does it right.
Exactly. And also the fact they heavily censored Season 8 to a much younger audirnce. But they don’t censore an abusive relationship? ? Now they turned their relationship into toxic positivity.
[…] thought these two would be close friends because they have a few things in common. They’re both flirty and outgoing, they like to crack jokes (at least Brandon used to), and […]
@ Secrets, the biker outfits were a surprise gift as they were hand made, not magically ready for wear. The pixies aided the Specialists with sizes…and i think it was either Timmy or Brandon who said something about “doing the opposite of what you think” to try to make something nice, and that wasn’t exactly a dig.
[…] But cocky + plays rough = Riven? Isn’t that a low threshold to be considered a copy of another character? Are those Riven’s defining traits in the first place? I wouldn’t say he “played rough” in this episode. It was a standard monster fight. And even the comment admits that Brandon is cocky, too: […]