*Spoilers for the plot of Netflix’s Blood Sisters below
I have to admit, when it comes to new and original content that keeps me dialed all the way in, Netflix typically misses a few steps for me. I’m not sure if it's their competitors’ content that has me in a chokehold (hey, HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, etc.) or if I’ve written the platform off too soon as somewhere to chill with old throwback faves. Either way, one Sunday evening I sat down ready to tackle some work and flipped through the platforms for a show or series I could watch for more than just an hour. Now, if you’re like me, you need some background noise to help break up the work you’re about to fall headfirst into. Just me? Cool.
I landed on Netflix and immediately was greeted with a “Top 10” suggested series, Blood Sisters. Beautiful Nigerian women, shovel in hand, suspense, and…did I smell drama? Okay, I thought, let me give this a try. I hit play and put the remote down, with plans to focus on the work - while also trying to take in the plot.
Let’s just say my week would never be the same.
Side-note: This contains SOME spoiler alerts. I will not reveal everything but read at your own risk.
The story of Blood Sisters centers squarely around the importance and beauty of the relationships that are closest to us in our lives; whether chosen or blood. The series opens as we see the gorgeous Sarah and her mega-successful fiancé Kola, preparing for their engagement party. Kola immediately gives me “catered to for his whole life, while being mommy’s fave” vibes, and boy was my “f-boy” radar on point. Kola is one of three children to a villainous mother, Udak, who makes no secret that she prefers Kola over her other two children, choosing him to run their family business, and, in turn, causing a never-ending power struggle led by drugs, booze, sex and oh…hired hitmen to take baby boy Kola out. At his engagement party. Whew, I was glued all the way in.
After, we find out that golden boy Kola is just about as copper as the pennies that fall between the cracks in your purse. In fact, he’s not only jealous, controlling, and abusive, he seems to have himself convinced that it’s “normal”. Sarah and her best friend Kemi are the only ones who are over trying to act like Kola is who he isn’t and, after a beating during the party, the best friends, who have been inseparable since they were 5 years old, hatch a plan to get Sarah out of her engagement. The only problem? The plan backfires majorly and the two best friends go from trying to find a way out of a bad relationship to trying to find a way out of the venue with Kola’s dead body.
Yes, the besties are now “killers.” What happens next goes from figuring out how to get rid of the body and evidence to how to portray themselves as grieving and, finally, making a decision to run and get out of the country. Even with all the drama going on around Kola’s murder, and his evil mom, Udak, using every resource she has to remain the biggest “B”, the story has a LOT going on. Family betrayal, murder, suspense, culture, and the importance of having a ride or die bestie.
While I won’t give up any details on Kola’s murder (like who did it and why), just know that by the end you’re less sympathetic to his murder and more enamored with the true-blue love relationship between Sarah and Kemi. Never wavering. Never questioning. Honest and protective. No, I’m not advocating for having your best friend's back when they’re wrong…but I am advocating for not abandoning them when they are. Kemi and Sarah are fictional characters with real-life similarities to many best friendships out there. Whether you’ve known them forever or are newly connected, a relationship that is worthy enough of being called a “best friend” should always be a safe space to empower and be empowered, and to remind you of your worth.
Yes, most best friendships don’t involve running from organ harvesters or bounty hunters, but let's assume they did…which side are you on with your bestie? Once the police found out that two unlikely suspects were likely involved, the two best friends had a heart-to-heart. One advocating for turning themselves in and the other for running. “I never want to do anything without you being by my side,” one says to the other. It hit me hard. My best friend, Lynette, is my ride or die. From college to adulthood and now transitioning to being those pesky adult children who have to remind their parents to go to doctor’s appointments by wagging our fingers at them, we’ve been through a lot. Through every bad decision, heartbreak, side-eye, and even a disagreement, (which felt as intense as running from the law), I’ve seen the beauty of a sisterhood that doesn’t abandon but uplifts. The sisterhood that makes space for you to be you - not who you pretend to be to the outside world. The sisterhood that makes you a better person and will go to the ends of the world to make sure you see it. And vice versa.
The audience may have started the series engulfed in a toxic love story about Kola and Sarah, but we ended it realizing that the true love story was between two best friends who never gave up on each other. The idea that one person believing in and riding for you can impact your own vision for what you can and can’t do was so prevalent in the series, that I had to pause it a few times to ask myself “What would you and your bestie do?”
Blood Sisters is beautifully shot, has amazing cultural highlights, and an amazingly talented range of creatives and I’ve literally been telling everyone I know about it. Aside from the deep and meaningful relationship between the best friends, the consequences of mistreating or glorifying family members can’t be denied. It doesn’t matter who we are, how much money we have in the bank, or what fancy clothes adorn our bodies, at the end of the day, there will be a reckoning for how you treat people in your life.
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Featured Image via Netflix
