Stella: I really think it's tacky to come back empty-handed from a trip. I know we didn't find the dragonfire, but we should've at least we could've picked up some T-shirts.
Bloom: I really don't think anyone expects souvenirs from a dead planet, Stella.
Stella: Hmm, OK...
Miss Faragonda is there to welcome the girls back. Saladin asks if the boys were able to help the girls. Duh. The girls would've had trouble getting back if the boys hadn't come. Brandon tries being modest, though Bloom and Stella tell of how the Specialists saved them. Musa spots Kiko with a new friend, and Stella notices that it's Icy's duck. She asks how the duck got here, and Knut comes out and says that he brought the duck. Stella notes the trouble with the ogre, but Faragonda assures her that Knut is on their side now. Stella wants Knut to improve his hygiene, at least. Knut apologizes for being stinkier than usual, due to his helping out with the fighting. Miss Faragonda says they have bigger problems than hygiene, anyway. Flora says their ready to help.
Stella: I have an extra bottle of perfume, you want it?
Knut: Thank you!
Stella: Take two.
Knut hugs Stella after her first line. The expression on her face with the "take two" line is just priceless. Price is Right pun not intended. Tecna notices the boys look down. Bloom tells her it's because Red Fountain was completely destroyed. Miss Faragonda tells them how bad the situation is, that she's never seen anything so bad before, and the Trix sisters will strike Alfea shortly.
Back at Cloud Tower, Icy demands a plan from her sisters. Darcy suggests they just send the entire Army of Decay over to Alfea. Darcy, you're a genius! As for Icy... well, if there was ever any proof that Darcy's probably smarter than Icy, it's right here. Darcy's plan was just so entirely simple, you have to wonder why Icy didn't just think of it herself.
Stormy and Icy like Darcy's idea.
In Miss Faragonda's office, Miss Faragonda is asking Bloom if she is sure she wants to carry on her plan to infiltrate Cloud Tower. Bloom is sure she must go--just a feeling she has. Prince Sky does not think it's a good idea. Saladin says that Bloom will be the squad leader. Sky looks jealous of Bloom, actually. He's just a jerk, anyway. Brandon's taken aback hearing how he'll be under Bloom's command. Knut says he'll help them through the tunnels of Cloud Tower. Bloom says Knut knows them well since he's played around in them since he was a kid. Sky tells Bloom she needs a plan before she goes, but Bloom says they don't have time for a plan: either they go and try to get her dragonfire back, or they just sit and wait to be attacked, so she'll go regardless of Sky's feelings on the matter. Miss Faragonda tells her to be careful, and to be quick, because the Trix sisters will attack Alfea soon.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Outside Alfea, Bloom is telling Flora, Musa, and Tecna that they can't come with Bloom to Cloud Tower, that they're needed to protect Alfea. Bloom says only five can go, and Brandon and Sky are going with her. Why? It's not explained, but really, I think Flora, Tecna, and Musa could be of more help with Bloom than they could at Alfea. Musa says that they'd be more helpful to Bloom than the boys. Annoying as Musa usually is, every now and then she says something just so intelligent. And in today's case, what's going to turn into a small plothole. Bloom goes over to hug Flora and Musa; Stella runs over, saying she wants hugs too. Before them all, Tecna is standing off by herself, crying.
Bloom: Tech!
Stella: I can't believe it; you're like actually crying.
Tecna: Well, it's just that Bloom's chance of survival is impossibly low.
Tecna's not so emotionless, now is she? She's just not one to express her feelings much. Feels both good and sad to see her crying. Brandon's ready to go. Bloom, Stella, Prince Sky, and Knut all climb down into the sewer. Flora says she'll cast a friend protection spell for their safety.
At Cloud Tower, Icy is ready to summon the Army of Decay to attack Alfea again. Stormy and Darcy start chanting the spell. Icy finishes it off, and the little buggies form again, along with hundreds of flying stingrays, hundreds of bug soldiers, and a couple of the really giant headless monsters, all headed for Alfea.
At Alfea, random Specialists alert everyone else of the attack.
In the Cloud Tower dungeon, Riven is talking to himself.
Riven: You follow Icy around like a wannabe... no, that won't work.
