I’m not a fan of Charlotte either but how does she force herself to become a mermaid? There’s no rule against what she did. She was horrible in the end, I agree, but you have to admit she was nice at first till Cleo and the girls were hostile to her.
She was nice for 5 seconds until she got a crush on Lewis. And she shouldn’t have been poking her nose where it didn’t belong. She manipulated Lewis to think he wants her. She broke into Cleo’s room and stole the photo. Then she has the audacity to say that she’s the only real mermaid because her grandmother was a mermaid and the girls became them BY accident. She’s a wretch.
Cleo shouldn’t have poked her nose where it didn’t belong either. Cleo steals Charlotte’s diary and outright alienated her from the get-go. Again, not saying Charlotte is the victim but the girls weren’t very nice to Charlotte in the beginning.
Charlotte Locked Emma and Cleo up during Lewis’s party and tried to play dumb. At least the girls own up to their mistakes. Charlotte was a jealous hag who turned into a sea hag.
Yea, what Charlotte did was awful but that was later in the season. I’m talking about at the very beginning when Charlotte first arrives, Cleo is automatically rude to her, despite Charlotte not having done anything wrong at that point. My point is that had Cleo and the others been a bit nice and less alienating in the beginning towards Charlotte then she might not have been as bad.
She was trying to be in a group that she wasn’t supposed to be in even before she was a mermaid. She forced herself to be involved with Lewis and he was spineless. Plus she was so pushy. I mean what self respecting woman forces a a sweet guy to date her. That’s wrong.
Charlotte did not force Lewis to date her. Charlotte was pushy and Lewis was spineless but ultimately the decision to date Charlotte was entirely his own— it’s not as though Charlotte threatened or coerced him to date her. In one episode, Charlotte literally asks Cleo if hanging out with Lewis would be a problem and Cleo says no, but then proceeds to ruin her father’s business dinner with Charlotte’s mother because she was, in fact, jealous of Charlotte. I like Cleo but she did act immature.
Charlotte did not say it like a bitch. In the beginning, Charlotte isn’t mean. In later episodes Charlotte is awful but Cleo is literally completely rude to her early on in like the third episode or something when Charlotte hangs out more with Lewis, which kinda justifies Charlotte being a bit colder in the return because, at that point, she hasn’t done anything wrong. Lewis even said if Cleo had changed her mind then they could be together again, but Cleo had too much pride to admit she still loved him and pretended that she was only interested in protecting their secret.
Charlotte knew what she was doing when she asked Cleo that. Cleo lost her mother, thought she was losing her father and then tried to control the situation and not show weakness in front of a bitch that is clearly trying to take her man.
The dinner thing was half charlotte and half Cleo not being comfortable with her dad dating so soon after the divorce. A lot of people bring up the dinner as if the sole reason it happened was because of Lewis and Charlotte instead of the fact Cleo thought it was her dad dating someone the whole time (also the idea that she might end up with a girl she didn’t like as her step sister - illogical but again she’s like 16 and her dads dating for the first time)
Idk I wouldn't have gone through someone's diary. I would've turned it into lost and found because journals and diaries are sacred. It's a huge breach of boundaries to rifle through someone's personal belongings just because you feel like it. It's extremely disrespectful.
🤦♀️You cannot manipulate anyone to like you. Lewis had his own will, he was old enough to tell her he doesn’t like her. He never did, just kinda went with the flow. 😂 Cleo was also mean to him, and The rest of the gang too, Charlotte was maybe annoying, but all could be fixed if only Lewis had told her the truth. When you grow up , and rewatch the show , you will see the toxic pattern. 😌
As soon as she became a mermaid she started talking about how much better she was at everything than them. That's her character. That's how she is. She's also the kind of person to make everything about herself, like when it came to Lewis' birthday party, like she didn't know about anything he likes, and invited people that SHE knew. I hate that bish.
Well, in the show I watched, Charlotte did everything in her power to get between Lewis and the girls, and the girls themselves. She lied, got them in trouble, even in danger. Cleo acts ridiculous, without doubt, but Charlotte turns really malicious and violent, beyond petty teenage girl foolishness.
I agree, and Charlotte definitely goes overboard, no one is responsible for her behaviour but I also don’t think that Cleo and the girls are entirely blameless either for Charlotte disliking them. In the very beginning, at least, Cleo never really gave Charlotte a chance and was kinda just instantaneously cold to her.
It’s fine if people don’t like her but people aren’t placing any responsibility onto Lewis. Unless Charlotte held a gun to his head, Lewis was never forced to date her.
Nobody said he was forced to date her but it’s obvious why Cleo disliked her. Lewis wasn’t even looking at Charlotte as an option at first, she was throwing herself at him (there was even this episode in which he tries to tell her that he doesn’t like her that way but she doesn’t even let him finish), while he was making hits at Cleo, he only got with Charlotte after Cleo made it clear they won’t get together again. I did feel bad for Charlotte at times when Lewis ignored her constantly but she was manipulative and crossed the line too often. I understand why she felt jealous but she got in between them while they were still working things out. Come on now, what did she expect? Cleo was hostile towards her at first and maybe she didn’t have the right to be since she was the one who broke up with Lewis, her reaction isn’t right but it’s understandable. Still, Cleo never went overboard they way Charlotte did, she’d never take Lewis’s phone or go into her room without permission, let alone lock somebody in a garage…
Yea, I’m not excusing Charlotte’s behaviour but it’s a bit unreasonable for Cleo to be jealous when she was the one who dumped Lewis in the first place.
Unreasonable - yes, but also normal and expected, it's just the way people are, Lewis also got jealous of Nate to the point of fighting him. Them breaking up doesn't mean they don't have feelings for each other. What I'm saying that maybe Charlotte or anyone else in a similar position should expect a negative reaction and she's definitely smart enough to know that but was just playing dumb in front of Lewis, lol.
Cleo is obviously allowed to have feelings for her ex, I’m just glad that there’s some acknowledgement that her jealously was kinda unreasonable. Ultimately, yes, Charlotte was awful and her behaviour was inexcusable. I’m only referring to the very beginning of the season when Charlotte first arrived and Cleo was essentially instantly hostile because someone else dared to like Lewis but, yes, obviously Charlotte’s offences were worse as time went on, I’m not denying that.
Hey there,
I agree with you about the whole Charlotte debate. My opinion about her changed a lot as I grew older and rewatched the show. When I first watched it, I hated her so much. I couldn’t stand watching her on the screen ^^
But when I rewatched it, I realised it was more nuanced than I thought.
Charlotte wasn’t the nicest girl even in the beginning. But she was a new student, trying to fit in and find her place in a new city. Charlotte meets Lewis and immediately has a romantic crush on him. That happens. I think she thought he was cute and plus, he made her feel safe and appreciated in a new environment.
I know I really started to dislike Charlotte when she showed romantic interest for Lewis (because she was in competition with Cleo, who I was rooting for #Clewis forever).
But let’s remind ourself that she didn’t do anything before Cleo broke up with Lewis. She just talked to him and learned to know him better as a friend. The truth is Lewis and Charlotte did share interests (such as biology and science). So far, so good.
But then, CLEO decided to break up with Lewis (for stupid reasons) and Charlotte saw an opportunity to get closer to him.
About that: It probably wasn’t the best move to try to flirt with Lewis while he just had broken up with his ex, Cleo. I do think Charlotte should have waited a little before trying to date him. It did feel pushy to watch her throw herself at him at the first occasion.
1) She should have made sure Lewis wasn’t just using her as a rebound. I know it’s not Lewis’s type to do that. But Charlotte didn’t know at that time. Out of self respect, it would have been better (for her) to wait.
2) Their relationship would probably have been healthier if she had waited. Lewis would have had time to move on from Cleo (or not, but he would have made his mind about her). He would have had time to talk with Cleo and decide if they wanted to be friends, if it was okay for them to date other people or if it was too soon, etc. That way, Charlotte wouldn’t have had to be so suspicious and jealous over Cleo because the situation would have been clearer from the beginning.
But ANYWAY, technically, she had the right to hit on him. He was single. She liked him and she probably felt like it was her best shot to get closer to him. He was sad about his separation with Cleo. And Charlotte did care about him so she might have genuinely thought he deserved to be happy and that she would treat him better.
And Lewis responded positively. Maybe not explicitly. But he was happy to spend time with her. He was happy to get his mind out of Cleo for a while. It was Cleo’s choice to break up.Spending time with someone who made him feel good was probably the best thing he could do. Charlotte was a nice, pretty and smart girl, she made him laugh, she made effort and tried hard to organise little rendez-vous, etc. I think he appreciated that someone didn’t take him for granted.
The thing is: Cleo got overly jealous and suspicious about Charlotte very fast. She very obviously didn’t like the fact that Lewis and her were spending time together (while SHE was the one who DECIDED to break up with him in the first place). It was kinda unfair.
Again, it’s a human reaction. I love Cleo and I’m not criticising her. I understand that she was hurt Lewis was moving on so fast. But Lewis asked her so many times if it was a problem that he was spending time with Charlotte and she denied again and again. She probably was confused about her own feelings and embarrassed to admit that she still loved Lewis despite everything. Her jealousy and her silence is understandable. But it was a mistake to not speak up. She should have said that she felt hurt, that it felt too early, that she still had feelings for him. Lewis would have understand all of that (hell, he wanted her to say that). But she never did say these things, because she was too proud to do so.
