‘The Chicken Sisters’ Recap: ‘This is War, Y’all’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Wendie Malick, Genevieve Angelson, Schuyler Fisk, Lea Thompson as Augusta ‘Gus’ Moore, Mae Moore, Amanda Moore-Hillier, and Nancy Hillier in Episode 103 of ‘The Chicken Sisters’ – ‘This is war, Y’all’. (Photo Courtesy of Kailey Schwerman/Hallmark.) ©2024 Hallmark

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘The Chicken Sisters’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
If there is one particular question that comes up often when we are being taught to face our past and resolve the sour nature of it, is… why? After all, we find some measure of strength in holding onto our past tightly, since it keeps us vigilant and always reminds us of where we are from. Not to mention, we likely won’t get an apology or closure from the people or situation that wronged us. So, what’s the point of resolving that which makes us strong and keeps us going? Well, it just so happens, that the best stories on such matters, make sure to answer that question for us, as was the case with this week’s episode of The Chicken Sisters on Hallmark+.

For ‘This is War, Y’all’ saw the sour nature of last week’s episode expand here. Wherein we learned the why behind needing to handle our past. But not right away. Because the problems that creates takes a little time to manifest and that was why early on… this episode implied that perhaps some healing would take place. After all, Frankie and Linzey were finally becoming fast friends, and found some common ground to work with since Frankie still wanted to audition for NYU. Not to mention, Nancy finally made some inroads with Frank and motivated him to be a great manager at last. But alas, nothing was quite what it seemed in this tale.

Because Amanda was swimming in the past that she thought gave her strength and pushed her forward, when in fact, it was poisoning her soul and bringing up unresolved traumas and anger over not healing. Which prompted her to lash out in some stunning ways. Such as sabotaging her mother’s famous sweet tea. Which cost her business, and she made sure to even expose why Mae was in town and to top it all off… she almost shut down her mother’s kitchen for good. Because that pain in her soul, was fresh again, and she felt this was the only way to get resolution, and she was also unhappy with how her past brought her a meek life. One free of passion and desire and that prompted her, to engage in a passionate kiss with Sergio, to feel something, and she wasn’t the only one acting in such a wild manner.

After all, Frank managed to regress, in a very unique manner. One that informed all of us that he too is hanging onto something rough involving his father, likely grief, hence a need to try and emulate his father in this tale, to feel that closure. Plus, Mae also showcased some toxic behavior in this story. Since she tried her best to look good by doing good deeds for her mother and others in town after her mistake. In fact, she even opened up a bit, but still made a point to deny her love the honesty he craved, as though she expected good deeds to somehow set her right. All of which informed us, that when we don’t resolve what we need to from our past, we lash out, we act out, we let the toxic nature consume us and we become a unique person in the process. Since now Amanda is ready to rebel and fight the wrong battles, Mae is only patching her soul and Frank… Frank is sinking into his grief further.

All of which made for another fascinating and powerful tale from this show. One that continued to dig deep into the struggles of the human condition and how they deeply impact us in ways we often don’t think about. But they can cause real trouble if left unchecked and seeing that on display here just speaks to the brilliance of this show. Of how it is unafraid to dive into such matters and showcase them in a way that is painfully relatable. Since we’ve all self-sabotaged, used external matters to heal and drowned our sorrows. The only question that remains is, what will be the catalyst for change in their lives? Because clearly, they need to heal, they need to do something, and it will be interesting to see what finally moves the needle as season one of this show continues along. Until next time.

​Watch ‘The Chicken Sisters’ on Hallmark+.

---