#at literally no point in using a speargun do you hold it like something you shoot explosions out of and i love that

[space-ninja-fashion-show]

Photoset of “I need to show my friends how ridiculous a speargun is in this game”

Bonus Octavia looking like she’s about to knock someone out with it

[siren-theories]

The Siren Song

(ICYMI: Here is an index with the previously published analyses. My previous piece was “Repeating the past - Ben and Ryn as modern parallels to Charles Pownall and his mermaid?”)

The Siren Song is probably the most important part of the Sirens’ abilities besides their ability to transform from water into land forms. So let*s take a look at what the song is and what effects it has on humans.

TL, DR.: There is most likely not one Siren Song, but three different versions. These are differentiated by which frequencies in the song are accentuated. They all have different effects on the target of the song and also have an effect on the siren singing it.

A big thank you to @imaginejolls for allowing me to bounce ideas off them.

Common facts about the song

The song can only be sung by female Sirens as confirmed by Levi in Episode 212.

In Episode 211 “Mixed Signals” we get a direct look at what the song consists of, namely hundreds of frequencies and layers which the Sirens can produce with their vocal cords.

SCIENTIST: “One song composed of hundreds of frequencies and layers.” BEN: "This many layered frequencies from one voice. How is that possible?" SCIENTIST: “All different levels, polyphonics, amplitudes. I've never seen anything like it, not even from whales or dolphins.”

In a later scene in the same episode the range of those frequencies is revealed.

SCIENTISTt: Incredible. NICOLE: What? SCIENTIST: Most humans can hear frequencies between 20 hertz and 20.000. Sea creatures, like some dolphins, can hear frequencies of up to 100.000 hertz, while some whales can hear infrasonic sounds as low as seven hertz. The range of these frequencies, they're unlike anything I have ever seen.

The song works by stimulating the brain with the sonic frequencies, but causes Brain damage in humans.

(Damage from Ryn’s song to Maddie and Ben’s brain as seen in Episode 211 “Mixed signals”).

This damage is reversible by exposing the damaged brain to the sound of the echo chamber as shown in Episode 212 “Serenity”.

We see the effect of the frequencies on the human brain when Ben plays test subject for the military in Episode 211 “Mixed Signals”:

(Bens Brain under the effect of the full song.  Notice how the whole brain is stimulated.)

By testing several of the layers on Ben and witnessing his reaction to this the military (and we, the audience) learn more about the song. While the song as a whole caused him to relax, some of the layers when played in isolation caused Ben immense stress, causing him to relieve his drowning in Episode 110 and Ryn attacking him in Episode 101.

(The Brain when only aggressive frequencies are played)

Had Ryn not stepped in it is quite possible he might even have suffered a brain hemorrhage right there in the lab.

RYN:: ”Ben is in pain! Stop this!”

I would therefore argue that the effect of the song on the person is likely dependant on what layers of the song are emphasized by the singer, thus explaining the different versions of the song and the different effects on humans that we see in the show.  

However, there might also be a visual component to the song.

It is noticeable that every time Ryn sings - no matter what variant - the camera zooms in on her face and focuses especially on her eyes, suggesting there is an almost hypnotic pull associated with the song. Ryn also looks the target directly in the eyes at all times.

Episode 101: “The Mermaid Discovery”:

Episode 108: “Being Human” (note how far she looks up to maintain eye contact with Ben, suggesting this is a required element of the song):

Episode 203: “Natural Order”:

Episode 211: "Mixed Signals”:

Maddie for example clearly reacts to this visual element in Episode 203 “Natural Order” even though she cannot hear the song.  Maybe the missing visual element is what makes the recorded version of the song somewhat less stronger than the live version.

Throughout the show three motivations of singing the song are depicted (with different singing techniques and effects). I have classed the different versions of the song according to the motivations of the mermaid singing.  - the defensive, the curiosity and the love variant.

The defensive variant of the Siren song

The Defensive variant is the strongest version of the song and the one most detrimental to the human target(s). It is the first song we see in the show.

I would posit that the defensive variant consists of the siren emphatizing the most "harmful" layers of the song.

It is the only version of the Siren Song that has an area affect and can target more than one human. It does not require visual contact between the target and the siren (unlike all other variants).

