Bad Sisters

Yes, the suave horror of John Paul is missed, but over the course of eight episodes there’s still much to savour.

Though season two is decidedly more dramatic, it still doles out some fantastic surprises, including several that made me gasp loud enough to wake JP himself from the dead.

There are new characters and plenty of fresh plot machinations, but we’re once again faced with a group of wonderful women trying to navigate the aftermath of a murder. That doesn’t make things less entertaining, but it’s a bit frustrating that despite some promise of breaking form, Season 2 feels largely familiar. Still, the reason Season 1 worked so well is the Garvey sisters, and they’re every bit as magnetic this time around.

Bad Sisters continues to be a fun show to watch because all five actors playing the Garvey sisters have great chemistry with each other and look like they’re having fun with this dark comedy. It also helps that Horgan and company continue to write smart dialogue for them. We just hope the second season story keeps the focus on the sisters and their lives.

You don’t find out until much later in the series and it will wrongfoot you again. It then takes us back in time to discover what happened and is at turns funny, sad, bleak and funny again. Horgan, again, shows she has the best comedy chops and can write simultaneous light and dark beautifully.

It feels messier and less focused. But it’s still a cut above most shows of this type, thanks to sharp writing from Horgan and quality performances across the board.

By the end of Season 2, the solution to the investigation isn't the smoothest, but it doesn't matter when we've been given the opportunity to spend these additional episodes with such an excellent ensemble.

While not all of the action rings true (none of the sisters seem to go to work anymore), Bad Sisters is a believable portrayal of siblings and the performances have only got better, especially Horgan.

It’s nice to spend more time with Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters, but Season 2 stretches their story well beyond its natural limits.

Despite a huge, brutal twist early in the season, these additional episodes aren’t deeper or more special and specific than the first season’s.

A shocking death early on promises to push the Garveys to new places, but ultimately puts “Bad Sisters” back in the same register of dancing around someone’s fateful demise. To the season’s credit, new characters inject some of the energy the primary story does not.

Ward and Graham’s odd-couple police work showcases both actors, and while there’s notably less comedy than in Season 1, sight gags and punchlines are diffused throughout.

Although this new season is two episodes shorter than the first, it feels decidedly longer and less hooky, sagging for a stretch of episodes that leads up to its admittedly fantastic finale, the aptly titled “Cliff Hanger.” .... But luckily, these new episodes have a new secret weapon: the phenomenal Irish actor Fiona Shaw, the season’s clear MVP.

Despite diminishing returns, you won't regret checking back in with the Garveys for a second visit, even if this follow-up can sometimes feel unnecessary.

When the Garveys are together, the show still shines. But as subplots involving romance, grief, guilt, patriarchy, religion, and police corruption increasingly take center stage — and increasingly separate the sisters from one another — the show starts to feel like it’s on the verge of coming apart at the seams. It just about hangs on, but it’s a choppy ride into uncharted waters.