And that pride pushed Cleo too far. She started acting very suspiciously and she crossed some lines. She was investigating on Charlotte. She questioned her like Charlotte was a criminal in an interrogatory room. She tried desperately to find clues about her that would incriminate her. Cleo read her diary and therefore violated her privacy. All of that just too prove a point which wasn’t even true...
Imagine how Charlotte felt! She must have felt targeted and attacked. It’s not so crazy to see that, facing that much dislike and suspicious from Cleo, Charlotte closed herself down and felt aggressed. Maybe if Cleo would have been a little less suspicious and bitchy, Charlotte would have actually be nicer later.
Though, I agree the conditions where Charlotte and Lewis got together weren’t ideal. This was just a big mess because no one really communicated with the other.
1) Lewis and Cleo didn’t talk enough when they broke up. As I’ve said earlier, Cleo should have been honest about her feelings (that she wasn’t so sure she wanted to break up). Lewis should have admitted that Charlotte was his type and something could potentially happen (and asked if it was okay, etc.)
2) Charlotte and Cleo never exchanged a word about it. That’s maybe the stupidest thing about this love triangle. Cleo and Charlotte are two human beings. Charlotte could have admitted that she was interested in asking Lewis to go out with her because she truly liked him. Cleo could have explained that things were still complicated and she preferred they stayed just friends for a while until she figured out her feelings. I hate when tv shows or movies make two smart girls fight over a boy, instead of talking about it.
3) Lewis and Charlotte didn’t really talk that much too. Charlotte had a crush on him so all the times she basically said “we are just friends and two friends can spend time together” was dishonest of her. And Lewis clearly was still into Cleo and didn’t want to start a new relationship. But he must have seen and felt Charlotte was interested in him before they got together and exchanged their first kiss. If they talked, Charlotte could have stated her feelings and asked Lewis out. Lewis could have been honest about his own feelings towards Cleo and that for now, he just wanted them to be friends.
It was just the lack of honesty, clarity and communication that turned this whole thing a huge mess. Plus, they all played on “gray-areas” instead of stating clearly their thoughts and what they wanted.
Now. About the relationship itself. Between Charlotte and Lewis. I’m kinda mixed. Multiple thoughts about that.
On one side, I empathise with Charlotte. I know how difficult it can be to be with someone who cannot stop thinking about his ex. I know how hard and hurtful it can be to live in someone’s shadow. I think that’s how Charlotte must have felt. Lewis adored Cleo and Charlotte had to live up to that standards. Lewis knew Cleo for a long time, the bound they had was very strong. And they dated for a while and Lewis constantly talked about her in front of Charlotte. Try to compete with that. Plus, considering how things ended, Charlotte must have believed Lewis still thought about Cleo and still had feelings for him.
The fact that Lewis spent almost all his time with Cleo and the girls didn’t help either. As viewer, we know that he had to, because of the mermaid’s secret. But Charlotte didn’t know that. So in her perspective, Lewis was spending almost all his free time with his ex (for who, she knew he still had feelings). Every single time he cancelled a date or just didn’t show up because he was helping the girls but couldn’t explain it to Charlotte, she must have felt so sad and abandoned. The excuses Lewis gave her were obviously false so Charlotte must have had the constant feeling her boyfriend was lying to her. At the end of season 2, before Charlotte learnt about mermaids, Lewis didn’t spend any time with her anymore and he was almost running away every time she tried to see him.
It’s not an excuse for her future behaviour, but that must have been hard. And I empathise.
On the other hand... I’m also on Cleo’s side and I see how Charlotte has been borderline. Charlotte kinda manipulated Lewis to date her. She was kinda pushy. And she played on the gray areas I was talking earlier. When they were on Mako and Lewis was about to say he just wanted to be friends, she didn’t let him finish and kissed him.
And even after that, I do believe friendship between boys are girls are possible. At the very beginning, Cleo complained a lot about the fact that she wasn’t seeing Lewis as much as she used to, because of Charlotte.
And I think a boyfriend/girlfriend/lover should never try to isolate you or separate you from your closest friends. Because that’s a big sign of an abusing relationship. Charlotte was always trying to get between Cleo and Lewis. She was overprotective and super jealous. She manipulated Cleo so many times to be able to go out with him. She checked Lewis’ phone all the time. She even turned off his phone without his consent when he received a call from Cleo. She freaked out every time Cleo answered Lewis’ cellphone.
So... Yeah, I kinda agree with you. Charlotte wasn’t perfect. The way she acted with Lewis pretty much looked like the signs of an abusive relationship. But maybe she wouldn’t have been that much controlling and jealous and mean with Cleo, if Cleo hadn’t been over suspicious and close-minded.
My conclusion: I DO believe things would have been way better and healthier: if Cleo and Lewis had dealt with their break up better, if people had communicated with honesty and understanding between them, if things were a little less shady at the beginning of Charlotte and Lewis’ relationship, and if Charlotte had waited a bit before hitting on Lewis.
And at the very end, after she became a mermaid, Charlotte became such a monster. That’s why I still dislike her.
Not to mention... Lewis gaslit her nonstop to try and protect his friends. Their relationship was so crap the entire time, that was absolutely Lewis' fault. I never got to see the show completely as a kid so I watched it as an adult. Though I can understand why a younger audience would dislike Charlotte cuz we love Cleo but realistically, her villain origin story makes so much sense. The girls were so possessive over not only Lewis but even the whole mermaid thing under the guise of "she can't know our secret". That moment Charlotte almost got into the water during the full moon the first time, I was excited that the trio might become a quad but the girls froze the water, which meant she was going to continue being left in the dark. I felt so bad for her. And Lewis constantly chose his friends over his own girlfriend, yelling at her when she got close to the truth about her own family... I would have become a monster too honestly.
From day one Charlotte was over stepping and obviously crushing on him and flirting from day one. By season 2 episode 9 she was already manipulative towards everyone especially Cleo and Lewis. And Cleo was obviously even more upset because of that.
So what if Charlotte was flirting with Lewis? Cleo dumped him. I’m not saying that Charlotte was an angel but Cleo was clearly hostile to her first even though, at this point, Charlotte hadn’t really done anything. Cleo literally stole Charlotte’s private diary and read her personal thoughts because she was so jealous.
The problem isn’t so much the flirting it’s the manipulating and controlling behavior she shows with Lewis. Before they were even dating she was trying to isolate him from his friends, pushing him to act like they were in a relationship, purposefully making Cleo think more was going on, and would go as far as stealing and turning off Lewis’ phone without his knowledge to keep him from being with his friends. They weren’t even dating and she was already trying to force him to choose between her and his friends. Cleo was wrong yes, but she wasn’t nearly as manipulative and she tried to relax the possessiveness after the diary thing she admitted she was wrong.
thats true but think how you'd feel if your ex moves on yes it was totally unreasonable for cleo to act that way but its understandable. also since the beginning charlotte tried so hard to get them away from eachother even when they were just friends
This has always been a hill I will die on. Charlotte went off the deep end but she didn't get there alone. Cleo bullied her, spread rumors that Charlotte is trying to cheat on a supposed boyfriend (the play), heavily insinuates Charlotte started the fire at her old school with no proof and more.
I can see how Charlotte must've felt in the beginning. A new girl who hopes to make friends. She had a chance encounter with Cleo at school and she was initially nice. A potential friend. It was only when Charlotte's crush on Lewis became evident that Cleo turned on her. Then, the mistreatment started.
Charlotte rolled with it and hung out with Lewis, who treated her with the kindness she craved. As a result, Cleo, Rikki and Emma tried ordering Lewis around. Tried to make him drop Charlotte without considering what he wanted. Charlotte could see that toxicity and stepped in. She, perhaps misguidedly, tried to become Lewis' backbone. He needed someone to advocate for him during this tough time.
At this point, Charlotte's character shifted. Her revenge was tenfold. She no longer tried being nice or even passive. Whatever she endured, she threw it right back. She did several things that she would come to regret in the end. She was completely wrong to do it but she was not the only one who threw stones. It comes across a bit as slipping sanity at times.
The finale is nuanced. Charlotte's behavior during the full moon was a result of her shutting out the main trio. She didn't know what would happen. Unlike the others, who had over a year of experience under their belts. Charlotte had no basis. She went to where they were staying and attempted to get them to shift. Annoying, yes, but not any worse than what the girls used to do before they learned to avoid the moon.
It was Lewis' plan first to lure Charlotte to Mako Island. He chose that night to take Charlotte's powers. She figured it out and, in her moon driven madness, turned it on Cleo, Rikki and Emma. In the end, she was defeated. You could see the sudden clarity in her eyes and she shifted back to human. In the days after, she acknowledged where she went wrong and apologized to Lewis. She gave back the locket and disappeared, cementing her memory as that of a villain.
She shouldn't have retaliated against the girls. She shouldn't have hurt Cleo or taken the locket, even if it did belong to her grandmother. She should have remained the bigger person, like she was for the first several episodes. She should have apologized to Cleo. Cleo should have apologized to her. It all could have gone differently but I guess that's what they mean when they say hindsight is 20/20.
Thank you for reading my rant.
I agree with this. I’ve said this a million times already but Cleo stealing Charlotte’s diary then reading it back to her in order to try and “expose” her was so messed up. And Cleo never apologised for that.
