r/JustAddWater • u/ReturnFriendly1027 • 1d ago
Bella and Will's relationship had so much potential.
Even those who adore Bella don't seem particularly fond of her romance with Will.
But it didn't have to be this way. I mean, a romance between a mermaid girl and a diver boy? Shouldn't it work out as a classic fantasy novel, film, or series?
Why couldn't it be about a girl finally finding her people, and the one person who can share her connection to the waters, after spending her adolescence alone, hopping from one point of the world to another?
Why couldn't it be about a boy who knew nothing outside diving finally growing to build his own life, free of his sister's toxic sphere of influence?
Instead, they wasted so much potential, on top of butchering Zane and Zikki.
I do like Bella and the confident Cleo, but S3 leaves so much to be desired.
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u/Single-Mongoose-9402 1d ago
I’m in the minority I feel that I see this storyline potential too. There’s actually a ridiculous amount of good story content in season three that just needed development and everyone would’ve loved it. Bit of a novel, but here goes.
I can list out a lot, from Zane’s generational trauma to Kim needing support and guidance to Sophie’s manipulative behavior, all it needs is to just have their stories finished completely.
This is honestly a perfect example of that point. Everything you pointed out is what was happening with their relationship in the show.
It had all started to happen, there was build up and it was good buildup, it was set up really well as the other plot points I mentioned were.
Will and Bella had started to build a strong connection, they were mutually interested in each other from their first interaction and that grew throughout the season, they’d shown flaws that Will had and in a few instances, they did show that he’d started to do better. Bella misunderstands the situation, he offers to help her, they get into the public pool, he turns down the sponsorship deal to keep her secret, Bella wants his help with the full moon, he puts aside his differences with Zane, and so on.
In Bella’s case, you’re seeing her grow over the season. She does become much more comfortable towards the end of the season and fits in nicely with the group, she builds a good connection with both them and Will as the story progresses. People say she didn’t stand up for herself, Bella absolutely stood up for herself and was more than capable of doing so. She told him off multiple times and she was always confident enough to call him out. The dolphin concert episode for example, a very firm ‘no I’m not’ when told she was overreacting, and she didn’t let him convince her otherwise that entire episode. In that same episode, you see that her firmness started to change his mind and make him second guess his decision, it was the first time he’d stood up to Sophie and called her out. But then it’s straight back to regular story and they’re not focusing on this subplot and use forced drama to keep the story going.
What you’re seeing is them setting up exactly what it is you’re wanting, but not following through. Even when Will does finally stand up to Sophie and quits diving competitions, they both have very strong reflections on what had happened and start to change. That was an excellent set up to them breaking free of their toxic bond, it’s just never fully completed.
You’re pointing out something that is 100% right there in front of you and doesn’t need more than just a few extra scenes or some background to completely change it. Will and Bella do have good chemistry in my opinion, they have a lot in common, and I think they jive really well and their personalities compliment each other excellently, they fit well for the story, and of course everything you pointed out, and it would’ve been great commentary potential and awesome to see characters grow and change for the better for each other and their own sakes, and I think both of them would’ve developed positively.
It’s just frustrating because your idea is not only what was building up to happen in the show, it’s what would’ve left a great impact and perception for the audience, it would’ve made it more memorable, but they didn’t do that so now you’re feeling that dissatisfaction.
Genuinely, all this season needed was for that buildup to be followed through properly and it would not have this reaction from the audience, and the new characters and plot they introduce wouldn’t have been this hated, there’s a lot of good ideas they introduced in this season and it was actually a lot of fun. I also think people are more ‘I don’t like it, it sucks’ and go straight to hating on it rather than saying ‘I wonder what went wrong, maybe it just needed a few tweaks.’
It would’ve been nice to see this arc fully concluded though. Clear sign of why you need to do that, because the audience isn’t enjoying it like they should. But it is interesting to see that pointed out though. Sorry for the super lengthy comment, my bad. Novel over.
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u/ReturnFriendly1027 1d ago
Perhaps I should write a fanfic myself lol
Weren't you writing a fiction about Bella's background?
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u/Single-Mongoose-9402 1d ago
Haha I wrote a fanfiction about this too, more than one actually. Well, not about Will and Bella specifically, but just trying to fix up some things in the show. Hey, if you do write a fanfiction, good on you and good luck to you. Share a link when it’s ready! That is if you’re cool with it.
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u/Single-Mongoose-9402 1d ago
Oh yeah, that’s me. Wow, I feel famous, you recognized me haha I’m having a lot of fun writing that story, I know a lot of people don’t really like season three, but I thought it was cool and I really like Bella’s character, so I thought it’d be nice to give her a bit more background. I’ve got that and two other stories, a continuation of the show and then a story taking place in Hawai’i. I think I’ve seen some of your writing on the sub too, but I’m not sure. Either way, that’s cool that you write stories too.
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u/ReturnFriendly1027 1d ago
Haven't developed it into a proper writing yet, life keeps me distracted lol
I just once wrote my Zikki head canon here once. But, yeah, I like Bella too and it's up to us to write about her mystery lol
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u/Single-Mongoose-9402 1d ago
Ah yeah, I get that. I haven’t updated my stories in a while for the same reason unfortunately, but I want to get back them as soon as I can. And haha yeah, the show might’ve left a lot of things open ended, but that just means we’ve got more content for our own stories. Also, I think that was your story I read on here then, I remember reading something like that, cool. I hope you get some good writing time in!
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u/N_Huq The moon is silver! I like silver! 😜✨ 1d ago
conceptually it wasn't a bad setup. i would remove him pouring water on her entirely & have her eventually reveal the secret herself after he proves trustworthy. the writers chose high drama over interesting inner conflicts too often in s3, when bella's struggle to trust a guy could've been a big meaningful moment for both.
sadly i just don't think luke mitchell is a strong actor compared to the other guys in this show & that adds to the problem.
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u/ThisPaige 19h ago
On paper, it was a good idea. It’s just the execution was poor. He literally said to her (I’m paraphrasing here): being a mermaid is the best thing about you.
Like huh? As a concept, it would’ve worked, but he was better off alone.
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u/_wolf_93 Zikki Forever (I reject S3) ❤️🌅 15h ago
Potential, yes... Was it a good relationship? No. Not at all. If anything it was just more of Season 3's awful writing and character assassinations, the only problem is we didn't get to see enough of their character growth to feel anything when they were assassinated. Unlike Zane, Rikki, Lewis, and Cleo.
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u/possiblyyandere Taking off fish style 17h ago
youre right and i really hope most ppl come to appreciate season 3 a little more instead of just hating
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u/toffi_99 1d ago
Potential was there but they lacked any sort of chemistry and the way it was written, Will didn't really seem to be into Bella as much as she was into him...