Paulina Chávez is excited for Fate: The Winx Saga viewers to finally meet Flora
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It's time to meet Flora!
The long wait for season 2 of Fate: The Winx Saga is over. Not only will it include the highly-anticipated arrival of Flora (Paulina Chávez), but also the resolution of the season finale's major shake-up. Season 1 ends with "wartime headmistress" Rosalind (played in season 2 by Miranda Richardson) taking over the school from Farah Dowling (Eve Best), and in this season we will see how she's transformed the school while dealing with the new threat of Blood Witches. "They're still trying to figure out if she's actually the good guy or the bad guy. It's that thing where you want to trust your superiors and trust they have good intentions, and they're learning that maybe they don't," Chávez explains.
Netflix
Described as free-spirited and well-traveled, Flora is adding to the dynamic bteween Bloom Peters (Abigail Cowen) and the fairies in the suite. According to Chávez, Flora can fit into any crowd. "She's very much a person that cares about people a lot, and that's what makes her so easily lovable," she says. Embodying Flora's confidence was a challenging part of taking on the role for Chávez. "She really controls the room when she's in it, and that's something that I had to learn to do. I'm a little shy," Chávez confesses.
Still, like the rest of the characters, Flora comes to Alfea with lessons to learn. For Flora, that's a bit of a reckless streak. "Maybe she needs to think things through a little bit more, which I think she does by the end of the season," she teases.
Viewers will learn more about fan favorite Terra (Eliot Salt) through her reunion with her cousin. Although they grew up together, this reunion will be about them both learning who the other is as a young adult. Flora has changed after traveling with her parents, and the same can be said about Terra, who went through a lot with Bloom and their friends at Alfea last season. The cousins' bond will be tested. "She's very opposite from her cousin Terra, and you'll see some sparks fly between them," Chávez says.
"Her fearless self-confidence shines a light on all our girls, especially her cousin, forcing Terra to confront some personal truths she's been hiding her whole life. Truths she may not have shared without Flora by her side," showrunner Brian Young recently told EW.
netflix
For Chávez, using CGI to bring fairy magic to life was a new experience. "It's so strategic, and takes a lot of time and patience. It was also wonderful, I got to learn a lot," she explains. Bringing their powers to life includes technical components like lights to signify powers and drawings of what the computer generated magic is supposed to look like. With that support and a lot of imagination, the magic of Fate: The Winx Saga is made possible, but that doesn't stop the actors from feeling silly at times. "The dialogue sounded so funny," Chávez says about one scene, "We have to pretend something's happening and out of context, it would sound weird."
Chávez was very aware of how much people wanted to see Flora on the show. As someone who grew up watching the original The Winx Club series with her sister, she was excited, but there was also a lot of criticism after the original Winx Club character wasn't part of season 1. "I knew how excited people were to watch Flora come and when they announced it, everybody was so positive and uplifting about it," Chávez shares.
With Flora, Fate: The Winx Club is adding Latinx representation, the importance of which is not lost on Chávez. "When I was scrolling through Twitter, there was one person that tweeted like 'oh Flora is actually being played by a Latina,' and that's really cool," Chávez says looking back on the casting announcement. Playing an empowering young Latina is what drew her to the role. "Being able to see yourself in a positive light on screen in TV and film as a little kid is very important. It really helps shape who you are," Chávez says. "It's so important to have diversity, and it's something I'm very passionate about."
Fate: The Winx Saga season 2 premieres September 16 on Netflix.
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