#ftws2

Stella: kinda really like her.

Riven: I don't! I don't like Musa!

Bloom: they haven't even said the name.

Riven: ...

Riven: ... anyway, fuck off.

Farah last goodbye [Fate The Winx Saga] (1/4)

Farah Dowling

"Someone to stay" by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

to speak the truth, I disliked many things this season, thought they could’ve been done better. but Farah, is not one of these things. she was back, everything we said was true, from her eyes shining hinting that she used magic, through her knowing what Rosalind is about to do and all the way to the tree theory. I know some will say it was fan service, I honestly don’t believe that. I genuinely think they were meant to bring her back this entire time, Eve got busy with HotD and chose to give up Fate. so they went “ok, but can we have you for one last goodbye?” and Eve being the amazing person I believe her to be, who was probably told how much fans were affected by her character, agreed, even though it was from far away. and taking all of that into consideration, filming the scenes apart and using tons of editing, they really worked hard to give us the closure that was needed. of course, it was heartbreaking, bawled my eyes out for the next 20 mins before moving to the next episode, I wish she came back for good. but life is dynamic and my girl is kicking ass riding dragons in an HBO hit show right now. I’m proud of her. 

to be clear, this is a goodbye for canon Farah. but my Farah, is alive and well. and this is not just for my Farah and Silrah people, this is for everyone who for any reason is disappointed: canon is NOT the end of the world, don’t like it? that’s okay. wish it to be better? AMAZING. this is exactly what fandoms are for, this is what fans and art and fanfics are for. write, draw, roleplay, discuss, edit, CREATE your OWN canon. the possibilities are ENDLESS, we have imagination for a reason. the characters, whoever they may be, are with you, in your heart, and you have your own personal take on them with your own pov and ideas and NO ONE can ever take that from you. MAKE. YOUR. OWN. STORIES. don’t feel like you have any artistic skills? dream and fantasize, let your head run wild! my Farah, my Saul are living in my mind rent free, living the lives I want them to have. and you can do the exact same. once you have this mindset, you can be unstoppable. want Andreas and Bea to have their own little happy family with Sky and Saul? open a word doc and write it. wanna make Rivusa live a cottage life in the mountains? pick up a pen and sketch. wished for Ben and Luna to be frenemies? edit a video. you are capable of turning things your way, only because the writers chose a specific path doesn’t mean you have to choose it too. 

Disclaimer: spoilers for s1 of Fate: The Winx Saga and the original Winx Club cartoon.

This is going to be a long one, apologies in advance but a huge thank you if you take the time to read it!

So as we all know, season 1 ended with Farah taking a nap, Saul getting arrested, and the girls returning to school to find Luna, Rosalind, and Andreas in charge. We know (as Rosalind explained to Farah) that this is essentially phase 1 of a plan Rosalind has spent over 16 years devising even before she was sentenced to magic jail. Here's the thing though:

It's a bad plan.

Whatever the rest of the phases are, whatever the end goal is, this first step of eliminating Farah, Saul, and Ben as threats is very poorly thought out, for multiple reasons.

First: the variables. Rosalind is relying a LOT on the suspension of disbelief, trust, and loyalty here. If we think about this from the perspective of an outsider -a student who has been involved in the chaos but is not a member of Winx or aware of the same details- then, essentially, your headmistress has gone on "sabbatical," your headmaster has been arrested, a long-thought-dead war hero has returned in his place, a woman you've never met is in charge, and the queen of the realm is backing it all up. Disregarding that Luna's word might carry enough weight to make any of this credible, it doesn't make any sense. Those students we see only in the background are Alfeans who have either witnessed the madness of this year alone, or been taught, mentored, and supported by Farah, Saul, and Ben for years now. This is a high school. A fairy high school, but a high school. The currency is gossip. If even one student has their doubts and suspicions, the whole thing falls apart. We're meant to believe that Rosalind is such a master strategist and manipulator that she is always one step ahead, yet she's relying a lot on teenagers accepting a massive change in authority with no comment. That, or she plans to rely on fear and threats to keep everyone in line, because otherwise, any plans to try and gain their trust is a long con she has no guarantee will pay off.

