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The Better Sister is a thriller series created by Olivia Milch that was released on Prime Video on May 29, 2025. The limited series is adapted from the 2019 novel of the same name by Alafair Burke. It is directed by Craig Gillespie, Leslie Hope, Azazel Jacobs, Dawn Wilkinson, and Stephanie Laing.
Among the show's writers are Regina Corrado, Ariel Doctoroff, Brittany Dushame, Lauren Stremmel, and Milch. It stars Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks as two estranged sisters, Chloe and Nicky, whose lives are upended after the murder of Chloe's husband, Adam.
He is stabbed to death by Nicky, who confronts him for physically abusing Chloe.
The show's official synopsis, as per Prime Video, reads:
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"Chloe moves in New York's most elite circles with her lawyer husband Adam and teenage son Ethan by her side while her estranged sister Nicky tries to make ends meet and stay clean. When Adam is brutally murdered, the investigation sends shockwaves through the family and exposes long-buried secrets."
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Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Better Sister.
Why does Nicky kill Adam in The Better Sister?
Chloe Taylor, the editor-in-chief of The Real Thing magazine, comes home one night to find her lawyer husband, Adam, stabbed to death at their beach house.
Her sister, Nicky Macintosh, who is a recovering drug addict, arrives to support Chloe and her son, Ethan.
The case is investigated by detectives, Nancy Guidry and Matt Bowen, who quickly realize that the killer staged the crime scene to look like a break-in. They learn that Nicky was previously married to Adam and is Ethan's biological mother.
However, she was declared an unfit mother due to her drug addiction, which also led to the breakdown of her marriage.
Following which, Adam found comfort in his sister-in-law, Chloe, and they eventually got married. Furthermore, Nicky has been in touch with Ethan secretly for the past five years through a burner phone.
Through Ethan, Nicky learned that Adam was physically abusing Chloe through Ethan.
Nicky was visiting Adam's estranged mother, Debbie, when she got a call from Ethan claiming that Adam had choked Chloe during a particularly bad fight. Fearing for her sister's safety, she rushes over to their house and finds Adam all alone.
The exes get into a physical altercation after Nicky threatens to expose him as a wifebeater. When he charges at her, she stabs Adam with a pocket knife in self-defense and runs away.
Ethan arrives some time later to find his father bleeding to death, but still alive. He decides to let him die instead of helping him, thinking that he and Chloe are better off without him.
He wrongly assumes that Chloe committed the murder and stages the crime scene to look like a break-in to protect her.
Also read: Will there be The Better Sister season 2? Renewal status and more
Why is Ethan arrested for Adam's murder in The Better Sister?
Ethan is arrested at the end of The Better Sister episode 2 after his shoes are found with bloodstains on them. The forensics team later confirms that it's Ethan's blood from the cut on his forearm.
When the detectives dig into Ethan's past, they discover that he was caught bringing a gun to school. Adam had to make a significant donation to the school to bury the matter.
At his trial, the prosecutor, Dom, proves that Ethan was neglected as a child and grew up harboring resentment for both his parents. Ethan looks even more guilty when he is proven to have sent Chloe death threats online and wanted Adam dead.
Adam was critical of his son's appearance and constantly berated him as a good-for-nothing.
Both Nicky and Chloe take the stand in his defense. Chloe lies about having a secret affair with Adam's colleague, Jake Rodriguez, and confiding in him about Adam's physical abuse.
Jake goes along with her attempts to paint him as a suspect who killed Adam in anger, just to save Ethan. The plan works as the young boy is declared not guilty in the verdict.
However, Jake has a strong alibi for the night of the murder, leaving the detectives to continue their search for the killer.
Flashback scenes reveal that Nicky lost custody of baby Ethan when she accidentally drowned him in the swimming pool while being high.
Adam arrived just in time to save both of them. He urged Chloe to put Nicky in an involuntary psych hold. Fearing that her own actions can harm Ethan, Nicky stepped away so that Chloe can be a better mother to her son.
It is revealed in the penultimate episode of The Better Sister that Adam had faked the drowning incident to get rid of Nicky. He had spiked her lemonade, causing her to pass out while he called the cops claiming his wife and son were drowning.
The fate of other characters explained in The Better Sister
In the series finale, Debbie accidentally reveals to Nancy that Nicky had stabbed Adam. She sends Nicky's DNA to the forensic team, but is dropped from the case before she can prove her culpability.
News gets out that Nancy had previously attacked an innocent Black man named Eddy and left him disabled while hunting down a trafficker. The ensuing backlash forces her superior to drop her from the case.
Adam worked at the law firm, Braddock and Braddock, alongside Jake. One of the company's clients, the Gentry Group, has been under investigation by the FBI for its shady operations.
The FBI agent, Edward Olivero, approaches Chloe to help him find dirt on the organization in exchange for help with Ethan's case.
In the series finale, Chloe finds a recording in which Adam's boss, Bill Braddock, asks him to blackmail the Gentry Group. She uses the opportunity to deflect suspicion away from Nicky forever.
Chloe frames Bill for her husband's murder by secretly leaving the murder weapon in his study. She then sends the recording to Matt, who arrests Bill on corruption charges and for Adam's murder.
Furthermore, the Gentry Group was involved in the illegal construction of a stadium using indentured workers, leading to several human rights violations and regulations.
Adam reported the issue to the FBI and spied on the organization on their behalf. After his death, the FBI blackmailed Jake to find dirt on his client. Bill eventually fires Jake after discovering that he was working with the FBI.
Jake is killed in the end, presumably by the Gentry group for his efforts to expose them.
Watch all episodes of The Better Sister exclusively on Prime Video.
