Freeform’s Siren
Season 1, Episode 7: “Dead in the Water”
Directed by Nick Copus
Written by Ian Sobel & Matt Morgan

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Showdown” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “Being Human” – click here
Ryn (Eline Powell) is being taken in by the police. And that’s definitely not good.
Meanwhile, Xander (Ian Verdun) and the crew are getting ready to ship out. Ben (Alex Roe) tries to warn him about going out there while the military’s lurking around. Calvin (Curtis Lum) isn’t thrilled about going after “guppy girl” and Chris (Chad Rook) is likewise feeling sketchy about messing with the military any more. Although Ben manages to at least convince them he can help. The whole thing’s pretty tense, seeing as how it’s not even Xander’s boat, but his old man’s. Nevertheless, away they go.
Sheriff Bishop (Gil Birmingham) sits down with Ryn,  asking her questions about the man she killed. She’s pretty honest, too. Yet she doesn’t quite understand everything he’s saying. So, it’s all a bit confusing. Particularly seeing as how the Sheriff doesn’t really believe a girl her size could’ve killed a man like that. Then Ryn mentions Maddie (Fola Evans-Akingbola) and Ben). Oh, shit.
Simultaneously, Maddie’s helping Ben and the crew from land, pointing out coordinates. Ben is just trying to use his friend’s boat to stop the military from trawling for mermaids. Maddie also finds herself in a tricky situation after her dad sends for her to be brought to the station.
Aldon Decker (Ron Yuan) is holed up at the Siren Song Motel, nursing his wounds. Funny enough, he’s actually listening to the siren song of the mermaid Donna (Sibongile Mlambo). He’s becoming more and more obsessed all the time, and that’s distressing, to say the least.
On the boat, Calvin and Chris are suspicious of Ben’s motives, whereas Xander doesn’t question him a bit. Ben keeps his cool, if only for his ow purposes. Doesn’t help when Xander’s dad, Sean (Brian Anthony Wilson), wakes up below deck, very pissed off with his son for taking the boat out to sea. The Cap isn’t into catching mermaids. However, Ben manages to talk him into letting them go further instead of turning back, insisting the government’s been using everybody in Bristol Cove, him included.
They get the boat to their coordinates and slow their pace. They wait, watching the radar closely. Out of nowhere appears the military boat, the Cortez, and they literally run right into it. But it doesn’t look like there’s anybody aboard the boat; it’s quiet and dark. Sean stays on his boat while the lads go over to check the Cortez. At the motel, Decker gets a call from Admiral Harrison (Anthony Harrison), who tells him there’s no response from the Cortez. Inside the boat, Ben and the others find blood everywhere. Chris finds a strange spear-type weapon stuck in the boat, blood on its tip. Nearby there are sounds in the water, so Ben warns the others: “We have to get off the water now.”
At the station, Sheriff Bishop questions his daughter, and Maddie’s quickly worried. Dad’s upset that she’s been caught up in everything, worse considering there’s a murder involved. She tries telling him about things, without the whole mermaid angle. It’s difficult, though. Maddie gets to talk with Ryn, finding out Donna’s out to stop the “bad men” on the water. Ryn also says Ben’s in danger if he’s out there. This is the point where the daughter must confront her father with the truth about the mermaids, trying to draw on his Haida heritage in order to make him believe. She pours water on Ryn’s skin, and the Sheriff watches as her hand transforms momentarily into that of her true form.
Sean and Xander find trouble with the engine below at sea, so the boat’s stopped a moment. The rest keep watch topside. Spears start flying at the boat, piercing its walls and nearly taking off heads. This is when a merman (Sedale Threatt Jr.) jumps on board with the crew – massive and terrifying. It takes a shotgun to drive him away, the spear guns do nothing at all.
A little later Chris hears the siren song, pulling him towards Donna near the edge of the boat. Down below deck, Ben comes face to face with the merman, then he and Xander manage to lure him into a compartment where they try locking him inside. Calvin sets off a flare, distracting Donna, and they’re able to knock her into the water before the engine gets started up again. They might get home alive yet. Except the merman’s loose, and he’s already shed his tail. He stabs Sean brutally with a spear before anybody notices, slipping back into the water. And Xander has to watch his own father die right in front of him. Sadly the crew’s got to decide whether to cover up Sean’s death, or get mixed up more government and military chaos; they choose the former, opting to choose the story that he was “lost at sea” in an accident. That’s fucking tragic.

“Yeah, but do you really think that anyone is gonna believe that Aquaman hopped on board and stabbed our Captain?”

Sheriff Bishop cuts Ryn loose with Maddie, after seeing the formerly unbelievable with his own two eyes. The women go home, waiting on Ben to get back, as well. For now, Ryn’s safe, though she feels bad about causing trouble for Maddie between her and her father. Bottom line is, she’s out of trouble, and they’ve got the Sheriff on their side.
Still, there’s tragedy in the wake of all this. Bristol Cove, and many of its citizens, will never be the same. Xander still doesn’t know Ryn’s true origins. That’s going to get ugly at some point. “Being Human” is next week.