WARNING: Major spoilers for Fate: The Winx Saga season 1.
In Fate: The Winx Saga season 1, Farah's dark fate links to Bloom's origin story. Years prior, the former heistress Rosalind (Lesley Sharp) ordered an attack on the city of Aster Dale, which resulted in the deaths of various Burned Ones and seemingly-innocent locals. Dowling on her colleague Saul Silva (Robert James-Collier) eventually revolted against their leader, which led to Rosalind being locked away until she's discovered by Bloom. As it turns out, the inhabitants of Aster Dale were actually blood witches who kidnapped young Bloom and Beatrix (Sadie Soverall) from their parents, and the two infants were spirited by none other than Rosalind. During Fate: The Winx Saga season 1, Farah is initially established as an all-knowing leader, only to become a pawn in the game.
The final 10 minutes of Fate: The Winx Saga season 1 heavily imply that Dowling won't return for season 2. After defeating the Burned Ones, she has a conversation with Rosalind and receives a history lesson about the baddies' origin story. They were once human soldiers 1000 years prior, and transformed into "Burned Ones" when magic was used against them. The conversation painfully reveals Dowling's naivete, as she begins to understand the bigger picture, specifically the fact that Rosalind essentially allowed the Burned Ones to cross through the barrier as a test for the changeling Bloom, a teenager with immense "Dragon Flame" powers. So, because Rosalind clearly knows much more than Dowling, she's able to strip away her istrative power by forming an alliance with Queen Luna. And so Dowling becomes irrelevant, evidenced by a shocking moment when Rosalind snaps her neck through the power of magic. Given that Dowling's remains immediately bloom into flowers, she seems to be dead and gone. But since Fate: The Winx Saga, like the cartoon it's based on, is a fantasy series, the "bloom" visual may be a big tease for season 2.
As it stands, Dowling does appear to be dead, and presumably will only be referenced by name in Fate: The Winx Saga season 2. However, she could potentially return in the Netflix show because of Bloom's all-powerful magic and "The Dragon Flame" that burns inside her. Now that Rosalind is the new heistress at Alfea College, her domineering ways will theoretically establish a sense of order during the early episodes of Fate: The Winx Saga season 2, however Bloom and her fellow fairies will most likely rebel by season's end. Of course, the exception is Beatrix, who will presumably align herself with Rosalind; the woman who helped developed her powers through training with the supposedly-dead Andreas of Eraklyon. By the end of Fate: The Winx Saga season 2, there's reason to believe that Bloom could spirit Dowling for a revolution against Rosalind and Beatrix. In fact, the season 1 finale, "A Fanatic Heart," even shows Bloom disproving Dowling's theory that transformation magic was lost in fairy society.
Moving forward, the "war on the horizon" that Rosalind cites in Fate: The Winx Saga season 1 finale may not actually transpire until season 3. The next group of episodes will probably tease a new threat, one that's far more powerful than the Burned Ones, but the narrative focus will most likely center on the Alfea College power dynamics. For example, the specialist Sky (Danny Griffin) discovers that his father, Andreas of Eraklyon, has actually been alive all along, and Stella (Hannah van der Westhuysen) must face some harsh truths about her mother, Queen Luna, who is now in cahoots with Rosalind. Once all of the alliances are sorted out in Fate: The Winx Saga season 2, then another big twist will set up a bigger war, and potentially set up Dowling's return. However, if the former heistress doesn't prove to be popular character amongst Netflix viewers, then Fate: The Winx Saga may just move along without her.