It's both cute and sad how Riven seems to think Darcy can be redeemed. Darcy's only following Icy because Darcy lets her. If Darcy really wanted, I'm sure she could easily take the lead role from Icy. In the cell across the hallway, Miss Griffin asks Riven who he's talking to. He says he's just practicing what he'll say to Darcy if he sees her again. Miss Griffin says she has plenty to say to her as well, saying she should've known the Trix sisters were trouble. Riven agrees, and can't believe he thought dating a bad girl was cute. Nothing wrong with dating bad girls, now. Just that the Trix sisters, specifically, were a bit too extreme. Gotta' have limits, ya' know. With Miss Griffin's help casting a lock-picking spell, Riven is able to pick the lock to get out of his dungeon cell. He wants to get Miss Griffin out too, but she says the lock is too powerful, but her girls are making a potion that may or may not work against the spell. So the Trix sisters locked up the other Cloud Tower students, apparently. Why was this never mentioned? The last we saw, the Trix sisters only warned the other students not to mess with them, but did not lock any of them up or anything.
Riven hears a noise. Miss Griffin warns it's the buggies, and yells at him to run away, that if the buggies touch Riven, he'll turn to rot. Funny... haven't the buggies touched others? No one else has turned to rot. Riven runs off, being followed by the buggies, and a bug soldier. Riven tries remembering the strategy he's learned in battle class. Look for a way to escape: Riven runs to the window. Take the first course of action that comes to his mind: jump out the window. And he's falling toward a bunch of rocks below. Riven surely seems to have learned a thing or two at Red Fountain.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
At Alfea, Miss Faragonda is instructing the different groups for different attacks and defenses: freshmen. Red Fountain marksmen. Lacrosse team. The group divisions are getting sillier. Prom committee. Wha.... Honor squad. Uber geek Timmy's in this squad. This surprises no one. The three Winx girls here--Flora, Tecna, and Musa--are still in their regular outfits. They really should've transformed by now.... Professor Palladium swings his sword at something. Timmy says the Army of Decay is allergic to pollen. Flora blasts one of the bug soldiers with pollen, and does a cute little giggle. Thank goodness! A cute Flora moment... we haven't had much of those lately. Flora calls for Kiko and Pepe, being chased by a bug soldier. Pepe? Yes... apparently Flora's given a name to the duck. Codatorta uses his own fists to take down that bug, telling it to pick on someone its own size. Kiko looks grateful, and Pepe brags as if he took out the monster. Aww, he's got his mother's ego. Tecna says it's time they kick some decay butt. It's funny hearing Tecna say "butt." The three Winx girls here finally transform to their Winx forms. Finally. Musa fires a heat blast at one of the extra-large monsters.
In the sewer, after a pause, Knut tells them the way to Cloud Tower. Knut pauses a bit after taking a few steps, saying he's not really totally sure about it being the right way. Brandon and Stella have a little conversation while walking down the tunnel. This oughta' prove that Stella's more than just a stuck-up snot once and for all. I could only hope.
Brandon: So Stella, if we survive, you want to catch a movie sometime?
Stella: Sure you're not a prince?
Brandon: Yeah, definitely. I'm just an average squire.
Stella: Honestly? I'd never once dated a non-prince before.
Brandon: I guess that means you don't want to go out with me.
Stella: I didn't say that. It simply means that we have to take it once step at a time, like we could start with a movie.
I love this dialogue between Brandon and Stella. Stella looks especially sweet when she delivers that sixth line. Knut stops walking, saying he's worried if they're caught, and what Bloom would do then. Stella says she'd protect Bloom, but Bloom tells her that she'll eventually need to be ready to fight on her own.
Inside Cloud Tower, the Trix sisters are watching via a crystal ball as the quintet walk through the tunnels. Stormy wants to do something gruesome to her. Icy agrees. Darcy does nothing.
