‘Siren’ Season 3 Episode 1 Recap: Adjustments and Consequences

Siren Season 3 Episode 1 sets up what is meant to be a more expansive storyline. The first season of Freeform’s supernatural drama introduced fans to a mermaid called Ryn and the marine biologists, Ben Pownall and Maddie Bishop, who protect her.  The show continued in season 2 by dealing with mermaid fertility issues. Ryn’s attempts to get pregnant to ensure the survival of her species continued on for much of the season, as did her relationship with Ben and Maddie.

The three make a good team and are all in love with each other. At the end of season 2, Ben even let a reporter named Ian Sutton die so that Ryn’s mermaid secret wouldn’t get out. The season 2 finale explored an alternate universe where Ben saved Ian and the secret ended up getting out. Maddie ended up dying while they were trying to escape and Ryn was taken by the military. 

At the end of the episode, it is revealed that all of the negative events were just Ben’s worst-case scenario playing out in his mind as he decides whether or not to save Ian. That is where we left our protagonists at the end of season 2. Season 3 picks up soon afterward.

[Spoiler alert: The following contains major spoilers for Siren Season 3 Episode 1.]

Adjustments in ‘Siren’ Season 3 Episode 1

The episode starts with a young woman getting on to a plane wearing a flight attendant’s outfit. She says that she was sent by Operations. It turns out that she wasn’t meant to be on the plane but before the pilots can do anything, she kills them. She then parachutes out of the plane, leaving the passengers to die.

When the woman hits the water, she transforms into a mermaid. The story then moves to Ryn, who is adjusting to human life by selling pearls she finds in the ocean. She trades the pearls for money and uses the money to buy dinner for Ben and Maddie, among other things. After eating Ryn’s carrot and banana salad and marshmallow chicken, Maddie confronts Ben and Ryn about why they act strangely whenever Ian is mentioned.

Confessions in ‘Siren’

Ben then confesses that he could have saved Ian and Maddie is upset. The next morning, Xander McClure confesses to Maddie’s stepfather, Dale, that Nicole Martinez, a woman who works for the military, is missing. Dale says that he will ask around but it sounds like the military wanted her gone. Helen Hawkins meets with Maddie and Ryn to tell them that Sarge, a  merman from Ryn’s group, appeared to her and moved a necklace in her room.

Maddie suggests that he could be some kind of spirit, as Sarge is dead. Ryn says that dead merpeople go to somewhere else, a kind of spirit realm. She tells Helen that Sarge must have something to tell her. Meanwhile, Ben is with his parents and Commander Kyle, talking about his mother’s medical treatments, that were done using Ryn’s stem cells. 

According to the commander, he has another source of stem cells, which turns out to be Ryn’s sister Donna’s body. 

New faces in ‘Siren’

 Maddie and Ryn are at Helen’s shop and Ryn wants to know if Maddie is still angry with Ben. Maddie says she still loves Ben and Ryn, but is struggling with what Ben did. The two women hug but are interrupted by a young woman walking into the shop. According to Ryn, she is another mermaid, from another tribe.

The other mermaid says that she was taken by the Russian government and held captive for 10 years. Now that she is free, she takes the name, Tia. While she was held by the Russian government, she heard about the U.S. military holding another mermaid. She wanted to know if it was one of her tribe, but Ryn, of course, is not.

Consequences in ‘Siren’ Season 3 Episode 1

Tia wants to unite all the mermaids and Ryn agrees to be alone with her. The two of them go for a walk and Tia tells Ryn that protecting the earth cannot be left in the hands of humans. She wants to go back to her colony and become their leader again, after which she will work with Ryn’s colony and all others to restore balance on the earth. Tia says that Commander Kyle needs consequences for using Ryn’s sister Donna’s cells.

Kyle then gets a text from Ben where he asks to meet at the dock. While Ben, Maddie, and Ryn are all at the bar watching their friend Calvin get engaged, Tia uses the opportunity to kill Kyle. The episode ends with Helen going into the ocean.