At Alfea, all the fairies are in the auditorium. Miss Faragonda is giving a final exam to the fairies; a laser beam obstacle course. Miss Faragonda decides to go in alphabetical order, putting Bloom first. Did Amaryl drop out? Bloom needs to reach a floating rose, and place it on a pedestal, without getting hit by three obstacles, most of which are search beams. After Bloom gets the rose, Miss Faragonda creates an glittering blue round blob that comes hurdling down on Bloom, causing her to fail the exam. It's not the end of the year, is it? What makes this a final exam, exactly?
At a little cafe in Magix, Bloom is talking to Brandon about having failed the exam. Brandon tries to comfort her about the test, but Bloom worries she can't control her magic, that she can't connect to it. Bloom figures if she can figure out where her power comes from, that she might be able to control it better. Brandon offers to help Bloom, but Bloom tells him that the only place she knows where to look is Cloud Tower.
At Cloud Tower, all the students are gathered in the auditorium. Miss Griffin is describing her favorite spell: a revenge spell passed down by her grandmother. Miss Griffin wants the other students to come up one at a time, and talk about their favorite spells. Mirta is first. Apparently, Cloud Tower doesn't believe in alphabetical order the way Alfea does. Mirta talks about a spell that brings a person their very own best friend. Miss Griffin chides Mirta, and gives her a fail. The other students all laugh at Mirta, calling her a loser and a dork. Mirta goes to her seat, looking very sad. I guess Mirta might've hoped Miss Griffin would've been more understanding, at least. She couldn't really have seriously expected the other student witches to support her, though.
In the boys' room, Timmy talks about a magical barrier surrounding Cloud Tower, and that he might be able to find a way to get through it. Thank goodness Tecna isn't around for him to make googly eyes at. Brandon wants to go tonight, but Prince Sky warns him against going tonight, that the witches' will be doubly powerful due to the full moon that night. Brandon still wants to go tonight. Riven hears the entire conversation, and telepathically tells Darcy that Bloom's coming to Cloud Tower that night.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
That night, Bloom is lying in her bed, when she hears a knock on her window. Brandon is riding his air hovercraft, telling Bloom that he'll sneak her into Cloud Tower. While the witches sleep, they'll find the book about Bloom.
At Cloud Tower, Mirta and Lucy are in their room, with Mirta confused what was so bad about talking about a friendship spell. Lucy tells her she talked in front of the entire school about a sappy friendship spell, and that she can't hang out with Mirta anymore. Mirta tells Lucy that her "friends" Icy, Stormy, and Darcy don't even like Lucy, that they're just using her to do their homework. Lucy doesn't believe it, or just doesn't care: Lucy does not want to hang out with "loser" Mirta. Lucy's just got a big old case of delusional. She goes on to tell Mirta not to talk to her anymore, and that she doesn't belong at Cloud Tower. Lucy's right about Mirta not really belonging at Cloud Tower, of course, but she was just throwing that out to hurt Mirta, and not that she seemed to care about making Mirta feel all right about herself.
Outside, on what seems to be the roof of Cloud Tower, Mirta wants to show Lucy how Icy, Stormy, and Darcy really feel about her. Mirta casts an eavesdropping spell to find what the Trix sisters are doing at the very moment.
Mirta: Search high and low, both cranny and nook, when you find that witch let me listen and look!
I'm guessing she was willing to wait a while, since it's unlikely they'd have been talking about Lucy at the very moment. However, Mirta happens to hear the Trix talking about tricking Bloom. Specifically, that Icy is going to change the book to something that's going to drop Bloom, to make her feel bad, and to make it so the Trix sisters can easily take her dragon fire power.
Mirta, shocked at hearing this, decides she needs to warn Bloom. While it's been obvious to Mirta that the Trix sisters were bad news from the beginning, this is likely the first glance Mirta has seen at just how bad these sisters are.
Bloom and Brandon are racing toward Cloud Tower on his hovercraft. Brandon explains that they need to sneak through the fulcrum of the forcefield surrounding Cloud Tower. After their hovercraft is shot with some electricity, they make it through, but the hovercraft loses power, and Brandon and Bloom land fairly safely on the roof of Cloud Tower.
