Summary
Imperfect Women ties up all its remaining loose ends, but the ending is undercut by a deep-seated dysfunction that suggests some people will never quite be satisfied.
The ending of Imperfect Women isn’t about surprises. It became obvious several episodes ago who killed Nancy, and despite recent efforts to throw a new suspect into the mix, there was never really any doubt. The finale is instead about proving it, and then achieving some measure of closure in the aftermath, which is easier said than done given how deep the dysfunction runs. “The Bridge” is clear about one thing, at least. Friendships can be pretty complicated.
I’ll be honest here: I don’t think the finale necessarily reaches the dramatic highs of the penultimate episode. But there’s also a part of me that thinks it isn’t supposed to, that it’s about a different stage of the story that has different objectives. There are some curious choices that won’t hold up to a great deal of scrutiny, and some of the dialogue doesn’t ring entirely true. But the performances — Elisabeth Moss is a scene-stealer once again, as is, unexpectedly, Sheryl Lee Ralph as Eleanor’s mother, who has a small but important role — remain top tier. If nothing else, all of the major questions are answered, and the only thing left ambiguous is how things may end up developing in the far future, which is fun to speculate about but doesn’t have any bearing on the season’s overarching plot.
Who Killed Nancy?
Let’s start with the obvious thing. Unsurprisingly, it was Howard who killed Nancy. We knew this anyway, but it’s nice to have it confirmed, especially after the Scott Reed red herring. Technically, it was an accident, but Howard’s a real monster, so there’s little point in making any excuses for him.
We do get to see the night of Nancy’s death from Howard’s perspective, and it’s predictably pathetic. He was trying to convince Nancy to run away with him, telling her he loved her and that she obviously loved him. When he mentioned Mary, she slapped him, and he pushed her against the wall. She cracked her skull just as Eleanor’s PI assumed.
Howard’s attempts to move and hide the body went exactly as theorized, too. There was only one thing he didn’t think about.
An Unlikely Witness
The reason Scott Reed was caught on camera at the scene of Nancy’s murder is that Nancy had asked him to be there. Without the knowledge of any of her friends, she had reached out to her abusive step-father and asked him to rough Howard up to make her leave him alone. He agreed, feeling like he owed her that after derailing her entire life.
Scott tells Mary and Eleanor this after being arrested for Nancy’s murder. The police aren’t interested in his excuses, and once again, Ganz remains a real low point in this script, totally rejecting any notion that Howard might be guilty, even though there’s a laundry list of evidence — circumstantial, granted — suggesting he’s involved.
But Mary and Eleanor are more inclined to listen to Scott’s story. He recounts having turned up under the bridge on the night Nancy was killed, calling Nancy to see where she was, and overhearing Howard killing her. He arrived too late to intervene, but did see Howard looming over the body, taking Nancy’s claddagh ring as a souvenir.
Friends Reunited
It takes quite a while for Eleanor and Mary to get back on speaking terms. Mary is furious about Eleanor having reported Howard to the police, since it has resulted in her once again being separated from her children, and she can’t escape the idea that if Howard is found innocent, he’ll do everything in his power to make sure she never sees her children again, including taking them to Ohio.
Eleanor, meanwhile, returns home to her mother, an emotionally hardened woman with whom Eleanor has clearly had a rather strained relationship. The scene of Eleanor’s mother giving her sage advice over the dinner table is quietly remarkable, a standout bit of writing and acting that helps Eleanor to see the value in maintaining relationships with her friends and not beating herself up over things not working out with Robert. It’s a classic “real talk” moment, and Kerry Washington sells the power of it really well.
Things are still a bit frosty, granted, but it’s the best we’re going to get. A lot of water has run under this particular bridge.
Elisabeth Moss and Jackson Kelly in Imperfect Women | Image via Apple TV+
An Unexpected Judgment
A big portion of the ending of Imperfect Women is Mary fighting for custody of her children, which culminates in a fairly dramatic hearing. In its brief time as a legal drama, the show throws in a couple of fist-pump moments and an unexpected, less-than-ideal judgment.
The highlights include Howard’s ex-wife turning up as a witness for Mary and utterly excoriating Howard for being the weasel that he is. This comes after Eleanor’s limp testimony. It’s enough for the judge to rule that Howard can’t take the kids with him to Ohio, but not enough to convince him that Mary isn’t also a danger. He rules that the kids are to be placed in temporary foster care, with neither of them allowed access.
On the subject of scathing verbal tirades, Mary also petitioned Robert to speak on her behalf, but he refused, and when he asked why she never liked him, boy, she told him the truth. Robert spends the entirety of Imperfect Women Episode 8 drunk, which kind of undermines the strides he made last week in forcing his dad to get Howard arrested. Robert’s sudden refusal to acknowledge Howard as a suspect over Scott is another of the finale’s weaker elements.
Howard Gets His Comeuppance
After the hearing, Howard loses it and kidnaps Mary from her hotel room. He takes her to the scene of Nancy’s death with the intention of killing her and staging her death as a suicide. Knowing Ganz, she’d probably believe it.
Luckily, Mary is able to distract Howard for long enough to call Eleanor and tip her off. She arrives in the nick of time, after Howard has stabbed (in the shoulder) Mary and is strangling her to death. Eleanor runs Howard over. When she attends to Mary, Howard jumps Eleanor, and then Mary stabs him to death. It’s a richly deserved fate, even if the constant coming back from the dead stuff is a bit overly dramatic.
Happily Ever After?
Imperfect Women ends with a montage and a bit of narration catching up with the characters some indeterminate time in the future. Eleanor is aboard a yacht — named Nancy, naturally — with her new fella and her brother. She’s still in touch with Mary, though, since she makes sure Juniper receives a nice birthday gift.
Since it’s Mary throwing Juniper’s birthday shindig, she obviously regained custody of the girls after all. Marcus seems healthy and happy. Robert and Cora are in attendance. All seems to be well.
But for how long? A last, lingering look between Mary and Robert, and a very smug smile to camera, implies that some people will just never be satisfied.
