Last night I finished watching Sirens
on Netflix. I went through its five episodes in less than a week which my
loyal readers know that for me, counts as binging.
I think for the record it was an
exceptional entertainment far better than so many limited series I've watched
there. A large part of this reason was that it was bubbly and frothy fun all
the way through. This is a quality that I find lacking not only from so much
prestige TV limited series but some dramas and even a few self-described comedies
(and yes I do mean The Bear in this case.) That said having watched the
entire show I can't help but think that in the last episode – really the last
ten minutes – it bumbled the opportunity to become truly great and almost
certainly is the reason it is not nominated for Best Limited Series by the
Emmys.
(Warning: Spoilers below)
First I should let you know that
I was actually relieved to learn that, despite the often supernatural tone the
show took throughout its run, there is a rational explanation for
everything that happens on the island and Sirens goes out of its way to
give us one. Ethan didn't disappear at the end of the second episode because
Michaela killed him; he went to gather her father to propose to Simone. Peter did
not disappear to have an affair; he went to attend the christening of
his grandson and didn't tell his wife because his children from his first
marriage have been estranged since their divorce. Henry did not decide
to go swimming in the waters in the penultimate episode because he was under
the influence of any mystical power; he got drunk and decided to just jump in
the river and got sunk into the undertow and ended up washing up on shore miles
away. Michaela does not have some mystical cultish powers around all of
the women in her charity; they just blindly follow her because she is the wife of
a wealthy man and they thought that was the best thing. And Michaella did not
murder Peter's first wife. As a reaction to her divorce she underwent plastic
surgery that was botched so badly she has essentially become a recluse and
isolated. That is what Peter's children blame Michaella for more than anything.
Frankly after so many shows over
the last decade which say that there is something mystical and deep just beneath
the surface, it was nice to see a show where all of the mysteries had mundane,
even banal answers. It actually fit with so much of what Sirens was
about; the idea that beneath the veil of wealth and privilege people are just
shallow as empty as ever, with no really deep mystery to them.
Looking back, the tone of Sirens
was consistent all the way through: basically it is a satiric comedy of
manners dealing with just how very flawed the wealthy are as well as the kind
of battle of the sexes. The problem I had with it came in the final half hour
when it stumbled badly.
I think Sirens has five
episodes because it is meant to mirror the structure of a Greek tragedy. There
are allusion to it all the way through, from the titles of the episodes
('Exile, Persephone, even the title itself), the various hanger-on of Michaela
who have the behavior of a Greek chorus, so many of the servants playing that
same role. When you consider the series is based on a play that makes sense as
well – and that's why the ending is so disappointing.
Most of the story is centered
around Simone someone who has suffered a horrible childhood and is the victim
of horrendous parenting. She was in the back seat of her mother's car when she
committed suicide and before that her mother was manic and there is an excellent
chance Simone has inherited that gene. During the penultimate episode she tells
Devin that she has gotten off her meds and has been doing far better, which is
completely at odds with everything we've seen her do during the series. We
learn that she was the victim of neglect from her alcoholic father and went
into foster care and has been suffering from abuse ever since. Devin sacrificed
her future to try and make sure Simone had one – and she is upset that Simone
seems so willing to throw not only it but her whole past away.
There's a strong argument that
Simone has been seeking the attention of much older people because she misses
the parental love she got growing up. She has hatched onto Michella and is
willing to do anything for her. She has clearly fallen in love with Ethan, who
is much older than her because she needs a kind of love in that sense. She's
clearly done everything for Michaela and what she wants is to move forward with
her life.
So when Michaela learns about
Peter's momentary indiscretion in the worst possible way her actions truly do
show her to be a monster as she is willing to throw her away the same way she
will all of the outfits she bought for her. It is by far the cruelest act by a
woman who has spent the entire series seeming cold and dispassionate about
anything and who we have every reason to believe is a murderer until the final
revelation. Simone spends much of the next twenty minutes clearly in such a
horrible shock that she can't even speak. And when she is left alone with her
father and he tries to apologize in his senile way, she realizes what her future
is going to be and it horrifies her.
Given all this when Simone
started running immediately afterwards, there seemed to be only one possible
resolution: Simone was running back to the estate to jump off the cliffs that
we've seen prominently throughout the entire series. It would've fit basically
all the images of her running throughout the show – she's been running to
escape her problems and her past and unable to she chooses the only way left.