Inside Cloud Tower, Brandon has a tracking device to detect any witch within a hundred yards. Bloom finds the book chamber, and tells Brandon how the Bloom book was out the last time she was here. The book is still there, though Miss Griffin isn't keeping tabs on the library this go-round. Brandon flips through the book a little. Bloom asks the book where her power comes from. The book tells Bloom that she comes from a long line of bloodthirsty witches, and the source of her power is the coven of darkness, and that she was created to spread misery though the universe. Bloom starts crying. Brandon asks what's wrong, and Bloom, reluctantly, tells Brandon that she's actually a witch. Bloom tells Brandon to leave, that she needs to be alone.
Lori had originally mentioned this, and I have to agree completely: why didn't Bloom try to get more information out of the book? It's not like this book was easy to get to, or that she's going to want to make a return trip back.
Back in the girls' room in Alfea the next morning, Flora interrupts Stella's getting pretty.
Stella: Haven't I told you? Eight to nine is always hair hour!
Flora tells Stella that Bloom's been missing. Stella becomes genuinely concerned here, showing that Bloom's safety is indeed more important than her hair hour. Tecna and Musa come in and tell Flora and Stella that Brandon had just called, saying that Bloom decided to walk home from Cloud Tower. Musa worries if she's lost or stuck in the forest around Cloud Tower, and says that they need to find Bloom before something bad happens.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
In the forest surrounding Cloud Tower, Bloom wakes up, having slept beneath a pile of leaves. Kiko is with her. Which is odd, since Kiko did not go with Bloom to Cloud Tower originally. Bloom continues walking through the woods, trying to find her way back to Alfea.
Mirta is in the forest as well, who is using a tracking Spell to locate Bloom. She hides behind a tree when she hears Bloom coming. Apparently, Bloom no longer has the witch tracking device with her, since she didn't know there was a witch around. Bloom spots Mirta behind the tree, and asks who it is. Mirta mentions she was trying to find her, and shyly tells Bloom "Hi." The world's cutest "hi." Bloom gives an untrusting glare. Mirta warns that Bloom is in danger, that the Trix sisters are trying to find her.
In another part of the forest, the Trix sisters are walking through. The duck is there as well, following them. Stormy blasts fire at a random tree for no apparent reason.
Stormy: Stupid tree.
Icy notes the "dumb duck" trying to act tough. Guess he wants to take after mommy! Darcy wants a better, awesome pet, like a flying fire python. Stormy shoots at the duck, who happens to be be right in front of Darcy, saying it was talking back to her.
Darcy: You almost hit my shoes. They are brand new.
Stormy says she was trying to hit the duck. In the Italian version, it seems Stormy was already upset with Darcy here. Icy sternly tells the girls to focus, that they're on a mission to steal the dragon fire. Stormy and Darcy sarcastically apologize. The duck walks dazed, burnt-looking, and with little electrical sparks around him.
Outside Alfea, Flora tells Musa, Tecna, and Stella that to find Bloom, they'll need everyone's Winx powers. The girls transform. Flora's first with floral navigator, which grows a flower arrow in the direction of Bloom, which is apparently to the east. Musa bounces ultrasonic waves to probe the area. This power of Musa's has a really nifty sound effect. After Musa gets a reading, she air syncs the information to Tecna to analyze, who pinpoints Bloom's location. Stella, in her very Stella-like manner, brags about what she gets to contribute: the guiding light, to guide the fairies to Bloom, and to help light up the dark and dreary forest.
Stella: The right kind of light can do wonders, even for the most drab and dreary venues.
Back to Mirta and Bloom, Mirta is telling Bloom that she's not a witch, that the book was a fake. Bloom thanks her, but asks why Mirta's helping her, since she's a witch, and witches are supposed to be evil, and wondering why Mirta's so friendly. The Trix sisters show up right behind them, with some wonderfully evil dialogue from Icy:
Icy: As if. She's not a witch, she's an annoying little Wicca-wannabe, as well as a serious reject. No one likes her. She's desperate for friends; so desperate, she'll hang out with a fairy. Mirta, you're pathetic!
