Sirens has quickly become the limited series everyone's watching on Netflix leading out of spring and into summer. But it's not a binge-watch that will leave you feeling completely satisfied. In fact, the ending might induce some uncomfortable feelings based on the decisions of Milly Alcock's character Simone. The ending poses complex questions the audience must answer for themselves.
Now that the show has taken over Netflix's top 10 most popular shows ranking, the stars and creator are beginning to talk about the ending and their thoughts about what happened. Alcock shared her perspective on Simone's ending with The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that her character's ending left her "incredibly sad" due to her unexpected choice to rely on a man for financial stability.
Alcock shared that like the audience, she had hoped that Simone would have chosen a different path, but when her back was against the wall, she took the road more traveled:
"Ultimately, we want Simone to be the person that the audience ends up seeing her as, which is this broken little girl who’s so much more capable than she believes herself to be. The fact that she chooses the path she’s chosen reinforces that stigma and narrative where she needs a man in financial stability to provide for her. It made me incredibly sad finding out that was the ending." —Milly Alcock
Warning: Spoilers from the Sirens ending beyond this point.
Don't confuse that as Alcock criticizing the show or suggesting Sirens should have had a different ending. She's simply interacting with the series as any of us viewers would. We can be disappointed that a character made a decision we didn't want them to make without throwing out the meaning of that decision. It holds so much more weight than whether we like it, and like Alcock, we can feel sad for Simone that she had two bad options and bet on the one that feels morally icky.
Alcock defended Simone's decision as a "complete survival tactic" and elaborated that having dropped out law school and having no fallback, Simone had little else to depend on. While Simone gives us plenty of reasons to hate her, Alcock has empathy for Simone and can see how "her rebellion is to put herself in a position where she is safe and in an environment where she has a certain type of value and is seen as valuable." We might not have done what she did, but we can understand it.
Meghann Fahy agreed that she was surprised by Simone's decision to take down Michaela and begin a relationship with Peter, effectively taking her mentor's place. But Fahy shared that she also understands why Simone would make that decision and why Devon makes the choice she makes, even though it might hurt since you're inclined to want better far them both. That's the genius of the Sirens ending. It's not cut and dry and invites each viewer to consider how they feel about the twist.
Series creator and showrunner Molly Smith Metzler agreed with Alcock that Simone did what she needed to to do survive and not return home to a potentially triggering and harmful situation. Metzler further clarified the intention behind the series ending's existential question and its place in the minds of viewers. Here's how she explained the ending:
"People are going to think Simone’s a villain, and people are going to think Peter’s a villain, and people are gonna to think they’re all villains. I can’t ask you to feel a certain way about what Simone does. All I can ask is that you try to understand it. If you were in her shoes, and that ferry is leaving to take you back to certain trauma and destitute, what would you do? That’s what I hope people are talking about. I hope this is a debate people are having. It’s a question that interests me so much, I wrote a damn five episode series."
Personally, I found the Sirens ending extremely effective and beautifully heart-wrenching. It's a well-written climax to a story that kept us guessing, only we probably couldn't have guessed Simone would manage to flip the script on Michaela and basically steal her life. As a viewer, I didn't need explicit closure or an ending to dots every I or crosses every T. The ambiguity of the conclusion and murkiness of Simone's character was the perfect way to end such a gripping series.
Other viewers might not agree and have no empathy for Simone or understanding of the narrative choices that were made by Metzler. Some viewers might even want more in a second season (that isn't likely and doesn't need to happen). But who doesn't love an ending that's slightly haunting and sticks with you long after the screen cuts to black? I don't think we'll be forgetting Simone standing on that bluff, looking over her new hard-fought kingdom anytime soon.
Watch Sirens only on Netflix.