Time for some more
tours of the forest with Maddy and Ben being kind of close to each other and
growing more so as they show the merfolk the forest - and it’s dangers.
Including poison ivy and the idea that some plants are dangerous (Ryn is
familiar with the concept of plants as medicine)
And another problem
is the merfolk drive to hunt and when a deer arrives they all charge after it
and run out into the road, nearly getting run down. Katrina challenges as usual
They try to talk to
Ryn about not hunting on land and to make things more difficult Marissa,
Sheriff Dale’s replacement, arrives to question Ben about his friends trashing
the local shop. Ben tries to explain it away as partiers but it’s clear she’s
suspicious and it’s also becoming more awkward to stay in the cabin. To finally
push them out, Ryn is having skin issues again - she needs water. Only the oil
company is going all out with their sonic thingy, now no water is actually
safe. Worse, Ryn can’t show weakness before Katrina or she will attack her for
leadership - and she’s quick to tell Ben to back off when he wants to
interfere. That is not the merfolk’s way - she needs to do this alone.
Maddie goes looking
for lotion to help Ryn and discovers they have a giant tank lurking in the back
of a cupboard which is just what they need and is super convenient.
They move into the
little shed but it’s only temporary - because Helen has her money! Yes Elaine
was blocking it mainly out of spite because she really hates her but Ben goes
to her and makes up a lie about Helen being really sick and needs the money…
which obviously hits Elaine, who is disabled and we know has already struggled
seeking for treatment, pretty hard. But she does show Ben the DNA test she has
of Helen which shows a mysterious “12% other” which I assume means fishy
person. But it also shows Helen has another relative
They tell Helen this
who spares a millisecond to be angry about Elaine stealing her DNA but she’s
super excited about this relative she’s never met. She goes to see him and he
is super super super super shifty and she seems to be willing to overlook that
in her excitement. I will put him down as sinister plot hook for now.
Another ongoing plot
hook is Xander and the sinister Nicole. Xander continues to be all conflicted,
hanging around the cabin and generally moping while Nicole occupies his bed and
continues to poke the death of his dad - finally getting Xander to admit he was
murdered. But not by fish people.
Next drama is Dale
who is surrounded by people who want answers. Particularly Sarah who wants him
or Maddy to open up about all the many many many secrets around her. Maddy
shuts her down and Dale rather condescendingly wants her to just stop worrying
and look the other way. She refuses and keeps questioning. But she also has her
own sinister plot hook because everyone does now? She’s talking to someone
sinister on the phone and seems very attached to them
Uh-huh I feel we have
a rather excessive number of people with sinister secrets
Marissa also spots
Dale is keeping secrets and is suspicious and is doubly wary of Dale refusing
to go to psychological testing to get his job back. Dale is insistent that he needs
to protect the town which he clearly sees as at risk - and he needs to be there
for that. But it takes Maddy to point out
I think it shows
Dale, a man who has always been in control, knows the world, his place in it
and how he can secure it and improve it (really shown by how he kind of just
rolls with Sarah coming back): a man of conviction, confidence and deep calm is
now Officially Fecking Lost in the current situation and is somewhat flailing
between wanting to do SOMETHING but not having a clue what to do.
Back to the merfolk.
So after much shenanigans they begin to fill the tank with water to help Ryn
and the others but Katrina notices Ryn is weak and makes her move. There’s some
chasing and fighting and they both end up in the tank and transformed to
mermaids and fighting - in which Ben intervenes after hearing siren song in his
head. He doesn’t change things and gets hurt before Ryn defeats Katrina.
Everyone kind of assumes Katrina is dying now but she’s still wandering off
doing The Sinister Things. Because this show really really needs more sinister
shadowy people running round
Ryn is also angry
with Ben for interfering despite her saying not to. And I really really like
this - because the sheer fact Ryn is a fish out of water (yes I went there)
means we have a trope where she’s largely following Ben around, following his
lead, obeying him, learning from him etc. And we tend to portray those things,
sometimes wrongly, as submissive (I have a whole lot of thinky thoughts about
how damaging the idea that teaching is authoritative and being taught
submissive is to our culture but that’s another issue and too long for here).
Ben is the authority, Ryn needs to follow him even if she is portrayed as
physically stronger - her vulnerability and ignorance makes her dependent. But
here we have a clear subversion (helped further by Maddy also criticising Ben
for getting involved when Ryn told him not to) where Ryn is the authority and
she snaps back, angry at Ben for disobeying her when she knew better.
Maddy guesses,
righting, that the siren song is still messing with Ben and harming him and the
three of them decide to sit down together to see if there’s something they can
do to help him. A worrisome note here is how Ben seems to begrudge even thinking
of the song as dangerous (Ryn refers to it as poison and he objects). They
decide to record the song and look for comparisons so they can analyse it.
Except Ryn apparently cannot sing unless she’s singing at a human - she can’t
just sing - so it’s decided Maddie will sit there in noise cancelling
headphones while Ryn sings
Yeah this may not end
well. Firstly even just looking at Ryn while she sings seems to affect Maddy
and compel her (and add to what some watches still call bisexual representation
on this show which… no). Secondly, Ryn reveals she likes singing in slightly wistful
tones which suggests that MAYBE siren song MAY cut both ways…. Just a little?
Ben wants to hear it desperately… but with less desperation maybe Ryn wants to
sing to im. And thirdly- Ben now has a recording of siren song to try not to
listen to.
This will not end
well
