The Better Sister Ending Explained and Why It Feels Unbelievably Tidy

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Starting on Prime Video on May 29, 2025, “The Better Sister” is an engrossing eight-part miniseries that unfolds around the enigmatic murder of Adam Macintosh, a prominent lawyer discovered dead in a pool of blood by his wife, Chloe. When Adam and Chloe’s son, Ethan, becomes the prime suspect, unexpected developments linked to Chloe’s sister, Nicky Taylor, make the crime more convoluted and shroud the murder mystery in uncertainty. Regrettably, the conclusion of “The Better Sister” doesn’t live up to its promising start.

‘The Better Sister’s Promising Premise

The narrative centers on the gruesome killing of Adam Macintosh, a prosperous attorney residing in Manhattan and the Hamptons, portrayed by Cory Stoll. Adam is wed to Chloe Macintosh, the chief editor at The Real Thing, a fictional publication. Together they have a teenage son named Ethan, played by Maxwell Acee Donovan.

At the start of the program, Chloe returns home following an event and encounters Adam deceased in a pool of blood at their Hamptons residence. Detective Nancy Guidry (Kim Dickens) is dispatched to the crime scene to probe, with Ethan becoming the main suspect. As this tragedy gets disseminated, the tranquil life that the Macintoshes had constructed for themselves faces close examination, potentially unveiling their seemingly flawless existence as a lethal deception. The narrative gains momentum upon the arrival of Nicky Taylor (Elizabeth Banks), Chloe’s long-lost sister from Ohio.

Who Are the Primary Suspects of Adam’s Murder?

In Episode 2, Ethan Macintosh finds himself in court accused of murdering his father, Adam. Doubts arise about Ethan’s innocence as his alibi falls apart and it is discovered that he associates with drug dealers and once brought a gun to school. To make matters worse, Ethan’s DNA matches evidence from the crime scene. Meanwhile, in an unexpected twist, Chloe, Ethan’s mother, becomes a suspect herself when Nicky reveals a shocking family secret.

Nicky discloses that she is Ethan’s birth mother and had been previously married to Adam. Their union dissolved after an incident involving Nicky getting drunk near their swimming pool and almost drowning Ethan. Swiftly following this, Adam filed for divorce, securing full guardianship of Ethan. Later on, Adam wed Chloe, raising Ethan together without any involvement from Nicky.

In an intriguing twist, I discovered that Chloe has been discreetly involved with Jake Rodriguez, her neighbor and Adam’s business associate, whom they both work alongside at The Gentry Group. This enigmatic organization, financed by the affluent socialite Bill Braddock, adds another layer of mystery to this captivating tale.

With Ethan being taken into custody, Nicky feels it’s crucial to have his last living biological relative nearby for support throughout the trial. As the proceedings unfold, Nicky starts disclosing the skeletons buried in their family closet, which causes Chloe to look questionable. Moreover, when it comes to light that Chloe concealed a blood-stained knife near Adam’s body, the level of suspicion increases significantly.

How Does the Trial End?

In the heat of scrutiny over Chloe and Ethan’s potential wrongdoing, Nicky adds another layer of mystery. Testifying in court, she discloses that she has been exchanging messages with Ethan on an old flip phone she provided him. This revelation casts further suspicion on Ethan, as prosecutors suspect he may be concealing information. Later, it’s discovered that Ethan’s email is connected to a Reddit discussion promoting violent threats against Adam.

In episode 6, Chloe provides testimony under oath regarding the physical abuse inflicted upon her at home by Adam. Following an instance where Adam was pressured by Chloe into working for a private law firm, which made him agitated, he shoved Chloe against a wall and sent her crashing to the floor.

After Chloe testified, the legal team disclosed that no murder weapon was discovered and Ethan’s blood was absent from the crime scene. Moreover, the prosecutors possess no eyewitnesses implicating Ethan in Adam’s demise. Given the insufficient evidence to convict, it is determined that Ethan is acquitted. However, this verdict merely marks the end of the trial, as it now becomes my task to delve deeper and unravel the mystery surrounding Adam’s murder.

Who Really Killed Adam in ‘The Better Sister’?

Following his court discharge, Ethan heads back home with an urge to scrutinize the police reports detailing the day when he was almost drowned by Nicky. These records reveal a surprising fact – no water was detected in Ethan’s lungs, which contradicts the account that he nearly drowned. Moreover, they indicate that at the time of the incident, Nicky had a mix of alcohol and pharmaceutical drugs in her bloodstream.

A handy flashforward shows Adam secretly concocting a cocktail of drugs into Chloe’s vodka, intentionally drugging her to give him an edge in gaining custody over Ethan, since she would be too impaired to care for him properly. Meanwhile, the absurdity escalates as Chloe has conversations with Adam’s spectral apparition, which mysteriously appears and adds to the impression that Chloe is becoming increasingly unstable, a contrast intended to portray Nicky as the more stable sister in the upcoming showdown.

In a prelude to Adam’s demise, Ethan made a call on his old-school mobile to let Nicky know that he had witnessed Adam physically harm Chloe once more. Upon recollecting previous instances of Adam abusing Chloe, Nicky decided to travel from Ohio to the Hamptons without her phone to avoid being traced, with the intention of confronting her ex-husband and their shared child’s father.

In a violent altercation, Nicky was forced to defend herself against Adam by stabbing him with a small knife out of necessity, not with the intent to kill.

How Does ‘The Better Sister’ Conclude?

After it becomes clear that Nicky acted in self-defense when he killed Adam, Ethan’s role comes under scrutiny. This is because he intentionally attempted to shield Chloe by setting up a situation, which involved scattering objects throughout the living room and leaving his DNA behind, thereby making Adam’s death look like it was caused by a burglary gone wrong, and also by taking the gun to school.

After the trial’s aftermath subsides, The Better Sister comes full circle with Nicky revealing every secret to Chloe. Subsequently, the two sisters incriminate Bill Braddock for Adam’s murder, a man leading a sex-trafficking ring linked to The Gentry Group. As Braddock serves time for his crime, Ethan is raised by both sisters and they enjoy a peaceful life together. In an implausible ending, they collaborate on a book, resolving their past conflicts and animosities, leaving their troubled history behind.

I must confess, the conclusion seemed overly neat and contrived to me, lacking the intrigue and shock value of discovering that Nicky was Adam’s ex-wife and Ethan’s mother. The heartfelt sisterly reconciliation and their subsequent book collaboration felt forced and unrealistic, as if it was hastily written without proper buildup. The blurry flashbacks, bizarre ghost apparitions, and Braddock’s manipulation felt overly fabricated, taking away from the main enigma that I had been following diligently.

The Better Sister is available to stream on Prime Video.

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2025-06-06 04:33