Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context YMMV / WizardsOfWaverlyPlace

Go To

1%%
2%%The purpose of this page is to list the things that are subjective, in other words, that you might not agree about. Do '''NOT''' delete entries here just because you feel differently. If you believe that an entry on this page is based on something is that is factually untrue, take it to the discussion pages and sort it out there. Admin warning.
3%%
4* AccidentalInnuendo: In "Helping Hand", after Max 'invents' his toothbrush/backscratcher, Jerry and Theresa have a conversation debating how unfair their 'backscratching' is in bed. Jerry accuses Theresa of pretending to be too tired to 'scratch his back' and she accuses him of not returning the favor, stating "It's just scratch, I'm done."
5* ActorShipping: Some people out there think that Music/SelenaGomez and Creator/DavidHenrie look cute together. In a round-about way of avoiding {{squick}}, many fans who can't stomach their [[BrotherSisterIncest character pairing]] resort to shipping them in real life instead while watching the show. In an interview, her description of the perfect guy was similar to David, physical and personality likewise: "My color of hair. I don't know, I've never been attracted to someone who doesn't have brown hair. Tall, cause I like to feel short. I don't like to feel taller than someone, and I do like to wear heels so someone has to be taller than me. Green eyes because I don't have green eyes and I think they are very pretty. Muscular, kind of. Or between. I don't like them to be too muscular, but I want them to take care of me. Uh, scruffy. I kind of like a little scruff. Goofy and a little serious because I love to have a good time but I also like someone who can have an intellectual conversation."
6* {{Adorkable}}:
7** Harper is cheerful, dorky, kind, a bit naive and known for her outrageous (and often ridiculous) fashion sense. Easily among the most endearing characters on the show, if not in the Disney Channel pantheon.
8** Zeke is nerdy, easygoing, and passionate about robots. He is also part of an "alien language" club and he and Justin often speak "alien" to each other.
9** Alex herself can be this, when her magic actually works, she also makes being rebellious look adorable at times.
10* AlternateAesopInterpretation: Alex is very prone to this.
11* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: This trope especially applies to the two elder Russo siblings
12** Alex enjoys fighting with Justin and teases him relentlessly, mainly because she wants to get his attention and seeks his acceptance. This is heavily implied in some episodes like "Dollhouse", where she laughs and jumps happily when Justin yells at her, saying "there's the fight I was looking for!", then hugs him, and ''Art Museum Piece'' when she wants him to say that her work ''is cool''. This interpretation of Alex was pretty much made canon with the episode "Delinquent Justin", where Alex reveals her plan to keep Justin from leaving and going to college. This showed that Alex has spent ''at least'' the last 4-5 years of her life wanting Justin's praise and attention, most of her schemes are simply trying to keep it.
13** Also, is Justin really the sweet nerd he appears to be, or one of the show's biggest {{manipulative bastard}}s? He puts on an act that he is always punished and Alex gets away with everything, but in every episode, Alex will get in trouble even unfairly, and he will usually be pardoned since he is the good kid.
14** Max seems like he adapts to what people think of him. He's admitted to ObfuscatingStupidity before and when he is briefly turned into a little girl, he plays up the cuteness card when it is beneficial to him.
15* AssPull:
16** The "Werewolves Vs Vampires" episode ends with [[spoiler: a never-previously-mentioned mutual weakness between vampires and werewolves, that if Vampires bite Werewolves, they lose their humanity and become full-wolf, while if a Werewolf scratches a vampire, they lose their powers and rapidly age. This pretty much comes out of nowhere to justify breaking up both Alex and Mason AND Justin and Juliet, and easily weakens any emotion that could have been in the ending when this happens.]]
17** [[spoiler: The finale ends with Justin winning the Family Wizard contest and, depending on your view, that seems like a reasonable ending. Except, it turns out he only won because Alex went back to help him after he got stuck on a branch (somehow, given how flimsy the branch looked, its amazing he couldn't have broken free from it himself), and so he hands her the title of Full Wizard. OK, less reasonable and definitely feels like CharacterShilling, but OK. But then, Prof. Crumbs announces out of nowhere that he's retiring, and hands his power over to Justin, allowing both Alex and Justin to ultimately keep their powers, while Max gets to inherit the family sandwich shop, meaning they all get a happy ending, but each without any build up to justify it.]]