Second: the key players. Luna, the queen of Solaria, has an established appearance as the kind, compassionate ruler, and thus might have a chance of spinning things in their favor. However, it's also common knowledge that when the school took its last stand against the burned ones, the Solarian forces were not there. Whether the students knew this directly or not, it was obvious from the moment Saul and Farah had to rely on them to fight too. They might have thought the burned ones wiped them all out, but then that's a real blow to morale asking a bunch of teenagers to do what trained soldiers could not. It's not a good look. Rosalind, meanwhile, is essentially a ghost. The history of her time as headmistress was erased so she's coming in a stranger, which works in her favor because the students aren't aware of Aster Dell and her barbaric methods, blood witches or not. However, to establish herself as someone worth listening to, she's going to have to go directly against anything Farah, Saul, and Ben have told them, which means lying, which is another huge gamble considering that the Winx girls and Sky all know the truth. And finally there's Andreas, arguably the most trustworthy and least problematic of the three -to an outsider. Like Sky, they would've been fed the same stories of heroism because until recently, only the adults knew about Andreas' moral dilemma and his fight with Saul. His fame would proceed him and he would have the best chance of gaining the students' trust, especially because Saul was arrested for his attempted murder, but again, he, like Rosalind, is going up against the reputation of his predecessor, whom the students have a relationship with. Any maybe this is just me, but if a man I'd only heard stories about showed up claiming my teacher had tried to murder him (especially if he hadn't succeeded, but still left the teacher to raise his son) I'd be real suspicious. Like, where've you been man? And "raising Beatrix to secretly release Rosalind and take down Alfea from the inside," in any context, isn't really going to win him any points.

Third: the Winx girls (+Sky). Roll call! First up we have Aisha, the rule follower, the moral compass, who looks up to Farah, and is definitely going to take issue with this crude seizing of power. Then we have Terra, the voice of reason, who isn't afraid to speak her mind, and knows Farah and Saul as well as her own father, having grown up in Alfea with Sky and Sam (I just want Terra to call her Auntie Farah, just once, please). Musa, the empath, who might not be able to technically tell if Rosalind is lying, but she would be able to tell if her intentions are malicious, and if Rosalind blocks her out, that's immediately a red flag. Stella, who hates her mother, and whose self esteem has grown enough she could be persuaded to commit actual acts of defiance against her. Sky, the adopted son of Saul who knows the truth of his father's "flaws" and has no reason to hold more loyalty or allegiance to a man who abandoned him for 16 years (and also would have revered Farah as a maternal figure this isn't debatable). And finally Bloom, who is suspicious of anyone who keeps secrets from her and is also ready to commit anarchy at any given time, for whom the phrase "Bloom no" translates immediately in her mind to "Bloom yes."

Essentially Rosalind's plan is to Umbridge everybody, which originally failed because the remaining students and staff at Hogwarts held enough loyalty to Dumbledore and contempt for her that they all revolted either quietly or openly. And while Rosalind doesn't have the setback of any outright hostility from a majority of the students, she's taking a HUGE risk in trying to establish power by getting rid of Farah and Saul, which immediately looks suspicious, and introducing Andreas and Luna's influence, which puts everyone on the defensive. And while the promo for season 2 shows us that her reign is holding, Terra is unbothered by the thought that she might be caught and face consequences, which means either that Rosalind's hold over the school is weak, or her methods are gentler than they are implied to have been with Farah and Saul to gain the students' trust (the long con). And while I'm sure the show will end up addressing some of these issues, I couldn't help but feel there was a more effective way to gain the control Rosalind wants.

