The Better Sister – Season 1 Episode 4 'Gazpacho' Recap & Review

The Review Geek

a day ago

Episode 4
Episode 4 of The Better Sister begins with Chloe dreaming about Hank's funeral. Hank cracks jokes with Chloe and looks down upon Nicky. Sheila nails his casket shut. Young Ethan shows up with a gun.
Chloe wakes up to find Nicky baking. She wants Chloe to try but she waves Nicky off. Chloe tells her about the dream and laughs at how mom was always uptight and weird about dad who was an easygoing guy. This description surprises Nicky but they are interrupted by a new article – the sister wives connection among Nicky, Chloe, Adam and Ethan. Chloe panics and Nicky is hurt to learn that Chloe kept her presence a secret.
Catherine is upset by the secret as well. She is distant and states that the board needs a statement from Chloe EOD. Tired of the chaos, Chloe tries to cancel Adam's wake but Catherine's daughter, Janie convinces her not to. As Chloe leaves, she has Adam cremated since the autopsy is done.
Nicky heads to an AA meeting. In a flashback, we see a drunk Hank being rude and then jovial with a young Nicky. Before he heads to bed, he gives her whiskey and she drinks it.
She tells the AA group that alcohol was the only thing she shared with her father. He hated her otherwise and so she would force herself to drink even though she didn't like it. She is also upset that Chloe is so ashamed that she has shut out that part of their family and buried everything related to Nicky. Ken, a friendly guy, advises her to talk to Chloe as secrets can be poison.
He is right as Chloe next explains herself to Jake and paints Nicky as a selfish addict. She had hoped Ethan would fix Nicky but when he drowned, she took it upon herself to look after him. And while raising him, she and Adam fell in love. They 'buried' Nicky for a fresh start.
With the world watching her, she hints that nothing can happen between her and Jake. He seems understanding but excuses himself. She spots his phone and finds texts to Bill. That he didn't find anything at Adam's beach house.
Nicky visits Ethan next and he has been beaten up. He asks her not to tell Chloe. As they catch up, he reveals he is getting a therapist. She is surprised that he is intimidated, as he has never really gone for therapy. He is scared and makes her promise to visit him every week.
Back home, Chloe packs up Adam's things. She hallucinates him and he wonders if he ever did anything good in his life. She thinks they did. A pap catches her from a rooftop and she looks annoyed. Adam claims she will miss the attention once it stops.
She finally gets a call from Michelle who advises her to lie low as the court won't like any more scandals.
Chloe heads to the beach house and finds Nicky cooking gazpacho for them. She convinces Nicky to come to the wake and they have a sweet bonding moment. It is ruined when Nicky brings up therapy and how Adam thought it was for the weak. She insists it is good for families like theirs and Chloe lashes out. She believes their family was fine and everything bad was due to Nicky's bad decisions.
Hurt, Nicky finally reveals that Hank was horrible. One night, he got drunk, mistook her for Sheila and tried to sleep with her. Sheila gave him an ultimatum which is why he got sober. A shocked Chloe holds to the fact that it was an accident and that Hank wasn't a bad guy. They are interrupted by Matt who finds it suspicious that Chloe had Adam cremated. Nicky kicks him out and the sisters head to the wake.
Hosted by Catherine, it is extravagant and even includes a reporter. She judges Nicky who brings the gazpacho as a gift. The cherry on top is that the board has decided on a temporary leave of absence for Chloe. She tries to refuse but Catherine claims it is a good thing.
Meanwhile, Nicky panics in the bathroom. She comes out and sees everyone eyeing her and showering Chloe with condolences. She ends up flirting with a waiter and starts drinking. Janie tries to befriend her and she exaggerates about herself. Nearby, Bill and Jake discuss work and we learn Gentry has renewed their contract.
Catherine pushes Chloe into giving a speech who is worried about Nicky. Chloe tries to get her to leave but she refuses. Upset with everything, Chloe panics as well. She straightens up once she learns Ethan's trial is in 5 weeks. Wanting to be heard, she tells the reporter, Sid Evans that she buried Nicky for Ethan's sake.
After the wake, Nate, the waiter, approaches Nicky and they hook up while Catherine watches from afar.
Chloe goes home and gets drunk too. She is annoyed that Sid hasn't taken the bait and put out her story. She sits in Adam's car and suddenly remembers Hank driving recklessly. Young Chloe had been scared and Nicky had held her hand.
Chloe shakes herself and finds the card of Edward Olivero, FBI agent. She calls him and we see he is in the car hanging around Jake's beach house.
At the end of The Better Sister Episode 4, Nicky comes home and jumps into the pool. She hallucinates Hank and Adam and goes underwater to make them disappear.
The Episode Review
The Better Sister Episode 4 is yet another chapter that proves this show shines best when focusing on the sisters and their drama rather than the murder mystery. Despite being at the halfway mark, we have yet to learn much about Ethan or Adam which makes the prison experience or the hallucinations emotionless. In fact, Nicky hiding from Hank rather than Adam makes more sense, given what we learn about the dad and how Chloe only knows a rose-tinted version of him.
But this chapter has an easy pace, flitting from segment to segment while exploring the different dynamics between the characters. Catherine is quite shady and seems to be more on the board's side than Chloe's, even though she acts otherwise. Jake is another vague character but his blatant pining over Chloe piques interest. But in the end, this is an enticing character study of estranged sisters who are as similar as they are different from each other.
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Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!