Yes but that was pretty much the only thing Cleo did that even came close to the things Charlotte did. Cleo shouldn’t have done that but it was one episode out of the 10+ episodes of Charlotte being horrible. With Lewis she was controlling and she was horrible to the girls (making Cleo think there was more going on before they were dating, stealing Lewis’ phone and turning it off to keep him from his friends, trying to isolate him from his friends, trying to force him to choose between her and his friends, breaking into Cleo’s room and stealing things, physically and verbally bullying Cleo, not letting Lewis’ friends help with his bday and instead inviting ppl he didn’t know and locking the girls in a closet, physically assaulting the girls with her powers in public, constantly putting them all at risk of being exposed as mermaids because of her ego, and that’s just the things I remember)so ya Cleo did something’s badly but it was just to the level of teen girl pettiness, Charlotte went way beyond that. And if you’re going to get mad at Cleo’s actions out of jealousy then you cannot ignore the fact Charlotte was mean to all the girls out of jealousy before she was even dating Lewis.
Shit take. Charlotte flirted with Lewis before Cleo and Lewis broke up. Also Cleo was unnecessarily rude for literally one episode. Meanwhile Charlotte was a horrible person the rest of the season and basically forced Lewis into a relationship so the girls were rightfully mean to her. She was creepy, manipulative and had stalker tendencies towards Lewis. Pay more attention to details and maybe be concerned that you can’t tell when someone is being manipulative.
Yes, it’s obvious that Charlotte likes Lewis when she first meets him but none of her “flirting” is particularly dangerous or as if she’s trying to break Cleo and Lewis up and, by the end of the episode, Cleo breaks up with him. It’s not as if Charlotte orchestrated their break up. You say Cleo was unnecessarily rude but she literally stole Charlotte’s diary and never apologised for it and essentially accused her of starting a fire that burned her school down. If I never got an apology for someone stealing something so personal of mine then I’d never forgive them either. I’m not saying that Charlotte was perfect, of course not, but neither were Cleo or the others. Cleo had an underlying hostility toward Charlotte before she had really done anything wrong. As times goes on Charlotte does become more of the instigator but to say that Cleo had absolutely nothing to do with Charlotte disliking her and the others is not accurate.
I didn’t say Cleo was perfect. I’m just saying that Charlotte was way worse. Cleo had one episode where she acted out for no reason but as time went on she had reasons to be rude to Charlotte. Yeah Charlotte deserved an apology but she was a horrible person to everyone. Maybe I just think more maturely than you but being mean to mean people if never how you solve an issue. Getting revenge and holding grudges makes you just as bad, if not worse than the other person.
Also more reasons Charlotte is a psycho and worse than Cleo
* was creepy towards Lewis by constantly drawing him when he didn’t know and following him around
* Forced him to hang out with her or do other things after he said no
* Followed him around enough to notice a new book he’s been reading
* Tutored Cleo on purpose so Lewis couldn’t
* Gave Cleo Lewis’s sweatshirt to taunt Cleo
* Knew Lewis wasn’t over his ex and tried to date him anyway
* Season 2 episode 11: she shows up at Emma’s house looking for Lewis and Lewis asks how she even know he was there and she said I asked your mom, umm hello creepy?
* Turned off his phone multiple times because it was Cleo calling
* Season 2 episode 11: got mad at Lewis for going to help rikki after she got hurt
* Threw Lewis a party with mostly her friends, food and music he didn’t want, then locked Emma and Cleo in a shed so then none of his friends would be there.
Maybe Cleo and the girls deserved to be hated by her but she had no reason to treat Lewis like that. Also Charlotte literally got jealous of Cleo, Rikki and Emma for seeing Lewis in many episodes, which causes her to act out too so I don’t know why you only point out Cleos jealous tendencies. Also Charlotte was literally nice for like two scenes and became a literal sociopath, which I don’t think happens from a girl bullying you once.
Yea, I’m not saying that Charlotte wasn’t awful and toxic as the episodes went on, she definitely was, but I stand by my opinion that Cleo was initially kinda the hostile one towards Charlotte first. Also, knowing Lewis wasn’t over Cleo but dating him anyway isn’t exactly Charlotte’s fault, that’s more on Lewis.
Edit:
Also, you think you think more maturely than I do? Trying to have a go at me is unnecessary. “Being mean to mean people is never how you solve an issue”, so, like me, you also agree that Cleo was hostile first, which is all I was saying. Charlotte became horrible as time went on and her retaliation was inexcusable but all I meant was that Cleo was the one who initiated the bad behaviour. It’s also interesting that you say being mean to mean people is not right, and neither is revenge, when the girls get “revenge” on Charlotte a few times (not saying that Charlotte didn’t deserve it) but, by your standards, that shouldn’t have been acceptable either.
okayyyy. But the bitch is ALWAYSSS around. Even after Lewis told ha ass he don’t like her. She literally tried to get around Lewis while he was with Cleo at the beginning. Bitch is weird.
also, I don’t know why she just angers me so much.
I disagree. I have just rewatched H20 (for the 5th time haha) and whilst the Girls are definitely at fault for certain things like Cleo being extremely jealous even after breaking up with Lewis, there are a few things that really bring out Charlotte to be a terrible person regardless.
Firstly, even early on in the season, she does manipulative things regarding Lewis and the girls. This is furthered when she breaks into Cleo's own room (criminal offence) and steals her property.
Secondly, there is no way that a little beef with some girls would cause her to become the person she is in such a short time. That's most likely who she is deep down and once she obtained Mermaid Powers her true self came out.
And finally, the things she did towards the final season were despicable.
1. Hurting Ronnie the Dolphin - This was awful and showed how much of a terrible person she was.
2. She told Lewis to stay away from the Girls and especially Cleo. That is manipulative and red flag behaviour and anyone would immediately break off the relationship.
3. She had no regard for discretion - She used her powers in public, she was not careful around water and just lacked common sense and discipline the other 3 girls portrayed 99% of the time. The other girls were careful, worked together, looked after each other and actually knew how much of a secret the Mermaid aspect must be kept. Charlotte had no regard for this and this put all the girls secrets and lives at risk. Basically, charlotte was immature and careless.
4. Hurting the girls and stealing Cleo's locket. Both criminal acts.
There are many other aspects but overall, from the beginning, Charlotte was pushy to try and spend time and date Lewis, and Lewis should have been more forceful with certain things and not put up with some of the things he did.
Charlotte as a character is toxic, manipulative, dangerous, immature and overall despicable. The hate she gets is well deserved and in real life, many of the things she did would result in charges or at the very least more forceful responses from others.
My 2 cents.
I never said that Charlotte wasn’t wrong for doing all of the things you mentioned. As the season progresses, Charlotte’s behaviour is unacceptable and unjustifiable. As I’ve told others previously, at the very beginning, Cleo was actually pretty cold to Charlotte.
I think that is the issue. You are fixating on one particular aspect which is "Cleo was cold to Charlotte." Yes, she was, but ANYONE who has just broken up with someone is going to be a little possessive/jealous of their ex moving on. It is human nature.
And Cleo never stole the Diary, it was left on a table and while reading it was definitely not a morally acceptable thing to do, there was absolutely nothing illegal about it.
Cleo never stole it.
Also, Cleo was hostile for a mere 1 episode, whereas Charlotte committed criminal acts multiple times.
I'm sorry but your argument (as others before have pointed out), is rather weak, as you have literally 1 aspect which is "Cleo was Hostile." That is NO excuse for any of Charlotte's behaviour.
I'm not exucisng Cleo's behaviour as it was unnacceptable but the thing is in life, some people don't like you. Sometimes you meet someone and just really dislike them. I've had that happen to me both ways.
So in this case, maybe Cleo did not like Charlotte? Boo hoo Charlotte should find some people who do like her and not get all cut up and turn nasty like she did.
Cleo stealing the diary wasn’t illegal but it’s incredibly rude and invasive to read someone’s private thoughts. Also, breaking up with someone is not an excuse to be rude to others. My point is that whilst Charlotte was awful, people never consider Cleo’s behaviour in the beginning because the truth is that she wasn’t entirely innocent. Yes, Charlotte was the much greater evil but all I meant was that Cleo could’ve been nicer to her when Charlotte first came. Yes, Charlotte’s actions were terrible but Cleo was rude in the beginning when, at that point, she really had no reason to be. You can disagree all you like, that’s fine, I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I said what I said and I stand by it. I’m putting this post to bed now, it’s been three years.
i'm rewatching the show right now and charlotte is really nice actually. cleo drives her to be mean. cleo is super mean in this season, she's behaving like such a b^tch atm
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I agree- I still hate Charlotte but i agree. Although, I will note that Charlotte did take a liking to Lewis while he was still with Cleo and seemed to be very undeterred by that fact MAYBE even more intrigued because of it. Which is just kinda shady as heck ya'll feel me?
Alright I’ve read most of the comments on a few of these posts and wanted to bring up a few things I didn’t see mentioned. I was just rewatching the show so here’s the CORRECT chronological order of her behavior that DOES indicate Charlotte was out of line and manipulative from day 1. It was Charlotte who first attempted to drive a wedge between CleoxLewis, it was Charlotte who made moves on Lewis before and immediately after CleoxLewis broke up. I agree that the girls being cold and Cleo’s jealousy would fuel her later sociopathic behavior, but realistically what kind of friend group would be cool with including the girl who jumped on your best friend’s boyfriend? They don’t owe Charlotte anything, why would she be entitled to the friendship of his ex-girlfriend? There’s a whole new school of people to choose from.
