Let’s be honest if you went into Sirens expecting another moody, slow-burn whodunnit or a morally neat soap with clear-cut heroes and villains, then of course the ending pissed you off.
So which one are you? Did you appreciate the interplay of themes, from Greek Goddess to Easter Eggs mingling with sound performances, a women-centric theme told from a presumably woman’s point of view (more on that later), or were you one of those who woke up from the 5-episodic reverie and asked yourself, what was that and why did I have to watch it?
At first glance, Sirens looks like your typical highgloss Netflix drama: sun-drenched affairs, sisters turned frenemies, and more passive-aggressive brunches than a Hamptons weekend. But somewhere between the dramatic piano chords and slow-mo beach walks, the show morphs into something else entirely, a sly satire about gendered villainy, class survival, and society’s deeprooted obsession with calling women “monsters” the moment they stop being palatable.
Oh well, now that you have watched it, let’s break down the series, characters and all, but in bite-sized moments. Just like the 5-episodic series, you don’t get to read yet another story about a story that either pulled you deep inside its hypnotic screenplay or deemed a total waste of time? Aah, don’t say that, it would break the creator’s heart, and we bet there’s something you took away from Sirens that spoke to your inner Goddess, or ahem, God. Depending on which gender was watching, or a bit of both, if you please?
But for those who loved the watch and deemed it a clever take on women and how we see them, here’s why it’s worth taking a lookback at the origins of the show from the creator’s mind.
What’s in a name? Well, if you’re watching Sirens, practically everything.
“Sirens, in Greek mythology, were creatures who lured sailors to their deaths with their beautiful voice.” Explains director of the show Nicole Kassel. The narrative explores how society can villainise women by painting them as the monsters in men’s lives, when, surprise, surprise, they may be the victims of male behaviour themselves.
Sirens is also the code word used between the two sisters Devon and Simone played by Meghann Fahy and Milly Alcock, when they want to send each other a distress message. The title of the drama hence, positioned as a comedy, dark comedy and drama, seemed to draw inspiration from the purported nature of women – seductress, charmer and possibly, monster?
Or, have we got that all wrong?
Therefore, the best way to appreciate Sirens is through its female characters, all of whom echoed some hint of being deeply alluring to the opposite sex. From Michaela, who had taken over as Peter’s second wife, to Simone, who charmed Ethan and later Pete, to Devon, who had multiple men vying for her attention, the story was a powerplay between women who think they have the upper hand in the relationship to men who might actually hold the reins – says the female point of view?
Hold on, let me explain, and for this, I need to jump to the end first.
When Michaela left the island, she explained to Devon in parting, that it wasn’t Simone who was the monster, implying that it wasn’t her doing that Peter ousted her for a newer, upgraded, younger version of woman in her life, implying that it was just what the Peters in our lives (or all men) do. Earlier, Devon’s vilified version of Michaela was also debunked as we came to know that Pete’s first wife was not really dead, but ailing and sick in a remote location.
Club that with Michaela’s revelation that she couldn’t bear children and how the pain of that tormented he, and rather than forcing Pete to be away from his children and grandchildren, she accused HIM of vilifying them against her – surprise, surprise, which version is one to believe? Pete’s or Michalea’s.
The woman’s perspective, related by Michaela much later in the narrative, seemed to redeem whatever devilish designs we thought she had on Simone, Peter, and perhaps Devon or Peter’s ex-wife, too. When Ethan turned up at the hospital after suffering a fall, we knew Michaela hadn’t pushed him after all (as we were earlier made to fear), and hence, she wasn’t the monster we had been led to believe she was by the earlier narrative—the male one.
In retrospect, Sirens seemed to be fielding two points of view. In the first half, Michaela is portrayed as a fake, drama queen, scammer, and seductress. She seemed to have polished off the first wife of Peter, led him to lead a deprived existence, estranging him from his children and grandchildren whom he visited in secrecy, fearing her reaction. Hence the audience, including Devon, suspected her of being the real devil. So much so, that Devon was convinced she had to save her sister Simone from Michaela.
