Showing posts with label H2O: Just Add Water Season Two. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H2O: Just Add Water Season Two. Show all posts

Sunday, July 2, 2017

Just Add Water: My Mako Adventure: H2O Just Add Water Season 2 part 2

(Scene begins with the Opening of "Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble" then cutting to clips of the remainder of the season as James does a voiceover)

James Faraci (Voiceover): In the aftermath of the ending of "And Then There Were Four", Cleo discovers Charlotte has become a mermaid in the next episode "Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble" and in a surprising move Rikki, Emma & Cleo decide to bury the hatchet with Charlotte and decide to welcome her with open arms as they try to discover what Charlotte's powers could be. By the end of the episode she discovers she has the powers of all three of the other mermaids combined. Afterwards things go south, AGAIN! In the episodes after that, Charlotte has become mad with power and slightly cuckoo for cocoa puffs to control Lewis and nearly exposes ALL of them. Things come to a head in the second to final episode "Sea Change".

The friendship between Charlotte and the other three is OVER! And Lewis has had enough of Charlotte as well, he breaks up with Charlotte once and for all and just in time to save Cleo from a pack of sharks that looked at her and thought "YUM! DINNER TIME!" and reunites with Lewis romantically. Yeah there's something I need to talk about, the romances on the show can become tedious! Lewis and Cleo's back and forth romantic relationship was somewhere in the range of "Dave & Maddie, We love each other, I want to tear out the throat of the other one" in "Moonlighting" to the insufferable decade long back and forth of "Ross & Rachel" in "FRIENDS", the relationship between Zane and Rikki is handled a lot differently but is near Lewis and Cleo levels of insufferable. While yeah in season one Zane was an ass and a Douche through and through there was some glimmer of a good person when he helped the three escape Dr. Denham's capture but he does pull a few doozies one including pissing off Rikki's dad, smart move there Rocket Skyentist REAL GOOD USE OF THE KIDNEYS! I mean in comparison, The relationship that is being built up this season seems SANE in comparison and that relationship is between Emma and a secondary character named Ash. (Cut to the clip of Ash from Evil Dead II as he makes his chainsaw hand and says "GROOVY!") NOT THAT ASH! (Cut to a clip of Pokémon as Ash summons Pikachu!) Even her standards aren't that low! (Cut back to H20: Just Add Water Season 2 as James does a voiceover)

James Faraci (Voiceover): I WISH the Ash in this series was as cool as the first and a little less like the latter, no this Ash is different he runs a horse ranch and over the span of this season he becomes Emma's love interest he allowed Emma to open up emotionally. It gave her something to her outside of being a mermaid and working at the juice bar they had. Yeah, they had a friggin' juice bar, seriously I know Power Rangers is as of this post STILL being produced in the same area around Australia and New Zealand but even I think that's just a stupid concept  to replicate it into your series or maybe it's a huge coincidence. But I digress, the season comes to an end with the episode "Unfathomable". A rare moon and planetary alignment that happens to occur every fifty years would strip a mermaid of her tail and powers is upon them soon. While barely trying to pretend to be nice Rikki, Emma and Cleo try to warn Charlotte but it falls on deaf ears and a mind set to do something evil to do with the three. Finally having all they could stand Cleo, Emma and Rikki finally confront Charlotte on Mako Island, the night of the moon and planetary alignment in which a mermaid will lose her tail and powers and with the odds stacked against Charlotte she... loses. The next day Lewis reclaims Cleo's locket and Emma decides to reveal she is a mermaid to Ash and his reaction says it all, "Groovy!" (Cut to ending of "Unfathomable" before fading to black and then to clips of season two as James does a voiceover)

James Faraci (Voiceover): Season two raised the bar but holy moly cannoli did they pull out some whoppers, they really did a lot to Rikki, Emma and Cleo and in turn Rikki, Emma and Cleo were out to do some damage to the people around them. For example in an episode Zane and Lewis want to get back on the mermaids' good side and decide to splash themselves with Ambergris! Ambergris comes from Whale Poop! They did something so stupid it backfired and nearly caused the three to expose themselves to a guy who does the same thing and had it not been for Zane and Lewis' intervention the situation would've been worse. Then there's the stuff that Cleo did, I mean she could be vicious especially to Charlotte and Charlotte in turn didn't exactly turn me on. There were few times she was a decent character but most of the time she could be as vicious as the others. Emma on the other hand from the first season to this one showed behind her "Stick In The Mud" personality there was something unique and I guess she had that personality because she had ambitions to be an Olympian swimmer but when she got the tail and powers she found herself stuck. Either embrace what she had become or become stale. Fortunately she had Rikki and Cleo to help her embrace what was inside and when she hooked up with Ash who sadly had NO personality this season she was able to allow herself to be as close to human as she could. Now you're probably wondering why I'm talking about these characters in this. Well sadly because after this season, we say goodbye to them and I understand why we'll be saying goodbye to Charlotte because after getting the daylights knocked out of her, she'd be crazy to continue go up against three mermaids and as much as she got knocked, she became the villain of the season... because the writers needed someone! But this is how they wrote it. Which means it is time once again for....

