Prime Video’s The Better Sister just dropped its full eight-episode season. It brought us a family drama full of wild turns. These came from both the Alafair Burke novel it is based on and its own new ideas. As I watched, I found myself hooked by the way the show kept pulling the rug out from under me. This series truly kept me guessing. It made me wonder what it means to be the "better sister" anyway.
The show starts with Chloe (Jessica Biel) a top media executive living what looks like a perfect life. She has a handsome lawyer husband Adam (Corey Stoll) and a teenage son Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan). On the other side, her estranged sister Nicky (Elizabeth Banks) struggles to make ends meet and stay clean. When Adam is brutally killed a major suspect sends shockwaves through the family. This brings the two sisters back together. They try to figure out a complicated family history to find the truth behind Adam's death. It is a setup that promises plenty of secrets and it delivers them.
The show does a good job of keeping you on your toes from the start. You think you know these characters. You think you understand their lives. But then another layer peels back and you realize you knew almost nothing at all. This kind of storytelling is why I love mystery thrillers. It makes you feel like you are solving the puzzle right along with the characters. It is a show that makes you think about the stories we tell ourselves and others. Especially about our families.
The Big Family Secrets That Drive The Better Sister's Most Shocking Moments
How A Dark Past Connects Two Estranged Sisters And Changes Everything For Ethan
Here is the big secret that changes everything: Nicky was Adam’s first wife. Ethan is her biological son. This information comes out midway through the series. It explains why Chloe and Nicky have such a complicated past. There was an incident when Ethan was a toddler that almost killed him. Nicky’s struggles with substance abuse were blamed. Adam divorced her and got full custody of Ethan. Then, he got together with Nicky’s younger sister Chloe. It is a betrayal that feels huge. Chloe ended up raising her nephew as her own son. She and Adam kept this a secret from everyone in their new fancy New York life. It adds a whole other level of tension to their reunion.
Later the series reveals that Adam was physically abusing Nicky. He also framed her for the pool accident. Nicky was not so high that she almost let her baby and herself drown. Adam drugged her drink and made it look like it was her fault. Chloe believed Nicky was to blame because of her own biases against Nicky from their childhood. This makes you rethink everything you thought about Chloe. She just wanted to believe her sister was a bad person. This twist really hits hard. It shows how easy it is to believe what you want to believe. It also shows how deep family wounds can run.
One of the most intense parts of the story is Ethan’s trial for his father’s murder. The trial happens near the end of the season. It is not the very end. This leaves room for the reveal of Adam’s real killer and the fallout. The trial brings a shocking confession: Adam was physically abusing Chloe too. She kept this secret until she took the stand. Ethan knew about it because he saw it. This led him to reach out to Nicky for help. Nicky came back into her sister’s life because Adam abused her too. She could not stand the idea of Adam getting away with it again. This whole situation is a real mess of secrets and lies. It makes you wonder who is really telling the truth.
The Better Sister's Jaw-Dropping Finale And The Unanswered Questions That Remain
A Sudden Death And A New Mystery Hint At What Could Be Next For The Family
Just like in the book, Nicky is revealed to be Adam’s killer in The Better Sister finale. But there is another death in the final seconds that was not in the book at all. Jake (Gabriel Sloyer), Chloe’s lover, is found dead on a beach as the episode closes. How he died and who did it are left up in the air. This leaves plenty of questions about a possible season 2. Showrunners Olivia Milch and Regina Corrado talked about this. They said it was a way to show how dangerous the Gentry Group was. Adam and Jake were fighting this group.
Olivia Milch explained that Jake was involved in a much larger, very powerful organization. "It felt like it’s not only this family, the tension and destruction that has occurred of this family, it’s the ripple effect of the tension and destruction that has occurred when people are making these kinds of choices and engaging in this kind of violence." Regina Corrado added that the unclear way he died tells a lot of story in just one picture. This ending wraps up the first season nicely but leaves a door wide open. It makes you hope for more seasons to solve this new puzzle.
It was fascinating to see how the sisters worked through their deep-seated issues. Chloe and Nicky’s relationship is messy. It is full of distrust and old hurts. Yet they find moments of connection. The showrunners mentioned how quickly siblings revert to their old ways when they are together. They would bicker but also unite against outsiders. This makes their bond feel real. Despite all the secrets they kept from each other and the world, they somehow find their way back to a kind of peace.
Unpacking The Characters' Journeys And Why The Show Connects With Viewers
From Unreliable Narrators To Childhood Trauma, The Better Sister Digs Deep
A lot of the show spends time helping us understand the characters and their choices. It lets us peel back their layers. At first you might not like them or feel sorry for them. But as you learn more, your feelings change. The showrunners mentioned that all the characters have "secret pride and a secret shame." This is at the heart of many of the show's mysteries. When their secret shame is revealed, they have to ask if they can still love themselves or if others can still love them. This is a common question in the show and it is something many viewers can relate to.
Olivia Milch talked about how much of the show is about the stories we tell ourselves. We tell stories about who we are and who our siblings are. She connected this to her own family experience. Her dad got sober when she was a child. This made her understand how siblings get different versions of their parents. Regina Corrado shared that her family had many different versions of their parents’ sobriety too. This personal touch from the creators likely helped make the characters feel so real and relatable even in their messed-up situations.
The show also uses "unreliable narrators." It means you cannot fully trust what any character says because everyone has secrets. This makes the show more exciting. It is also more real because people are not always 100 percent honest with themselves. Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks really brought this to life. They were willing to show the messy human sides of their characters. This made them feel more real and allowed for deeper emotional exploration. The show wanted to explore how we embrace someone for who they are including their ability to hurt us. This is what family is like. You hold the truth that they can love you and also hurt you deeply. It is a powerful idea.
What A Second Season Could Explore For Chloe And Nicky's Story
Will The Sisters Continue To Write Their Own Narrative And Face New Dangers?
The first season ends with Chloe and Nicky hinting they will tell their story in a book. This raises the question of what story they will actually tell. It feels like their bond is strongest when they share secrets. This is true for many families. The secrets keep you together. The showrunners hinted at this. They said the question of what story they tell is the story of the show itself. "It’s this love story with these sisters but it’s, what story have you told yourself? What story are you telling together? What story are you telling the world and all of those different versions?" This will be a big question for them if the show continues.
Detective Guidry (Kim Dickens) also knows that Bill Braddock was not Adam’s real killer. She suspects Nicky is involved. This leaves a lingering question. Will she keep this to herself? Or will she try to expose the truth? Olivia Milch suggested that this cat and mouse game between Guidry and Nicky could continue. Even though many secrets came out there is a new set of lies that everyone agrees on. This sets new things in motion. "She knows something that isn’t out there, and what is she going to do with that information?" This question makes me want to see more seasons. It would be interesting to watch how this plays out and how long Nicky can avoid getting caught.
The show did a great job of taking an already exciting book and making it even better for TV. It changed characters and added new plot points. Jake’s death for example was not in the book. This decision specifically opens the door for a second season. The show was marketed as a limited series but it definitely leaves enough loose ends to continue. I hope Prime Video decides to bring back these sisters. They have more stories to tell. I would certainly keep watching to see where their messy but real lives take them next.