The Sisters

In the spring of 2011, Jonas moved back to Sweden and continued to think constantly of Diane, whom he had a chance encounter with at a cafe. Determined to see her again, he sent her a long, honest email confessing the depth of his feelings. Three days later, Diane replied that she wanted to meet.

Jonas reveals that, 12 years later, he and Diane have built a life and have two children. Their first official date lasted six hours and was filled with intense conversation before ending with their first kiss. He feels deep vindication, believing that he was right to hold out for a true connection. Their relationship progressed quickly, and after one month together, they exchanged declarations of love.

Following Evelyn’s performance, Anastasia feels drained and alienated from her sisters, reflecting on the growing distance caused by her financial success. She believes that her sisters are envious of her creative marketing career. 

During their post-show conversation, Evelyn reveals that she’s struggling to write a final monologue for acting school and needs an original idea. Dismissing Ina’s suggestion to write about their mother, Evelyn asks Anastasia for help. When she gets back home, Anastasia stays up late and devises a concept, later proposing a monologue called Sisters Raised to the Power of Three, which is intended to tell their life stories from a different perspective. To develop this concept further, Anastasia proposes that they go to New York for a long weekend to seek out their roots. Evelyn enthusiastically agrees and adds Ina to the email thread.

In the spring of 2012, Jonas reunited with his ex-girlfriend Emma, who was producing the film of his other friend, Fijona. The encounter left him feeling strange. 

Later, Jonas met Emma at a bar, intending to tell her that Diane was pregnant. However, Emma confronted him first, expressing disappointment in him for not being there for her during a difficult time. She described her cyclical mental-health struggles. When Jonas asked why she never told him this before, she accused him of being judgmental of weakness. She asked only that he be more present in her life. 

Deciding that his news would only make things worse, Jonas said goodbye without telling her about the pregnancy. He later texted Emma an apology for his absence and promised to be a better friend, and she replied with a heart.

In April 2013, Evelyn, Ina, and Anastasia fly to New York City. It’s Evelyn’s first time in the US, which prompts her to reflect on their great-grandfather’s difficult sea voyage to the same country. 

Upon landing at the airport and proceeding through passport control, the guard asks the purpose of their visit. Evelyn begins to honestly explain her research, but Ina and Anastasia quickly interrupt, telling the officer that they’re there for pleasure. They explain to a confused Evelyn that admitting a business purpose would have gotten them sent back. Having successfully entered the country, the sisters proceed as tourists.

During the summer of 2012, Jonas learned from a friend that Emma had died.

Anastasia, Ina, and Evelyn arrive by taxi in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to meet Anastasia’s friend Fabricia. As they travel, Anastasia reflects on her friendship with Fabricia and her own life, which she views as a series of random, disconnected scenes rather than a coherent narrative. 

Fabricia welcomes them warmly and gives them her gigantic artist studio to stay in. After Fabricia leaves, Evelyn is overcome with the feeling of finally being in her great-grandfather’s city. Despite their jet lag, the sisters decide to explore and take the subway to Union Square. On the train, they see a man dressed as a pirate with a real parrot; not a single person in the car finds him strange. Anastasia suggests that Evelyn could use the character for her monologue, but Evelyn internally rejects the idea, believing she needs a more structured story. She nevertheless feels incapable of creating such a story herself.

Early in the morning, Jonas learned that Emma was dead from their mutual friend, Mohamed. He struggled to comprehend the news, and Mohamed clarified that Emma died by suicide. Overcome with shock, Jonas was comforted by his awakened family. 

Jonas prepared to drive six hours to Stockholm alone, but his brothers held him back and forced him to stay. Instead, the family booked train tickets. Before boarding the train, Jonas called Mohamed back and demanded to know the specific details of how Emma died. After Mohamed obliged his request, Jonas was overcome with regret for having asked.

Evelyn, Ina, and Anastasia arrive in Union Square, where Evelyn experiences a deep sense of anonymity and freedom she has never felt before. With Ina acting as a knowledgeable tour guide, they walk uptown, passing several landmarks before reaching their destination: Rockefeller Center. 

