What a show! “Bad Sisters” is probably the first time we have seen a show that was made for women, all the while keeping it understated and artistic—a feat that not many manage to understand, far less achieved with such panache. “Fleabag” comes to mind as an example, but while that presented female grief, “Bad Sisters” is about female rage. It was the anger and helplessness of the sisters upon seeing themselves and their sister repeatedly pushed into a corner and abused by JP. He was responsible for Bibi losing her eye; he drove Becka to financial ruin; he blackmailed Ursula, and he hated Eva for reasons we finally come to know in this episode. Not to mention how much he had diminished the light within his wife and daughter. This was a man who did not have a single redeeming quality yet was so cleverly manipulative that he stayed in everyone’s life, untouched. But actions have consequences, and the sisters wanted to settle his dues. They make plan after plan, trying to kill him, but their efforts just result in disaster. It is either the family dog who dies, or he just escapes with a foggy memory, or there is some loss of property. But JP seems to be favored by the gods. Or were they just saving his lives for the right hands to take them? We had predicted this but seeing it for ourselves felt a certain way. Let us see what happens in “Bad Sisters” Episode 10.
Spoilers Ahead
The Death Of John Paul
“Bad Sisters” Episode 9 ended with Grace tearfully telling her sisters that JP is dead. In this episode, the sisters comfort Grace, but when they are alone, they laugh out loud at the way their problem is solved itself. In the present day, Matt is proving to be more than a pretty boy and is actually quite useful to his brother. True to his style, he begins by embarrassing himself by hiding under the table when Becka comes to meet him. But she notices that and asks him to just come out. They talk, and he tells her that he knows that they were not together the night that JP died. Becka casually tells Matt that the barmaid may have got it all wrong and to avoid any further conversation, she quickly takes a leave from there. She reports it all to her sisters, who were helping Grace clean out JP’s belongings. Meanwhile, Matt is following up on the investigation, which takes him to Roger, who reveals that JP had accused him of being a pedophile and quite literally destroyed his life.
Until this point, Matt knew that JP was hated by his sisters-in-law, but Roger’s words gave him a peek into the exact depth of the depravity man. When he asks Grace about this, one can see the shock on her face. She probably did not know about Roger, but when it came to her sisters, she had never put two and two together, even though it was all happening in front of her. She goes ahead and checks JP’s computer and belongings and comes to know the amount of time he would spend on adult websites. Heartbroken, she makes her way to her sisters, who go silent when they see her. Before her arrival, they were discussing the possibility that one of them might be the killer. One of the possible suspects they came up with was Ben since he had previously attacked JP. They ask Ursula to find out the truth and bring back the pentobarbital that she left with him. When Ursula follows up on it, we come to know that this time it is Ben who has been avoiding her.
The night JP died, she was with him, but he had left in the middle of the night when she was sleeping. Ursula asks him if he has harmed JP, but he laughs and says that he wouldn’t do it. He continues saying that he doesn’t believe that Ursula would do something like that for him, considering that she wasn’t even willing to move in with him in the house he wanted to rent for them. Also, a request she had made of him had left him feeling disgusted and angry. While the exact request is not specified, we believe from the context that Ursula may have asked him to kill JP. The request has made Ben break up with Ursula. At Eva’s house, after she tells them that Ben wouldn’t do that, he is ruled out as a suspect. As they talk more, Grace enters the room. She notices their silence and points out that ever since JP’s death, they have done this where they stop talking every time, she enters a room. Here, Bibi takes the initiative and tells Grace the truth—that the sisters have been trying to JP for a while to rid her of him. Hearing this, Grace breaks down crying and confesses what exactly happened the night he died.
It was her birthday, and they had retired for an early night. They had tried to be together but, once again, had been unsuccessful. As usual, JP takes out his anger on his wife, and this time, he is particularly cruel to her as he says that she is nothing and nobody cares for her existence. Grace starts packing her things and decides to leave for her sisters when JP tells her that the reason, he is unable to be with her is because of her sisters, particularly Eva. He says that she had seduced him 10 years ago, and he has never been the same since. He mentions that she had also blamed him for the miscarriage that followed, but he blames it on her drinking instead. However, this time, Grace is thinking a lot more clearly. She understands that there is a lot more to the story. Upon a little prodding, she figures out that he has actually raped Eva. In a fit of rage, she slaps him, and he retaliates by punching her in the stomach. This is probably the moment that she decides that she wants him out of her life. After shedding a few tears, she ends up strangling him. And that is how JP dies.
