When Bloom flips her omelette, it gets stuck up in the fan, and Flora, trying to turn it off, accidentally sends the fan going much faster. It also sends Musa in a bad rap. The Maestro complains about rap, and shows his appreciation of opera, which I suppose is better than rap, at least. When Flora finally figures how to turn the fan off, the omelette is thrown into the Maestro's face, who threatens to bring back "the headmistress," so they'd better clean up and clear out.
Stella comes into the kitchen, uttering one of the more annoying recent words to creep into English:
Stella: What's the sitch in the kitch, girls?
If I never hear "sitch" again in my life, it'll be too soon. Tecna complains that Stella agreed to help them in the kitchen, but Stella says she had a good reason for not being there to help: she'd just gotten an invitation from Prince Sky to go on a date to the Black Lagoon cafe. She had been trying to figure out what to wear, and wants her friends to help her with that decision, leaving the kitchen unattended.
Stella's got a dang huge closet. Flora politely asks if she could borrow a black dress of Stella's sometime, but Stella rudely goes into "Me me me!" mode, whining that they're supposed to be helping her. Tecna picks up a rather ugly dress, fuschia with purple triangles and frilly edges, and mentions that there must be an excellent story behind it. Stella claims to have designed it. And she's supposed to be the biggest into fashion... yeah....
Tecna: Where in the realms did you get that thing, Stella?
Stella: I designed it!
Tecna: Oh, well, it's very...
Stella: Very what?
Bloom asks if Brandon will be there. Stella says no, that Prince Sky gave his servant the night off. Bloom doesn't like Stella calling Brandon a servant, saying he's the First Royal Squire. Stella considers bringing her Ring of Solaria on her date, but decides against it, thinking she won't need it, and hands it to Bloom for safe keeping.
Musa notices something burning, and shortly the other girls do as well, and rush to the kitchen--the flipweed needed for Bloom's potion is burning. For no apparent reason, Musa knocks a stack of books out of a passerby's hands. The girl wasn't in Musa's way, and it's not that Musa crashed into her by accident, but that Musa stopped for a second just to deliberately knock the books out of her hands. Rude much, Musa? The girls, save for Stella, rush into the kitchen; Flora stops to grab a fire extinguisher.
It seems Miss Griselda beat the girls to the kitchen, and is all ready to scold and punish them, as well as put out the fire. It's funny--the Maestro said he was getting the headmistress--which would be Miss Faragonda--to the kitchen, but instead we see Miss Griselda there, who apparently the Maestro complained to instead of Miss Faragonda. Flora then comes running in, but trips, accidentally setting off the fire extinguisher right in Miss Griselda's face. She decides they must cook dinner for the entire school, though the girls figure that they can still finish Bloom's potion while doing so.
Cut to Cloud Tower, where our witchy Trio is talking about Stella's date: it seems Brandon did not send Stella an invitation for a date, but the witches did. Stormy obviously has something against love. Icy likes that not only will she steal Stella's ring, but also break her heart. It's win/win for our Trio!
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Back at Alfea, we're in the girls' rooms, and Musa's complaining that Riven hasn't asked her out. And when did Riven show any interest in you anyway, Musa? Bloom doesn't understand why Musa would want to go out with him anyway, since he was rude last week, on the nature hike. Tecna says boys sometimes act rude when they're "crushing"--a word Tecna clearly did not want to use.
The next morning, Stella's screaming wakes the other girls up. Bloom's guessing Stella's date did not go well, and decides to ask Stella about it. Bloom asks Stella if she's OK, and she puts up a phony "everything's fine, leave me alone" sort of attitude. The other girls press about the date, to which Stella gives us this classic, very deadpan:
Stella: It was very romantic.
It wasn't that she said it... the way she said that line, absolutely classic! After pressed some more, Stella yells at them for not having lives of their own.
In Professor Wizgiz's class, he has the class' heads turned into pumpkins. They simply say "decapidumpkin" to revert their heads to normal... except it doesn't quite work for one random girl, who Wizgiz frightens with a mouse, which apparently being scared changes her head back. The mouse seems to be his Grandfather, for whatever reason, turned into a mouse. A bit of foreshadowing, perhaps, with the pumpkins, and the mouse that Wizgiz can't change back? Or likely just coincidental, and I'm looking deeper than I should.
Stella's still not come to class, and the girls are wondering/worrying about her. In particular, Bloom and Flora are worried, and Tecna seems not to care what Stella's doing, due to her being rude earlier. Professor Palladium's name is mentioned, even though he's not in the episode.
