The Yin-Yang Couple
Aisha/Roy YouTube Comment Response, Pt. IV: Nex vs. Riven…Again

Once more for the newcomers. An Aisha/Roy fan left a long comment on Power of Charmix’s Roy video, and I decided to respond to it here because YouTube is a lousy place for discussions. Here are the first three posts:

• Part I: What Roy Lacked
• Part II: Aisha and Roy, Slow Burn or Low Burn?
• Part III: Aisha and Nex, Life and Death, Fall in Love

We talked about Aisha/Roy and Aisha/Nex. Now let’s wrap this series up with….Nex vs. Riven? Yeah, one of these things is not like the others, but this never-ending comparison popped up in the comment a few times. Here’s a quote:

As for the Riven vs Nex thing… As someone who loves Riven with all my heart, I don’t think Nex and him are too similar, but I understand why there’s so much comparison. I saw your blog post on the subject of their constant comparison, but I feel like you just took what Rainbow claims as their personality traits and weighed them on a scale like it was math. I’m not criticizing, but I wouldn’t prefer that. I think it was how the introduction of both characters was so similar, people assumed Nex would turn out the way Riven did. Clearly, they didn’t end up too alike, but if you introduce a character with the same introduction as a previous one, obviously people are going to think of them as the same.

YouTube Comment

Sigh. Okay, let’s try a less mathematical approach. I’ll compare Nex and Riven’s introductions to Winx Club episode by episode. How similar were they? Let’s find out.

Nex and Riven’s Debuts

Riven debuted in the very first episode of Winx Club, “An Unexpected Event”, after Stella called for backup against Knut and the hunting troll. (Fun fact: in the 4Kids dub, Knut was voiced by Nex’s voice actor Marc Thompson.) Nex debuted in “The Flying School” (Winx season 6, episode 3) with his best friend Thoren. Like the Specialists, they came to Lynphea College for special training from the guru.

Riven Growls at Girls

We didn’t learn much about Riven in this episode. He lassoed the troll, and while Sky, Brandon, and Timmy wanted to call it a day, he wanted to…beat it up. “Don’t you wanna have a little fun first?”

Fine. It had it coming, anyway. But he didn’t get a chance to because it yanked him off his feet and dropped him between Bloom and Stella.

You know how I said in his “Nex vs. Riven” post that he’s canonically a misogynist? I didn’t remember how right I was. The two fairies starting cooing over him (because…he’s a boy), but he wanted nothing to do with them. He stood up and growled, “Girls!” They stared at each other as he cleaved through ghouls before Knut knocked him down.

Nex Rings Out His Rival

Nex’s first line in the series told us two things about him: he’s flirty, and he thinks he’s unbeatable:

Hey, ladies! When it’s my turn, I’ll give this guys a run for their money!

Anyway, Roy thought Nex was hitting on Aisha (he wasn’t), so he challenged him to a match. Nex started roughhousing and finished him off by blasting him out of the ring with his Halberd of the Wind. Aisha and the guru scolded him for it:

GURU: Easy! This is a civilized training session, not a cage fight!
AISHA: Looks like you two need to cool off a bit. This course is a chance to learn from each other and perfect new skills, but the only skill you’ve perfected so far is how to get a big head. [Walks away]
NEX: Wow! She’s no joke!

Similar Introductions?

That’s it. So did those introductions seem similar to you? Not to me.

The comment says Nex and Riven “were both introduced as bad boys who played rough”, and “they both were pretty cocky”. Nex is cocky, and he did play rough in his first episode. That’s why Aisha and the guru scolded him, after all.

But cocky + plays rough = Riven? Isn’t that a low threshold to be considered a copy of another character? Are those Riven’s defining traits in the first place? I wouldn’t say he “played rough” in his first episode. It was a standard monster fight. And even the comment admits that Brandon is cocky, too:

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against cockiness (have you seen Brandon?)…

YouTube Comment

Also, Nex isn’t a bad boy. You’ll see some reasons why later on, and I’ll talk about it more in another post.

