We meet Devon (Meghan Fahy) on her way out of jail, on her way home to her father, who is suffering from dementia. There is a fruit basket on her Buffalo stoop, a lavish gift in a very unlavish part of town. Devon suspects it’s from her sister Simone (Milly Alcock), who has disappeared from their lives and now runs in much more upmarket circles.
Worried about her sister, Devon heads to the Lloyd Neck peninsula of upstate New York to disrupt Labor Day weekend on a beachside estate. This estate is part beachy mansion and part conservation organisation, run by the mysterious Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore).
Sirens sets up the two sisters as polar opposites. One is a messy falafel restaurant waitress who is sleeping with her married boss, while the other is a put-together assistant who goes on morning runs and exclusively wears designer clothing. Only, underneath the surface, these women are more similar than either would like to admit.
It’s Devon who is concerned about her younger sister Simone. She doesn’t see the world of charity galas and Vanity Fair interviews as enviable. Devon is convinced her younger sister has escaped their childhood turmoil and joined a cult. From the way all the staff (to her face) and guests fawn over Michaela, it very well could be. Wealth and fame are the real siren call to people, but it doesn’t work on Devon. She
Michaela’s staff always linger in the background, rolling their eyes and sending snarky messages to their group chat. We only see a glimpse into their lives and relationships, which feels like a missed opportunity to see more of Simone’s colleagues. When Devon arrives, she is soon welcomed into their inner world, where they smoke and eat carbs out of the way of the security cameras. Lauren Weedman’s exasperated chef and Felix Solis’ wise driver especially stand out as characters we could have spent more time with. After all, who understands work dynamics more than the silent employees taking every interaction?
Sirens Is A Tale About The Complications Of Womanhood
Initially, Sirens seems like it’s going to be another The White Lotus. It all takes place in a lavish mansion filled with overdressed clingers on, frustrated staff, and absent husbands. But the show digs at something much more profound than parodying the wealthy and satirizing the chipped veneer of having money. Sirens is about female dynamics, both between sisters and between mentor and apprentice.
Simone has an unhealthy emotional attachment to her boss, replacing her complicated family life with her work life. The writers understand the complicated layers of womanhood, sisterhood, and motherhood. That is before you add all the topics of social class and finances.
Julianne Moore is a master at weaponizing her serene exterior and childlike naivety. As Michaela (a role that feels like it was written for Nicole Kidman), Moore is elegant, beautiful, and incredibly manipulative. You never feel comfortable when she is around, yet her aura is alluring. This could be where the titular siren comes from, drawing sailors into their deaths with her mesmerizing presence.
Milly Alcock is adorable as Simone, who, once released from being smothered by her workload, is clearly on the edge of a breakdown. Underneath her perfectly coordinated outfits and coiffed blonde hair, she is a woman running away from her past without processing it. Alcock perfectly embodies the weight of a woman burying their past and hiding behind a new persona in the hopes it will all go away. If her performance initially feels a little too saccharine and hollow, this is a very intentional choice that pays off when Simone starts to unravel.
The performance that holds the whole show together is Meghan Fahy. At first, she appears to be another troubled woman who wasted her life, but as the episodes unfold, so do various layers of Devon. The show quickly flips on its head about who is the healed sister who actually has it together and who is really struggling. Fahy is masterful at saying a lot with just one look.
The women are the focal point of this show, which means the men are sidelined. Kevin Bacon plays a small yet likable role as Michaela’s husband, Peter. Glenn Howerton is less convincing as wealthy suitor Ethan Corbin II, and ultimately, it feels like his It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia character doing a bit. Josh Segarra is underwritten and underused as Devon’s boss/the man he is having an affair with, Ray. These men are merely props to accessorize these complicated women and their rich inner lives.
The one man who gets attention in the story is Simone and Devon’s ailing dad, played by the ever-good yet often underrated Bill Camp. His dementia causes him to rapidly change moods, forget his daughter’s name, and even mistake Michaela for his deceased wife.
It’s impossible to not have your heart broken by Devon and Simone’s backstory, which slightly gets revealed throughout the show. The writing is smart to not drop the sister’s tragedy as a gotcha moment and instead unleashes it slowly and naturally throughout their current day story. Sirens understands life is complicated and not everything is black and white. Sometimes our memories of out past is not the same as the reality of it.
Five Episodes Is Not Enough
Created by Molly Smith Metzler and based on her 2011 play Elemeno Pea, Sirens has the potential to become a soap opera but manages to stay grounded enough to avoid the tropes. Some of the side plots hint at the overdramatic, but the writing and performances are self-aware enough to use that to its advantage. The show looks like it’s going one way, with the writers using audiences’ preconceived notions of women’s relationships to fool them with red herrings. Sirens wants you to think it’s much more of a twisty, red herring-filled thriller than it actually is. That’s no bad thing, there is enough of that show already out there.
At just five episodes, the time spent with Simone, Devon, and Michaela feels too short. These women had so many depths left to explore that leaving them after just five episodes feels criminal. Sirens spends three episodes world-building and exploring the inner turmoil of the three female leads, only to quickly wrap up all the plots in an episode and a half.
The last episode of Sirens is ultimately a disappointment and ends on a flat note. The writers work overtime to give these characters the resolution they deserve, but it all feels too rushed. Subjects hugely important in the opening episode get resolved in just one throwaway conversation at the end.
A new plot appears in the last series out of absolutely nowhere, which may make the audience feel like they missed an episode of the show. It’s clear why this happens, but the how is certainly missing. Feelings and relationships suddenly jump around, so you’ll be forgiven for getting last episode whiplash. Sirens is too good a show and too well-written to need to make such a last-minute swing.
Sirens is worthy of a second season, in fact it either should have had an 8-episode run or left the proceedings on a cliffhanger after 5 episodes. It’s a smart and layered show about interesting women, led by three strong performances. Despite the lavish setting and enviable lifestyle on show, womanhood is a unifying thing no matter your background or bank account.
Sirens is now streaming on Netflix.
Learn more about the show, including how to watch, at the Netflix site for the title.
You might also like…