Back in the sewer, the quintet come to three tunnels to choose from. Stella asks which tunnel they need to take. Knut doesn't know. Stella goes into a bit of a fit that they're following him despite his not knowing where he's going. Knut sniffs out his doughnuts back at Cloud Tower to find the right way. An instrumental version of "Mean Girls" plays, as the quintet go through a number of perils. They eventually come to rest on what look like giant red doodle bugs, but the bugs wake up, and they're not happy. Stella yells at Knut again for not knowing where the hell they're going. Go Stella! She's so awesome yelling at Knut. Knut accidentally falls through a paper-thin wall, down a chute that leads to the garbage dump. The others walk down the chute.
Bloom: Nice! We end up in the garbage dump!
I love Bloom's sarcastic delivery of that line. Seems like something Tecna would've said... guess Tecna's rubbed off on Bloom a bit.
Stella: This better not rub off on my clothes! With the current situation, it'll be impossible to find a dry cleaners that's open.
Bloom: Don't you have twelve of the same outfit?
Stella: Hmph!
Bloom's been enjoyable this episode, but particularly this whole scene with them in the garbage dump. Just one great line after another. Stella too, but then, Stella always does have great lines. Bloom smells something bad. Stella says it just got way stinkier. Knut says it's beetle roaches. The beetle roaches surround them, but before going to commercial, we get Knut's best line ever:
Stella: I think I'm gonna' puke.
Knut: They'd like that.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Knut: Make sure you don't touch their saliva.
Stella: Eww, touch it? As if!
Don't worry, Knut, I don't think you have to warn Stella. Brandon tells everyone to hold their noses, since they release a really powerful 30-mile radius stench when killed. Bloom says they shouldn't kill the bugs, since the witches would smell them and know they're there. Reasonable enough, except the Trix sisters already know they're there.
Stella: Right, let's just stand here and negotiate with these giant bugs!
Stella's got sense, anyway, realizing they don't have much in the way of other options. As one of the bugs is about to bite off Knut's foot, Bloom leaps at it and kicks it. Knut says that's amazing for ordinary Earth powers. And truthfully, it is. I don't think anyone on Earth can jump up as high as Bloom just did without a trampoline, a pole, or some other form of assistance. Prince Sky is attacked by a pink beetle roach. Knut warns against throwing a spear at the roach, as it has ricochet armor. A Riven-shaped mystery figure disguised in old rags rides the pink bug like a bull, and runs it off. The other bugs follow it. Ri... the mystery figure explains that the other bugs follow the queen beetle roach, apparently the pink one. Sky thanks the mystery person. The mystery person reveals himself to be, in fact, Riven. Duh.
In the tunnels again, Prince Sky asks how Riven escaped. Riven says he used what they learned in his strategies and battle class. Bloom asks him how he knew he'd be safe, and Riven says he didn't have time to think about it. He jumped out the window, and used his cape as a semi-parachute for a safe landing. He saw the beetle roaches, and tried blending in. Sky says he had never seen Riven take notes, and just figured he was Red Fountain's resident slacker, but that he's probably the smartest student at Red Fountain. Brandon wants to be Riven's lab partner. Riven asks for forgiveness for how he's acted toward them. Prince Sky says it's OK, that anyone could fall for the wrong girl. I hope he's not talking about Diaspro. Riven says he's coming with them to help. Bloom's happy, since they can use an extra hand to take on the witches.
...huh? Earlier, Bloom said Flora, Tecna, and Musa could not help her because only five people could go. How Bloom arrived at that number I could only guess. But now, if Riven goes with them, there are six. So suddenly they can have a sixth person help out? What the heck was with Bloom's being so insistent for having only five people? OK, I know the answer is bad writers. Again. I'm not going to blame Bloom this time.
At Cloud Tower, the Trix sisters are still watching what's now a sextet via their crystal ball. Stormy and Icy have a laugh about how easy it'll be to take Bloom down, and how they'll wipe out Alfea. Darcy, for the second Trix scene in a row, does absolutely nothing. Would it be that hard to throw Darce a line every now and then? Huh? I mean, Stormy and Icy are enjoying themselves: let Darcy in on the fun!
I've known a few people like Riven, as far as his attitude in school is: people who never take notes on anything, even tend to be absent often, yet they take in absolutely everything, as if their mind were a steel trap. I wish I could be like that, really.
It would have been nice if the writers acknowledged Darcy's existence in the scenes with the Trix sisters.
8 out of 10 on the old scale.