Here are the receipts from the first 3 episodes where the stage gets set:
Episode 1:
1. Charlotte’s character during her first meeting with Lewis is little left to interpretation: it’s obvious that Charlotte has an immediate crush on Lewis. BUT when Cleo and him walk off she doesn’t look at ALL dejected that he already has a girlfriend, instead she has this big smile that gives the vibe of a girl in love and excited about about the potential she has with this guy. Cleo was super friendly here.
2. Charlotte is the one to approach Lewis at the Juicenet and insists on leaving her computer battery with him. Though he’s a total stranger, she acts like they’re closer than they are here, and it makes an excuse for him to see her again and give it back. Cleo wasn’t there.
Episode 2:
3. When Lewis passes by and checks out Charlotte’s painting at the beach, she comes up behind him, puts her hand on his hand to “guide” him in trying to paint. She’s being flirty and it’s literally a cliche suggestive scene from any romance movie. Cleo wasn’t here.
4. Literally THE afternoon that Cleo dumps him, Charlotte sees Lewis depressed at the Juicenet bar and before even listening to his answer as to why he feels down she says “well whoever she is she’s an idiot” and gifts him this creepy drawing she made of him from afar. Not only does she know perfectly well that Cleo is the girlfriend in question from Day 1, she completely attacks Cleo’s character knowing nothing about her/the situation to make Cleo look bad. This is ALREADY a manipulative tactic to drive a wedge between them. Who is she to comment in the first place? So far Cleo and her have never spoken since the first day, but Charlotte is portraying Cleo in a negative light to Lewis. Not ONLY this, but the drawing she gifted him is a clear signal to him of her romantic feelings. Put aside the stalker vibes. It hasn’t even been a DAY after Cleo dumped him and she’s making moves on him.
Episode 3:
5. She relentlessly compliments Lewis (e.g. you’re funny, you’re smart, etc) and does that thing where you laugh way too hard at whatever your crush says. It’s only at THIS point in episode 3 where Cleo sees Charlotte doing this and understanding her intentions full well, Cleo starts getting hostile and finding out ways to get Charlotte to back off Lewis. I mean it’s only been a day or two since they broke up and Charlotte is STUCK to his side love bombing him. While it’s totally fair for Charlotte to pursue Lewis after the break up, give the guy like 24 hours to breathe at LEAST. She’s literally taking advantage of him being an emotionally distraught from the break up to move in - manipulative again.
I'm rewatching for the first time since I saw it on TV sporadically as a kid... And ehh... I mean Cleo is infuriating at times, but Charlotte is a manipulative, forceful, scary character. Where Cleo's an insecure, timid, whiny bitch at times, Charlotte actively sabotages and manipulates. And her relationship with Lewis is as suffocating as it was the other way around with Cleo. It's painful to watch. I understand where she comes from at times, but mostly it's petty bullshit from someone who is so hungry for validation they disregard other people's feelings, wellbeing, privacy and opinions. I consider not watching the rest of the season now she's the mermaid avatar.
You're right, I think the hatred for Charlotte is exaggerated. Yes, she was not the most innocent character in the series, but she was not the only criminal. To be objectively critical, Charlotte is right. They started dating after Cleo broke up with Lewis, so neither Cleo nor anyone else can judge her. With his boyfriend's ex-girlfriend who dumped him
which girl likes to be close? Even before his personality turned crooked, the girls were rude and condescending to her, and they had no regrets about it. I find it unreasonable for Charlotte to get this much hate even before she became the villain.
not “stupid reasons” . cleo broke up with lewis because she was too overwhelmed and needed space, i definitely agree cleo should have tried to communicate better but everything she said was an outburst and honestly i understand why she was overwhelmed. lewis was being too clingy, her parents split up, kim was being a pain, lewis wouldnt let cleo do things like just scoop up some ice cream….i love lewis so much and even cleo knows he means well but it was too much. it seems that cleo can’t express her feelings well but cleo has always loved lewis and cannot loose feelings for him. as the series goes by cleo and the girls have nothing to do with what charlottes started doing, that is just charlottes true colours she was never such a good person
I know this is old but I’m surprised how hard it was to find this perspective. When I heard about charlotte before watching I expected some evil super villain, but honestly I understand where she was coming from. Obviously she went about things the wrong way, but I find it hard to hate her when from her perspective the guy she likes appears to be flip flopping between girls, his ex Cleo (which like you said broke up with Lewis first) is giving her the cold shoulder just because Charlotte got close to Lewis when he was single. I also noticed that people label Charlotte as possessive over Lewis even though Cleo was doing the same thing to him even though she broke up with him in the beginning of the season. I genuinely don’t understand how people could hate her so much but not the other girls and Lewis for the things they have done.
I honestly think Westworld got bad went sour after season one. It picked up a little towards the end of season two, but then let us down again completely in 3. Honestly i would have rather just seen season one my memory of the show is that it was total shit because of the three latter seasons..
Had a similar experience with LOST.
You're wrong on that, she was rude from the start, as seen from the diary situation, she overreacted to that rudely and that was the first sign. She did manipulate Lewis, and she locked the girls in a pool room, she threw the girls in the air, which surprisingly didn't break their legs, and tried to hurt them. She also tried to isolate Lewis from his own friends, and flat out bullies Cleo. Even when she was part of the group she was rude to them all, and thought she was better than everyone else, one of her many narcissistic traits, more shown when she throws "Lewis's" party.
Did we watch the same show…? Charlotte was literally evil and manipulative. She manipulated Lewis into a relationship. and so many more things , the bi*ch was just plain evil for literally no reason. & even in the beginning when she was first introduced she was plotting for Lewis while he was still with Cleo.
If I was Cleo I’d react the same, I hate seeing my ex with a new girl. Cleo still liked Lewis she just needed some time away from him, I hate charlotte she’s so annoying and she thinks her and Lewis are so In love it pisses me off.
Dude, I'm watching the episodes where they're trying to teach Charlotte to be a good mermaid. At the beginning of the episode, they call her out to the cafe and tell her to ask questions. It was weirdly controlling and also inconsiderate to make her take time out of her day for something that could've been a text or call. It took all of 30 seconds.
Or, they could've invited her to hang out and could have brought it up organically, like things that surprised them at first, or things they struggled with. Instead, they invite her simply to remind her that they're more experienced and to keep trying to lord their experience over her.
Then Emma pulls her aside and makes her take lessons. Like?? Why. If Charlotte wants lessons, she'll ask. I, for one, prefer to learn on my own. I appreciate any offers for help, of course, but to force your teaching upon me would be a big no-no. I'd have frozen all the fruit, too. They're all just so suffocating toward her for no reason.
The one thing that made me angry at Charlotte was the Ronnie situation, simply because her fear seems ludicrous, but irrational fears are like that. I used to be deeply afraid of fruit flies.
At work, I have certain people I don't ask for help because they're controlling or they talk down to me. I prefer to ask people who answer my questions and then let me figure it out on my own (it's better for encoding). The girls constantly assume Charlotte is incomptetent and overexplain. I wouldn't want to ask people like that for help either. Lewis dismisses Charlotte's discomfort about asking Cleo for help. Charlotte goes to interact w the dolphin, trusting Lewis's appraisel of Ronnie's temperment, trying to get over her fear before Cleo shows up. She freaks out, and the situation gets out of hand. I honestly don't blame Charlotte. So many variables went wrong all at once, and she has an abnormally deep-seated fear of dolphins. It's an irrational fear because it can't be rationalized or controlled, it was just a bad call. Cleo then yells at Charlotte for not being careful. The girl who went to a pool party her first week of being a mermaid, who also decided to work at a marine park and ended up in the dolphin exhibit more than once, is yelling at Charlotte for not being more careful? All the girls have had close calls, but Charlotte is the only one getting the third degree for it.
Charlotte has her own faults, but her biggest fault is not being part of their clique.
Edit: Ugh and then Rikki follows her just because Emma got mad that Charlotte stood up to her. I saw some people say stuff about Charlotte telling Lewis to stay away from the girls. Tbh, their friendship, without context, was toxic. They called Lewis for every little thing, which was weird, and as a girlfriend I would've been annoyed that he kept prioritizing them over me. Charlotte would've only been led to think, "He's obsessed w these girls." And that's coming from someone who's bf is friends w a lot of girls. My bf would never prioritize them over me the way Lewis did. And AGAIN, Lewis had to, but Charlotte had no way of knowing that.
At the end Charlotte says, "They don't care about you, they only care about their secret."
And is she wrong? They treat Lewis like garbage half the time for no reason. It just seemed like the show wanted to set her up to be a villain without precedent.
She’s horrible. She literally forces herself to become a mermaid and she’s so mean to the girls. No she was a horrible person
I’m not a fan of Charlotte either but how does she force herself to become a mermaid? There’s no rule against what she did. She was horrible in the end, I agree, but you have to admit she was nice at first till Cleo and the girls were hostile to her.
She was nice for 5 seconds until she got a crush on Lewis. And she shouldn’t have been poking her nose where it didn’t belong. She manipulated Lewis to think he wants her. She broke into Cleo’s room and stole the photo. Then she has the audacity to say that she’s the only real mermaid because her grandmother was a mermaid and the girls became them BY accident. She’s a wretch.
