Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of Bad SistersIn recent years, several television shows have been criticized forrelying on shock valuein order to keep their viewers tuning in. Series such asGrey’s Anatomy,The Walking Dead,Game of Thrones, and nearly every installment ofAmerican Horror Story, have used shocking andtragic plot points or deathsin ways that haven’t always felt satisfying. In fact, many of these jawdropping events seemed to be designed more for watercooler moments and social media buzz than to help develop the storytelling in an authentic way.Now in its second seasonon Apple TV+,the stellar seriesBad Sistersseems like it also might be falling into this trap.
In Season 1, the series follows the Garvey sisters in two timelines. One timeline is set in the present day when they’re dealing with the death of their brother-in-law, John Paul (Claes Bang) — not-so-affectionately nicknamed “The Prick,” — and the other timeline is flashbacks to all of the times they tried unsuccessfully to murder him. In each episode, the sisters flub their efforts to take him out, and then they try to cover up the ways in which they failed (to hide from the insurance adjusters looking into his death). Every twist and turn in the story is a part of the delightfully dark journey. Although it’s clear from the very first episode what John Paul’s eventual fate is,it’s still a wild rideto figure out exactly how he meets his demise.
Sharon Horgan on What It Would Take for ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 3 To Happen
“You have to tell the story that you think is the right way to tell for eight hours,” says Horgan, about living up to the success of the first season.
There are two major twists at the end of Season 1that move the plot forwardand tie up huge mysteries about the sister’s lives. First, it is revealed that John Paul raped Eva (Sharon Horgan), which provides so much meaningful backstory to her character, and second, that his wife, Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) is actually the one who offed John Paul in the end. Each thread of the story intertwines to illustrate the far-reaching effects of one truly toxic man. But Season 2 might just be veering a tad bit away from this masterful storytelling.
When Season 2 of the series picks up, several years have passed.Each of the sisters is trying to move on(in their own way), andGrace gets remarried in Episode 1. But pretty quickly the sisters find themselves back in the middle of a tangled web of secrets. In Episode 2,Grace is killed in a car accident. The death is unexpected, truly tragic, and provides the catalyst for much of the action of Season 2. While the death is a massive shock, there are ways that the loss is used to effectively demonstratethe long-lasting impact of domestic abuse and how grief manifests in a family. But thenin Episode 5, Angelica (Fiona Shaw), the sisters' new enemy, is shockingly involved in an accident when Ursula (Eva Birthistle), Bibi (Sarah Greene), and Becka (Eve Hewson) are out on a boat with her. In the midst of a tense argument, the boom of the sailboat swings around and hits Angelica smack in the face. She goes overboard, and the sisters are unable to locate her (despite valiant efforts to save her).
We don’t have confirmation yet that Angelica is actually dead (although that accident was pretty brutal, so things are not looking good for her). But the accident alone serves as yet another distressing plot point.Viewers still reeling from Grace’s deathare now experiencing a sort of violent and horrifying event (again). AlthoughAngelica has definitely served as a villainso far, the fun part of Season 2 was getting to see how her manipulations were playing out. Instead of the twists manifesting in an organic way,the action of the series feels more like a sucker punch. This type of storytelling doesn’t feel as rooted in character development and growth, but more in the series trying to provide twists that will keep viewers tuning in and recapture the magic that was so naturally evident in Season 1.
Bad Sistersis such a smartly written show(led by Horgan’s brilliant contributions). Hopefully, in the remaining episodes of Season 2, the series can continue to find intriguing ways of following these characters without unnecessary sensationalism. It feels pointless to have terrible events happen just to evoke a strong emotional reaction in the audience, especially when we’re already so attached to these characters.Horgan hasn’t ruled out a third season, so there’s still a chance that the series can avoid these types of gratuitous and too-frequent tragic events going forward. There are plenty of stories to explore with the Garveys (and options for dramatic twists) without having to lean on shock value.
New episodes ofBad Sistersare available to watch every Wednesday on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
