H2O: Just Add Water: Season 1: Episode 21: Red Herring

Red Herring is the 21st episode of Season 1 of H₂O: Just Add Water.

Synopsis[]

Zane thinks Miss Chatham holds the key to the sea monster. Emma needs a change so dyes her hair red. While Zane gets closer to the secret, he also gets closer to Rikki. Zane dives to Miss Chatham’s boat and sees a mermaid!

Plot[]

On the monster hunt, Zane finds evidence linking Miss Chatham to a decades old mermaid sea rescue. He turns up at Emma's in search some answers and catches Emma at a very awkward moment. She is in the middle of dying her hair red and the water in the dye has morphed her into a mermaid so is forced to pretend act quickly to avoid being caught. She's not the only one acting strange – Rikki who has been staving off Zane's advances is more than a little uncomfortable at his arrival. After Zane leaves the girls go into panic mode, enlisting Lewis to help sabotage Zane's dive on Miss Chatham's boat. Lewis manages to slow Zane down but not quite enough – because at the wreck Zane catches sight of a red headed Emma! Zane tries to tell the world about the mermaid but nobody believes him. Rikki finally agrees to date Zane but only if the mermaid talk stops.

Trivia[]

Red Herrings are a type of fish.
Rikki and Zane are now dating.
Second time Lewis works with Zane first time was Surprise.
First appearance of young Miss Louise Chatham.
Only time a character dyes their hair.
First news story in the series.
It's impossible for a mermaid to dye her hair. While the hair dye DOES work, after causing the mermaid in question to transform, the dye goes to the mermaid form; leaving the human with only its natural color.
Emma is caught by Zane, but because of the red dye, Zane doesn't know it's actually her.

Allusions[]

This is an allusion to the show The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in the episode "Rumors" when Cody Martin (Cole Sprouse) wants to change his look just like Emma and they both end up dyeing there hair red and they both see it and they both end up hating it.
Emma having her hair red is similar to Ariel from The Little Mermaid, another sixteen year old mermaid with red hair.

Notes[]

International Airdates:
- Denmark: April 5, 2008 on Jetix
- Poland: October 6, 2007 on Jetix
This episode aired in the United States on June 8, 2008 on Nickelodeon.
This episode premiered in New Zealand at 6.00 p.m. on the 12 of May 2007.

Goofs[]

When Cleo hands Rikki the hair dryer, she puts it in Rikki's left hand. But when the camera view changes, it's in Rikki's right hand. Also the dryer itself flips directions.
Just after Zane compares his drawing to the one on the newscast, you can see by the bar on the player that the video is almost complete. However, when it cuts back to Zane and Lewis, you can hear the newscaster continue to talk for several seconds afterward.