Bad Sisters Season 2 Episode 2, “Penance,” shifts the narrative in a surprising, new direction. Loftus and Houlihan grow suspicious of Grace, prompting them to reopen the JP case. Moreover, Ian’s disappearance raises questions as Grace’s behavior becomes erratic, leading to that ending. Holy moly.
I have mixed feelings about the Powers That Be killing off one of the Garveys so early in the season. Grace’s death will undoubtedly play a role in the proceedings, but getting rid of the woman who overcame her abuse feels … icky. It’s certainly shocking.
All that aside, “Penance” boasts great performances, especially from Anne-Marie Duff, and some fun Garvey sisters camaraderie. The unfolding mystery is also quite intriguing. I hope the show doesn’t get too dark, though.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Bad Sisters episode, “Good Sisters”
Bad Sisters, “Penance”
We open with Grace (Duff) standing in her bedroom the morning after Ian vanished. Eva (Sharon Horgan) knocks on her door, but Grace doesn’t respond. Instead, she pulls out a card from the late JP. We also see a photo of him with Grace and Blanaid (Saise Quinn). JP wrote on the back of the picture, “You are our world, Mammy.” Meanwhile, Angelica (Fiona Shaw) wraps what looks like a cilice belt around her thigh. That’s some self-flagellation sh*t.
Then, Angelica urges Roger (Michael Smiley) to wash up after his tea. She looks at a photo of JP and Grace on her iPad. Elsewhere, Bibi (Sarah Greene) gets ready for her run. Nora (Yasmine Akram) reminds her of their noon appointment at the clinic. Right now, Nora’s taking hormone tablets to prepare for IVF. While Bibi’s on her run, Eva calls her to meet the sisters at Grace’s house.
Where’s Ian?
Next, Blanaid disparages Grace before heading to school. Eva tracks her down, revealing she’ll call Blanaid if Ian returns home. Blanaid asks why the guards were at their house the night before. Naturally, this is news to Eva. Grace finally emerges to find Eva, Bibi, Becka (Eve Hewson) and Ursula (Eva Birthistle) in her kitchen. They ask Grace where Ian is. She claims they had an argument, and he stormed off. He’ll be home soon.
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Grace adds that Roger visited her to reveal his desire to go to the guards. This would undoubtedly result in Grace’s arrest for murdering JP and the sisters for their involvement in it all. Meanwhile, Loftus (Barry Ward) sits in the bath while listening to a voicemail from his ex-wife, Nadine (Liz Fitzgibbon). She wants him to sign the consent forms so their daughter, Jessie (Callie Weir), can go to school in Australia. Unfortunately, Jessie walks in on her dad while he’s in the tub.
Later, Loftus and Houlihan (Thaddea Graham) survey the Claffin & Sons building, only to find it empty. Thomas and Matthew bolted right out of there. Loftus decides to reopen the JP investigation (without doing Exhumation Part Deux, of course). He also wants Houlihan to look into Grace’s involvement in all this. There’s no way JP died by suicide.
Light Intimidation
Next, we see Eva, Bibi, Becka and Ursula outside Roger and Angelica’s home. The plan is to ask Roger (with some light intimidation) not to disclose everything to the guards. They see Roger take off on his bike and decide to follow him. Angelica watches the sisters from afar. Uh-oh.
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They confront Roger at the pub, where Bibi finally gets the cheese and onion crisps she wants. (And now I want some.) At the same time, Angelica sneaks around Grace’s house, trying to see if anyone’s home. The sisters tell Roger that Grace has nothing to do with the body uncovered at the Williams residence. By turning himself in, he’s putting Grace and Blanaid in danger. Roger asks how they’re involved, to which they explain that they helped Grace cover up JP’s murder. The world is better off without The Prick.
Angelica finds Grace praying in the local church. She kneels beside Grace and reveals she knows why Grace pulled away from their friendship: Grace killed her first husband. Angelica reassures Grace that she’s not here to judge; she wants an explanation. Grace asks if they can chat another time before leaving the church. Will Angelica blackmail Grace with what she knows?
Chopped Up His Da
After this, we see Houlihan and Loftus at the morgue. According to the morgue worker, the forensic unit found a saw in the Williams residence with JP’s DNA on it. Additionally, the cut marks on the bones match the ridges on the saw’s blade. Thus, JP chopped up his own father. While Loftus can’t arrest JP’s skeleton, he plans to dig deeper into Grace’s connection to this. He asks Houlihan to examine Grace’s insurance claim.
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Meanwhile, Bibi chats with Ursula about her growing uneasiness regarding Grace. Did she kill Ian? Ursula, who’s at work, sneaks out some pills. Ally (Deirdre Mullins) eyes Ursula suspiciously. At the same time, Loftus tries various cake flavors before settling on two for his retirement party. Houlihan updates him on the case, revealing that JP was siphoning money off his dad’s pension for 10 years.