Donna first demonstrated this when she sang to the North Star crew from inside the hold of said ship in Episode 101 “The Mermaid Discovery”. Even with multiple layers of steel seperating her from Xander&Co the song was strong enough to lure them from the inside of the ship to the deck. She even nearly caused Xander to lift the hold cover and freeing her, an action that was only stopped by the timely arrival of the US military.

(notice their similar body posture, signifying them being under the thrall of the Siren)

Donna later used the defensive song on Chris in Episode 107 “Dead in the water”, using it to lure Chris towards her.

The effects are profound - despite Calvin's pleading, Chris drops his speargun and starts walking towards certain death.

In Episode 211, no longer in control of herself due to stress hormones taking over, Ryn reverts to her basic predator instincts and views Maddie no longer as her mate but as a tasty snack.

(when your lover looks at you and thinks “literally yummy”)

When Maddie points a gun towards her, Ryn starts using the defensive variant against Maddie, rendering her into a cataconic state.

(It is worth noting that Ryns hormone imbalance even caused her pupils to widen. At first I thought this was due to the song but as @imaginejolls pointed out they were like that even in the previous episode.)

The defensive version of the song has the most detrimental effect on humans out of all three versions. As we see by the examples of Chris and Maddie it is strong enough to render a human completely enthralled and defenseless. Both Maddie and Chris drop their weapons and walk towards certain death.

If left untreated, single exposure to the song can be strong enough to destroy a Human's brain to the point that the memories are affected.

Chris for example was exposed to the full defensive song only once. When first we see him in Episode 207 after an abscence of about a month he is a human wreck, barely coherent and all he can think about is the song. After another month or so (don't @ me on this, the timeline in the later half of Siren Season 2 is confusing and weird as @imaginejolls covered in their post) the situation has gotten so bad that he does not even remember his friends in Episode 214 “The Last Mermaid”.

Chris’ situation has by that time deteriorated to the point that his brain is almost completely covered with lesions.

KYLE: "His EEG showed disturbing changes from that song. It was devouring his frontal cortex."

Maddie does not suffer quite the same effects in Episode 211. However, she - unlike Chris - immediately manifests symptoms. Considering that Chris acted normally at least for one or two days after exposure and Maddie immediately saw visions and lost impulse control. This leaves us with three possible explanations for this difference:

1) Maddie experienced an immediate effect because she had already heard a recording of the "love" version of the song 2) Ryn is a stronger singer than Donna. Which might be the case considering that Ryn is stronger than the other sirens in other physical aspects  on the show as well,, most notably being the fastest (Episode 103) and strongest of the Sirens (Episode 109 and 203). 3) The strength of the song might vary according to how much stress the Siren is under. As Ryn was probably "maxed out" on stress hormones and adrenalin her song might have become stronger as well

Without more information it is impossible to figure out which one of the above explanations is true, it might even be a combination of those. Based on the arguments below however I would lean towards explanation C.

Maddie’s symptoms - visions and immediate lack of impulse control - were stronger than Ben’s in Episode 109 “Street fight” and Episode 110 “Aftermath”. Ben touched Ryn a lot but it did not develop into something sexual whereas Maddie would have kissed Xander had he not stopped her and kisses both Ryn and Ben later on. It took two full days for Ben to see visions when awake (unlike Maddie who experienced  visions the day after). Maddie also experienced two different visions immediately after each other with only a few minutes between them, the second resulting in quite probably the most memorable dinner scene in a TV show from recent memory.

This again speaks to the defensive variant being the strongest and most harmful one.

The defensive version also impacts the Siren singing it, however besides  reducing the effect of stress hormones (as with Ryn in episode 211) we do not know of any other effects.

So, to recap:

- the defensive version has an area effect and can be sung without visual contact with the target - its effect can reach the target even through multiple layers of steel - single exposure can destroy a brain within 2 months if left untreated - the effects on the victim seems double that of the love version in intensity

The curiosity variant of the song

On the other end of the spectrum is the curiosity version, which is the lleast impactful on the human.

