REVIEW: Siren – 3.10: “The Toll of the Sea”

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Siren writers, don’t harm Xander McClure like that ever again!

Okay, that Siren season 3 finale was…something, to put it nicely. I have many feelings and opinions in regards to what happened and unfortunately not a lot of them are positive. I will say that whether you liked the season finale or disliked it, the show has yet to be renewed for a fourth season. You can pretend that certain aspects in the show didn’t happen like me, or relish in the fact that you basically got your end game pairing (Ben/Ryn).

“If I die, it is so my daughter can live.”: Let’s start with one of the few plot points that I was happy with and even expected: the fight between Ryn’s tribes and Tia’s tribe. For several episodes, we knew an ultimate battle was going to occur between Tia and Ryn. And given that Tia stole Hope from Ryn, the war was going to be even more grandiose. I found the actual battle to be pretty stunning visually and it was so great to see everyone give it their all in the fight. Plus, the amount of merfolk was insane! The final moments between Tia and Ryn however? Unfortunately, a little lackluster for me. I literally turned away from the screen for one second and Ryn had already killed Tia. I would’ve thought that for a season long feud, their battle would be more of a struggle for either of them.

I do think that at the end of the day, Ryn as well as the audience understand Tia’s mindset. She was kidnapped by humans for years and miscarried a child because of them, so it’s only natural she was filled with so much hate towards them. Even Ryn explains this in the last scene of the episode. What did you think of the battle between tribes?

Maddie Bishop, you are love and deserve nothing but good things!

“Maddie is love. No matter where you are.”: Okay, let’s get into one of the many elements of the season finale that I found to be incredibly frustrating. First of all, Maddie Bishop deserved so much better! I’m not only referring to this episode, but the entire season in fact. Honestly, I have to say the last moment I felt Maddie was treated fairly in the season was when Ryn was cooking dinner for Ben and her in the season 3 premiere. Then after the Ben and Maddie breakup, everything went downhill. Gradually, we saw Maddie’s story-line being sidelined from Ben and Ryn and she eventually became involved with Robb. I loved Robb and he was so great for her! But it’s so obvious that the writers wanted to do away with the Polymarine aspect of the show, so they just removed Maddie out of the equation altogether.

I’m able to accept them wanting to tone the Polymarine relationship down, but Ben and Ryn acted like Maddie didn’t have nearly as strong of a connection as Ben and Ryn. I’m sorry, who did Ryn kiss first? Who did Ryn say “was love” first? Maddie Bishop! I’ve said this before, but Ryn and Maddie technically never broke up this entire season. And yet all we saw were hugs and peck on the cheek at most. The out of character moments between the trio were at an all-time high this season and I really can’t accept any of it.

Polymarine aside, the writers had the audacity to kill off Maddie’s father, Dale Bishop, a man that has been such a huge parental figure to her and every character in Bristol Cove practically. And he gets killed off screen with hardly an explanation (I understand it was mostly due to the weaponized siren song, but still!). On top of that, Dale was hardly in this season. Why kill off a fairly important character as an afterthought? Now, I’ve seen many a parental figure unexpectedly die in TV shows, Shadowhunters and Vampire Diaries to name a few. But in each example, it happened fairly early on in each season, and this terrible circumstance allowed the character’s offspring to become stronger, learn to stand on their own, “grow up,” etc. They killed off Dale Bishop in what could be the series finale. What does that do for Maddie’s character besides send more torment her way? I could keep on explaining how vital Maddie Bishop’s character was but, this review (rant) would never end. I will say one last thing. In the season 2 finale, in Ben’s alternate universe, we watched Maddie die – ultimately due to Ian’s actions. Because Maddie was the glue for the trio, this possible future was so traumatizing for Ben he didn’t save Ian. Now we’re in the season 3 finale and it’s almost like that connection never existed. What are your thoughts on how Maddie’s character or even Polymarine was handled?

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Don’t worry, the hybrids are here to save the day!

“I’ve been having dreams of the three of us living together as a family.”: To go alongside Maddie Bishop, let’s talk about Ben and Ryn for a bit. Ben explains how much he’d love for Hope, Ryn, and himself to be a family. You want to know what trio was basically a family earlier on: Polymarine! But this aside, why even develop this Ben and Ryn endgame relationship, for Ben to “mysteriously disappear” after the mer fight? I watched his scenes a few times, hoping it would explain what happened to him, but nothing. It’s like the writers just wanted to add hardship for Ryn, so they made him disappear. But if Siren does in fact get renewed, we know he’ll be back. Or maybe he’ll have a mer-tail from all those stem cells he took. Then, the scene that featured Ben, Ryn, and Hope as a 1950’s family? What even was that? I know Ben said he had dreams of them being a family, but that isn’t it! What are your thoughts on Ben’s “disappearance”?

Even though I had many frustrations with the season finale (and even season), there were a few moments I liked! Xander being okay and ultimately everyone else in Bristol Cove? Yes! (They could’ve saved Dale, though, just saying). And the hybrids helping everyone as well, with Ted “I hate all mer-folk” Pownall, too! Warmed my heart seeing him warm up to the mer of Bristol Cove and doing what was best for the town.

What did you think of the Siren season three finale and even the season in its entirety?

Whether the series gets renewed or not, it’s sure been one heck of a season!