Fate: The Winx Saga Chatting With The Cast

Fate: The Winx Saga viewers! Welcome back to Alfea! We’ve had a weekend to watch and take in the second season and boy, is it juicy?! I sat down with stars Abbey Cowen, Eliot Salt, Hannah Van Der Westhuysen, Precious Mustapha, Paulina Chavez, and Elisha Applebaum to talk to them all about the filming of season two, plot twists and turns, their character’s growth and so much more! Watch Fate: The Winx Saga on Netflix now.

Willow Branco: You look fantastic Oh my goodness. It is such a pleasure to talk with you today. Oh my gosh wow you’re all just so stunning!

Abbey Cowen: Thank you!

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: Thank you!

Willow Branco: I am an overnight Winx fan. Just absolutely fell in love with the show and your characters. I will say I’m I am a little bit biased with Terra as a big person. I love to see her and love to see how creative she is. There are so many questions I have for you guys. So let’s jump right into it. We leave the girls at the end of the last season at the beginning of a transitional period for Alfea. Dowling is dead. Rosalind has taken control of Alfea and Sky’s dad is revealed to be alive. What was it like going back and continuing the story for you?

Eliot Salt: It was great, because you kind of dive straight into story there was no, it wasn’t sort of like oh, we start again. And you know, we wait for a new threat to arrive. It was like you really are plunged into them in this kind of military state situation where all the stakes for everything are so high. There’s banishment and death around the corner immediately. And I think that’s really exciting to flip that, for the viewers as well. But like definitely to play.

Willow Branco: Some time has passed since Season One, the girls are older and more experienced. What was it like, you know, pushing these characters forward, there’s so many new threats, there’s so many twists and turns, what was it like developing these characters even further and pushing them beyond their boundaries.

Abbey Cowen: I definitely, well one enjoyed the entire process, but wanted to bring something a little different to Bloom in this season, and kind of show a sense of, hopefully more control in some moments and more confidence. But then also, you know, she’s still human and going through, finding out new things as well. So yeah, then also portraying kind of little little snippets of the old Bloom as well. So I, I really enjoyed season two. And I’m sure we all can agree on that. Like, once you really establish your character and you really get to know your character from doing an entire season. It’s nice to come back for a second season and add new elements, and add no pun intended. Thanks for the sympathy laugh. Yeah, but add new parts to them and kind of add on I guess.

Willow Branco: We also have some new characters, a new supporting cast, and a new fairy. What was it like for you guys to bring work bringing in and working with the new actors?

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: All of the new actors were amazing. They not only are phenomenally talented, but they also brought lots of fresh energy to the set. I feel like it’s been really wonderful to broaden the world of Alfea and the characters, that they’re enriching the story and the series as a whole; feels very important to have them there. And it’s just so fortunate that the people, that the new actors, are a complete delight to get to work with as well, just on a personal level.

Willow Branco: I’m so glad to hear that. I thought everything was incredibly seamless. The integration of the new characters in this plotline, was fantastic. Elliot, Terra has learned a lot about herself this season. Something I am completely and incredibly familiar with. I won’t give away what it is. People will have to watch the show to find out what she’s learning. But I want to ask you, what did you think of her character development? And what was it like for you as you read that script?

Eliot Salt: It was such a- well it’s hard to answer that question without giving anything away, but I feel like it was so exciting to be part of a story that I wish I’d been able to watch when I was younger. And so the excitement and joy and honour that I felt reading that I hope I put into the story, and I hope that- 

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: You did, you definitely did.

Abbey Cowen: You did.

Eliot Salt: Thank you very much.

Willow Branco: I agree, yeah. I did have a little cry when it happened. I was like, oh my gosh.

Abbey Cowen: I did too!

Eliot Salt: I did too; they had to tell me to do it less. 

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: Hey, listen, I did too.

Willow Branco: We’re all just a crying mess. I know, I just want to let you know that like if little me had seen that growing up when I was a fan of the Winx Club because I was that little eight-year-old with all of the dolls, I had a Bloom, I had a Musa. Like I was there. Your character would have been exactly the representation that I needed to help me through a really difficult time. And I hope that that can do that for the people who are watching now who maybe don’t have that in their life or who don’t see that kind of character. So I just want to thank you for bringing Terra to life in that way. It really means a lot to me.

