Freeform’s Siren
Season 2, Episode 7: “Entrapment”
Directed by Amanda Row
Written by Zoë Green

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Distress Call” – click here
* For a recap & review of the mid-season finale, “Leverage” – click here
The situation in Bristol Cove is grim when a fishing crew hauls in a corpse belonging to Sean McClure, “gift wrapped” and murdered. This will bring many questions, not to mention the federal government. There’s already talk about the few men who supposedly witnessed Sean go overboard at sea.
OH! SHIT!
Ben (Alex Roe) is trying to figure out how to “make a big move” and let the world know what’s happening there due to the oil company. Katrina (Aylya Marzolf) is reluctantly on their side after coming to peaceful terms with Ryn (Eline Powell), though she’d rather go fists first than use strategy. Ryn wants to take Cami (Millan Tesfazgi) to see Xander (Ian Verdun), to patch things up. Will Cami forgive the death of her mother?
Sheriff Dale Bishop (Gil Birmingham) goes to Chief of Police Judy Brennan (Françoise Robertson). They talk about Glen and the drugs. He’s told his psychological evaluation went fine and he’s cleared to go back to work. He’ll have to work overtime with the feds in town. He and Susan (Garcelle Beauvais) are parting ways again, too. A lot on his shoulders at the moment.
Maddie (Fola Evans-Akingbola) and Ben work together on a way to make sure there are “no more booms” in the bay. They’re interrupted when the cops come looking for Ben. Sheriff Bishop’s hearing about it all from Deputy Staub (Tammy Gillis), putting the mental cogs in motion as he starts to stress over all his secrets.
Speaking of secrets, Nicole Martinez (Natalee Linez) continues digging those hooks into Xander, no matter how it affects him mentally. She acts suspicious about another woman while digging for info on Cami, right as Dale visits the boat to tell Xan his father’s washed up. While they go, Nicole looks around the boat for clues. Soon Ryn and Cami are at the door— perfect timing! Only gives the undercover military agent more to ponder.
At the station, Ben, Calvin (Curtis Lum), and Xander are brought in for questioning about the incident on the boat with Sean. Ted Pownall (David Cubitt) rushes in trying to play concerned father with no idea the extent to which the trouble runs. The feds also tracked down Chris (Chad Rook), wherever he managed to run after Bristol Cove.

“I didn‘t expect you to be so human“

Dale tells his daughter to get the merpeople to a “safe haven.” They’ve got issues, as well. Poor Viv (Alvina August) is scaling brutally. The tank’s stagnant water isn’t “living water” and won’t keep them from deteriorating on land. In the meantime, Maddie and Helen (Rena Owen) work to hide the clan, and Katrina steps up to protect her people.
Further trouble comes after Nicole’s led right to where Ryn stays. She manages to slip back while it’s only the mermaid there alone. She confronts Ryn with the truth, pretending to be interested in her as a friend and claiming she isn’t safe. She tries selling the mermaid on her powerful friends. But Ryn isn’t having any of her shit.
The feds talk to Calvin, Ben, and Xander, using their tactics to force a confession. After the stories get tangled, Ben takes responsibility for what happened to Sean. He claims to have accidentally killed Sean when things got rough out at sea, then convinced the others to dump him overboard. The feds believe none of them, from Ben’s bogus confession to Calvin talking about mermaids and the many inconsistencies between all their stories. Afterwards in the cell, Chris mentions being unable to forget that night, possibly suggesting he might’ve been snagged by the siren song like Ben.
Ryn goes on her own to see Nicole asking more about the soldiers. Oh, no! Don’t fall for her lies! The mermaid wants to help the soldiers in exchange for help of her own. Hmm(?). Elsewhere, Katrina’s led the others to a cave in the hills where the “most ancient tribes” of merpeople left their mark. A fitting place to hide. The markings help to show mermaids and people lived side by side once without fear or persecution.

“We live here in harmony— tribes of land and tribes of sea.”

Another great episode out of Season 2. Somehow the series manages to subvert expectations even when things start to get very familiar. Should be exciting to see what comes out of this episode’s revelations re: the feds. And is Xan finally coming around to see Nicole’s game? We’ll see. “Leverage” is next time and it’ll be our mid-season finale.