RYN: "The first time I sang, I am curious about you. It brings us close" BEN: "It did"

(dialogue from Episode 110: Aftermath)

Curiosity is maybe the weakest category with only one observed instance. Yet I would argue that the possibility exists that the Siren can change the intensity of the song according to the motivation. And this definitely seems a version that has almost zero impact on the human target.

Ben first meets Ryn when she steps in front of his car. His behaviour here is important to note for it establishes a baseline for later comparisons. In this instance he behaves how any decent person would behave when a vulnerable, naked and scared person collapses in front of them.

(The scene starts at 00:50, here is a timestap link for you. )

When Ben first meets Ryn he immediately covers her up without even giving her naked body a once-over. He then calls a doctor, clothes her and when she wakes up he gives her plenty of personal space. She then sings to him.

His behaviour after Ryn sings to him and they meet again mirrors his earlier decent behaviour. Ryn, who had earlier been the victim of an attempted rape, is at this point naturally distrustful of human males who tower over her. She hisses at him in multiple short, panicked breaths. Ben immediately adopts a non-threatening pose, lowering himself so that Ryn has the height advantage. He does not touch Ryn without her permission.

“It’s okay...I’m not gonna hurt you. My name is Ben.”

Likewise his behaviour in the following episodes is unaffected, especially when Ryn moves to kiss him in 103 and he declines said kiss despite there being a clear attraction.

All of this speaks to somebody who is in full control of his actions and whose judgement is unaffected. The only thing out of the ordinary would be his night-time trips on the water between Episode 104 and 105 and not being able to sleep for a few nights.

The song does create some sort of addiction - albeit one that a human can control rather easily. Ben was fine for over a month and a half until the unique stress situation of Sean’s death, Decker messing with his mother and him having insulted Ryn arises, which causes him to request Ryn to sing to him again.

Therefore I would argue that given the overall direct lack of effect on Ben I would classify this as the least harmful and least impactful version of the song.

To recap:

- the curiosity version does not change the behaviour of the target - it causes a slight addiction  but overall is the least impactful variant of the Siren Song.

The Love variant of the Song

The love version is different from the defensive version in that it does not render the target cataconic but causes strong feelings in the target which mainly manifest in an intense need to protect the Siren. It is by far the variant which we know the most about.

1. The Love variant needs direct visual contact and close proximity

One requirement for its usage is that unlike the defensive variant it needs direct visual contact and close proximity as confirmed by Ryn in Episode 203 “Natural Order” when our trio runs into a slight problem recording Ryn’s song.

RYN: “Ben will be safe when I sing?" BEN: "Uh, we're not gonna be in here. We're gonna set it to record, and then we're gonna leave the room. RYN: If you leave, who do I sing to? MADDIE: The Machine. It captures sound. RYN: Song only comes when I sing to a human.

This also confirms there are different versions of the song - because otherwise Ryn could start singing despite them being in another room (as Donna did with the North Star Crew in Episode 101 “The Mermaid Discovery”)

[Speculation: This version might also need some sort of existing feeling to function (with Decker it was his scientific curiosity and sympathy for the suffering Donna, with Ben it was his developing feelings for Ryn).]

This version is used multiple times in the show:

Ryn used this variant on Ben in Episode 108 after he requested that she sing to him. It is this instance which cause the most lasting damage and which will be the focus of the analysis from here on.

Also, recordings of the song are used by Decker throughout Season 1, Ben in Episode 204 “Oil and Water”, Ben in the time period between 208 “Leverage” and 209 “No North Star”,  Maddie and Ben in 209, by the military on Ben in 211 “Mixed Signals” and again by Ben in 214 “The last mermaid”.

Donna used this variant on Decker to get him to stop experiments on her and thus allow her to recover enough of her strength to survive.

[Sidenote: The version Donna used on Decker could not have been the defensive version as Decker did not become entranced and did not adopt the typical body posture that Maddie, Xander, Chris etc. did. Decker also was the only one affected.]

What are its effects on humans and how does it differ from the other two versions already covered in this article?

2. The love variant causes addiction in Humans

This can be as strong as driving somebody to suicide in case the human loses permanent access to the song. Decker was the poster child for this. Likewise, Ben struggles with addiction to this version of the song and unlike his previous exposure (with the milder curiosity version) he cannot control it even without extenuating circumstances in Episode 203/204.

