Ben, Xander and Calvin find themselves in deep trouble with the authorities when Sean’s body is fished out of the water looking a lot different from their version of his death. The pack begin to experience issues with the tank water, and Katrina has a suggestion of somewhere safe they can go.

Hands up if you just knew that the hand sticking out of that fishing net in last week’s closing shot was going to be Sean’s? Yeah, I thought so. So this obviously causes a little bit of excitement once the coroner has examined the body, murder at sea being apparently a federal crime, and suddenly Calvin, Ben and Xan find themselves in very big trouble indeed.

As if that weren’t enough, turns out that even constantly refreshed sea water in a tank isn’t enough to keep mermaids happy and healthy – they need ocean water, but the same problem on that front persists in the form of the oil company which everyone was set to start fighting back against before the Feds arrived and spoiled the plan. However, Katrina has a suggestion for somewhere the pack can go to hide out, accompanied by Helen.

Running in-between these two main plots is a side narrative involving Xander’s girlfriend, and what’s interesting here is the way in which she alters her course of attack on the fly, and the significant question mark which remains over her in terms of how good or bad her intentions may actually be. Sure, she seduced Xander just to get close to what was happening, but there’s hints starting to appear of genuine affection, as well as the possibility of her actually not being entirely bad. I sense some conflicted loyalties possibly bubbling up for this character later down the line.

Watching Xan, Ben and Cal trapped in a cell together is also instructive, as are their respective reactions when they are questioned. This has always been a tense, slightly forced alliance, and that’s coming through loud and clear here. When a surprise face from the past turns up, things get even more interesting as everyone tries to keep their stories straight.

Watching the pack with Helen also throws us some surprises for everyone – she certainly seems to be earning the respect of the pack and even the affection of one of them, and she also seems to be surprising herself, though not half as much as they all are when they reach their destination and start making sense of their surroundings.

What continues to impress is that given the fantastical premise there’s always a very real feeling to proceedings as far as possible. Especially that constant knife-edge of tension where every time things seem to be planned out another huge spanner descends into the works and everything has to start from scratch. Given what happens here, it will be fascinating to see where the show goes next.

Verdict: Pieces seem to be being moved here to set up for a third season already if I’m any judge. Certainly there’s plenty of questions still unanswered and never a dull moment in Bristol Cove! 8/10

Greg D. Smith