Why Nerissa is a Great Villain | W.I.T.C.H.

INTRO:

Season 2 of W.I.T.C.H. is a masterpiece. Actually, that’s probably a bit bold. But as the years have gone by, W.I.T.C.H. as a whole has really grown on me; aged like a fine wine. And that especially goes for the second season.

The first season is fine, but seeing how the writing evolves for really solid storytelling drives home why season 2 still stands the test of time, at least for me. It’s incredibly different from how this arc - Nerissa’s Revenge - goes down in the comics, but honestly, I don’t mind it. If anything, I kinda prefer this version of the story to the comics’.

So today, we’re gonna talk about why I love Nerissa as a villain, and how other big bads could learn a thing or two from her. Grab a snack, grab a drink, and get settled, cuz we’re gonna be here for a while.

WHY NERISSA IS A GREAT VILLAIN:

The Guardians of the Veil rotate seemingly every other generation. Before W.I.T.C.H., they were Cassidy, Halinor, Yan Lin, Kadma, and Nerissa. “They were C.H.Y.K.N.?” The Guardians are charged with protecting the Veil around Meridian, and by extension, the Infinite Dimensions, and each is charged with one of the five elements, the fifth guardian holding power over Aether or Quintessence, depending on the version you watch, and also holding the Heart of Kandrakar, becoming the leader of the Guardians and the one with the power to unite them.

Nerissa was the previous wielder of the Heart, but became corrupted by the Heart’s power over time. This led to the Oracle, the custodian of Kandrakar, transferring the Heart’s ownership to former Water Guardian Cassidy. This greatly upset Nerissa, however. She pleaded with Cassidy to return the heart, and when Cassidy refused, Nerissa saw no other way to get the power she wanted besides… *Nerissa kills Cassidy*

Following this, her fate differs between the show and the comic. In the show, Nerissa was imprisoned upon Mount Thanos on Earth by the Oracle, and he’d hoped she’d see the error of her ways with time… she did not. When the Veil was raised, the Council of Kandrakar were unable to keep a watchful eye over Nerissa, and a portal presumably opened on Mount Thanos, allowing Nerissa to escape her prison and seek refuge on Meridian.

And it’s here Nerissa begins to scheme. She’s had all this time on Meridian to plot her vengeance and conquest, posing as different people to gain influence with the knowledge that when Phobos fell, that would give her the chance to strike. Because she no longer drew power from the Aurameres - the source of Guardian magic - she instead used her own life force for magic, which… explains the whole wrinkled prune hag aesthetic. This magic allowed her to glamour herself as two people: the Mage, and Trill.

As Trill, she became one of the Meridian villagers serving in Phobos’ castle, giving her influence in the community the Guardians would try to help, and also giving her an in with the Rebellion, as well as with Elyon once she’d assumed the throne. Her position as the Mage, meanwhile, made her an important figure the Guardians would often turn to, and also allowed her to… give the Rebellion a leader.

This plot point I’m admittedly not much of a fan of, but Mage Nerissa struck up a romance with former Rebellion leader Julian, and the two of them had Caleb. Essentially, Nerissa bore Caleb so she could give the Rebellion a worthy leader for the next generation to tide them over until the new Guardians would help them topple Phobos - Caleb’s existence is another part of Nerissa’s scheme.

And that scheme, essentially, was to wait until the true heir to the throne - Elyon, the Light of Meridian, and the source of its mystic energy - could come under her influence as both the Mage and Trill. She knew Phobos’ days were numbered, and so she bided her time until she had the chance to use the chaos on Meridian to her advantage to take Elyon’s power for her own in a heated moment, after she’d convinced Elyon her birth parents loved Phobos and resented her.

Nerissa’s whole strategy is to manipulate. She gets close to people, learns what makes them tick, and then uses that to string them along into whatever she wants. That’s how she’s able to get close to Elyon in order to take the Heart. In summary, each world has a source of mystical energy - sometimes it’s an artifact, like the Heart of Kandrakar, and sometimes it’s a person, like Elyon: the Light of Meridian. Hearts can increase your magical power, but they cannot be taken by force. A Heart has to be given up willingly, and this rule prevents Nerissa from taking them through brute force, which would get old real quick.

Instead, it necessitates manipulation of whoever is in custody of the Heart’s power, making for far more interesting conflicts, like with Elyon being strung along in thinking her birth parents were cruel, or Kadma’s pride in thinking she could take the Heart of Meridian back from Nerissa without permission would work, leading to her being corrupted in turn and losing the Heart of Zamballa.

So Nerissa did all of this in order to get her hands on the Heart of Meridian - Elyon - in order to regain the power she’d lost once she’d lost her title as a Guardian, which made it infinitely harder for the new Guardians to defeat her given she was now on an even playing field with the five of them united. And also meant all she’d have to do to take them down was divide them.

