The following article contains significant spoilers for The Better Sister. If you’re not caught up, you can check out all eight episodes with an Amazon Prime subscription.
Any great miniseries typically comes down to what happens at the end. The ending needs to stick with viewers, because a miniseries isn’t coming back for another season. I got that kick in the gullet recently when The Better Sister wrecked me. So, when I had the chance to speak with the Amazon showrunners, I knew exactly what to ask.
What Happens At The End Of The Better Sister
The Better Sister released all eight episodes as part of the 2025 TV schedule recently. The show has already hit home with the viewers who have turned in, and I think that largely is because of how the series wraps. In fact, it reveals a lot about this family, decades worth of abuse and family secrets that have remained buried only to be unearthed now.
After I spent several episodes wondering what exactly was going on with the look-alike sisters played by Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel, and it’s revealed that Nicky had killed Adam in self-defense when she went there to confront him about his abuse to Chloe -- after another tense moment in which we learned Adam had set her up to fail by drugging Nicky's drink when Ethan was a baby, which led to her losing full custody. Only Chloe knew the full truth. As the case came to a close, it’s the moment at the very end where the sisters come together that is still sticking to me.
On the beach, they had a long, heartfelt conversation about everything that had happened. And as they held each other and fell asleep near the fire, the camera panned up, and we saw those two little girls – the younger versions of themselves – looking right back at them, hugging the other.
But why was this the big creative choice?
Why The Creators Took That 'Little Girl' Route As The Better Sister Wrapped
I don't really think the showrunners need to justify the creative choice, because it's an absolute gut-punch. I did want to know "why" though, and co-showrunner Olivia Milch told me it was a testament to them "carrying" those little girls with them wherever they go.
I think we always knew that they carried these little girls within them. I think all of us do, right? We have our little selves within us, and to have it be united in that way. I think the structure of the storytelling, the structure of the series itself, is that you have this present timeline and these past timelines, and they're sort of separated in form. And we wanted a moment of unity because we felt that the performances and the work we had done were actually uniting those past and present selves. So we wanted to see that visually as well.
The two sisters' timelines certainly painted stories of survival, from Nicky’s experience with their stepfather that changed everything to Chloe taking over guardianship of Nicky’s son (and more). To have it all combined in this one moment after years of resentment, grudges and more against the other, felt really beautiful.
Fellow showrunner Regina Corrado (known for her writing on one of the best FX drama series’ out there, Sons of Anarchy) additionally said that it’s something you can’t really “get away” from when it comes to dynamics as adults.
I think the other side of that is that you can't get away from that. You can't get away from those little selves. You can't change that. It's almost like no matter what you do, you're always those little girls together, and those dynamics are set up from the beginning.
Truthfully, I couldn’t imagine a better way to end the miniseries. I’m all for a long-winded series that tends to last seasons upon seasons (think The Walking Dead’s eleven seasons), but when you get a condensed story like this? I’m all for it, and the ending to it capped it off.
Listen, I would honestly enjoy more stories from Nicky and Chloe and how they deal with the aftermaths of this trial – and everything else that was revealed regarding the murder – but I’m content with where The Better Sister ultimately landed. There really isn’t a better sister, per se – it’s just two girls who, even after all this time and all this heartbreak, would still risk the world for each other, and that’s beautiful.
Now excuse me, as I'm still emotionally reeling and I feel I have to go watch some of the best rom-coms to decompress from this.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
