User blog comment:RoyallyBella/Official Season 7 discussion blog/@comment-29197449-20160803053055/@comment-26569404-20160803134051

"First off, he's made to come off as a jerk who constantly believes himself to be in competition with another character, though, this was more Roy's fault because Nex just thought of his affections for Aisha as his affections and not because he just wanted to beat Roy."

The love triangle ruined Nex's image, in my opinion. It's the cause of almost all the negative opinions people have of him, and I wish Rainbow hadn't introduced him that way. But Roy started it by challenging him. Nex just liked Aisha, and Roy got overprotective and jealous after just seeing him talk to her.

But Nex was always at a disadvantage as far as fanbase approval. Roy was introduced a season earlier, so even though he had no personality, we at least knew who he was already. Plus, Nex was immediately thrown into the love triangle before we even knew his name, so we used it to formed our opinions of him. But love drama brings out the worst in all the characters, including the Winx. We saw him at his worst before we got to see how he normally acts.

"However, everything he does she makes him seem like Riven. He's constantly competitive and believes his skills to be superior, even if others think otherwise...Nex's character is literally Riven's character just take out the jerk part. I could care less about him having an interest in sports because he was made to be Aisha's love interest but it's just that everything he does was basically done in Riven seasons before Nex was even conceived as an idea. He's just Riven minus the big jerk."

I think tying his behavior to Riven and saying him being Aisha's love interest doesn't matter is backwards. Being her love interest is the most important thing about Nex's character. It's how Rainbow chose everything about him: his name, appearance, interests, personality, physique, etc.

Nex is competitive. So is Aisha, to the point where she sometimes turns things into competitions when they don't need to be. She's always loved a challenge, especially against the guys. Even in season six when Nex challenged her to a roller blade race, she got excited for it.

Nex show offs a lot. He was mainly doing it to impress Aisha, but she's a show off sometimes, too. That's something some fans didn't like about her at first, especially in the early seasons. (In fact, he's a lot like she was in season two, and I think Rainbow may have done that on purpose.) And that "ready for battle" mentality? Again, that's like Aisha. She's often one of the first Winx to spring into action (if not the first).

Like I said, Nex's similarities to Aisha overlap with Riven's traits, too. But the differences between the two guys are extreme. Nex is outgoing and likes being around people, but Riven was moody and a loner. Nex has no problem working in a group, but Riven hated it and always wanted to do things his way. Nex is open about his feelings, especially for Aisha. Riven kept his bottled up most of the time, and he had a hard time expressing his love for Musa. We've never seen Nex rebel against authority, but Riven was flatly stated to be rebellious. Nex is flirty (at least before he met Aisha), but Riven didn't trust women.

I could go on. In fact, I came up with a list of 15 differences between them, but I'll stop there. I think the fanbase has oversimplified Nex and Riven's characters (competitive, arrogant, showoff), and that's why they see them as the same. But when you really compare the two, they look like polar opposites of each other.

And honestly, saying Nex is "just Riven minus the big jerk" is like saying it's "just a chocolate cake without chocolate." Being a big jerk was the most prominent part of Riven's character. He wouldn't have been the same without it.

"It's like Riven being put on a bus during Season 6 was like the writers going "We don't need two very similar characters so let's get the jerky one outta here!""

I think Rainbow was gonna get rid of Riven anyway, even if they hadn't introduced Nex. They finally realized his relationship with Musa was unhealthy. They also probably know they're a popular couple, so they tried to damage his image so the fans would agree it was time for them to break up. It clearly didn't work. (Riven can get away with anything. He could murder all the main characters, and the fanbase would still love him and insist he's just "troubled.")

Anyway, I think Nex's introduction in the same season was just bad timing. It would have been a horrible idea to introduce him in season five. That would have been way too soon. I'm sure Rainbow knew that, so they waited until season six.

Why didn't they write Riven off in season five instead? I don't know. Maybe they didn't wanna do back-to-back Musa X Riven drama again.

"For one, after she was mourning Nabu, she just forgets who he was and if he was important as soon as she falls for Roy out of nowhere. I could care less if Aisha moved on from Nabu to Roy as a place for her affections but it was done so unnaturally! Up until we visually see her daydreaming about Roy, the only interactions they have had were him smiling at her at some dance and then her rushing to see if he was okay. That's it. I wouldn't have mind if there was more substance to their growing affections but there isn't."

