Where do you go with a TV show that’s already solved its main mystery?
This was the biggest question I had going into Bad Sisters Season 2, the follow-up to Sharon Horgan's excellent 2022 how-dunnit about a family banding together to kill their sister's abusive husband.
Season 2 quickly untangles the neat bow that tied up the show's first season, and initially it seems like its new direction will be just as tense and intriguing. Unfortunately, the momentum doesn't quite last. What starts as a strong story becomes patchy in the middle, before somewhat rescuing itself in the closing episodes.
What's Bad Sisters Season 2 about?
We pick up with the Garvey sisters – Eva (Horgan), Grace (Anne-Marie-Duff), Bibi (Sarah Greene), Becka (Eve Hewson), and Ursula (Eva Birthistle) – in a seemingly happier time. Grace is getting married to new man Ian (Owen McDonnell), and John Paul (Claes Bang) is just a horrible memory. Season 1 tied up the mystery of his death in a seemingly neat bow, and the family seems to be thriving now he's gone. But of course, none of that lasts.
Nervous neighbour Roger (Michael Smiley) is the first thread to unravel, reappearing on the scene with his pious and meddling sister Angelica (Fiona Shaw) and threatening to reveal what he knows about John Paul's death to the police. Angelica's own suspicions quickly become aroused, as do those of new detective Una Houlihan (Thaddea Graham), who's keen to reopen the case alongside Season 1 detective Fergal Loftus (Barry Ward). All of these events conspire to destabilise Grace's newfound happiness and send the sisters spiralling back into crisis mode.
Without entering spoiler territory, Bad Sisters needed something in Season 2 that would shake up its formula — and this something does indeed come along, quickly and brutally.
It feels like a bit of a risk to take in the script, but it's one that works. At least, until it doesn't.
Bad Sisters Season 2 lacks what made Season 1 so great
There are many good things about Bad Sisters that are still there in Season 2. The characters are just as much fun, the blend of drama and black humour is effective, and the writing is as sharp as ever. The new characters, too, bring a fresh tension to the mix, and there are still plenty of twists that are hard to see coming. If this was a new show, I'd have been pleasantly surprised.
The problem is, it's not. It's a sequel. Season 1 of Bad Sisters was brilliant for all of the above reasons, but also because of the plot and central mystery. How exactly did John Paul die? Who killed him? The writing and the characters complemented these driving question, but the questions themselves still provided the main hook. Season 2, despite a valiant effort to try new things, doesn't have this crucial hook. There are still unanswered questions, but we don't care about the answers as much.
Bad Sisters Season 2 is by no means bad, and after a sluggish middle things do pick up again towards the end. But when compared to its first season — and that comparison is inevitable, despite how different the story is — it can't quite measure up.
Bad Sisters Season 2 is streaming on Apple TV+ from Nov. 13.
