"It really was a dumb show" - Redditors call out the Sirens's bait-and-switch tactics, saying the hallucination effects were more style than substance

The dark comedy series Sirens was released on May 22, 2025, on Netflix. Spanning five episodes, the series features Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, Julianne Moore, and Kevin Bacon in leading roles. It is created by Molly Smith Metzler, who adapted the series from her 2011 play Elemeno Pea.

The show's supernatural elements and allusions to Greek mythology intrigued viewers, but the finale has split audience reactions. One fan of Sirens shared their honest review of the series by commenting,

"It really was a dumb show but I have to admit I binged it!"

Comment byu/Some-Air1274 from discussion innetflix

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Many viewers felt disappointed with the finale as it didn't address the supernatural elements teased throughout the first four episodes of the series.

"The writer and director made it look like there is a mystery to be solved to make us watch it till the end..but there's nothing. The music, the "hallucinations effect" were so irrelevant," said one user.

"I swear I thought this was going to be about Mermaids lol.. All this time I thought Julianne Moore's real Identity as a mermaid with some kind of mind altering powers would be revealed. I am highly disappointed lol," wrote one user.

"Yes, after all the teasing of a potential murder and hints of a nefarious demise, Jocelyn is reduced to a few hasty sentences of exposition near the very end," commented one viewer.

However, others praised the show's depiction of trauma, feeling that it made Sirens a compelling watch.

"I disagree that the music and camera effects were irrelevant. I think that the hallucination effects were meant to clue the watcher in to an incomplete and/or skewed version of reality in certain moments. It’s a classic trauma symptom, and helps to relay why the narration isn’t super reliable. Trauma memories do that until the trauma is healed," explained one user.

"I actually loved the fact that it turns out NOT to be a culty murder mystery, but something much darker and also far more believable," remarked another.

"I thought it was a fitting revelation. In the end, the rich people had the same kind of trauma, pathology and dementia as the poor," said one user.

A look at the supernatural elements featured in Sirens

Sirens features several supernatural events that lend the miniseries a mysterious, dream-like quality. One of the most trippy scenes involves Devon and Michaela discussing the former's deceased mother in the bathroom. The hallucinations experienced by the female characters are a subjective look at events through the lens of their own past traumas.

For instance, Devon's perception of Michaela as a cult leader having a hypnotic hold over her little sister, Simone, is revealed to be merely a projection of her unresolved issues. Michaela's depiction showcases how women are often villainized for men's choices.

Furthermore, the series takes inspiration from an aspect of Greek mythology that portrays women as sirens who lure sailors to their deaths.

Actress Meghann Fahy spoke about the show's themes by telling Tudum by Netflix on May 17, 2025:

"The core of this show is not a murder mystery. It’s almost female trauma-laced. Sirens is really a show about relationships and the way people desperately try to outrun their pasts."

Plot summary

Two estranged sisters, Devon and Simone DeWitt, reunite over a Labor Day Weekend at a lavish estate in the island of Port Haven where Simone works as a personal assistant. Her boss, Michaela Kell, is a philanthropist married to the billionaire Peter Kell.

The sisters fight over taking responsibility for their father, who has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Both sisters grapple with their troubled upbringing, which has turned Devon into a sex-obsessed alcoholic and Simone into a control freak.

Devon is instantly disturbed by Simone's close bond with Michaela. Simone, who is dating her next-door neighbor, Ethan, turns down his marriage proposal at Michaela's insistence. She suspects Michaela of running a cult and sets out to expose the truth after hearing rumors that she killed Peter's ex-wife, Jocelyn. Soon enough, Devon notices cracks in Michaela's picture-perfect life and her marriage.

At the end of Sirens, Michaela's husband, Peter, makes a move on Simone and ultimately divorces his wife for her young assistant.

Watch all episodes of Sirens exclusively on Netflix.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Divya Singh