Who thinks that Bella should have been a more experienced mermaid
Now Bella's character definitely deserved much more expansion and development, as she had the potential to explore more mermaid lore. It was shocking when she said she got her mermaid powers in Ireland of all places, signifying that there are more moonpools in the world. I'm also baffled how she managed to avoid getting wet, and how she managed to keep the secret at such a young age in one of the wettest climates on Earth, which demanded answers and left to be explored. Along with how they mentioned she had been a mermaid since the age of nine, then the writers proceeded to have her act and be treated like a newbie mermaid with some experience. It would’ve been great to see her being laidback. After all, she’s worked out the kinks of being a mermaid rather than implying she’s laidback because she doesn’t understand the severity of hiding her tail or just never having the type of negative events that happen with the others. She should have at least been able to offhandedly eat oysters off the sea floor or bite the head off prawns Mako Mermaids style.
She was seemingly developed around her love interest, who didn't even respect her as a person, and her rival. Cleo and Rikki both had personalities and motivations outside of their love interests and felt a lot more fleshed out. Will and Sophie are the problem with Bella's character, and I’d like to see what she's like without Will and Sophie in her life. But no offense to her at all, but she kinda seems like a newbie: the number of times she gets wet throughout the show and her lack of ability to keep her secret from Will, or the force that Will pressured Bella on. At least give her skills that Cleo and Rikki don't have, like having her be really good at lying and avoiding water; she’d be an amazing liar and fully able to gaslight anyone who catches them. I mean, why do Rikki and Cleo, 3 year old mermaids, have to tell her why it's not smart to give Will a shell that's found at the bottom of the ocean, which is 10,500 ft below sea level.
I like the fact that she was the one who dove really deep for that shell, as it shows how fearless she is since she’s been a mermaid for a long time. I wish they showed that more: her swimming in deep water, her exploring shipwrecks and finding human remains, etc. Bella could have had a chest of all things she found under the ocean. Plus, I couldn't imagine how Bella would have been able to experience and hide the moon spell from her family, say 108 times give or take. Or maybe she’s a pro at the full moon, knowing exactly how to cover everything up, or like in Mako Mermaids, learned to control the power of the full moon. Together with Bella having more of a siren vibe about herself, then sometimes sleeping in the water, or catching live fish by speed swimming, along with possessing a deep connection and understanding with marine life; say like Bella helping the girls to be more friendly with the sharks around Mako. Bella would've also brought more secrets, stories, and support to the girls magically and land based, plus maybe someone from her past, but we got nothing. And how I wish there was some wider mermaid plot, not Mako Mermaids necessarily, simply just others who have turned into mermaids. Like she knows one or two adult or younger mermaids who also got turned by her moon pool in Ireland. Along with the possibility of, during her travels, having found other moon pools. I want there to be a whole mermaid community with Bella introducing Cleo and Rikki to it, and having Emma look for them in her travels.
The writers could have had an episode explaining how Bella's power allowed her to create a protective gel that prevented her from getting wet or stopped the transition in its tracks, maybe by turning the water on her body into gel and having it drip off her.
Bella's powers grant her a breathtaking mastery over its fundamental forces; if she had taken to understanding her abilities much more than jelly, glass, and crystal forms she’s already showcased. She can defy gravity by walking, running, or sprinting across the water's surface as if it were solid ground, and can even hover or levitate above it by manipulating the air beneath her feet. Due to her influence over buoyancy and surface tension, which allows her to sink at will or float effortlessly, controlling her stability in any liquid environment. Furthermore, Bella’s powers allow her to stretch and reshape her own body with extraordinary elasticity, all while her enhanced durability and strength far surpass normal human limits. By manipulating fluid friction and density, she can alter how objects move through water, making them sluggish or swift, and can even make surfaces adhesive, causing objects to cling together, and manipulate water currents to gently guide herself along while swimming with minimal effort.
Now, speaking with someone with an expanded range of powers, namely Charlotte, and after her drama, it seems very unrealistic to me that Rikki only said that they hadn't discussed it, but then she reluctantly agreed. It did, however, feel a bit rushed, as the whole mermaid thing makes it difficult, as they can't make friends, but with Bella appearing, she has to be their new best friend all of a sudden. Make it make sense. However, we did see Rikki being a bit reluctant into accepting Bella in the beginning of the season, yet it wasn't enough, while she neglected the coincidence of Bella and the tentacle coming in the same time, it should be more than a valid reason to be suspicious, Rikki and Cleo didn't even ask Bella whether she already met the tentacle before or not, the writers didn't make some sensible choices and then just having to sped everything up, but badly. No, literally, I expected them to be way more wary since a few months before they were dealing with Charlotte. As they really should’ve had like half the season with just Cleo and Rikki learning to trust Bella and not fully incorporating her until they were sure she’s not like Charlotte or some sort of antagonist. But in order to protect and fully replace the trio they had to write it in a way that incorporates Bella from episode one. They did this to keep the same vibe of the show but don’t realize how much they wrecked the vibe despite still having two blondes and one brunette mermaid.
Just imagine a scene where all three of them are clashing for whatever reason until Rikki finally blurts, “four mermaids never work!” And then they have like a flashback scene explaining what Charlotte did to them. This would also bring back the lockets as a main part of the show, and maybe they could’ve included Bella by giving her a locket from Max (which also brings in more continuity from last season), and instead of the blue crystal being a necklace, it could turn into a bracelet. It would also give Bella a chance to directly say, “I don’t ever wanna replace Emma”