Ryn’s quest for help with her injuries and unexplained pains leads to an unexpected revelation. Elaine’s treatment seems to be having some surprising side effects. Ben makes a desperate choice. Helen turns to Eliza for help in making contact with Sarge in the spirit world again.

To say this episode of Siren is packed would be something of an understatement. In fact, the only thing more surprising than the amount it gets in here is the directions it has some characters take.

Ryn is still recovering, and has to enlist the help of her fellow mermaids to train her back to fighting fitness and be ready for Tia, as well as making medicine to heal her. But when the strange abdominal pains persist long after her body appears to be healed, Maddie decides it’s time to enlist the help of the doctor who tried to help with Ryn’s pregnancy, and that of course leads to Ryn discovering the existence of the other baby.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing as the baby is proving mighty difficult for the poor hybrid girl having it to bring to term, and Ryn’s help might be just what’s needed, but let’s not forget that Brian the fanatic is also there and that’s not a reunion that’s going to necessarily end well for anyone.

Helen is still pining for Sarge and also concerned that he seems to have been warning her of an impending war last time she saw him. She asks Eliza to help her in reaching the spirit world again to see if she can see him without having to risk drowning herself in the sea, but what she finds when she gets there is unexpected and confusing, as well as not a little disturbing.

Speaking of disturbing, as Elaine continues to show physical improvement the need for more cells becomes a pressing matter for Ben, especially after an incident which reveals that the treatment may have had more far-reaching impacts than anyone had anticipated. Faced with no possibility of help from the military, Ben makes a dark choice indeed. Contrasted with Xander’s newfound sense of responsibility and purpose, Ben is reckless, and it’s difficult to escape the feeling that his feeling unmoored from his relationship with Maddie has a lot to do with this.

Verdict: Packed and, more importantly dense with stuff of real interest. This ain’t the Mermaid show we started with. 9/10

Greg D. Smith