3. The love variant affects how humans feel about the Siren

The song affects the humans feelings, but it cannot cause genuine love between Human and Siren as Ryn explains multiple times.

A snake and our favourite mermaid discussing the effect of the song on the relationship in Episode 211: “Mixed Signals” :

Nicole: Ben and Maddie are very close to you. Very protective of you. Does your song have anything to do with that? Ryn: Not just song. With Ben and Maddie, it is more. Nicole: More? Ryn: Yes. Ryn loves Ben and Maddie. Ryn makes love with Ben and Maddie.

This of course echoes earlier conversations Ryn had with Ben, for example in Episode 202 “The Wolf At The Door” and 204 “Oil and Water”.  

BEN: It’s not just the song. It’s more. RYN: “Yes. More.”

Which to be fair makes sense - after all in real life drugs exist that can cause other people to behave a certain way but those are not genuine, lasting feelings as Maddie and Ben develop for Ryn (and vice versa).

However, while the song apparently cannot create lasting feelings of love it can have several other effects on the human target. Let us review those effects on the human by looking at its effects on a specific person, namely Ben.

4. The love variant of the song causes lowered impulse control and lowers the inhibitions of the target

In Episode 108 Ryn asks Ben to sing to him.

BEN: “Will you sing to me? Again?”

The effects are immediate. In Episode 109 Ben has nightmares about Ryn having sex with him, then attacking him and drowning him.

(Whelp, that dream escalated quickly.)

[A caveat: It is not exactly clear whether this is a normal nightmare due to his past experiences and conflicting feelings about Ryn. I would imagine falling in love with someone who tried to literally eat you would cause some weird nightmares in any case. But I would classify it as another effect of the song based on how he acts the rest of the episode.]

We see an immediate effect the next morning when Ben is completely fixated on Ryn. And what we can see over the course of Episode 109 are definitely changes in behaviour.

The first one  are lowered inhibitions and lowered impulse control as Ben constantly touches Ryn. Ben previously did not mind Ryn touching him and he definitely reacted to that kiss in Episode 106 but in all those cases Ryn was the one initiating contact. Here, over the whole episode Ben constantly seeks to be close to Ryn, touching her as often as he can.

The touching is light - nothing sexual, just touching her back or holding hands. However this is definitely not normal behaviour for Ben.Donna immediately notices this and tries to step in to protect her little sister, only to be told by Ryn that she does not mind (and might even want the touch).

RYN: "It's okay. Ben is love." DONNA: "Love?" RYN: "Yes.

Honestly I am not sure how to classify the physical touch here. I would argue that it is more troubling for Sirens than it is for Humans to have people in their personal space (cf, Ryn hissing at and later attacking Helen in Episode 102 just for coming near her). But while it might only be slight touching it definitely is a departure from how Ben normally acted around Ryn before this episode. I don’t think he would have enough self-control to resist a kiss from her in this state as he previously did in Episode 103.

Even more troubling than the touching however is way the song changes Ben Judgement.

5. The love variant of the song alters the judgement of the human target, creating an intense need to protect the siren

It is hard to describe but it seems as if the song gradually rearranges his priorities, resulting in an intense need to protect Ryn. See for example the following discussion in Episode 109 “Street Fight”:

BEN: "They're after Ryn, Maddie. And Donna, too. They want to kill them. MADDIE: "Maybe you should take them somewhere?" BEN: "Where?" MADDIE: "I don't know. Somewhere out of here." BEN: "And if we get them away, what then? Those two are still here. We let them murder people, destroy the town? These two are dangerous. They're the ones who killed Sean. We need to keep Ryn safe. Whatever it takes. MADDIE: I'm here with my dad, I am gonna talk to him. Get the police involved. That's what makes sense here. You guys just wait. Nobody's hurting anyone".

To be fair to Ben, none of what he says is illogical or even a bad idea. He clearly wants to protect the town and other humans too. However it is the "Whatever it takes" part that signals his impaired judgement. Yet Ben still tries to follow Maddie's advice and tries to calm Ryn down when she gets tired of waiting, only to be interrupted by Xander. The following conversation reveales how much his judgement has shifted by that point:

XANDER :  “Aw come on man. All I'm asking is to go after the thing that killed my dad. You could at least pretend to give a damn. “ BEN : “Of course I give--"

It is at this point when Ryn interrupts.

