Review: Mermaid Magic - Part 2

It's been a long wait, but the second batch of Mermaid Magic episodes is finally here. Produced by Rainbow sPa in close conjunction with Winx Club, this latest Netflix drop happens only two weeks before the final episodes of the Winx reboot release on November 5th. To celebrate, one of the episodes included a not-so-subtle cameo of the Winx girls that got promoted on social media. With Disney subverting their girly princess media of late, Rainbow is now the ruler of the seas and skies, with both fairy and mermaid magical girls coming out side by side.

Of these latest five episodes, the first one was the strongest, with some beautiful visuals and an action-packed introduction to the latest conflict in Metropia. Merlinda performs a coming-of-age ceremony in front of her family and friends, where she is bonded to a magical creature, similar to the Friendship Ceremony from the pilot episode of Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders. She rides a magic horse that can seamlessly transform between the sea and land and summons a cute nixie named Jelly. Before the ceremony is complete, she is interrupted by the wicked Tempesta, who spreads a deadly virus across Mertropia that only Jelly can heal. However, Jelly gets corrupted by dark magic, so Merlinda and her friends must restore its spirit before she can heal her family.

One of my favorite things about this season is that Celia gets mermaid powers, allowing her to join the team. It gave off strong H2O: Just Add Water vibes and made for some fun antics on land. The conflict with Tracy trying to expose the girls as mermaids seemed to be an attempt to copy H2O, but it didn't work as well in this context. The H2O girls are normal girls who want to live normal lives in spite of their mermaid powers, while Merlinda, Sasha, and Nerissa are mermaids who only visit the land world for fun. If their identities were exposed, they could easily return home, and it wouldn't be much of a problem. It wasn't really clear why Tracy was so determined to expose them. It seemed like she just wanted to get a bunch of YouTube subscribers, which wouldn't have much effect on the other characters.

Though I appreciated that the main conflict was resolved in these five episodes without ending on a cliffhanger, it felt a little rushed. Getting back Jelly and healing the merfolk is a fairly simple goal that Merlinda and her friends accomplish without too much trouble. The episodes foreshadow a larger upcoming story involving a search for treasure that a sailor named John Silver scattered clues about throughout the land world. This is something that will probably be addressed in the next episode drop. Merlinda's relationship with Tyler remains pretty stagnant. While Nerissa got a new love interest this season, very little happened with it.

Overall, I feel pretty neutral toward the new drop of Mermaid Magic: Guardians of the Deep. It runs like a shorter version of the first season, without many new developments. Many unanswered questions pave the way for future episodes. Merlinda's mother is now a ghost-like spirit, similar to Daphne from Winx Club, so the next quest will likely focus on restoring her. With new treasure maps in hand, another adventure is in store to solve the mystery of John Silver and his buried secrets. Celia is now fully ingrained in the team, making way for plenty more land and sea drama. I think the strongest thing about this show is its beautiful animation, and I look forward to seeing more of that in the future. What's your favorite thing about Mermaid Magic? Let me know in the comments!