I'm not saying that Farah, Ben, and Saul didn't need to be neutralized as threats for her to succeed, because they do, if not because of their strength, then their influence over Alfea. Let's start with:

Saul: To arrest him is too public, too complicated, and invites too much speculation. Instead, I propose that Saul be the one to take a "sabbatical." I've seen a good few fics that speculate he still owns his father's hunting cabin in the woods, wherever that may be (locations vary), but to insinuate that's where he's gone, even indirectly, is enough information it satisfies curious questions while remaining vague enough not to invite more. There's no concerns as to where he is because he's "at his father's hunting cabin." Assuming it's a good distance away ensures no students will make the trek to check up on him. This also could've been an opportunity to introduce Andreas properly and use the ol' soap opera amnesia trope, that Andreas sustained head injuries and only recently "remembered" who he was. Inviting a reunion with Saul, Sky, and Andreas would help establish a connection with Sky and Andreas, because it would have Saul's endorsement (because why wouldn't he be relieved not to have murdered his friend?). Then, if Saul "leaves," he's not leaving Sky alone, nor is he abandoning his post: he's leaving it to his "trusted" friend. In truth, I think Saul should be locked in the undercroft like Rosalind was, kept close and on-hand for useful information. Andreas, who clearly has no allegiance to Sky, would I'm sure promise to make good on threats against Sky if Saul doesn't cooperate. This also invites the possibility for a rescue of spectacularly angsty proportions. So on to:

Farah: She can take a nap, so she can return well-rested. But rather than truly make her disappear, I propose that Fate take a page out of the OG Winx Club's book. In season 2 the character Avalon is introduced, a paladin who grows close to Bloom in the interest of helping her discover the secrets of her past, but it's revealed to the audience that he is actually an imposter working for the big-bad of the season, Darkar, and is instead slowly poisoning Bloom's mind to turn her against her friends. Assuming Rosalind is as powerful as she is, and could, I imagine, block out Musa's empathic abilities (as I assume Farah also can), I doubt it's any issue for her to manipulate light magic to create an illusion and take Farah's place. This way, she has access to the school in the same way Farah does so she can slowly make changes in her favor, implementing some of the tactics she used and secretly training the students however she sees fit. At the same time, this allows her the opportunity to get close to the Winx girls, Bloom in particular, without suspicion. She could continue to teach Bloom magic, while also manipulating her perception of Farah, and even destroy their tentative trust if she wanted. It's clear Rosalind has a vendetta against Farah, so to slowly destroy the bonds she's built with her students while also manipulating them for information and personal gain -even if she doesn't think Farah is coming back- is exactly the sort of revenge she might take. What better way, than to destroy the image Farah has crafted for sixteen years outside Rosalind's influence? And, when Farah does return, she will be forced to confront those broken bonds and the betrayal her students feel by her actions (if Rosalind's ruse isn't immediately discovered, and even if it is, it'll still be difficult for the students, Bloom especially, to reforge that trust Rosalind broke while wearing Farah's face). And finally:

Ben: Of the three, Ben is the least problematic for Rosalind because she is right when she says he's easily subdued because of his children. However that also makes him more likely to act against her, secretly, because his friends are incapacitated and his children are in danger. So the easiest way to keep Ben complacent is ignorance. And with Saul on "sabbatical" but Farah still at the school and not immediately behaving in a way that would call for suspicion, why would he assume anything is wrong?

Obviously, none of this is going to happen, because they've already forced their hand, but I just think it'd have been an interesting direction for the show to go. Especially because it would mean more screen time for the lovely Eve Best (pretending to be Rosalind pretending to be Farah) and it could also incorporate the use of flashbacks with younger Farah to really highlight the differences between the two headmistresses, and the comparisons between Rosalind's regime then and now. It would also have added depth to the relationships between those students who know Farah really well (Terra, Sam, Sky) to see "her" behave so differently, and might've given the opportunity for Terra to expose Rosalind due to her suspicions, or for Andreas to prey on Sky's loneliness when he feels "abandoned" by Saul physically and Farah emotionally. Because we know Rosalind doesn't think Farah capable of forming true, lasting relationships when she commented that Bloom needed "love" to nurture her magic and "Farah couldn't give that to [her], Vanessa and Michael could." How satisfying would it have been to see Rosalind defeated by her own misconceptions that Farah had stayed the same all those years, that Rosalind had succeeded in making her just like her, when in fact Farah has knowingly or unknowingly formed real connections with the people around her because she refused to be like Rosalind?