Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Bad Sisters Season 2 Episode 3.
Bad Sisters has always been centered around the strong bond between the Garvey sisters. But after losing one of their own in Episode 2, this tight-knit family is understandably struggling to keep it together. Episode 3 picks up right after the shocking death of Grace (Anne-Marie Duff), and each sister is grieving. But in typical Garvey fashion, it’s evident that outside forces meddling in their family’s business will once again challenge their safety and their well-being. John Paul might be dead, but a new enemy has taken his place when Angelica (Fiona Shaw) decides to insert herself into the mix. The sisters are doing everything they can to avoid going to prison, but can they ever truly outrun their past?
The ‘Bad Sisters’ Are Picking Up the Pieces in Season 2 Episode 3
The first scene of the episode picks up with all the sisters in a sad state after Grace’s death. Ursula (Eva Birthistle) takes pills in her car, and then collapses into the arms of Eva (Sharon Horgan) in her front yard. Bibi (Sarah Greene) and Becka (Eve Hewson) join in their heartbreaking huddle, clinging to each other in their grief. Where there once were five, now there are just four. Eva plays the voicemail that Grace left her that fateful night. The sisters have no idea what Grace might have been needing help with or what exactly led to her car accident. The sisters agree that it was simply “group hysteria” that led them to think Grace actually harmed Ian (Owen McDonnell). But when they start questioning how Grace’s accident could have happened, Ursula panics. She knows that she gave Grace pills to help with her anxiety, and she’s left wondering whether those pills could have impaired Grace’s driving. She speeds over to Grace’s house to look for the pills, but comes up empty-handed.
When the police inform the sisters that one of them will need to identify Grace’s body (because Ian is still missing), Ursula volunteers. She says it’s because she’s a nurse, but really, it feels like a form of penance for her. She asks Detective Inspector Fergal Loftus (Barry Ward) to inform her when the toxicology report comes back on Grace (since she’s convinced the medication she provided her with will be a contributing factor in her death). He basically responds that just because they slept together once (after a speed dating event), she’ll be getting no special treatment. That’s because Loftus and Detective Una Houlihan (Thaddea Graham) are still convinced that Grace was guilty of something and that’s why she tried to flee the night of the accident.
The other sisters aren’t handling Grace’s death any better than Ursula is. Eva yells at her boss on the phone to “stick this job in your hole,” and then, after hanging up, hilariously notes, “I just handed in my notice.” Becka is concerned that Bibi hasn’t shed a single tear (and is resorting to her usual sarcasm as a coping mechanism), and the sisters can’t help but bicker with one another. However, they do try to work together to select a final dress for Grace to wear and end up reminiscing about the sister they loved so dearly. Blanaid (Saise Quinn) ultimately helps them select the best option. After she leaves, Bibi says mournfully, “I wish we’d never started this… never gone after The Prick.” All roads do seem to lead back to their mission in Season 1 to get rid of John Paul, and now, Grace has paid the biggest price.
Grace’s Funeral Brings Plenty of Surprises in ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 3
The sisters gather in the church for Grace’s funeral, when Angelica shows up, clearly distraught. She keeps saying, “I can’t believe this is happening,” and Bibi observes that she’s a “grief thief.” Angelica has decided to usurp their loss as her own. Angelica also adds insult to injury by trying to sit in the front row of the church, which is clearly reserved for Grace’s family. They insist she move, which is a slight that Angelica will likely not forgive so easily. At first, Blanaid doesn’t want to sit with her aunts, but once the service starts, she moves up front to sit next to Eva. Then the first big surprise guest arrives at the service: Matt Clafflin (Daryl McCormack) has come to pay his respects. Loftus and Houlihan have also made an appearance, and they take note of Matt’s attendance (why would Grace’s insurer come to her funeral?).
The service begins with an elderly priest who mumbles through his spiel. Apparently, he had a stroke a year ago, but his incoherent speech makes Bibi lose it with laughter (which then turns into the first real bout of crying she’s had). The sisters have all agreed not to do a eulogy, but that leads to some awkward silence. In order to honor the woman he loved so much, Roger (Michael Smiley) stands up and starts singing. Bibi is the only one to join in, but it’s a touching tribute to Grace. Afterward, everyone files out of the church, and the sisters stand in a line, shaking the funeralgoers’ hands, when the second surprise guest of the day appears. Ian is back! The police try to discuss what happened with Grace, but they don’t get very much information from him. He tells them that he and Grace had “a bicker about nothing that escalated,” and that he went to stay with a friend (which proves that Grace didn’t really hurt him like her sisters were assuming). Ian then goes to talk with the sisters and asks if they helped Grace murder John Paul. Eva admits, “We covered it up.”
