User blog comment:RoyallyBella/Official Season 7 discussion blog/@comment-29197449-20160803053055/@comment-26569404-20160807030616

I just realized you went back and edited your comment instead of writing a new one. I've been waiting for a new comment the whole time. Oops!

"I actually couldn't picture Aisha and Roy being an official couple. Yeah, Aisha had the hots for Roy and Roy had a thing for Aisha but, to me at least, it never came off as being fully realized as an actual relationship."

I thought they were a couple, but it felt like Rainbow threw them together at last minute. She suddenly "fell in love" with him, even though they had barely interacted with each other and he was gone for several episodes. It didn't feel believable at all.

The reason I still thought they were a couple is because until then, Rainbow had never added a guy to the group who wasn't dating one of the Winx. Plus, she had that "staring into your eyes" moment with him, followed by her daydreaming about dancing with him in the next episode. As random as it was, I saw it as confirmation. And of course, I didn't know they were gonna introduce Nex in season six.

"Again, if Roy had insecurities, he'd at least have character but even with Nex becoming a very obvious love rival to him, he just came off as that guy who called dibs and wanted Nex to find someone else. He just came off as being possessive over a girl that isn't even dating him yet."

Exactly. I think Roy was just meant to be the guy in Nex's way. That's why he had no character. He only needed three traits: nice (so Aisha would be attracted to him), jealous (so he'd see Nex as a rival), and possessive (so he'd keep trying to get between them). That's it.

He was just a plot device to develop their characters and their relationship. I don't even see him as a character in his own right. There just wasn't enough to him.

"Oh, okay, okay. I see what you mean now. I have a habit of looking at a character's... well, character before I factor in how they work in a relationship with another important one."

What I tend to focus on first is why they were created, what role they play in the story, etc. That usually explains a character's...character. Can they have more than one role? Of course, but there's always a main role. Nex's main role is to be Aisha's love interest, and like I said, that explains most of his character. Any other role is secondary and less important.

"I know Winx Club loves hooking characters up but I feel like it's kind of lazy to make a character specifically to hook them up with a pre-existing character because then you try to make them as relatable to the pre-existing character as possible."

They've done that with all the boyfriends, though. Sky's an impulsive but noble prince and the leader of the Specialists, and Bloom's an impulsive but noble princess and the leader of the Winx. Brandon and Stella are their best friends, and they're both flirty, vain (Stella more so), and good-looking. Timmy and Tecna are both shy nerds who love tinkering with technology and use big words. Each guy has some unique traits that make him different from his girlfriend, but for the most part, they're all just the male versions of them.

Recently, I realized Nabu was the most extreme example. He and Aisha both had dark skin, blue eyes, long brown hair, and magic powers. They both came from Andros and had high social statuses, lonely childhoods, and overbearing parents. They both loved water sports, they had the same favorite song -- the list goes on. His personality was different from hers (more so in season four), but that's about it.

The fanbase believes they were "soul mates," of course, but I think it's another sign he was meant to be a temporary character. Maybe Rainbow didn't put as much thought into him as we think they did. They just created a genderbent Aisha. His differences seem more based on the show's limitations. For example, they couldn't have made him a fairy because we hadn't seen any male fairies yet, so they made him a wizard instead.

"Or that really, really dumb crush Musa had on Jason Queen. He was a music producer who happened to be handsome. That was it. Those instances made Musa look like she'd just settle for a guy so long as he was related to music and, in the Jason Queen case, it was his job to further her career."

I don't think that was about music or his looks. I think she was just emotional from fighting with Riven again, and Jason happened to be in her life at the time. He was kind and encouraging, and she felt safe with him. She mistook that for love. Even she realized later that was silly of her.

'''"I'm going to be completely honest, I'm one of those people who enjoyed Riven in a more antagonistic role to Musa. Not because she could eventually become a plot device to change him around(I enjoyed the fact that he was able to do a turnaround for himself), but because he made a great personal antagonist for the series. It also made Musa look stronger and more competent when she would put her friends and the safety of everyone above her puppy dog crush on Riven. Him being a personal antagonist as they're dating is the worst thing you could do because it makes him look like an abusive partner and it makes Musa look like she's constantly being emotionally abused. With how headstrong Musa is as a girl, I was actually surprised when she didn't just dump Riven as soon as he kept up with that behavior. Like a fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me kind of thing. Except, with how long their relationship lasted, it was basically Riven fooling Musa time and time again to the point where you wonder why Musa never just left. She does break it off but she just comes running back to him, which makes her look weak in a way."'''

