The Other Bennet Sister (2026) is a spin on Austen’s classic tale Pride and Prejudice (1813) (quite possibly my favourite novel and movie ever made). It is an absolute masterclass on middle child syndrome and has the perfect amount of yearning I expect from period dramas.
“So, what is left for Mary?”, I hear you ask. Many a great thing, let me just say that.
For those unaware of the phenomenon, middle child syndrome is often described as the feeling of being neglected or overlooked because parents tend to focus more on the first and last-born children. The series centres around Mary Bennet – played by Ella Bruccoleri - the middle child of the Bennet sisters in Austen’s beloved classic. She is a serious, bookish character who is described as being plain, paling in comparison to her siblings. Elizabeth and Jane are her beautiful, witty older sisters. Kitty and Lydia are her sprightly, outspoken younger sisters. “So, what is left for Mary?”, I hear you ask. Many a great thing, let me just say that.
Like most period dramas, the series follows the girls on their quest to navigate the marriage market. We watch as each sister finds their significant other, some more questionable than others (looking at you Mr. Wickham). But while everyone else moves on, Mary gets left behind. Her socially awkward tendencies prevent her from finding ‘the one’ and her mother’s constant belittling keeps her small and shy. The amount of times I wanted to crawl through the screen and give Mary a hug was unquantifiable.
Speaking of her mother, Mrs. Bennet is the ultimate villain of this series – at least in my eyes. How someone can be that cruel to their own daughter, I’ll never understand. She begrudges Mary’s appearance at every turn, ignores her talents and shows no ounce of belief in her at all. But what you don’t realise at first is that Mrs. Bennet, too, is governed by her own insecurities. A woman’s place in society during this period was that of a mother and a wife. This is stripped away when her husband, Mr. Bennet, passes on. She is swiftly kicked out of the house raised her children in and becomes a burden to everyone around her. What use is a woman unless she can produce an heir, eh? Obviously joking.
Mary finally escapes from her mother’s iron grip when she goes to live with her aunt and uncle in London. She chooses her own path: becoming a governess. Slowly, you watch her start to breathe for the first time. Our heroine meets people outside her immediate family, and she can be herself without fear or consequence. Mary makes her first real friend and, of course, because this is a Jane Austen special, there is a good old fashioned love triangle (of sorts). For me, the choice was clear from the beginning. Tom Hayward, duh! Watching those two dorks fall in love was peak television – argue with the wall.
And finds a type of love that most can only dream of.
However, I must make clear that Mary doesn’t find herself merely because a man comes along and tells her she’s beautiful. She really does find her own place in the world and finds a type of love that most can only dream of.
When you are not fed love from a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off of knives. Which is to say, a lack of love often makes people even more desperate to find it. But, not for Mary. After Hayward disappears to Yorkshire because he believes Mary to be engaged to someone else, she doesn’t wallow in self-pity like you might expect. She continues to work and when he does eventually return, then the fairy tale begins.
this 10-episode series served as a beacon of hope in the dreary world of modern dating.
Ultimately, this 10-episode series served as a beacon of hope in the dreary world of modern dating. Although, I hope it served as a reminder to middle children everywhere that they deserve flowers too. You sparkle just as you are. And if you have to get away from your family to realise that, I hope you breathe a little easier now.