I finished watching Mako Mermaids (the spin-off of H2O: Just Add Water).
Some thoughts...
Obviously, it definitely was not a patch on the original. The trio of girls just weren't as captivating as the previous trio (plus Bella), and Zac was honestly kind of dull to start with. But I really wanted to get to the end and see what it was all about, plus I knew Cariba Heine guest-starred in it and I really wanted to see her in the later seasons.
The colossal plot-hole right from the beginning was hard for me to look past lol.
Sirena, Lyla, and Nixie were from a pod of mermaids that lived around Mako Island called the Mako Pod, right? Right. It's also evident from Rikki's return to the area that this show takes place around ten years after the original show ended. It's also evident that when the girls tell Rita, their teacher who is a mermaid but has chosen to live on land as a human, that they are from the Mako Pod, Rita recognises this name and knows of the pod.
So that would suggest the pod has lived there quite a long time. So where were they all when Emma, Cleo, and Rikki turned into mermaids? Those three and all their pals were constantly around Mako and the Moon Pool, but there were no mermaids guarding the area. They never once bumped into another mermaid swimming around that part of the water somehow. So where did the Mako Pod even come from? Why were they never around in the few years that Emma, Cleo, Rikki, and co were mermaids? In fact, when Rikki does appear, she's made a living out of being a deep sea explorer and is surprised when the gang come to her and reveal to her they were mermaids from birth - how has she been scouring the oceans as a JOB and has never bumped into another mermaid?
I found that all pretty frustrating because it just makes no sense - the Mako Pod just popped up one day and it confuses the lore of the original series. They could've easily said the pod had recently moved to the area a year or two ago because of the call of the Moon Pool or some shit. I don't know.
Also, their powers... what is going on there? Zac is obviously wildly powerful as a merman (why are mermen better?) but he can do random shit like unlock doors and go invisible (and the girls can go invisible too but like... why) and just generally do magic things that have nothing to do with water. Weilan even sets off a car alarm with her powers. Zac can twirl coins? That was never shown in the original (other than the girls being able to lift people but it took all of them to do it and it was a full moon... and I guess humans are mostly made of water so that's not actually that weird).
I also don't understand the mermaid fear of mermen. They are hated because mermaids are terrified of them and their power, but all the mermaid pods are friggin' huge. So there must be a whole bunch of them making mermaid babies somehow and surely they need mermen to do that?! That never got touched on but I'm dying to know.
I hated Zac for a lot of season one (and Cam) and I know that was kind of the point - he was being a dick, but God, it was annoying. Then it gets all resolved, which is great, and I liked Zac waaaay more after that (and he started growing his hair out and it was hella cute) and I was really warming to the girls by this point. I loved seeing their relationship develop with Rita, and I really liked Lyla especially. I kind of wanted her and Zac to get together. It sort of seemed like it might be heading that way? And then season two starts and they drop the bombshell that Lyla and Nixie have left!!! Why!!! They get replaced by Mimmi and Ondina who were even less interesting to me. That was such a bummer. I started to enjoy Mimmi more but I never really liked Ondina. And then Sirena vanishes on a months-long vacation with her sister for the entire final season and is never seen again, only to be replaced by Weilan, who I also didn't love.
I was excited about there being a character called Evie as well because I hardly ever find people in shows with my name, but she was honestly kind of boring and annoying and not a great actress. I do sympathise with her, like... her boyfriend acts like a total weirdo for months and it low-key looks like he's cheating on her and then it turns out he's a mythical creature. That's a lot to deal with at like 16. But she wasn't an amazing character, I didn't love her. She got better as the series went on though. I did know she turned into a mermaid because I saw a GIFset of it long before I started the show so that wasn't a surprise either.
There was just a lot that didn't make sense and I just didn't love it, or even like it at times.
I guess they tied things up well at the end though, even though none of the original three mermaids that started out in the first episode were even there any more. Mimmi and Zac got their birth mother back, Zac's going to reveal his secret to his parents, and he's happy with Evie... Mimmi told her boyfriend about her secret. Weilan's going to rebuild her pod with Ondina's help.
Rita, who I ADORED, quit being a teacher on land to help young mermaids instead and return to her roots at sea. I was a bit confused by that plot because it seems like she's going to lead a dual life on land and sea, now that the Mermaid Council are open to such an idea, but I don't get why that meant she had to quit her day job lmao. She was obviously keeping her house and everything as she still had it in the final episode, and she adores her cat Poseidon so she wouldn't leave him. Whatever, I love Rita, I love her friendship with the gang, and I love that she gets to be part of the pod again while also enjoying the life she's built for herself on land.
And they wrapped up things with Rikki so nicely!!! I thought it was a weird choice for the writers to have her not believe the gang when they told her they needed her help to fight a water dragon... like... Rikki and co literally fought a monster made of water in that same area probably not even 10 years ago, so why would she find that hard to believe? Bizarre. My heart broke when she revealed she's not friends with Cleo, Emma (and Bella?) any more. But then at the end she said she would come back to spend time with the gang and the Mako Pod and meet other real mermaids, and that she would bring her friends. <333 YES baby reignite your friendships. <333 There was no mention of Zane though I get the impression they are not together any more which also hurt my feelings but in my head, if she's spending more time in that town again, maybe she bumps into him there at some point and they get back together. It's canon now ok.
Anyway. That was rough to get through. H2O will forever be iconic, this was not a great sequel though.
18 notes
·
View notes