When Netflix decided to create a live-action reboot of The Winx Club, fans of the animated series were wary about whether the show would live up to its predecessor. After its release, Fate: The Winx Saga received mixed reviews from critics and viewers, but ultimately, snagged a Season 2 renewal.
Because Fate is based on a world of fantasy, there are magical aspects that play a role in shaping the characters' personalities. Their talents, which range from fighting skills to control of the elements, affect each specialist and fairy who attends Alfea. The powers they possess can impact the kind of person they are, and some are more likable than others.
Updated on September 29th, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: The Winx Saga’s second season allows the audience to get to know some of its characters a little bit more, but it also introduces some new faces. One thing that is fascinating about the second season is that fan-favorite characters aren’t necessarily the most likable. The Winx Saga does a great job at highlighting the flaws and the strengths of its characters, allowing the audience to empathize with characters they might not particularly like.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Fate: The Winx Saga Season 2.
Sebastian
Sebastian certainly starts off as a likable character. The audience sees him as an ally because he’s willing to help Bloom and her friends hide Silva from Rosalind. The second season, however, sees a flip in allegiances as Bloom starts to understand what’s really going on, and reveals Sebastian as a traitor.
The fact that Sebastian would put the entire magical world in danger because of the actions of a handful of fairies shows that he’s really committed to his vengeance. His potentially world-ending plan, however, doesn’t make him particularly likable. He lies to and manipulates everyone around him to get them to help him, and he doesn’t care who he hurts to achieve his goals.
Rosalind
It’s hard to like Rosalind because she’s particularly cold with the students learning from her - and because the audience spends the entire first season thinking she’s the real villain.
Rosalind might have the best interests of the fairy world in mind in Season 2, but she’s really more worried about her own power. She wants to show off Bloom as an ally because Bloom is the first fairy in decades to fully transform and gain her wings. Rosalind sees Bloom’s power as an extension of her own. She uses people in the same way that Sebastian does.
Dane
Dane is not an unlikable guy, but he does make some decisions that the audience doesn’t like. He completely abandons Terra after she’s the only one who will befriend him in the first season, for starters.
Dane also continues to refer to Riven as his boyfriend once the two are in a relationship with Beatrix, even though Riven makes it clear that he’s not in the relationship for Riven and has no romantic interest in him. It doesn’t matter what Riven says to him, Dane refuses to acknowledge that Riven is only interested in Beatrix. His desire to cling to Riven, and even to attempt to make him jealous after the throuple dissolves, doesn’t endear him to the audience.
Grey
Grey seems like a nice guy. He gets along with Sam and Musa, loves to swim like Aisha, and even has a habit of creating himself note cards to deal with high pressure social situations. The way he embraces his quirks makes the audience want to embrace them as well.
It’s also a big point in his favor that Aisha likes him when it takes her a long time to warm up to people. The biggest point against him though is that he spends most of Season 2 lying about his allegiance. His loyalty is to his family, and as a blood witch, that means he’s part of Sebastian’s plan. He doesn’t necessarily want to be, and he does eventually save Sky’s life, so the audience can’t entirely hate him.
Riven
Riven is a fan-favorite character, but as far as how he acts in the world of the show's first season, he's not a likable person. He's intense, closed-off, and bullies anyone who comes into contact with him. Viewers are able to get a deeper glimpse into River than his peers are, but the cold front he puts up isn't winning him any friends. Riven spends most of his time with Beatrix, which ends up making him even less approachable.
In the second season, fans get to see a bit more of a softer side from him as he repeatedly stands up for Musa. He's one of the only people who doesn't think she should be forced into using her abilities, and he goes back into a dangerous situation to get her out.
Silva
Silva cares deeply about all the specialists. He treats Sky like his own son and prioritizes his safety over his own. When Silva was infected by a burned one, he forbade Sky from going after it, even though he would die if it wasn't caught and killed. He's not perfect, which is made clear when he asks Sky to spy on Bloom. However, he never appears to have bad intentions. The secret he kept buried about killing Sky's dad was eventually revealed, but it was clear he had no choice in the matter. Silva did the right thing, but he still took on the burden of guilt every day.
Silva comes off a bit colder in the second season though, and much of his patience with Sky wears thin. His likability tends to be lessened when he's so quick to work with the same woman who tortured him and his friends as well.
Dowling
Many viewers were confused by Headmistress Dowling and didn't understand how she fit into the grand scheme of things in the first season. On one hand, she acted like someone who cared about Bloom and wanted to help her learn to control her powers. On the other, she played a part in the mass murder of the people of Aster Dell.
