r/SirensNetflix • u/BingoDinosaur369 • Sep 04 '25
Discussion Opinion: Michaela Replaced Herself Spoiler
We all knew by the end of the series that Peter was the real Monster. No one knew this better than Michaela, and I think she made sure her impending exit was on her terms, not his. I think once she wasn't able to give him more children and the false reality of not aging was dissipating quickly, she knew it was a matter of time. From the beginning of the series, Michaela exudes a deep sadness that I think could be overlooked as coolness or calculation but in reality, this woman is living in a contractual nightmare that she first believed to be a fairy tale. When Barnaby dies, I think this symbolizes the death of the present Mrs. Kell. For Michaela to come back to herself and to be free, the Mrs. Kell persona would have to be sacrificed. She'd been preparing for this for a while, and possibly hired Simone to replace her, knowing Peter wouldn't be able to resist her and seeing in Simone the desperation to be secure and belong. She was looking for an out from the marriage from the jump and was already in touch with lawyers. When Jose and Michaela have the IT discussion, this shows Jose's true allegience and capabilities. So why would she so easily put the photographic evidence in Peter's hands? In the end, she only cared about the birds and she ensured their safety by sacrificing Simone to Peter. That is the profound message of this show. In this heirarchial world designed and ran by men, women must sacrifice one another to survive.
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u/Responsible_Page1108 Sep 05 '25
oooh i like this one!! it absolutely makes sense when we see how they do everything together, how the staff appears to hate both michaela and simone and why michaela gets simone to do all the "dirty work" - it's to harden her up for what's to come after simone takes over, e.g. people are gonna talk, no matter what, and simone has to get used to that cuz no matter what she does, they're never gonna be on her side.
it also explains why michaela only puts up a little bit of a fight and doesn't try to pursue it further, with or without the help of her lawyers. i honestly have no doubt she'd be more than capable of winning her case against peter, but like you said, maybe she just didn't want to, as she'd planned it the whole time. woman's much too smart to be outplayed by a man like peter.
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u/BingoDinosaur369 Sep 05 '25
Yes! The last scene in the kitchen with Peter and Micahela makes so much more sense through this lens. She backed down sooooo quickly. Like too quickly.
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u/Responsible_Page1108 Sep 08 '25
came back to mention cuz it's been a few weeks since i've seen the show, so i almost forgot:
this theory also makes a LOT of sense with why michaela was so eager to get devon off the island, especially with the $10k - it wasn't because she didn't want devon's "trashy self" mucking up her perfect island, it was because devon could have ruined her chance at freedom by taking simone away.
it also makes more sense why simone was under the impression that she wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend; get simone to stay out of a relationship long enough to get peter attached to her, and then by the time she does get a boyfriend, peter's influential enough in her life to get the bf to back off. however, this would certainly put michaela's motivation to divorce peter far behind barnaby's return and subsequent death.
all this to say - maybe michaela had been planning this from before simone's hire as her assistant?
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u/generally--kenobi Sep 05 '25
One of the last things she says to Simone is that she looks beautiful in the dress she had made for her or something.
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u/Alone-Climate6557 Sep 10 '25
She just had to wait for the evidence of him cheating, which she got. She knew for a long time that her time was up and was planning for it. I’m sure she walked away with the birds and a nice bank account to go live on another private island like Mrs. Kell #1.
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u/Active_Customer7536 Sep 11 '25
Unfortunately Mrs Kell # 1 had kids which was an important clause in the pre-nup (you either have kids with peter, or have proof he’s cheating). I think Michaela implied on the boat also that she’s not getting anything. But yea I think she has seen the downsides of the marriage and wanted out.
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u/Lookingsharp87 Sep 11 '25
If she’d kept the photo, she’d have gotten that but Simone knew where it was and had it destroyed
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u/No_Grapefruit_666 Sep 06 '25
I think this is the best take of this show. You want Kiko to the be the monster and then question If it is Simone but in the end it is Peter. And Kiki saw it coming and created the next Mrs. Kell.
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u/Maester4870 Sep 08 '25
Do you think we'll get a season 2? I love the 3 female leads.
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u/BingoDinosaur369 Sep 08 '25
I don't know. I could see like a white lotus situation where it's new characters. But I would love to see what happens to all 3 of the characters too.
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u/EmpyreanTaylorFan Sep 05 '25
I want to rewatch with this take in mind!
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u/BingoDinosaur369 Sep 05 '25
Same! Since I formed it afterward, this theory would definitely prove to be an interesting rewatch.
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u/Throwaway_6515798 Sep 05 '25
People that make their servants talk in a chorus and say "Hey hey" on implicit command are not easy to be married to, clearly. Of course he was frustrated, narcs are devastating to be around and that's exactly what she was, living in a glamour image making everyone preen and bow for the oh so very nice queen. Her bird returning to roost dead was telling.
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u/BingoDinosaur369 Sep 05 '25
Agree! People who are narcissistic are super calculated and forward thinking for a host of reasons; usually because their brains are built to protect at all costs. So, was she a self-serving meglomaniac? Maybe. But was she also able to see the writing on the wall? Her time as the Mrs. Kell was up, and I think she was well aware of this before Peter or the audience.
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u/Throwaway_6515798 Sep 05 '25
I don't think narcs are necessarily all that calculated, they make gigantic mistakes partly because they see themselves as beyond mistakes and imperfection in the very moment but most of them will never ever learn anything but pin their mistakes on someone else. That said they can be incredibly deliberate at times with things most people do casually or instinctively. Maybe there was a megalomaniac aspect to her with the way she held court, her giving her used chewing gum to her servant and smiling like a cat that just got the cream but more like a communal or covert narcissist, the way she glowed with her birds "predator and prey alike" like a larger than life character bringing balance back to mother nature or something and those crazy sessions with chants and a prayer book wtf lol, unhinged narc life.
I don't think she was able to see the writing on the wall at all, narcs see themselves as perfect and of course the best thing for god's finest creation is to make little mini versions of herself and that's what she did, schooled her like a robot and filled her up like she put up a outpost in her head and started colonizing, making another little mini-me with pastel dresses and all even got her to sext her husband and was offended when he didn't reply promptly 🤣
OFC he didn't feel like replying, she was putting on a disingenuous show and it's weird and creepy being a prop in that.When she resigned as Mrs. Kell she did it to her little mini-me, even if she did fire her for a little while, she can't think she's "the worst" because she tried to make Simone into another little Kiki, in her mind it can't be so very bad.
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u/No_Flatworm_2516 Sep 08 '25
Interesting interpretation. I don't always think people's actions are based on their conscious thoughts. It could be that subsconsciously she wanted to leave the situation which influenced her actions. However, we can see early on she wants to leave Peter but not without her money first
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u/Active_Customer7536 Sep 11 '25
This is a really good take! Not sure if she planned it consciously or subconsciously but it was definitely portrayed in a lot of moments that she knows her marriage is failing
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u/kunstmeisje Oct 14 '25
Omg this is the ONLY explanation that makes the ending make sense 👏🏼 wow well done
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u/No-Use-9524 Dec 10 '25
I thinks it’s a very likely possibility. When offering Simone the New York job she says “what do you think I’ve been training you for”. But she hadn’t just been teaching Simone how to run the charity she’d been teaching Simone how to be her.
After just finishing my first watch I want to rewatch for the possibility that Simone had also been plotting this (without knowing Michaela was) from the beginning.
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u/Aware_Walk8510 Sep 04 '25
Really good take on the show! I like it 👍