If you think this is enough to make Nex and Riven the same, you might change your mind by the end of this post. We’re about to see a lot of differences between these boys.

We’ve already seen a major one: their feelings about girls. Riven wanted nothing to do with them, but Nex fancies himself a ladies’ man.

“Womaniz—” Ahem! Proof, please. One flirty line doesn’t make you a player.

Anyway, the comment glosses over this difference, but misogyny was a big part of Riven’s character in season one. You might be surprised how rude he was to the Winx.

Sounds like we need more info before we can judge if Rainbow introduced Nex and Riven the same way. Let’s compare the first 10 episodes of these seasons. That’ll give a better sense of how these boys acted early on.

Disruption and Redemption

Nex’s next episode was “Bloomix Power” (Winx season 6, episode 4). He showed up at Aisha’s gym for training with Thoren and the Specialists. Riven went to the annual back-to-school mixer in “Alfea College For Fairies” (Winx season 1, episode 3), but he didn’t do or say anything in that episode. So I’m skipping ahead to the next episode: “The Black-Mud Swamp”.

So, we’re on episode four for both guys. Just a coincidence, of course.

Riven Hurls Insults and Wrecks the Team’s Morale

While the Specialists were transporting the hunting troll to a new location, something (or someone) attacked their ship. They crash-landed in the Black-Mud Swamp, where the Winx were conveniently having class. The five fairies checked on them.

FLORA: You guys okay?
RIVEN: [Looks back at Sky] Isn’t it rather obvious?

Through a series of clues — a hole in the ship, discarded handcuffs, footprints — the gang realized that the troll had escaped. Riven tried to shoo the Winx away before they got involved:

RIVEN: [Then] get back to your assignment, and don’t worry about a thing. Leave it to the Specialists!
STELLA: The Specialists are gonna be here? When?
RIVEN: [Growls] We’re right here, you silly little girl!
BRANDON: What Riven means is perhaps it would be best for you to go back to Alfea while we try to capture that animal.
RIVEN: We don’t need your editorial comments, Your Highness!

(Reminder: Everyone still thought Sky was “Brandon” and Brandon was “Sky”.)

Amaryl and her friends cut in and told Riven not to tell them or the Winx what to do. He gave up and said, “You do what you like to,” and the Specialists left to find the troll. Of course, the Winx couldn’t leave them alone, so they started their own investigation.

After a few minutes…hours…of searching, they ran into the boys again who had been captured by a plant called a Quietus Carnivorous. (Sounds like a 4Kids name, but I watched the RAI English dub.) Flora coaxed it into freeing its prey. Once the group got away from it, Bloom suggested they all look for the troll together. Riven still wasn’t on board:

RIVEN: I refuse to team up with fairies!
BRANDON: You’re on your own then, buddy. And you find the troll, just give us a shout.

In the next scene, the gang started to cross a lake. When Timmy missed his jump and fell on his butt, everyone laughed…except Riven:

RIVEN: First, we’ve got the fairies to look after, and now we’ve got clumsy Timmy as well.
SKY: Grrr! Riven, you’ve gone too far!
RIVEN: You’re just Prince Sky’s yes-man, Brandon. Why don’t you go clean up his stables?
SKY: You’re insulting, Riven!
RIVEN: So? What are you gonna do about it?

Well, since “Brandon” wasn’t the leader, he couldn’t do anything. But “Prince Sky” could. “You’re off the team, buddy! Is that clear?”

Everyone stared at Riven, waiting for his response. He shrugged and said, “Alright, let’s go find that troll.”

The Troll and The Truce

Turning their attention back to the lake, the gang hopped across the patches of land that swirled around a whirlpool. Everyone made it safely to the other bank…except Riven. Tecna managed to grab his hands. She couldn’t pull him out on her own, of course, so Bloom, Sky, and Timmy helped her.