18%%* BizarroEpisode: "Wizards vs Finkles", "Dad's Buggin' Out". A lot of the filler episodes qualify actually
19* BaseBreakingCharacter:
20** Alex is either an unlikable {{Jerkass}} or the [[JustHereForGodzilla only reason to watch the show]].
21** Justin is either an {{adorkable}} nerd or an [[InsufferableGenius insufferable]] know-it-all. The examples of detractors' ire are "Wizard of the Year", "Alex's Logo", "Justin's Back In" and "Who will be the Family Wizard?".
22** Max, as usual for [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling younger sibling characters]], he's either liked for providing comic relief or hated for causing a lot of MoodWhiplash. He's [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap been far better received in Season 4]], however, thanks to being greatly toned down.
23** [[TheConscience Conscience]] is either a particularly blatant career vehicle for Moises Arias, or an [[AnthropomorphicPersonification interesting and likable character]] in his own right, thanks to [[IronWoobie having to deal with Max 24/7]]. Plus, he didn't overstay his welcome, only sticking around for one arc.
24%%Do not put Character Alignment back in, as per "The Great Character Alignment Debate"%%
25%%Do not add Gorog as a Complete Monster, as per the cleanup thread%%
26* BrokenBase: Half of the fanbase think season three is great season because of the witty humor, story-arc episodes, and new characters. The other half think it is terrible due to Alex and Justin's relationship becoming CainAndAbel, the tone becoming darker and dramatic, the mean-spirited humor, and the introduction of Mason.
27* CreatorsPet: Mason is not liked very much by the fans, but he appears to be loved by the writers. As a result of this, Alex will always take him back no matter what he does.
28* CrossoverShip: Alex/[[Series/HannahMontana Miley Stewart]], Alex/[[Series/ICarly Sam Puckett]], Alex/[[Series/SonnyWithAChance Sonny Monroe]], Alex/[[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody Zack Martin]], Alex/[[Film/CampRock Mitchie Torres or Nate Grey]]. The Zack Martin one is actually plausible since the two characters have met in-canon.
29** Max/[[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody Zack Martin]]- They have a lot in common, meet on a boat trip and shared a smoothie together.
30* DesignatedHero: Everyone in the Russo family has their moments of doing morally questionable acts, and unpleasant and insufferable jerks to each other despite being the so-called heroes. Alex and Justin are some of the most guilty victims of this.
31* DesignatedVillain:
32** Despite being the main character, Alex is this for many episodes, while she does indulge in bad habits and some somewhat behavior; a lot of the time the girl cannot breathe without being treated like she is the Anti-Christ. Some of the most infamous examples include "Alex's Logo", where Alex is enchanted into speaking what is on her mind, and is punished for it, or "Re-Test", where Alex is entirely blamed for Aunt Megan's actions, instead of Aunt Megan. This gets especially bad during the finale when [[spoiler:Alex convinces Justin and Max to give up their powers in order to save Harper and Zeke. After losing their powers, Justin and Max become extremely abusive towards Alex, and are portrayed in the right for doing so. The fact that they were willing to let people die is never acknowledged.]] Harper calls everyone out on this in the reunion special, saying they should love Alex for who she is and not constantly expect her to change.
33** Stevie. Why would allowing all wizards to keep their powers be a bad thing? This competition is regularly stated to have broken up families, including the previous generation of the Russos. [[RiddleForTheAges This question is never answered.]] WordOfGod said ''[[CircularReasoning If you can't see what was wrong with Stevie's plan, maybe you have a little evil in you yourself]]''.
34* DieForOurShip: Mason gets this treatment from Jalex and Stalex fans. Harper got this treatment when she was crushing on Justin (hard) but now that Harper has moved on she’s apparently cool now (although Harper/Alex has always been a ship). Fortunately for Juliet, she is the EnsembleDarkhorse, so she has been saved from this.
35* EnsembleDarkhorse:
36** Stevie Nichols, another wizard who rivals Alex in how much of a troublemaker she can be. Having LesYay with Alex and being arguably the biggest case of a DesignatedVillain in Disney television helps.
37** Zeke Beakerman, for being just as {{Adorkable}} as Justin, but lacking his [[InsufferableGenius negative traits]]. Fans like to ship him with Harper to get her away from Justin, the [[BetaCouple ship was eventually made canon]].
