#// this has been in my drafts for months akjsdhflajk

[wishfulife-moved]

lemme talk about season 0 and the FOP we have come to know. More specifically, the differences between how the OddFamily interacts then and now; a basic breakdown of how it’s come from that to this.

Alright, so if peeps don’t know what season 0 is, it’s pretty much the Oh Yeah! Cartoon versions of the original F.airly OddParents. There were like less than ten episodes before N.ickelodeon realized they had a hit and thus, we got our full length FOP we grew up with. And if you watch an episode from season 0 and any episode from the show now (...before season 8/late season 7 completely butchered the show into an unrecognizable, disgusting mess uwu), you’ll definitely notice how differently Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy interact with each other. 

The three are more like school friends you hung out with after class in the original cartoons, and in the very early season of FOP. This was back when the main plot of the show was a BIT cheerier and less depressing when you realize the implications (not to mention the drastic changes made to the series after season 2/after the Oh Yeah! cartoons). The Fairies really WERE just there to grant some wishes to entertain a child from their “misery”. 

Fairies don’t necessarily understand the concept of depression in children. They’re just there to make wishes, and nothing else. This was simply a job, and to be honest, it’s technically ALWAYS only a job. Fairies aren’t necessarily meant to love their God Children like their own, even though they’re also there to fill the void for some Fairies who WANT children but can’t because of Da Rules. For Cosmo and Wanda, Timmy was just another job until he either blew the secret or was deemed ‘happy enough’. 

Season 0 is Timmy still getting USED to the idea of Fairies being real, and the fact that they’ll go away forever if anyway finds out about them being his Fairies. It’s kinda weird to have strangers just LIVING in your room as fish right next to your bed, and it’s not surprising that he’d say ‘ I’m calling the cops ‘ the minute they just burst out of his magic eight ball. To be honest, he’s just so annoyed at the fact someone’s trying to meddle into his life like this.

He’s pretty bitter at his parents for just abandoning him with Vicky, and not trusting him to stay home alone WITHOUT her ruining his life. And while he’s just repressed the fact they lied to him about leaving him alone when he was eight, the feelings of resentment are still there but on a more sub-conscious level until he’s reminded in Abracatastrophe. So he tends to get annoyed with them (and it’s ALMOST enough to make me feel bad for them until I remember his parents are literal scum so-) when things don’t go his way, or they TRY to meddle back into his life by inviting him along their daycation someplace that’s clearly not where you bring a nine-year-old who’s gonna be bored as all hell there. 

However, the wish granting at first was good for both revenge on Vicky as a means to release pent up rage, and also a way to distract himself from loneliness (as season 0 didn’t really introduce him having ANY friends aside from KIND OF knowing Tootie) by wishing for things his parents couldn’t buy him (as at the time, they were more of a struggling-to-maintain-stability middle class). And it was nice to have someone to PLAY with, so even though he wasn’t the biggest fan of them just being around, being OVERTLY cheery, it was an okay set up.

Actually, it’s funny to think that Timmy WAS at a point almost as bitter as Remy. He was more passive aggressive, and was definitely not a fan of Cosmo and Wanda’s over eagerness for literally everything, and their whole lovey dovey stuff. It reminded him a lot of his parents, and well, he wasn’t really up for that. He still thought they were decent people, but he was struggling between figuring out if it was just HIS fault (as he hadn’t really come to accept he was to be a disappointment) or their fault for always being so busy. It’s a lot of mixed feelings for them from him until his more grounded conclusion at the age of ten (more season 2 and beyond) that he’s just a burden and it’ll be easier to accept and assume he deserves this misery, rather than wallow in it and be bitter about it all. 

Season 0 Cosmo and Wanda were too much like Timmy’s parents, so he was more open to being saltier to them whenever they did something he didn’t like, made a joke about him, and were overtly romantic with each other. The similarities between his parents was too much, and while he did play with them, he was also wondering just HOW long he could keep this up before willingly blowing his secret.

