Why Sirens’ Hallucination Scenes Are So Prevalent: The Unexpected Truth Behind Their Meaning in Netflix’s Dark Comedy
Netflix’s Sirens, the dark comedy that premiered on May 22, 2025, has mesmerized audiences with its blend of coastal opulence, biting satire, and unsettling mystery. At the heart of its five-episode run are a series of hallucination scenes—dreamlike, disorienting moments that blur the line between reality and illusion. From Devon’s surreal bathroom conversation to Simone’s visions of shadowy presences, these sequences have sparked fervent debate among fans, with many initially suspecting supernatural forces or cult-like manipulation. However, the true meaning of these hallucinations, as revealed in the series’ finale, is far more profound and unexpected: they are not magical but deeply human, serving as allegories for the trauma, guilt, and resilience of the show’s female leads. Drawing on Greek mythology and the emotional weight of sisterhood, Sirens uses these scenes to reframe women’s pain, challenging viewers to question who the real “sirens” are. Here’s a deep dive into why Sirens leans so heavily on hallucinations and the surprising truth behind their narrative power.
Sirens Season 1: A Tale of Trauma and Transformation
To unpack the hallucination scenes, it’s essential to revisit the core of Sirens. Created by Molly Smith Metzler and adapted from her 2011 play Elemeno Pea, the series follows Devon DeWitt (Meghann Fahy), a working-class woman from Buffalo, New York, who travels to the elite Port Haven island to reconnect with her younger sister, Simone (Milly Alcock). Simone works as the live-in assistant to Michaela “Kiki” Kell (Julianne Moore), a billionaire’s wife and bird conservationist married to Peter Kell (Kevin Bacon). Devon, struggling to care for their father, Bruce (Bill Camp), who has early-onset dementia, is alarmed by Simone’s devotion to Michaela, suspecting a cult-like influence. Over a chaotic Labor Day weekend, the sisters’ traumatic past—marked by their mother’s suicide and their father’s neglect—collides with the Kells’ world of wealth and power.
The series, which topped Netflix’s charts with 16.7 million views in its first four days, blends dark comedy with psychological drama, earning a 76% Rotten Tomatoes score for its stellar performances and incisive themes. Its hallucination scenes, described by ScreenRant as “inexplicable moments” that tie to “bigger themes,” are central to its allure, creating a phantasmagorical atmosphere that keeps viewers guessing. The finale reveals Simone’s betrayal—she begins a romance with Peter, leading to Michaela’s ousting—while Devon returns to Buffalo, choosing family over the island’s allure. The hallucinations, far from being supernatural, are unveiled as manifestations of the characters’ inner turmoil, a revelation that Metzler says challenges assumptions about women’s agency and pain.
The Hallucination Scenes: A Catalog of Disorientation
Sirens is peppered with hallucinatory moments that disorient both characters and viewers. One of the most striking is Devon’s bathroom scene with Michaela, where they discuss Devon and Simone’s mother in a surreal, emotionally charged exchange. As described by ScreenRant, Devon suddenly “wakes up” in a car with three of Michaela’s followers, suggesting the conversation was a hallucination born of her emotional overwhelm. Another key moment is Simone’s breakdown, where she perceives “things that do not exist,” per SoapCentral, including shadowy presences or strange bird collisions at windows, reflecting her suppressed trauma. Devon also experiences visions, such as a conversation outlining her mother’s death, which Metzler notes is tied to her role as the family caretaker.
These scenes, often accompanied by ethereal music or dreamlike visuals, initially suggest supernatural forces. Fans on X have speculated about Michaela’s “siren-like” powers, with posts like @maggiebrener’s noting the show’s symbolic use of “beautiful women that lure men” on a rocky island. Early episodes frame Michaela as a potential cult leader, with Devon’s outsider perspective amplifying the eerie vibe—think Stepford wives in pastel Lilly Pulitzer dresses chanting “Hey hey.” However, the finale clarifies that these moments are not magical but psychological, rooted in the characters’ pasts. As Metzler told Netflix’s Tudum, “In Greek mythology, the sirens are only described by the sailors. We don’t ever know the sirens’ point of view,” suggesting the hallucinations reflect the women’s internal struggles, not external enchantment.
The Unexpected Meaning: Trauma as Allegory
The true significance of Sirens’ hallucination scenes lies in their role as allegories for trauma, a revelation that subverts initial expectations of a supernatural thriller. Metzler, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, emphasized that the series “goes to an unexpected place,” asking viewers to reconsider assumptions about its characters. The hallucinations are not random; they are deliberate depictions of how Devon, Simone, and Michaela process their pain. SoapCentral notes that “the illusions and gaps in reality aren’t magic; they represent the pain each character holds,” with Devon’s bathroom scene illustrating her dissociation under emotional stress. Simone’s visions, meanwhile, expose the fragility beneath her polished exterior, a young woman haunted by her suicide attempt and childhood neglect.
