#clewis

Emma still turns into a mermaid once she touches water, but drying her off doesn't change her back. This is a manifestation of her being the most careful and giving up her passions, because of how risky it is. On the Full Moon, she isn't concerned for her careless attitude or her mermaid tail; she's more spontaneous and she lets herself be free. (she wants to be free). I feel like her not being able to turn back to human is a symbol of a) how she's usually the most fearful of getting caught, and b) how she's the least content at that moment about their new mermaid form (Rikki had accepted it, and Cleo's come to terms and made her own vow to not let it ruin her life (ie: working at the marine park). This is further exhibited in Episode 11, as she agrees to train Byron and they have a short-lived romance after they kiss since the episode results in her friendzoning him and mourning the loss of swimming competively, as she takes off in the water, to feel like her again (& for symbolism), dressed in her swimsuit. I feel like I didn't really recognize (or I don't remember) how difficult it was for Emma, but she resigns to give up stuff before she's even tried (a contrast to the other girls); she gave up swimming and she told Byron she wanted to be friends, because she knew how hard it'd be to date (and a swimmer obviously) with the secret. She's 'Miss Responsible' and it's why the Full Moon takes her in a completely opposite direction.

Cleo was the one who had the hardest time at being a mermaid at first, but by the time she experiences the effects of the Full Moon, she's happier with it and embraced the daily perks. We see in her episode, she's frightened to sing on stage and eventually as the moon overtakes her, she stands out and can attract people to her with her voice. By this point, Cleo's not afraid of the water. I feel like Cleo's thing is she wants to be invincible...not invisible. We see when she finally goes in the water, on her own accord, for the first time after turning...she panics, but realizes what she can do and becomes comfortable. Following that episode, she's using her powers way more frequently for basic daily tasks (she's cleaning her fish bowl by levitating her fish in the air) and she's more comfortable around water as she even works at the marine park (which doubles as a desire to not have her life change, which is something very important for her). So, when she touches water during her Full Moon and she doesn't change...at all, it lets her be free to not fear getting wet and mocked for something different about her, while simultaneously displaying her desire to enjoy the luxuries without any consequences. She loves water in her own way now, thus connected with her powers, as it's directly given her the ability to swim and experience connection to dolphins & fish. Cleo has a complicated relationship to the joy for what she can do now + an attachment to the way things were before, aka being her human self and not having to worry for being gawked at. She desires the ability to be perceived as normal, while also feeling special for means connected to the abnormal. Cleo is interesting, because she definitively felt like a "freak" in her school status, but her new mermaid ability makes her a "freak of nature" in a different way, yet it's the very thing that makes her feel important and cool. During her Full Moon, now she doesn't have to fear being shown to people and she can carry on acting how she used to around water, while getting to enjoy the perks of what her siren song affords her. And in the end, her Full Moon episode ends in an embarrassing moment, because that is her fear (and her reality, because she can't have her perks and essentially, eat them too).