Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks’ Prime Video Thriller ‘The Better Sister’ Quickly Loses the Plot: TV Review

There have been several TV series recently centering on the intricacies of sisterhood. From Netflix’s “Sirens” to Peacock’s “Long Bright River,” this particular sibling connection is having a moment. Now, Prime Video‘s limited thriller, “The Better Sister,” based on the best-selling novel by Alafair Burke and adapted to television by Olivia Milch and Regina Corrado, is showcasing two very different and estranged sisters, torn apart by lies and forced to come together again after a shocking crime rocks their worlds. Despite its electric premise, which includes murder, secrets, affairs and a high-profile trial, the show is underwhelming.

“The Better Sister” opens at dusk. Chloe Taylor (Jessica Biel), an editor-in-chief at a popular magazine, is seen leaving her mentor Catherine Lancaster’s (Lorraine Toussaint) Hamptons estate. After a short drive to her own home, Chloe enters and fiddles around a bit in the kitchen before stepping into the living room. When her bare foot touches something moist, she looks over to see her husband, Adam (Corey Stoll), a high-powered attorney, lying dead on the floor covered in blood.

Amid Chloe’s rising celebrity and Adam’s less-than-savory business dealings, it initially appears that his death is somehow related to their professional lives. However, as Chloe is interviewed by Detectives Nancy Guidry (Kim Dickens) and Matt Bowen (Bobby Naderi), it becomes increasingly apparent that the couple had many cracks in their picture-perfect facade. As the series continues, the audience learns that Chloe and Adam’s 16-year-old son, Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan) is the product of Adam’s first marriage, and that his biological mother is Chloe’s older sister, Nicky (Elizabeth Banks).

As Guidry and Bowen try to decipher what led to Adam’s murder, viewers are taken on a ride. The series digs through the long-held secrets Chloe and Adam were so desperate to bury, as well as the truths Nicky, who struggles with alcoholism, was determined to carry alone. When Nicky comes bulldozing her way into town, and the police begin narrowing in on a suspect, the women are forced to confront the things they’ve tried to erase while managing the media circus surrounding them. Unfortunately, despite all of its compelling components, the show quickly loses its way.

“The Better Sister” begins to unravel because it’s tonally chaotic. Random bits of humor sprinkled throughout the thriller seem like odd mismatched puzzle pieces that do not quite fit the overall theme or message of the series. From a serious threat linking back to a Jan. 6 Capitol rioter to Ethan’s obsession with a full-fledged medieval knight costume, these elements may have worked in Burke’s novel, but simply do not translate well on screen. As a result, they also strip away some of the sinister nature of the narrative as a whole.

Even more baffling is the interchangeable use of flashbacks depicting Chole and Nicky’s childhood and the random visions they both have of their father (Frederick Weller) and other deceased characters. While the scenes depicting the sisters’ adolescence offer a complex picture of who they were and would become, the bizarre use of the visions jolts the audience out of the core story and is distracting rather than emotionally fraught.

Additionally, the show drags on endlessly and would have been more engaging if it weren’t stretched across eight lengthy episodes. Chloe and Nicky’s convoluted and painful relationship and the mystery of Adam’s murder are tantalizing, but these storylines are often pushed to the side. The final three episodes jolt audiences in countless directions. Instead of revealing the killer or reaching a resolution more quickly, the series spotlights varying inconsequential matters that contribute little to the overall narrative.

“The Better Sister” is frustrating, because it has all the potential to be compelling. It depicts two very different women, bonded by blood, trauma, memory and the people they love. Yet, instead of truly immersing viewers in these characters and timelines, the show spends way too much time trying to distract and save more shocking revelations for later. In doing so, the latter half of the series becomes wearisome and dull.

Siblings, especially sisters, have some of the most unique relationships in humanity. Unpacking Chole and Nicky’s childhoods, respective marriages to Adam, bonds with Ethan and Adam’s murder were more than enough to keep viewers glued to their seats. Unfortunately, in overloading the series, a lot of the tension and sharpness dissipated. In the end, it seems like “The Better Sister” is best served on the page.

All eight episodes of “The Better Sister” premiere May 29 on Prime Video.