‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Review: Not Quite Killer TV, But Still a Thriller

It starts, naturally, with a body in the boot of a car. There’s no other way that Season 2 of the Irish tragicomedy Bad Sisters could begin, really, especially after a sharp first season that turned a seemingly cut and dry whodunnit into a sisterly drama as blackly funny as it was bleak. Things are less focused this time around, with new and expanded characters and a few loose ends, but the series still stands out as utterly entertaining and deeply poignant.

Picking up two years after the untimely death of John Paul Williams—but before the body in the trunk that opens the first episode—the second season of Bad Sisters finds the Garvey girls in a surprisingly good place. Eldest Eva (Sharon Horgan, also credited for the story of Season 2) is taking her menopausal years in stride, more comfortably independent than ever. Ursula (Eva Birthistle) is living with her now, her marriage inevitably dissolved after her affair. Bibi (Sarah Greene) and her wife are trying to get pregnant, and Becka (Eve Hewson) actually has a stable boyfriend for once. And, thankfully, Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) has moved on from her terrible late husband John Paul—she’s getting married to her new love Ian (Owen McDonnell).

Everyone seems remarkably well-adjusted despite the whole covering up a murder thing, except for Grace’s old neighbor Roger (Michael Smiley). His guilt has been eating away at him, and Grace moving on so easily isn’t helping. Things get worse when the dismembered body of JP’s father is found in a suitcase in the creek outside Grace’s old home, bringing the many crimes featured in Season 1 back into focus. Roger’s distress doesn’t go unnoticed; his highly religious sister-slash-roommate Angelica (Fiona Shaw) can see it written plainly on his face, and she decides to get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile, Claffin and Sons Insurance has shuttered in the past two years, meaning that this season’s investigations actually belong to the police. Inspector Loftus (Barry Ward) is back but on the cusp of retirement, so most of the digging and all of theorizing falls to the newly instated—and often annoying—detective Houlihan (Thaddea Graham). Their not-quite-buddy cop dynamic never really takes off, unfortunately. Maybe that’s because Houlihan straddles a strange line between dopey and determined at all times, a beacon of justice who also plays with a fidget spinner at her desk.

The timeline stays linear this season, no jumping back and forth, and the show does lose some momentum as a result. It starts with a body, sure, but the identity of the would-be corpse isn’t much of a focus across the first few episodes. Instead, the series risks becoming stale by rehashing details of Season 1, with Angelica and Houlihan trying to pin circumstantial evidence on the Garvey sisters. Angelica even starts to target the sisters individually a la John Paul, from planting seeds of doubt in Bibi’s marriage to potentially getting Ursula fired from her job as a nurse. She’s a less compelling, less believable antagonist than the abusive JP, so despite Shaw’s genuinely delightful villainous performance, Angelica comes off a tad forced.

That said, the scribes behind Bad Sisters are smart enough to subvert expectations, and both the audience and the Garvey girls are in for a major shock a little over halfway through the season. Much of the story hinges on what the Garvey sisters will do to keep people quiet, and you can be sure that their moral standards get lower with every passing minute. As such, everyone gets a finger pointed at them at some point or another, and a good deal of characters find themselves in mortal peril too, keeping viewers on their toes.

Season 2 makes for juicy television, but it does lack the specificity and intensity of the first season. The previous season made a habit of centering the individual sisters in some episodes, really bringing the messy Garvey family to life. However, that focus doesn’t return, and the sisters only get some vague subplots. Ursula has a pill problem that ends up unaddressed and essentially unpunished; Bibi’s hesitancy over her wife’s pregnancy gets a few scenes before it’s inexplicably solved. Matt Claffin (Daryl McCormack) reappears a few times to reconnect with Becka, a fan service-y choice that gets a pass because of the irresistible chemistry between Hewson and McCormack, but Becka’s romantic life is just background noise. Grace also has to deal with her angsty teen daughter Blánaid (Saise Quinn), a sour shift from their complex and moving mother-daughter dynamic from Season 1. At eight episodes compared to 10, the second season simplifies and minimizes its characters while extending its conspiracy; it’s a disappointing change.

Ultimately, the show concludes with a culprit that matches the ethos of the first season, a satisfying ending despite a bumpy journey through the Irish countryside. Bad Sisters scratches that cathartic itch of watching a group of women band together to get rid of a prick, and the series remains deeply, darkly funny. It’s still a very special show for its exploration of sisterhood, toxic relationships, and the kind of social conservatism that’s making an unfortunate comeback, but it looks like Bad Sisters has already peaked.

The first two episodes of ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 premier on Apple TV+ on November 13th.