Chapter 3: Ginger in the BreadHOUSE / Ashlynn's Fashion Frolic

Welcome to Chapter 3, the first and only chapter that actually gives us several multi-episode storylines, ties it into dolls released at the time, and it quite entertaining and good to boot!

In a few episodes. But now, we have another character to introduce, the second in our Dark Forest Girl Trio; Ginger Breadhouse. I have a feeling they could have gotten more creative with that name, but she is quite adorable.

Ginger is a girl (baked from a cookie?), the daughter of the Candy Witch who aims to eat Hansel and Gretel, who we will also meet this webisode. She likes to bake and cook for people, but many people distrust her because of her heritage.

In the book Kiss and Spell, Ginger's cooking show, Spell's Kitchen, is trying to survive in the ratings - if they don't go up, she loses her spot in the broadcasting room.

She also gets a bit of attention in Faybelle's book - their mothers are allies and, as children, they were quite close.

Also; Dark Forest reminds me of Redwall, although there it's a euphemism for the (good) afterlife.

Ginger Breadhouse gets a little help from Raven Queen when she tries to prove to everyone that she just wants to bake spellbinding treats, not follow her story.

First; the way they emphasize Breadhouse sounds good but visually it's just weird.

The episode starts out with Ginger leaving baked goods at the doors of the princesses' dorm rooms.

Color coordinating was not her strong suit.

The next morning, when Raven goes to try one, she's stopped by Helga Crumb, who warns her that Ginger Breadhouse made the food, and that she shouldn't eat any, as her mother tried to lead her and her cousin Gus' parents to their doom.



They're insanely obnoxious - they shout this from fucking buildings apart at each other in a clumsy and irritating way to drop the story detail -

Nice buildings, though.

and luckily this might be one of two episodes they are actually in. The designs are cool though, props for putting a boy in pink.

Raven scoffs at them and frankly, yeah, because the collection of girls assembled besides Helga - Briar, Ashlynn, Cupid, and Blondie - three of them don't believe in following their destiny to the letter. Briar is a daredevil, but the show slowly forgets this over the years before returning it in full, final force in Epic Winter.

Replace the first three with Apple, Duchess, and Holly and it might be more sensible.

After eating one, Helga sends the other girls into a panic, as Ginger steps out to thank Raven, and the two are left alone. Raven can't believe the others are so narrow-minded, but she has an idea when she sees the magazine Ginger is holding, and invites Jack Horner the "spellebrity" chef to the school to try some.

You gotta do your cooking by the book.

Gus and Helga start screaming again, but Horner doesn't care, he tries a pie and loves it, asking Ginger to make more, and the students enjoy Ginger's treats now that she has not killed a celebrity.

Fun fact - Briar is canonically the tallest girl at school. Even without her heels.

The webisodes and dolls never reflect this. 

No one was ever on the same page in this franchise.

Pictured: A cutie. 

Raven has kind of the same problem Apple did in Beautiful Truth; She's the speaking catalyst to the student body. At least Ginger's talent was put on display.

Bonus pretty wintery princess. She won't be the Snow Queen's Daughter, oddly enough.


Ashlynn's Fashion Frolic

(The thumbnail is Thronecoming for some reason)

Another Ashlynn episode! My girl, we are going to see a LOT more of her very soon.

The students are putting on a secret fashion show in the Castleteria. Why is it secret? Why is Ashlynn, who is not the Token Fashion Designer Princess (That's Lizzie and, to a lesser extent, Farrah Goodfairy) doing this? Who knows!

Who is she.

People are excited, but they have to move quickly - when the clock strikes...noon...Ashlynn's dresses will turn into sacks. It's a good thing it ruins her clothes instead of like her homework or her hair or anything else she puts effort into otherwise that would be mad depressing.

The stage is soon ready, with some remarkable production value. But then some one shot characters show up to ruin the party - Ashlynn's future stepsisters;

The designs aren't that bad, especially how they're supposed to be gaudy and inelegant, but the characterization is very lazy. The tall one has a dopey voice like something out of a 50's cartoon. The short one sounds like she's also voiced by whoever voices Cupid, and gives me the impression of being a white-passing black girl, which isn't a bad thing, I just wish there was more to both of them. They don't even get names, though they are color-coded to match the steplibrarians.

And yes, they are one shots. I have a feeling everyone forgot that Cinderella had to deal with stepsiblings until it came to work on Chapter 3, and that would at least be a year before it went to air.

They take all of Ashlynn's dresses, declaring that they're going to model them.

No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apple says that they can't let this happen, but it's Ashlynn's destiny to wait on them. Which, surprise, is never bought up again. Destiny didn't matter when you came out with Hunter and it doesn't matter now! Throw hands, Ash.

While the dresses are beautiful, the attitudes of the girls involved are anything but, claiming credit for Ashlynn's work. Briar encourages Ash to come with her and stop them, when Apple comes in and reminds them of Ashlynn's curse...

Sure enough, the dresses turn into sacks, the stepsisters fall off the stage into garbage, and Grimm comes in to give them punishment.

The problem here is that there's a lot of things introduced that we never see again. The antagonists are very one-dimensional, but there could have been real opportunity to make them see that hey, your parent dies too and your destiny probably pales in comparison to being a princess like me who will also die early. Man, Cinderella is a bummer in this universe.

Don't pull a season one on me.