For the millionth time, Aisha hasn't forgotten Nabu! Would she really forget about the guy she almost married and who died right in front of her? Rainbow just doesn't need her to show her constantly talking and and thinking about him anymore. Why? Because she's moved on.

It made sense for her to focus on him while she was still mourning. But if she were still staring at photos of him, crying, and talking about how much she misses him, would it really seem like her heart has healed? No. What the fanbase wants -- for her to act like he's still her everything -- would make it seem like she hasn't gotten over him. (Of course, they don't want her to move on anyway, but still...) Like it or not, her passion for him has cooled down.

As for what you said about her and Roy, I agree with that. Their "relationship" was random, unrealistic, and shallow. I think she was just using him as a way to cope with Nabu's death. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't think she ever really loved him. Even his character description suggests it was more like a crush or fondness.

"As for Nex, his execution was handled poorly. He's introduced as a cocky jerk who starts fighting for Aisha's affections and only jumps in to save her as soon as Roy does it first (seriously, that scene where they both turn to stone as Aisha suddenly forgets her skeletal reflexes was annoying to watch). It isn't that "oh, he's Aisha's new boyfriend but she's supposed to be with Nabu even though he's dead." No, she had to move on because the show set itself up in a way that Nabu was never coming back. He died heroically and I will always respect that, especially because it's the show's only on-screen death. It's just that, with how Nex (and Roy by proxy) was written that it just seemed like the writers had to shoehorn in some guys who Aisha could be happy with."

I think Roy was more of the problem than Nex. Aisha only needs one guy, so why introduce two? Roy was obviously the extra. Personally, I also wish she'd stayed by herself in season five. But some reason, Rainbow wanted to do it this way.

If you ignore the love triangle, Nex's introduction into her life wasn't bad at all. It's like I said in the first comment. He's not just a random guy Rainbow threw at her. They put her in a type of relationship she's never been in before.

I know everyone loved her and Nabu, but the truth is their relationship was rushed and not put together as well as everyone remembers. He didn't meet her until ep. 18 of season three. Three episodes later, they got locked in a cell together and started getting to know each other, and they kept talking in the next episode. Then in the next episode (ep. 23), they became a couple.

So they went from strangers to lovers after just four episodes of interaction. Then next season (only months later in-universe), they were already talking about marriage. That's faster than any couple in the show (even Daphne and Thoren). But because the fanbase loves them so much, they don't criticize them for it. But I think this was one of many signs Rainbow didn't intend for that relationship to last.

Roy was at least introduced at the beginning of season five and had a couple more episodes with her. But he disappeared in the middle of the season, and when he came back, Aisha suddenly seemed to be in love with him. Nothing happened in between (as far as we know), so it felt random.

But her relationship with Nex is the only one that wasn't rushed, but instead developed gradually. They met in ep. 3 of season six. She didn't like him at first, but she slowly warmed up to him. By about ep. 10, they were on friendly terms. Ep. 11, the roller blade race, was the first time they spend time together and she showed physical affection towards him (putting her hand on his chest).

In eps. 15 and 16, they spent a lot of time together and bonded even more. In ep. 23, we saw him cheering for her at Musa's concert, but they didn't become a couple until the next episode. According to his character description, Aisha realized her feelings for him when Icy attacked him, which made her afraid she was about to lose him.

Honestly, her relationship with Nex was executed better than her previous two relationships and developed more realistically. The love triangle just distracted from it. And of course, since the fanbase is still attached to her and Nabu, they weren't taking it seriously anyway. (They still aren't.)

"I refer to Nex as a Nabu replacement more because of the way he was handled. He just came off as some guy who the writers just shoved into the story just so Aisha could get a lover. I'll admit that he's progression from jerk who wants to look better than Roy to someone who genuinely cares about Aisha was a lot more natural than Aisha's affections being placed into Roy."

Re: everything I just said.

As for Nex's progression, that's one reason I'm cheering for this relationship. Out of all of Aisha's love interests, he has the most potential for character development. Nabu was a sweet guy, but his development was complete by the end of season three. Rainbow couldn't have done much else with him, especially since we knew so much about him already (another reason why I think he was temporary all along). Roy's character was flat as paper like you said.

I think Rainbow gave Nex obvious flaws so he can grow with the series. I wanna see how his relationship with Aisha changes him over time. Remember: she's a princess. Does he seem like a prince? No...but he can become one.