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Ursula Makes Several Bad Decisions in ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 3
After the funeral, everyone gathers at Eva’s house. Angelica comes up to Ursula and gives her chocolate. She confides that she lost her husband very young, and tells Ursula that “you can never get grief right.” Ursula admits that she feels guilt about Grace’s death but doesn’t elaborate at first. Then Angelica reels her in; she says, “I know what JP did to her…and what she did to him.” Finally, there’s confirmation that Angelica knows Grace’s deep, dark secret. In her fragile state, Ursula thinks that Angelica is just being kind to her, and she confesses that she gave Grace pills to calm her down after the incident with Ian. She says, “I think this is my fault.” Angelica seems to offer forgiveness, telling Ursula, “That which is done in love cannot be bad.” She then kisses Ursula on the top of the forehead and walks away, but unfortunately, Ursula has just given Angelica the ammunition she needs to wheedle her way further into their lives.
About a week after the funeral, Ursula keeps trying frantically to call Angelica, but she never picks up her calls. She goes to find Angelica at the community center where she volunteers. Ursula asks if Angelica has told anyone about the pills, but she won’t really give her a straight answer. She starts talking about a broken window and how, because of the noise outside, the groups meeting there have no peace and quiet. She calculatedly tells Ursula that it would cost 200 euros to be repaired. Angelica is very clearly trying to blackmail Ursula, and it works. Ursula puts an envelope with the words “For Quiet” written on them. This is the perfect double meaning, since Ursula is actually trying to buy Angelica in order to keep her quiet.
But it only gets much worse for Ursula. She finds out that Ally (Deirdre Mullins) (her ex-husband’s new girlfriend) is running an audit at the hospital, related to some missing pills which Ursula has stolen. She tries to cover up her misdeeds, but then it dawns on her that Angelica was probably the one who reported her. She explains to Ally that she originally started stealing the pills for her son because he was having nightmares, but then after taking one herself, she had the best sleep she’d had since she was a child. Feeling that relief was worth the risk to her job. She’s told to leave as an investigation is being conducted, but this could mean the end of Ursula’s career.
‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 Episode 3 Sets Up a New Villain
Loftus and Houlihan are continuing to investigate Grace’s death (as well as all the deaths that are tied to her). In her research, Houlihan notes that Bibi has been a semi-pro poker player for the last two years (which means she could be a pretty effective liar), and that she suspects Becka and Matt were once an item. When they ask Becka about it later in the episode (Loftus says, “You were doing a lot of likes on his YouTubes!”), Becka denies ever being involved with him. But the detectives are already becoming extremely suspicious of the sisters and their possible involvement in these crimes.
Eva tries to connect with Blanaid, who is becoming increasingly distant. Blanaid is back staying at her home with Ian, and Eva claims he’s hogging the teenager. She says, “I’m not a mother, but Grace wanted me to step in if the worst happened.” He reassures her that he’s not trying to step on any toes, and that he just wants Blanaid to be okay. Eva tells him how much she appreciates him and that he saved their lives. Ian responds with the heartbreaking, “I wish I could have saved Grace.” Ian also helps Eva with the pain she’d been having in her side since Grace’s death. Because he also lost his sister, he understands grief, and gives her a breathing exercise to help release the tension in her body. As Eva is leaving, she puts on one of Grace’s coats and finds bank slips in the pocket. It appears as though Grace withdrew more than 20,000 euros right before she died. But what was Grace going to use this money for, and where is the money now?
Loftus and Houlihan meet with the sisters one more time to give them the results of the toxicology report. They inform them that the results came back clean: Grace had not taken any of the pills. Ursula sobs hysterically with relief; now she knows she was not responsible in any way for Grace’s death. But the detectives assure the Garvey sisters that “we will get to the bottom of it all.” After they leave, Ursula confesses to her sisters about giving Grace the pills and about telling Angelica. They call Angelica a “parasite,” and Becka states the obvious: “We need to get one step ahead of her.”
In one final twist, with the song “Dedicated To the One I Love” by the Mamas and the Papas in the background, Blanaid goes to meet with Angelica. Is messing with Blanaid just one more step in Angelica’s plan to take down the Garvey sisters? Some questions were answered in this episode (like the fact that Ian wasn’t actually killed off!), but now it’s clear that the sisters might have to go back to their old ways of plotting to kill someone who has interfered with the sanctity of their family.
New episodes of Bad Sisters Season 2 are available to stream every Wednesday on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
Bad Sisters Season 2 Episode 3 offers a new villain that is every bit as insidious as John Paul.
- Fiona Shaw steals every scene she’s in as the devious and manipulative Angelica.
- Eva Birthistle deserves praise for her portrayal of a spinning out-of-control Ursula.
- The twists of Matt and Ian coming back are fun surprises.
- The loss of Anne-Marie Duff as Grace is already felt in this episode.
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