38** [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Juliet Van Heusen]], another one of Justin's many LoveInterests, however, she stands out for having an arc and a [[StarCrossedLovers unique conflict surrounding her]]. Even Jalex fans are sympathetic towards her, sometimes [[OneTrueThreesome inserting her into the ship]].
39** Maxine is an interesting case. While not being particular popular when the episodes aired, she became quite popular in the years after, especially with rumors of Jake T. Austin not returning from the reboot.
40* FandomSpecificPlot:
41** Adoption fics are common due to the belief one of the kids is adopted.
42** AlternateUniverseFic: Usually where Justin and Alex aren't related.
43** HurtComfortFic: This is a big one. In order to make the Justin/Alex plot make sense, usually the two are set up in a hurt/comfort situation: either [[DeathFic someone dies]] (often the ''entire rest of the family''), or they can't get over a breakup with a lost loved one (Mason and Juliet usually). Almost all Harper fics involve her terrible home life or [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation self-loathing issues]], and her latching onto Justin, Alex, Max or Zeke for support.
44** Other common ones include DarkFic (the 'bad Justin' from "Delinquent Justin" has ''nothing'' on the Justin in dark fics...), Child Fic (either Harper or Alex get preggo, and Justin is usually the father.), and {{Continuation}}.
45* {{Fanon}}: A good half of the fandom believes that someone is adopted. The most accused of this fate is Justin, because he doesn't look Latino like Alex and Max. The three kids are Latino and Italian, Justin simply inherited his looks from his father. Not to mention Justin was ripped from existence in [[TheMovie the movie]]. This implies that if anyone were to be adopted, it would be Alex. The Family Wizard is immune to the effects of the spell, and Alex had, by the climax of the movie, become the family wizard, and thus Justin was next in line to be ripped from existence.
46** A very common fan theory is that Stevie is a lesbian. There's nothing ever to refute it in canon and the character is AmbiguouslyGay. Her being played by a lesbian actress also helps.
47* FanonDiscontinuity:
48** "Alex's Logo" is despised for its mean-spirited nature. It also confuses fans because David Henrie wrote the episode and made his character an unlikable prick.
49** The post-series movie, "Alex vs Alex", likewise is usually ignored by most fans. The series had a good enough finale, so the special felt unnecessary and, to many, just one more excuse to stroke Alex's ego [[spoiler: after she had long won the wizard competition]]. Justin not being there didn't help matters.
50* FanPreferredCouple: Justin/Alex is easily more popular than their canon pairings with Juliet and Mason respectively. This is mainly due to the major IncestYay between the two, the chemistry between the actors, and the fact that they weren't originally supposed to be related. The pairing dominates fanfiction about the show on both Platform/ArchiveOfOurOwn and Platform/FanfictionDotNet. It has also lead to some [[ActorShipping shipping their actors]].
51* HarsherInHindsight: Creator/IanAbercrombie died in early 2012, just days after the series finale was broadcast, which winds up making [[spoiler:his character passing his position on to Justin]] as this.
52* HilariousInHindsight:
53** The show was originally conceived with Justin and Alex being friends instead of siblings, the UnresolvedSexualTension between the actors '''and''' the characters they play [[EveryoneCanSeeIt is almost visible from space]], 'Jalex' is the preferred ship for most fans - and now, in RealLife, Music/SelenaGomez dated [[Music/JustinBieber a boy named 'Justin']].
54** The other ship that involves Alex is with a guy named Mason. Alex/Mason. [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Think about it for a while]].
55** In the Season 2 episode, "Future Harper," the Russo kids confront a fantasy author writing about their lives who turns out to be an adult Harper, come back in time because books about wizards are no longer that of big sellers in the future due to the existence of wizards being public knowledge. While she won't give details, she does go so far as to say that it's the fault of someone in the room; all three Russo kids immediately assume this means Max. (Yes, including Max himself.) After the two-part Season 3 finale/Season 4 premiere, Max is the only one of the three kids who ''doesn't'' expose wizards in Crumbs' secret test.
56*** Also in "Future Harper", there's a quick joke where Future!Harper asks Alex what's wrong, prompting "Did Mason break up with you?" Alex, having not yet met Mason, pauses and asks "Who's Mason?" Fast forward a few seasons to Alex's werewolf boyfriend.
