DUBAI: Mary Bennet — the awkward middle child in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”— has always been in the shadow of her more glamorous sisters, remembered more for her social blunders than for any great romance.
But “The Other Bennet Sister” turns the spotlight on Mary and, in doing so, crafts a charming show that blends coming-of-age storytelling with Regency romance to delightful effect.
The series, based on Janice Hadlow’s novel, begins by revisiting the familiar events of “Pride and Prejudice.” Rather than dragging viewers through another exhaustive retelling, though, the show uses Mary’s wonderfully no-nonsense voiceover to recap Austen’s iconic story with equal parts wit and exasperation. We watch the Bennet family drama unfold once more, but this time through the eyes of the sister perpetually relegated to the background.
Those early episodes are great largely because they let viewers get reacquainted with the world of Austen. But the series truly comes alive once Mary leaves home and moves to London. Then, “The Other Bennet Sister” transforms from a playful companion piece into something richer.
In London, Mary takes up a position as a governess in the household of her aunt and uncle, played charmingly by Indira Varma and Richard Coyle. Their home becomes a refuge for Mary, and she slowly begins to discover who she is beyond the expectations and humiliations that had defined her life.
