Freeform’s Siren is so far beyond the channel’s slogan “a little forward” in promoting a liberal agenda, it's comical. When the show’s not wallowing in the cliched evil oil company plot, it’s doing worse with exploring polyamorous relationships. The spring finale serves as the epitome of both with a little eco-terrorism and polyamorous sex.
In the March 14 episode “Leverage,” we have marine biologist Ben (Alex Roe) teaming up with his girlfriend Maddie (Fola Evans-Akingbola) and the group of beached mermaids to fight against the fictional oil company Klesco Oil whose use of sonic cannons to map out the ocean floor for off-shore drilling is wreaking havoc on marine life.
Ben’s latest plan is something “to make them go away for good.” With the help of the mer-people, they decide to go down and cut the drill string and destroy the oil rig with the dozens of people still working on it. Ben is so confident in his plan that he goes to Klesco Oil’s black-tie event to watch the whole thing unfold on the company’s live-stream of the drilling. He even looks the CEO and his father in the eye defiantly as it happens.
Man: Go! Now! Go! Go!
Man 2: Get out of here!
Helen: Oh my God, you did it.
The worst part of this whole thing is not the blatant environmentalist pandering or even the needless destruction of something that would stabilize the town’s economy. No, the worst is just how noble Ben and his friends believe this is. People have lost their jobs and could have lost their lives all because Ben wanted to make a statement to Big Oil. If wearing a MAGA hat is considered “domestic terrorism” now, then what do we call this?
Sadly, that’s just half of it. Before the scheme even goes down, Ben goes over the details with Maddie and the mermaid Ryn (Eline Powell). As seen before, the three are clearly in an interspecies “throuple” relationship that we’re all supposed to accept because it’s 2019 or something. They kiss together, proclaim their love for each other, and try their darnedest to make this seem normal (spoiler alert: it’s not.).
This latest episode, however, finally shows the three consummating their relationship in cable television sex. Sadly, the fact that this is on the once-titled “ABC Family” channel does not make the scene any less cringe-worthy.
Ryn: This is where love comes from? We make it.
Ben: Yeah.
Maddie: We find places we want to be touched and kissed.
Ryn: Neck. Maybe. Okay, yes.
I can’t tell what makes this scenario more awkward: the fact that the writers want us to think this is natural or that they actually think this is natural. What’s worse is that their entire teenaged audience is exposed to this nonsense as if it's a beautiful thing. In a world where underaged drag queens perform in New York clubs and LGBT characters appear in nearly every single primetime show, this isn't a surprise, but that doesn't make it less repulsive.
Siren will be off the air until the summer, but even that’s not long enough to wash that bad taste away.