When compared to Rosalind, however, who wants to turn all fairies into soldiers in her personal war, Dowling doesn't seem so bad. Her biggest downfall was that she tried to keep her students out of danger, not alerting them to the dangers outside the castle.
Beatrix
Beatrix is another character whose motives are questionable as she often occupies the main antagonist role. At the beginning of the first season, Beatrix was painted as the villain. As time went on, there were a couple of instances that implied the opposite. Because Beatrix is so good at manipulating people, it's hard to tell whether she's actually heartbroken over what happened in Aster Dell, or if she's faking her grief to get Bloom on her side.
The second season, however, reveals just how lonely Beatrix is. She finds a friend in Stella and takes steps to insure her own survival at the expense of others in the school. When she realizes the danger her own decisions might put the rest of the world in, however, Beatrix does her part to help save the fairy world. She's not a full-fledged villain, and her unhappiness is relatable for the audience.
Stella
Stella is the complete opposite of her cartoon counterpart. While her Winx Club version was fun and lovable, this Stella is stuck up and cynical. They do both have a flair for style, but that's about as far as their comparison goes. Although Bloom is nothing but nice to her, Stella doesn't give her the time of day. If she is talking to her, it's usually not for a good reason. Stella does have some underlying emotional problems, which explains some of her behavior, but it's not an excuse for the way she treats the people around her.
Stella also has a habit of not telling the people she considers her closest friends the truth about nearly anything. She doesn't want them to know when she and Beatrix become friends, and she doesn't tell them about the magical tracker on her, which puts them all in danger.
Aisha
Aisha isn't a bad person, but she is judgmental. Her desire to follow the rules also led to her telling on others, and she had no loyalty to her friends. Aisha wasn't very interested in what Bloom was going through, despite the fact that Bloom just came to a new, magical, world that she had no idea existed.
She does care about her roommates, but she's not the most reliable. If Aisha doesn't approve of what one of them is doing, she'll go out of her way to put a stop to it.
Terra
Terra has a lot of great traits. She's kind, but she also demands respect from people. Terra stands up to the bullies at Alfea and makes them regret ever messing with her in the first place. However, she has a tendency to take things too far.
Terra uses her powers on people who are rude to her and is surprisingly hungry for vengeance. There's also a difference between showing concern for a friend, and butting in their personal life. On several occasions, Terra does the latter.
Sky
There's nothing unlikable about Sky, even if he is a bit bland at times. He's the golden boy and a little too perfect, but that just makes him more charming to the other characters. He's an incredible and talented specialist, which is similar to his character in the animated Winx series. Sky always wants to do the right thing, even if it includes putting himself in harm's way. He's extremely rash, but his impulse decisions are usually out of a desire to help someone in trouble.
Even when Sky lashes out at others in Season 2, the audience understands. He's been betrayed by the people he cares most about, and is still expected to be a model specialist at all times. Compound that with him having to fight and eliminate his own father in battle, and Sky's earned a little anger.
Bloom
Bloom is a fairly typical protagonist. She doesn't do anything that makes Fate stand out from other fantasy series or deviate much from the norm. However, she's also one of the few characters who isn't either evil or downright rude to her friends.
Bloom cares about everyone, and, despite not knowing what she's doing, she's not afraid to go searching for answers. She's lively, and fun, and her quest to find out where she came from is an important pillar of the plot.
Flora
Flora just might be the best new addition in The Winx Saga Season 2. She’s got quite a bit of the intelligence of Aisha and Terra, but she’s also got the impulsivity of Bloom. The combination means that she’s quick to jump into action when she’s worked out a solution.
Flora adds a bit of fun to the show as she’s accepting of Riven, despite his complicated past with her cousin, and she’s ready to encourage her new friends, like Aisha, in their new romantic relationships. Flora’s decision to potentially sacrifice her own magic so that the rest of the school can survive is one of the most heroic parts of the season as well.
Musa
Musa's personality, backstory, and abilities easily make her the most likable character. She's not over the top, but she is made up of layers that the series should dedicate time to unraveling. Musa feels the emotions of the people around her, which can make her either compassionate or desperate to feel nothing. Riven is clearly one of the most misunderstood characters in the show, yet Musa was able to get a glimpse at the real him in under a minute.
It's easy to understand Musa's need to be useful, to have a more "active" power. The audience can't fault her for wanting to put her mind fairy abilities on hold to learn to fight like a specialist. She's the character the audience likely understands the most and that's part of what makes them like her.