Bloom goes back to the room, and sees it not only Stella's bedroom ruined, but everywhere in their little living area. She eventually finds Stella, who is in a really angry mood, even throwing a chair. Stella says she's looking for the ring, which Bloom mentions that Stella handed her the ring last night. Instead of just asking for the ring back, Stella decides it be better to throw a raging witch ball at Bloom, which she dodges. Raging witch ball seems to just be a fancy name for an ordinary ball of energy used for attack purposes. Before the other fairies come in, Stella leaves as a ghostly trail of some sort.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
The other fairies are not happy to see their room ruined, or to hear that Stella threw a raging witch ball at Bloom. Tecna and Musa are plain pissed with Stella, though Bloom and Flora are more worried that Stella is in danger, perhaps acting against her will, perhaps with a spell on her. Musa figures they should find out from Prince Sky himself if anything happened to Stella last night, and off to Red Fountain the girls go, still Stella-less.
We find out that Prince Sky can't leave the Red Fountain premesis thanks to the troll mishap in last week's episode. We also find out that Prince Sky can't read, so he couldn't have written the invitation, anyway. A dog is jumping up on Tecna, frightening her a bit, likely due to not having dogs where she's from. Then again, I'd probably react the same way, so I really can't blame Tecna. "Codatorta the Terrible," as Brandon calls him, is yelling at the boys, so they have to go back to work, and the girls decide to check out Magix.
Codatorta: Less flirting, more fighting, boys. You're not in manners school, you're in heroics school, now get back to your practicing and finish cleaning those stables.
The invitation said that Stella would meet Prince Sky at the Black Lagoon Cafe. Tecna says her search engine can't find it, so Bloom decides to use her search engine: asking people around the city.
Random Passerby: Well, there is a black-eyed pea, but that's a legume, not a lagoon.
So stupid, it's funny. Anyway, as the girls ask around town, "Searchin'" plays. Nice enough song. Tecna and Bloom get into an argument: Bloom insists they need to keep looking for Stella, and Tecna says they should just give up, that Stella was rude, and she doesn't care whether or not Bloom took the good decision potion. Musa, fairly quiet, is still with Tecna, and Flora just wants everyone to get along, though she's likely still with Bloom on the issue.
Anyway, a goofy-looking guy, who looks suspiciously like Knut if he were a human, tells the girls he's heard of the Black Lagoon Cafe. He "tests" the girls, saying they might not be hip enough, but all they need to do is tell him they are hip enough and he gives in, and tells them where this cafe is.
The Black Lagoon Cafe is a tiny little cottage by an orange oak tree, but Tecna and Flora feel something wrong. Flora feels the tree is dead, and an illusion spell goes away. Mirta's got competition, apparently. The quaint little cottage is actually an old abandoned haunted house-esque place, and Knut's running around inside. Stella reveals herself, traps the fairies in the college, and calls the girls pixies. Tecna goes through a longer-than-usual transformation sequence, and uses her firewall shield to get the others to safety.
Musa: Friend or not, she's gonna' get mused!
Flora: She's gonna' get Mused? What's that?
After Stella calls them pixies again, Bloom figures that it isn't Stella, but must either be Icy or Darcy. I'd love to know how Bloom ruled out Stormy. Considering the number "Stella" did on the girls' rooms, I might have guessed Stormy would've been suspect #1. It is indeed Darcy. Knut goes back to ogre form after begging the Trix. Our Trio shows Stella trapped midair in a bunch of weird rings.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Icy agrees to release Stella from the mortal coil--which will shortly squeeze her to death--only if Bloom gives up the Ring of Solaria. Flora, Tecna, Musa, and even Stella want to fight the witches. Darcy and Stormy say "Bring it on." in unison, which is cool and spooky. Bloom, going into a nifty solo spotlight, does not want to fight, and gives up the ring. Somewhat surprisingly, the Trix actually keep their end of the bargain, and let Stella go. Guess they started hating the Winx girls more as the series went on?
On a cute little bridge, Musa and Stella compliment Bloom on her good decision skills, saying how it was good she took the potion. Tecna's a bit miffed Stella went on the disastrous date to begin with. Bloom mentions it's lucky that she remembered to mix in the mandrake beet, but Tecna says it was supposed to be a mandrake root, meaning Bloom got the potion wrong, and she's just a natural good-decision maker.
Bloom: You know girls, the witches may have scored a goal, but they haven't won the game.
Tecna: What game?
Stella: It's an expression, Tecna.
Heh. However intelligent Tecna may be, she just doesn't get some simple expressions like that.
Stella, Stella, Stella... as petty and selfish as she can be at times, she's a good person. Tecna seemed unusually harsh on Stella, even after Bloom figured that she may be being forced to act in that destructive manner. I guess Tecna could not logically understand how Stella wouldn't have been acting on her own free will.
Once Darcy, disguised as Stella, found out that Bloom had the ring, why did she not just ask Bloom for the ring? Honestly, the whole "destroy everything" method of searching for the ring seems more Stormy's, or even Icy's style. Not to mention, she probably could've gotten the ring easily simply by asking for it. To think Darcy's usually the smart one.
Flora actually wanted to fight the Trix, rather than give them the ring. Seems so un-Flora like.
8 out of 10 on the old scale.
