Delano de Wet

Mild spoilers, I talk about minor plot points without spoiling most of the show. TLDR. Pretty good series that showcases dedicated, hardworking (and some not so hardworking) people trying to make their dreams come true in a surprisingly difficult and dangerous niche profession. Some of the cast focus heavily on identity politics within the mermaid community and can be frustrating at times. I did not expect the show to be so captivating and emotional. The show does an excellent job of following its main character, Mermaid Sparkles, as she works, trains and struggles to achieve her dreams of becoming a professional mermaid. She is incredibly likeable, dedicated and shows the real magic and joy of mermaiding. Eric’s story of turning his lifelong passion for underwater performance into a career making mermaid tails and trying to make a career out of underwater ballet/performance is fascinating. Mermaid Morgana does an excellent job of showcasing the difficulty and danger of being a professional mermaid and what it takes to make it in such a competitive industry with limited opportunities. Unfortunately, the show takes a left turn into identity politics when it spends time with 2 of its subjects. Mermaid Ché Monique is a plus sized mermaid of color who is determined to take up space in her niche community and be heard. She formed The Society of Fat Mermaids and is a member of Afro Mermaids, a group composed of merpeople of color. Her size poses a massive safety risk while mermaiding, since the tails bind your legs and weigh you down, and she cannot get out of a pool on her own. We do not at any point see her training, unlike most of the other mermaids and we barely see her actually swimming. We also see that she assumes the worst of several white, thin mermaids she does not know and is surprised when they turn out to be nice. Just very strange and it stuck with me through the show since it happened within minutes of her being on screen. Every single mermaid we see maintains that anyone can be a mermaid and we do not see a single mermaid being mean or exclusionary at any point. With that context, her ‘fight’ for acceptance just seems out of place. The other subject that left me with mixed feelings is ‘The Blixunami’, a singing/rapping non-binary merperson with dreams of being famous. We see them play with mermaid dolls, perform at mermaid events and make their music videos as well as their struggle with their family not accepting them. The issue is that they choose to do these things instead of getting a job. They will play dress up and travel to New York and spend the whole day posing and taking photos with people on the street and call it ‘marketing’ for their social media… while couch surfing. They rely on their friends for almost everything and never actually explain why they don’t work to support themselves. I can only assume that they refuse to and that they would rather live in a fantasy world. “My friends have paid my rent several times”. Every time they are on screen I cannot stop thinking about the fact that they are a homeless fish mooching off of everyone around them. Their portrayal on the show also makes me think that their family “does not accept or support them” because of their lack of a work ethic and readiness to live off other people instead of their non-binary identity. Blix has the vibe of a cringey weeb, but instead of anime he is obsessed with mermaids. They should have been on My Strange Addiction instead of this series.