(Cut to a black background and the words "HOW I WOULD HAVE WRITTEN IT!" in neon as James' voice echoes those words before hearing stock Game Show Music as clips of the season play in the background and James does a voiceover)

James Faraci (Voiceover): While the season premiere would've happened exactly the way it did, The Guardian would've had some say and we would've been introduced to The Guardian's sanctuary while yes it is TARDIS like, it wouldn't be going into time and space. Though from the outside it'd look like a boat with an interior cabin, after stepping inside it looks more advanced yet filled with ancient scrolls, artifacts and paintings. When he hears the three went into the moon pool the night before and the effects from what they describe what happened, he remembered something happening centuries ago. A prophecy was made "Three would awaken the pool after it had fallen dormant over time after their powers would advance. One would join and soon after one would be gone and the return will occur soon after." Rikki, Emma, Cleo & Lewis take it as a prophecy of demise and would do everything to prevent the end of one of them while The Guardian would use the prophecy to help train Rikki, Emma and Cleo with the advancement of their powers.

The Guardian would've been the most helpful in the episode "Fish Fever" coming up with the antidote after Rikki & Cleo told him what had happened in the episode The Guardian would've also bonded with Lewis as The Guardian tries to understand modern chemistry and Lewis would learn old school alchemy and be the highlight of the episode as much as what would be happening to Cleo's Fish and Emma. In the meanwhile Charlotte would've been handled differently. Rikki, Emma and Cleo would be more inviting but keep their secret about the fact they were Mermaids from her at the behest of The Guardian. Cleo would almost expose her and her friends several times leading Charlotte to find research on Mako through Max. Lewis and The Guardian would also befriend Max and after checking the footage and research, which leads The Guardian to a wrong conclusion it leads Charlotte to the moon pool when the moon was full and she becomes a mermaid. While The Guardian senses something has changed it's not until the next day that Lewis and The Guardian discover the truth with Rikki, Emma and Cleo looking from afar in the water.

The next day after school The Guardian as Mr. Jean-Dian asks Charlotte to stick around after school to help him with the next lesson he had planned for the next day. That reason was to drop the vail of his alias and for Rikki, Emma and Cleo reveal that they too are mermaids shocked at the three being mermaids they bond and things are good until the last two episodes of the season until a full moon reflection hits Charlotte turning heel. Acting out and attacking the three even hurting The Guardian leading up to the finale. In said finale The Guardian believe that this day is the day of the prophecy and suggest to use today as a day to either reflect, repair or to do as they wish because that night The Guardian, Rikki, Emma, Cleo & Lewis will face off against Charlotte in the fight for the soul of Mako Island. While in a meditative state, The Guardian comes to a surprising conclusion though it is not spoken aloud. Meanwhile Emma reveals the fact she's a mermaid to Ash, Rikki and Zane decide to spend the day on land at Zane's place without his parents around. That night Zane and Ash decide to join the group against Charlotte. While Ash, Lewis and Zane are easily taken down. Rikki, Emma and Cleo hold their own until The Guardian shows up. Holding Charlotte up until the planetary alignment passes. Using the powers within him, The Guardian eventually drops Charlotte in the water and then erases her human memories. The only ones who would remember Charlotte was even human was Ash, Cleo, Emma, Lewis, Rikki, Zane and The Guardian. As far as the rest of the world was concerned Charlotte Watsford never existed, she'd be dismissed as Deja vu and ultimately forgotten. Before leaving Charlotte in her mermaid form permanently, he hands her a ring and tells her to find the pod, the return is happening! Fulfilling the prophecy but not as it was written it would end.  The Guardian then telling everyone to prepare for the return. Setting up a storyline we'd get to in the next season, if there was going to be one or for a whopper of a finale for this entire series. But we'll get to it next time on...

(Cut to a black background and the words "HOW I WOULD HAVE WRITTEN IT!" in neon as James' voice echoes those words before cutting back to clips of the season two as James does a voiceover)

James Faraci (Voiceover): Ultimately Season Two was really good, the pace of the storyline is good and I do recommend it as a good follow-up to season one. I also found myself enjoying certain episodes like "Fish Fever" and if the series were to have ended here like it should've. It would've been a fine ending leaving it open enough for a sequel series or a spin-off of sorts to happen on further down the road but that wouldn't happen until three years after the next season. That's right, there's one more season of this show and we have the fans to thank for that one. See, originally Network Ten and Jonathan M Shiff were only contractually obligated for a two season run with a total of fifty two episodes. However fans wanted another season and with the explosion of YouTube, Netflix and Streaming sites, the show was a hit internationally and so they had craft a final season which would be sufficient enough to end this series and keep the door open for said spin-off! Which was a success but with the price of one of their own leaving. But we'll talk about that when we get to Season 3 (Fade to Black before cutting to a clip of Rikki accidentally igniting the laundry before cutting to a clip of the MST3K episode of "Gamera" as Tom Servo says "Roast 'em, Tenderize 'em down Ya go!" before fading to black.)