RYN: Maybe this is what we need to do. What Xander says. Maybe this is the only way. DONNA: Yes BEN: Ryn, you sure about this? RYN: *to Xander*  We will help you find him. XANDER You down with this? BEN: Yeah.

Ben previously would have trusted Maddie's judgement more than Ryn. He would not agree to a plan that involves violence as the only tool, especially not with Xander who cannot think straight at this point. Remember this is the same person that rejects a life in luxury to save unintelligent sea life - and suddenly he is ok with killing two Sirens?

Again, to be fair as the events showed Ryn’s plan was sound as she was able to defeat Katrina. But the Ben before 109 would not have just gone along with Ryn and certainly would not have agreed to let Xander tag along. At the very least he would have informed Maddie about it.

Ben's changed priorities due to the song are even more evident wen talking to Maddie later on. Here Ben flat out accuses Maddie to not caring about Ryn because Maddie wants to call in more cops to help with the Mermaids. It is quite clear that the only thing on Bens mind at that point is to protect Ryn, something Maddie accurately calls out as his judgement being totally screwed up.

(I have to confess that I kinda wanted Maddie to slap him at that point.)

BEN: "If we call the cops now there's no way we will ever contain that thing" MADDIE: "It's already out of control. We have no choice." BEN: "Okay, and what happens if the cops find Ryn? What happens then? Look we can solve this on our own. We can protect her." MADDIE: "No, we can't. It's too late. What is going on with you? Your judgement is totally screwed up." BEN: "Don't you care about her?" MADDIE: "Of course I do. Of course I do. You're the one putting her in danger, going out with Xander like some crazed vigilante. You're acting insane." BEN: "*grabs shotgun* "Yeah." MADDIE: "Hey. Where the hell are you going?" BEN: "To help Ryn."

So what we see here is a gradual shift in priorities until it arrives at the point when he completely prioritizes Ryn over his girlfriend Maddie and where nothing else matters except protecting Ryn.

6. The love variant of the song can cause dangerous (and sometimes helpful) visions

Ben’s condition deteriorates in Episode 110 “Aftermath” to the point where he has a vision of Ryn being in danger. He dives into the water and would have drowned himself if Ryn had not arrived in time to save him.

(probably the closest to the original siren song mythology we got to in the show - thankfully Ryn did no longer see him as a foud source in her water form though)

BEN: “What were you doing down there?” RYN: “I came to help you” BEN: “No, before that. I-I heard your voice. That's why I went down there. You were there, right?” RYN: “No.“ BEN: “No, I - I heard you. I know I heard you. You were there.” RYN: “Ben, I wasn't there.” BEN: “What does this mean?” RYN: “I didn't know my song could do this.”

In episode 201, which takes place three days after 110, Ben loses his footing after hearing Ryn's voice in his head when rock climbing.

In episode 203 the Song appears in his head again when Ryn is in mortal danger as she fights Katrina for leadership of the merpack.

This causes Ben to launch another futile attempt to protect Ryn.

In Episode 214 “The Last Mermaid” Ben listens to a recording of the song again as the sudden relevation of him being a Pownall causes Ryn to almost break up with him. While Ben is very protective of Ryn throughout the episode it is unclear if it is being caused by his normal feelings for her or by the song (I am leaning towards the former).

However, the intense vision he experienced during the night was definitely not caused by his normal feelings for Ryn. 

The horror vision he experiences shows a dark version of him injuring Ryn with a harpoon, causing Ben to try to attack the dark version of him and then being extremely distraught at the sight of an injured vision-Ryn.

However the vision in itself has more positive than negative effects on Ben - and especially on his relationship with Ryn. He realizes he loves even her nonhuman traits and even in nonhuman water form. As soon as he and Ryn reconcile, he suffers from no more visions and experiences no changes in his behaviour.

However there are multiple, long stretches of time where Ben suffers no visions at all and no impact from the song manifests in his behaviour. In episode 202 he is not affected by the song at all, nor is he affected in any other episodes of Season 2 besides episodes 203 and episodes 214.

