There are spoilers for episodes 1 and 2 of season 2 Bad sisters.
When the news broke that Apple TV would be launching a second season bad sistermy first thought was: “Why?” Season 1 of Sharon Horgan’s adaptation of the Belgian series clan is a deeply addictive dark comedy about the steps we will take for the ones we love.
Season 1 seemed to end with the closest thing to a “happily ever after” ending the Garvey sisters could get. After several failed (and hilarious) attempts to kill her sister Grace’s evil husband Jean-Paul (Claas Bang), Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) succeeds in her mission. Years of abuse had taken their toll, and the final straw came when Jean-Paul admitted he raped Grace’s sister Eva. After making a deal with Matthew Claffin (Daryl McCormack) not to file an insurance claim, the Claffin family doesn’t have enough money to pay the claim, and everyone seems unburdened. What will Season 2 be about?
As it turns out, there are enough loose ends to make for a compelling start to Season 2, which begins with the Garvey sisters, without Grace, driving to a cliff, opening the trunk of their car, only to be confronted by what they see in front of them. The sight frightened me. Who’s in the trunk? Why does Becca (Eve Hewson) look so miserable? Bad Sisters did a great job with time management in season 1, and it looks like they might do the same thing here.
The Good Sister – The Bad Sister, pictured: Sarah Greene as Bibi, Eva Birthistle as Ursula, Sharon Haw Sharon Horgan plays Eva, Anne-Marie Duff plays Grace, and Eve Hewson plays Becka. Photo: Apple TV+ © 2024.
We flash forward to Grace in bed with a bearded man named Ian (Owen Macdonald). The seemingly intimate moment is broken when Grace strangles Ian in his sleep. Ian joked that he was going to marry her now.
The sisters celebrate Grace’s upcoming wedding at the racetrack. It’s clear from the exchange that sister Ursula (Eva Burchisl) has given up on her marriage to Donal (JoJo O’Neill) and is flirting with a jockey. Eva has a great line about loneliness, and in “Hinges” (which sounds like she’s talking about insanity), Bibi (Sarah Green) shares her worries about plans to try for another baby with her wife, while Becca is still Becca-esque. This scene feels like a normal sisterly relationship, not one involving murder and mayhem.
Grace’s old neighbor (and partner in placing John Paul’s body) Roger Muldoon (Michael Smiley) and his sister Angelica (Fiona Shaw) are also there. From the first moment Fiona Shaw appears on screen, you know what this character is going to do. She’s the most nosy person in the community, using acts of kindness to mask her insatiable need to know everyone’s business.
Grace is indeed married to Ian, and the sisters are all dressed in sunny yellow. Roger Muldoon, an old neighbor who is drunk, feels abandoned by Grace and guilty of what they have done. Is he in the trunk?
A new body emerges from the mix. In the pond behind John Paul’s parents’ house, we investigate a dismembered body found in a suitcase and discover that Fergal Loftus (Barry Ward) is back. Feigl is still grieving over authorizing the exhumation of John Paul’s body in Season 1 as Thomas Claffin became obsessed with proving the death was murder and avoiding paying his life insurance claim. Feigl was still ridiculed for the fruitlessness of the move and was nicknamed “The Snatcher” by his colleagues. To make matters worse, Feigl is also responsible for training new detective Oona Houlihan (Thadia Graham). We know the body is that of George Williams, who was murdered and thrown into a pond by John Paul in season one. Feigl saw an opportunity for vindication while John Paul was still causing trouble for the Garvey sisters.
The dismembered body brings John Paul’s death back into the spotlight, and the police are once again on Grace’s doorstep. Already on edge, Roger confides in his sister what really happened to John Paul, and lo and behold, Angelica has what it takes to stand up to Grace with the support of trying to help. Coupled with Angelica’s unwanted advice to Nora (Yasmin Akram), and questions surrounding Bibi’s concerns about having another child, her motives remain questionable. Is she obsessed with Grace or all the Garvey sisters?
“Penance” – BAD SISTERS, pictured: Fiona Shaw as Angelica.
Grace tells Ian that she murdered John Paul and he leaves. Or is he? The sisters suspect that Ian simply disappeared, but left behind his cell phone (which was found, oddly enough, hidden in the bathroom) and a bloodstained shirt. Is Ian in the trunk?
Grace is disintegrating. She yells at Brannaird (Seth Quinn), her sisters, and Angelica (in public!). The walls are closing in on her and her sisters are worried, especially knowing that Roger helped Grace. Now I wonder if Roger is in the trunk.
Everything leads to a heartbreaking ascetic ending. Grace returned home, kissed Brannaird, and said she was sorry. She took a wad of cash, put it in a bag, and left the house. Is she on the run? Is someone blackmailing her? As she drove, she called Eva, distraught, but Eva didn’t answer. Realizing she had lost one of the earrings Branade had given her, she reached into the back seat of her car and had an accident. When the police arrived at Eva’s house, Eva knew that Grace was gone when she saw Brannaird’s dejected face in the back seat of the police car.
There are so many plot points (does Ursula have a drug problem? Why is Angelica wearing a cialis chain? Why do Ian and Blanchard seem so close?). Waiting for new episodes to air every week is going to be difficult.
What do you think of Season 2 so far? Who’s in that trunk?
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Meredith Howell
Meredith lives in Chicago, where she and her husband make sure their two sons are fluent in all things pop culture. She loves talking about everything from GG to Gilmore Girls to The Golden Girls and watches Pride and Prejudice every year (the Colin Firth version is the only one recognized).
