The following contains major spoilers from Episode 5 of Sirens, now streaming on Netflix.
Since Sirens Episode 1, we’ve been suspicious of Michaela: Is she running a cult? Did she murder her husband’s ex-wife? Well, the finale answered these questions — and more! Let’s recap. We begin by following up on the literal Episode 4 cliffhanger, which saw Ethan (played by It’s Always Sunny’s Glenn Howerton) plunging off a cliff, leaving viewers wondering whether he lived or died. Well, turns out, the man lived! He’s beaten up, but not so badly that he can’t accuse Simone (House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock) of attempted murder; he says his near-fiancée pushed him off the ledge. It’s unclear whether Ethan is telling the truth, and he seems to be suffering some sort of delusion once he accuses Simone of having wings. (Or, maybe there is some mythological element at play here — the show is called Sirens, after all.)
he finale ties up another loose end from Episode 4: What will Michaela (Mary & George’s Julianne Moore) do now that she knows Simone shared a secret kiss with her husband Peter (City on a Hill’s Kevin Bacon)? Because the woman is ruthless, Michaela promptly packs up all of Simone’s belongings and fires her, causing the woman to completely malfunction. Simone goes nonverbal and enters a sort of fugue state to cope.
When Devon (The White Lotus’ Meghann Fahy) discovers that Michaela has let her sister go, she confronts the guru at the big gala. She publicly accuses Michaela of running a cult and of killing Peter’s ex-wife. That’s when Michaela ‘fesses up to the truth: She did not kill Peter’s former wife. The ex is simply living on an island as a recluse after receiving botched, post-divorce plastic surgery.
But the question remains: What is going on here? Is Michaela running a cult? Who is cultivating all these creepy vibes at the estate? Turns out, it’s kind of Peter — he is more evil than he previously seemed. The man is a master manipulator and decides he’s over his marriage to Michaela, throwing her away in an instant, like she means nothing at all. He immediately trades his wife in for a younger, hotter version: Simone. She was the siren all along.
Upon seeing her sister so easily betray a so-called beloved friend, Devon has an epiphany. She realizes her strength has always been her ability to stick by people, to never leave them behind. She decides she will stay at home with her father to care for him alone. She and Michaela then bond over the weirdness that just occurred during their ferry ride back to reality.