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The difference between OG trio and S3 trio is that in the first one, nobody's left out and they felt like true best friends sharing an important secret and complementing each other; while people might tell Emma was kinda bossy and uptight, there were occasions (especially in S2) where she followed Rikki and Cleo even if she didn't completely agree letting them take the lead (such as regarding Lewis/Charlotte or Zane in the statue episode), showing she could be more flexible and trusting towards her friends.

Besides, some fans often say the girls (Rikki and Emma in particular) formed a close friendship just bc they transformed together and however, it also happens irl people meet under "forced circumstances" (school, college, work, etc.) and there'll be times they hit it off right away and others not thanks to their personalities, that doesn't mean Emma and Rikki (+ Cleo) were obliged to hang out everyday.

On the contrary, I guess if Emma didn't leave in S3, Rikki and she would've strengthened their bond more and more.

They ATE and left NO crumbs.

S2 was Zane's peak btw, he's so hot here... it's a shame ruining his hair like they did in S3, but also his face was different

Before I might give you a reason to attack me, I'd like to clarify this post is primarily referring to Charlotte's initial interactions with the girls (except Cleo's episode with the diary), considering most defenders of hers are reiterating this false narrative whereby Rikki and Emma were mean to Charlotte first (and it's the umpteenth misrepresentation).

I'll put into context these scenes taken from Charlotte's introduction (even if they're quite brief and descriptive in the captions with a few words):

• S2E2: After meeting Lewis and Cleo at school, Charlotte got close to Lewis to help him with the laptop and she didn't waste time to ask him about the girls, pretending to be curious (we all know that she just wanted to be sure they weren't too intimate with him and receive news to study the territory + remember it's her first episode and she just talked a minute with Lewis and Cleo, my theory is she probably looked at Lewis and the girls from afar during that school day);
• S2E5: Emma had a good impression of her in the third episode, she also tried to talk some sense into Cleo and she was nice to Charlotte when she asked her about Charlotte's previous school. What Charlotte's doing now is being entitled and rude to anyone who wasn't pleasing her dirty whims (just a stupid cranberry booster), especially to the owner of the cafe (Wilfred) and the worker (Emma) who told it was closed, together with Lewis. She kept insisting the whole episode and it was clear the girls were busy doing their stuff and she was snooping around Lewis and Cleo sorting the potion issue out. She was even more insufferable as soon as she noticed the keys in Emma's trouser pocket. Emma was still very patient with Charlotte and, despite being anxious for Wilfred, she tried to make the juice and she warned Charlotte it was a matter of time. At the end, Lewis prepared it for her and Charlotte exclaimed an obnoxious "finally!!".
• S2E6: Here she didn't do that much but Charlotte's face said it all while Rikki and Emma were entering Cleo's home; she was pleased with the fact they saw her close to Lewis, since she wanted them going upstairs to Cleo and telling her everything. She was just provoking them even if the occasion already happened thanks to Annette and she didn't know they would've come. Rikki and Emma were surprised, they rightfully asked Lewis for explanations and they didn't speak to her; it's also important to notice that they didn't use their powers to attack Charlotte during the dinner's fiasco, they messed with food and the house (actually it was Charlotte intentionally pouring flour on Cleo and she wasn't a mermaid yet, but that's a different story).
• S2E8: Charlotte gave Cleo and Emma the jacket to drive a deeper wedge between Cleo and Lewis by pretending to be nice (her favorite tactic).
• S2E11: Charlotte's toxicity was already well-featured earlier, here we're witnessing a big jealous scene blaming Lewis to constantly chase after them to justify herself and look like the victim, even though she isolated him and she cut Lewis off from the conversation with the girls. She was perfectly aware that they were going to need him since she went into Emma's house to "catch" Lewis for the beach date and he gave his word to call him if they needed help. It was an emergency and she absolutely didn't care about Rikki being hurt; she never apologized to Lewis to turn his phone off btw.

