Siren – Pilot

By starrymag | April 4, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

In the middle of the Bering Strait, the storm attacks a fishing boat as Chris Mueller (Chad Rook), Xander McClure (Ian Verdun), and Calvin (Curtis Lum) haul in their catch. They notice something big moving among the fish and scream as it leaps out at them. The fisherman look for it as it moves around the boat, but it attacks Chris and jumps into a pipe. The other fishermen attempt to revive their bleeding friend as Capt. Sean McClure (Brian Anthony Wilson) calls for help. The dispatch asks what attacked Chris, but the captain admits he doesn’t know.

 

The fishermen hear singing above deck and go to investigate. As they look for the source of the singing, Navy Seals drop onto the ship and their leader asks what they caught. McClure refuses to answer, and asks them to take care of Chris. The man says that they’ll need Chris as well before they lift him into the helicopter. McClure argues as the man looks around his ship and the creature is lifted into the helicopter.

 

In Bristol Cove, Washington, the town hosts a mermaid-themed festival, complete with a narrator (Jaedon Siewert) telling a story about a fisherman who fell in love with a mermaid years ago. After the narrator claims that the town is the “mermaid capital of the world,” Ted Pownall (David Cubitt) addresses the crowd, explaining that the story is about his great-great-great grandfather. He brings up his wife, Elaine, and two sons, Doug (Andrew Jenkins) and Ben (Alex Roe), but Ben is nowhere to be found. Ted unveils a statue to the town’s founder, Charles Pownall and asks where Ben is.

 

Ben sails into shore and shows Maddie (Fola Evans-Akingbola) the wounded sea lion he rescued. He assures the sea lion that’s he’s going to be okay as the veterinarians tend to him. Ben is glad he went out, but Maddie replies that his father wouldn’t agree. He remarks that if he did everything his dad wanted him to do, he’d be his brother. Ben asks Maddie to come over that night, but she replies that she’s cooking dinner for her father. She offers to come over for dessert and he asks her to spend the night before they kiss.

 

Ben goes to a bar where he meets Xander, who tells him he wants to talk to him about something. As he sits down with the fishermen, Calvin argues that they should keep what happened between them. Xander assures him that they can trust Ben. They tell him what happened on the boat, and Ben asks what attacked them. Xander gestures to a mermaid statue, and explains that a predatory mermaid attacked them. Ben thinks they’re joking, but Xander insists it’s real and shows him footage he captured of the attack. However, Ben is still not convinced.

 

At the Navy Seals compound, Aldon Decker (Ron Yuan) tells Admiral Harrison (Anthony Harrison) about their findings as they walk to a high security area where a mermaid, Donna (Sibongile Mlambo), is being kept in a tank of water. The next morning, Ben wakes up to find Elaine waiting for him. She tells him that Ted is angry with him for missing the ceremony, and reminds him that the family policy is that they can do whatever they want behind closed doors. Elaine tells him to smile and put on a public appearance, but Ben declares he wants nothing to do with the show. She tells him that she needs this family to keep working, and he tells her he hears her. Elaine comments on his relationship with Maddie, saying that he’s always had a thing for the wild girls.

 

Ben closes the door, and Maddie comments on his mother’s comment about her. She calls him out for not telling his family about their relationship, and he explains that nothing good comes from sharing in his family. Maddie suggests that his mother might like her, and he comments that his mother would want him to be with a girl like her. She compliments his charm and they fall back into bed together. Ben and Maddie go to a party on the beach and Ben notices Xander sitting by himself. As he goes to talk to him, a mother warns her kid not to go out too far as he goes into the water.

 

Ben asks Xander if he’s mad at him, and Xander admits he shouldn’t have told him. Ben reminds him that mermaids are hard to believe, and assures him that they’ll find Chris. Xander asks him to think of the possibility of there being creatures in the water that they’ve never seen before. Ben admits that it’s possible, but tells Xander that he needs to see a mermaid to believe him. Xander declares that they need to catch another one, as the kid in the water screams upon seeing a severed shark head. Upon examination, Ben determines that the bite marks are too big to be an orca’s. He and Maddie speculate, and Ben suggests that it could be a new predator.

 

As Ben drives, he is forced to stop as Ryn (Eline Powell) steps in front of his car. He follows her as she runs away, asking if she needs help. She trips on her own feet and Ben covers her naked body with his jacket. He calls Dr. Abbott (Patrick Gallagher) as he drives with Ryn, and agrees to meet him at his place. Ryn wakes up at Ben’s place, freaked out about her surroundings and the clothes Ben put on her. She sniffs a clamshell on the table, and Ben promises to help her. Ryn remains silent until she opens her mouth and begins singing. Ryn stops singing when there’s a knock on the door and Ben answers the door for Abbott, and explains that Ryn is kind of weird. However, Ryn is gone when they go back inside.

