Back with Kerbog in the hallway, Codatorta again says that they can handle Kerbog. Faragonda says the girls must find Bloom. Athena says that the pixie elders will go with them in case they need help. It turns out they'll definitely need the elders' help... we'll get to that when the time comes, though.
The Winx girls are shown running down the hallway, with the nine pixies--their six pixies, plus the pixie elders minus Concorda--flying through the hallway. They come across a monster. Tecna says she can take care of the monster, and tells the others to just find Bloom. Digit stays with Tecna. The others run off the same way they came from. So why did they come this way in the first place? Tecna blasts green fire at the monsters.
The girls, minus Tecna and Digit, run into more monsters on their way to Bloom. Or actually, the monsters aren't really in the way, so I'm not sure why they don't just ignore the monsters. Musa and Flora are going to stay behind to defeat these monsters, as Stella and Layla go forth to find Bloom. Everyone cries a lot, for no real reason.
Tune: As they say, Musa, I've got your back.
And Tune probably feels dirty for having said that now! Musa and Flora activate their Charmix, and practically instantly defeat the monsters. Musa and Flora are ready to catch up with Stella and Musa. Seems like an awfully big production made considering how quickly they defeated the two monsters who weren't even in the way.
In another room, probably the same one Bloom and Darkar left in, Stella and Layla realize Bloom isn't there, and wonder what now. Of course, why would they have expected to find Bloom in this particular room, anyway? Couldn't Bloom have just as easily been in some other room? Concorda tells them that the pixie elders can help them get into Realix. Concorda? Where the heck did she come from? How did she just suddenly appear here? Discorda says they know a secret way to get into Realix. Chatta is surprised to hear they don't need the Codex. Concorda says they can use some ancient artifacts--jewelry pieces--to create a portal to Realix. Remember those jewel pieces Faragonda gave to the four pixie elders back in "The Dark Tower"? Well, now we're finding out exactly what those were for!
Back with Tecna, we see monster bones. Apparently, Tecna's finally defeated the monsters she was fighting earlier. Bones! Cool! I'm surprised they didn't just disintegrate like most of the monsters do! The five Specialists come running up to Tecna. They're all ready to find the others. Timmy and Tecna both say in unison to move out. Helia teases them about saying the same thing at the same time all the time now. I don't remember it happening before, myself.
In Realix, Darkar tells Bloom to begin the chant, then they'll join their powers. Incidentally, Bloom chanting the spell is the first time she speaks since changing back into Evil Bloom.
Back with Stella, Layla, and the pixies, a bunch of colored cards appear before them. Stella asks what it is. Concorda says it seems to be some sort of ancient puzzle. Athena guesses that the portal won't open unless they solve it. Layla sees the puzzle as ridiculously impossible. Layla is so thinking "we're screwed" at this point! Stella thinks back to a field trip they took for magical history class. Layla remembers, but isn't sure what the museum of ancient realms has to do with the puzzle, but Stella tells her about the civilization that communicated with hue and pattern, and easily solves the puzzle, opening the portal to Realix. Athena is impressed with how knowledgeable Stella is with magical history. Stella wonders if she could ask to have her grade improved in that class. Concorda notices the portal is closing, so she and the other three pixie elders hold the portal open for Stella and Layla.
Lockette: That thing's spinning!
The pixies are all afraid to go in--not only Lockette for a change of pace--so Layla tells them to stay out and just help the pixie elders.
In Realix, both Bloom and Lord Darkar are chanting the Latin-esque spell. Darkar is shocked and angered to see Layla and Stella flying into Realix. They shoot blasts at him, but he dodges. Darkar tells Bloom to keep chanting, and he will kill the fairies. Stella and Layla notice that Bloom has the darkness spell on her again. Darkar says the spell is unbreakable. Stella says they'll just have to make him remove the spell, then. They shoot blasts at Darkar, but he just puts up a magical red glowy shield to keep from being hurt, calling their attacks pathetic. Layla and Stella activate their Charmix, then blast at Darkar again, blasting him far away. Back with the pixies, it seems Lockette went through the portal, and they worry. Back in Realix, Stella and Layla guess Darkar is gone, and wonder what to do about Bloom, who is still reciting the spell. Some red goo comes up from the cracks in the floor, grabbing Stella and Layla down to the ground.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #1
Stella and Layla are stuck on the ground. Stella is grossed out by all the goo. Lord Darkar appears before them, insulted that they thought they could get rid of him. Lockette is over by Bloom, again saying that a pixie's kiss can break any spell, but Darkar shoots a weak blast at Lockette, knocking her away. He then gets ready to kill Stella, but Brandon jumps in the way. Darkar flies out of the way, as the rest of the Specialists and Winx girls come through the portal. Darkar is infuriated with all the help coming through the portal. Sky threatens Darkar. Darkar threatens Sky back, and puts a spell on everyone, now allowing them to move.
