If you’ve just finished Netflix’s new dark comedy, Sirens, you probably have some burning questions about that ending you’re wanting explained.
Naturally, there are spoilers ahead.
Over the five-episode series, the lives of Simone (Milly Alcock), Michaela (Julianne Moore) and Devon (Meghann Fahy) descend into total mess and chaos. Come the finale, all three women are irrevocably changed — some for the better, some maybe not so.
Let’s recap.
Sirens Ending Explained
Simone, faced with the prospect of returning to her broken home with a father she despises having been fired by Michaela, does what she must to hold onto the life she’s made for herself.
Instead of disappearing as Kiki wished, she finds Peter and reveals his wife knows of their kiss and is keeping the photo as leverage for a future possible divorce. Quite suddenly, Peter and Simone are an item and the young assistant seamlessly steps into the life of the woman she once so dearly adored.
If you feel conflicted about Simone’s ending, you’re not alone.
“One of the reasons it was so thrilling to write the character, Simone, is that I wanted the audience to love or hate what she chooses at the end,” showrunner Molly Smith Metzler told Tudum.
“We were very, very careful to let the audience inside what’s making that poor girl tick. I have so much empathy for her at the end, but I know that a lot of people will think she’s a monster.”
Michaela, a woman who had been so cold, calculated and cult-leader-like turns out to be somewhat misunderstood.
Her once-creepy bird obsession actually stemmed from a want to care for another creature that was rooted in a desire for children she couldn’t have. Her rumoured murderous ways (killing Peter’s ex-wife) were swiftly debunked with a harrowing story of botched plastic surgery. Her control over her husband was simply a fear of being left with nothing thanks to a iron-clad prenup.
While she wasn’t a cult leader or a murderer, sadly for Kiki the latter came to fruition, leaving her alone on a ferry with no home, money or husband.
As for Devon, well, she may not have sailed off into the sunset but she was finally able to make peace with her past and feel proud of the woman she’s become. Her time on the island made her realise dropping out of college to take care of her was the best thing she’s ever done.
So, who in the end was the siren of the story?
Smith Metzler isn’t convinced it’s any of the three women.
“Women — especially women like Michaela, Simone, and Devon — are villainized, or cast as seductresses, or they’re beautiful, or they’re cast as monsters, but who’s to say they’re the sirens? What is a monster?” she says.
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