The Siren Song Hangover
With things left in the balance last season following the tragic death of Ryn’s sister, Siren returns for a second season that promises more mermaid action and a lot more drama than before. There’s an underlying message here about protecting our ocean too which isn’t particularly subtle but it is an important message nonetheless so its inclusion doesn’t detract from the story. Some of the big plot developments last season are addressed too and all of this culminates in a finale that leaves things wide open going forward. We begin with a shot of our watery protagonist as she swims through the ocean looking for something. When a sonic blast knocks her off her feet and has her clutching her ears in pain, we cut back a day to show Ben climbing up a steep rock face. Still feeling the effects from the Siren Song last season, Ben struggles to get back to normality, ending in an accident that leaves him badly injured. Ryn and Xander have an important talk this episode too, addressing the elephant in the room in the form of Ryn’s sister. After a heartfelt apology and explanation around what happened, Ryn forgives him for now. Maddie, on the other hand, does not. Now, you may remember from last season that Ryn caused a real rift in the relationship between Maddie and Ben that eventually ended badly between them. This episode we do see that drama resurface but the bulk of Maddie’s drama this week comes from her talk with Xander as he tries to rectify for his actions. We don’t get long to dwell over this though as strange behaviour from the sea lions and various other species in the sea sees them all coming up to land and clearly distressed. This almost certainly spells trouble for the town and ultimately leads Ben and Maddie to join forces with Ryn to investigate. It’s at this point where we catch up with ourselves as Ryn dives to the bottom of the ocean and the sonic blast knocks her off her feet, and eventually out of the water. We soon learn the source of this blast (and where the previously mentioned message about our ocean comes into play). I won’t divulge the source here incase it becomes an important plot point going forward but it also brings out a group of mermaids to further complicate maters. While all this is going on, new girl Nicole gets close to Xander in the bar but if there’s one thing you should know from a series like this – never trust a pretty face. It turns out these suspicions prove to be correct as Nicole winds up on the phone to someone, mentioning gleefully that she’s managed to “infiltrate” the town. In retrospect it may have been nice to drag this storyline out a little to make this more surprising but it’s a minor point nonetheless. We leave the episode with things hanging in the balance along with Ryn looking after the mermaids who have been moved to a safe house. One final revelation about their origin is a surprising little twist and one I certainly didn’t see coming either. What does this mean for the next episode? Old ties and new flames seem to be the theme here and along with the message around saving our ocean, Siren is a show that could go either way. I really enjoyed the first season and despite the expository laden dialogue and slightly underwhelming special effects, Siren done well to juggle its romance and drama throughout its episodes. This second season sets things up nicely going forward but whether it can match the first season is still up for debate.