Did Riven thank them for saving his life? Nope. “C’mon, guys. Let’s go. We’ve got a troll to catch. We’ve lost too much time already.”

Sky just looked at Timmy and shrugged.

Shortly after, they found the troll threatening Amaryl and her friends. Brandon came up with a plan. The Winx would distract the beast, Sky and Timmy would grab him, and he and Riven would slap the handcuffs on him.

It didn’t work. The troll tossed Brandon and Riven off of him like juggling rings, and somehow, Timmy ended up in the handcuffs. To add insult to injury, the fairies they saved laughed at them. “So,” said Amaryl, “you guys are the Specialists, huh? Specialists in what? Botchery?” (I know that’s mean, but it’s a great line.)

As the gang rested, Sky told Bloom that Amaryl wasn’t far off. “We’re not the Specialists. We’re a bunch of rookies. The only thing we do really well together…is argue.”

Cue the argument between Riven and Brandon over who shackled Timmy. Surprisingly, the nerd himself broke it up (which impressed Tecna) and reminded them that they needed to work together to find the troll. This led to one of the few pleasant Riven moments in this episode:

BRANDON: He’s right. We’ve gotta work together. If not, we’re never gonna succeed. [Looking at Riven] Should we try again?
RIVEN: Haha! Alright.
BRANDON: Gotcha!

Sky came over to them as they shook hands.

BRANDON: Riven and I have called a truce.
SKY: I’d have preferred everlasting peace, but I can live with that.

Nex Sabotages His Rival — Then Almost Dies For Him

Yep, it’s the gym episode again. I summarized it in the third post, but I’ll look at from a different angle in a moment.

The Specialists and Paladins came to Aisha’s gym to train for the mission to save Lynphea College. Nex and Roy competed for her attention, and when she complimented Roy on his run on the obstacle course, Nex got jealous. He kicked the last hoop away while Roy was in mid-air. It looked like he caused him to miss the last platform, but as we established in the third post, Roy jumped too short in the first place.

But Nex still cheated, so Aisha yelled at him:

What was that little stunt? If this is your idea of helping, Nex, we don’t need it!

Just as they were about to leave for Lynphea College without him, he told them he still wanted to go on the mission.

Fast forward several minutes. (Yeah, this is a rough summary.) Selina summoned basilisks from the Legendarium World. One of them turned Roy to stone and charged at him and Aisha. Seeing this, Nex rushed in the front of the beast to protect them, but he got petrified, too.

The Paths Diverge

Even if you thought Nex and Riven started out the same, this is where Rainbow took their characters in different directions:

• Riven insulted his teammates, complained, and started arguments. (Based on what Sky said, this was an ongoing problem.) His behavior got worse after this episode.
• Nex sabotaged an ally’s training session, but he immediately redeemed himself by risking his life for that ally. His behavior got better after this episode.

The Overlooked Theme of “Bloomix Power”?

While writing this post, I noticed something I’m surprised I missed before. The prevailing idea about the gym scene is that Nex made Roy miss the final platform on the obstacle course. But watching the scene again makes it clear he was gonna miss it, anyway.

Nex still cheated, though. He kicked the final hoop away, so even if Roy had stuck the landing, he couldn’t have finished the course. That’s why Aisha and the others got angry, right?

Maybe not. I think we missed the theme of this episode, even though Rainbow practically gave it away. What was it? “Helping.” Nex didn’t help someone when they needed it.

When he and the other guys entered the gym, he said they wanted to help the Winx save Lynphea College:

The Trix’s magic is beyond extreme. We’re here to help!

But when his rival needed help, Nex did nothing. He even laughed at him. The “camera” held on Sky pulling Roy up for several seconds, while Nex just…stood there. That’s not how a hero should behave.

Look at what Aisha said to him again: “If this is your idea of helping, Nex, we don’t need it!”

She used his own words against him. Did he really wanna help? Could the Winx and the Specialists trust him? Was he really a hero like them?