Back with the teachers versus Kerbog, Griffin and Faragonda blast at Kerbog, which does nothing. Codatorta runs up to fight Kerbog with his sword, but Kerbog is too strong for Codatorta. Griffin notes that his confidence is bigger than his abilities. Faragonda says that their magic isn't working on the monster, but it could work on Codatorta.
Faragonda: We can help you defeat him.
Codatorta: That's not necessary. Trust me, I've wrangled dragons bigger than him. I can take him, no problem!
Faragonda and Griffin decide to use magic on him anyway, making him bigger and stronger. He easily defeats Kerbog, which changes back to its ordinary rune bat form. Griffin zaps Kerbog, destroying it. Codatorta says he knew he could do it. Faragonda just goes along with him.
The Trix sisters, where ever they are, turn into three colored spheres. Icy tells them to give her their powers, and the spheres change into a tall dark purple lady with really long pigtails and lots of Gloomix on her body.
Back in Realix, Flora and Musa aren't immobile, and sheild their immobile friends with magic. Flora is blasted away, though, and he is about to shoot Musa with a powerful blast, but Riven jumps in front, preventing Musa from getting hit while getting knocked out himself. Darkar laughs about Riven being loyal to the end. An echo-y voice says unlike Darkar, and says that no one uses them. It's Icy, Darcy, and Stormy in one form--Triple Witch seems as good a name for them as any! Darkar asks what they want. Triple Witch says they want the ultimate power, just like him. The Winx girls and Specialists start becoming mobile again, and start guessing the odds that Triple Witch will defeat Lord Darkar. Stella says that as long as they're distracting Darkar, they have time to try to figure out what to do themselves. Flora wonders what they'll do if they actually beat Darkar. Tecna says it'll be bad if either of them get the ultimate power. Musa cries over Riven, worrying if he's dead. She kisses him when he opens his eyes. Triple Witch is still beating on Darkar. Evil Bloom says she's finally going to get the ultimate power. Triple Witch goes after Bloom, but Darkar blasts them into a pillar. Darkar changes to his phoenix form, then flies over to Bloom, who has gotten the ultimate power.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #2
Darkar goes blah blah some more, and says that Bloom will hand him the ultimate power. The Winx girls, Specialists, and pixies are all worried. Sky walks up to Bloom to talk to her, hoping he can reach beyond the spell. Sky asks Bloom to listen to his voice, saying he's her boyfriend. Bloom gets confused. Sky says that he knows Bloom is not evil, and that even if she can't see it now, that she has a true heart. Darkar says Sky knows nothing. Sky says he knows what her heart is like, that he's felt it before. He knows her heart is pure and good, and mentions how she's saved him before. Sky says he isn't going to let her go, and says she has to fight the spell because he loves her. Everyone else is so shocked he said "love." How old are these people, again? Eight? Sky faints. Darkar says it looks like Sky's time is up, and that it is for everyone else as well. Bloom then starts to glow, making Darkar nervous. Sky's love has helped Bloom break free from Darkar's spell. Everyone else feels Bloom's heart, as well. Riven becomes fully conscious, with Musa still holding him. She scuttles way back when Riven calls for her. Cute! The ultimate power disappears. Darkar yells, demanding to know what she did with the ultimate power. Bloom says she gave it back, that it belongs in Realix. Sky gets up, and he and Bloom hug. Lockette flies up to give Bloom a tiny hug.
Faragonda, Griffin, and Codatorta enter Realix. Codatorta tells the Specialists to get in formation. Stella says they'll need to attack with everything they have. Bloom says that they'll need the power of six Charmix converging at once. The Specialists block some energy blasts that Darkar spits at the girls. Faragonda and Griffin then cast a spell to shield everyone, though it looks like they have trouble keeping the sheild up, that it is taking much out of them.
Tecna: We're going to need complete and total synchronicity.
Synchronicity. I love that word, and that they used a "big" word like that in a kids' show. I wish I could find a way to sneak the word into conversation more often! The Winx girls activate their Charmix, and the six of them all go through the Charmix transformation sequence. Even though Stella and Layla never deactivated their Charmix from before, so it's kinda' silly for those two to go through the sequence again. The six all grunt, as they use convergence to form a huge ball of light that ultimately covers the entire realm of Realix. Darkar screams in agony, and it looks like he is withering away. Everyone then appears outside Realix. Faragonda says Darkar is over. So I guess he's dead. I won't really miss him all that much. The Trix sisters were better villains. Darkar's fortress is falling apart. Sky guides everyone out.