57** One episode involves Jerry getting caught up in one of Alex's {{Zany Scheme}}s (as per usual) and having to deal with Cupid. David [=DeLuise=] would later go on to play Cupid in an episode of ''Series/TheHauntingHour''.
58** Stevie being AmbiguouslyGay becomes even more hilarious when her actress Hayley Kiyoko came out as a lesbian in 2017.
59** Alex lied to the reporters that Lady Gaga was going to jump over a shark tank while riding on a motorcycle in "Alex Tells the World". Guess what happens during the [[SeasonalRot season]]?
60** Leven Rambine, the actress who played Rosie Justin's angel [[spoiler:of darkness]] love interest had a previous role in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' as Riley. Similar to Rosie, Riley was a spy who'd been sent to get close to a John Connor [[InLoveWithTheMark only to end up developing feelings for him]]. The characters from both series even have names that begin with the same letter ('''J'''ustin/'''J'''ohn, '''R'''osie/'''R'''iley).
61** The episode "Family Game Night", due to a spell that got recalled, ended up with Alex and Harper sharing one body and brain. Two years later, cue a [[Series/KamenRiderDouble two in one Kamen Rider which shares a near same sharing aesthetic between its two users.]]
62** Alex is a Mexican-Italian adolescent girl who engages with magic daily while working at a food shop. [[Literature/MahouShoujoAlleysInferno Cue to 16 years later, where something similar would happen again...]]
63* HoYay:
64** There was quite a bit of it between Max and his Conscience--he and his Conscience were wrestling [[NotWhatItLooksLike (which looked very suggestive)]] and his Conscience has even sat on his lap. It probably doesn't help that his Conscience is played by Moises Arias, Jake T. Austin's (the actor who plays Max) best friend in real life.
65** Max and Mason have quite a bit, too, especially from Max's side. It seems like at first he's just trying to get on Alex's new boyfriend's good side, but then Mason breaks Alex's heart, the rest of the family hates him, and...what's this? Max is following him down the street? Mason tries to convince him that maybe they shouldn't keep hanging out, Max debates being hurt over it and then pretty much just ignores it? Yeah. There's something there. And it seems one-sided until the end of the movie, when Max is howling from the top of the castle and Mason returns. And Max nearly cries. And...it's just all kinda weird, really.
66** Then there's the episode where teenage Max and Justin wrestle each other... resulting in lines like this:
67--->'''Max:''' Give up yet?\
68'''Justin:''' Of course not, I'm on top of you.
69** Alex and the Tutor. Alex wanted to befriend that girl so much that she fought with Justin (who wanted to ''date'' the Tutor) for an entire episode, like two beings that fight for the same love partner. It didn't help the fact that, at the end, the Tutor reveals herself to be an elf, explaining to them that "everyone loves elves", which validates the insights regarding Alex's [[LesYay true intentions]].
70** Also there is quite much of this between Zeke and Justin, too, with more on Zeke's part. When Alex tells him that Justin doesn't want to be his partner anymore, he almost has a breakdown.
71--->'''Zeke:''' Goodbye, old science partner. If that water powered engine doesn't make you happy... you know where I'll be. In the library, reading comic books.
72** Alex and Stevie. And occasionally Harper, which turns "Third Wheel" into a LoveTriangle. This was later confirmed as intentional since the producers wanted Alex and Stevie to date, but it was shot down.
73** The final scene in ''Wizards Return''. the second movie, where Alex says, to Mason's dismay, that Harper is the one person who has always accepted her for herself and that even if her powers are taken away she'll still have Harper, is as close to an open declaration of homosexual love as we're ever likely to get on a Disney show.
74** The first thing Harper says after seeing Jenny turn back into a teenager?
75--->'''Harper:''' Dangit! [[StupidSexyFlanders She's cute...]]
76** Pretty much Alex interacting with female characters.
77* IncestYayShipping: Jalex (Justin and Alex who are brother and sister) is the most popular ship for ''Wizards of Waverly Place''.
78* InformedWrongness:
79** When Alex doesn't write lines for the puppet show she and Harper are doing to raise money to buy their own apartment, Harper decides to do it on her own, but she does a puppet making fun of Alex, which hurts Alex's feelings. When Alex does her own puppet show using Justin and Zeke for puppets and people enjoy it more than Harper's, Harper gets mad at Alex for stealing her customers, ignoring the fact she disregarded Alex's feelings by making fun of her in public, despite seeing how upset Alex was. Even after Alex apologizes, Harper ''never'' apologizes to Alex in return, even though her making fun of Alex was just as wrong.
