Fate: The Winx Saga season 1, episode 2 recap – “No Strangers Here”?

This recap of Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga season 1, episode 2, “No Strangers Here” contains significant spoilers.

As we approach the second episode, it’s clear that the Burned Ones will be integral to the plot; the main enemy for the fairies. But there’s this feeling that Beatrix might unintentionally unleash a whole hell as well if she’s not careful.  To open up, Saul and Dowling discuss the Burned Ones as they leave The Barrier. They enter a barn to face a Burned One and analyze it. Dowling enters its mind to see if it’s a lone wolf or if there’s a group of them. The impact the Burned Ones have on the fairies looks painful; even Dowling entering the mind of one of them looks chaotic.

Bloom’s second day gets off to a dramatic start

Starting a new school is hard, and Bloom wakes up after her first night; she tells Aisha she’s trying not to think about being a Changeling. Aisha tells her to be excited for the day, as she will be able to use magic in the confines of a lesson for the first time. Meanwhile, Terra notices that Stella didn’t return to the dorm while Musa blames Stella for putting Bloom in danger. Bloom reveals that the Burned One took Stella’s ring. Stella is annoyed and explains she is a princess, and her mother is the Queen of Solaria, and the ring is one of the Crown Jewels. Aisha states the obvious — it’s Stella’s fault.

Stella now needs to figure out how to get the ring back, and you can tell she’s expecting everyone else to help her. It isn’t easy to understand Stella at this point. Her character is purposefully confusing.

The first class

Dowling brings the first-year pupils to the circle of stones and gives them an introductory lesson on magic and nature. Each fairy tests out their magic; when it is Bloom’s turn, Dowling tells her to push past her doubts. There’s anxiety etched over Bloom’s face and everyone whispers around her, gossiping; Bloom is unable to produce her powers — the pressure is getting to her. After the class, Dowling tells her to find a clear mind. Bloom asks the headmistress if she’s Changeling. Dowling is shocked that she knows; she doesn’t know who her birth parents are. Dowling’s main advice is to learn and grow, and answers will come. That’s the kind of answer that would p*ss anyone off, and you can tell it irks Bloom. It’s like Dumbledore’s vague answers to Harry Potter — it’s not the vibe we need.

Stella asks Sky for help over the ring

Fate: The Winx Saga season 1, episode 2 sees that Bloom and the group are having to face a dangerous reality; they need to get the ring back off the seemingly evil creature locked away in the barn in the forest. Stella speaks to Sky and asks where they will have kept the Burned One so she can get her ring back. She doesn’t want her mother to find out that she lost it. The character seems to be only able to rely on Sky.

At lunch, Stella, Bloom, and the usual friends plan to head to the barn outside The Barrier to retrieve the ring. Aisha is annoyed that Stella wants everyone’s help, but Stella reminds them that Bloom lost it. Afterward, Sky tells Bloom that she doesn’t need to go on the mission to retrieve the ring. He then thinks far too quickly and explains how he and Stella had a rough break-up and hadn’t spoken in months — he doesn’t want Bloom to think he’s “that guy”. Bloom keeps it cool and reminds him that they only met yesterday, and she doesn’t think anything of him — she also tells him her life needs less complication. This almost felt like a burn from Bloom; she’s signaling to Sky and telling him not to make any assumptions about them both.

Looking for history that they do not teach

Beatrix and Riven start plotting together; they discuss Dowling’s schedule. Beatrix looks through Dowling’s books in her office to see if she can find books that show her something they don’t teach at the school. The pair end up hooking up as they were evidently into each other from the first time they spoke.

Stella gives Bloom advice

Bloom is determined to hone in her powers and tries to practice alone, but Stella intervenes and asks her if she’s broken. She tells Bloom that she cannot think her way into magic and mocks her when she sees her notebook full of quips and tips. She tells her to feel the magic and eggs her on. It works, and Bloom seems surprised by herself. While everyone else is wary of Stella, Bloom does not seem as uneasy around her.

Saul wants the army involved

Fate: The Winx Saga season 1, episode 2 presents how dangerous the Burned Ones can be as it requires military action to remove them. Saul tells Dowling that there is only one Burned One and they should use the Queen’s army to safely transport it away. Saul heads over with a squad, and on the way, he hears a growl that stops him in his tracks. He wants to transfer the Burned One in a Solarian prison.

The Burned One has attacked the army

Aisha confronts Bloom about Stella and tells her not to learn magic from her. But Stella has other ideas; she wants to get the ring back before the Burned One is taken by the army to the Solarian prison. Bloom and the group head outside The Barrier and head to the location of the Burned One. But it’s already gone. Musa feels something, and it hurts her. Musa and Terra look out to the road on the edges of the forest; the Burned One has killed the soldiers — it’s still around. Saul is badly injured. Terra tries to help Saul as he’s infected.

Meanwhile, Bloom is distracted by mystic whispers in the forest, so the others lose her. Suddenly, Bloom is facing the Burned One running towards her. She uses her powers to set it on fire, and then Aisha throws it aside, and a tree branch impales it. Bloom bravely takes the ring off the Burned One. But putting aside the ring’s retrieval, it’s evident that Bloom has some connection with Burned Ones — the mystic whispers were enticing her; they seemed familiar to her, not a threat. The only conflicting issue with this scene is how an army, led by Saul, were unable to fight the Burned One but a few fairies in the forest were able to.

The ending

Stella returns to the school; she’s upset because her powers are not working and Sky comforts her. Terra brings in Saul and Beatrix alerts Dowling in her office who swiftly departs to help Saul. Beatrix uses this as an opportune moment to push Dowling’s bookcase aside to reveal a secret room. She wants to find out what’s hidden under the school.

As the episode nears to an end, Saul looks to be okay after Musa and Terra saved him, and Bloom gives Stella back her ring. Sky then joins Stella in her room, bringing some tension between all three of them. Late at night, Bloom tells Aisha that she had a strange connection to the Burned One. Her eyes roll back completely white, and Aisha is concerned.

The same can be said about the previous chapter — Fate: The Winx Saga season 1, episode 2 feels like it is rushing towards its objective rather than enjoying the world it’s set in. If the series took its time to develop the characters and embrace their environment more, it would feel more like a complete universe.

Additional points

• Terra asks more questions about Musa’s empath powers.
• Beatrix tries to speak to Headmistress Dowling again after trying to impress her in the last episode. She asks her if she needs an assistant, but Dowling dismisses her again.
• Riven approaches Dane about spying on his Instagram account. He tells him to choose his friends carefully and focus.
• Beatrix pulls aside Riven and asks for help — she calls herself “hot” so assumes that Riven will agree to team up with her and he does.
• Musa has an interest in an earth fairy named Sam. Aisha introduces Musa to Sam. She tells Sam that he sounds like the absence of chaos.