Just Add Water: My Mako Adventure: H2O Just Add Water Season 2 part 1

(0:10-0:56, 1:51-2:07 of the trailer of Season 2 of H20: Just Add Water before cutting to the rest of the Trailer as James does a voiceover)

James Faraci (Voiceover):  WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER MOON POOL! Welcome my friends to "H2O: Just Add Water" Season 2!

(Cut to Scenes from season two of "H2O: Just Add Water"as "No Ordinary Girl" is played  in the background before cutting Mako Island before it cuts to a scene of James in a lounge chair and the words "Just Add Water: My Mako Adventure" above James before cutting to clips of the show and the season as James does a voiceover)

James Faraci (Voiceover): The season begins with the episode "Stormy Weather". The three soon realize that the next full moon is upon them and decide the night of said Full Moon to get to the island and get in the pool. But due to a rare planetary alignment their powers become enhanced with Cleo being able to control the wind as easily as she can control the water, Rikki being able to summon lightning and ignite stuff on fire and Emma can now summon snow. Well now she can dump Killer Frost, Captain Cool and Mr. Freeze and just hang out with Elsa from Frozen. "Stormy Weather" was a great way to show how the Status Quo is beginning to change and start the second season off with a bang. In the follow-up episode we're quickly introduced to Charlotte a new girl in town played by Brittany Byrnes and here is where I get some problems with Cleo, in particular specifically how she acts towards certain things in this season especially towards Charlotte and WHOOO BOY does she pull off some whoppers. Cleo suspects that her boyfriend is into Charlotte more than she is and dumps Lewis, her parents are divorced by the start of the season and when she grabs a sample of a potion that went south in a filler episode and wishes her parents would reconcile and remarry which doesn't happen she handles it badly. Cleo's dad decides to go out on a date, with Charlotte's mom only to realize that her conceptions weren't true. Charlotte's mom was a business associate interested in buying his catch seeing Cleo's dad is a reputable and responsible professional fisherman. Cleo's Ex takes Cleo's job after a small mistake and sends Rikki & Emma to make Lewis' job nigh on impossible and a Dolphin escapes leaving Cleo to clean up the mess SHE made! And I'm sure that the actress who played Cleo, Phoebe Tonkin is a good person but what made her go along with the things the writers did to her character?

Oh well, while we do get some considerable filler after Charlotte is introduced  one episode of note is one of my favorite episodes in the series "Fish Fever". In the episode Emma accidentally pricks herself with a piece of Coral that Cleo takes a piece of and puts it in her Fish's tank her fish acting weird as well as Emma. The episode is a fun little romp through kelp bed which shows Emma is as susceptible to crazy plot elements like any character and Charlotte can be as vicious as Cleo and at her worst can be a nightmare towards Lewis but we'll get to her as a character when her character comes into her own.  The Story of this season continues in the two part episode "The Gracie Code". While researching Mako Island, Lewis hopes to understand the function of the Island and the Moon Pool in order to help the girls understand their transformation better. Along the way he finds Max Hamilton who like Lewis is wearing the same set of shoes is wearing now. Fifty years ago, Max was researching the island with Miss Chatham, Julia and Gracie and they find the Moon Pool and on the night of the full moon Max discovers that Miss Chatham, Julia and Gracie became mermaids after diving into the moon pool under the light of the full moon the same way it happened to Rikki, Emma and Cleo, however during another Full Moon the three lost their tails and powers, also Charlotte is getting really angry that Lewis is hanging around with his ex and her friends. During Charlotte's spying she sees a photo of her grandmother as a Mermaid. Max eventually hands over the research data he had collected in order to help Lewis in his work ending Part one. Part two begins with the girls discovering Charlotte is in fact Gracie's Granddaughter. The three of them ask Lewis to ask Charlotte what she knows leading to Charlotte taking a film reel of her grandmother and transferring it onto a DVD in which she discovers her Grandmother Gracie and her old friends Julia and Miss Chatham were mermaids.

We get great follow up in the next episode "And Then There Were Four". As Charlotte now armed with the knowledge of  her grandmother being a mermaid and Cleo, Emma and Rikki being mermaids themselves and knowing Rikki, Emma and Cleo are preoccupied by prior events that the three agreed to help with during the night of the full moon. Charlotte dives head first into the moon pool. The next day Lewis and Charlotte meet and then... (Charlotte transforms into a mermaid and Lewis is in shock before fading to black)

To Be Concluded in Part 2