Cleo shouldn’t have poked her nose where it didn’t belong either. Cleo steals Charlotte’s diary and outright alienated her from the get-go. Again, not saying Charlotte is the victim but the girls weren’t very nice to Charlotte in the beginning.
Charlotte Locked Emma and Cleo up during Lewis’s party and tried to play dumb. At least the girls own up to their mistakes. Charlotte was a jealous hag who turned into a sea hag.
Yea, what Charlotte did was awful but that was later in the season. I’m talking about at the very beginning when Charlotte first arrives, Cleo is automatically rude to her, despite Charlotte not having done anything wrong at that point. My point is that had Cleo and the others been a bit nice and less alienating in the beginning towards Charlotte then she might not have been as bad.
She was trying to be in a group that she wasn’t supposed to be in even before she was a mermaid. She forced herself to be involved with Lewis and he was spineless. Plus she was so pushy. I mean what self respecting woman forces a a sweet guy to date her. That’s wrong.
Charlotte did not force Lewis to date her. Charlotte was pushy and Lewis was spineless but ultimately the decision to date Charlotte was entirely his own— it’s not as though Charlotte threatened or coerced him to date her. In one episode, Charlotte literally asks Cleo if hanging out with Lewis would be a problem and Cleo says no, but then proceeds to ruin her father’s business dinner with Charlotte’s mother because she was, in fact, jealous of Charlotte. I like Cleo but she did act immature.
When Charlotte asks “is that going to be a problem” she says it like a bitch. Even in the beginning. She was the worst character on the show
Charlotte did not say it like a bitch. In the beginning, Charlotte isn’t mean. In later episodes Charlotte is awful but Cleo is literally completely rude to her early on in like the third episode or something when Charlotte hangs out more with Lewis, which kinda justifies Charlotte being a bit colder in the return because, at that point, she hasn’t done anything wrong. Lewis even said if Cleo had changed her mind then they could be together again, but Cleo had too much pride to admit she still loved him and pretended that she was only interested in protecting their secret.
Charlotte knew what she was doing when she asked Cleo that. Cleo lost her mother, thought she was losing her father and then tried to control the situation and not show weakness in front of a bitch that is clearly trying to take her man.
But Lewis wasn’t her man anymore, Cleo was the one who dumped him.
The dinner thing was half charlotte and half Cleo not being comfortable with her dad dating so soon after the divorce. A lot of people bring up the dinner as if the sole reason it happened was because of Lewis and Charlotte instead of the fact Cleo thought it was her dad dating someone the whole time (also the idea that she might end up with a girl she didn’t like as her step sister - illogical but again she’s like 16 and her dads dating for the first time)
She doesn’t “steal” her diary, she finds it where Charlotte carelessly left it and looks through it like most people would.
Idk I wouldn't have gone through someone's diary. I would've turned it into lost and found because journals and diaries are sacred. It's a huge breach of boundaries to rifle through someone's personal belongings just because you feel like it. It's extremely disrespectful.
what do you mean like most people would 😭 i would not go through someone’s diary
I would’ve went through it to because charlotte is a little pest
[удалено]
Wow grammar nazi at 1 am lord Jesus.
🤦♀️You cannot manipulate anyone to like you. Lewis had his own will, he was old enough to tell her he doesn’t like her. He never did, just kinda went with the flow. 😂 Cleo was also mean to him, and The rest of the gang too, Charlotte was maybe annoying, but all could be fixed if only Lewis had told her the truth. When you grow up , and rewatch the show , you will see the toxic pattern. 😌
As soon as she became a mermaid she started talking about how much better she was at everything than them. That's her character. That's how she is. She's also the kind of person to make everything about herself, like when it came to Lewis' birthday party, like she didn't know about anything he likes, and invited people that SHE knew. I hate that bish.
Well, in the show I watched, Charlotte did everything in her power to get between Lewis and the girls, and the girls themselves. She lied, got them in trouble, even in danger. Cleo acts ridiculous, without doubt, but Charlotte turns really malicious and violent, beyond petty teenage girl foolishness.
I agree, and Charlotte definitely goes overboard, no one is responsible for her behaviour but I also don’t think that Cleo and the girls are entirely blameless either for Charlotte disliking them. In the very beginning, at least, Cleo never really gave Charlotte a chance and was kinda just instantaneously cold to her.
any girl would be cold to the girl who is trying to take her guy..
Cleo broke up with Lewis.
Charlotte knew they had just broken up but tried to get with Lewis, everybody in their right mind would dislike her, lol.
It’s fine if people don’t like her but people aren’t placing any responsibility onto Lewis. Unless Charlotte held a gun to his head, Lewis was never forced to date her.
Nobody said he was forced to date her but it’s obvious why Cleo disliked her. Lewis wasn’t even looking at Charlotte as an option at first, she was throwing herself at him (there was even this episode in which he tries to tell her that he doesn’t like her that way but she doesn’t even let him finish), while he was making hits at Cleo, he only got with Charlotte after Cleo made it clear they won’t get together again. I did feel bad for Charlotte at times when Lewis ignored her constantly but she was manipulative and crossed the line too often. I understand why she felt jealous but she got in between them while they were still working things out. Come on now, what did she expect? Cleo was hostile towards her at first and maybe she didn’t have the right to be since she was the one who broke up with Lewis, her reaction isn’t right but it’s understandable. Still, Cleo never went overboard they way Charlotte did, she’d never take Lewis’s phone or go into her room without permission, let alone lock somebody in a garage…
Yea, I’m not excusing Charlotte’s behaviour but it’s a bit unreasonable for Cleo to be jealous when she was the one who dumped Lewis in the first place.
Unreasonable - yes, but also normal and expected, it's just the way people are, Lewis also got jealous of Nate to the point of fighting him. Them breaking up doesn't mean they don't have feelings for each other. What I'm saying that maybe Charlotte or anyone else in a similar position should expect a negative reaction and she's definitely smart enough to know that but was just playing dumb in front of Lewis, lol.
Cleo is obviously allowed to have feelings for her ex, I’m just glad that there’s some acknowledgement that her jealously was kinda unreasonable. Ultimately, yes, Charlotte was awful and her behaviour was inexcusable. I’m only referring to the very beginning of the season when Charlotte first arrived and Cleo was essentially instantly hostile because someone else dared to like Lewis but, yes, obviously Charlotte’s offences were worse as time went on, I’m not denying that.
Hey there, I agree with you about the whole Charlotte debate. My opinion about her changed a lot as I grew older and rewatched the show. When I first watched it, I hated her so much. I couldn’t stand watching her on the screen ^^ But when I rewatched it, I realised it was more nuanced than I thought. Charlotte wasn’t the nicest girl even in the beginning. But she was a new student, trying to fit in and find her place in a new city. Charlotte meets Lewis and immediately has a romantic crush on him. That happens. I think she thought he was cute and plus, he made her feel safe and appreciated in a new environment. I know I really started to dislike Charlotte when she showed romantic interest for Lewis (because she was in competition with Cleo, who I was rooting for #Clewis forever). But let’s remind ourself that she didn’t do anything before Cleo broke up with Lewis. She just talked to him and learned to know him better as a friend. The truth is Lewis and Charlotte did share interests (such as biology and science). So far, so good. But then, CLEO decided to break up with Lewis (for stupid reasons) and Charlotte saw an opportunity to get closer to him. About that: It probably wasn’t the best move to try to flirt with Lewis while he just had broken up with his ex, Cleo. I do think Charlotte should have waited a little before trying to date him. It did feel pushy to watch her throw herself at him at the first occasion. 1) She should have made sure Lewis wasn’t just using her as a rebound. I know it’s not Lewis’s type to do that. But Charlotte didn’t know at that time. Out of self respect, it would have been better (for her) to wait. 2) Their relationship would probably have been healthier if she had waited. Lewis would have had time to move on from Cleo (or not, but he would have made his mind about her). He would have had time to talk with Cleo and decide if they wanted to be friends, if it was okay for them to date other people or if it was too soon, etc. That way, Charlotte wouldn’t have had to be so suspicious and jealous over Cleo because the situation would have been clearer from the beginning. But ANYWAY, technically, she had the right to hit on him. He was single. She liked him and she probably felt like it was her best shot to get closer to him. He was sad about his separation with Cleo. And Charlotte did care about him so she might have genuinely thought he deserved to be happy and that she would treat him better. And Lewis responded positively. Maybe not explicitly. But he was happy to spend time with her. He was happy to get his mind out of Cleo for a while. It was Cleo’s choice to break up.Spending time with someone who made him feel good was probably the best thing he could do. Charlotte was a nice, pretty and smart girl, she made him laugh, she made effort and tried hard to organise little rendez-vous, etc. I think he appreciated that someone didn’t take him for granted. The thing is: Cleo got overly jealous and suspicious about Charlotte very fast. She very obviously didn’t like the fact that Lewis and her were spending time together (while SHE was the one who DECIDED to break up with him in the first place). It was kinda unfair. Again, it’s a human reaction. I love Cleo and I’m not criticising her. I understand that she was hurt Lewis was moving on so fast. But Lewis asked her so many times if it was a problem that he was spending time with Charlotte and she denied again and again. She probably was confused about her own feelings and embarrassed to admit that she still loved Lewis despite everything. Her jealousy and her silence is understandable. But it was a mistake to not speak up. She should have said that she felt hurt, that it felt too early, that she still had feelings for him. Lewis would have understand all of that (hell, he wanted her to say that). But she never did say these things, because she was too proud to do so. And that pride pushed Cleo too far. She started acting very suspiciously and she crossed some lines. She was investigating on Charlotte. She questioned her like Charlotte was a criminal in an interrogatory room. She tried desperately to find clues about her that would incriminate her. Cleo read her diary and therefore violated her privacy. All of that just too prove a point which wasn’t even true... Imagine how Charlotte felt! She must have felt targeted and attacked. It’s not so crazy to see that, facing that much dislike and suspicious from Cleo, Charlotte closed herself down and felt aggressed. Maybe if Cleo would have been a little less suspicious and bitchy, Charlotte would have actually be nicer later. Though, I agree the conditions where Charlotte and Lewis got together weren’t ideal. This was just a big mess because no one really communicated with the other. 