80** In the episode "Movie," Alex meets Justin's friends and quickly makes friends with them too. The friends are actually great influences who are both cool enough for Alex's liking and academically inclined like Justin is. While they could've helped Alex shape up, Justin doesn't want her hanging around them, and she has to learn to agree not to at the end, despite the fact there was nothing wrong with her hanging out with them.
81* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Gorog is literally the SatanicArchetype of the show, but the most despised character is TJ who is the ShadowArchetype of Alex. Unlike her, he never feels remorse for those he hurts by using his magic for selfish reasons.
82* JerkassWoobie: Alex, in TheMovie and in the show. While she does cause trouble, can you really blame Alex due having to deal with the controlling attitudes of her parents, who always favor Justin over her, and always being the one to blame when things go wrong.
83* JustHereForGodzilla: Some fans watch the series just for Selena Gomez.
84* LauncherOfAThousandShips:
85** Alex. In addition to the huge Jalex community, Alex is shipped with Harper, Max, Justin, [[ScrewYourself Alex herself]]. Juliet, Dean, Stevie, Mason, Zeke, Theresa, Jerry Basically anyone who ever comes onto the show.
86** [[Series/ICarly Sam]] and [[Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody Zack]] (in another shows).
87* MemeticMutation: "What's that? A hat, a crazy funky junky hat!"
88** With rumors of Jake T. Austin not returning for the reboot, it became popular to suggest Max be played by Noah Centineo.
89* MindGameShip: Expect mind games to be played between Justin and Alex in almost ''any'' episode you watch.
90** A great example of this aspect of their relationship is in "Fairy Tale". She acts really nice to Justin to get a role in his play, and when that doesn't work, she flat out uses mind games to trick him into getting it.
91* MisaimedFandom: Regarding Justin's and Alex's relationship. Although the fandom might have made itself misaimed for noble purposes.
92* NeverLiveItDown: Some people still have a grudge on Justin for his actions in "Alex's Logo". Being out-of-character (despite being written by his actor) and [[KarmaHoudini getting no punishment for his actions]] adds to this.
93* NoYay: There can't be many fans left out there that do not see [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxEPOEIav1c the brother-sister conflict slash uncomfortable romantic flirtation]] between Justin and Alex.
94* PortmanteauCoupleName: [[FanPreferredCouple Jalex (Justin/Alex)]] -- Your Squick May Vary. Also, Marper (Max/Harper), Zarper (Zeke/Harper), Alason (Alex/Mason), Dalex (Alex/Dean), Stalex (Alex/Stevie), [[HoYay Jax (Justin/Max) and Halex (Alex/Harper)]]- two of the most popular same-sex pairings.
95* ReplacementScrappy: Maxine (Max in a little girl's body) to fans of Max's actor, the temporarily absent Jake T. Austin. This is a very unusual case, since they are technically the same character.
96* RetroactiveRecognition:
97** Gigi is [[Series/TheNineLivesOfChloeKing Chloe King]].
98** Rosie is [[Film/TheHungerGames Glimmer]]
99** Creator/LucyHale as Miranda, Justin's first girlfriend.
100** A lot of future Creator/DisneyChannel stars appeared on the program. As mentioned above, Creator/BellaThorne was in one episode. Also, Music/BridgitMendler was Juliet, Creator/AdamIrigoyen was Conscience's conscience, Creator/TiffanyThornton was one of Justin's friends in an episode, [[Film/LemonadeMouth Hayley Kiyoko]] played Stevie, Creator/ChelseaStaub was a love interest for Justin in one episode, Music/ChinaAnneMcClain was Tina the junior Guardian Angel in an episode, and so on.
101** Professor Evillini is a [[Film/TheHelp 60s Maid]] and the titular ''Film/{{Ma}}''.
102** Music/JackieEvancho appears in ''Back to Max''.
103** Creator/AmirTalai appears as the leader of the aliens in "Wizard For a Day". He would later be known for voicing [[WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel Alastor]]
104* RonTheDeathEater: Mason is portrayed sometimes as violently jealous and/or abusive in fanfiction (even though these traits aren't that far off from his actual personality) so Alex can end up with Justin or Stevie instead.
