Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex – Episode 1

Content Warning: Parental abuse (verbal, physical), nonsexual nudity (bathing)

What’s it about? Marie Shaderan has always been the lesser daughter of her family, forced to labor while her older sister is doted upon. But when her sister dies tragically en route to meet her new fiancé, Marie becomes the last hope for her family’s financial future. Fortunately, it seems Duke Kyros Granado might see more in her than her family ever did.

The trouble with reviewing this show is that I am no longer 12 years old. If I were, I think I might fall neatly into the rhythm of broad, melodramatic plotting that sets the table for Marie’s story. Her parents are wickedly evil, she’s dressed in rags, and she’s whisked away to meet the one handsome, slightly gruff and awkward man who finally shares her interests.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this fantasy, to be clear. Most people can relate to feeling unappreciated in some way by their families, even if they don’t come from abusive circumstances, and we all long to meet someone who really gets us, whether that’s platonically or romantically. And this fairly specific set-up has clearly been scratching an itch for people at least since My Happy Marriage started in 2018, with last season’s The Too-Perfect Saint offering another fairly similar take on the formula.

Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex looks nice too, with vivid colors and fairly solid character animation. It’s just that the writing is, while heartfelt, kind of artless. Marie’s parents have shunned her since her youth for the crime of being ugly, which here means that she’s tall and has red hair. No other reason. She’s not cursed with some secret power, or an illegitimate child, or the subject of racism or ableism. She’s just not blonde. And sure, some parents definitely pick favorites based on looks, but it’s hard to buy the whole Cinderella treatment without the characters even pretending they have a “real” reason to degrade this girl. It comes across, again, as a sheltered 12-year-old thinking their hardest about what terrible trials an abused girl might face before getting her rags-to-riches. And while I appreciated that little sister Anastasia is kind and loving to Marie for the five minutes she enjoys being alive, it seems it would have been too dynamic and complex for to continue being part of the story and so OFFSCREEN DEATH IT IS. (If she has in fact secretly faked her death, I will tip a hat squarely in this show’s direction).

Kyros is fine as a love interest. He and Marie have a sweet meet-cute over their shared interest in Kyros’ heritage of fantasy India the Ipsandros Republic, and he’s blustery and awkward enough to have a bit of personality beyond “nice.” His greatest flaw is his tendency to say complementary things in the most ambiguous, easy-to-misunderstand manner possible, which smells of future anxiety over how this story will maintain tension. Marie’s insecurity is certainly a factor, but otherwise it’s already pretty clear that these two like each other, which leaves external circumstances to do a lot of the heavy lifting for conflict. That could range all the way from grounded, like Kyros facing racism as a mixed-race noble, to utterly contrived misunderstandings that could be solved by a five-minute conversation or an antagonist being 10% less cartoonishly evil.

If there’s anything caveat-wise to note, it’s the potential undertone of exoticism to Kyros’ character and culture (the suddenly heavy strings in the soundtrack when Kyros’ very charming mom makes her entrance sure are something); at the same time, the most sincerely sweet moment of the episode is both Kyros and Marie lighting up at their shared connection over Ipsandros’ history and culture.

I suspect this will be a thoroughly harmless romantasy title, with our heroine overcoming her psychological scars by dint of her supportive new home and discovering a sense of self-worth and confidence. I just think that unless you’re an adolescent who’s drawn more to the Biggest Feels than anything else or this specific trope is your happy place, you’ll get more out of this title’s older sister.