Revisiting "H2O: Just Add Water" And Why The Show Still Slaps (Even As An Adult)

Summer is at it again and making the days a little harder on everyone. In this time, it's too hot to function, too hot to cook and too hot to be productive in any real way.

Which means it’s the perfect time for one of life’s most underrated pleasures: the summer comfort rewatch. And for me – and apparently a surprisingly large chunk of the internet – that rewatch is H2O: Just Add Water.

Mermaidcore Before It Was Cool

There’s something about H2O that hits differently in the summer. Maybe it’s the ocean setting or the very specific brand of mid-2000s beach fashion... But mostly, it’s that it makes me feel like a kid again.

Let’s be real: if you were between the ages of 8 and 14 when this aired, the show made you want to be a mermaid. And let's stop pretending here, we all played “mermaids” in the pool. Some of us still do.

You and your friends probably fought over who got to be Rikki (because she was clearly the cool one, feel free to disagree with me in the comments) or argued about who got which power.

I was that kind of kid who desperately wanted one of those pendant necklaces but got promptly shut down by my parents for being “too expensive.” (Okay, rude.)

Fine, my parents were right about the necklace. But they clearly underestimated the quality of the show it came from.

It Was Actually A Good Show?

What surprises me now, as an adult rewatching this fever dream of a series, is that it wasn’t only nostalgia-fueled childhood memories that make this show interesting to watch, but that it was genuinely a good show. Not perfect, sure, but good.

By that, I mean it was well written and produced to a high standard, something that some kids' shows today don't even reach. Remember that it first aired in 2006. That was 19 years ago!

Let me highlight a few reasons why the show stood out from the rest and why it still holds such a nostalgic place in our hearts:

The Characters Were Archetypes, But Never Clichés

Emma, Rikki, and Cleo (and all the other main characters over the seasons) each brought something unique to the table.

The characters may start out as familiar archetypes (the sweet one, the responsible one, the rebellious one), but each of them is given space to grow and evolve in ways that feel genuine and emotionally grounded.

Emma is the structured perfectionist who slowly learns to loosen up. Rikki’s rebellious streak masks surprising emotional intelligence and some protective coping mechanisms.

Lewis, Cleo’s dorky, science-obsessed best-friend-turned-boyfriend, is a well-written example of a genuinely supportive male character in a teen girl show.

Zane, who could’ve been a one-note rich jerk, is surprisingly nuanced and over time becomes one of the show’s most complicated (and debatably redeemed) figures.

And yes, Cleo, the emotional heart of the trio, had some airheaded moments, but she was never shamed for being girly or sensitive.

That’s actually one of my favorite things about the show: it allowed girls to be girls without mocking them. It didn’t turn all female friendships into catty rivalries (okay, sometimes, but not in a Mean Girls way). It was sincere.

Each of the characters struggled with things relatable and unique to them, without making them into a girly stereotype. That sincerity meant something to a generation of viewers who were constantly told to tone themselves down.

Take Emma, who struggled with the loss of her sports career; Cleo, who had a difficult job and was confronted with her parents' divorce; and Rikki, who struggled with financial problems during her upbringing and even owned a business (JuiceNet Café) in the third season. All of these things.

The storylines tackled problems that people of any gender can relate to and even adults can find in their personal lives!

Craftsmanship? In This Economy?

Let’s talk tails. Because those mermaid-tails were works of art.

The SFX elements, such as the tails, were hand-moulded and looked stunning on camera.

The filmmakers didn't rely on clunky CGI. These things had texture and weight, and the actors even had swimming lessons to move in them, which is a surprisingly dedicated approach given that moving with an extra few kilos on your legs is serious work.

I used to binge the behind-the-scenes making-of videos like it was a Netflix docuseries.

The craftsmanship put into the underwater shots and the practical effects? Honestly better than half of what passes for high-budget fantasy today.

Not to mention the soundtrack! Criminally underrated! The ambient, oceanic instrumentals still make me feel as though I’m floating in a saltwater paradise.

Give it a re-listen, I dare you.

“Cringe” But Also Camp

Sure, the dialogue can be... questionable. The accents get meme’d into oblivion. (TikTok has singlehandedly resurrected H2O with the “Orr norr, Cleoorr!” phenomenon alone.)

But I feel like the show leans into its campiness in the best way. It’s self-aware enough to be funny and sincere enough to be emotionally moving.

It's this balance of tone that makes it so enjoyable to watch again as an adult. You can approach it with ironic detachment, ready to mock every overly dramatic scene, but you'll ultimately find yourself getting drawn in again.

Even guys I know who “don’t like teen shows” have watched the entire thing with me multiple times. By choice. That’s the power of mermaids, baby.

A Safe Escape (Then and Now)

For many of us, H2O wasn’t just a TV show. It was a safe little ocean cove away from the messiness of school and growing up.

It offered a world where your problems could be temporarily washed away (pun intended).

Even now, rewatching it offers a sort of comfort that modern reboots and over-polished productions often lack.

That’s probably why the show still thrives online through TikTok location tours or memes, even now.

Because we all yearn for a time when life was simple and the world seemed to hold a little more wonder (and a time where your mom still made you dinner on dishes you wouldn't have to wash yourself).

Thanks to TikTok, H2O lives on.

Whether it's memes about Australian accents or creators re-enacting scenes in full costume at the original filming locations, the internet refuses to let this show die.

To Sum It Up: It’s Still Magical

H2O: Just Add Water aired in the golden era of tween TV, an era that many (now adults) hold dear in their hearts for defining their childhood.

In today’s era of endless reboots and gritty remakes, part of me hopes they leave H2O alone.

Is it flawed? Sure. But I’ll take a show with imperfect charm and soul over a sleek but soulless blockbuster any day. And if they do reboot it? I’ll still watch, but I doubt any other reboot could capture the childhood magic as much as this one.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I'm gonna go sing the intro song.

(P.S. The original “Ordinary Girl” intro > the Season 3 version by Indiana Evans. I don’t make the rules.)