Siren – Aftermath

By starrymag | May 30, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Ben Pownall (Alex Roe), Ryn (Eline Powell) and Helen Hawkins (Rena Owen) lay Donna (Sibongile Mlambo) on Helen’s bed. As Ryn attempts to comfort Donna, Aldon Decker (Ron Yuan) arrives to help them. Ben explains the situation, and Decker is affected by seeing Donna. He starts setting up an IV, but Donna tenses at the sight of him. Decker explains that he intends to inject the cells he extracted from her, but she begs him not to come closer. Ryn assures her she won’t let him hurt her and Decker finishes setting up the IV.

 

Maddie Bishop (Fola Evans-Akingbola) arrives, and is surprised they called Decker. They explain they had no other choice, and Ryn asks her how Sheriff Bishop (Gil Birmingham) is doing. Maddie assures her he’s doing better, and looks pointedly at Ben. He argues that he had to prioritize protecting Ryn and Donna, but Maddie tells him not to discuss this there. Ryn defends Ben’s efforts, but Maddie argues that Ben failed to protect them.

 

Deputy Marissa Staub (Tammy Gillis) bags up evidence as she investigates the shooting. Ted Pownall (David Cubitt) informs Elaine Pownall (Sarah-Jane Redmond) of the shooting, and Sylvia (Sarah Hayward) tells them about her encounter with Bishop in the middle of it. Elaine asks what’s going on, and Ted promises to ask Bishop. Ben asks Maddie why she’s blaming him, but she asks what’s going on with him, suggesting that he’s a different person. She reminds him that Decker is dangerous, and that they used to make decisions together.

 

Decker asks Donna to sing for him again, but Helen tells him to leave. Ryn tells him that Donna sang to escape him, not because she loves him. She tells him there will be no encore, as Ben remembers Ryn singing for him again at his request. Decker asks him what’s going on between him and Ryn, and questions what Ryn meant when she said Donna didn’t sing because she loves him. Ben denies knowing anything about it, but Decker asks him to convince Donna to sing to him again or he’ll lose his mind.

 

Donna begs Ryn to take her back to the water, but Helen warns that she isn’t strong enough. Helen gives them privacy, and Ryn promises to take Donna when she’s better. Ryn reminisces about teaching other about hunting and fighting, and Donna assures her that she’s strong and good. Bishop tells Xander McClure (Ian Verdun) that his actions were out of line as he releases him from jail. He tells Xander that he shouldn’t try to solve his problems with violence, but Xander questions what the plan is to deal with the mermaids. Bishop tells him to go home and let him handle it, and Calvin (Curtis Lum) arrives to pick him up.

 

Calvin asks Xander what happened, and then asks why he didn’t call him once Xander explains the situation. Xander insists he needs to let things go and take control of his father’s business. Calvin tells Xander that things are getting serious with Janine (Hannah Levien) and he wants to ask her to move in with them. Xander doesn’t think it’s a good idea and suggests they get their own place. Calvin insists that he doesn’t want to leave him alone at the moment, and Xander toasts to new beginnings.

 

Ryn tells Ben and Decker that something’s wrong with Donna and they see that she is struggling. Decker diagnoses her as having an infection and tells them that there’s nothing he can do to help her. Ryn asks everyone to leave and holds Donna in her arms, assuring that she’ll ease her suffering. She later tells everyone that Donna has passed, and Maddie embraces her. Decker looks at Donna’s lifeless body and leaves. Maddie offers to help take Donna to the water, but Ryn tells her that it’s not possible when she died in human form and Helen suggests a place to bury her.

 

Helen drives into the woods and tells the group to follow her. Ted goes to the station and asks Bishop what happened. Bishop tells him that Xander was drunk and disorderly, but that no charges were filed. Ted asks about the other crimes that have happened, and Bishop lies that it’s due to a drug crisis. However, Ted warns him that the town council is unhappy with the unsolved crimes and suggests that he go to the meeting to address their concerns.

 

Helen leads the group to a secluded island, and tells them it’s her family’s burial ground. Ryn points out that Donna wouldn’t want to be buried with humans, but Helen tells them that her family wasn’t human. Ben asks if these were the massacred mermaids, but Helen tells him that they died in the water. She explains that these mermaids died on land, and shows them the grave of Charles Pownall’s daughter. Ben tells her that Ryn told him that Charles killed the child, but Helen tells them that the real story is different.

 

Helen explains that the baby was born mid-transition and Charles knew that the human doctors wouldn’t help her. He took the baby to the shapeshifter tribe and they helped her transform. The baby lived a full life and Helen is her last living descendent. Ben is surprised that she is a mermaid, and Ryn confirms that she knew. Ben asks Helen if she can change, and Helen tells him that she’s generations removed from that. He then realizes that it means that Helen is related to him, and asks if his family knows. Helen tells him that it’s up to him to ask them, and tells Ryn that Donna belongs with the other beings trapped between worlds.

