The 'Sirens' Cast Spills On That Shocking Ending

What happens at the end of Sirens?

All five episodes of Sirens are a giant roller coaster — Devon arrives to Michaela's estate and instead of leaving without her sister, she dives diving headfirst into Michaela's cult-like group so she can rescue Simone from the inside. And there are plenty of mysteries awaiting her. Everyone on the island thinks Michaela killed her husband Peter's (Kevin Bacon) first wife, Michaela thinks Peter's cheating, and Simone is secretly dating Peter's BFF Ethan (Glenn Howerton).

(For the record, Michaela didn't kill Peter's first wife, Peter is spending time with his kids behind Michaela's back, and everyone quickly finds out about Simone & Ethan's relationship...before he proposes and she says no.)

After Michaela finds out Peter (Kevin Bacon) and Simone kissed, Michaela fires Simone, whose abandonment PTSD and anxiety is triggered when she learns Devon plans on sailing with Morgan instead of living at home. Simone literally runs away from her problems and comes face-to-face with Peter on the beach.

Meanwhile, Peter's decided to divorce Michaela the way he left his first wife. And who's the new lady in charge? Simone, of course. After Peter and Michaela essentially break up in the kitchen (in their Labor Day Gala black tie 'fits), Simone descends the stairs in a beautiful pale blue satin gown that's totally giving Greek goddess, and she takes her standing as woman of the house.

Does Simone end up with Ethan?

Yep, that's right. Simone ends up with Peter as the new Kell wife. At the gala, Devon and Simone have a heartbreaking conversation when Simone brings up Michaela's old adage "If it doesn't serve you, let it go," because Devon gave up everything to raise Simone. Even though Simone didn't serve Devon's life that's what family — and sisterhood — is all about. As a big sister myself, I'll admit this moment got me! But Simone's in too far, and Devon leaves with Simone's promise they'll see each other in the city (a promise I don't believe in the slightest).

And as complicated as the Sirens ending is for viewers, it was even more complicated for the cast. "Ultimately, we want Simone to be the person that the audience ends up seeing her as, which is this broken little girl who’s so much more capable than she believes herself to be,” Milly Alcock tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The fact that she chooses the path she’s chosen reinforces that stigma and narrative where she needs a man in financial stability to provide for her. It made me incredibly sad finding out that was the ending.”

"The more I thought about it, the more I felt like it was true that Simone would double down, do whatever it took to not have to go back to that place and that Devon would go back [with their dad]," Meghann adds. "I think it hurts on some level to see both of them make the choices they make, because you want so much better for them. But it felt right. It felt true they would make those choices.”

What happens to Michaela and Devon after they leave Simone?

On the ferry back to the mainland, Devon and Michaela find each other and bond over the instability of their futures. When Devon asks if Simone will be okay with Peter, Michaela responds that "it took him 13 years to decide I was a monster," which really brings us to the beating heart of the show: why do we villainize women so easily? And who actually decides what our narrative is? Because, as Devon responds, Michaela isn't truly a monster. And neither is Simone.

"Writing towards that ending was something we did with great care. I didn’t want anyone to see it coming. But then when it comes, I wanted it to feel inevitable," Molly Smith Metzler tells THR. "What I love about the ending is that it asks the audience to decide how to feel about it."

"Who's telling the story?" Julianne Moore asked at a Q+A following the show's New York premiere. "Who are our protagonists, who are our antagonists?"

In the final moments of the limited series, Simone walks out to the cliff in her beautiful dress to watch the sunset, which mirrors the very first shot of Michaela on the cliffs at sunrise, bookending the show — and swapping which Siren is reigning.

"We went through all the different takes of Simone on the cliff at the end, and the one we chose for the final cut has a little bit of a Mona Lisa smile. Her face is a little opaque," Molly continues. "We chose that one because I think there’s a version where she won, she’s a siren and hear her roar. And there’s a version that this is bittersweet and painful. I think how the audience interprets it says a lot about how they feel, probably about who she is and who you are, and what home is to you, and what you would do in that circumstance? I think she needs to survive, and that’s what she does to survive."