Emma!

BELLA

Emma by hotness Bella by fun factor.

I relate to Emma a lot, personally, but I think Emma is well-developed character who forms an integral part of both the show and the mermaid group. She's extremely intelligent, highly efficient, cautious, assertive, reliable, and someone you can always count on. But I love how the show also portrays her insecurities; in season 1, one of the biggest reasons she didn't want to pursue a relationship with Byron was largely because she fears spontaneity, and she tends to overthink things. For her, she worries about how people will perceive her, and that's why she's extremely reluctant to enter into relationships, because she knows that eventually she has one of two options: tell them she's a mermaid, or let the relationship break down. She strives for academic success, works diligently in all that does, aspires for managerial positions at work. Her drive for success is something which is very important to her character. I also love her growth; how she softens with time, how she learns to look at things from other people's perspective, how she's easily hurt, and how she wants to be a good big sister and role model to Elliot. I think it's great that she finally decided to tell Ash her secret, because it shows how far she's come: she takes the leap of faith and acts on her feelings, rather than overthinking everything that could go wrong.

Bella, imo, was not well-developed, and for that reason, I find her character flat. I don't dislike Bella, by any means; I do like her, but I can't get a good grasp on her character, and I felt that all her conflicts being confined to Will and her feelings for him was a huge disservice to her character. She had all the foundations for being a great character; she definitely deserved better development, and it was the writing that was problematic, not the acting. I thought Indiana did well with the material that she got.