In addition, with JP out of the picture, Grace stood to inherit the Williams home. Loftus believes this is why she dropped her claim. He urges Houlihan to keep an eye on Grace. Speaking of Grace, the Garvey sisters ask her why she hasn’t heard from Ian in two days. Becka heads upstairs to use the bathroom. She discovers a mysterious phone purposely concealed in a cabinet. Ursula and Bibi find a bloodstained shirt in the washer. That’s not good.
More Questions
Blanaid argues with Grace that the latter drove off Ian. She also more than implies that Grace pushed JP to kill himself. Then, Loftus and Houlihan pull into the driveway. Eva assumes it’s with another update on George Williams. Ursula and Bibi hide the bloodstained shirt as the detectives enter the house. The sisters try to play it cool as Loftus explains that whoever dumped George into the pond expected to retrieve it at some point. It wasn’t very smart to hide his body so close to the house.
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Loftus proceeds to ask Grace more questions about JP’s suicide. He admits the cause of death is highly unlikely, given he and Houlihan have looked at the inquest files. “What makes you think he killed himself?” Loftus asks Grace. Grace snaps that it isn’t anyone’s business. Loftus adds that they spoke to Claffin & Sons to verify that Grace dropped her claim. He remarks that it’s interesting that she did precisely what the insurers wanted.
Then, Grace informs Loftus and Houlihan that Ian is at a golf tournament. Houlihan wonders why he left his golf clubs behind. Grace claims he’s more of a spectator. The detectives warn that they plan to follow up on this before leaving. Grace takes Blanaid to her camogie match. Bibi decides to tail her.
Camogie Outburst
Meanwhile, Ursula, Becka and Eva prepare to scrub down Grace’s house so the guards don’t find anything suspicious. Ursula remarks that men like Ian don’t just vanish. There’s something more at play here. Of course, no one wants to admit that Grace killed another husband.
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Angelica catches Blanaid as she heads to the pitch. She asks if Ian is there to wave Blanaid on. Blanaid reveals that Ian is gone. Angelica joins Grace for a chat. Bibi reunites with Nora, but she keeps one eye on Grace. Bibi tells Nora she doesn’t trust someone constantly flaunting their “good deeds” for the world to see.
Angelica tries to get Grace to talk, insisting she doesn’t need to protect her sisters. Grace need only think of herself and Blanaid. Grace turns on Angelica and tells her off. Bibi tries to console Grace as she walks away. Angelica insists to Bibi that this is “hysterical behavior” and won’t do the Garveys any favors.
Evading the Truth
Nora comforts Angelica in the bathroom, apologizing on Grace and Bibi’s behalf. The conversation pivots to Nora and Bibi pursuing the IVF route. Angelica repeats what she overheard Bibi tell Ursula at the wedding reception — that Bibi is terrified and she struggled to connect with Ruben for some time. Nora’s face falls at that. Angelica’s very good at sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.
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Later, we see Eva, Becka and Ursula cleaning Grace’s house. Bibi arrives to inform them about the Grace/Angelica confrontation near the pitch. She believes it’s time they ask Grace to disclose the truth. Grace wanders in. The sisters rally together, asking Grace why Ian’s phone was hidden in the bathroom cupboard. What about the bloody shirt? Bibi also wonders why Grace lied to the guards and told them that Ian was at a golf tournament.
Plus, all of Ian’s stuff is still here. What happened to him? Grace orders her sisters to leave. As they walk out, Ursula gives Grace a packet of pills to ease her anxiety. Then, at one point, Grace screams at Blanaid.
It’s All Connected
After this, Nora and Bibi have a serious chat at home. Nora claims she doesn’t want to try IVF anymore. She’s going to tell the clinic that they’re pulling out. Bibi protests, citing that it’s her decision, too. Nora urges Bibi to be honest with herself. Is this what she really wants?
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That evening, Angelica looks at photos of her and Grace on her phone. She calls Grace, but the latter doesn’t answer. Then, Loftus and Houlihan meet with Howlett (Lorcan Cranitch). Howlett recaps what we know so far: the Claffins insisted there was foul play regarding the JP case, but Loftus ruled it as an accident. However, they might as well toss out that verdict.
Houlihan explains they have reason to believe Grace was involved because Ian is gone, too. Grace has been lying since their first visit. She claims JP died by suicide, but something stinks. Howlett orders them to get a warrant, bring Grace in and see what comes of that.
The Unthinkable
Later, Grace sneaks into Blanaid’s room and apologizes to her sleeping daughter, saying she loves her. Grace gets into her car. As she drives away, Grace leaves Eva a frantic voicemail, stating she needs her help. Grace realizes she’s missing one of the earrings Blanaid got her as a wedding gift. She looks behind her to retrieve it, narrowly missing an oncoming vehicle. Unfortunately, though, Grace swerves off the road and crashes. We see her overturned car in the aftermath.
The guards break the dreadful news to Eva, who sees Blanaid outside her house and bursts into tears.
Bad Sisters drops new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+.
Apple Renews CRIMINAL RECORD for Season 2
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