Originally H2O - Just Add Water was planned as a two-season show but it was popular enough that a third season was added. The third season was different in several ways from the first two. A large part of the cast changed, relationships were redefined, and the general tone of the series was more serious.
The biggest change was the departure of Emma and the introduction of Bella. I didn't actually miss Emma a bit. Where Emma tended to be a one-dimensional obsessive/compulsive, Bella came across as a real person.
The way the other two accepted Bella was handled well and fit prior characterization. Cleo's reaction was, "Another mermaid - let's be friends." Rikki, who was a;ways slow to make friends, was much more reserved. The two were initially suspicious of each other which changed after Rikki's predictions about Nate came true.
After that, Rikki and Bella bonded quickly. Riki needed a new swimming buddy. In the first two seasons Rikki and Emma spent more time swimming with each other than either spent with Cleo. With Emma gone, Rikki had someone new to swim with although Bella was playful where Emma was competitive. Also, both of them were only-children who had moved a lot so they had more in common with each other than with Cleo (more on this later). Rikki seemed like Bella's older sister.
Even through the three were supposed to be the same age, Rikki matured the most. She was still Rikki - she didn't study, was skeptical about science, and rude to Lewis. But in the opening episode, Zane announced that he was reopening the juice bar based on an idea that Rikki had and that she would be managing it. She actually did a good job of it.
This was not a total surprise. In the first season she worked at the juice bar for a short time and did so well that she was almost promoted to assistant manager (she purposely lost the job so that she would not replace Emma). She also showed hidden maturity in the first season in her reaction to Zane's father wanting to develop Mako Island.
On the other hand, Zane showed that he had not matured at all. For most of the season he let Rikki do the work while he played. He also cheated. The relationship was on a downward spiral most of the season until the inevitable breakup (although the show ended with Zane trying to win Rikki back again).
In the first two seasons a major focus of the show had been on family. Cleo and Emma had full families. Zane's father was in several first season episodes. Rikki's father appeared in a couple second season episodes as did Charlotte's mother.
In the third season, Cleo's family was still around (minus her mother who disappeared between the first and second seasons). She even got a nice step-mother. We never heard a word about Rikki's father (maybe he moved on and she was living by herself). We heard about Bella's parents but never saw them.
Then there was Will, Bella's love interest. His parents let him live by himself in an old boathouse. We never saw them but his older sister, Sophie, is a regular.
Sophie is what I expected 2nd season's Charlotte to be - drop-dead gorgeous, self-centered, amoral, and manipulative. She didn't approve of her brother dating Bella and went to lengths to stop it.
Without Emma, all references to the 1950s mermaids were dropped and eventually the girls got new necklaces.
The final change is that the actor who played Lewis left the series half-way through and was reduced to minor supporting character in half of the episodes he did appear in.
Next post I will discuss the story arcs.
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