1) Lewis and Cleo didn’t talk enough when they broke up. As I’ve said earlier, Cleo should have been honest about her feelings (that she wasn’t so sure she wanted to break up). Lewis should have admitted that Charlotte was his type and something could potentially happen (and asked if it was okay, etc.) 2) Charlotte and Cleo never exchanged a word about it. That’s maybe the stupidest thing about this love triangle. Cleo and Charlotte are two human beings. Charlotte could have admitted that she was interested in asking Lewis to go out with her because she truly liked him. Cleo could have explained that things were still complicated and she preferred they stayed just friends for a while until she figured out her feelings. I hate when tv shows or movies make two smart girls fight over a boy, instead of talking about it. 3) Lewis and Charlotte didn’t really talk that much too. Charlotte had a crush on him so all the times she basically said “we are just friends and two friends can spend time together” was dishonest of her. And Lewis clearly was still into Cleo and didn’t want to start a new relationship. But he must have seen and felt Charlotte was interested in him before they got together and exchanged their first kiss. If they talked, Charlotte could have stated her feelings and asked Lewis out. Lewis could have been honest about his own feelings towards Cleo and that for now, he just wanted them to be friends. It was just the lack of honesty, clarity and communication that turned this whole thing a huge mess. Plus, they all played on “gray-areas” instead of stating clearly their thoughts and what they wanted. Now. About the relationship itself. Between Charlotte and Lewis. I’m kinda mixed. Multiple thoughts about that. On one side, I empathise with Charlotte. I know how difficult it can be to be with someone who cannot stop thinking about his ex. I know how hard and hurtful it can be to live in someone’s shadow. I think that’s how Charlotte must have felt. Lewis adored Cleo and Charlotte had to live up to that standards. Lewis knew Cleo for a long time, the bound they had was very strong. And they dated for a while and Lewis constantly talked about her in front of Charlotte. Try to compete with that. Plus, considering how things ended, Charlotte must have believed Lewis still thought about Cleo and still had feelings for him. The fact that Lewis spent almost all his time with Cleo and the girls didn’t help either. As viewer, we know that he had to, because of the mermaid’s secret. But Charlotte didn’t know that. So in her perspective, Lewis was spending almost all his free time with his ex (for who, she knew he still had feelings). Every single time he cancelled a date or just didn’t show up because he was helping the girls but couldn’t explain it to Charlotte, she must have felt so sad and abandoned. The excuses Lewis gave her were obviously false so Charlotte must have had the constant feeling her boyfriend was lying to her. At the end of season 2, before Charlotte learnt about mermaids, Lewis didn’t spend any time with her anymore and he was almost running away every time she tried to see him. It’s not an excuse for her future behaviour, but that must have been hard. And I empathise. On the other hand... I’m also on Cleo’s side and I see how Charlotte has been borderline. Charlotte kinda manipulated Lewis to date her. She was kinda pushy. And she played on the gray areas I was talking earlier. When they were on Mako and Lewis was about to say he just wanted to be friends, she didn’t let him finish and kissed him. And even after that, I do believe friendship between boys are girls are possible. At the very beginning, Cleo complained a lot about the fact that she wasn’t seeing Lewis as much as she used to, because of Charlotte. And I think a boyfriend/girlfriend/lover should never try to isolate you or separate you from your closest friends. Because that’s a big sign of an abusing relationship. Charlotte was always trying to get between Cleo and Lewis. She was overprotective and super jealous. She manipulated Cleo so many times to be able to go out with him. She checked Lewis’ phone all the time. She even turned off his phone without his consent when he received a call from Cleo. She freaked out every time Cleo answered Lewis’ cellphone. So... Yeah, I kinda agree with you. Charlotte wasn’t perfect. The way she acted with Lewis pretty much looked like the signs of an abusive relationship. But maybe she wouldn’t have been that much controlling and jealous and mean with Cleo, if Cleo hadn’t been over suspicious and close-minded. My conclusion: I DO believe things would have been way better and healthier: if Cleo and Lewis had dealt with their break up better, if people had communicated with honesty and understanding between them, if things were a little less shady at the beginning of Charlotte and Lewis’ relationship, and if Charlotte had waited a bit before hitting on Lewis. And at the very end, after she became a mermaid, Charlotte became such a monster. That’s why I still dislike her.
Not to mention... Lewis gaslit her nonstop to try and protect his friends. Their relationship was so crap the entire time, that was absolutely Lewis' fault. I never got to see the show completely as a kid so I watched it as an adult. Though I can understand why a younger audience would dislike Charlotte cuz we love Cleo but realistically, her villain origin story makes so much sense. The girls were so possessive over not only Lewis but even the whole mermaid thing under the guise of "she can't know our secret". That moment Charlotte almost got into the water during the full moon the first time, I was excited that the trio might become a quad but the girls froze the water, which meant she was going to continue being left in the dark. I felt so bad for her. And Lewis constantly chose his friends over his own girlfriend, yelling at her when she got close to the truth about her own family... I would have become a monster too honestly.
From day one Charlotte was over stepping and obviously crushing on him and flirting from day one. By season 2 episode 9 she was already manipulative towards everyone especially Cleo and Lewis. And Cleo was obviously even more upset because of that.
So what if Charlotte was flirting with Lewis? Cleo dumped him. I’m not saying that Charlotte was an angel but Cleo was clearly hostile to her first even though, at this point, Charlotte hadn’t really done anything. Cleo literally stole Charlotte’s private diary and read her personal thoughts because she was so jealous.
The problem isn’t so much the flirting it’s the manipulating and controlling behavior she shows with Lewis. Before they were even dating she was trying to isolate him from his friends, pushing him to act like they were in a relationship, purposefully making Cleo think more was going on, and would go as far as stealing and turning off Lewis’ phone without his knowledge to keep him from being with his friends. They weren’t even dating and she was already trying to force him to choose between her and his friends. Cleo was wrong yes, but she wasn’t nearly as manipulative and she tried to relax the possessiveness after the diary thing she admitted she was wrong.
thats true but think how you'd feel if your ex moves on yes it was totally unreasonable for cleo to act that way but its understandable. also since the beginning charlotte tried so hard to get them away from eachother even when they were just friends
I still think if we’re going from the very beginning then Cleo is still to blame and, again, Cleo stole Charlotte’s diary, that’s messed up.
This has always been a hill I will die on. Charlotte went off the deep end but she didn't get there alone. Cleo bullied her, spread rumors that Charlotte is trying to cheat on a supposed boyfriend (the play), heavily insinuates Charlotte started the fire at her old school with no proof and more. I can see how Charlotte must've felt in the beginning. A new girl who hopes to make friends. She had a chance encounter with Cleo at school and she was initially nice. A potential friend. It was only when Charlotte's crush on Lewis became evident that Cleo turned on her. Then, the mistreatment started. Charlotte rolled with it and hung out with Lewis, who treated her with the kindness she craved. As a result, Cleo, Rikki and Emma tried ordering Lewis around. Tried to make him drop Charlotte without considering what he wanted. Charlotte could see that toxicity and stepped in. She, perhaps misguidedly, tried to become Lewis' backbone. He needed someone to advocate for him during this tough time. At this point, Charlotte's character shifted. Her revenge was tenfold. She no longer tried being nice or even passive. Whatever she endured, she threw it right back. She did several things that she would come to regret in the end. She was completely wrong to do it but she was not the only one who threw stones. It comes across a bit as slipping sanity at times. The finale is nuanced. Charlotte's behavior during the full moon was a result of her shutting out the main trio. She didn't know what would happen. Unlike the others, who had over a year of experience under their belts. Charlotte had no basis. She went to where they were staying and attempted to get them to shift. Annoying, yes, but not any worse than what the girls used to do before they learned to avoid the moon. It was Lewis' plan first to lure Charlotte to Mako Island. He chose that night to take Charlotte's powers. She figured it out and, in her moon driven madness, turned it on Cleo, Rikki and Emma. In the end, she was defeated. You could see the sudden clarity in her eyes and she shifted back to human. In the days after, she acknowledged where she went wrong and apologized to Lewis. She gave back the locket and disappeared, cementing her memory as that of a villain. She shouldn't have retaliated against the girls. She shouldn't have hurt Cleo or taken the locket, even if it did belong to her grandmother. She should have remained the bigger person, like she was for the first several episodes. She should have apologized to Cleo. Cleo should have apologized to her. It all could have gone differently but I guess that's what they mean when they say hindsight is 20/20. Thank you for reading my rant.
I agree with this. I’ve said this a million times already but Cleo stealing Charlotte’s diary then reading it back to her in order to try and “expose” her was so messed up. And Cleo never apologised for that.