 

Xander asks Calvin if Janine said yes to moving in with them, but Calvin tells him she said no due to her past hookup with Xander. Despite Xander’s insistence that he was going to tell him, Calvin is furious with him and walks out. Ryn buries Donna and places a seashell on her grave before calling it Donna’s new home as well as hers. Decker drives to the woods and approaches the beach. He hears Donna’s song as he stands looking out at the water.

 

Ben confronts Ted about whether he knew about Helen being related to him. Ted tells him that Charles had an affair with a prostitute, and that every family has secrets. Ben is angry that he didn’t know, but Ted tells him that the truth would be bad for their family’s image and that Charles had issues. Ted apologizes for Ben feeling like they haven’t been honest with him, and tells him that he and Elaine are worried about him. He suggests that Ben was happier when he wasn’t working for him and tells him to go back to devoting his time to the aquatic center.

 

Helen tells Ryn that grief lessens over time, and that it’s a part of being human. Ryn insists she’ll always be sad, but Maddie promises to help her get through it. She mentions that she helped Ben after the funeral by singing to him. Helen explains that the siren song can either mean great love or cause a dangerous obsession. Bishop is about to head to the council meeting when Deputy Clarence (Graeme Duffy) gets call informing them of a beach suicide.

 

Ben checks on Xander, and informs him that Donna died. Xander expresses remorse, and tells Ben that he wants move on. While Xander is talking, Ryn standing by the bar distracts Ben. Xander gets his attention and Ben sees that Ryn isn’t really there. Ben apologizes and leaves the bar. The Deputy (Tina Grant) informs Bishop that the body on the beach belongs to Decker. Bishop gives the deputies instructions and calls Maddie to inform her. Maddie tells Helen and Ryn, and declares they need to find Ben once Ryn assesses that Donna’s song drew Decker to suicide.

 

Jerry (David Kaye) tells Maddie and Ryn that Ben took the boat out to clear his head. Out in the ocean, Ben hears Ryn’s song and jumps into the water without his diving mask. He swims deep underwater, comes up for air, and then dives down again. He drowns, but Ryn swims to him in mermaid form and pulls him to the boat. Ryn revives him and Ben asks what she was doing in the water before she rescued him. He tells her he went down to help her, but she tells him that she wasn’t there. Ryn admits that she didn’t know her song could do this and holds him.

 

Bishop finds Ted waiting for him at the station, asking why he missed the meeting. He tells Ted about the suicide, and Ted asks him if he had someone in custody for Donnie’s murder. Bishop tells him he didn’t have the evidence to hold her, and Ted warns them that the council wants to investigate him. Ted asks Bishop to help him avoid that, and Bishop tells him that he wouldn’t believe him.

 

Maddie asks Ben what was going through his head, and Ben tells her that he thought Ryn was in trouble. Maddie tells him about Decker’s suicide, and explains that the song was responsible.  She asks why he asked Ryn to sing to him, and he tells her he doesn’t know. Maddie tells him they aren’t a good team anymore, and that it feels like Ben is pushing her away. Ben tells her that it’s not true, and that she shouldn’t compare him to her mother. She tells him it feels the same, and that it’s not the relationship she wants to have with him. He tells her he loves her as she walks away, but she tells him that she loves him too and continues walking.

 

Janine tells Calvin that he needs to grow up and earn money if he wants to live with her. He assures her he has a plan, but she isn’t convinced. Calvin looks at the bar’s mermaid statue and calls a local news station, telling them he has a story they’ll want to hear. Bishop tells Maddie that the council is threatening to replace him, as he can’t give them the answers they want. He suggests that he take Ted’s offer to help, assuring her that he can handle him without revealing too much. Maddie tells him she had a rough day, and he offers to finish dinner for a change. The phone rings and Maddie is surprised to hear her mother’s voice.

 

Xander offers Calvin a ride, but he refuses. He attempts to apologize, admitting he was wrong not to tell him. Xander reminds him of their toast to new beginnings, and they embrace. Ryn visits Ben, and asks if Maddie’s there. He tells her that they needed some space to figure things out, and Ryn confirms that it was about her. Ryn tells him that she was curious about him the first time she sang to him, and thought the song was good. He tells her that he can’t explain the effect of the song, but Ryn tells him she thinks she’s bad for him. She promises to stay away to not put him in more danger. Ben asks if she’ll go to Helen’s and tells her to stay safe. Ryn tells her the other mermaids won’t look for her, and that she must make a new life. She calls him and Maddie love, kisses him, and says goodbye before walking to the docks.