Eliot Salt: Thank you. Thank you very much. That’s really lovely. That’s great.

Willow Branco: I, you know, it;s a thank you back and forth, but we’re a little bit limited on time today. Emotions are a huge part of the world, especially in this season. Do you think you could handle your characters magic with your own emotions?

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: Oh!

Abbey Cowen: Absolutely not. 

Eliot Salt: Woah.

Abbey Cowen: Absolutely not! Red head temper? 

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: Abbey burns the place to the ground!

Abbey Cowen: Not it. No, no, no, no, no, no.

Eliot Salt: Yeah. I think I’d be pretty similar to Terra, actually, in terms of I think, sometimes I couldn’t get quite a good handle on it. But if it goes, it goes. 

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: Yeah, same. And if someone gets blinded in the process, I guess. Remember that? 

Eliot Salt: Yeah. Wow.

Willow Branco: I was I was kind of expecting Ricky to come back. 

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: Who knows!

Willow Branco: Fingers crossed for season three, we haven’t heard anything yet, you know.

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: That would be that would be a fun throwback, wouldn’t it.

Willow Branco: There are a few curveballs in the plot of this season, but I totally didn’t see coming. Obviously, no spoilers. But did you have any ideas about what was coming? Did you see any of it?

Eliot Salt: I knew where Terra’s story was going because it was discussed in behind the scenes in season one. So I knew that that was going, everything else. I was reading those pages. I was turning them I was like, I can’t believe this. I really it was like, I am excited to hear about what it’d be like to watch because to read it was a real page turner. 

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: Yeah, for sure. 

Eliot Salt: And I didn’t see a lot of these twists coming.

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: I feel like for me, it was really nice, because it was like, give the fans what they want.

Abbey Cowen: Yeah, I don’t think I saw a lot of it.

Willow Branco: As a viewer, it was absolutely fantastic. I was completely engaged. I was so invested in the story. And you all did such a phenomenal job. Thank you so much for talking with me. I greatly appreciate it. And I hope that we can sit down and talk about season three. 

Eliot Salt: Yes, me too! I hope we meet again, it was so lovely to meet you.

Hannah Van Der Westhuysen: Thank you. 

Abbey Cowen: Thanks.

Willow Branco: Thank you ladies have a great rest of your day.

Willow Branco: Oh my goodness, you all look stunning. 

Paulina Chavez: Thank you!

Willow Branco: I can’t- the colors. It’s all working. You look, fantastic, it is such a pleasure to talk to you today. I am an overnight fan of this show. It is absolutely superb. You are all amazing. It is such a pleasure to talk to you today. I hope you that you’re all doing well.

Paulina Chavez: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

Elisha Applebaum: And you!

Willow Branco: Thank you. Yeah, it was kind of a last minute interview. And I was like, You know what, I’m going to dive headfirst into this. And I was kind of taken aback by how good it is. I’m sure you’ve read some of the public perception on the first season. And I was like, Oh, these girls are actually they’re putting it in. They’re putting it in. And I’m so grateful for all of this. So I say we jump right into the questions, and I can’t wait to hear your answers. So I think you know, my name is Willow. It’s so nice to meet you.

We have a lot of new stuff in the new season. There are some new armor for the specialists. We have a new headmistress, and we have some new characters. What was it like working with the new cast in the new season?

Elisha Applebaum: I’d like to say it was awful. 

Precious Mustapha: Hated it, hated it.

Elisha Applebaum: Dreadful. No, we’ve been really lucky with everyone who’s come on board. Like we couldn’t have asked for a better cast from season one. And from season two. I don’t know how they do it. I don’t know how they cast it. But they managed to get it right every time. Yeah, the only two times. Yeah.

Willow Branco: It was absolutely great. I thought the integration of the new characters was really seamless and really moved helped move the plot forward and also move our characters forward. You know, some time has passed since we last saw the girls and they’re older and more experienced. What was it like stepping back into their shoes and coming back to these characters?

