Freeform’s Siren
Season 2, Episode 3: “Natural Order”
Directed by Joe Menendez
Written by Heather Thomason

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “The Wolf at the Door” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “Oil & Water” – click here
Ben (Alex Roe), Maddie (Fola Evans-Akingbola), Ryn (Eline Powell), and the other merpeople walk through the woods. Ben explains “plate tectonics” – at least a little – to Ryn. They imagine it’s possible her people lived in that very spot a long time ago. He and Maddie teach the group more about life on land. Suddenly, a deer draws the merpeople’s attention. They give chase, sending Ryn after her people. She rushes ahead of Katrina (Aylya Marzolf) and they’re all nearly hit by a car in the road. The new leader again has to stop the old leader from becoming violent. They’re wired to hunt. It’s beginning to cause problems. Ryn’s likewise shielding “her scaling” so Katrina doesn’t challenge her any further.
Susan Bishop (Garcelle Beauvais) isn’t inclined to believe her husband Dale (Gil Birmingham) when he tries to relieve her suspicions about what’s going on in Bristol Cove. He assures things are fine. He’s simply remaining “on duty” while suspended, to protect his wife and daughter. Susan’s no slouch— she knows something isn’t right.
Meanwhile, Ben gets a visit from Deputy Marissa Staub (Tammy Gillis). She’s there to ask about his group of pals in the Pownall Seafood van who caused trouble at the gas station. He gets her out of there without much fuss. The cabin’s no good for hiding anymore, seeing as how Deputy Staub sees Ryn there, too. Things get more complicated when Marissa runs into Xander (Ian Verdun), mentioning Ben’s “new friends” and the supposed party at the cabin. Uh oh.
The ocean needs to come to Ryn, not the other way around. This is why Ben and Maddie find a large tank they can fill. That’ll allow Ryn, as well as the others, to take a dip. Katrina’s not happy, though. Helen Hawkins (Rena Owens) suggests finding a bigger space. First she needs cash from the trust held by Ted (David Cubitt), and Elaine (Sarah-Jane Redmond) is making it difficult.
This prompts Ben to meet with his mom. He’s shown the results of the DNA test she had done on Helen. Turns out 12% of the DNA’s unknown. We already know this, but it’s going to blow things WIDE OPEN if Elaine keeps on pushing. Mom’s already uncovered a relation of Helen’s named Rick Marzdan, meaning Ms. Hawkins lied about being “the last in her lineage.” Elaine believes it’s a ruse. Ben lies about Helen having a secret “autoimmune condition” and needing money. Oh, and Marzdan— he’s the man Ben saw at a meeting (Brendan Fletcher). Curious, no?
Poor Ryn isn’t doing well. She keeps hiding it from her people. Ben and Maddie keep things under wraps, waiting for the tank to be ready. The pump’s not strong enough to fill it as fast as they need. Ben’s hiding things, as well. Like his struggle trying to forget the lure of the siren song. At least he figures out a strategy to fill the tank quick.
Who’s Susan talking to on the phone? She tells them: “Maybe you were right. This place, there‘s something wrong with it.” Maybe her persistence is something other than concern for her family. Maybe Mrs. Bishop is working with the government. In the meantime, Dale’s required to undergo psych evaluation to get off suspension, and he’s doing his best to help Maddie keep the merpeople hidden from Marissa.
Ben gets a visit from reporter Ian Sutton, asking about the beached whales. He’s juggling the journalist’s questions, filling the tank, and looking after an ailing Ryn. Katrina senses the leader’s weakness, becoming aggressive. “I will not be human,” she tells Ryn, before the two of them fall into the filled tank, transforming in front of Maddie and Ben’s eyes. Then, they fight in their true forms. Ben feels the song calling while he watches on and it forces him to interfere. This gets him knocked around before Ryn lays a near death blow on Katrina, asserting dominance once and for all. Afterwards, she’s very angry Ben stuck his nose where it doesn’t belong.
At the same time, Xander is at the cabin. He stumbles onto a spear made by the merpeople. More than that, he has Nicole (Natalee Linez) poking around for info to give the military until he reveals his father “was murdered.”
Helen talks to Rick outside Ahab’s Cafe. She’s excited to have a relative so close after all this time. She notices a patch of skin on Marzdan’s arm that looks quite like the scaling of the merpeople. Does he have more of the DNA in him than Helen?
Of course Maddie sees how the song affects Ben. They tell Ryn. She wants to find a way to cure him. First step is they’ve got to apply science to the mermaid mythology and folklore. They setup a recording program to capture her song, which they’ll try to match to something else aquatic. Then they might figure out how to “block” the sound. The song is only audible when a mermaid sings to a human. To record it, Ryn sings to Maddie as she dons a pair of noise cancelling headphones. They’ve harnessed the tune. But are those headphones actually working? Maddie appears mesmerised, just like Ben— and it’s no good to have the song recorded with him around dying for a taste. One thing’s for sure: this mermaid-human thrupple becomes wilder BY THE DAY!
Also, doesn’t look like Katrina is ready to die yet, either. What’s she about to do?
Fantastic episode that deepens Siren‘s plots in a bunch of ways. Can never get enough of this series, and it continues getting better, even after the awesome Season 1.
“Oil & Water” is next time.