Curiously this even includes episodes where he and Maddie are exposed to the song multiple times. In Episode 204 Ben hears a recording of the song with no effects.

In episode 209 Ben and Maddie both listen to Ryn's song yet it does not modify  their behaviour. If anything it restores them to their normal behaviour as listening to the song lessens the effect of them missing Ryn.

In Episode 211 Ben listens to the whole song and then is bombarded sveral times with the aggressive layers of the song. The attack on his brain is so bad that he would have likely taken permanent damage had Ryn not stepped in.

(Note that this is the only time a human is shown in pain when listening to any variant of the song. This signifies just how intense the bombardement of his brain is.)

The question immediately arises - why does the song cause such different effects at different times? Wy does Ben experience effects from a recording of the song in Episode 214 but suffers no effect in episodes 204, 209 and 211 - and suffers no effect after being bombarded with the aggressive layers? Why does the song cause Ben to try to protect Ryn in 203 but he has no issue with Ryn risking her life in 208?

Ben can get blasted by the song multiple times in a row - even the harmful layers of the song - in Episode 211 and nothing happens to him. No vision, no change in behaviour, nothing. If the scenes did not show his exposure to the song you would believe nothing had happened at all by his behaviour in this episode.

Was Ben maybe building up a tolerance to the song and getting the cure in 212 removed that tolerance buildup? That is one possible explanation for the experience in 214 but not a very convincing one for the different reactions before - especially not why Maddie did not suffer visions in 209 even though she had no such tolerance at all.

7. The love variant of the song might have a feedback loop

The other possible explanation is that the effects of the song vary according to the stress levels the human is under at that point. Yet subscribing to that theory would effectively mean that Ben would be under less stress when Maddie is in danger of permanent brain damage (as in 211) than when Ryn is in danger. This argument leads down a very dark path for what it implies in terms of the relationship between Ben, Ryn and Maddie, one that I am not prepared to follow as I see no basis for assuming that Ben cares much less about Maddie than about Ryn.

The theory I would favour instead would be a feedback loop, aka the need to protect or to help the siren causing the human brain to go haywire whenever the human notices the Siren is disstressed or in danger.

Which might explain why Ben suffers a vision in 110 (with Ryn being deeply affected by Donna's death) and in 203 when Ryn herself is in mortal danger as she fights with Katrina (note how the vision happens only after Katrina seems to gain the upper hand).

In contrast Ben might suffer no vision in 209 and 211 (not even from the aggressive layers) because he can see that Ryn is safe and well.

Note how in 211 he spends the entire episode by her side and keeps constant visual contact with her.  However in 214 Ryn is clearly in disstress over the mating situation and the Pownall situation, maybe the most stress we ever see her under in the entire show. Ben fears losing her while Ryn tells him that she fears him going bad like his ancestor - the exact situation the vision depicts.

This would also explain why in Episode 109 Ben initially still follows Maddie's advice and only gets more and more irrational as Ryn starts getting more and more stressed out by waiting, something Ryn voices her displeasure at and something that Ben clearly notices as he tries to calm her.  

And a feedback loop of that sort would also neatly explain why - despite still exposing himself to the recording of the song - Ben’s visions disappear after Ryn is safe and/or in a relationship with him and Maddie (Episodes 208-214 and then again 215-216). It also explains wihy he has no visions in Episode 202 when Ryn is around him all the time and why the visions only reappear in 203 (when Ryn is in actual danger) or in 201 (when Ryn and he have split up).

[Speculation: If we assume that the love variant evolved due to Siren-human relationships then - if we assume a feedback loop - we would also have an evolutionary reason for the song to exist in the first place. ]

I fully admit that this is a theory that is only supported by observation and not direct evidence. However it is the only satisfying theory I can think of right now that explains the different reactions to exposure of the song.

8. Singing the love variant is not something a Siren does lightly

Unlike the defensive variant which is regularly used in fights against humans, it is quite clear that the love version is not sung lightly by the Siren. Part of that might be some residual cultural barrier, maybe a holdover from the times the sirens and humans lived on land.