105* TheScrappy: Daphne, who seemingly serves no purpose outside of proving that Justin isn't hopeless with girls. It's hard to blame Justin for wanting nothing to do with her, since she's clingy, forces herself into his life against his will, and generally only seems to be interested in him [[PitySex because she believes he won't get a date otherwise]].
106* SeasonalRot:
107** Season 4 was considered the series worst season because of {{Flanderization}} on the characters (especially Alex, Justin, Max, and Theresa), Maxine replacing Max, Alex and Mason's romance (see StrangledByTheRedString) and many episodes that has nothing to do with the plot.
108** Season 3 also qualify this, including Mason's appearance and romance with Alex. Also, Alex and Justin's relationship became CainAndAbel instead of their friendly SiblingRivalry making Jalex shippers disappointed.
109** Some say the series went downhill early as season two. During the season, Alex's jerkass personality starts to develop.
110* SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1xhfGizayc This scene in the movie]], which had arguably Selena Gomez's most powerful acting in the series, where Justin [[spoiler:loses his memory]] and Alex breaks down crying about she looks up to him and begs her not to leave him. Then [[spoiler:Justin gets sucked into the vortex]] and Alex tries desperately to conjure a spell to fix everything. You can really hear the hopelessness in her voice...
111-->''"I don't know how to do this...please help me.."''
112* SpecialEffectFailure:
113** Especially in the first two seasons when it was obvious the "special effects" were little more than cut-and-paste [[GISSyndrome Photoshop effects]].
114** In the climax of "Future Harper", Alex runs to the Grand Canyon [[ItMakesSenseInContext to tell Harper that she gave her permission]]. Even at first glance, it's obvious that Music/SelenaGomez is simply standing in front of a giant green screen, since the scenery clips into her hair and there's clearly no depth whatsoever.
115** The entirety of "Graphic Novel". Remember that this is a Disney show? Yeah, instead of just [[MediumShiftGag animating the characters]], maybe even [[MythologyGag in the Glen Keane style]], which would've been [[ArtShift a really cool gimmick]], they just put a "pencil sketch" filter over the actors on a live-action set.
116** In "Alex in the Middle," Alex and Kelbo open a package of [[SeaAping sea chimps]] which fills the room with water and transforms ''them'' into sea chimps. Alex and Kelbo's sea chimp forms are just barely-moving images with the duo's faces plastered on the heads, like they're sticking their heads into cutout dolls.
117* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Series/PhilOfTheFuture'', in the sense that it's Disney's current show with supernatural/magical elements.
118** It also seems that ''Series/LabRats'' is starting to take this role for ''Wizards.'' Both share the same director as well as some of the crew, and both are also about a family keeping special powers a secret while trying to fit into normal lives and occasional adventures.
119** To ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' as well. Both series takes place in New York City, have a supernatural/fantasy theme, their big secret is their supernatural powers, and have some of the same writers.
120* StrangledByTheRedString: Mason and Alex. They were literally together for only an episode before Alex became 'in love' with him.
121* StrawmanHasAPoint:
122** Stevie's evil plan amounts to getting rid of the one-wizard-per-family rule. Considering how the show does demonstrate how much damage this rule does with Megan, Kelbo, and Jerry, it comes off as her wanting for a more unified wizarding world.
123** In "Wizard of the Year", Alex is granted the titular Wizard of the Year award for saving the world in "Wizards vs Angels" and puts her ahead of Justin in the wizard competition. This naturally pisses off Justin and while making what is supposed to be a tribute video to her, he ends up giving a very angry and vicious [[ReasonYouSuckSpeech speech]] about how she doesn't deserve the award. While Justin does come across as rather petty, jealous and entitled during the speech, his points are not inaccurate. Alex has frequently been shown to be irresponsible and careless with her use of magic, often to disastrous results. Justin, meanwhile, is the most consistently responsible and hardworking of the Russo siblings, has invented his own spell, taught a class of delinquent wizard youths as part of his wizard community service and frequently helps Alex out of problems ''she'' creates. Worse, it was actually Justin who saved the world from the Angels of Darkness in "Wizards vs Angels" meaning that Alex was getting credit for something Justin did.
