The Ending Of ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Is About As Good As Anyone Could Have Expected

By Jonathon Wilson - December 24, 2024
Eve Hewson, Sarah Greene, Sharon Horgan and Eva Birthistle in Bad Sisters
Eve Hewson, Sarah Greene, Sharon Horgan and Eva Birthistle in Bad Sisters | Image via Apple TV+
By Jonathon Wilson - December 24, 2024

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS

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Summary

Bad Sisters Season 2 ends about as conclusively and satisfyingly as an unnecessary follow-up realistically could.

Bad Sisters didn’t need Season 2, so the least it could do was end with a bit of finality so that nobody would be tempted for a third go-around. If nothing else, Episode 8, “Cliff Hanger”, provides that, despite the title. It’s a sweet finale with a couple of unexpected developments, which is about all we could have reasonably expected given the circumstances.

And that’s fine by me. I like this show and I’ve enjoyed more of it, warts and all, but in the nicest possible way, I’m glad that it’s over.

It is over, isn’t it?

The Truth About What Happened To Grace

The finale begins with a flashback to what happened on the night Grace died, though to be fair it doesn’t yield very many surprises. After the penultimate episode revealed who Ian really was, the assumption was that he had perhaps had more involvement in Grace’s demise than we realized. But that’s not quite the case.

He was blackmailing her, though. Once Grace confessed to having killed JP, Ian – sorry, Cormac – realized he had something to threaten her with. So, he demanded twenty grand to keep his mouth shut. But he overplayed his hand. He got a little too confident with his negotiating position and when Grace discovered that he had a secret life – and a secret wife – she resolved not to give him a penny.

But Ian never pursued Grace or caused her crash. She wasn’t running away from him, per se. She was just frantic at the possibility of her secret being exposed. She took her eyes off the road and crashed. That much, at least, we knew already.

Ian’s “Death”

From there we catch back up with the cliffhanger ending of the previous episode, which found Ian turning up suddenly at Eva’s place to threaten her into letting sleeping dogs lie. Since Grace never paid him off, he wants Blanaid’s stolen inheritance to be left alone. But it won’t be that straightforward.

Since Eva manages to get Blanaid out of the house and her sisters – sans Ursula, who takes Blanaid to meet her cousins in Ian’s car – in, it seems very much like the Garveys have a murder in their immediate future. And, frankly, Ian would deserve it. But his taunting about Grace only ever being a mark touches a nerve. “A murdering nutjob”, he calls her, just as Angelica sneaks up behind him and smacks him over the head with Blanaid’s hurling stick. He hits his head on the table on the way down.

Despite Angelica’s aw-shucks “I didn’t like what he said about Grace” attitude, it really does seem like Ian is dead. Bibi looks for a pulse and can’t find one, so the question very quickly becomes what to do next. There’s a palpable sense of panic in this scene which is very funny, especially when a knock at the door turns out to be Houlihan.

Fiona Shaw in Bad Sisters

Fiona Shaw in Bad Sisters | Image via Apple TV+

Waste Disposal

It’s important to remember that the Garveys don’t know what Houlihan knows. Ian told them he was a cop, so they’re operating on the basis that the authorities will take his side and throw the book at them. It’s only Houlihan who knows he was dirty even with the badge.

With this in mind, supported by ham and coleslaw sandwiches prepared by Angelica – why do I suddenly quite like her? – the Garveys stuff Ian in the back of Bibi’s car and drive him to Sliabh Liag, a sea cliff on the coast of County Donegal that is, Wikipedia informs me, the second-highest in Ireland. The plan is to throw him off and make the whole thing look like an accident. You’ll recall that this is the scene that was teased way back in the premiere, which to be fair I’d forgotten about. The trunk pops open, and Ian isn’t in there.

Alive though he might be, Ian is in no fit state to escape. Delirious, he staggers back off the cliffs himself, plunging towards the sea below. But in an extraordinary stroke of luck, he’s caught on an outcropping and survives. The Garveys – Eva makes the executive decision – decide they’re not murderers after all and call an ambulance, but they do flee the scene and cover their tracks.

Houlihan Comes Good

As it turns out, they needn’t have bothered. When they get back, Angelica has confessed to Houlihan, believing she killed Ian. Luckily she’s off the hook for murder, but the Garveys are still facing some serious allegations which Ian is keen to pursue. That’s where Houlihan and Fergal come in.

I’ve largely hated Houlihan throughout this season, but she really redeems herself here for reasons that I think make sense for her character. She’s aware of the optics – once the Garveys learn that Ian’s real identity as a policeman, they think that Houlihan was keeping it quiet to protect him. She can’t stand that idea; her innate sense of justice can’t tolerate it. So, she does the “right” thing and teams up with Fergal to intimidate Ian into returning Blanaid’s money. If he tries to press charges against the Garveys, his various crimes will be revealed, and Fergal will contradict everything he says.

Fergal even gives Houlihan a pep talk encouraging her to stay on the force, despite how challenging he has found her personality. Him and me both.

Bad Sisters Season 2 ends a few months later, with the Garveys – including the new arrival! – saying their farewells to Grace by floating her ashes out to sea. Blanaid is there and her relationship with Eva is much better. Becka and Joe are together and raising their child. And Nora is pregnant. It’s a bittersweet ending that tilts more in the direction of being openly happy and is hopefully satisfying enough that there’s no temptation to revisit these characters. That’d be the best send-off for them all.

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