Review by J1 Reporter Abby Sparwasser

Glancing through 2000s pop culture can be a mixed bag, especially with tv show media. From ”Grey’s Anatomy” to “Mad Men,” you can never know what you end up with when pressing play. Look a little under the surface of the ocean of media, and you can find hidden gems (even if they’re younger than your own age demographic) that can hook you by the first episode.

The Australian television show “H2O: Just Add Water” (7 out of 10 stars), created by Jonathan M. Shiff, is a historical artifact from the 2000s and, though it’s certainly not perfect, is one of the most iconic pieces of media to date.

This popular children’s show, which ran from 2006 to 2010, spanning three seasons through the Village Roadshow Studio, follows three girls: Emma, Cleo and Rikki. After an accident that leads them to a life changing discovery, they become mermaids. The rest of the series follows their problems as not only being part fish, but also teenagers.

My expectations before watching the show were rather in the middle of the road. As a child, I enjoyed the spinoff show “Mako Mermaids” that aired in the 2010s. Though it was my favorite show at the time, it was not necessarily a must-watch looking back now. In turn, I jumped into this show praying that it would be better. My assumptions were, pardon the pun, blown out of the water.

For the first two seasons, Emma (Claire Holt), Cleo (Phoebe Tonkin) and Rikki (Cariba Heine) experience real-life teenage problems, such as boys, exams and friend troubles. For young children watching the show, it can give them a sense of relatability to the characters, but also escapism after factoring in their secret lives as mermaids. This allows them to insert themselves into a fantastical world to escape the real one. And when those kids watch it when they’re older, it can bring them a nostalgic feeling they would not be able to find elsewhere.

The ambience of the show is mostly credited to the cinematography. The camera shots underwater are, while looking quite old by the standards nowadays, quite gorgeous and realistic. Fish, coral and ocean plants can be seen throughout the series and never go down in quality. Credit also has to go to the actors, of course, who had to take extensive swimming classes to learn to hold their breath underwater for a long time and swim in their distinct way.

Unfortunately, many of these timeless aspects were overshadowed by the glaring problems as the seasons progressed. The romantic relationships for all three girls became nuanced to the point of toxicity, which can create an unrealistic portrayal of what a healthy relationship looks like for the show’s target demographic. Rikki Chadwick, played by Cariba Heine, is the ultimate victim of this. She managed two seasons of dating a boy who undermined her every problem and took advantage of her oh-so-generous forgiveness every step of the way. Thankfully, a straw eventually broke the camel’s back, but not before it was too late to become harmful.

Season three was an enormous downgrade in writing quality. Scheduling conflicts forced the writers to write essential characters out of the story, specifically Emma, who is played by Claire Holt. They replaced her with another mermaid, Bella (Indiana Evans), who is then just accepted as the third member of the trio. After one brief mention of Emma’s disappearance, it was like she never even existed. Not once did they bring her up again. This undermined the tv show’s message of friendship and sticking together no matter what by just throwing it out the window for the sake of easier writing.

It wasn’t as if the rest of season three was without its problems. The first two seasons emphasized the idea that what happened to Emma, Rikki and Cleo to make them mermaids was all magic. It created a sense of mystery, but also an acceptance of the fact that the show is, at its core, a fantasy. However, season three throws that all out of the window to incorporate science into the lore. Instead of making the show easier to understand, it only muddied the once magical waters with gibberish about moon rocks and meteors.

Even with all of these clearly apparent problems, “H2O: Just Add Water” places an extreme importance on friendship. The heart of the show was not the toxic couples, or the confusing, made-up lore or even the unfailing atmosphere. It was the relationships between the three main characters. Though they replaced one in the last season, the show-runners kept this most crucial aspect: nothing can tear them apart.

You can access the show for free on Pluto, on Fandango for $12.99 per season, and on Amazon Prime, the Roku Channel and YouTube TV with a subscription.

Link to the “H2O: Just Add Water” Official YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@h2o.official?si=4dK8ng4XR33TGkGP