Bad Sisters-Good Sisters and Penance-Review-We Are Family

Spoilers ahead for episodes one and two of the second season of Bad Sisters.

When news broke that there would be a season two of Apple TV’s Bad Sisters, my first thought was, “Why?” The first season of Sharon Horgan’s adaptation of the Belgian series Clan was a highly addictive dark comedy about the steps we will take for the people we love. 

Season one seemed to end with as close to a “happily ever after” as the Garvey sisters could get. After multiple failed (and hilarious) attempts to kill their sister Grace’s evil husband, Jean Paul (Claes Bang), it was Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) who managed to get the job done. The years of abuse had taken a toll, and Jean-Paul admitting that he raped Grace’s sister, Eva, was the last straw. After an agreement with Matthew Claffin (Daryl McCormack) to not file an insurance claim, which would uncover that the Claffins did not have the money to cover the claim, everyone seemed unburdened. What would season two be about?

As it turns out, there were enough loose ends to build a compelling start to the second season, which starts with the Garvey sisters, sans Grace, driving to a cliff and opening the trunk of the car only to be frightened by what they see. Who’s in the trunk? Why does Becka (Eve Hewson) look badly beaten? Bad Sisters did a great job of playing with time in season one, and it seems like they might be doing the same thing here. 

We fast-forward Grace in bed with a bearded man named Ian (Owen McDonnell). The seemingly intimate moment is broken by Grace strangling Ian in her sleep. Ian jokingly says that he’ll now marry her. 

The sisters celebrate Grace’s upcoming nuptials at a racetrack. It’s clear in the exchanges that sister Ursula (Eva Birthistle) has moved on from her marriage to Donal (Jonjo O’Neill) and is flirting with a jockey. Eva has a great line about being lonely, and on Hinge (which sounds like she’s saying unhinged), Bibi (Sarah Greene) shares apprehension about plans to try for another baby with her wife, and Becka is still Becka-esque. This scene feels like normal sister bonding, not the kind that involves murder and mayhem. 

Grace’s old neighbor (and partner in staging John Paul’s body), Roger Muldoon (Michael Smiley), is there with his sister, Angelica (Fiona Shaw). You just know from the first moment Fiona Shaw is on screen what this character is going to do. She’s the ultimate community busybody who cloaks her insatiable need to know everyone’s business with acts of kindness. 

Grace does indeed marry Ian with the sisters all dressed in sunny yellow outfits. Old neighbor Roger Muldoon is there drunk and feeling cast aside by Grace and guilt for what they did. Is he in the trunk? 

There’s a new body in the mix. Investigating a dismembered body found in a suitcase in a pond behind John Paul’s parents’ house, we see the return of Fergal Loftus (Barry Ward). Fergal is still catching grief for authorizing the exhumation of John Paul’s body in season one based on Thomas Claffin’s obsession to prove foul play in the death and avoid paying the life insurance claim. Fergal is still being teased about this not yielding any results and is playfully called “snatcher” by his colleagues. To add to Fergal’s frustration, he’s been charged with training new detective Una Houlihan (Thaddea Graham). We know the body is George Williams, who was murdered and tossed in the pond by John Paul in the first season. Fergal sees a shot at vindication and John Paul is still causing problems for the Garvey sisters. 

The dismembered body brings John Paul’s death back into focus, and the police are once again at Grace’s door. Already on edge, Roger confides in his sister about what actually happened to John Paul, and voila, Angelica has the leverage to confront Grace under the auspices of trying to help. Add in Angelica’s unneeded advice to Nora (Yasmine Akram) surrounding Bibi’s apprehension about having another child, and her motives continue to be suspicious. Is she obsessed with Grace or all of the Garvey sisters? 

Grace tells Ian that she murdered John Paul and he leaves. Or does he? The sisters are suspicious that Ian just disappeared but left his phone (found hidden in the bathroom, weird) and a blood-covered shirt. Is Ian in the trunk?

Grace is unraveling. She’s yelling at Blanaid (Saise 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’m back to wondering if Roger’s in the trunk. 

Everything’s building to a heartbreaking end to Penance. Grace comes home, kisses Blanaid, and says she’s sorry. She takes stacks of cash, places it in bags, and leaves the house. Is she on the run? Is someone blackmailing her? As she’s driving, she calls Eva, distraught, but Eva doesn’t answer. Realizing she’s missing one of the earrings Blanaid gave her, she reaches in the back of the car only to get into an accident. The police arrive at Eva’s, and with one look at Blanaid’s crestfallen face in the back of the police car, Eva knows that Grace is gone. 

There are so many plot points going on (does Ursula have a drug problem? Why is Angelica wearing a cilice chain? Why did Ian and Blanchard seem so close?). It’ll be a struggle to wait for new episodes to drop each week. 

What do you think about season two so far? Who is in that trunk?

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Meredith Howell

Meredith lives in Chicago where she and her husband made sure their two boys were fluent in all things pop culture. She loves talking about all things GG- Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, and Golden Girls and indulges in a yearly viewing of Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth version is the only one recognized).