![]() ![]() While it is important to try to course correct and remedy past mistakes, the creators chose the easy way out when writing Flora in and did not attempt to properly treat the issue, but instead covered it with a bandage and called it fixed. It seems the creators focused on the wrong things when building the latest installment. While an effort to fix the missteps of season one was made, season two of Fate: The Winx Saga failed to get to the root of these problems. But Flora is not extended the same opportunity, leaving her future in the series on shaky ground. Unsurprisingly, Musa gets her magic back. In Season 2, Musa temporarily loses her magic, leading the administration to attempt to kick her out of Alfea. And cutting her out is not a far-fetched idea. This does portray Flora as a hero, but it also singles her out of the group and provides a quick exit, should the writers decide to cut her out of the show. In an act of sacrifice, Flora takes on all the scrapers to distract them from Bloom's attack and gets her magic drained away. What's worse is that by the end of the season, Flora's powers are taken away. Even if Terra is not Flora and Flora is being accurately portrayed, Chávez still didn't get nearly the same exposure as the other Winx girls. Salt having the screen time of two seasons (so far), while Chávez only has the one in her belt is a huge example of giving roles meant for BIPOC to White actors. But the win was indeed small, as Flora's addition to the show felt a bit too little too late. ![]() This allowed for Flora to be properly portrayed. Actress Paulina Chávez was tasked with taking her on, which did feel like a small, yet important win, as Chávez is Latina. Terra even mentions her cousin Flora in passing during Season 1.Ĭome Season 2, and we finally get to see Flora. When creators heard this, they were quick to respond by saying Terra was a new character entirely and not a replacement for Flora. Flora is notably Latina in Winx Club (in this case based on Jennifer Lopez), making many fans believe the character had been completely whitewashed. ![]() Eliot Salt, a white woman, was cast in the role. However, the issue was not a name change. When first introduced to viewers as the show's main earth fairy, many thought her to be a new version of Flora, the earth fairy from the original series. Terra, on the other hand, is a different story. Musa was not recast for Season 2, even though other major characters were, leading to further controversy. Not only is this misrepresenting a key character and taking a role away from an Asian actress, but it is also fueling white beauty standards, inadvertently telling viewers that even if one is a person of color, it is better to look as ambiguous and as white as possible. Creators appear to have relied on her "ethnic ambiguity" to try to cover their backs, but one quick Google search will tell you that Applebaum is not East Asian. Applebaum's casting stirred up a lot of negative buzz because, although she is mixed race, she does not share Musa's East Asian heritage, especially since Winx Club creator Ignio Straffi has stated that Musa is physically based on the Asian-American Lucy Liu. Musa, originally a music fairy with a rich background steeped in East Asian tradition, is played by Elisha Applebaum in Fate. The greatest outcry came in the form of protests over the characters of Musa and Terra. Season 1 issues were crowned by its misrepresentation of BIPOC. Season 2 tried to repair this by casting Paulina Chávez as Flora, but Chávez's limited screen time and easily-removable storyline loom over this small victory. Fate did not stay true to this, whitewashing several main characters and disregarding the representation that so many fans saw themselves in the original series. More importantly, however, the members of Winx Club were more diverse, Each had a deep backstory and specific characterizations. The Winx girls were always spearheading fairy fashion, and the pieces chosen for Fate did not live up to that of their predecessor. Season 1 saw lots of controversy when it was released due to several factors.įans of the show's source material, Winx Club, a colorful, animated children's show originally produced in Italy, took issue with the dark production design and outdated, unfashionable costuming. And while there were certain success in improvements to the show, poor choices continued to be made when it came to issues of proper representation of BIPOC. The Netflix series Fate: The Winx Saga returned for its sophomore season earlier this month, hoping to shed the bad press Season 1 brought by making some much-needed changes. Editor's Note: The following article contains spoilers for Fate: The Winx Saga Season 2.
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