Netflix's ‘Sirens' Ending, Explained

Cosmopolitan

23-05-2025

WARNING: Spoilers about Netflix's Sirens ahead!
Part of the draw of Netflix's new dark comedy series, Sirens, is figuring out the mystery of what the heck is actually going on. While the story is set against the backdrop of gorgeous Martha's Vineyard, and everyone is wearing preppy attire in bright Easter egg colors, it's easy to sense that there is something eerie and just straight-up wrong. And, from the jump, we're trying to figure out just what is wrong. Why is Simone (Milly Alcock) so obsessed and uncomfortably close with her boss Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore)? Does Michaela have magical powers? Is she actually running a cult?
The fifth and final episode of the miniseries answers all these questions—and more. Plus, it might just leave you questioning your whole viewing experience.
Here's the ultimate breakdown of the Sirens finale.
After her heart-to-heart with Michaela (a.k.a. Kiki), Simone is expecting a big promotion and is looking forward to moving to New York City to run the New York chapter of the Folger Glen Wildlife Preservation Society. But, in the episode leading into the finale, Michaela learns of her husband Peter's (Kevin Bacon) infidelity. A photographer came forward with a picture of him kissing Simone on the island, and this of course changes the course of Simone's career.
Much to the delight of the other staff on the property, Kiki asks that Simone's belongings be packed in cardboard boxes and sent to Goodwill because she will no longer be staying or working at the Cliff House. This all happens while Simone is at the hospital, visiting her ex-boyfriend Ethan (Glenn Howerton) who had drunkenly fallen off the side of a cliff the night before. And so, when she gets back to the Cliff House (the Kells' house), she is totally blindsided and left in shock.
Just when Devon (Meghann Fahy) was finally at peace with the idea of leaving her sister be, letting go, and going off on a month-long sailing adventure to Palm Beach with a hunky captain—everything feels like its falling apart again. Since Simone got fired, she, her dad, and her ex Ray (Josh Segarra) have been uninvited from the Preservation Society's gala and will no longer be meeting Buffalo Bills icon Jim Kelly. They're told to immediately pack their things and get ready to leave the island. Simone is already in the car with driver/ Peter's assistant/ Cliff House manager Jose (Felix Solis), ready to head to the ferry. But before they can leave, they need to make a stop at the police station because Ray got arrested for public nudity.Since her dismissal, Simone has been completely silent out of devastation. But while waiting as Devon tries to collect Ray from the police station, her dad (who has early-onset dementia) talks to her. He apologizes for having neglected Simone as a child to the point of losing her to the foster care system, and says he'll do better this time when she comes home to take care of him while Simone is away. This freaks Simone out, and she runs away—all the way back to the direction of the Cliff House.
Ray decides to leave the island on his own, and Jose drives everyone back to the Kells' residence because Peter asked him to take care of something before driving the DeWitts to the ferry. Jose tells Devon and her dad to stay in the car while he took care of the errand. Devon, of course, does not follow these orders and goes off on her own to try and find her sister. She heads straight into the gala and confronts Michaela, accusing her of all the things she's rumored to be—a cult leader, a murderer, and a monster. But then Michaela is swift in shutting down these accusations and clears things up.
As it turns out, Michaela did not murder Jocelyn by pushing her off of a cliff. Since Peter divorced her, his first wife has become a recluse on a remote island in Washington state. She got extremely disfigured due to botched plastic surgery jobs, and has decided to lay low and has been doing so for the past 10 years. Ashamed for having spewed out crazy conspiracies about Mrs. Kell, Devon sees herself out and resumes her search for Simone.
When Simone ran back to the Cliff House, Peter was actually the first to see her. They met at the beach, where he apologizes for being the reason she lost her job and promises he'll undo the mess. But Simone tells him that she's got some info that she thinks is important for him to know.
We find out later that Simone told Peter about the photo Michaela had of their kiss, and that she was hiding it in the house. That's why Peter had called Jose over, to find the photo and destroy it. This leaves him free to divorce his wife, without any repercussions—especially since she signed an airtight prenup that highly favored him.
Peter tells Michaela that he questions ever having been happy in their marriage, and that he blames her for ruining his relationship with his children. She rebuts that he decided to pursue her, he decided to divorce his first wife, and he decided to allow his children to demonize Michaela and therefore creating distance between them. Then he brings up the incriminating photo she was going to keep in the safe as an insurance policy in their marriage, and says "Good marriages don't need an insurance policy." Michaela again brings up a good point, saying that from the get-go Peter and his lawyers already made sure an insurance policy was in place, with an ironclad prenup that only valued Michaela for her ovaries and ability to bear children (which she never did).
Michaela tries to fight to keep the aviary and the Preservation Society, but Peter says that Simone will take care of it. Simone later comes down the stairs in her beautiful gala dress, which implies that she will be the new Mrs. Kell. Michaela sees herself out, and Peter and Simone walk back into the gala together as a couple.
Devon, too, finds her way back into the main event. That's when she sees Simone and Peter walk in together, with his arm wrapped on her lower back. When Simone sees her sister, she comes to talk to her excited about this new chapter in both their lives. She's going to be the head of the foundation and potentially the new Mrs. Kell, and Devon can go off and set sail to Palm Beach with her lover. This is when Devon gets real and expresses her disappointment at how easily Simone betrayed her former mentor and boss/ supposed best friend Michaela. To which Simone replies, "Am I not supposed to walk through a door that opens?"
It dawns on Devon that there's no dissuading her sister, and that this is the choice she wants to make for herself. Devon then tells her that she's decided not to go away, and will be taking care of their father because she wants to. Simone may not realize it, but Devon takes pride in having taken care of her little sister and now to take care of their dad despite it being a thankless job.
While Simone suggests that they can still see each other, when she flies into New York City sometime, the two sisters have tears in their eyes knowing this might be the last they see of each other. Devon knows that Simone is going to disappear into this all-consuming world of luxury, and that she's going to lose her little sister. She says goodbye, and leaves the Cliff House as Peter gives the gala toast.
Devon and her dad are on the ferry, when she sees a familiar figure on board. Michaela is aboard the same boat, and Devon goes and sits beside her for a bit. She then apologizes for her behavior the whole weekend and all the accusations she made against her at the gala. Then, she asks Michaela what she's going to do now that she's divorced and lost the wildlife preserve, to which she says she has no idea. But she does have a suggestion for Devon: cash in the $10,000 check that she had initially given to her as a bribe to get off the island. At first Devon is hesitant, but then sees that this is something Michaela is offering out of the kindness of her heart.
Devon then tells Michaela that she isn't a monster. The truth is, it's her circumstances that have made her out to be one. (And also, to some degree, her ex-husband IMO.) Michaela then reminds Devon that Simone isn't a monster, either.