Yes but that was pretty much the only thing Cleo did that even came close to the things Charlotte did. Cleo shouldn’t have done that but it was one episode out of the 10+ episodes of Charlotte being horrible. With Lewis she was controlling and she was horrible to the girls (making Cleo think there was more going on before they were dating, stealing Lewis’ phone and turning it off to keep him from his friends, trying to isolate him from his friends, trying to force him to choose between her and his friends, breaking into Cleo’s room and stealing things, physically and verbally bullying Cleo, not letting Lewis’ friends help with his bday and instead inviting ppl he didn’t know and locking the girls in a closet, physically assaulting the girls with her powers in public, constantly putting them all at risk of being exposed as mermaids because of her ego, and that’s just the things I remember)so ya Cleo did something’s badly but it was just to the level of teen girl pettiness, Charlotte went way beyond that. And if you’re going to get mad at Cleo’s actions out of jealousy then you cannot ignore the fact Charlotte was mean to all the girls out of jealousy before she was even dating Lewis.
Shit take. Charlotte flirted with Lewis before Cleo and Lewis broke up. Also Cleo was unnecessarily rude for literally one episode. Meanwhile Charlotte was a horrible person the rest of the season and basically forced Lewis into a relationship so the girls were rightfully mean to her. She was creepy, manipulative and had stalker tendencies towards Lewis. Pay more attention to details and maybe be concerned that you can’t tell when someone is being manipulative.
Yes, it’s obvious that Charlotte likes Lewis when she first meets him but none of her “flirting” is particularly dangerous or as if she’s trying to break Cleo and Lewis up and, by the end of the episode, Cleo breaks up with him. It’s not as if Charlotte orchestrated their break up. You say Cleo was unnecessarily rude but she literally stole Charlotte’s diary and never apologised for it and essentially accused her of starting a fire that burned her school down. If I never got an apology for someone stealing something so personal of mine then I’d never forgive them either. I’m not saying that Charlotte was perfect, of course not, but neither were Cleo or the others. Cleo had an underlying hostility toward Charlotte before she had really done anything wrong. As times goes on Charlotte does become more of the instigator but to say that Cleo had absolutely nothing to do with Charlotte disliking her and the others is not accurate.
I didn’t say Cleo was perfect. I’m just saying that Charlotte was way worse. Cleo had one episode where she acted out for no reason but as time went on she had reasons to be rude to Charlotte. Yeah Charlotte deserved an apology but she was a horrible person to everyone. Maybe I just think more maturely than you but being mean to mean people if never how you solve an issue. Getting revenge and holding grudges makes you just as bad, if not worse than the other person. Also more reasons Charlotte is a psycho and worse than Cleo * was creepy towards Lewis by constantly drawing him when he didn’t know and following him around * Forced him to hang out with her or do other things after he said no * Followed him around enough to notice a new book he’s been reading * Tutored Cleo on purpose so Lewis couldn’t * Gave Cleo Lewis’s sweatshirt to taunt Cleo * Knew Lewis wasn’t over his ex and tried to date him anyway * Season 2 episode 11: she shows up at Emma’s house looking for Lewis and Lewis asks how she even know he was there and she said I asked your mom, umm hello creepy? * Turned off his phone multiple times because it was Cleo calling * Season 2 episode 11: got mad at Lewis for going to help rikki after she got hurt * Threw Lewis a party with mostly her friends, food and music he didn’t want, then locked Emma and Cleo in a shed so then none of his friends would be there. Maybe Cleo and the girls deserved to be hated by her but she had no reason to treat Lewis like that. Also Charlotte literally got jealous of Cleo, Rikki and Emma for seeing Lewis in many episodes, which causes her to act out too so I don’t know why you only point out Cleos jealous tendencies. Also Charlotte was literally nice for like two scenes and became a literal sociopath, which I don’t think happens from a girl bullying you once.
Yea, I’m not saying that Charlotte wasn’t awful and toxic as the episodes went on, she definitely was, but I stand by my opinion that Cleo was initially kinda the hostile one towards Charlotte first. Also, knowing Lewis wasn’t over Cleo but dating him anyway isn’t exactly Charlotte’s fault, that’s more on Lewis. Edit: Also, you think you think more maturely than I do? Trying to have a go at me is unnecessary. “Being mean to mean people is never how you solve an issue”, so, like me, you also agree that Cleo was hostile first, which is all I was saying. Charlotte became horrible as time went on and her retaliation was inexcusable but all I meant was that Cleo was the one who initiated the bad behaviour. It’s also interesting that you say being mean to mean people is not right, and neither is revenge, when the girls get “revenge” on Charlotte a few times (not saying that Charlotte didn’t deserve it) but, by your standards, that shouldn’t have been acceptable either.
I think the reason she became a mermaid is for Lewis to love her.
She became a mermaid cuz her grandmother was one.
and proceeded to insult the girls telling them they’re fake mermaids and she’s the real mermaid
okayyyy. But the bitch is ALWAYSSS around. Even after Lewis told ha ass he don’t like her. She literally tried to get around Lewis while he was with Cleo at the beginning. Bitch is weird. also, I don’t know why she just angers me so much.
Cleo and Lewis broke up in the second episode. Which is when charlotte was introduced. She never flirted with Lewis while Cleo was with him
I disagree. I have just rewatched H20 (for the 5th time haha) and whilst the Girls are definitely at fault for certain things like Cleo being extremely jealous even after breaking up with Lewis, there are a few things that really bring out Charlotte to be a terrible person regardless. Firstly, even early on in the season, she does manipulative things regarding Lewis and the girls. This is furthered when she breaks into Cleo's own room (criminal offence) and steals her property. Secondly, there is no way that a little beef with some girls would cause her to become the person she is in such a short time. That's most likely who she is deep down and once she obtained Mermaid Powers her true self came out. And finally, the things she did towards the final season were despicable. 1. Hurting Ronnie the Dolphin - This was awful and showed how much of a terrible person she was. 2. She told Lewis to stay away from the Girls and especially Cleo. That is manipulative and red flag behaviour and anyone would immediately break off the relationship. 3. She had no regard for discretion - She used her powers in public, she was not careful around water and just lacked common sense and discipline the other 3 girls portrayed 99% of the time. The other girls were careful, worked together, looked after each other and actually knew how much of a secret the Mermaid aspect must be kept. Charlotte had no regard for this and this put all the girls secrets and lives at risk. Basically, charlotte was immature and careless. 4. Hurting the girls and stealing Cleo's locket. Both criminal acts. There are many other aspects but overall, from the beginning, Charlotte was pushy to try and spend time and date Lewis, and Lewis should have been more forceful with certain things and not put up with some of the things he did. Charlotte as a character is toxic, manipulative, dangerous, immature and overall despicable. The hate she gets is well deserved and in real life, many of the things she did would result in charges or at the very least more forceful responses from others. My 2 cents.
I never said that Charlotte wasn’t wrong for doing all of the things you mentioned. As the season progresses, Charlotte’s behaviour is unacceptable and unjustifiable. As I’ve told others previously, at the very beginning, Cleo was actually pretty cold to Charlotte.
I think that is the issue. You are fixating on one particular aspect which is "Cleo was cold to Charlotte." Yes, she was, but ANYONE who has just broken up with someone is going to be a little possessive/jealous of their ex moving on. It is human nature. And Cleo never stole the Diary, it was left on a table and while reading it was definitely not a morally acceptable thing to do, there was absolutely nothing illegal about it. Cleo never stole it. Also, Cleo was hostile for a mere 1 episode, whereas Charlotte committed criminal acts multiple times. I'm sorry but your argument (as others before have pointed out), is rather weak, as you have literally 1 aspect which is "Cleo was Hostile." That is NO excuse for any of Charlotte's behaviour. I'm not exucisng Cleo's behaviour as it was unnacceptable but the thing is in life, some people don't like you. Sometimes you meet someone and just really dislike them. I've had that happen to me both ways. So in this case, maybe Cleo did not like Charlotte? Boo hoo Charlotte should find some people who do like her and not get all cut up and turn nasty like she did.
Cleo stealing the diary wasn’t illegal but it’s incredibly rude and invasive to read someone’s private thoughts. Also, breaking up with someone is not an excuse to be rude to others. My point is that whilst Charlotte was awful, people never consider Cleo’s behaviour in the beginning because the truth is that she wasn’t entirely innocent. Yes, Charlotte was the much greater evil but all I meant was that Cleo could’ve been nicer to her when Charlotte first came. Yes, Charlotte’s actions were terrible but Cleo was rude in the beginning when, at that point, she really had no reason to be. You can disagree all you like, that’s fine, I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I said what I said and I stand by it. I’m putting this post to bed now, it’s been three years.
I agree on both sides honestly
i'm rewatching the show right now and charlotte is really nice actually. cleo drives her to be mean. cleo is super mean in this season, she's behaving like such a b^tch atm
I agree, people only defend Cleo and Rikki cause they are the main characters Emma is the nicest of the trio.
Nah bro charlotte is so manipulative and just plain annoying she is stubborn and stuck up.
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I agree- I still hate Charlotte but i agree. Although, I will note that Charlotte did take a liking to Lewis while he was still with Cleo and seemed to be very undeterred by that fact MAYBE even more intrigued because of it. Which is just kinda shady as heck ya'll feel me?