She does this a few times with her glamouring along with the help of the shapeshifting, wandering Sandpit. She plays on the resentments and conflicts of all the girls to try and get them to give up being Guardians, and to get them to voluntarily hand over the Heart of Kandrakar. And later on, she creates the Knights of Destruction, who literally gain power from the negativity and insecurities of those around them: Ember the Pain, who feeds on pain and misery; Tridart the Despair, who feeds on despair, fear, and loneliness; Khor the Destroyer, who feeds on anger and fury; and Shagon the Hate, who feeds on hatred.

The reason the Knights work as villains is because they directly feed on the struggles the Guardians face, namely family squabbles or romantic problems that are all too common for young adults like them. Shagon specifically is actually Will’s boyfriend Matt, who was kidnapped and turned into Shagon through his own hatred of Nerissa, and he convinces Will he’s kidnapped and possibly torturing the real Matt, making things worse as he poses as Matt in her day-to-day life to keep an eye on her and her friends. All this to feed on their hatred, especially Will’s, not only to gain power, but also to undermine the Guardians at every step, and infiltrate their personal lives.

She even uses this approach to reunite the former Guardians. One by one, she uses their flaws to enthrall them, gaining power over them until they’re able to harness the power of two Mystic Hearts to reassume their younger, more powerful Guardian forms. Cassidy’s ghost is resurrected with Nerissa’s quintessence, using how much she misses being alive, and specifically her love for her mother, who’s still alive and even recognizes Nerissa when she appears, to control Cassidy and promise her a new life as Nerissa’s underling.

Halinor, meanwhile, has her fear of Kandrakar being destroyed due to her lack of faith in the people around her - the new Guardians as well as her fellow Council members - used against her to enthrall her. Kadma is enthralled due to her pride when she tries to take the Heart of Meridian from Nerissa by force, not only getting enthralled in the process, but also giving Nerissa - by consequence - the Heart of Zamballa.

Yan Lin’s a bit of a cop out. She’s able to resist corruption to the love and faith she has for Hay Lin and her friends, and as a result, Nerissa creates a double of Yan Lin called an Altermere. It’s sorta like an Astral Drop - the soulless clones created by the Heart of Kandrakar-  except Quintessence gives it sentience. Nerissa does this earlier in the season with an Astral Drop created by Will, stoking fear in Alt. Will (as I call her) that the original Will is going to hunt her down and absorb her back into oblivion, unless alt. Will kills and replaces her, essentially giving Nerissa control over the new Guardians through this Altermere. And when Alt. Will and OG Will talk it out and even call each other sisters… *Nerissa kills Alt. Will*

Nerissa does this again by creating an Altermere of Yan Lin, using this fear of oblivion to enthrall her, and reunite the Guardians. Hay Lin even believes this to her grandmother who willingly betrayed her, and uses that pain to divide the Guardians once again and try to destroy them outright. “T is for Trauma” is a powerful watch, seeing Hay Lin grapple with this pain and then stand tall and fight back, because it’s the right thing to do, and she has no other choice. “That’s how you survive the Trauma: not by knowing it’ll be alright, but by having no other choice.”

Nerissa kinda loses some of her presence after this episode, at least to me, given her goal becomes seizing as many Mystic Hearts as she can, and her enthralled Guardians are generally kinda lacking in personality from here. Still, it makes sense given Nerissa finally has the power she’s sought, and she’s still an imposing threat. The Guardians brainstorm on what they know to try and stop her, which leads to Will coming up with a desperate bid to stop Nerissa: requesting help from the only person who can take the Heart of Meridian back without permission - Phobos, who still technically has an inherent claim because of his birthright.

Of course, Phobos winds up betraying us and becomes our big bad for episodes 24 and 25, but the girls obviously saw it coming and tailored their plan accordingly. Knowing Phobos would take Nerissa’s power and refuse to give it back, the girls planned to have Phobos target Kandrakar - having him swear on Kandrakar’s power he wouldn’t go back to his evil old ways. If he steps foot on Kandrakar, he’ll lose all his power, and all our problems will be solved. And Phobos is so short-sighted and power-hungry, he doesn’t even know the oath holds water. But um… Cedric does.

Cedric eats Phobos. Damn I still can’t believe they got away with that. Yeah, the final episode has Cedric being our big bad - as if this season couldn’t pull anymore plot twists. But it makes sense, given Cedric is fed up with serving Phobos and wants the power for himself, and it makes for an excellent final clash with perhaps the most visually striking villain the show has. Even that little fakeout at the very end with Nerissa being trapped in a dream of her own conquest, eternally kept within her own seal, is the perfect end for her character.

CONCLUSION & OUTRO:

I wish more big bads were like Nerissa. Using this long-term scheming to achieve their goals, and posing a threat to the protagonists at every turn, even in their personal lives. Nerissa is easily one of my favorite villains from any media, and I hope I’ve done a decent job explaining why.

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I’m the Unicorn of War, and this has been a shit show.