The tonal shift would have been abrupt – maybe too abrupt – but it would have
been the natural conclusion, leaving a mess behind to be washed away by the
tides and wreckage in the wake of those who love her.
And that makes the ending truly
seem out of place.
Instead of that Peter confronts
Michaela with the evidence that she has the photograph of their cheating and
tells her she wants a divorce. This isn't out of context for what we've seen during
the series to this point. Peter has been clearly unhappy with the way things
are for the entire series and the way Michaela rules the household with an iron
fist. When he tells her about the fact that his children and grandchild are
coming over to the gala and her first reaction is whether they'd mess up the
photo, it fits in with the narrative so far.
No the problem is that we quickly
learn that Peter has decided that he wants to divorce her – and marry Simone.
From a dramatic context, this
makes no sense. Just two days ago Simone rejected Ethan's proposal and has been
unable to interact with Ethan after he kissed her – the two have been awkward
around each other. I can understand why Simone would decide to throw Michaela
under the bus, considering what she did to her hours ago but to leap from that
into Peter's arms is something that is not buyable. And the argument that
Michaella makes at the end of the episode – that she never had any power at all,
that it was always Peter who was pulling the strings – is completely at odds
with what we've seen for the past four hours and fifty minutes.
This is a deux ex machina that would
have a lot of problems if we saw in a Greek tragedy or a rom-com neither of
which this is. And the reversal of power is so sudden with no cues that it was
coming that its asking too much of the viewer. Both Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore
are two of the greatest actors of our time but neither of them can sell this in
their last scene together. Alcock can almost do it - you can nearly believe given her manic
behavior and her eagerness to please overwhelming her good sense – but the
final scene of her essentially becoming Michaela is completely at odds with
everything we've seen to this point and I don't buy it either.
What saves this from being a
complete disaster is the work of Fahy as Devin. Her character has been
clear-eyed about everything from her arrival on the island and she is just as
clear as what has happened as before. She came to the island because she was
falling into the old role of trying to save her sister and her sister made it
clear over and over she wanted no part of her old life. Now in their final
interaction she makes the hardest decision of her life – she realizes she has
to let Simone go, almost certainly forever. When Simone tries to joke and say
that eventually they'll get together some day, Devin more or less shuts it
down. Simone cut her out of her life for over a year just to be the assistant,
she will no doubt do the same thing when she becomes Peter's third wife. I
think her remarks to Michaela on the ferry ride home are genuine: she doesn't
hate Simone or Peter for what happened and she doesn't blame the island either.
She makes the decision to spend what's left of Bruce's life taking care of him
but its one of her own free will.
Devin is the only character at
the end of Sirens who has fully taken responsibility for her actions.
For all we see of Michaela in the final moments, her transition back to someone
who has lost everything is not truly believable. For the entire series she has
been ruthless, cold and calculating and always with a backup plan. That she has
none now is almost unbelievable; that she doesn't have a grudge really doesn't
make sense either.
Perhaps all of this would have
been more believable in the original play where in a single setting it is
easier to suspend one's disbelief about abrupt character changes then it is
over the course of five episodes of a show. Maybe if Sirens hadn't
leaned in so hard to everything having a rational explanation, we could believe
that the force of the island bent Simone and Peter to its will in the final
act. In either case, the final fifteen minutes of it completely spoil the
dramatic flow of the series.
I should add this doesn't ruin for me, nor I
suspect will it do the same for those who are willing to engage. The acting is
extremely well done throughout with Fahy by far being the most consistent
performance and worthy of her Emmy nomination. Despite the last minute reversal
Alcock and Moore are superb all the way through and I genuinely appreciated
their work. And once again Bill Camp continues to prove why he is one of the
greatest character actors working today; had he not been nominated for his work
in Presumed Innocent this July you could see him getting a nomination
for this very different performance just as easily.
And I'm not sorry I watched Sirens.
It was a genuine joy to watch all the way through, far more entertaining
that many Emmy nominated limited series I've watched for the sake of completeness
in recent years, from Fleishmann is in Trouble to Night Country to
yes, Adolescence. Ironically given the subject matter of the series, it
wasn't pretentious and didn't put on airs; it was just enjoyable and fun. In
fact, I'm not necessarily saying I would want it to happen but I wouldn't mind
if there ended up being a Season 2. Maybe they could satirize the Romans next
time.
My score: 4.25 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment