Does Barnaby the Bird Die in Sirens?

In Netflix’s ‘Sirens,‘ a billionaire woman named Michaela Kell becomes the epicenter of controversy when a woman named Devon DeWitt accuses her of indoctrinating her younger sister, Simone, into a cult-like organization. As the story progresses, we learn that Michaela is the head of a conservation foundation centered on preserving rare birds around the region, both nursing and taking care of them. This is abundantly displayed in the show’s opening when we witness Michaela free a peregrine falcon named Barnaby from captivity, allowing it to return to the wild after healing under her care. It showcases her attention to detail and her desire to help endangered bird species. However, freeing Barnaby does not have the intended outcome she expects, as the bird faces a disturbing fate in the end. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Barnaby Returns to Michaela After a Short Stint Away

Despite letting Barnaby go at the start of the season, the bird goes back to Michaela in one of the most graphically violent scenes of the entire show. The incident takes place after Michaela sends Devon away, and Simone is busy involving herself in a clandestine relationship with Ethan. That night, Michaela hears a strange thud on her bedroom window while sleeping. As she wakes up, she realizes something is trying to break into the house through her window. After a few repeated thuds, Michaela correctly guesses that Barnaby is back and trying to get to her, crashing through the window. Although she tries to stop it, there is nothing much she can do before the bird breaks down the glass and crumbles onto the floor in a bloody heap. It becomes evident that it is dead, a direct consequence of its dramatic entrance.

As Michaela picks up Barnaby’s dead carcass in her hands, she is sighted from a distance by Devon, who uses a telescope on a yacht to spy on the house’s proceedings. After witnessing the Kell family matriarch strike such a sinister pose, she becomes concerned about her sister’s safety within the home. To that end, she wears some diving gear and swims across the water to infiltrate the house and escape with Simone. Thus, Barnaby’s death becomes the catalyst for Devon to not give up on her sister and go back to Cliff House to continue her rescue and recovery mission. Unbeknownst to her, Michaela is just as mystified by Barnaby’s death as anyone else. However, Devon suspects something larger and more sinister is afoot in the house.

While Barnaby’s death is not a pleasant sight, it also serves as a reminder of Michaela’s close ties with her nature preservation program and how much time she devotes to caring for endangered raptors in desperate need of help. Even though Devon is convinced it is a facade to cover up Michaela’s crimes against humanity, her work is significant. She believes that Michaela is directly responsible for killing her husband’s former wife, Jocelyn Kell, even though there is scant evidence to prove the case. Instead, Devon is driven primarily by her deep-set belief that something about Michaela is off and that it has to stem from her connection to birds and her creepy hold over Simone. Thus, in a roundabout manner, Barnaby plays a crucial role in the narrative, albeit meeting a tragic end quite near the start.