Siren Review: Mixed Signals and Serenity (Season 2 Episodes 11 and 12)
Elaine puts together a dinner to celebrate her move back home from the hospital, Helen dives into her past and finds some shocking discoveries, and Xander and Calvin try to get Levi to go back into the water after he randomly comes to shore. Meanwhile, Ben, Maddie, and Ryn explore the healing waters underneath the ocean floor on Siren Season 2 Episode 11, “Mixed Signals,” and Episode 12, “Serenity.”
After what seems a lifetime of wanting to know more about the siren song and how it works we’re finally getting to see what it does and how it can potentially be stopped or used to help humans thanks to the governments’ equipment. I don’t trust the government to not overtake when they feel the right time is, but for the moment it’s nice putting their resources to good use.
Another thing that I love about Season 2, in general, is how we’re getting to explore the mermaid’s origins more and more. Seeing the breeding ground underneath the ocean floor is magnificent and could potentially lead to more exploration with other mermaids as well.
ELINE POWELL
It’s a good thing that the cameras on the machine are turned off when they are because the government doesn’t need the information on how to find more mermaids. If they had the knowledge of where they could find more test subjects they’d hold Ryn hostage in a heartbeat and make it to where Maddie and Ben can’t contact her.
The only thing keeping the government subdued and willing to help is partly Nicole, but mainly the fact that they don’t have any way to get their hands on another mermaid. If that advantage is taken away then Ben and Maddie have a whole other fight on their hands.
It’s wonderful that visiting the healing oceans makes a remarkable difference in Maddie and Ben’s brain scans. If they can figure out a way to heal the siren song, or subdue the effects, they could potentially be on to life-saving discoveries. But, I think the government is going to try to crack down before it comes to that.
FOLA EVANS
Ben’s mother, Elaine, thinks she’s doing a nice thing inviting everyone over for a celebratory dinner, but instead ends up with a wave of shock as Maddie initiates a group kiss between her, Ryn, and Ben at the dinner table. It’ll be interesting to see how she acts towards them from here on out.
It’s apparent that Beth is a threat and no longer someone that Rick or Helen can trust because she has her own set agenda, but Rick messes up by telling her about real mermaids being in town. Now, she’s going to be watching Helen like white on rice; especially if she thinks Helen is going to be a threat towards their secret now that she has an idea of what happened to her mom and dad.
No matter what Beth does, Helen now knows that she’s shady and will be on the edge of her seat trying to figure everything out. I think at this point Beth believes she has the upper hand on Helen, but what she doesn’t know is Helen is very good at playing the field.
TOSCA BAGGOO, NATALEE LINEZ
Nicole is overstepping boundaries by installing cameras in their houses, but it also means that anything they talk about will now be military knowledge. The upper hand that Ben and Maddie think they have is gone because now anything that’s communicated is going to go directly to Nicole. My only hope is that she is a friend and keeps her mouth shut to the higher-ups.
I think it’s cute that Levi wants to come ashore and live as a human-like Ryn, but Calvin and Xander aren’t going to allow it if they have any say in the matter. Both of them have enough to deal with on their own plates, which is why they should just leave it alone and let him do as he pleases.
I hope that Helen has some good ideas on how to protect Levi while he’s on land because Beth has that look in her eye like she’d do anything to get her hands on a real mermaid. At this point, I consider her a large threat.
What did you think of this episode of Siren? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Siren airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Freeform.
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Cade Taylor
Cade Taylor is a television and film critic living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV. His love for television developed at a young age, with a concentration on queer stories, sitcoms, teen dramas, and science fiction thrillers. In addition, he works full-time as a news producer, telling the stories of Missourians and helming "Produced in the Bi-State," a segment spotlighting actors, musicians, and entertainers from the St. Louis area. He can be reached by email at cade@telltaletv.com.