Back in Realix, which is also falling apart, Triple Witch complains that Bloom gave the ultimate power back, and now they hate Bloom more than ever. Course, it was really lose/lose for the Trix, anyway. If Bloom is good, then of course she was going to give the power back. But if Bloom stayed evil, and Lord Darkar beat everyone, then Bloom would've just given the ultimate power to Lord Darkar, and they still wouldn't have the ultimate power anyway.
COMMERCIAL BREAK #3
Alfea is holding it's end-of-the-year party once again. Faragonda and Griffin toast. Griffin asks who would've thought that she and Faragonda would ever be drinking friendship brew. Faragonda says it was a challenging year.
Elsewhere at the party, Tecna, Timmy, and Digit play a virtual reality video game. Tecna warns Timmy that she set a new record the last time she played the game.
Stella and Brandon dance. Brandon tells Stella how beautiful she looks. Chatta says Stella was so fortunate to find true love. Amore says everyone finds it eventually. Livy air-surfs by. In the background, Mirta and Lucy can be seen dancing with each other. Wish we could get a better look at Lucy's dress. Amentia and Sponsus are also dancing. I'm kinda' surprised Amentia feels Alfea is worthy of her presence. Then again, the whole Darkar thing has probably softened her a bit. Just a bit, though.
Knut and Codatorta are arm wrestling. Codatorta wins and brags. That's what makes him Codatorta!
Nearby, Layla says she isn't sure how, but she somehow wound up with five best friends. Musa says she's right, and she and Layla dance. Riven and Jarad are watching nearby. I'm kinda' surprised Jared doesn't fear his life standing so close to Riven. Riven tells Jared that he can't ask Musa to dance because he can't dance. Layla pulls Riven over to dance with Musa, and he tells her he can't dance. Musa says she'll teach him. Tune tells Jared that Musa never meant to be rude. A fairy hangs on Jared's shoulder, and Jared says it's no problem.
Elsewhere, Chatta carries a cup of hot cocoa that's bigger than she is, while Amore and Zing fly past. She gives it to Piff, saying it'll wake her up. Piff drinks some of the cocoa, screams "cocoa!", and flies off happy. Chatta says she's said her first word. Layla, watching, laughs. Guess Chatta forgot when Piff said "bye, Layla" though.
A small distance from the party, Helia is drawing something, and Flora is standing a few feet away, cooing, watching the party. Flora tells Helia to put his pencil down, and they can watch the moon together. It looks like he will do so.
Meanwhile, back at the party, Sky is looking for Bloom. Lockette says she hasn't seen Bloom, either. Brandon and Stella, still dancing, pass by. Stella says that Bloom has been waiting for him up by the stairs leading to Alfea. Sky goes up to meet Bloom, who is watching Kiko as he grows pixie wings and flies a little. So he's been a pixie pet this whole time! I guess Earth people can see pixie pets, since Michael and Vanessa are clearly able to see Kiko. Bloom says she needs to talk about what happened in Realix. Sky asks if she heard what he said back in Realix, if she remembers him saying the L-word. Bloom says of course she heard, and tells Sky she loves him, too. And they kiss. We don't get a good view of the kiss, either, so just how passionate the kiss is can be left up to the viewer's imagination. And I like it that way! I'd like to think this was a more meaningful kiss than the one at the end of "Fire and Ice," myself! It should be! Lockette looks surprised, then happy.
Timmy, not far away, calls Sky and Bloom for a picture, where the other Specialists and Winx girls are all ready. Timmy sets the timer, then goes in the shot himself, telling them the picture is for the yearbook. Magical camera, too. Floats in mid-air. That would actually be a great feature for real-life cameras! Sky and Bloom rush in right before the picture shoots.
This season though, even without the entire "everyone in existence united" angle, just played better. There weren't many little minions... just a few monsters, Kerbog, and Darkar himself, who was the majority of the battle. And Bloom didn't overshadow everyone else... course, I guess that's hard considering she was possessed until the end. But really, there was more of a sense of everyone working together to defeat Darkar, rather than just counting on Bloom to save everyone, and for that, I really appreciated this final fight.
And yay for Triple Witch! It looks like the Trix will be around for Season 3, and I'm sure we couldn't be happier about that! Looks like they won't have to answer to Lord Darkar anymore, either!
Whatever happened to the fake Avalon, anyway? Does Bloom even know that there was a second Avalon, and that the only one she knew of was a fraud? And what of fake Avalon, now? Will he work for the Trix, apologize for his behavior, date Palladium, or is he just going to be ignored as if he didn't exist? And why did the fake Avalon work for Lord Darkar in the first place? Was fake Palladium really a cloud spirit like real Palladium, or did Darkar just lie about that?
And finally... really cool to see Stella solving the color puzzle! Just showing us that she's smarter than she sometimes lets on!
10 out of 10 on the old scale.