In the present day, Eva is close to tears after hearing this. We are guessing by the sisters’ reactions that they knew about this. But we can’t be sure. Just then, Becka gets a call from Matt. He tells her that he knows that JP had not gone to the game that night, and he has figured out what had actually happened. He wants to meet her once. What happened was that after killing JP, Grace was in shock. She had made her way downstairs and was knitting while watching Isadora. In the movie, there is a scene where the woman is killed when her scarf gets stuck in a tire. That gives her the idea, and she stages JP’s death accordingly. Matt had figured it out when he saw the movie in the player.
‘Bad Sisters’ Season 1: Ending Explained: Does Matt Reveal The Truth About John Paul’s Death?
Becka goes to meet Matt, but she has a plan. She tells him that she is the one who did it all, but Matt knows better. Becka also confesses that she loves him, though Matt doesn’t respond to that. After he leaves, the sisters figure out that Becka has taken the pentobarbital. They reach her place just in time to stop her from drinking it. She had been about to end her life due to the guilt of killing Minna and taking the fall for JP’s murder while doing so. The sisters debate what their next step should be. They would never be able to prove that JP was an abuser and a rapist, considering the tendency of courts and society at large to discredit women’s stories. Grace has killed him, and they have tried to cover it up. Right in the middle of their predicament, Matt comes back. He strikes a deal with them that, in return for his silence on the case, Grace must withdraw her claim. An easy enough compromise. He relays the news to Tom but refuses to tell him exactly how he pulled it off. The relief on Tom’s face is all of us. He is a father now, and his wife is out of danger, so he has the happiest of all endings.
As for the sisters, Blanaid is growing up into an independent woman now that she is not constantly being shamed by her father. She tells her mother that she loves her, indicating her acceptance of her parents. Grace is moving in with Eva, and before she does, she thanks Roger for his help. Turns out, the night JP died, he was the one to help her cover it all up. Roger just tells Grace to not forget about him. “Bad Sisters” Season 1 ends with the five sisters going for a swim in the forty foot, finally free of JP and the wreckage he caused in their lives, celebrating a moment and the upcoming life of liberation.
What To Expect From ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2?
The first season was perfect as it was. A second season might be overkill for an already perfect story. But if there were to be one, it would deal with the aftermath of the events of the first season. Grace and Becka have deliberately killed people. Though the latter got the wrong person, she had it in her to actually execute the act. And Grace killed JP by strangling him. We doubt she will have guilt, but she may have PTSD. Not to mention that the after-effects of abuse stay long after the abuser has left your life. There could be a story to explore with them here. As for Becka and Matt, we had predicted heartbreak for her. Even though it was said that he was in love with her, he had too much baggage to give her what she needed. Maybe that will be resolved in the next season? And what did Ursula say to Ben? We want clear answers. There could be something there. Nevertheless, despite our resistance to a second season due to the sheer perfection of the first, we must admit that we have an immense amount of trust and respect for the writers, and we would welcome any and all of their future projects with open arms.
Final Thoughts: What Works For The Show?
The start of any piece of content is its writing, and “Bad Sisters” is a shining example of that. To be honest, we expected more from the ending. While it was a perfect ending to the story, maybe we wanted a little bit more oomph in it? Either way, “Bad Sisters” is a show that deserves more hype and is completely capable of becoming a cult classic. We have to say that this even has a high rewatch value, which is not found often these days. The cinematography of the show is really beautiful, and the actors are excellent. The pace, though it did lag a few times, was still crisp and fast. There is no other way to say it, but we just love the show, and it will be a forever favorite. We recommend that everyone watch it at least once every few years because it is just that good. Thank God it was created.