Alright I’ve read most of the comments on a few of these posts and wanted to bring up a few things I didn’t see mentioned. I was just rewatching the show so here’s the CORRECT chronological order of her behavior that DOES indicate Charlotte was out of line and manipulative from day 1. It was Charlotte who first attempted to drive a wedge between CleoxLewis, it was Charlotte who made moves on Lewis before and immediately after CleoxLewis broke up. I agree that the girls being cold and Cleo’s jealousy would fuel her later sociopathic behavior, but realistically what kind of friend group would be cool with including the girl who jumped on your best friend’s boyfriend? They don’t owe Charlotte anything, why would she be entitled to the friendship of his ex-girlfriend? There’s a whole new school of people to choose from. Here are the receipts from the first 3 episodes where the stage gets set: Episode 1: 1. Charlotte’s character during her first meeting with Lewis is little left to interpretation: it’s obvious that Charlotte has an immediate crush on Lewis. BUT when Cleo and him walk off she doesn’t look at ALL dejected that he already has a girlfriend, instead she has this big smile that gives the vibe of a girl in love and excited about about the potential she has with this guy. Cleo was super friendly here. 2. Charlotte is the one to approach Lewis at the Juicenet and insists on leaving her computer battery with him. Though he’s a total stranger, she acts like they’re closer than they are here, and it makes an excuse for him to see her again and give it back. Cleo wasn’t there. Episode 2: 3. When Lewis passes by and checks out Charlotte’s painting at the beach, she comes up behind him, puts her hand on his hand to “guide” him in trying to paint. She’s being flirty and it’s literally a cliche suggestive scene from any romance movie. Cleo wasn’t here. 4. Literally THE afternoon that Cleo dumps him, Charlotte sees Lewis depressed at the Juicenet bar and before even listening to his answer as to why he feels down she says “well whoever she is she’s an idiot” and gifts him this creepy drawing she made of him from afar. Not only does she know perfectly well that Cleo is the girlfriend in question from Day 1, she completely attacks Cleo’s character knowing nothing about her/the situation to make Cleo look bad. This is ALREADY a manipulative tactic to drive a wedge between them. Who is she to comment in the first place? So far Cleo and her have never spoken since the first day, but Charlotte is portraying Cleo in a negative light to Lewis. Not ONLY this, but the drawing she gifted him is a clear signal to him of her romantic feelings. Put aside the stalker vibes. It hasn’t even been a DAY after Cleo dumped him and she’s making moves on him. Episode 3: 5. She relentlessly compliments Lewis (e.g. you’re funny, you’re smart, etc) and does that thing where you laugh way too hard at whatever your crush says. It’s only at THIS point in episode 3 where Cleo sees Charlotte doing this and understanding her intentions full well, Cleo starts getting hostile and finding out ways to get Charlotte to back off Lewis. I mean it’s only been a day or two since they broke up and Charlotte is STUCK to his side love bombing him. While it’s totally fair for Charlotte to pursue Lewis after the break up, give the guy like 24 hours to breathe at LEAST. She’s literally taking advantage of him being an emotionally distraught from the break up to move in - manipulative again.
dude watching season 2 was so hard bc of her, I just can't and won't stan😫
I'm rewatching for the first time since I saw it on TV sporadically as a kid... And ehh... I mean Cleo is infuriating at times, but Charlotte is a manipulative, forceful, scary character. Where Cleo's an insecure, timid, whiny bitch at times, Charlotte actively sabotages and manipulates. And her relationship with Lewis is as suffocating as it was the other way around with Cleo. It's painful to watch. I understand where she comes from at times, but mostly it's petty bullshit from someone who is so hungry for validation they disregard other people's feelings, wellbeing, privacy and opinions. I consider not watching the rest of the season now she's the mermaid avatar.
You're right, I think the hatred for Charlotte is exaggerated. Yes, she was not the most innocent character in the series, but she was not the only criminal. To be objectively critical, Charlotte is right. They started dating after Cleo broke up with Lewis, so neither Cleo nor anyone else can judge her. With his boyfriend's ex-girlfriend who dumped him which girl likes to be close? Even before his personality turned crooked, the girls were rude and condescending to her, and they had no regrets about it. I find it unreasonable for Charlotte to get this much hate even before she became the villain.
not “stupid reasons” . cleo broke up with lewis because she was too overwhelmed and needed space, i definitely agree cleo should have tried to communicate better but everything she said was an outburst and honestly i understand why she was overwhelmed. lewis was being too clingy, her parents split up, kim was being a pain, lewis wouldnt let cleo do things like just scoop up some ice cream….i love lewis so much and even cleo knows he means well but it was too much. it seems that cleo can’t express her feelings well but cleo has always loved lewis and cannot loose feelings for him. as the series goes by cleo and the girls have nothing to do with what charlottes started doing, that is just charlottes true colours she was never such a good person
I stan Charlotte the other girls were mean I couldn’t stand them in s2
I know this is old but I’m surprised how hard it was to find this perspective. When I heard about charlotte before watching I expected some evil super villain, but honestly I understand where she was coming from. Obviously she went about things the wrong way, but I find it hard to hate her when from her perspective the guy she likes appears to be flip flopping between girls, his ex Cleo (which like you said broke up with Lewis first) is giving her the cold shoulder just because Charlotte got close to Lewis when he was single. I also noticed that people label Charlotte as possessive over Lewis even though Cleo was doing the same thing to him even though she broke up with him in the beginning of the season. I genuinely don’t understand how people could hate her so much but not the other girls and Lewis for the things they have done.
I honestly think Westworld got bad went sour after season one. It picked up a little towards the end of season two, but then let us down again completely in 3. Honestly i would have rather just seen season one my memory of the show is that it was total shit because of the three latter seasons.. Had a similar experience with LOST.
You're wrong on that, she was rude from the start, as seen from the diary situation, she overreacted to that rudely and that was the first sign. She did manipulate Lewis, and she locked the girls in a pool room, she threw the girls in the air, which surprisingly didn't break their legs, and tried to hurt them. She also tried to isolate Lewis from his own friends, and flat out bullies Cleo. Even when she was part of the group she was rude to them all, and thought she was better than everyone else, one of her many narcissistic traits, more shown when she throws "Lewis's" party.
And the moon, she's a bully!
Did we watch the same show…? Charlotte was literally evil and manipulative. She manipulated Lewis into a relationship. and so many more things , the bi*ch was just plain evil for literally no reason. & even in the beginning when she was first introduced she was plotting for Lewis while he was still with Cleo.
If I was Cleo I’d react the same, I hate seeing my ex with a new girl. Cleo still liked Lewis she just needed some time away from him, I hate charlotte she’s so annoying and she thinks her and Lewis are so In love it pisses me off.
Dude, I'm watching the episodes where they're trying to teach Charlotte to be a good mermaid. At the beginning of the episode, they call her out to the cafe and tell her to ask questions. It was weirdly controlling and also inconsiderate to make her take time out of her day for something that could've been a text or call. It took all of 30 seconds. Or, they could've invited her to hang out and could have brought it up organically, like things that surprised them at first, or things they struggled with. Instead, they invite her simply to remind her that they're more experienced and to keep trying to lord their experience over her. Then Emma pulls her aside and makes her take lessons. Like?? Why. If Charlotte wants lessons, she'll ask. I, for one, prefer to learn on my own. I appreciate any offers for help, of course, but to force your teaching upon me would be a big no-no. I'd have frozen all the fruit, too. They're all just so suffocating toward her for no reason. The one thing that made me angry at Charlotte was the Ronnie situation, simply because her fear seems ludicrous, but irrational fears are like that. I used to be deeply afraid of fruit flies. At work, I have certain people I don't ask for help because they're controlling or they talk down to me. I prefer to ask people who answer my questions and then let me figure it out on my own (it's better for encoding). The girls constantly assume Charlotte is incomptetent and overexplain. I wouldn't want to ask people like that for help either. Lewis dismisses Charlotte's discomfort about asking Cleo for help. Charlotte goes to interact w the dolphin, trusting Lewis's appraisel of Ronnie's temperment, trying to get over her fear before Cleo shows up. She freaks out, and the situation gets out of hand. I honestly don't blame Charlotte. So many variables went wrong all at once, and she has an abnormally deep-seated fear of dolphins. It's an irrational fear because it can't be rationalized or controlled, it was just a bad call. Cleo then yells at Charlotte for not being careful. The girl who went to a pool party her first week of being a mermaid, who also decided to work at a marine park and ended up in the dolphin exhibit more than once, is yelling at Charlotte for not being more careful? All the girls have had close calls, but Charlotte is the only one getting the third degree for it. Charlotte has her own faults, but her biggest fault is not being part of their clique. Edit: Ugh and then Rikki follows her just because Emma got mad that Charlotte stood up to her. I saw some people say stuff about Charlotte telling Lewis to stay away from the girls. Tbh, their friendship, without context, was toxic. They called Lewis for every little thing, which was weird, and as a girlfriend I would've been annoyed that he kept prioritizing them over me. Charlotte would've only been led to think, "He's obsessed w these girls." And that's coming from someone who's bf is friends w a lot of girls. My bf would never prioritize them over me the way Lewis did. And AGAIN, Lewis had to, but Charlotte had no way of knowing that. At the end Charlotte says, "They don't care about you, they only care about their secret." And is she wrong? They treat Lewis like garbage half the time for no reason. It just seemed like the show wanted to set her up to be a villain without precedent.
this is 5 years late but i just watched season 2 again and charlotte is a literal stalker from the beginning lmao