Sirens: I didn’t realize I’d seen Michaela before, until I remembered Skyler White from Breaking Bad

Sirens takes us into a world where there's beauty, wealth, and ambition. And they all come with their complexities and sacrifices. But one doesn't have to don a power suit to make it all happen, a silk gown would do just fine. And that's what we see Simone wearing at the end of the show as she stares into the horizon with her recently inherited power (or curse?).

What simmers beneath it all is way messier. It's about survival. It's about the war women fight to stay relevant, heard, and unbroken. Michaela stands at the center of Sirens, playing the perfect wife until she isn’t.

And while I watched her, something stirred in my memory—Haven’t I met her before?

Skyler White from Breaking Bad is who she reminds me of. I realize this is just another woman trapped in the fantasy of “having it all.” Skyler, too, is married to a man who 'fixes' everything. She too wears the blame before the guilt. She, too, walks that thin line between accomplice and survivor.

Both women are caught in a storm that they could've escaped.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinions. Reader discretion is advised.

Sirens and Breaking Bad: The damage controllers

Michaela from Sirens and Breaking Bad’s Skyler White walk through their worlds with precision. They have carefully constructed their images. They are not just women in households that are far from okay, but are the infrastructure holding everything together.

Michaela is the face of the Kell empire in Sirens. She is the picture of sophistication on the island. She is the one who hosts those charity events to keep up the Kell family image and legacy. She is the one who says which flower should go in which vase and what color drapes are to be used.

Skyler is the woman who's balancing accounts and taking care of the children, and laundering cash. And all of this while she's pretending that her life isn’t falling apart. These women are survivors. They’re also damage controllers of their families.

But nobody gives them the credit they deserve. Nobody claps for women like them. Michaela is judged for being too composed, too icy, too meticulous. Skyler is dragged for not being “supportive,” even as she holds Walt’s empire (and lies) together.

Society asks women to hold it all together. And then crucifies them for the method they choose. Michaela throws a party with a fake smile plastered on while her marriage burns. Skyler smiles through birthday dinners while Walter White hides dead bodies. In both cases, we don’t question him. We question her.

Then there’s betrayal. Michaela gets replaced by Simone, and everything changes around her like she were never there. Skyler gets ignored emotionally when Walt decides that power is sexier than honesty. The betrayal stings more because these women gave everything.

Michaela gave her identity to a marriage. Skyler gave her morality to protect her family. And yet, they are neither victims nor survivors.

Michaela from Sirens and Skyler from Breaking Bad dare you to see them. To look past the silence and understand what it costs to maintain that kind of performance every single day. They both carry the weight of being the “monsters” in their men’s stories. But what they're really doing is stitching the lies, and hoping no one notices that they’re bleeding too.

In the end, neither woman gets out unscathed. These are stories of erasure. And both women, in their own ways, become symbols of how the world loves a fallen man but fears a standing woman.

Trending

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more updates and detailed coverage.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback