Ben
is listening to recorded siren song. This is a bad bad bad idea.
A
very bad idea.
And while he listens to it Ryn also dreams of Ben. This feels more and more like supernatural shenanigans and not a good sign. Ryn is especially confused because mermaids don’t dream and Maddie has to explain the concept to her - and add that it means she’s thinking about Ben and wants him. Which is kind of weird coming from Maddie - like she’s trying to resurrect her relationship with Ben but also trying to set up Ben and Rynn
But
there’s a new merfolk drama - it seems while they all consider each other to be
family et al, their views on family are much like mine: fine in concept but
that absolutely doesn’t mean you need to spend more than 2 hours in their
company. The merfolk are snarling at each other constantly, they need to be
separated. Also in the sea, the merfolk are always hunting and fighting and
doing something - inactivity is not something they’re used to. So time to get
them all
Levi
is coming with Ben and learning how to be a human man (which Maddie throws in
more mixed signals by saying that Ben is the best rolemodel and kissing him).
Levi promptly kisses a confused and shocked Ben - because like Rynn he still
doesn’t understand how human interactions work. Ben does emphasise consent.
He
wants to learn - so it’s down to Ben to teach him television, music, beer,
sports, family and friends and not fighting. The last is especially important
because though merfolk are a martriarchal society, the men are soldiers and
protectors so Levi expects to fight and Ben has a nice speech about not fighting
There’s
also the Xander issue and Ben tries to talk to him about how Levi is basically
a soldier and can’t really be held responsible for Sean’s death.
Unsurprisingly, Xander isn’t hearing this - because Xander has his own issues
and plot for revenge
Xander
has found the injured Katrina and is keeping her on his boat, trying to trade
her freedom for Levi’s location (which is awkward because Katrina doesn’t
actually know). It’s also dangerous because Katrina is a dangerous and crafty
mermaid and quite willing to rip his face off - so he takes her out to sea.
Unable to enter the water because of the death noise and can’t kill him because
she can’t pilot a boat. So they strike a deal - he helps her get rid of the
death noise and she will then help him get Levi
Which
means both sides are kind of promising things they can’t keep.
Rynn
and Maddie are living together with Donna’s daughter as Maddie moving out to
get her own space to allow this. This does rather disturb Sarah who thinks her
daughter is leaving because of her -but Maddie assures her it’s not and even
has lunch with her as a peace offering. It’s a nice bonding moment but…
awkward. Sarah clearly sees this as beautiful and meaningful and nostalgic and
has even engraved one of Maddie’s necklaces with “love mom” on it which is
nice. While Maddie is distracted, clearly viewed this as a sop to her mother,
doesn’t have the same shiny memories or nostalgia and generally isn’t taking
this as nearly as seriously. Awkward.
Maddie,
Rynn and donna’s daughter all catch up with Ben and Levi in a bar (where Levi
went contrary to Ben’s wishes because Ben is trying to teach him how to be his
own person rather than just obeying commands). Levi’s doing well with beer pong
and teaching Ben how mermaid mating works (which is fairly violent and involves
men displaying gleaming neck lights to attract women) since Ben is clearly
interested in Ryn. There is a bar fight and Levi manages to avoid fighting,
listening to Ben. Ironically Ben is the one who knocks the guy out and then
they dance (with Ryn confessing to Ben that she likes singing to him and this
makes them think there’s a deeper connection to their longing than just siren
song while I think that this actually means siren song is just more powerful
than they realise).
Maddie
who wants to check up with her mother - only to find out Sarah has been visited
by Glen, her dealer, and is high when Maddie gets home. Maddie leaves tearful
and angry, going to Ben and Ryn and the three bond and kiss. Is this the much
vaunted bisexual representation that has long been teased on this show? Hmmm… maybe?
I mean we just established that Ryn actually dreamed for the first time ever
after Ben listened to a RECORDING of her song and she’s started daydreaming of
him after that. We’ve also seen Maddie, despite the headphones, by definitely
affected by Ryn’s siren song. The timing makes this whole thing rather less
compelling as authentic - mind controlled potentially dubious consent driven by
a mercreature that doesn’t even understand relationships. I can see this super
complicated - but not as great un-asterixed representation. Ultimately,
mind-controlling woo-woo casts a shadow here
The
last drama is Helen - her squirrelly relative does come to visit her and
perhaps my assumption of shadiness is unwarranted. Helen talks about how out of
place she’s always felt and that’s apparently common ground for both the
mermaid hybrids with addiction issues common in the family. As is their funky
nasty icky skin. She presents him with a home cure which works which makes him
super trust her because no-one has been able to cure his icky skin before
Which
is when Helen introduces him to a mermaid to feel the connection -which he does
on a mystical level.
