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Netflix‘s new show Sirens introduces us to Meghann Fahy‘s Devon DeWitt by revealing that she has spent the night in a Buffalo drunk tank. Furious at her youngest sister Simone (Milly Alcock) for abandoning her and their ailing father, Devon travels to Martha’s Vineyard to confront the issue head on. While it initially seems like Simone’s the one locked in a messed up relationship with her wealthy boss Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore), all is not well with Devon, either.
**Spoilers for Sirens Episode 1 “Exile,” now streaming on Netflix**
The only person at the Kells’ palatial estate who shows Devon any kindness when she arrives is manager José (Felix Solis). It’s clear to the Kells’ right hand man that Devon is a salt of the earth type who truly is worried about her sister. The two characters strike up a friendship. One that Devon repays by licking José during an otherwise chaste hug.
It’s a wild moment that immediately tells both José and the audience that Devon is clearly going through something and using sex as a way to form human connections.
DECIDER asked Sirens creator Molly Smith Meltzer if we’re supposed to intuit that Devon is a sex addict of some sort.
“Well, Devon tells us that she is speaking to a text therapist about it, which makes me think that Devon might think she has an issue or something she wants to be addressing there,” Smith Meltzer said. “I’m not gonna diagnose her, but I think she might be a little worried about her relationship with sex.”
Photo: Netflix“But what I love about the lick is it’s very Devon,” she continued. “I mean, Devon is not someone who’s gonna peck you on the cheek. You know, Devon expresses her sexuality and it comes out of her in ways she cannot control, that are inappropriate.”
What’s even more interesting about the scene, however, is the fact that while José carefully shuts her down, he doesn’t shut her out.
Sirens star Felix Solis explained to DECIDER that José still accepts Devon after this because Smith Metzler had already provided the foundation of their friendship, which “established the permission for that scene to occur.”
“He sees the human, the true grounded human individual that has found their way into this other than realistic world,” Solis said. “So by the time it gets to that, he’s less, ‘How dare you?’ and more, ‘Where’s that coming from?’ Right?”
“If that was the very, very first interaction that José has with her, then we might’ve just put a straight jacket on or something. You know what I mean?” he said, chuckling. “But it isn’t.”
Photo: NetflixFelix Solis further explained why it was important that the show already established that the two characters share a “simpatico” that allows the moment to be not quite as awkward as it could have been.
“Although it is awkward and it’s beautiful, but not in a judgmental way,” Solis said. “He doesn’t judge her for doing it. He just says, you know, ‘What are you doing that for?'”
Molly Smith Metzler told DECIDER that she liked that the lick was a bit like Devon “in general.”
“All of her emotion is right on the surface, barely contained. So a kiss wasn’t enough. It had to be something darker and weirder than that,” Smith Metzler said. “And she and José have such a fantastic bond in the show. So I loved that it was formed in this spectacularly weird moment between them.”
In real life, filming the lick was “weird” in a different sense for Solis.
“From a technical perspective, we did have an intimacy coordinator who was very specific in where the lick is going to happen and where it will end and how it will happen,” Solis said.
“They were cleaning my neck and doing all kinds of weird stuff. So it was a very technical moment to make.”
Sirens is now streaming on Netflix.
English (US)