‘The Other Bennet Sister’ review: BritBox’s ‘Pride & Prejudice’ spin-off recasts a guardianship romance as a successful journey of self-discovery

To hear Mary (Ella Broccoleri) tell it, she’s not a special person. She is not the “beautiful” among her sisters, nor the “quick-witted” one, and she is certainly not “the one who is good at games and full of youthful energy.” If she has any value, she is the odd duck, seemingly doomed to a future ignored by suitors and rejected by her family.

It is ironic and entirely fitting, then, that it is precisely this habit that makes her such a striking heroine Bennett’s other sisterBritBox’s very charming effort to recast the resident segment pride and prejudice. With its refreshing tone, its generous sense of empathy, and, above all, its absolutely brilliant leadership, the series pulls off the great trick of convincingly expanding on Jane Austen while standing proudly on its own two feet.

However, like Mary, the series (adapted by Sarah Quintrell from Janice Hadlow’s novel) takes time to fully come into its own. Its opening chapters are a fascinating retelling of events from Austen’s classic novel, this time from Mary’s point of view.

So, as Elizabeth (Bobby Gilbert) meets Darcy (Victor Bellard) at the ball, we hang out with Mary on the sidelines, hoping to be asked to the dance. When Elizabeth Collins (Ryan Sampson) refuses, we hear the news as she does — straight from her chatty younger sisters (Molly Wright’s Kitty and Grace Hogg Robinson’s Lydia). As the rest of the Bennet girls move one by one toward married bliss, we’re stuck at home with Mary, her overly critical mother (Ruth Jones), and her aloof father (Richard E. Grant).

It can be rather boring, if not for two things. One is Mary’s novel, realistic but subtly funny and judiciously deployed, helping to establish the identity of this unconventional young woman even before Mary herself seems to know her. The other is the fast pace of the show. The end of episode two marks the end of familiar territory, as a jolt of fate sends Mary to stay with her aunt (a very likable Indira Varma) and uncle (Richard Coyle) in London. From that point on, the remaining eight half-hour episodes represent completely uncharted waters.

Well – mostly uncharted waters, anyway. Like the story of her parents, Bennett’s other sister She is very concerned with attracting, rejecting, and/or accepting potential suitors, including a charismatic person Bon vivant His name is Mr. RyderGirlfriendLaurie Davidson) and a sensitive lawyer named Mr. Hayward (Donal Finn). And although Mary insists, in voiceover, that her romantic fate is “almost beside the point,” the series casts more shade on her flirtations than non-romantic relationships like her fleeting friendship with the witty Anne Baxter (Varada Sethu).

but Bennett’s other sister He successfully frames Mary’s emotional life as subservient to a richer and more rewarding story of self-actualization. If Austen-inspired works have often drawn inspiration from unforgiving, hierarchical environments like high school or the gay party scene, then Mary’s saga might be a spinoff of the college-going story, in which a lifelong misfit gets a chance to reinvent. Away for the first time from the sisters who always overshadowed her and the mother who never appreciated her, and encouraged by her aunt’s endlessly patient guidance, Mary blossoms from an insecure sunflower into an independent-minded young woman.

Her path there is not without some minor mistakes. On Mary’s part, these include some garish dresses that (in a clever bit of costume design by Sian Jenkins) speak to Mary’s newfound boldness and her clumsiness in using them, as well as some painful interactions with the hilariously feisty Caroline Bingley (Tanya Reynolds). In the show, it includes a depiction of Mrs. Bennet that’s so annoyingly cartoonish that even a final effort to deepen her territory with a thud, and some corny moments that lean heavily into fan service. (Is it even a Regency romance if it’s not swamped by a handsome man in a white shirt?)

But these are just small quibbles about a series that otherwise displays an impressive control of tone, pacing, and (most important of all) characterization. When Mary finds her footing as governess for the Gardiners, visiting new places and meeting new people, when she begins to see a future for herself beyond the “marry or be miserable” binary she has drilled all her life, she becomes… more The nerd, naive, and bookworm we meet at the beginning, no less. The difference is that, increasingly freed from the insecurities and anxieties that hold her back, she begins to embrace those qualities as gifts, not flaws.

Broccoleri’s subtle role as the lead is an absolute boon in this regard. “You lack artifice. Your qualities shine. They have not been spoiled by the false polish of the world,” marvels one admirer at one point, and although he is talking about Marie, he could only be describing Broccolieri’s dynamic, imaginative performance. At a time when many series seem designed on the assumption that unwary viewers need every minute detail spelled out for them, Broccolieri invites you to rely on close study. By putting her face through a million little expressions in the space of a sigh, conveying loads of complex emotions through the way she adjusts her glasses, she is nothing short of exciting to watch.

If there’s a downside to this emphasis on thoughtful self-discovery over such “traps” as balls and proposals, it’s that at some point I felt myself bracing for the show’s inevitable return to Regency romantic tropes. However, by the time it got there, I found nothing to be disappointed with – not when the series had drawn me so completely into Mary and her desires. Which Bennett’s other sister It offers a love story and coming of age journey which makes it a treat. And it manages to do it completely in her own way, without sacrificing any of her unique spirit in the process, making it indelible.