Siren Season 3×03 Review: Survivor

With a title like ‘Survivor’, you might think that this week’s episode of Siren would hold more action and weight, but absolutely nothing happened. The only ‘Survivor’ is my thinning patience. 

If I’m being honest, and I absolutely am because it’s me, ‘Survivor’ was underwhelming and though it had its good moments, it was generally not a pearl-clutcher. Part of the reason I had such an issue was because I was watching the episode via the Freeform app on my phone and casting it to my television. It skipped, paused for long periods of time, and I generally seemed to lose any and all suspension of disbelief.

I was almost positive that this episode would see Ryn delivering her own baby via the surrogate Meredith. The season 3 premiere of Siren teased that it might happen in episode 3, but looks like we might have to wait until next week. It seemed like this episode served mostly as filler, padding the series for episode 4. 

As predicted (by myself, to myself, since I have to scream about this series by myself), Elaine seems to be taking on some mermaid-like traits. At first I thought it was being able to breathe underwater, although she apparently has the lung capacity “of an Olympic swimmer”. Looks like those stem cells are certainly doing wonders–even if it’s not by 100% restoring her ability to walk immediately. I suspect that as the series continues, Elaine will likely continue to heal and eventually it’ll culminate to her standing and walking. Or she might turn into a mermaid hybrid.

Totally unrelated to the series’ plot but rather a nod to the costume department: in all my time watching CW/Freeform shows, I have never seen jeans fit so well on any of the actors as they do on the mermaids of Siren. I shouldn’t be taking this away from this episode but I couldn’t help but to notice when Cami and Hunter are stick-spear fighting with Ryn on land in preparation for their fight against Tia. 

I love moments of feel-good discovery in movies and TV shows. Ryn learning to read in ‘Survivor’ was one of those, but that feel-good moment was immediately ruined by the whole Robb Wellens thing. I get it–Maddie thinks he’s charming, but I don’t know if Maddie-Ben-Ryn have broken up? The tension was so embarrassing and I wanted to throw my phone at the television. Maddie is moving on and I hate it, thanks. 

Helen’s trips to the mermaid spirit world serve little purpose other than to eat up minutes in the show. But whatever she’s eating to trip that far into another dimension, I’ll have a handful, please. I’d love to go somewhere else during this quarantine. 

Somehow, Ryn’s psychic connection with her child–her daughter–is hampering her own healing; she seems to be feeling everything that Meredith is feeling, labor pains and everything. I’m kind of an emotional mess right now so Leena telling Ryn about the baby and them bumping their heads together gently made me cry a little.

Of course Ted Pownall has to be a pain in the ass about Elaine receiving more of the stem cells. But then Ben is back on his bullcrap and he goes and digs up a random mermaid corpse. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to know this mermaid, but he takes a sample of what we’re supposed to assume are mermaid stem cells. He magically seems to have the equipment necessary to complete the process before injecting himself with the stem cells. Are we supposed to believe he just has this million dollar equipment laying around? Or maybe I’ve missed something. And to top off his bizarre behavior, he dumps the mermaid’s body in a freezer in the warehouse. 

Does this mean that we’re going to watch Ben become a hybrid himself? Sorry, sir, but experimenting on yourself first doesn’t absolve you of mermaid grave robbing. 

Siren airs at 10 PM EST Thursdays on Freeform. Check your cable provider or watch at Freeform.Go.Com. 

Author: Bekah

Bekah has a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from Anderson University and is the Executive Assistant at Saga Event Planning. She is a frequent convention attendee and cosplayer and co-hosts The Geekiary webcast “The Bitching Dead”.

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