A personal antagonist for Musa? Hmmmm...I never thought of him like that. It's sad it had to be her boyfriend, but dealing with him did teach her a lot about herself.

But what you said about how she kept running back to him is why I don't want Riven to come back. The fanbase isn't looking at their relationship from her perspective. Yes, he kept trying to clean up his act, but how long was she supposed to wait? And was she supposed to just ignore all the times he hurt her? Just pretend they didn't happen?

Any other girl would have left him years ago. She tried to, but she kept going back to him. It's like she didn't believe she deserved better because this relationship was all she knew. She was trapped! Now she's finally free, and the fanbase wants her to go back to the guy who ruined her life?

It's too late for Musa and Riven. Too much damage has been done. The best thing for both of them is to go their separate ways. That way, he can stop hurting her and deal with his issues, and she can finally heal.

"I did notice that some fans would only talk about Musa as sort of an accessory to Riven. Like if they were talking about Musa then they had to talk about Riven. Yeah, it's rather unsettling when a main character's love interest outshines the main character. People talk about Bloom, Stella and Flora almost equally or even more than they would Sky, Brandon and Helia."

Aisha, too. It's like Nabu was the main character of this show, and she was just his love interest. The fanbase makes everything she does about him now. She can make a wish? She'd better use it to bring him back! She can go back in time? She should go back to the day he died and save him! (Never mind the massive impact it could have had on the present.)

She's the most independent Winx, but the fanbase makes it look like she's dependent on him for her happiness. Without him, she'll be forever weak and broken, always crying, always thinking of him, unable to move on, unable to love again... That doesn't fit her character!

She was happy before she met Nabu, and eventually she was happy again without him. And if her relationship with Nex doesn't work out, she'd eventually be happy without him, too. No guy controls her happiness. She does.

"I can understand fantasizing over an ass becoming someone with a heart of gold but the problem with Riven is that he has had PLENTY of chances to drop his being overly moody and just being an A+ jerk all the time and he hasn't tried to drop it."

Yes! He never got better! Why is the fanbase giving him so many chances? If he were a real person, they would have given up on him by now -- or at least told him he needs to see a counselor!

No matter what he did, they just ignored it and said, "At least he's trying." He wasn't trying hard enough! He always lapsed into the same behavior, and in season six, he got worse! They can blame it on Rainbow all they want, but it's still canon. Riven was a messed-up person, and to me, he was a lost cause.

"I personally think that the comics did a nice job in adding certain things that could help tie the story more neatly (like having two girls run Love&Pet as the Winx return to Magix since we never see the fairy pets after Season 4)."

I agree. That's why I'm not sure if we shouldn't treat the comics as canon. Yes, some events and details contradict the show, but others enhance it and explain things. But the problem is not everyone reads the comics.

I look at them this way. The stories aren't canon, but the specific details are, unless the show says otherwise. For example, Tecna's a princess in the comics. But she's not a princess in the show, so the show overrules. But why couldn't those two girls be the new owners of Love & Pet? They exist in the show, too, so it doesn't really contradict anything.

It's iffy, but that's how I see it.

"Also, I feel like Season 5 was just a big missed opportunity to flesh out Aisha, considering that it had more of a focus on her. Instead it came off as a rather fanservice-y season with the focus constantly going back to Bloom because they couldn't let us forget that she's the leader of the Winx."

I think that was Nick's fault, not Rainbow's. Both seasons five and six focused a lot on Bloom, but one of my blog readers pointed out that season seven didn't. Season seven was coproduced by RAI Fiction again, and they know Winx Club better than Nick did.

"If they are gonna hook Musa up I'm just hoping they do it right. Just have it progress naturally and hopefully to make him not seem like a replacement Riven. I know I've accused Nex of being a Riven replacement but, considering that this is Musa we're talking about and most of the fanbase wants Riven x Musa back, they could end up pulling that mistake. Either that or they'll just make some guy who has an interest in music be someone who she falls for."

I think it'll be the second option: a guy who loves music. That would fit the theme of all the boyfriends being male versions of the Winx. I imagine him having a beautiful voice like Orlando and singing duets with her all the time. He'll probably play guitar, too.

Their love story practically writes itself.

"I'm still hoping they pull neither of these tricks because, with how much work they put into Nex (especially compared to Roy), I'm sure they'll make an interesting character to be Musa's love interest... or give into the fanbase and make Riven come back in Season 8."

Up until this point, Rainbow has avoided giving into the fans. I don't think they'll bring Riven back. I also don't think the hypothetical new guy will be like him. I can see why they'd be tempted to make him like Riven, but I think they know better. The fanbase would despise him. (They already would, anyway, so it would just make things worse.)