Despite Ina’s hesitation about the cloudy weather, Evelyn is determined to go to the observation deck. Inside, they view an exhibit featuring the famous photograph Lunch Atop a Skyscraper. When they see a tourist photo-op to recreate the image on a fake steel beam, Ina suggests that they do it. Evelyn agrees, while Anastasia moves as far away as possible before eventually joining them for the photos. 

At the top, the view is partially obscured by clouds, but Evelyn finds the spot where the original photo was taken. Wondering which of the men was their great-grandfather, Evelyn feels a powerful connection to her past before rain forces them indoors.

Writing from the New York Public Library in January 2022, Jonas reflects that over nine years have passed since Emma’s death. While he no longer thinks of her as much as he used to, he still can’t fully accept the reality of her being gone. He still remembers the details surrounding her death and discovery by Fijona, but this doesn’t make her death feel real. Despite understanding that Emma is gone and buried, a part of Jonas believes that she might reappear one day and reveal that her death was a prank.

While touring New York City with her sisters, Evelyn searches the Ellis Island archives for her great-grandfather, finding 299 matches for “Mikkola” but unable to identify which man he was since she doesn’t know his first name. At Anastasia’s urging, she pretends to take notes for her monologue, but she secretly feels she has no idea what she’s doing. 

The sisters visit the New York Public Library to research the construction of Rockefeller Center. While Ina and Anastasia read historical books, Evelyn sits with a book but doesn’t read it. Instead, she has a long internal reflection about her great-grandfather’s experiences as an immigrant construction worker and lists the countless forgotten names of those who built the city. This reflection sparks a creative breakthrough. Evelyn begins to write furiously in her notebook, continuing late into the night after her sisters are asleep. Though she isn’t writing the assigned monologue, she feels for the first time that she’s creating something meaningful.

In 2013, Jonas attended a gathering to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Emma’s death. He greeted Emma’s parents and observed that the apartment’s layout was identical to Emma’s last residence. He found the other guests sitting in an awkward and complete silence, unsure how to act or what to say. He sat on the floor next to an acquaintance but remained quiet, contributing to the tense, grief-stricken stasis that had overcome the room.

On their last full day of the trip, the sisters visit a deserted Coney Island. When Anastasia and Ina ask to hear what she has written for her school project, Evelyn forgoes her planned monologue. Instead, she unleashes a raw, painful confession, where she announces her hatred for her sisters. She lists everything she resents about them, their lives, the curse, and herself. Anastasia views this as a brilliant, true performance. 

Evelyn’s tirade intensifies when she addresses a passing jogger as if he were Simon, speaking to him in Swedish and explaining why she has to leave him, revealing that their relationship was physically abusive and that she’s disturbingly drawn to his violence. After the jogger flees, she turns to the ocean, screaming insults at her deceased mother until her voice fails and she collapses. Her sisters catch and hold her. Ina has a strong premonition that Evelyn won’t be returning home with them.

At the memorial for Emma, there was a shared, unspoken sense of guilt among the friends over her death. The somber atmosphere was shattered by the arrival of the loud and flamboyant Achilles, who dominated the party with his energy and explicit stories. 

In the kitchen, a director told Jonas about a promising new actress graduating from drama school: Evelyn Mikkola. Jonas admitted that they knew each other a long time ago. After Emma’s parents departed, Achilles had a brief, moving moment of grief before returning to his outrageous behavior. 

Weeks later, Jonas went to the drama school specifically to see Evelyn’s monologue, only to learn that her performance had been canceled due to illness.

Anastasia discovers a note from Evelyn saying that she will see them at the airport. Evelyn’s belongings are gone, including the wristwatch that Anastasia had found in their mother’s basement, which she left in the toiletry bag. Anastasia convinces Ina that Evelyn won’t return, and the two sisters travel to the airport. They try to ask the airline staff if Evelyn has checked in or changed her flight, but the attendant refuses to share passenger information for privacy reasons.

As they wait at the gate, Ina blames Anastasia for Evelyn’s disappearance. Anastasia remains hopeful, imagining that Evelyn will arrive at the last second. Despite her belief, the gate closes, and the plane leaves without her.

That autumn, Jonas heard that Evelyn traveled to New York with her sisters and never returned, dropping out of drama school. Her sudden disappearance led to several conflicting rumors about her whereabouts and actions. Jonas notes that Evelyn’s true situation remains a mystery and reveals that they wouldn’t see each other again for eight years.