Precious Mustapha: It felt, I mean for me, it felt very- it I’ve really loved playing Aisha. So it just felt really nice to be back. Especially because we hadn’t done, so season one, after like a year, after a year it came out. And then we shot season two. So it’s been a while. So yeah, it was really it was really nice to step into Aisha’s shoes again and like play her in a in a way that we’ve never really seen her before. And yeah, I enjoyed it.

Willow Branco: I loved Aisha; I thought you brought such life into her. You did such a fantastic job continuing that. Paulina. I have to say, Flora was my favourite Winx growing up as a kid. When I was eight years old playing with all the dolls, I vividly remember my Musa doll. So, I will say I had a little bit of a cry when I found out that I was going to be interviewing you guys because I just felt like that inner child that, that healing. 

Paulina Chavez: So sweet.

Willow Branco: And I just have to say that, you know, you did such a great job bringing Flora to life. I was so excited when I found out that she was coming to the show. Flora is incredibly sure of herself and her magic. Uh, what was it like creating her as a character for you?

Paulina Chavez: Yeah, I, when I first auditioned for her for this project, was immediately captivated by her. Um, you know, she’s a powerhouse of Latina. And that really gravitated me towards her. I lived with her for probably two months before shooting. And I, I kind of wrote myself a letter, and I burned it. I’m kind of like, yeah, you just live with the characters, and then you put them on screen and bring them to life. And when you see the end product, and it’s a process, and it’s a beautiful process. It really is.

Willow Branco: So you’ve seen the finished product of season two. Oh, that’s awesome. What did you guys think of the new intro with the wings?

Precious Mustapha: I really like it, I really like it.

Elisha Applebaum: Yeah.

Willow Branco: I love how I had incorporates all of the different wings. I was like, oh Oh, okay. They’re really putting it in for season two. Emotions are a huge part of world magic, especially this season. Do you think you could handle your characters’ magic with your own emotions?

Elisha Applebaum: Naw. Not mine. I don’t think she’s already dealing with everyone else’s, let alone her own so.

Precious Mustapha: Yeah, probably. 

Paulina Chavez: Yeah. 

Precious Mustapha: I think I could.

Paulina Chavez: I think that’d be really cool. 

Precious Mustapha: Yeah.

Paulina Chavez: Really cool.

Willow Branco: Elisha, you know, since you’re talking about Musa, Musa is having a really difficult time finding her place at Alfea for a good portion of the season. And she finds a lot of solace in training with specialists. What was training like for you?

Elisha Applebaum: It was amazing. I didn’t actually do any training per se; I got taught how to do a routine. And then just like perfect to the routine, like constantly. But it was fun. It was really fun. And it’s something that I’ve kind of always wanted to do. So I had an opportunity to really get stuck in, and hopefully, next season, if there is one way and we’ll see more that.

Willow Branco: Fingers crossed. Um, there are a few curveballs in this season’s plot that I did not see coming. Obviously, no spoilers. But did you have any idea what was going to happen? Did you see any of it coming?

Paulina Chavez: No.

Precious Mustapha: No. 

Paulina Chavez: No, we really we got like, what three scripts? 

Precious Mustapha: Yeah.

Paulina Chavez: Three scripts, and then two scripts, and then another two scripts. So yeah, we were we were always on the edge of our seats, really. 

Precious Mustapha: Yeah. 

Paulina Chavez: Yeah. They didn’t tell us what was going to happen or anything. 

Willow Branco: Oh, well it has been such a pleasure to talk to you guys. We’re just about to wrap up. Is there anything to viewers, readers that you’d like to share before they jump into Fate: the Winx Saga Season Two before it comes out on September 16th?

Elisha Applebaum: Get ready. Get the Kleenex ready. And yeah, enjoy it.

Precious Mustapha: Welcome back! Welcome back to Alfea!

Willow Branco: Oh, that is so amazing. I am so blessed to be able to talk to you guys. I hope that you have a great rest of your press junket. Remember to take care of yourselves and your health. And I hope that we can talk for season three.

Paulina Chavez: Yes!

Precious Mustapha: Fingers crossed!

Willow Branco: Fingers crossed. Thank you so much, ladies. It’s a pleasure.