This is for all the people who keep saying Charlotte wanted to be part of the group when her only interest in them consisted in getting information from Lewis and taking control of every aspect of his life. She forced her way once again even if Charlotte perfectly knew she could never become their friend since, in addition to being an envious person, she didn't accept the girls didn't fall into her manipulative trap (Cleo and Emma also tried to give her the benefit and they were punished). And Rikki and Emma owed her nothing at all bc Charlotte saw them as enemies for being Lewis's friends and she did the least to be friendly to them, regardless of Cleo.

Love how they may be so extreme in their positions, I don't blame Cleo lol

Lately shooting fish in a barrel has become a trend and honestly it's quite disturbing since the same people who pretend to appear as "the wannabe vigilantes" are the most toxic, dangerous and hateful in this sub, especially when we're talking about S2.

I wonder if you guys've ever been teenagers because you come across as completely unempathetic and this doesn't mean we have to justify all the stuff every character did, but it's one thing to say "The girls were being unfair to Lewis" (which is acceptable while being shown in the series) and another to lie like "The girls abused Lewis!!" (do you know what abuse is?).

At the end of the day, Rikki, Cleo, Emma and Lewis were great friends always being there for each other and the girls acknowledged the fact Lewis was helping them a lot with their secret; also Cleo told him if it weren't for Lewis, they probably would've gone unnoticed multiple times and they saved him from that awful party Charlotte did for herself and her friends.

However, this is their whole dynamic from S1 and Idk why you're acting surprised reading too much into every little behavior.

There is nothing worse than believing your own lies and passing them off as your own opinions.

Maybe it's a hot take and I guess it's not quite discussed since S2 revolved around the triangle the most, but I think she had such an evolution in comparison to her first season. Despite keeping her original energy and still having her uptight moments, she wasn't just more laid-back, she also learned to be more understanding, open-minded and less judgemental. And while we might tell she was so responsible from the beginning, as a teenager she wasn't always like that in S1. On the other hand, Emma definitely felt more mature in S2 showing she grew up a lot.

I really admire Emma's character bc she had a natural progression and it never felt forced; she simply went more with the flow and especially she was the only one (the most cautious of the three moreover) making the big decision to reveal the secret alone, while Rikki and Cleo kept insisting on her doing it.

Idk why we never saw these pics around, if not in some magazines of the show🧜🏻‍♀️🤩

They're so aesthetic together🫰🏻

In my opinion there were different reasons and choices that kinda ruined the show (Will's presence, tentacle's purpose, Emma missing and not talking about her at all, Zane and Rikki's downfall, a distant vibe from the original plot, static dialogues, unnecessary drama, etc.).

Sometimes people blame her personality not fitting with Rikki and Cleo and while it's true the OG trio is unbeatable, she would've matched a lot better with the girls if Emma was there too (I totally see the four mermaids being a strong and tight group).

Bella's character definitely deserved so much more expansion and she had the potential to explore the mermaid lore.

I guess we would've loved her even more if she appeared in S2 or from the beginning. Unfortunately they didn't give her a proper development but I'm glad to say that Bella almost saved the season, since she was the only one bringing a new energy into the story which wasn't necessarily a contrast to the first seasons.

You've read it a billion times, but her energy not being there felt like a void to me.

Emma's personality was so strong and necessary, other than being the core of the show together with Rikki and Cleo.

We reached a point where Charlotte committed the worst things in the show and they're actually normalized, while Cleo and Lewis are downright called the toxic ones for respectively reading a diary and not always being available for dates.

Why can't Cleo be understood since her parents divorced, she had a sister who bothered her all the time, her dad filled her with responsibilities, THE MERMAID secret being more difficult to keep with the new powers, etc.? And why can't be Lewis understood too for living an emotional abuse and trying to spend the time with his friends?

Maybe you're forgetting Charlotte voluntarily CHOSE to insert herself between them and she literally forced a relationship. There's no excuse for her abusive behaviour.

I'm honestly worried about how this generation is evolving.

I've come to the conclusion that these people didn't really watch the show but they're telling a story that never happened to provoke reactions.

They're very beautiful btw, especially compared with men lol

You can tell me whatever you want, but she was the worst kind of person you can meet in any environment: fake, manipulative, envious, cunning, toxic, abusive, entitled, scheming... she crossed the line too many times and honestly the girls and Lewis were too patient with her