 

The next morning, Ryn wakes up in an abandoned boat and feasts on a rat that runs by. She grabs a sweatshirt off a nearby clothesline and walks through town. She approaches Helen (Rena Owen) as she encourages passerby to visit her shop, who is shocked to see her. Ben drives around town and pulls over when he spots Ryn, who runs away. Ben runs across the street, and asks Helen whom she was talking to. Helen is surprised that he saw her, and then lies that she didn’t see anything.

 

Ryn walks around the docks, and examines the fishing net. She remembers Donna being captured in the net and calling out to her. Maddie greets her father, who comments that Chris’ parents called him about their son’s disappearance. Her father says grace, praying for the return of Susan. Maddie comments that they haven’t heard from her mother for eight months. Ryn cuts her foot on a rock, and finds some shoes to put on. She spots a toy helicopter, and flashes back to the night Donna was taken. Ryn sees a toddler (Preston Drabble) watching a television program where a character says, “I am Ryn,” and she repeats the words.

 

Donnie (Toby Levins) sees Ryn and she repeats the words to him. He comments that she’s not from around here, and she hands him the toy helicopter. Donnie identifies it as a helicopter and Ryn climbs into his car. He offers to give her a ride and comments on her silence. Commenting that the company is nice regardless, he says that he’s never picked up someone as pretty as her. He pulls over and stops the car. Helping himself to a drink, he offers it to her but she refuses. Donnie comments that she ignored her mother’s warnings to not get in cars with strangers, and caresses her face. He attempts to rape her, but she kills him and throws him out of the windshield. As she steps out of the car, she notices that her arm is scaly.

 

Ryn returns to the docks and joins a tour that Maddie is giving to some schoolchildren. A girl (Jacqueline Burrows) asks Maddie why she wanted to work there, and she tells them that she was inspired after seeing a video of an injured dolphin. Maddie shows them the fish shake they feed their animals, and Ryn drinks it once Maddie and the kids are gone. Maddie shows the kids two of their sea lions, which start roaring at Ryn once she steps outside. Maddie is unable to explain what’s going on and the Teacher (Naiah Cummins) ushers her students away despite the girl declaring that Ryn is responsible.

 

Ben arrives, and Ryn tries to run from him. He corners her and insists he’s not going to hurt her. Ben introduces himself, declaring himself a friend, and Ryn identifies herself. He asks where she’s from and asks to examine her, declaring that she’s sick. He looks at her scaly skin, and promises they have medication. Ben admits that he can’t get the song she sang out of his head, and introduces Ryn to Maddie when she checks on them. Maddie expresses concern for Ryn’s condition, and Ben comments that Ryn is strange. Ben promises he’ll take care of it and Maddie kisses him goodbye.

 

Ben calls Abbott and looks for medication, while Ryn climbs back into the water and transforms into a mermaid. Ben hears her scream and the roar of the sea lions and sees something jump at him on the monitor. He jumps into the water and sees Ryn as a mermaid. Ben tries to swim away, but Ryn grabs him. He manages to get away and swim to the surface. Ben grabs a pole and hits Ryn to push her off. He climbs on the dock as Ryn swims away. Ben wakes up and Abbott explains that a sea lion attacked him. He asks where Ryn is, and Abbott asks if there’s something he’s not telling him.

 

Ben visits Helen and insists that she saw Ryn. Helen lets him in, and she asks him what he thinks she knows. He tells her that he saw Ryn and identifies her as a mermaid. Ben reminds her of the stories she told him as a kid, and asks if they’re true. He asks her what’s she’s afraid of, and she asks about the cut Ryn gave him. Helen explains that mermaids see people in the water as prey. She mentions that his family’s history is bloodier than he knows, and that his ancestor lost his mind with his obsession of finding the mermaid and ended up committing genocide against them.

 

Ben looks through Helen’s book about the history of mermaids, confirming Helen’s claims. Maddie tells her father that she’s worried about Ben, and tells him that he has a call from Clarence. He tells Maddie that a man was attacked in his car and leaves to investigate. Ben visits Xander, and declares he’s going with them. After getting permission from McClure, Xander helps him up. As they strategize that capturing another mermaid could lead them to Chris, a nurse (Megan Hui) tends to Chris in the facility. McClure reports that they got something on the radar and holds out a weapon to the water, daring the creature to come to them.