Bad Sisters Season 2 Review: Apple’s Dark Comedy Strains to Keep an Old Mystery Alive
I thoroughly enjoyed Season 1 of Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters… and at the same time, I didn’t see any need for it to continue with a Season 2.
The pitch-black comedy, centered around a tight-knit group of Irish sisters who all come under suspicion when one sister’s jerk of a husband ends up dead, was a morbid delight in its freshman run, powered by terrific performances and a bracing dose of gallows humor. But the story tied up so neatly in the end that a second season seemed unnecessary. Well, we’re getting one anyway — the first two episodes of Season 2 are now streaming; I’ve seen all eight — and while the comedy and chemistry are still there in spades, it’s tough to avoid the feeling that this story is being implausibly stretched well beyond its natural limits.
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Season 2 picks up two years later, with the Garvey sisters doing their best to move on after John Paul’s death… and their involvement in it. His widow Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) has surprisingly found love again, marrying a nice bloke named Ian (Owen McDonnell), and it seems like she’s finally finding joy again, too. But a shadow remains in the form of nosy church lady Angelica, played by Killing Eve alum Fiona Shaw, who suspects that the sisters are hiding something and relentlessly hounds them for the truth. Plus, a pair of cops start to sniff around as well, so John Paul’s death might not be a closed case after all.
For one thing, it’s just nice to be in the company of the Garvey sisters again: All five actresses share a warm, playful bond that’s a joy to watch. (I’d like to watch a season of them just dealing with everyday stuff without all the murder, actually.) But as I feared, Season 2 ends up being a bit of a retread of the first season, dragging its mystery into a second season like Big Little Lies tried to do. Then when the sisters get ensnared in another crime and encounter another malicious man, it feels preposterous, like Die Hard’s John McClane facing another set of terrorists on another Christmas Eve in the sequel. How did this happen again, exactly?
I should also note that early on in Season 2, we’re hit with a radically audacious plot twist that recalibrates everything. (Season 1 waded into dark waters, tone-wise, and Season 2 ventures even further into those waters.) Following that twist, though, a crucial element that makes the show work is missing, and Season 2 can’t help but suffer as a result. There are a few more big twists along the way, and some questionable character decisions, too, as wild assumptions lead to wilder mistakes. (These people are way too loose-lipped with the police.)
Shaw does makes a formidable adversary as Angelica, a devoutly pious “grief thief” who thrives on other’s misfortune, and her addition to the cast gives Season 2 a jolt of chaotic energy. The returning cast is fantastic once again, too, with Sharon Horgan anchoring all of it with wicked wit and raw vulnerability as Eve. I miss Season 1’s insurance investigators, though. Their desperation to keep the family business intact gave them a human dimension, whereas Season 2’s cops are just… cops. (As young detective Una Houlihan, Doctor Who’s Thaddea Graham isn’t given much personality beyond “annoyingly persistent.”) It’s just another factor that feels like a slight step down compared to Season 1. As much as I love spending time with the Garvey sisters, part of me wonders if we should’ve just let this one rest in peace.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: It’s nice to spend more time with Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters, but Season 2 stretches their story well beyond its natural limits.
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