REVIEW: Siren – 3.07: “Northern Exposure”

Cleo and Lewis would be proud, you two.

If you’re like me and looking for more mermaid mythology, “Northern Exposure” is the episode for you! Not only do we learn more about Robb and his tribe (especially after that end scene last week!), but even some important information about mermaids in general.

“I feel close to you.”: Let’s get the worst part of the episode out of the way. Okay, more like, I’m hesitant to see where this story-line/pairing is going. As we know, Ben has continued to take stem cell injections and seen some interesting side effects. Well, in this episode Ryn found out about it and is basically okay with it? The pair swim together to see how long Ben can hold his breath, and the whole underwater sequence is actually pretty stunning.

But these continued Ben/Ryn solo scenes make me wary that in the end, it’s going to be Ben/Ryn and Maddie alone or with someone else. I’ll touch on Robb in a bit, but I will say that what worked so well in the first 2 seasons was seeing Ben/Maddie/Ryn (Polymarine) work together as a unit, even romantic relationship aside. I can handle whatever route the writers want to take this show romantically, but personally I feel that a lot of the scenes that feature the trio together lack the same spark they did. Maddie’s hardly spoken to Ben when they’re in the same room! And I know a lot of people feel this way. Maybe the siren song attack that Tia will inflict will actually bring Ben and Maddie closer? What are your thoughts on this? Have you enjoyed this season so far but just feel it’s missing that little something – Polymarine?

“They are here.”

“Now you have to cope with the fact that I was born female.”: I will say, what the show lacks in current Polymarine scenes, they absolutely make up for with Robb’s tribe! From seeing where Robb’s tribe lived, how they differed from Ryn’s tribe, and being in Nome, Alaska in general – I was hooked! If each episode gave me a whole bunch of mermaid facts and information on the different tribes, their abilities, etc., I would be so happy!

Living in Alaska, Robb’s tribe basically lives under frozen water and the main way to contact them is via a fishing hut. Humans and the mer-folk in the tribe have exchanged offerings of fish to each other that way, which was great to know. If only Bristol Cove could have that much unity between humans and merfolk. A deal is struck between Ben, Ryn, and co. with Robb’s tribe – help them clean up their watering hole that allows them to change sex, and they’ll join Ryn’s fight. Yes, every member of Robb’s tribe is born female! We have gender fluid/trans mer-folk, everyone! We love to see it! As expected, Robb, Ben, and Maddie are able to use their science knowledge to restore the tribe’s watering hole for them to use and it’s a success. Robb’s tribe just might have a chance to reproduce like Ryn’s now, too!

But with this great success comes a bittersweet goodbye, as the tribe has invited Robb to stay in Alaska with them. Of course, just when we were warming up to him! I’m sure we’ll see him again towards the end of the season in the ultimate Tia vs. everyone else showdown. But as mentioned a little earlier, towards the end of the episode we have Ben and Ryn bonding over their swim and Maddie ultimately alone. I really like Robb and even Robb/Maddie, but it would’ve been so much better if, I don’t know, Ben and Ryn acknowledged Maddie’s sadness or something?

“We’ll join your fight.”

Honorable mentions for this episode are: the military looking for Ben and Donna’s spirit leading Helen to the military’s research center. In regards to the military trying to contact Ben (and finding Xander), I hope it’s something bigger than, “we’re looking for Kyle.” I hope that it’s either in regards to his research testing (although I don’t think he’s made that public yet), they’re actually mer-folk themselves, or my personal favorite: Nicole’s coming back (I still need answers on that story-line!). As for Donna’s spirit, Helen needs to take her body out of the military’s hands and hide her somewhere safe!

What did you think of Siren‘s: 3.07: “Northern Exposure”?

The next new episode of Siren, 3.08: “Til Death Do Us Part” airs Thursday at 10/9c on Freeform.

The trailer for the new episode can be viewed below.

Okay, the title of the episode alone is making me nervous, let alone what appears to be deadly use of the siren song. I’m hoping the former is just Calvin and Janine’s wedding?