at the right time, in the right place, magic happens

watching h2o with bf and i've thought about this before but it really strikes me how beautifully season one is structured. we meet our big bad dr. denman on episode eight, about one-third into our 26-episode season. arguably the biggest inciting event of the season takes place in 1x13 'shipwrecked' at exactly the halfway mark. then the plot really starts kicking into gear around episode 18 in the last third of the season. we joke but it really is a sophisticated show strictly from a narrative perspective, the virgo in me loves to see it. anyway bring back 20+ episode series in 2026, the children yearn for filler, character development, and space for the story to breathe (it's me. i'm the children)

here is a video essay by youtubeist livia rappaport exploring the narrative complexity of h2o btw. if you even care

I love how the first episode of h2o they fall into the cave and they're like "how will we ever get out" and then people proceed to come and go with no issues

Thinking about Rikki and Charlotte parallels and connections on this fine day…new girls just moved who struggle to make connections in a new town…raised by single parents…excited about the idea of mermaid powers and both explicitly calling them superpowers…so excited by being mermaids that they can be more reckless/carefree about it…hotheads who clash with people (mostly Emma) who try to moderate their behaviour…loners who secretly desire connection with others…both have an affinity for the colour red…their love interests both have history with another girl when they start going out…hopeless romantics who like it when their boyfriends do big cheesy romantic gestures (ie Zane with the dress and Lewis with the picnic)…both get into a fight with another girl over ownership of their lockets (and both times it’s with the ex of their love interest)…their first times being affected by the full moon give them massive emotional crises in which they hurt people, as opposed to Emma and Cleo who basically just get high…both have a strong ambitious drive, Charlotte with her art and Rikki with making money…the pursuers in their romantic relationships who ultimately make the first move…both are mistrustful of the advice of more experienced mermaids (Rikki with Ms Chatham initially and Charlotte is self evident)…both have an artistic side (Charlotte again is self evident but Rikki takes the most artistic approach to the film contest and sees beauty in something unconventional like shakes and technically it’s her footage that wins the contest)…Terry Chadwick encouraging Rikki to invite her friends over and cooking a barbecue for them, and Annette Watsford helping Charlotte throw a fancy birthday party for Lewis and cooking the food for it…both being betrayed by their love interests…(and if they’re the most similar to each other of the modern day mermaids, then regardless of Charlotte’s familial connection to Gracie her 50s counterpart is arguably Julia, who was also betrayed by her love interest)…if I’m remembering correctly fire is the first power that Charlotte discovers…

I say this with no malice really and this is mostly about what I've seen on TikTok. but, as an Australian, sometimes listening to Americans talk about H20 Just Add Water makes me a little crazy because it's so apparent how little youse know about Australia and how little you're exposed to media made about and for Australians compared to how much the average Australian is exposed in media made for Americans by Americans. Like. For example, I've never seen any American who loves the show, even diehard fans, talk about the environmentalist themes of the series and how its set specifically in Murri lands/Queensland because off the coast is the Great Barrier Reef, which is the most visible natural site where climate change is doing the most obvious damage in Australia. In the 00s when the show was made this was and still is a huge national issue and the show directly deals with it A LOT. i.e. Apart from their class differences, the biggest source of conflict between Rikki and Zane was that she is literally a mermaid drawing her power from nature, and Zane's family's wealth comes from developing the coast into resorts, directly on the reef. I'm sure there are equivalents for these issues in the US, but it really does bother me sometimes seeing non-Australians who have not the slightest idea about Australia, talk about H20 just add water like it's just a funny girlie Australian show about mermaids where everyone talks with broad accents, instead of a really groundbreaking show for Australian young people (especially girls) that was dealing with issues primarily affecting young people and took those issues seriously. It was a really special drama television series and it was in many ways the last hurrah of its kind for youth Australian tv, and it just irks me a little when I see non-Australians calling it stupid and corny and parody fodder because they don't have media literacy for Australian storytelling. Like a lot of youse can't even fully grasp why H20 just add water was so good. and if you wanna appreciate it more you should consider that maybe not all the cultural oddities in a thing you're watching are there to make you laugh and maybe they're trying to say something about the place they were made in.

me at work carefully pulling dishes out of a sink full of sanitizer/water, going slowly so I don’t put my arm in too far and fill up the rubber gloves: wow this is just like h2o