This week on Bad Sisters, we focus on Bibi. She reveals the sisters lost their parents in a crash, which at this point it wouldn’t surprise me if JP is somehow responsible. Though if he was, the sisters probably would’ve killed him long ago. I love that Bibi isn’t letting the insurance investigators rattle her. The setting of the house is beautiful, with an outlook to the water. It feels peaceful here.
Bibi’s wife Nora arrives home and happily tells the brothers how JP ruined Bibi’s life via his involvement in the accident that took Bibi’s eye, and how she felt like punching him every time she saw him while Bibi shoots her “SHUT UP” looks. At this point, both of them are now probably on the suspect list, but go Nora for standing up for her wife! They’re saved when Becka enters the house with Ruben, Nora and Bibi’s son. Matthew makes a quick exit, and Bibi notices the look between them. Bibi tells Becka to break it off with Matthew, and Becka begs Bibi not to tell Eva. While Bibi is the most confident and blunt sister, it’s clear Eva is the one in charge.
Thomas is summoned home by his pregnant wife, Theresa. She’s fine, but sends him off to get her a kebab and chips so she can sus out the case with Matthew as she’s worried about how stressed out Thomas is. Matthew does as Theresa asks, and discovers his father was a crook who pocketed money and never filed JP’s claim. He appears to have faked his suicide for his own life insurance money to keep the business afloat, saying it was an accident. Matthew is understandably upset that his brother would keep this from him, and I really feel for him here. I feel for Thomas too, who was trying to protect his little brother from the mess but the stress it’s causing is ruining his life. Thomas returns to the office and Matthew punches him in the face, telling him he found their father’s letter. But what does this mean for JP’s payout, if the claim was never officially filed?
Becka is sulking at home when Matthew knocks on her door. The two are both having a rough time, and the song Waiting Around to Die by Townes Van Zandt really sets the mood of the scene. The dialogue of this scene is a little cliché as he says he shouldn’t, she says she can’t. It’s complicated, because of her sisters. He kisses her anyway. These two will be each other’s downfall, each dragging their families down with them. Yet, I find myself cheering for them.
In the past, the sisters are walking down to the Forty Foot. The beach has become its own character in the show, much like Eva’s house. The sisters are discussing Ursula and Ben when Grace calls to invite them to JP’s birthday… at a paintball course. Of course JP would want to shoot his sisters in law, sadistic prick that he is. Bibi thinks it’s a great idea, much to everyone else’s horror. They invite Grace down to the Forty Foot but it’s obvious she doesn’t want to go without JP’s permission. Poor Grace, who can’t even go and spend time with her sisters without her husband getting abusive. She sits at home and knits instead, alone. It’s a depressing scene.
Meanwhile, Bibi pitches her new plan to kill JP: Paintball. She reminds her sisters JP has a weak spot in his skull from a car accident, and one good hit to it could mean lights out for JP. Becka tells her sisters about JP killing frogs as a kid and how his mother used to dress him up in his dead sister’s clothes, which is… creepy. Eva asks Ursula to get x-rays from work to see exactly where the weak spot on JP’s skull is. She does so, and the sisters later have target practice on watermelons.
JP washes his boat and sees the kitten the sisters got Blanaid at his feet. He deliberately hoses the kitten into the street where it gets hit by a car and killed. He checks around and it appears no one saw, so he’s gotten away with it. RIP little Harry. I’m hating this man more with each episode, which means Claes Bang is doing an excellent job. As Grace arrives home, JP makes Grace and Blanaid think Grace killed the kitten. I really hate seeing animal deaths in television, so I hope there aren’t any more to come. JP later insinuates bad things happen when Grace leaves the house, making her feel guilty for “disobeying” her husband. Eventually, Grace has to get fed up with JP and join the murder plot, right?? Right??
Eva and Gabriel go on a date to a museum. As they leave, they run into Kieran, the man from the photograph with Eva in the cabin. He has two little boys and a wife with one more on the way. She’s blonde, like Eva. Gabriel politely introduces himself. They chit chat about paintings and Gabriel moves them on as he can tell Eva is struggling, seeing Kieran with the family she couldn’t give him ten years ago. Gabriel takes Eva’s hand when she explains she’s infertile, and says they’ll go drinking. Eva thinks the date is going really well, but Gabriel later confesses he’s gay. Oops! Poor Eva (I had a feeling that was coming. Sorry Eva!) but the two agree to be friends.
At night, Bibi takes out her bow and arrow to practice her aim but struggles to hit a target. We see a flashback to when Bibi has two eyes. JP is in the car too, he’s driving. It’s dark and raining. He speeds up, going much faster than necessary to pass a truck and Bibi freaks out and grabs the wheel, causing them to crash. This is why JP blamed Bibi for the accident, making this the first insurance claim, the cabin the second, JP and Ursula’s collision the third, and JP’s death the fourth. We find out a statue on the dash stabbed Bibi’s eye in the crash, causing her to lose it.
The next day, Bibi spills paintballs on her kitchen floor. She realizes they hit harder while frozen. Sure enough, she shoots a frozen one into the watermelon and explodes it. The sisters are excited, but on the day JP scuttles their team plans by choosing a “shoot the bunny” style game instead of a standard two-team game. Grace is designated the bunny via a rabbit’s foot in her jacket pocket. Everyone has to hunt Grace as she runs through an obstacle course, because JP is an asshole and what the birthday boy wants the birthday boy gets. Bibi lines JP’s head up and the sisters urge Bibi to take the shot. An overexcited Becka shoves Bibi off target and she shoots the instructor in the eye instead, in a terrible yet hilarious turn of events. Bibi promptly punches Becka in the face. Okay, I see why the sisters don’t always include Becka. Murder attempt #3 is officially a fail. The episode ends with a perfect closing song, the lyrics fitting Bibi so well: “I'm just a soul whose intentions are good, oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood…”
Now that four sisters are in on the plans, I’ve enjoyed learning about their individual backstories and why they each have their own reasons for wanting JP dead during the first half of the season. I’m interested to see exactly how the sisters finally succeed in their murder plot after so many comedic yet stressful failed attempts. Surely someone is going to realise bad things keep happening to the Garvey family, right?