Bloom defends Mirta, angering Icy more, but as she's about to attack Mirta and Bloom, the other Winx girls challenge the Trix sisters to fight them instead. Stormy goes to attack with a tornado, except nothing happens, since the girls were just illusions, created by Mirta. Darcy makes sure to chide Stormy.
Darcy: Don't fall for that. It's just a firstie trick, an illusion that Mirta created. Frankly, I can't believe you let a freshman trick you like that. So sad. Don't worry; I won't tell anyone.
Icy goes on to encase Mirta and Bloom in an ice coffin. Right after, the real Winx girls show up, and melt the ice away. Anyone else noticing all the great dialogue here?
Stella: Ice coffin, ooh, how predictable. She needs to majorly update her attack collection.
The Trix sisters grow in anger. Icy's duck and Kiko get into a little slap fight. Stormy sends a couple tornadoes to do away with the Winx girls. Bloom, seeing her friends in danger, transforms to her fairy outfit. And is immediately blasted away. The other girls are about to get tornadoed by the tornado.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
With all of the fairies out of commission, the Trix girls laugh maniacally. The tornadoes about to get the Winx girls, with Bloom faint on the ground... Mirta's still left to save the day, though. Mirta, extremely frustrated with the Trix sisters, does her "illusion delusion" spell again, this time forming an illusion giant monster behind the Trix sisters, causing fear among them, and causing Stormy to lose concentration, making her tornadoes disappear. So of course, Stormy gets all the blame for falling for Mirta's trick again.
Icy's overly annoyed with Mirta and her whole "niceness." Her little T-shirt annoys Icy too, but the picture of the pumpkin gives Icy an idea: turn Mirta into a pumpkin. Bloom yells at the Trix sisters to leave Mirta alone. They don't listen, and turn Mirta into a pumpkin. She makes for a very a cute pumpkin. Bloom gets extremely angry again, and blows up again, causing the Trix sisters to blast away. These blow-ups of Bloom's seem to be triggered by someone she cares for being in trouble, being her Winx friends, her bunny, or even a friendly new witch who Bloom just met.
When everyone gets up from Bloom's blow-up, the Winx girls all compliment Bloom on her great powers. Again, Lori has noted that the power is not all that useful if all she can do is blow up, which could possibly hurt the Winx girls one of these days, especially if the Trix sisters were to get up before the Winx girls. Flora finds the pumpkin, and asks Bloom who the pumpkin is. Bloom answers that it's Mirta, a witch, but a nice one. Flora mentions that witch-on-witch spells are hard to break, so it'll be hard to turn her back.
Musa: I guess we'd better take her back to our crib.
Stella: Or find a place to plant her.
Musa: Stella!
Back at Alfea, Flora tells Bloom, fast asleep, that it's good to have her back. Flora goes over to pumpkin Mirta, telling her that she'll take care of her, and find a way to change her back, as well as welcoming Mirta to Alfea. Even as a pumpkin, Mirta seems to be able to understand everything being said, as she starts shimmering as Flora comforts her.
Mirta happened to pop up again this episode, though this time, it wasn't just for a brief moment; she rather stole the episode, if I should say. The sad story of getting made fun of by her peers, her best friend abandoning her, stumbling upon the Trix sisters' evil plan, helping Bloom out, and saving all the Winx girls. Whew... busy day for the cute little witch. Or cute little pumpkin, since Icy seems to have changed her into one.
Mirta's an enchanted pumpkin now, anyway, though she seems to have kept her wits. Just too bad she can't seem to do too much as a pumpkin. Except look cute. She's very good at looking like a cute pumpkin. At least she seems to be around people who care about her. It's possible that one of the Winx girls may not trust her, since she's a witch, and might be infiltrating Alfea... but there's no real indication of such. Flora's already seeming to form a special connection with Mirta.
It's nice to see our favorite Trio having a bit of sisterly arguing. As well as they can work together to fight against the fairies, they still like getting under one another's skin.
Bloom took, and failed, a final exam at the start of the episode. So does she fail out of Alfea? That can't be right... there're still twelve more episodes to go! Couldn't have been a final final exam... right?
10 out of 10 on the old scale.