The show’s Greek mythology framework deepens this meaning. The title Sirens evokes the mythical creatures—half-bird, half-woman—who lured sailors to their deaths with their songs. Metzler flips this narrative, portraying Devon, Simone, and Michaela as women demonized by society, much like the sirens were by sailors. As she told Tudum, “We call these women monsters in the myth, but for all we know, they’re just singing for help.” The hallucinations are their “songs”—cries of pain shaped by trauma. Devon’s visions reflect her guilt and burden as the caretaker, while Simone’s signal her desperate escape from her past. Michaela, too, hints at a working-class upbringing and personal struggles, her poised facade masking grief and class violence.
This interpretation aligns with the show’s feminist lens. A Reddit thread on r/netflix noted that “the hallucination effects were meant to clue the watcher into an incomplete and/or skewed version of reality,” a classic trauma symptom. The series suggests that women like Devon, Simone, and Michaela are often labeled as monsters or seductresses, yet their actions—and hallucinations—are responses to systemic pressures and personal wounds. Peter, the true villain, exploits their vulnerabilities, as Metzler implies by centering his perspective in the finale, where Simone becomes the new “Mrs. Kell.” The hallucinations thus serve as a visual language for how trauma distorts perception, a truth fans on X, like @FactsinatedbyTV, have linked to “men painting women as monsters” while ignoring their own culpability.
Key Examples and Their Significance
Several hallucination scenes stand out for their emotional and thematic weight:
Devon’s Bathroom Scene: In Episode 4, Devon and Michaela discuss the sisters’ mother in a dreamlike bathroom setting. Devon, overwhelmed by her caregiving role, dissociates, and the scene abruptly cuts to her waking in a car. ScreenRant calls this a “clear instance” of trauma-driven hallucination, with Metzler noting to THR that it reflects Devon and Michaela’s shared “motherless” identity, bonding them despite their differences.
Simone’s Visions: Simone’s breakdowns, marked by shadowy figures or bird collisions, are allegories for her suppressed pain. SoapCentral describes these as “sobering illusions” that make reality “unsteady,” tied to her suicide attempt and fear of returning to Buffalo. Her final “Mona Lisa smile” on the cliff, as Metzler told THR, suggests both triumph and lingering vulnerability.
Michaela’s Facade: While Michaela’s hallucinations are less overt, her serene exterior masks inner fractures. Metzler hints to Tudum that Michaela’s life, like the sirens’, is a “song of pain,” with moments like her bird-releasing scene carrying a ghostly quality that reflects her grief and precarious status as a trophy wife.
These scenes, initially perceived as supernatural, are revealed to be psychological, a twist that Metzler says invites debate. Fans on X, like @bibiadeniyi, have pointed to TikTok analyses that unpack the hallucinations as trauma responses, amplifying the show’s emotional resonance.
Why So Many Hallucinations?
The prevalence of hallucination scenes serves multiple purposes. First, they create narrative ambiguity, keeping viewers guessing about reality versus perception, a tactic Metzler calls “puzzle pieces” for audiences to solve. Second, they visually convey the characters’ inner chaos, as SoapCentral notes: “What makes Sirens so powerful is it shows inner turmoil as outside chaos.” Finally, they subvert the “cult” trope, revealing that Michaela’s influence is structural, not mystical, rooted in wealth and social capital. The Independent praised this as a “clever satire” of modern-day cult perceptions, noting the absence of a traditional cult in the finale.
The hallucinations also tie to the show’s code word, “siren,” used by Devon and Simone as an SOS for mental health crises, per ScreenRant. This word, linked to their mother’s suicide and Simone’s attempt, underscores the traumatic roots of their visions. Devon’s unanswered “siren” texts to Simone symbolize their fractured trust, with the hallucinations amplifying this betrayal. By framing these moments as trauma responses, Sirens challenges the mythological narrative of sirens as monsters, instead portraying women navigating pain in a world that judges them harshly.
Fan Reaction and Cultural Impact
Fans have embraced the unexpected depth of Sirens’ hallucinations, with X posts reflecting lively debate. @maggiebrener highlighted the symbolic use of sirens as “beautiful women that lure men” on dangerous shores, while @FactsinatedbyTV argued that “the men are the sirens,” preying on vulnerable women. The show’s 86.3 million hours viewed in its second week and critical praise, including a five-star Guardian review, underscore its impact. However, some, like The Independent’s three-star review, felt the tonal shifts and packed narrative left the sisters’ relationship underexplored, though Fahy and Alcock’s “brilliantly believable sibling chemistry” was universally lauded.
Final Thoughts
The hallucination scenes in Sirens are not mere stylistic flourishes but the emotional core of Netflix’s dark comedy, revealing an unexpected truth about trauma, perception, and female agency. Far from supernatural, these moments—Devon’s dissociative visions, Simone’s haunting breakdowns, Michaela’s veiled grief—are allegories for the pain that shapes their choices. By reimagining Greek mythology’s sirens as women singing for help, not destruction, Molly Smith Metzler crafts a feminist narrative that challenges viewers to see beyond the “monster” label. As fans dissect the finale’s twists and debate Peter’s villainy, Sirens stands as a bold exploration of inner chaos made outer, proving that the most haunting mysteries lie within. Stream Sirens on Netflix to unravel its enigmatic layers, and join the conversation about its shocking revelations.
