Editor’s Note: The following has spoilers for Sirens.Netflix’sSirensis an easily bingeable dark comedy revolving around two sisters – Devon (Meghann Fahy) and Simone (Milly Alcock) – living very different lives. Created byMolly Smith Metzler,Sirensfirst introduces us to Devon, whose life is spinning out of control, and her character is painted as the sane one compared to her younger sister Simone, who has ostensibly been sucked into a cult. As the series progresses, however,we find out just how tragic and traumatic Devon and Simone’s childhoods were, contextualizing how and why their adult lives went in entirely different directions.
As the eldest daughter, Devon became Simone’s primary caregiver after their mother’s suicide and their father’s descent into depression and alcoholism, putting her life on hold to take care of her. Now their father’s sole caregiver, Devon tracks down Simone to ask for her help, but once we find out the extent of the neglect Simone suffered from her father, I can’t blame her for refusing to do so. Misery loves company, andDevon wanted Simone back so they could suffer together.
Meghann Fahy Made Me Love Devon, but Her Toxicity Can’t Be Overlooked
Though I admittedly wasn’t very familiar with Meghann Fahy prior to her role in Season 2 ofThe White Lotus, her performance was a definite highlight of what I believe to be the best season so far. So, when I saw thepreview forSirensfeaturing Fahy, Alcock, andJulianne Moore, I was positively excited to see these three actresses in one place, and they didn’t disappoint. Fahy’s character, Devon, is much different from Daphne inThe White Lotus, bringing some edge to Michaela’s (Moore) carefully curated, pastel-colored world. For most of the series, I was swept up in how great Fahy’s performance was and how much fun she seemed to be having with the role, thatit distracted me from how toxic her character really was for Simone.
Since the first time we’re introduced to Devon is during a low point in her life – leaving the police station after a night in jail – we’re inclined to sympathize with her and assume the worst about Simone, who ignores her barrage of text messages pleading for help. As more information is revealed about their past, however, Devon’s selfishness becomes more apparent, andher trip to Port Haven was her way of trying to drag Simone down with her.
Devon and Simone hadtraumatizing childhoodsthat they dealt with in very different ways as adults. When Simone was just seven years old, their mother killed herself, nearly killing Simone in the process until Devon saved her. Following her death, their father’s depression left him unable to take care of them, so Devon had to grow up fast and take care of Simone herself until she graduated from high school. Once Devon left for college, Simone was left alone with their dad, who neglected her to the point where she was eventually placed in the foster care system.
This led to even more trauma for Simone, who pointedly asks Devon if she knows what happens to girls in the foster system, and she developed severe mental health issues of her own. Devon eventually dropped out of college to support her. Both women carry the weight of this trauma into adulthood, but while Simone has done her best to leave the past behind and move forward, Devon stayed behind in Buffalo to take care of their father with early-onset dementia. Struggling with alcoholism and earning herself a second DUI, Devon reaches out to Simone not to ask for help, butto rescue her from what she believes to be a cult and demand she return home to help take care of the man who abused her.
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The series stars Meghann Fahy and Milly Alcock.
Simone Was Completely Justified in Refusing To Help Devon Take Care of Their Father
In thelast episode ofSirens, Simone decides to stay in Port Haven with Peter (Kevin Bacon), which may have seemed like a selfish move, but is undeniably preferable to having to go back to her hometown with the man who neglected her and the sister who brought him back into her life. After graduating from Yale, Simone was able to create a new life for herself with Michaela’s help, but Michaela fires her as soon as she sees the photo of her and Peter kissing, without taking Simone’s side of the story into account.
Having grown accustomed to this new lifestyle that allowed her to move on from her traumatic past,Simone can’t stomach having to return to Buffalo and throw away everything she’s worked so hard for.Simone and Devon talk through their trauma together, which Devon takes to mean that her sister has agreed to help her take care of their dad. Though Devon feels betrayed by Simone’s decision, she does seem to understand her reasoning, and I can’t fault her for choosing a comfortable life with Peter after everything she’s been through.
Despite how much time has passed,Devon still expects gratitude from Simone, considering everything she did to take care of her when they were younger, thinking Simone would agree to help her with their father as a way of making it up to her. But this couldn’t be further from the truth, with Simone still carrying some resentment towards her sister for abandoning her in the first place, and refusing to help her take care of the man who abused her.
Just seeing her father causes a visceral reaction from Simone even though he doesn’t remember her, and being forced to live in close quarters with him would only trigger her PTSD anddamage her mental health. It makes total sense that Simone would refuse to leave with Devon, and she even offers her money as an alternative, butDevon selfishly insists that Simone join her in her misery. Though Simone is at first presented as the unreasonable one who ditched her sister to live a vapid, codependent life with Michaela, in the end, Devon is revealed to be the toxic one.