Just before the gang left for Lynphea College, Aisha hesitated. “Wait, is this everybody?”

What a weird thing to ask — unless you consider the theme. Nex said he wanted to help. After being ostracized by the group, did he still wanna join the mission? Did he care more about himself or the students of Lynphea College?

He stepped forward and said, “I’m in.”

During the mission, Rainbow dropped another reference to the theme. After Stella backflipped over a basilisk (don’t think about it), Nex ran into the middle of the group and yelled:

Hurry! The other Lynphea fairies still need our help!

There it is again: “help”.

But the moment of truth was when the basilisk turned Roy to stone and stomped towards him and Aisha. This time, Nex wasn’t gonna stand there and watch. His ally needed help.

Nex proved he is a hero — someone who helps people in need, no matter who they are. So how did he become “the biggest jerk of all jerks” (to quote Moonlit Maiden) in the fandom’s eyes? I know I’ve said this before, but I think they forgot or ignored his redemption scene. One of the reasons could be…because they started comparing him to Riven and expecting a trek back to “goodness”.

What if we treated “The Flying School” and “Bloomix Power” as a standalone arc? After all, they both revolved around Lynphea College. Two-episode arcs are also common in Winx Club, even in the early seasons.

So the story goes like this: the Winx and the Specialists met a Paladin named Nex at Lynphea College. He seemed like a flirty, roughhousing jerk at first, and they didn’t know if they could trust him. But he made up for his bad first impression and showed that he’s helpful, selfless, and brave.

The end…of the arc, of course. We still have the love triangle. Ugh.

By the way, bad first impressions seem to be part of Nex’s character. I talked about a possible reason why in my post “‘La Prova di Nex’: An Analogy For The Winx Fandom”. (Hint: it has to do with his name.)

The Antagonist-To-Be

As for Riven, he showed a lot more of his flaws in “The Black-Mud Swamp”. He was grumpy, unfriendly, and uncooperative, and he didn’t say thank you, even when his friends saved his life. We already knew he hated fairies (i.e. girls), but he ramped up the misogyny when he said he refused to work with the Winx.

Finally, he insulted at least three characters:

• Stella: He called her a “silly little girl”.
• Timmy: He called him “clumsy”.
• Sky: He made fun of his supposed social status, calling him a “yes-man” and telling him to “go clean ‘Prince Sky’s’ (Brandon) stables”.

I’ll at least say he’s willing to risk his life for other people. He helped the gang save Amaryl and her friends, who ironically didn’t say thank you for it. Also, he made up with Brandon, so he can put differences aside sometimes.

But we know what’s coming. Rainbow was building up to his mid-season Face-Heel Turn where he teamed up with the Trix. So as a future antagonist, he couldn’t redeem himself yet.

One more thing: Rainbow started dropping hints that Musa had a crush on him (or at least thought he was cute). It felt awkward, though, because even she got annoyed with his constant rudeness. Plus, he did something awful to her a few episodes later, but she still liked him afterward!

Why, Musa? Just…why?

Deeper Darkness and Hidden Light

Nex appeared in “The Golden Auditorium” (Winx season 6, episode 5), but he didn’t do anything but…get unpetrified. So his next notable episode was “The Lost Library” (Winx season 6, episode 7).

Riven’s next episode was “Date With Disaster” (Winx season 1, episode 5), but all he did was say something dumb about “Sky” while the Winx were asking him about the letter he supposedly gave Stella:

BRANDON: Hey, I didn’t write that!
RIVEN: Sure didn’t. Didn’t you girls know that Sky can’t write? [Laughs]
BLOOM: Very funny, Riven. I just can’t stop laughing.
RIVEN: Bye, sweeties! [Laughs and exits stage right]

I guess the truce was over.

This doesn’t tell us anything new or add anything to his story, so let’s skip ahead to “Friends in Need” (Winx season 1, episode 7). Yep, it’s the same episode number again. Still a coincidence.

