Siren Review: Aftermath (Season 1 Episode 10)

Donna’s life hangs in the balance, forcing Ben and Maddie to work with Decker again on Siren Season 1 Episode 10, “Aftermath.”

The season finale of Siren has its moments of thrill and rush of adrenaline, but for the most part, it’s somber, eye-opening, and a perfect setup for Season 2.

Donna’s death is one that’s going to rock Ryn’s life forever, but Decker’s is one that I’ll happily celebrate. The only reason that Decker kept looking for Donna was not that he wanted her back to do experiments, but because he fell in love. Whether it be with Donna or the actual siren song, I don’t know.

Decker proves that he doesn’t care about Donna’s health or wellbeing by asking her to sing to him when she’s on her deathbed. She can barely breathe on her own, yet he thinks she’s going to sing for him all because he’s addicted to it. Not today, loser.

I applaud Eline Powell’s acting and how amazing she has done portraying Ryn. She gives this character precisely what it needs and makes it her own.

I love how Ryn shuts him down and explains that Donna was only trying to escape when she sang her song to him. Decker thought that Donna had loved him, but he’s foolish to believe that someone he’s experimented on and tortured could love him. Stockholm Syndrome did not come into play today, sorry.

Even though there isn’t a huge cliffhanger when it comes to Ryn, I think that her becoming more human is exciting enough to look forward to Season 2.

Ryn continues to improve on her human mannerisms. An excellent example of her improvement being that as Maddie first walks in while Donna is on the couch, she immediately asks how her father’s doing. She knows that even though her family is hurt and dying in front of her, Maddie also had hurt family and she knew to ask and see if she is okay.

I’m also looking forward to seeing how and why Ryn’s siren song affects humans, like Ben. It’s apparent that it is dangerous because we see Decker kill himself when Donna dies and he knows he no longer has any chance of hearing it again.

How is Ben going to get better when nobody knows why it’s affecting him this way? How is Ryn staying away going to help any when all he does is imagine the song in his head and see Ryn’s face on other women? Even if it means getting involved with the military again, I want to figure out exactly what the siren song does and how to stop it.

One thing that I do hate is that Ryn is blaming herself for putting Ben in this situation. The first time that Ryn sings to him she’s curious and wanting to bond with one of the first humans she’s had interactions with. The next time he’s the one coming to her, asking for it to happen, so of course she doesn’t think that it’s dangerous.

It’s a bummer that there’s been a constant war between the mermaids and humans so this is the first time there’s been any experimenting between the two. I use “experimenting” as in the sirens have never stuck around long enough to see what effects their song have on humans because they did not need to care.

I won’t say that the Helen Hawkins reveal is disappointing, but I was definitely hoping for something more than her just being one eighth a mermaid. I do, however, like that there’s the twist of her being related to Ben and not saying anything the whole time. It also explains why Ben’s father gives Helen a monthly check, so she’ll keep quiet.

I hope that Calvin comes to his senses before he does something incredibly stupid. Alerting the news of mermaids just for money is foolish and senseless when Calvin has seen first-hand how powerful they are. It seems fitting that the next chapter in the story is for Ryn’s species to go public, but I hope that someone stops Calvin before it’s too late.

Let’s be honest, Ben hasn’t been a good boyfriend to Maddie in a good minute. It’s a good thing that Maddie is taking some time to herself so she can keep a clear head. Ben has been doing some risky things and not thinking correctly, which puts everyone in danger and right now Maddie needs a little stability.

Ben is on the brink of losing his mind and can’t accept it. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles it in Season 2.

Part of me wants there to be a time jump at the beginning of Season 2 with how Ryn leaves Ben in the end of “Aftermath.” I think it would be cool to come back and see Ryn with her own life on land, trying to make it work with Helen there to guide her.

Other Thoughts:

• I hope that we haven’t seen the last of the mermaids out at sea, even if Ryn has to fight again.
• Maddie’s mother coming back into the picture after everything has gone down isn’t a coincidence to me.
• If Season 2 is going to be focusing more on land and not the ocean, then I hope we see some more of the side characters. I want to see more of Janine and Jerry.

What did you think of this episode of Siren? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

Siren will return in 2019 on Freeform.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!