But midway through the narrative, Michaela reveals a depth in character, when she manages to delayer Devon’s complexities, catching her at a vulnerable moment, then waltzes with Bruce Dewitt, calming the storm inside him, and lastly, when she turns to Devon and tells her that Simone is no monster.
Is Michaela perceived to be the monster, the siren she really isn’t? At least not when the perspective shifts.
Even in firing Simone, she was trying to save her marriage. Does that make a monster out of a woman? Or was it Peter, the real monster, the siren, who attempted to kiss Simone?
Simone too, never really wanted Ethan’s lasting love, but was she bringing devastation on him, did she lead him on to his end? Not really, Ethan himself was immersed in a one-sided relationship of which Simone wanted no part really, except for a casual relationship which she had made clear. Then why call out Simone as a monster? Did she in fact, steal Pete from Michaela, or… wait for it, did she have no choice but to accept Pete’s offer as Michaela left her high and dry?
Would Simone have tried to steal Peter had she stayed under Michaela’s tutelage, or would she have stuck to the righteous path, which she did earlier and pushed Pete away? But then, couldn’t she have done that at the end too, or was it revenge on her part or a cunning on Peter’s part that he used her, won her and made it seem that Simone was the real monster who snatched him away from his wife?
Just like Michaela, the monster had snatched him from his first?
Sirens tells the story from both points of view but decidedly shifts perspectives ever so smoothy during the storytelling to leave us viewing the same narrative from an entirely different lens.
Take Devon for example. Devon and Ray had a thing going, but was it Ray who was to blame for cheating on his wife? Or Devon who used him? Who’s the real monster here? At one point in the drama when Ray, Jordan and Eddy follow Devon relentlessly, each vying for her attention, Devon shrugs them all off, but they persist.
Who’s to blame? The man or the woman?
Sirens leaves viewers a lot to think about, but it’s not a story for everyone. While the vibrant frames, the hypnotic beauty and pull-factor of the series was the island itself, there was much more lurking beneath the surface. Often, a series comes along that pushes the envelope in taking liberties with creative license, nudging our stereotypes and turning the formula on its head – who’s the real siren, who’s the real monster?
Perhaps the most poignant message and also the answer lies in the way Michaela’s story runs its full gambit. From making the audience think this woman is the sole owner of her life, the island and what transpires within, we see how her instructions are overruled by Peter through Jose, we see how it all comes tumbling down in one sharp and confounding moment, when Michaela, the temptress, seductress and purported ‘Siren’ of the entire show turns from monster to prey in a matter of seconds.
The person who orchestrated it all? Peter, with Simone in cahoots perhaps or helpless and forced to follow through?
But it was Peter’s idea, says the woman perspective.
Sirens is a thoughtful look at how the story and our perspective of victim and perpetrator, wronged and those who wrong, monster and prey, are all a matter of how you look at the story. Michaela’s final observation that Simone in fact, was not the monster, seemed to cap it off from the creator’s point of view – a woman no doubt.
So, if you’re a man reading this, what do you have to say?
Is Siren’s in fact, a feminist view on how women are perceived in relationships and as power players in a playground where they really have no say? Or, are we absolving women of all responsibility when we turn them into a tool, a ploy used by men to get their way as and when they please?
Who’s the real monster then?
Beneath its glossy surface lies a bold exploration of how society vilifies women for doing exactly what men do; making selfish choices, seeking power, surviving. It uses the language of scandal to deliver a story about class privilege, gendered blame, and the myth of female monstrosity. The ending may have frustrated those looking for neat redemption, but that’s precisely the point: real life, especially for women trying to navigate love, ambition, and survival in a world built for men, doesn’t come with tidy bows.
Sirens the Netflix show is a 5-episodic series adapted from Molly Smith Metzler’s play Elemeno Pea. It is directed by Nicole Kassel with a star cast featuring Julianne Moore, Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, Kevin Bacon, Glen Howerton, Bill Camp, Josh Segarra, Trevor Salter and others.