124* SweetnessAversion: Alex and Mason's relationship. Apart from the fact that the whole thing is just a StrangledByTheRedString case, their supposedly "perfect couple" image comes off as downright cheesy.
125* TearJerker:
126** At the end of TheMovie, when Justin [[spoiler:loses his memory]], Alex [[spoiler:starts crying and tells him her true feelings]], [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments things that she wouldn't normally say]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1xhfGizayc The scene can be seen here.]]
127** During the whole "girlfriend's been kidnapped by a mummy" fiasco, and later when Juliet loses her powers during a fight with Mason and becomes an old lady. A few of the moments where Justin was on the verge of tears would have come across as cheesy, except that ''dammit David Henrie can act''.
128*** From the same episode, Mason becoming a real wolf right after proving to Alex that she's the one he wants.
129*** Even Max gets one, comedically howling to wolf!Mason from a distance before sullenly saying "I'll see you around, buddy."
130** In the GrandFinale, during the [[spoiler:montage where the viewer sees the three Russo siblings attempting to work to get the sub shop back in business. They slowly soften up to each other after having been at each other's throats for having thought that Alex got them disqualified from the wizard competition. Eventually, they all work well together, bring in enough business, and bring their parents back.]]
131* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Chase Riprock was a genuinely NiceGuy who Alex showed interest in and would've been a good [[LastGirlWins Last Guy Wins]] without breaking the "wizards can't date mortals" rule. Alex admitted she would be happy to get with him once she moved on from Mason, but he's never seen again, and Alex gets back together with Mason.
132%%** The Genie.
133%%** Stevie Nichols, again see DesignatedVillain.
134%%* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In many episodes of season three and four.
135%%** The season finale "Wizards Exposed" had an intense cliffhanger for the next season. [[spoiler:It turns out to be [[CliffhangerCopout fake]]]].
136%%* UnintentionallySympathetic: Stevie. See DesignatedVillain above.
137* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Jerry and Theresa with their attitude towards Alex and, to a lesser extent, Max. With Alex, they often run hot and cold either being unnecessarily controlling or giving her no guidance and only lashing out when she screws up. While admittedly her screw-ups would make any parent angry, they never seem to consider their hands-off approach with her is why she looks for shortcuts in everything when they didn't do the same to Justin and he turned out much better. With Max, they just brush off his lack of intelligence as a mild quirk, even when it gets to the age when they should start being concerned. In the episode where Laritate leaves, Jerry is actually angry that Max is starting to shape up with the superintendent in charge. A key example of how they are unhelpful towards Alex is in "Alex's Logo", when Alex received the Citizenship Award, but then said hurtful things towards everyone because Justin put a truth spell on her but forgot to take it off, which in turn caused the whole student body to hate and ignore her. Not only did Jerry and Theresa not stop her from saying all the hurtful things or punish Justin for once, but the advice Theresa gave Alex to help her in this situation isn’t just stupid, it’s also self-centered.
138* ValuesDissonance: In "Wizard School, Part 1" Justin explains he has a cousin who was made fun of because his name was Kim. In South Korea, Kim is actually a very common name for boys.
139* VillainDecay: The mummy isn't nearly as badass as he was at the end of the Chronicles of Moises arc, and his defeat is ridiculously easy.
140* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids:
141** This show is pushing the limits on what can be shown on Creator/DisneyChannel due to some content (werewolves, vampires, Alex's AntiVillain tendencies).
142** They've also killed off quite a few characters (such as Stevie) and react rather coldly to their deaths--they go on as if nothing ever happened and really don't seem to care.
143** The dark angels who wanted to invoke some sort of Apocalypse, before they got there halfway. The same episode had Max maliciously turning the girls from the sleepover into fruit the family was going to eat. The final scene is the family listening to the fruit tell jokes. The audience is left to assume they changed them back to girls and wiped their memories or something, but there was some pretty dark humor in that scene, when Jerry practically threatened to put them into a blender.
144** The cynical humor, especially in later seasons is definitely not "kid-friendly".
145** There's a very dark sense of humor always underneath the surface, [[StalkerWithACrush certainly]] [[StepfordSmiler where]] [[ButtMonkey Harper's]] [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood characterization]] is concerned, and the relations between Theresa and Jerry, or the parent Russos and their children are concerned. The dysfunction is often {{Flanderiz|ation}}ed and/or PlayedForLaughs.

Top