We hear the motivation for a Siren singing the love variant expressed clearly by Ryn in Episode 110, when Aldon Decker tries to convince Donna to sing to him again.

DECKER: "You sang a song to me before. Could you do it again? Your voice is so beautiful." RYN: *looks shocked* DONNA: *twists away from decker* HELEN: "You need to leave!" DECKER: "I just need to hear it once." RYN: “She sang to you to escape from you, not because she loves you." DECKER: "But -" RYN: "She will not do it again."

I really wish I had managed to find a video capture of this scene so I could show you just how shocked Ryn is at hearing this.

Donna meanwhile twists her whole body as far away from Decker as possible despite being in considerate pain.

Donna's reaction to Decker annnouncing the fact and Ryns immediate protectiveness suggests that what Donna did was out of the ordinary. I for one could not help but notice the reaction was similar to movie portrayals of victims of rape or forced prostitution. Take note that Donna initially kept that she sang to Decker from Ryn (she never mentions it in 106 when discussing what Decker did to her) and Ryn is absolutely crestfallen when she hears Decker mentioning this.

It might very well be that singing this love version of the song is one of the most intimate things a Siren can do with a human, one that is ordinarily reserved for people they love. Which again would make sense for the time Siren and human tribes lived together on land as limiting the usage there would serve to protect both humans and sirens.

9. The love variant creates an addiction in the Siren singing it

One simple reason for this song having this special status is the effect it has on the Siren singing it. Much as in the human hearing the song, singing the song also creates an addiction on part of the Siren singing it.

Ryn describes this in episode 203 “Natural Oder”:

MADDIE: "What does it feel like when you sing?" RYN: "Makes me feel good. After I sing to Ben..." MADDIE: "What is it?" RYN: “I need it. I want to sing.”

This is a direct parallel to Ben's explanation how he felt when Ryn sang to him. From Episode 106: "Showdown":

MADDIE: "What did it feel like?" BEN: "Honestly, like a drug. I can't explain it. It's like something I need".

Ryn echoes this in Episode 204 “Oil and Water” when she tells Ben about this while they dance with each other and discuss their relationship.

BEN: You said that, uh, that you have dreams about me. I've had dreams about you too. RYN: Maybe something Ben must know. BEN: What? RYN: You say when I sing my song, you like how it feels. BEN: Yeah. RYN: When I sing to you, I like it, too.

[Sidenote: Geez Ryn cannot keep a secret when it comes to Ben and Maddie. Here she goes telling Ben despite promising just two or three days before that she would keep it a secret. I present to you Ryn Fisher, Queen of the Sirens, Slayer of Big Oil, Keeper of Secrets. I get why she told him as they needed to address it before moving onto the next stage of their relationship but still, nice going there Ryn.]

Therefore, not only does the Human become addicted to the Song, the Siren also becomes addicted singing to that Human. .

[Wild speculation: It might also be that the song originally worked as a link to guarantee the stability of a relationship between humans and sirens in order to protect the Siren. Given the difficulties a relationship between humans and sirens brings with it there needs to be absolute commitment to the relationship for both parties. Which might be the evolutionary reason for the song. Biologically evolution has attached pleasure to things that are necessary for a relationship (like for example sex) and this might be the case here too.]

In closing, I would summarize the capabilities and features of the Love Variant thusly:

- Unlike the defense variant the love variant needs direct visual contact and close proximity to the target. - The love variant creates pleasant sensations for the human target and causes an addiction - It affects how humans feel about the Sirens but cannot create genuine feelings - The song causes lowered impulse control and lowes the inhibitions of the target - It alters the judgement of the human target, creating an intense need to protect the siren - The love variant of the song can cause dangerous (and sometimes helpful) visions - It might have a feedback loop, causing the human to get more visions and act more erratic according to the level of stress and danger the Siren herself experiences. However as long as the human sees the Siren is safe and in no danger the effects are minimal to non-existent. - Singing the love variant of the song is not something a siren does lightly. It is usually done only for people the siren cares deeply about. - The song creates an addiction to sing for the Siren - The Siren experiences pleasant sensations when singing the song - It might originally have been used to guarantee the success of the relationship between Siren and human.

Thank you for reading. As always, feel free to disagree or offer additional info in the comments.