I have been trying to wrap my head around My Duplicated Husband, because it was so different than what I am used to in the world of verticals. It’s also such a departure from the shows that I am used to seeing Rhett Wellington act in. It’s so different, I watched it twice.
Esther has been in love with Carl for as long as she can remember. The two were high school sweethearts and lost touch. They reconnected at an internship and got married. It was when they got married that everything went wrong. Carl became abusive and it wasn’t that long into their relationship that he started cheating on her.
But the worst of it came when he left their daughter in a car to fend for herself. She was four. He gave her a sucker that she choked on, dying in the car. What was he doing? He was in his mistresses home, screwing her while his daughter died alone.
It’s been a year since that happened, and Carl has come home to be with his wife for their anniversary. She’s less that thrilled with him and I can’t blame her. The fact that she’s stayed with him for a year after that makes her a super hero. But asking for a divorce will almost cost her, her life.
Carl isn’t afraid to hit her and lays into her. In an accident he falls to the ground and dies. There is blood everywhere. Esther buries him in the backyard and thinks that is the end of it. That is until her dead husband walks back through the door the next day, alive and well. Even me, as a viewer, I stared at the screen and just shook my head. I would have lost it.
Literally, I would have just told people to commit me because I would have believed that I lost my mind.
Esther doesn’t know what to think. Carl is being a completely different person. He’s soft and kind and directed. He is making public declarations of love to his wife. He’s protecting her from his evil secretary who he’d been having an affair with. He wants Esther to know that she’s the most important person in the world to him.
Even though we saw her kill him, here he is. And sure, I have my thoughts on who he could be. But we’re watching him do all of these things and they are the complete opposite of who he was. I would think that ok, he’s got a twin or didn’t die, but he’s not mentioned having a twin and there isn’t that he didn’t die because suddenly we’re seeing his face on a man outside the door watching the man that is Carl having sex with Esther,
What is going on? At this point, I am so confused.
The secretary that he had been cheating with doesn’t believe it’s Carl. Sharon can’t be trusted, but that’s a different story. She’s trying to bring Carl down. It doesn’t matter that the fingerprint test proved it was him. Carl is acting weird. He’s being strange.
But even his father is like yes, that’s Carl. So who was the man watching? Why does he have Carl’s face? Why does Carl seem on edge? What is everyone hiding and why won’t anyone be honest with Esther? She knows something is up and just keeps asking for honesty.
Unfortunately she doesn’t get that. She doesn’t get it until she’s kidnapped by the man with Carls face. It’s not Carls twin – it’s his brother Killian. Killlian was his fathers favorite, had even made Carl go under the knife to look like Killian. He was supposed to be Killians body double – his backup.
Killian knew getting Esther meant that Carl would be drawn out. The two come face to face. Esther knows the difference between the two. She finds out that the brothers had both been in love with her, and Killian didn’t like that she didn’t look at him the way she did Carl. The brothers are willing to die to make sure that the other one doesn’t get Esther. They aren’t afraid to fight each other.
And they aren’t afraid to bring their father into the situation.
Their father has made his mistakes, pitting the two against each other and he knew that he did. He brings the reality of the world that they are in to their feet. He knows that he needs to fix it and set his sons down a better road.
He’d failed is sons. He’d failed himself.
Esther and Carl found their way to each other and that was great. But better Killian and the secretary went to jail.
Rhett Wellington gives such a great performance as Carl/Killian that I thought to rethink my meh about his others roles. He’s able to make the brothers seem so different and so the same that you will rethink any apprehensions i’ve ever had about his roles. The actor is talented AF.
My Duplicated Husband is a great watch that will keep you entranced. It’s a departure from the verticals you know and gives you the vertical you need.
The show is streaming on ReelShort now.