Riven Has the Heart of the Devil

In episode six, the Winx got detention for sneaking into Cloud Tower. Faragonda took their powers away for a day, but that wasn’t severe enough for Griselda. We opened episode seven with her assigning them to clean the entire school, while the rest of Alfea, including the staff, went to a concert.

The Winx decided to invite the Specialists over. After they helped them clean, they could have a dance party! Sky, Brandon, and Timmy agreed to it, but Riven leaned against the wall and glared at everyone. (In his defense, I wouldn’t have joined in on the “wash, rinse, dry” dance, either.)

During the party, Tecna and Timmy got closer through their mutual social awkwardness. (Don’t worry. I love them. ) But Riven ruined the moment:

TIMMY: Don’t you wanna dance, Tecna?
TECNA: No, I don’t like to. It makes me feel kinda awkward.
TIMMY: Well, that makes two of us. I don’t like it, either. I feel ridiculous.
RIVEN: Timmy, you’re ridiculous even when you’re not doing anything!

Musa moonwalked over to him and showed off her moves. Sky noticed that Riven didn’t take his eyes off of her.

SKY: She’s not bad, huh?
RIVEN: Better than some others here.

Meanwhile, the Trix were sneaking around Alfea to find the source of the Dragon Flame. They summoned a Minotaur-like creature called the Whip as a distraction. When the Winx and the Specialists felt the school shake from its movements, they headed to the first floor to find broken beams and claw marks on the walls. 

Riven kept being…Riven, but Tecna replied with a comeback that only she could pull off.

TIMMY: What kind of creature could do this kind of damage?
TECNA: A big, heavy creature.
RIVEN: Oh, golly! I never would have guessed!
TECNA: It’s two and a half meters tall and weighs close to a ton. Its fur is bristly. It has horns and multiple clawed limbs. It also has a musky odor. Now, is that better?
STELLA: Haha! Way to go, Tec!

Another quake interrupted Stella’s laughter. The Specialists drew their weapons and prepared to hunt the monster down. The Winx wanted to help, but Riven tried to turn them away again. “Stay where you are, little fairies. This isn’t a job for you.”

The Winx ignored him and raced off in the other direction. They ran into the Whip before the Specialists did, but they couldn’t do much without their powers. It chased them down the hallway. When it targeted Musa, she pulled a Matrix jump off the walls and hopped over it — what is P.E. like at Alfea? — but as she descended, it punched her and sent her flying right into Riven’s arms.

Darcy Find Darkness in Riven

Riven set Musa down and drew his sword. “Girls, you can sit back and relax. We’ll put him through the wringer! Now, this is my kind of party!”

He lunged at the Whip, but he only got a few swipes at it before he had to dodge its meaty arm slamming down at him. The other Specialists came to back him up, but he didn’t want their help:

SKY: Let’s take him on together!
RIVEN: Just worry about your prince, page boy!
BRANDON: Idiot! C’mon, guys! Attack!
SKY: Specialists, attack!
RIVEN: This is my attack!

Of course, he couldn’t beat it on his own. It knocked him through a window into the next room. The Trix floated in and found him on the ground, unconscious. Darcy sensed something interesting about him:

This boy has a very strong negative force. He’s on a level with the Prince of Darkness.

There’s no character called the Prince of Darkness in Winx Club, so Darcy must have meant that prince of darkness: Beelzebub himself. “This boy is on a level with the Devil.” That’s what she said about him, guys.

Nex Shows His Sensitive Side

Aisha’s suitors came to say goodbye to her before she went to Egypt, but Nex pushed past Roy to get to her. Once he reached her, he tripped on his tongue:

NEX: Aisha! Well…I…
AISHA: Yes?

Roy cut in and said, “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” As it dawned on her that Nex had a crush on her, Roy handed her a pair of rollerblades as a gift. He then shot Nex a look that said, “I win this round.”