Cue in season 1 and things are getting more normal. Now his parents are getting worse, and his Fairies are calming down a lot more with the romance, as well as their overly happy disposition. He might consider them friends, but is more inclined to acquaintances. However, he’s definitely gotten used to them being around, and no longer WANTS the secret to be discovered, hence why he cries in the first episode when he’s about to lose them after wishing he was a grown up. There isn’t a whole lot else in season 1 to REALLY go off of when it comes to their bond, but it’s a nice tid bit knowing Timmy WANTS them around (mainly to stave off loneliness and protection- sort of- from Vicky and other bullies). 

Season 2 starts with them starting to open up, more off screen than anything else. Cosmo and Wanda aren’t REALLY aware of the fact Timmy is a DFAB trans boy since, to be honest, Fairies don’t know human biology ALL that well aside from basics. So after The Boy Who would be Queen, when Timmy was poking fun at being a girl (and kinda wished to be one), it’s kind of an awkward conversation afterwards as Timmy pointed out he’d really RATHER they never do something like that again. Cosmo figured it out pretty quickly as Timmy “literally looked the same aside from a pony tail and skirt” and Timmy just told them he only WISHED they would swap genders was BECAUSE he wanted them to know how uncomfortable he felt. 

There’s a bunch of apologizing thrown around, but it’s their first BIG time they really sat down and talked about why Timmy was so cold after Wanda poofed him into a girl, rather than just making a rude comment as he left for the mall. 

It’s also nice that earlier on in the season, the Fairies are VERY nervous when he makes ‘super’ wishes. Obviously you can just brush it off as them not wanting to get hurt, but Fairies ARE kind of immortal, and while yeah they can feel pain, it’s not like these things are gonna kill them. They might kill Timmy though, and now that’s become something they DON’T want happening. Again, could just be because they can’t let a God Kid die on the job as that PROBABLY would reflect pretty badly on the resume. Still, during Super Bike, it’s nice to see how defensive they get around Timmy when Super Bike starts manipulating him from being with his friends or family.

Wanda’s the one to get snippy about it. Whether she knows what a toxic relationship can look like or not is up to debate, though considering how old she is, she can’t be oblivious to that either. Cosmo might’ve been more defensive if not for his own fears of Super Toilet being mentioned, but really, Wanda has gotten more motherly rather than just a God Mother with both sides of being a standard mother (for lack of a better phrase). She’ll do what she can to keep her child safe, make suggestions on some ideas he might have and look for safer alternatives, but can also be condescending to a degree and maybe say or do something that’ll make her child angry. However, like a good mother, she’ll realize her mistakes if it WAS her fault, and the mother and child CAN come to an agreement and stay on good terms. Obviously this isn’t the case for EVERY mom, but just go with it for this case.

Everyone can pretty much tell Cosmo is fun dad. Him and Timmy are the quickest to REALLY start getting close, and he’s all for Timmy’s weirder wishes. He’s also not ready to let ANYONE try and come between his wife and his God Child, as seen in Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary where it’s clear he’s ready to fight Juandissimo, but is consistently thwarted by him throughout the episode since Cosmo is, well, Cosmo.

However, he still manages to defend his family in his own little Cosmo-y ways as he DID try to think of an idea to get Timmy away from the giant ape in the Magical Duel, but needed ‘thinking food’ to try and process a plan to stop the ape. Aside from the fact that the ape just took the bananas instead, Cosmo REALLY did wanna think up a plan on his own, and took some extra steps to figure out a smart solution to help his God Child. He knows he’s not smart, and figures maybe he can give himself a boost to help out.

There’s also the third part of the Wishology trilogy where he just LOSES IT and is sick of the Destructonator messing with his family, and turns into a giant monster to fight it. Granted he messes up, but his heart is ALWAYS in the right place for his family. 

This isn’t to say that there were SOME hints of it in season 0 with the Odd Family getting close, but The Zappy’s speech he makes about why he loves his Fairies seems just a TEENSY bit forced, if only because you have to depend on off screen interactions for their closeness. A speech like that I expect to occur during the later seasons, though obviously I won’t hold season 0 against it since it IS a series of pilots, so no one knew at that time they’d be getting a full on show. 

But in general, the growth of love between the family from the early/pilot seasons to around season 6 (which is about the last season they’re a wholesome family and not flanderized beyond belief) is really cute, and I love this family so much.